Funk, As Digested by a Classical Musician 

Hello everyone, just a follow-up comment. Thanks to everyone who is being open-minded with me. I'm simply a classical pianist/composer that hasn't been exposed to a wide variety of music in my formal training, and am curious about different genres. This video chronicled my introduction to funk, I included a piece I came up with as has become a tradition in these Sound Bank videos. The pieces I write for these videos are original works of mine in how I like to hear and create music, not replicas of whatever inspiration I draw from. They are simply INSPIRED by whatever I am focusing the video on, whether it's a genre, form, composer, etc. I think that is obvious but some people are not fully getting that. I have no intention of minimizing the scope of any genre by my analysis or my approach to becoming familiar with it. This is the case for both "foreign" genres to me like this one, and for new types of music I come across within the "classical music" realm.

3:23 "OhKay then, here's the other thing if you're using a tRYpoD...."

"Ok now here's the other thing: If you're using a tripod..." LOL

You are a gift, not only to the world of music, but the world in general, because of your humble, positive attitude, and openness of sharing/exploring! Your composition has a reasonably nice jazz-funk type of feel, but as a Black American, more-or-less blues/country/roots musician, the term funk carries an implication of being dance driving. I can see that you have a sense of humor about your musical adventure. One day, you'll have that experience of having a groove just pop into your consciousness in a way that immediately affects your entire body and being, and you'll get this feeling like a "mad-scientist" and you'll smile that grateful, knowing smile. You may say to yourself, "Damn, that's funky," but at the same time you'll know that it's a feeling, and it can't be put into words. Your work and your approach to Life are beautiful and enjoyable! Thank you! Be at Peace!

Cool. It kinda sounds like if Philip Glass got funky. :-)

Not only is this musically interesting, but you have really great visual imagery. And a nice dog. Subbed

Nahre, you are too cool. I can't take it

From a French musicologist and funk addict here : Great video, I really liked your work and your approach to try an analyse that style you're not familiar with. I've seen many many great classical musicians that wouldn't even have tried to tackle this particular style. And as a funk and musicology lover, it's always interesting to have access to analysis from a great musician, but uneducated in a particular style. (kind of a naive approach, but with great ears / mind / fingers). What strikes me (in a neutral but caring way) is that your micro analysis of the musical material, and how it's organized over time is accurate : downbeats, dephasing patterns, double croches accents, modes and so on... And I am quite surprised how you managed to digest this musical material and started to making it yours, obviously with classical idiomatisms, harmonic ideas and stuff. Good job :) In my sense on the other hand, what is lacking would be the macro analysis of a piece of funk, and therefore a deep look at what defines or makes something groove. How the material is organized over longer periods (4, 8, 16 bars), and how the time and beat is used to construct a rhythm-based phrase. But don't worry, in my experience this is a part of music that most of classical players struggle with (even if France gets a special mention for not grooving), and for a first time you did great :) I think what define groove is the thin line between suggested offbeats or accents and a strong down beat. The ambivalence between the rhythmic accents and phrases that are keeping us in the air, while the strong down beat is continually trying to throw that ass on the ground. Even if the down beat is suggested, thats the magic of the groove. I'll say that for me, someone who grooves (really grooves, doesn't matter the musical media), is the one that can shift time (stretching, compressing it...) while keeping a strong and steady (really strong and steady) time signature. To achieve that, you absolutely need to shake your booty down to the ground. Even if it's in your head, never stop burning this disco out. Grooves from France :)

It will be funny to see "Punk, as digested by a classical musician" :D

I loved the technical description. Is not usual at all to find such a no-bs technical analysis in music. I'd love to hear that over some drums.

It's, like, Herbie Hancock but as interpreted by Steve Reich. Extremely cool stuff.

I know nothing about playing the piano and I enjoyed watching this... :]

Great videos and also incredible video editing! Do you edit the videos yourself? Looking forward to see what you come up with!

