Ex. 1. Most of the time with a funk jam, you’ll be playing a variation on a ii-V7 progression. Play a close-position chord in the right hand, as shown in 1a, and hit the root with the left hand. Listen for the 7th of the Cm7 resolving to the third of the F9. You always have the option of leaving out the root in the right hand, as shown in parentheses. As shown in 1b, it’s cool to put in the 11th, too.
Ex. 2. James Brown always said that funk is on the “1”, (the downbeat), and as long as you nail that, everything’s cool. In 2a, play a simple rhythm with the right hand on the strong beats: the “1” and the “3.” Keep your wrist loose and swing the sixteenth-notes a bit. In 2b, try a different repeating figure using the same strong beat structure. Mix it up, but as you get more complicated, accent the downbeats as in 2c. Remember to lay the figures back and avoid rushing the groove.
Ex. 3. Starting with the right hand, experiment with half-step embellishments, as shown in 3a. As a rule, you shouldn’t play roots with your left hand in a jam that has a bass player, so work the root in playing off-beat anticipations.
Ex. 4. As shown in 4a, you can funkify your pattern by syncopating around the third beat. Mentally divide the bar in half and keep your articulation crisp. Keeping the sixteenth-note subdivision in mind, play the chord change a sixteenth-note ahead of the downbeat as in 4b, then pop the backbeat (the second beat of the second bar). You’ll create a skipping syncopation that avoids the downbeat; just make sure you and the drummer agree on exactly where that backbeat is!
