This is an excerpt from The Drummer’s Toolbox: The Ultimate Guide To Learning 101 Drumming Styles. The book goes into even more detail about funk drumming!
Funk developed in the United States during the mid-1960s as a hybrid of soul, jazz, and blues music. It was one of the first styles of music to place more emphasis on rhythm than melody and harmony. The key innovator of funk music during the 1960s was James Brown, who began his career in the 1950s as a soul musician. Largely thanks to Brown’s innovations, funk music brought rhythm section players off of the sidelines and into the musical spotlight. This style is known for featuring “slap” bass, guitar effects like “wah-wah”, horn sections, and syncopated drum grooves.
Harmonically, funk music is more complex than soul music, and by the 1970s it had eclipsed soul as a major genre in the United States. Some of the most famous funk bands and artists of all time include The Meters, Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament, Funkadelic, and Tower of Power—and of course James Brown.
Funk drumming often features syncopation and rhythmic displacement, rudiment-based hand patterns, hi-hat openings, ghost notes, and linear patterns—when no two limbs play at the same time.
In funk music, the snare drum backbeats aren’t always played on beats two and four. Typically only one backbeat will fall on beat two or four in a funk groove. The other backbeat(s) will be played on less common eighth or sixteenth note placements.
Here are a few grooves that demonstrate some different backbeat placements.
Linear drumming is another essential part of playing funk. This concept applies to playing both funk grooves and fills. Here are some examples that apply the concept of linear drumming:
The hi-hats are one of the most important sound sources in funk drumming. Some of the most common uses for hi-hats are hi-hat openings and lead hand ostinatos.
Hi-hat openings are heard in some of the most famous funk grooves in history. Here are some examples.
The Meters – “Cissy Strut”
Drummer: Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste
James Brown – “Funky Drummer”
Drummer: Clyde Stubblefield
Watch this video to learn how to play the main groove from “Funky Drummer” by James Brown.
To take this concept further, you can also do a quick hi-hat opening to emphasize accents or shots with the band. This is called “barking”. Here’s a quick tutorial that will teach you how to do it.
Funk drummers are known for incorporating syncopated lead hand ostinatos that are quite different from the ostinatos used in pop and rock music. Here are a few funk grooves with those unique lead hand ostinatos!
Funk drummers are often seen using drum sets consisting of a bass drum (20”-22”), one or two rack toms (10”-13”), one or two floor toms (14”-16”), and a snare drum (13”-14”). Drums tend to be tuned higher for playing funk – specifically the snare drum and the bass drum – in comparison with other styles like pop and rock.
A standard cymbal setup for playing funk consists of a pair of hi-hats (13”-14”), a variety of crash cymbals (16”-18”), and a ride cymbal (20”-22”). It’s important to use a “crisp” sounding pair of hi-hats as well as a ride cymbal with a cutting bell.
Both coated and clear drumheads are used for playing funk. Depending on the specific sound a drummer is looking for, they’ll determine which option will work best for their particular situation.
Here is a list of ten drummers that have had a significant impact on the development of funk music. Some of these drummers are innovators of the style from the 1960s and 1970s while others are contemporary funk drummers. You can click on each name to watch a performance by each drummer!
David Garibaldi
Harvey Mason
Greg Errico
Joseph ‘Ziggy’ Modeliste
Clyde Stubblefield
John ‘Jabo’ Starks
Stanley Randolph
Stanton Moore
Melvin Parker
George Brown
Here are fifteen essential funk albums that every drummer should check out. Some of the most iconic funk grooves of all time are heard on these albums!
The Meters
“The Meters” (1969)
Drummer: Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste
The Meters
“Look-Ka Py Py” (1969)
Drummer: Joseph “Ziggy” Modeliste
James Brown
“Sex Machine” (1970)
Drummer: Melvin Parker, Clyde Stubblefield, John “Jabo” Starks
Sly & The Family Stone
“There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971)
Drummer: Greg Errico, Gerry Gibson, Sly Stone
Stevie Wonder
“Talking Book” (1972)
Drummer: Stevie Wonder
Herbie Hancock
“Head Hunters” (1973)
Drummer: Harvey Mason
Kool & The Gang
“Wild and Peaceful” (1973)
Drummer: George Brown
Tower of Power
“Tower of Power” (1973)
Drummer: David Garibaldi
Tower of Power
“Back to Oakland” (1974)
Drummer: David Garibaldi
Parliament
“Mothership Connection” (1975)
Drummer: Jerome Brailey, Tiki Fulwood, Bootsy Collins, Gary Cooper
Earth, Wind & Fire
“Spirit” (1976)
Drummer: Fred White, Ralph Johnson, Maurice White
Funkadelic
“Uncle Jam Wants You” (1979)
Drummer: Jerome Brailey, Tiki Fulwood, Bootsy Collins, Dennis Chambers
James Brown
“In the Jungle Groove” (1986)
Drummer: Melvin Parker, Clyde Stubblefield, John “Jabo” Starks
Jamiroquai
“Travelling Without Moving” (1996)
Drummer: Derrick McKenzie
Stanton Moore
“All Kooked Out!” (1998)
Drummer: Stanton Moore
Here are 4 incredible drummers teaching funk during their Drumeo Edge live events.
Harvey Mason (Fourplay, Herbie Hancock)
David Garibaldi (Tower of Power)
Stanley Randolph (Stevie Wonder, K’naan)
Stanton Moore (Galactic, Stanton Moore Trio)
Here are some funky tracks we think you’ll like:
Even though it’s the end of the article, it’s not the end of the great content we have available. If you want to become the best drummer you can be, check out Drumeo.
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Brandon Toews is an author, educator, and performer based out of Vancouver, Canada. Brandon is the author of The Drummer's Toolbox, co-author of The Best Beginner Drum Book, and the Content Director at Musora, home to the award-winning online music education platforms Drumeo, Pianote, Guitareo and Singeo.
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