Keyboard and funk

[Popup-Box]

I've got a keybaord, but I barely know any pieces to play, as I've been focusing on the guitar. I know the basics of music theory, so I am able to create something on my own, but now I am wondering if there are any funk songs in which interesting keyboard parts appear?

My guitar got only two strings at the moment, so I thought I could just as well spend some time with the keyboard.

[GhostNote]

Yeah, keyboard rocks, im primarily a drummer, but i have been teaching myself jazz and funk piano/keyboard for about 5 months. I'd suggest 'Full House' By david sanborn, 'Corners for herbie' by david sanborn, 'Chameleon' by herbie hancock and 'Sly' by herbie hancock. There are many, many more awesome keyboard songs but yeah, those are a good start. The herbie hancock stuff is pretty hard but yeah, the sanborn stuff is pretty easy to learn. What sort of keyboard do you have, and ow long have you been experimenting for?

[Popup-Box]

It's a very basic keyboard. More basic than you are able to imagine.

However, I'm able to make noise, so it works.

I've had it for around 8 years, but never really tried to play at any level. Just experimented every now and then.

I know music theory, but my fingers move very slowly on the keyboard.

[baggagebassman]

Bernie Worrell is the man to check out.

[GhostNote]

It's a very basic keyboard. More basic than you are able to imagine.

However, I'm able to make noise, so it works.

I've had it for around 8 years, but never really tried to play at any level. Just experimented every now and then.

I know music theory, but my fingers move very slowly on the keyboard.


Yeah, i have a really old Yamaha PS-35, like not many keys and not weighted. Experimenting with blues scales and stuff is fun and alternating the scales. There is heaps of great funk keyboard out there, but i rekon herbie hancock is the man to listen to, pretty impossible to play as a newbie like myself, but it is good to listen to to get a perspective of funk.

Good luck with the keys! Great instrument/s.

[Chameleon]

Hey, interesting topic...I just ordered myself a new Yamaha P90 digital piano, can't wait! I might try some Herbie Hancock stuff (I noticed your suggestions are from Headhunters - what an album!) but my digi piano is more of a 'piano' than keyboard, so a lot of the sounds won't quite be right but i'm gonna get a Vox wah pedal (I've heard they're the best for keyboards? anybody know anything about this?) and have a go.

Mainly i'm looking at bluesy and jazzy stuff though. I suck now, but hopefully i'll be able to get really comfortable with it soon.

[GhostNote]

Hey, interesting topic...I just ordered myself a new Yamaha P90 digital piano, can't wait! I might try some Herbie Hancock stuff (I noticed your suggestions are from Headhunters - what an album!) but my digi piano is more of a 'piano' than keyboard, so a lot of the sounds won't quite be right but i'm gonna get a Vox wah pedal (I've heard they're the best for keyboards? anybody know anything about this?) and have a go.

Mainly i'm looking at bluesy and jazzy stuff though. I suck now, but hopefully i'll be able to get really comfortable with it soon.

Yeah, PS-35 is craap compared to urz. I envy you! but yeah headhunters rocks man, the intro on sly is just awesome, so tight! Defintely try hancock's stuff, especially Chameleon, not too hard on keys...haha. Yeah i wana get a casio privia or something. Yeah vox are really good keyboard wah's, if i had the money, i'd probably get one. Yeah, im guessing you know blues scales yeah?

Rizza

[Chameleon]

Yeah, PS-35 is craap compared to urz. I envy you! but yeah headhunters rocks man, the intro on sly is just awesome, so tight! Defintely try hancock's stuff, especially Chameleon, not too hard on keys...haha. Yeah i wana get a casio privia or something. Yeah vox are really good keyboard wah's, if i had the money, i'd probably get one. Yeah, im guessing you know blues scales yeah?

Rizza

Yeah, I've had a piano for 6 years but we got rid of it a week or two before xmas! I think I know you vaguely from the drum forum, so i'm a drummer first, bassist second and keyboardist third. I know all my scales and stuff, but my digi piano is gonna be up here with me, so I can play it for hours the way I do with bass!

