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What is funk?
The truth is, defining funk as just a genre is not only difficult, but does a disservice in defining what it truly is.
Funk as a philosophy existed before funk as a genre existed. It’s a creative spirit that goes beyond the Mixolydian mode, syncopation, or 16th notes. It’s not defined by dominant 9th chords on the guitar. Funk is a commitment to the feel and the groove above all else.
James Brown was funky, but Michael Jackson was also funky. Parliament was funky, but Fela Kuti was also funky. Zapp & Roger was funky, but so were artists like Jamiroquai and DJ Quik.
I can keep going, as it would be a crime to leave out artists like Prince, D’Angelo, Sly and the Family Stone, Pleasure, Rick James, Graham Central Station, Kool & the Gang, and many, many others.
Funk is all about making you, the listener, move. It’s about making you dance above all else. There’s no doubt that music has an ability to put us in a trance state, and funk is about locking into that state for as long as possible, whether you’re the creator or the listener. It’s quite hypnotic.
Now, funk as a genre is simply defined by a few sonic characteristics that pioneering music artists of the genre in the late ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s had in common—and we can’t dive into these characteristics and the history of funk without paying homage to the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown.
How James Brown pioneered the sound of funk
According to the James Brown biopic (a must-watch for any music creator), he treated every instrument as a drum. Saxophones, guitars, and bass—they were all drums, coming together and hitting different notes at different times, syncopating on upbeats and always emphasizing the downbeat to create a harmony of funk and groove.
My favorite way that James Brown would create this effect was through a technique called “question and answer” or “call and response.” It’s a powerful songwriting device, and once you master it, you can create memorable grooves with ease.
Below, let’s analyze a childhood favorite of mine, “The Payback” by James Brown.
Breaking down “The Payback” (1973)
From the very first downbeat, you’re thrust into the world of James Brown. The bassline, panned center, drops in the key of B♭ minor, right on the one. We then hear an electric guitar panned right playing a B♭min chord with a wah effect on the two-and beat. This is already creating a question and answer effect. Meanwhile, a simple drumbeat with a shaker holds down the groove steadily.
Immediately following the wah guitar on two-and, we hear a muted guitar playing a riff on beat four. No note is haplessly placed, and we can hear every element sitting in its own sonic space as far as frequency and time (I’ll just make a quick note that arranging like this will 100% make it easier for you to mix your music, since you aren’t fighting to carve out space in a wall of sound).
James Brown’s vocal techniques
Once the horns play those long tones and the fabulous female background vocals come in, it’s time for the icing on the cake. James Brown is doing his signature grunted style of vocal; to the untrained ear it could sound like nonsense, but James Brown’s vocal is directing everything that happens in the song, creating a literal call and response.
Not only that, but James Brown’s vocal acts like a drum here, coming in on certain beats and staying out of the way of others.
40 seconds into the track, the main groove of the song drops. We find more call and response between the two guitars, while the drums, percussion, and bass hold down the downbeats with precision and purpose.
Call and response between the electric guitar and vocals
An electric guitar panned left holds down some double stop chords (a tritone of D♭ and G moving chromatically up to a tritone of D and A♭, and then back down chromatically to D♭ and G) as the “question” part of the arrangement. The wah guitar panned right plays a phrase off of a B♭min7 double stop chord, coming in on the third downbeat, as the “answer” of the arrangement.
This happens for the rest of the song’s duration, but notice James Brown’s vocals almost never get in the way of the third downbeat during the wah guitar’s answer. Now, the wah guitar adds emphasis and embellishment on every lyric that James Brown sings, giving it space to play its role. This helps tell the story of the song (here’s an example).
“The Payback” interpolated in Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta”
A quote so iconic it was interpolated by Kendrick Lamar on “King Kunta”:
I can dig rappin.. (wah guitar)
I’m ready, I can dig scrappin (wah guitar)
But I can’t, dig that, backstabbin (Oh no!)
Call and response gives every note a meaning and a purpose, with each falling into place. The background vocals are responding to the lead vocalist, the second rhythm guitar is responding to the lead vocalist and to the first rhythm guitar, and the first rhythm guitar is creating interest by starting the “call,” or asking the question. Clock the track in at about 97 BPM, and you’ve got yourself some serious funk.
The characteristics of funk (as heard in “The Payback”)
Clean, bright guitar tones
But what about that signature sound of funk? You can find it here in “The Payback.”
As a guitarist, I’m always first captivated by the bright and simplistic nature of these guitar tones. Jimmy Nolen (James Brown’s guitarist) could be seen rocking a hollowbody guitar into a Fender Twin with the cleanest and jangliest tones you’ll ever hear.
If you want to have an easier time playing some funky passages, leave off the distortion or excessive saturation. These kinds of effects smear transients, taking away from the percussive nature that Jimmy Nolen’s signature guitar riffs are known for—again, everything is a drum.
Fat bass tones and flatwound strings
For bass tones and techniques, it can get a little varied. Performed by Fred Thomas, the sound of “The Payback” is that old-school, thuddy, flatwound, heavy low end sound and it truly carries the groove. If you’re chasing the sound of James Brown, by all means, grab a P bass or even a J bass, throw on some La Bella flats, and get funkin’. That said, roundwound strings can have a brighter, funky sound as well.
