Looking for Funk songs/albums to play along too

Blankso

Senior Member
Around beginner/intermediate level. All the funk stuff I have is to advanced for me right now.
 
Get hold of Soulive's "Doin' Something". There's one song in 5 and some things going on, but for the most part Alan Evans' parts are fairly accessible. What is special about this is the incredible groove. Get this down and when you start in on the Garibaldi stuff you will have the essence down and all the thinking and counting you will be doing won't distract you from grooving.
 
Oh yes the meters. We love the meters!!! Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste is a great drummer. And he always used such a funky (hahhhah) kit
 
The Meters is phd thesis level Imo,and great to listen to,and start working with,but a James Browns greatest hits would be a great place to start,and for me alot easier to work with.Zorro also has a great book/cd the commandments of funk and Rand B drumming,another good book/cd is give the drummer some by Jim Payne
 
Try Groove Essentials 1 & 2 if you haven't already, both have Funk chapters, they're a ton of fun.
 
You might also look up Maceo Parker (who played with James Brown). "Funkoverload" and "Life on Planet Groove". A couple of cuts on Planet Groove will wear you out 11 and 16 minutes long. Fun Stuff. Kenwood Dennard is the drummer on those.
 
Check out the funk volume in Hal Leonard's Drum Play Along series. 8 great tunes in different difficulty levels along with a CD that has tracks with and without drums. The order I'd recommend learning those songs in:

It's Your Thing
Flashlight
Shining Star
Pick Up The Pieces
Superstition
Cold Sweat
Cissy Strut
Soul Vaccination

Of course this is all my personal preference. I personally don't play them exactly like they're written on the charts, but rather learning the basic groove and adding my own fills and variations. This especially helps on Superstition as virtually every measure has some mild variation.
 
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