Have you tried a Vox with a keyboard? Is it a nice full sound or is it thin and scratchy like some guitar ones? The problem is, they're always described as being guitar pedals and the reviews don't tend to be from keyboard players.

As for Chameleon (I take it you can guess I like this track?!?! :lol:), it's "easy" but probably really really hard at the same time to get grooving like Herbie. I have a live version from '74 on video (or a 3 minute clip of it) and he improvs the bass hand so much! The only thing is, obviously I can only wah the entire keyboard, so I can't really independently wah the organ part! Ach well, I can't wait anyway!

[GhostNote]

Yeah, I've had a piano for 6 years but we got rid of it a week or two before xmas! I think I know you vaguely from the drum forum, so i'm a drummer first, bassist second and keyboardist third. I know all my scales and stuff, but my digi piano is gonna be up here with me, so I can play it for hours the way I do with bass!

Have you tried a Vox with a keyboard? Is it a nice full sound or is it thin and scratchy like some guitar ones? The problem is, they're always described as being guitar pedals and the reviews don't tend to be from keyboard players.

As for Chameleon (I take it you can guess I like this track?!?! :lol:), it's "easy" but probably really really hard at the same time to get grooving like Herbie. I have a live version from '74 on video (or a 3 minute clip of it) and he improvs the bass hand so much! The only thing is, obviously I can only wah the entire keyboard, so I can't really independently wah the organ part! Ach well, I can't wait anyway!



Yeah, im pretty new to this forum, im surprised that u know who i am at all. Yeah i play a little bass and "try" to play guitar...

I have tried a vox with a keyboard, not mine though, and mind you, not for long. It is pretty full bodied from what i heard. And people i have spoken to rekon that its pretty good, they're mainly guitar players, but there are a couple who use them as keyboard wahs.

I could definately tell that you like that song! Yeah i see what you mean, easy, but not. Noone grooves like herbie. I have a version, just audio, where herbie goes double time on the synth and stuf while improvising on his left hand.

Good luck with the new digi piano! i wish i had one. Post some audio of u playin maybe

[Chameleon]

Cool, the piano I had had a pretty light response and apparently the weighting is quite heavy on this keyboard, so i'm gonna take a week to get used to it maybe but I'll defo post recordings of it! Not so much me, because as I said, I currently suck :lol:

But i'll play something and call it improv :p

And maybe I mistook you for somebody else from the drum forum...!

[PTheory]

Bernie Worrell and Stevie Wonder are s good place to start

[GhostNote]

Cool, the piano I had had a pretty light response and apparently the weighting is quite heavy on this keyboard, so i'm gonna take a week to get used to it maybe but I'll defo post recordings of it! Not so much me, because as I said, I currently suck :lol:

But i'll play something and call it improv :p

And maybe I mistook you for somebody else from the drum forum...!

Yeah, some audio would be good. I've been with teh forum for a lil while. Yeah i love weighted keys on digi pianos, my mate just got one. Are you gonna buy the vox?

[Chameleon]

Yeah, some audio would be good. I've been with teh forum for a lil while. Yeah i love weighted keys on digi pianos, my mate just got one. Are you gonna buy the vox?

Yeah I think so! I play bass as well, so with any luck it'll be fully 'compatible' with bass as well. They do make special bass wah's, but i'm not sure what the technical differences are but hopefully this'll work as well.

But yeah, think i'm gonna get the Vox V847!

[Popup-Box]

OK - I'll check out Bernie Worell and Stevie Wonder then. I haven't played anything the recent days, so it's about time to start.

[GhostNote]

Yeah I think so! I play bass as well, so with any luck it'll be fully 'compatible' with bass as well. They do make special bass wah's, but i'm not sure what the technical differences are but hopefully this'll work as well.

But yeah, think i'm gonna get the Vox V847!

Yeah, be sure to post some audio in the near future. Where do you think you'll post it? How long have you been playing drums and bass?.

Good luck with the wah.

