I wrote this piece around the time I moved from Seattle to Utah. I was in my early twenties. As I mentioned in another post, I enjoy using the jazz minor modes in funk music. This was my first composition to do so. The Bb augmented chord which makes up the third mode of the G jazz minor scale is emphasized in the main riff, as are the two modes built off of the E and F# -7b5 chords. The solos take place over the C and D dominant chords. There is a section that features a series of dominant 7ths in a II7-V7-I7 type progression. These chords briefly take the piece outside of G jazz minor.
I made this recording using my Eric Johnson Stratocaster. The amp is my Vox 15-watt. The chords and bass were prerecorded on my BOSS RC-2 loop station. Some of the leads were worked out previous to the recording, while others are improvised.
I don't know when I wrote Funksylvania. It's a jam that I've tinkered with for many years. Explaining it will be more complicated than the blues and major mode pieces I've posted so far have been.
Some of my favorite scales for funk music are the modes of the jazz minor scale. The jazz minor scale is a synthetic scale, which means it is derived from the traditional major scale by altering one note by a half-step. This one alteration creates drastic differences in the character of the chords spelled out by the scale.
When the rules of creating tertian chords are applied to the traditional G major scale and its modes--G(do) A(re) B(mi) C(fa) D(sol) E(la) F#(ti) G(do)--most of the chords that result are very stable, commonly used, consonant chords: GMaj7, Amin7, Bmin7, CMaj7, D7, Emin7, F#-7b5.
When the rules of creating tertian chords are applied to the jazz minor scale and its modes--G A Bb C D E F# G--the chords that result are filled with commotion and dissonance: Gmin7b5, Amin7, Bbmaj7#5, C7, D7, Emin7b5, F#min7b5. The dissonant tritones in these chords, and the lack of any stable resolution of them, are perfect for colorful jazz-funk music.
Funksylvania can be divided into three repeating sections. The first section begins with a funky riff based on the E Locrian ♮2 mode of the jazz minor scale. The second section contains ascending power chords formed from the various flat, natural, and sharp fifths that appear in the jazz minor scale. After repeating these two sections a couple of times, Funksylvania shifts into a funky vamp that climbs from C7, to D7, to Emin7b5, to F#minb5. After the vamp climaxes, the whole piece returns to the first section. Tasty chords and riffs formed from the jazz minor modes are peppered over the top of all three sections. The form may be repeated as often as desired. An improvised solo begins the first time the funk vamp of section three is played. This section allows for improvised melodies based on the exotic Lydian Dominant, Mixolydian b6, Locrian ♮2, and Super Locrian modes. The solo continues over the repeating form until the soloist decides to be done. All of the jazz minor modes are given a chance to sing. If this all sounds a bit complicated to some of my non-musician readers, that's because it is. But don't worry--as a listening experience, Funksylvania offers easy, tasty, funky goodness with some unexpected but pleasant melodic and harmonic twists. I recorded this version with my Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster. I used a Vox AC15 amplifier. I prerecorded all guitar parts on my BOSS RC-2 Loop Station, except for the improvised solo beginning at 1:12, which is played over the top of the looped recording. The BOSS pedal also provided the prerecorded drums.
