One Nation Under A Groove - Xiongyue Yu Journal Entry 19

The Story of Funk: One Nation Under a Groove

 

Now there is no music lover who is not familiar with the word funk, but this film not only records the birth of funk music and the works and achievements of those music masters who contributed to the development of funk music, but also conveys that funk is not only a musical style, but also a kind of intuition, common sense and spiritual state of existence for musicians. It also became a celebration of the black people's self, who believed that funk music brought them together and was a symbol of their culture and spirit.

 

Just like James Brown, who first brought funk to people's attention, his emphasis on the first beat of the rhythm became the foundation of funk, and the sense of rhythm is the most important foundation of funk. This rhythm is the sense of rhythm that will make people unconsciously want to dance to the beat, influencing the subconscious behavior of the listener. They would argue that this is more inclined to people's primitive intuition, the most instinctive behavior and love from the heart, the rhythm that allows people to be themselves in the music.

 

Sly & The Family Stone, who transformed from a psychedelic rock band, also made a great contribution to the development of funk, as everyone in the band has their own rich musical experience and love and talent for music, and while contributing to the band's performance, they also provide something more valuable, which is a more self-expressive form and style of music playing. For example, bassist Larry Graham created a new way of playing the bass, the Slap, which changed the traditional plucking of the bass by using the thumb to strike the strings at the base of the neck and stopping the strings on the pegs afterwards, resulting in a clear and heavy sound effect. This style of playing has become one of the styles closely associated with funk music, and has become an extremely important part of contemporary bass playing on its own, in contrast to the less pronounced tone of the band. The rhythm of bass and drums was amplified and emphasized, and the rhythm and rhythm became more intense.

Funk was born in a time of prejudice and discrimination when black musicians were hardly taken seriously, but the music was as inclusive as it could be, and Funk and its musicians were not prejudiced against any new ideas, a true melting pot of musical cultures. This musical history has also guided the birth of more modern forms of music. Even though funk music has undergone various changes and developments in the course of time, people know that the genes of rebellion and desire for freedom expressed in the music of funk pioneers will never disappear.