P.S My friend and bass player used to have a bass synth wah, they're awesome!

[Chameleon]

Yeah, be sure to post some audio in the near future. Where do you think you'll post it? How long have you been playing drums and bass?.

Good luck with the wah.

P.S My friend and bass player used to have a bass synth wah, they're awesome!

I've played drums/percussion for about 7 years, bass for about 3 and i've been 'fiddling' on piano for about 5 years (but i'm not good, I just picked the odd thing up out of books and played random easy stuff by ear).

How bout you? How long you been playing bass? Do you want to get more serious about guitar?

[GhostNote]

I've played drums/percussion for about 7 years, bass for about 3 and i've been 'fiddling' on piano for about 5 years (but i'm not good, I just picked the odd thing up out of books and played random easy stuff by ear).

How bout you? How long you been playing bass? Do you want to get more serious about guitar?

Yeah drums for 4 or 5 years, bass for 2, i pretty much muck around and suck, but i have learnt a thing or two from my uncles who play bass and guitar , keys for about a year now. I dont know why, but i picked piano up really easy.

What sort of kit do you use?

[Chameleon]

Yeah drums for 4 or 5 years, bass for 2, i pretty much muck around and suck, but i have learnt a thing or two from my uncles who play bass and guitar , keys for about a year now. I dont know why, but i picked piano up really easy.

What sort of kit do you use?

It's a Pearl Session Custom (8", 10", 12", 14", 22", 14"s) plus a 14" Pearl bronze Sensitone classic snare! A few toys, jam blocks, cowbell, tambourine etc. Mostly Zildjian cymbals (one Sabian AA china splash). I wanna replace my ride (20" ZBT Plus) but the in-store stock up here isn't that great and I haven't find one that I like enough to replace it yet!

http://www.funkshake.com/bob/2.jpg (old pic, before my 8" tom and some other things)

What about you?

[6-String_Slinger]

to chameleon: i play sax but know a decent amount about drums/cymbals, if you can, look into a set of zildgian A customs, my combo's drummer uses A custom hihats, ride and 2 crashes and they sound awesome, also, use both his new ride and old ride. BTW it sounds like you have a sweet set!

[Chameleon]

to chameleon: i play sax but know a decent amount about drums/cymbals, if you can, look into a set of zildgian A customs, my combo's drummer uses A custom hihats, ride and 2 crashes and they sound awesome, also, use both his new ride and old ride. BTW it sounds like you have a sweet set!

Hehe yeah, I don't know if you can see what my specs are from that pic but I have an 18" A Custom Fast crash and a 12" A Custom splash. The rest are K/K Custom, Sabian AA and the annoying ZBT ride. A Customs are beautiful though! I'm looking at replacing my 14" K Mastersounds with A Custom Mastersounds, but i've yet to find a shop that stocks them round here! :rolleyes:

[GhostNote]

It's a Pearl Session Custom (8", 10", 12", 14", 22", 14"s) plus a 14" Pearl bronze Sensitone classic snare! A few toys, jam blocks, cowbell, tambourine etc. Mostly Zildjian cymbals (one Sabian AA china splash). I wanna replace my ride (20" ZBT Plus) but the in-store stock up here isn't that great and I haven't find one that I like enough to replace it yet!

http://www.funkshake.com/bob/2.jpg (old pic, before my 8" tom and some other things)

What about you?

Yeah, i have a really minimalistic setup, nothing compared to yours;

Premier Artist series heritage kit;
Bass drum; 20x8
tom; 10x6
floor tom; 13x11
snare; 13x5.5

Cymbals
18" vintage avedis zildjian ride
13" K zildjian hats (with z custom dyno beat for interchange with teh bottom k)
8" very old sabian splash

Other stuff
Lp multi guiro, black beauty cowbell, rhythm tech drumset tambourine.

yeah, nothing much compared to u...

but yeah.

[Chameleon]

Haha, nice setup. Is the Artist Heritage maple or birch? Don't know that much about Premier, even though they were probably the first kits I ever played!