First of all, Nahre, you must have friends because you are such a unique, curious, cool, extremely helpful, talented, and delightful person. I can tell all of that because your animal is happy and perky. Thank you for ALL of your inspiring videos! I am binging your channel, and you know it's certainly way better than Netflix. In my family when someone cooks or does something well we give them a unique SLAP award to show them the appropriate honor and appreciation. So today, you receive for your videos the "Dag Girl Yo Analysis Sho Nuff Tasty Slap"! In all categories, you're cookin'! Thanks for improving my mind today. You probably worked this out already to genius levels, but here is my take on FUNK: Think BIG stretchy elastic first beat, and a call and response like the blues, because funk is a simple conversation. Funk space has a tactile shape, sound, and feel. Space is also music. Understand that everything your mind hears doesn't need to be played. Funk is also a physical groove, meaning your body might dance the portion of the improvisation you don't play. Like any other music, funk has it's subgenres, subtleties, and attitudes some of which may not be your own. Often, less is more in funk music, similar to more basic blues forms. Yet funk offers you the opportunity to express yourself in the most sophisticated ways. If I could target the most important aspect of funk, I'd say it's the space you give, allowing the music to breathe. I hope this helps some. May goodness and mercy chase you down like a pearl of greatest worth searching for a friend to adorn.

Splendid, this was really interesting to watch... Subscribed! Have you heard of Snarky Puppy? A lot of the musicians inside that "Funk orchestra" are classically trained from what I know. They do some crazy stuff on the keyboards! Check them out if you have some time :)

Sounds more minimalist than funky. But sweet.

Since you are a keyboard player, there is one guy you gotta study, and that is the late great Bernie Worrell. He was a classically trained piano guy, julliard, the whole bit, but his work in the Parliament/Funkadelic series of bands had an impact that cannot be overstated. I loved his work, and you can't get any funkier, and due to George Clinton's generous attitude towards sampling, the work of Mr. Worrell has permeated into every nook and cranny of the music biz. Yes, there are big contributions from Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, and the guy from the funk brothers who played bass with one finger, sorry i can't remember his name, but as a keyboard artist if you study bernie's work you would learn a lot. It is too bad that the music companies won't release the raw isolated tracks available, so one could see exactly what they were doing. It would be highly educational, because once it is mixed down to regular stereo, the individual instruments can't easily be separated. In a complex mix it can be hard to pluck out what the keyboard guy is doing, and they are often doing an awful lot!

You have a very funky dog to inspire you.

Sounds a bit more like Steve Reich on the Wurlitzer to me! Ha, great video

@3:25 did that guy totally try to mansplain tripods to you?

Here's an easy project for you: Disco, as digested by a classical musician. Tap into your inner Handel...

Cerebral funk. Sounds like Gentle Giant. I love it!

You should try Neo Soul next. The moonchild style

At 2:41...appears to be in a Toronto park (Earl Bales by the Don River). That's awesome, didn't know you were Canadian. Love your vids

Most people don’t realize the hard work of not only composing the piece (in an unfamiliar style for you) but also of creating the video around it. Excellent job. Uberfunky. Super cool. Thank you!

Nice video! The piece sounds a bit like one of Steve Reich's counterpoint pieces.

Pingu! 💕 I loved seeing your process and talking about your struggles and how you worked with what you had and how you overcame that to get your final piece! It's so inspiring! 😄✨ your editing is everything 🙀💕

Aw, Nahre. You're my friend whether you like or not 😝

Totally recommend you Herbie Hancock's stuff. I think you would like this :D By the way, great vid :)

"I wasn't introduced to funk until very recently, so first I had to spend some time deliberately listening to some recordings." This sounds like the premise for a totally bumpin' movie.

Good stuff, I really like the visuals in your video. The rhythm was a little too uniform for funk in my opinion. It might've been cool to add some different syncopations.

Happy (belated?) birthday and thanks for the music. Next up hip-hop :)

Even if you have no friends, which surprises me, you have all of us as your friends.

You played well, and I definitely got a funk vibe from the piece. What I would say is worth exploring further is the role that bass and drums play in setting the foundation of the groove. I can recommend two short videos on RU-vid, " Bootsy's Basic Funk Formula " and " Dennis Chambers - How to play "In The Pocket" ". There are lots of styles of funk, but I think stripping it back to basics with just bass and drums helps attune the ear to the feel of funk, not in an effort to clone what came before (as that would be a waste of your own musicality), but to expose the subtleties of what makes something funky. Aside from that, really like the idea of your video, and hope your musical explorations help uncover more music you enjoy.

