I want to be a proficient funk guitarist

I love funk guitar. my first influences came from the friday evening dances at the CYO.
R & B and Funk bands with horns and high waisted pants. James Brown was topping the charts.
we all tried to dance like he did.
listen to a lot of James Brown's guitar players. they are the best.
funk is all about syncopation. 9th chords are in order and a flexible pinkie.
I found this on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSXC6RrqsCc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPE8gFzZ_kg&feature=related

there is a ton of material on youtube. cool.

Cool links, db.
Here's another for a great song, Cissy Strut:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsE8uoXHayU

Enjoy!
:)

Good places to start:

Funk / R&B Guitar: Creative Solos, Grooves and Sounds by Thaddeus Hoggarth

Funk Guitar: The Essential Guide by Russ Bolton

And if you want a great book on how the entire rhythm section works together, try out:

The Funkmaters - the Great James Brown Rhythm Sections by Allan Slutsky and Chuck Silverman

Hope this helps!

Peace

I only know a handful of funk bands too, so far I have listened to and loved;

Tower of power
Funkadelic
Parliament
Sly and the family stone

Also can I ask you David, if you were only going to get one of those books which would you get? LOL I just don't know how to decide and don't think I can look at them physically in any shop I know, I will look though. I will probably end up ordering one online.

Amazon will let you get a "sneak preview" look at the inside of the first two books:

Funk / R&B Guitar: Creative Solos, Grooves and Sounds by Thaddeus Hoggarth ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0876390912/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=10EVKESBPT8K7PJNZWBH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846 )

Funk Guitar: The Essential Guide by Russ Bolton ( http://www.amazon.com/Funk-Guitar-Essential-Private-Lessons/dp/0634011685/ref=pd_rhf_p_img_4 )

If I had to go with only one, it would be one of the first two and I'd probably go with Thaddeus' book. Both are great for beginners but that will mean probably going over some things you already know. But Thaddeus' book is a bit more in depth and should set you up well. If you can pick up this along with one of the Funk Play-Along books, you'll probably have a great start to your goal.

I don't know where in England you are, but here in the States you can often find these books at a public library. It might be a way to see whether they are for you or not. Just a thought.

Hope this helps.

Peace

I'm very familir with what's in my library music book wise and I have a feeling if I had seen that I would have taken it home with me straight away :lol:

I could look in one of our local music shops to see what it is like if they have it. One of the main one has just reopened and hasn't opened it upstairs again yet where most of their music books were kept.

I watched the first part of the Ross Bolton lesson, which is great, starts off simple and progresses towards the end but not much of it was challenging for me so far I can do most of it though I could probably do it better too with time. I will rewatch the first part for the third time soon and then maybe move onto the second when I feel I have covered it.

I have also been trying to work out some funk by ear, Tower of power mainly, it's not as easy. I can quite often hear the chords, though a lot of the time I am not sure I have got it right and hearing exactly how the right hand is played is even harder. It also seems there's a lot of liberty taken with parts, not as much repetition which would make it easier to learn but probably less fun to play. I thought I had good ears, though I am finding this a bit challenging, I will keep trying.