[GhostNote]

Birch, i love birch. Yeah, premier rocks. wat one did u start playing on?

[Chameleon]

Nice. Emmm...well when I played in school and divisional concert bands and percussion ensembles, etc, it was a bunch of Premiers. There were a couple of old conert tom-style Royale kits and a few XPK's.

Was hoping my keyboard would come to day, but it wasn't despatched yesterday due to 'post-christmas business'. Here's hoping it'll go out today...

[GhostNote]

I love xpk's! i played a p90 the other day, awesome. i love the full length and weighted keys. Yeah, shippings a biitch. you wont be dissapointed though, god knows i wouldnt be.

[Chameleon]

Ooooh nice! Just checked with City Link, should be delivered tomorrow! Can't wait :chug: Still don't have a stand for it...have to nip up tomorrow and get one I think :thumb:

What sort of music d'you normally listen to? Hancock et al?

[GhostNote]

Yeah, definately hancock. Listenin to him now. heaps of stuff, Mcoy Tyner, james morrison, Royal Crow Revue, Santana, Mingus, Miles, benny goodman, coltrane. heaps more. You?

[Chameleon]

Yeah, some fusiony stuff...and a lot of funk soul stuff. Earth Wind & Fire, Tower of Power,etc!

[GhostNote]

Yeah definately, me too, david garibaldi rocks, the opening fill to 'squib cakes' is just, wow! do you listen to much lee ritenour? i dont know whether it's classed as fusion, but his album; feel the night is really good, as steve gadd drums on that album, and well, lee ritenour is just really good (understatement).

[Chameleon]

Nah, I've never heard any Lee Ritenour i'll be sure to check some out if it has Mr. Gadd in session!

I just found this the other day:

http://www.stevekhan.com/sometimeotna.htm

It's got a recording of a session with Gadd on kit and a nice Rhodes sound solo.

Got the keys on Thursday, great stuff! Need a good stand for it but i'll get something recorded at some point...

[GhostNote]

Yeah the p90's are nice. How much does something like that cost? i forget.

:amaze: that audio is awesome man. rhodes, i love em, hard to find though...

[Chameleon]

The P90 was £641 from gak.co.uk.

Yeah the rhodes sound is nice. There's a version of it on the P90. Not called the Rhodes obviously, and if you turn the vibrato up on it it sounds really great!

Plus if you combine the 'slow swell' strings with the grand piano 1 sound, it's so cheesy! :lol:

[GhostNote]

Nice man! sounds good, wen is audio expected? wen u getting the wah? anywayze, good deal on teh p90!

[blane0719]

where is the best place to find piano stuff on the internet? everytime i look for stuff i only get guitar or bass tab sites.

[GhostNote]

where is the best place to find piano stuff on the internet? everytime i look for stuff i only get guitar or bass tab sites.

I've seen some free sheet music sites, i aquired some from there. In the ways of tabs, i think that tabcrawler did keyboard/piano tabs, i havent visited them in about 8 months though.

[Popup-Box]

I've now listened to two Bernie Worrell songs, and I like what I heard. Special sound, I think I'll have to explore this fellow.

[franz sanchez]

Have a listen to Herbie Hancock's "Fat Albert Rotunda" - regulars on this forum will know that I go on about this album a lot, but it really is Herbie's best work, in terms of piano/keys in FUNK.

There's also a wealth of Ramsey Lewis recordings to check out too (anything on Argo/Cadet labels).

[Popup-Box]

OK - any recommandations on BLUES style keyboard songs/artists as well?

[OhioJamSk8er]

Checkout Mr.roboto lol, that has so many keyboards in it

[GhostNote]

OK - any recommandations on BLUES style keyboard songs/artists as well?

Robben Ford - Handful of Blues. piano: Russell Ferrante, Henry Butler. Hammond Organ: Ricky Peterson

Charles Mingus - Blues and roots, pianists: Horace Parlan, Mal Waldron.

Ray Charles - songs: "What'd I Say", "Unchain My Heart", most of his stuff really, heaps, great blues.