While technically fantastic there's one crucial element missing. BASS Still brilliant

Hi, Nahre! I have a suggestion for a next video. :) You could try something like bossa nova. Maybe at the beach to remind Brazil a little more, lol. I think that you could create a really nice music merging the bossa nova style with your influences. Hope you like the idea. :)

I think it would be fun if you tried some neo-soul - it's got that off-kilter laid back rhythm and usually some jazzy chops too!

I was given a jazz piece,as a young muscian mostly trained in classical music I was lost I didn't know how to properly swing notes , note values were not held all the way ,it made me feel stupid, I guess part of being a muscian is being well rounded

Your piece reminds me more of funky jazz than funk, something that the Brecker Brothers or Stanley Clarke might do. Pretty cool though.

The odd number of notes over an even number of beats is definitely a big thing in funk, especially if you space them evenly (count 7 over a 4/4, for instance). It leads to some really cool syncopation that doesn't make "sense" if you think about it in terms of "swing" and 16th notes.

Subbed. Also my first comment on a YT vid ever. I really like this series- thanks for documenting your detailed, analytical approach to creating music. Plus, listen to Vulfpeck to expose yourself to high doses of funk in a short period of time. :>

first time here, and nooooo!! I love your accent :D

So I liked the piece. One thought: is that superimposing a 12/8 feel or having the fundamental pulse subdivision be 3 is cool, but a lot of funk is more based on a swinging 16th note feel. Not always obviously, but often. The tendency with 3's or 6's as the underlying subdivision is to imply a World beat. If you listen to the rhythmic feel of James brown or sly or parliament, Stevie wonder, etc, you will hear the swinging 16th note. You can also mechanically weight 1/8th notes by thinking of a swinging pair of 1/8ths as actually 5 1/6th notes where the first 3 are tied and the last 2 are tied. This then is a weighted pulse and then playing back against the beat, laying back, swings the notes more. The groove was cool and I liked the sections and look forward to hearing more explorations!

great video! as a classical pianist i fully understand you. nobody wants to teach or make us listen to other genres except for classical and that sucks. no wonder they're called "conservatoirs" haha. you should try and approach neo-soul , or bebop, i'm pretty sure it'll suit you, especially the neo-soul with the awesome sounding rhodes EP. hope that one day both of us will master one of those jazz subgenres :)) from now on you gained another sub, great job

Subbed - I like voice-over and overall video construction the most :)

Even though you're unfamiliar with the genre, I think you did a great job finding the funk inside you

Fascinating perspective! Listen to Vulfpeck if you want to see a modern funk group. And remember, funk is first and foremost dance music. Try going to clubs and analyze what works and what doesn’t in the music there.

It was super cool to see how you attacked the piece--was super funky; I think you nailed the style well! That wurlitzer tone was incredibly biting and perfect. I'd also LOVE to hear it with drum backbeat and a bass!

You could make an entire genre out of this style! It's like a fusion of minimalist classical and funk. It's great alone but I'm imagining it with a full band think it would awesome!

The wonderful things about the Fusion Era … everything & anything kinds of elements & styles of music was able to be mixed …

First of all I adore you girl. I've watched a lot of your videos and you make me want to play better every day. You are so talented and you blow me away with some of the things you play, but as you so well pointed out your forte is not funk music. On the other hand mine is. Where I grew up in the inner city in New York City it was more accepted for musical performances in the hood. (that's my neighborhood btw(bytheway) Your timing is perfect but I have to disagree about it being on the down beat. It is more on the up beat., but the pulse changes from being on the down beat to being on the up beat. The way I learned it is you put one hand like a puppet and the other hand you put in the puppets mouth and rotate up and down with the bpm. Then you look at the pulse differently like playing doubletime, then you say "One e and a" to simulate 16th notes, where " One" and "and" are 1 and 3, and "e" "a" are 2 and 4 as you rotate the moving hand in the puppets mouth. (hey I didn't make it up but it sure made a lot of sense) Bear with me for a moment. The beauty is in you alternating the accent from down beat to up beat. In other words sometimes your right hand hits harder and then the left hand becomes the main accent indiscriminately. That means whoever is listening is trying to follow which time is going to be the up and with is time the accent is going to be on the down beat. And it creates a driving dance beat. The best correlation is comparing it to an african drum beat on a ceremonial african dance beat. Very rhythmic and trance like. Oh and it's very repetitive. Here is an example of my funny funk song I wrote about dancing to an award on stage. Hope I didn't confuse you and you get to listen. soundcloud.com/jestunes/this-award Thanks

