Some of my funk tunes - advice

TeleMarshall

Hello Fretboarders – I used to do a bit of transcribing and I used to notate the transcriptions in Musescore. Eventually, I got pretty good at writing notation and I now write whole pieces in Musescore and play guitar over the top. Unfortunately, the backing sounds a bit wooden, but they’re only demo-type things so there's not much point in writing keyboard fills, variations etc.

In any case, I'm thinking of joining a band and I've put some tunes on youtube so people can hear me play. Unfortunately, I'm useless at mixing so if anyone fancies pointing out which bits are too loud etc. I'd appreciate it.

Cheers.

Jimbro66

Nice work @TeleMarshall. Good guitar sound - a 335? Perhaps some influences there from Larry Carlton's Sleepwalk album?

The mix sounds OK, accepting that the backing tracks are just to demo the guitar playing. There were two or three instances where the playing seemed a little tense maybe but on the other hand there were some interesting chromatic phrases in there. As I said, nice work.

TeleMarshall

Hi Jimbro66 – thanks for your comments. The guitar on the first track is a strat, and on the second I'm playing on the neck pickup on a Les Paul, so it's the sort of Gibson 57 Classic tone. Regarding Larry Carlton, he's an excellent player but I can’t say I've heard his Sleepwalk album so it wouldn't be an influence. Nonetheless, listening to it, it's the same sort of light funk/Gibson type sound. In regard to the backing, I have thought about writing out full parts with fills etc but it's too much of a task - you have to notate all the parts and adjust the loudness of most of the notes to make it sound balanced, and it would still probably sound clunky.

Funkfingers

Both pieces remind me of late period Jeff Beck Group, transitioning into his mid-Seventies solo instrumental phase. 

TeleMarshall said:
the backing sounds a bit wooden

Not "too wooden". Too White. 

IMO, things could do with grooving harder. Think Miles Davis "On The Corner" or "A Tribute To Jack Johnson".

TeleMarshall

Thanks for your comments, Funkfingers. You make a valid point about the backing, but I would mention that they are only basic backing tracks. For example, both tracks are based on a one-bar very simple drum pattern that's repeated through most of the tune without variations, fills, syncopated beats etc. To write out an authentic sounding arrangement for drums, kbd and bass etc that sounded like a proper funk band would take me ages. Still, point taken.

sev112

Spyro Gyra - took me back to my teen years ! Thanks