Tight, punchy drums
As far as the drums, they are tuned tight, and the snare has that signature ring and pop to it. There’s a theme here, if you haven’t picked it up: tight and defined transients. Finally, lay on the horns, with their blaring and tight delivery that’s always blended seamlessly in tone and rhythm.
Music modes and chord theory
Harmonically, “The Payback” is based around B♭min, and more specifically B♭ Dorian (the minor scale with a raised 6th); you’ll find that many funk songs are based in the Dorian mode.
Funk isn’t solely relegated to minor keys, though (as you’ll see later when we break down one of the most sampled James Brown tunes ever). Many funk songs will also utilize dominant chords and the Mixolydian mode to communicate an overall funky aura, with some even moving between the Mixolydian and Dorian modes, as Jimmy Nolen does here in “The Payback.”
Chicken scratch guitar technique
Again, funk as a genre cannot be defined by just a few modes or scales, because at the end of the day, the spirit of the music will make the tune sound funky—not just the chords that are being played.
With that being said, as we analyze the main guitar riff (panned left), we hear a common theme that appears not just in James Brown’s music, but in funk across many decades. Jimmy Nolen plays the aforementioned D♭ and G double stop chords, creating a minor 6th chord on top of the B♭ root being played by the bass. Using his “chicken scratch method,” where the strings are muted to create a tight and scratchy sound, Nolen plays these chords in a 16th-note strumming pattern, releasing the strings on some beats and muting them on others.
He then moves the chord up one half step, to a D and A♭ double stop chord, creating a B♭ dominant 7th on top of the B♭ root being played by the bass while strumming the same 16th-note pattern with his “chicken scratch” muting method. This incorporates both the Mixolydian sound (dominant) and Dorian (minor) sound of funk, creating a complex harmonic palette for the other musicians to play off of.
Breaking down “Funky Drummer” (1970)
According to WhoSampled, “Funky Drummer” by James Brown has been sampled 1,995 times (as of August 2025). We owe this mostly to the infamous “Funky Drummer Break” (played by drummer Clyde Stubblefield) that comes in at around the 5:20 mark.
But before you jump to that timestamp and cue up your multisampler, let’s take some time to break down the groove as a whole, as there are even more call and response techniques and funky methods to be learned from “Funky Drummer.”
Music theory
From the moment the needle drops, we get a funky pentatonic line in the key of D from the band in unison. From there, they shift down into C, where the song falls into a pocket of bouncing between Fdom9 and C13 for next three minutes.
Pay attention to the guitar panned left. There’s no chicken scratch / 16th-note groove played by the guitar. Instead, Jimmy Nolen is playing a riff bouncing off of the C pentatonic scale.
Despite this guitar pattern lacking the busy, clanking pattern we heard in “The Payback,” it doesn’t feel like anything is missing. This is why funk is not a formula. It’s about listening to your bandmates and filling the space where needed.
Clyde Stubblefield’s classic drum groove
The reason why we aren’t missing that funky syncopated feeling here is in the title of the song: the funky drummer. Clyde Stubblefield is laying down one of the most legendary grooves that would change modern music as we know it. Between the 16th notes on the hi-hats, the dynamics of the snare drum and where he’s accenting certain 16th notes, and the kick never quite landing on the one, the rest of the band doesn’t have to play anything too complicated to fall into his pocket.
Organ and saxophone
The organ and right-panned rhythm guitar comp the chord changes behind the band, while the horns accent the snare hits that happen on two-e-and-a and four-e-and-a, while outlining the chord changes. We also get solos from the organist and saxophonist in this first section of the song.
It’s all a beautiful funky harmony between the entire band, but let’s break down the call and response that happens between the guitar and the rest of the ensemble.
Music theory of the groove
With the C13 chord being the tonal landing place of the groove, it acts as an answer and resolution to the Fdom9 chord which precedes it. The pentatonic riff played by the guitar panned left is the question, which lands over the F9. The horns which accent the snare hits land on the C13 chord, acting as the answer to the question.
Call and response
James Brown’s vocal also plays into this question and answer, with his part being the question and the horns answering his vocal phrases.
Cut out the lights (horn hits)
And call the law (horn hits)
Cut out the lights (horn hits)
And call the law (horn hits)
Standin’ over there (horn hits)
The devil’s son in law (horn hits)
As far as instrumentation, “Funky Drummer” follows the same formula as “The Payback,” but with an added organ. The organ is such a versatile instrument in funk music, as it can be played quite percussively, padding chords in the background or serving as a nice warm lead for solos like those we hear in “Funky Drummer.”
Make your own funk music
Between “The Payback” and “Funky Drummer,” there’s a lot to be learned from James Brown about funk—not just as a genre, but as a musical philosophy. Don’t just stop at philosophy though; put it into practice by exploring the sounds of Soul’s Revenge, a sample pack inspired by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.
Incorporate funk samples crafted by top musicians into your own music:
August 21, 2025