congrats on 100k views! ive always appreciated your channel, glad to see that it seems your channel is really starting to explode like it deserves to.

I would recommend giving yourself another month or so to really get the funk attitude in your system. Pretty good still. Maybe for your next challenge, you can do a bossa nova.

For me that has a jazz-funk vibe. So I wouldn't classify it as a funk piece. But who cares? I like your playing and the music you come up with when approaching a genre you aren't familiar with.

I can definitely hear the classical influence, I don't think that's a bad thing. It's quite unique, never heard this type of music on a wurlitzer.

You'd make George Clinton proud with your funk piece, Nahre.

Friends are for the weak

Nice job. For someone who is unfamiliar with funk music, you definitely got in the right direction. You are clearly a talented player and composer. I can hear that you are more at home in the classical / modern classic genre. I liked the piece you played, but also have some points how I feel you could make it sound more "funky". Rhythmically I felt parts got a little to 'robotic / static sounding for funk. For funk It's important to get the right 'feel', you don't want to sound metronome perfect the whole time. There has to be some 'swing' to it. It's a bit difficult to describe in words. You also could have incorporated some chord changes to spice up the harmonic side.

Of course a classically trained musician is capable of doing such a feat. With trained ears and heightened observant capabilities as well knowledge, genres can be deciphered and analyzed. This attempt at funk however did yield a different result than actual funk. It's more complex in terms of meter changes and sense of pulse compared to the average funk tune. And almost to me, sounds a little minimalist. Which is why some may have a harder time finding a groove. I love this piece though, as a pianist and aspiring composer I wish to see more of this. INSTANT SUB!

I really like what you did here. I am a jazz pianist/composer albeit with classical training as well. I think what you demonstrate is that there is much unexplored territory in breaking down musical genre barriers. Keep on keeping on!

Awesome! Every time I find a channel like yours I’m always angry at the youtube algorithm for not floating more stuff like this to my awareness.

how did u make the sound wave curving around the keyboard effect?

Very impressive, but I think music is best explained just by the feel. Getting too into details can get you in the wrong headspace. Of course we're all different. Nonetheless it was a good piece.

That was VERY cool ! Funk is not easy to master, and your performance was nice.

3:36 The instrument behaves as follows when its batteries become worn.  reface CS The OSC lamp will flash.  reface DX The message “Battery Low!” will be dis- played on-screen.  reface CP The TYPE lamp will flash.  reface YC The WAVE lamp will flash

This and the blues one are cool, but I prefer all the knowledge you put into the BeBop video.

ok now heavy metal lol jk

I think that the "odd number of notes" thing you were talking about it just due to the nature of syncopation. To me, it's about the 1 and 3 in the kick and the snare on 2 and 4 with the further subdivisions rhythmically layered in in other instruments or sounds. The key with this is balancing the basic 4/4 feel with whatever syncopated rhythms exist in the upper layers. To make it even funkier, people will lag or flam notes or even swing the eighth notes to any prime value (not just triplets with 2-1 ratio!) like 3-2 quintuplets etc. Another thing about funk is that each instrument should either play its own rhythmic line or be in unison with someone else. For that tight funky feel, it's really nice to have each syncopated rhythms different that each other like the rhythm cogs in a grove machine, otherwise, the layers become cacophonous. I hope you checked out Parliament and maybe even newer funk bands like Vulfpeck?

Oh boy the guy interrupting you and NOT reading the clear signals that you don’t want to talk lol that’s awful

Awe! You seem nice! You should have plenty of friends! ;-D Subbed, because that was awesome.

How did I not know about this channel sooner?!

"i don't have any friends" rip you should find friends

This is really good and thought out but I believe that it needs a little slap bass but other than that great work👍

A very interesting video, although it sounds way more like art/progressive rock from 70s-80s (Emerson Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, Camel), which is expected, since people in those bands are all trained as classical musicians and, I guess, one can expect a certain similarity in the way of thinking between classically trained musicians.

멋있습니다. 피아노 멋지게 치시네요. 목소리도 멋지시고.

Amazing video!!! Nice to know the breakdown!

There’s one thing you missed. Unfortunately, it just so happens to be the most important...... you gotta put some stank into it!!!

Well you made me a believer!! Subscribed!! Where did you get your training from? Keep up the good work!! #Atlanta

It's more like digested by a scientist

Okay but the animation tho 💯

"I don't have friends" I relate so hard

Annnd subbed! Sweet tunes

Ms. Nahre Funkenstien.

Fantastic video! I really appreciate the academic breakdown and vocabulary. Very well put together. Bobby is getting down with a mega stink face at 0:27 and at 2:14. Great comic relief. Keep up the great work! wonderful project!

Yes two words - Bernie Worrell. Can't get past him when it comes to funk and keys. And he was classically trained.

Not a bad first attempt. You've definitely got the sound and the rhythm. (By the way, I love your videos and especially these series of videos.) I notice you like to do long, continuous melodic lines even when you're not playing classical styles. In styles like funk or blues, you can sometimes use rests to your advantage. Sometimes less is more. Play a line, take a brief stop, and play a slightly longer line to expand on the previous line. It helps with the groove; it also helps with the melody. But that's secondary to what your real mission is. Your attempts at exploration are deeply inspiring and wonderful to see.

Nah this was as funky as it comes, killed it

You need to do this with a classical piece inspired by Progressive/Technical Death Metal. Bands like Archspire, Martyr, Beyond Creation, Animals as Leaders, etc...

Don't over analyse the funk! It's the brain dancing. Think stiff but not that stiff.

1:43 Very superstitious

hmmmm it's nice but not quite funky

....also, got to groove that body when you play funk, and also girl...you was getting hella hit on at the park that day hahaha

Great pocket piece and spectacular video editing, Nahre. Each video just keeps getting better! Keep up the funk. :)

독특한 접근법에 흥미로운 주제까지 너무 잘 봤습니다. 응원합니다 자주 올려 주세요 :)

Your approach to stuff unknown to you is admirable! It's definitely very interesting to watch how you analyse your discomfort zones. Your playing (the funk) may not be to best yet like you probably know but honestly it makes everything just even better. It's so cool to see your approach and see you analyse your own development as a musician in new areas of aesthetics!!

U should listen to the breadth of Prince's discography. Modern Mozart. As an old skool funkateer, I would just have encouraged you to slow the tempo down a bit. I loved your video, info and explanation! Subscribed! I would assume u are spoken to quite a bit. You're smart, talented and beautiful!

Nooo. She digested it. Now it's a waste.

Well, to be honest....it does sound like a mathematically contrived and metronomically extrapolated version. It's very robotic and definitely could have been computer generated, from its lack of soul. That being said= I have no doubt that you are a fine classical musican, but funk---like blues has to be LIVED, and FELT not mechanically interpeted like a formula.

It's obvious that you don't have the funk !! You sound too contrived;! I'm a jazz funk drummer/ Fashion Designer. I suggest you listen to : Herbie Hancock on chameleon ,you will learn so much on feel ... Higher ground : Stevie wonder Cissy strut: The meters Get funky ; live , breathe being a funkateer .I make suits and designs that are inspired by the funky 70s era !!! I studied music composition at a music Conservatoire for 4 years under a great Indian composer called John Mayer who created jazz fusion music in the 60s.He was a child prodigy in classical violin and won a scholarship to the royal academy of music in London... Mayer inspired me to write my first fusion symphony based on an indian raga for my unique fashion show played by a 52 piece orchestra a few years ago. You can play any genre of music if you study the nuances and absorb the music. Good luck x greeting from England xx

The best musicians have a fearlessness about them. They're not afraid to take a risk, to go out in a limb. In a word they're brave. You have that quality. Go for it! Totally dug what you did here.