Where can I find sheet music for a Funk and Ska band?

[AunShui]

Hi everyone.

 

I recently started a Funk and Ska project with some friends, and we're finding that getting music is difficult. Usually i just grab a Guitar Pro file of a song and everyone in the band learns it from that, or we figure it out based off the recording.

 

However, this is the Drummer's first real band, but she can pick up a beat from a recording pretty easily, and though the bassist and I are pretty cool with learning things from recordings/improvising, the horn section is entirely trained from a concert band point of view: learn the sheet music and play it as it is, scales and improvisation are unimportant.

 

Basically, I need sheet music from popular ska and funk songs arranged for these instruments:

 

Guitar

Bass

Set

Aux Percussion

Keys

Vocals (lead and backup)

Alto Sax

Bari Sax

Trumpet, maybe x2

maybe trombone

 

Any links to sites that either sell the sheet music or sites that have decent Guitar Pro arrangements of these songs for the instruments above would be appreciated.

 

Any other tips about getting this sort of a group to work together would also be cool.

[rhat]

 

Hi everyone. I recently started a Funk and Ska project with some friends, and we're finding that getting music is difficult. Usually i just grab a Guitar Pro file of a song and everyone in the band learns it from that, or we figure it out based off the recording. However, this is the Drummer's first real band, but she can pick up a beat from a recording pretty easily, and though the bassist and I are pretty cool with learning things from recordings/improvising, the horn section is entirely trained from a concert band point of view: learn the sheet music and play it as it is, scales and improvisation are unimportant. Basically, I need sheet music from popular ska and funk songs arranged for these instruments: Guitar Bass Set Aux Percussion Keys Vocals (lead and backup) Alto Sax Bari Sax Trumpet, maybe x2 maybe trombone Any links to sites that either sell the sheet music or sites that have decent Guitar Pro arrangements of these songs for the instruments above would be appreciated. Any other tips about getting this sort of a group to work together would also be cool.

 

 

 

Yup ,, You wont find sheet music. There is no such thing in rock and roll for the most part, Your horn players are going to have to get it off the recording. a keyboard may help at figuring out the horn parts ,, but building up the harmony that most horn parts have ,, is somthing they will have to do on their own. I played in a band with horns years ago ... we just handed them the record and said learn these parts. If we could do it so could they. rat

[wades_keys]

 

: learn the sheet music and play it as it is, scales and improvisation are unimportant.

 

 

SO they are expecting someone to become a transcriptionist for them? You do understand that horns aren't in the key of C (Bb for trumpet) so you would have to transpose the charts anyway - he's reading C major and playing B flat.

 

Time to let these cats know if they wanna play rock, then it's play be ear.

 

Bottom line - you need charts for each instrument, transposed to its key. This aint a matter of grabbin some guitarpro file and handing it to them.

[AunShui]

That's sort of a bummer. The school's jazz band did a butchered arrangement of purple haze a few years ago, and a decent Shining Star last year, but it's scored for a larger group and sounded very thin when we played it, plus no guitar solo or vocals.

 

I know that horns are in different keys from one another and the guitar and bass, but i was hoping that someone had already done the dirty work. I guess we'll just have to figure it out on our own based on Guitar Pro files, whatever sheet music we can find, and the recording.

[The*Ataris]

It's not rocket surgery. I mean...it's like this:

 

Reel Big Fish

"Beer"

 

Verse (Bm, G, D, A)

Chorus (G, D, A)

 

Bassline is pretty much I, III, V, III over every chord...

 

Now, if all you band educated musicians can't figure out how arrange the rest of it, then maybe it's time you start learning. Pay close attention to the vocal melody and go from there...

 

Tada! A ska song!

 

Funk? Go find some Tower of Power and get on with yo' bad self...

[Chunkytele]

I am in a funk band as well. Recordings are difficult to find let alone sheet music. The beauty of the music is the keys and changes are fairly simple. You should be able to capture most of the song off of the recording. Our Keyboard player can transpose using software. Our bassist has a Funk Bass technique pocket guide that has about any groove possible outlined. We constantly listen to EWF, Ohio Players, Chic, Slave, Brother Johnson, Kool, Tower of Power , Rufus, Mandrill, Marley, Lakeside, Graham, Commodores, Mayfield, James Brown, Muddy, Brecker Brothers, deodato, Seawind, Prince, Talk heads, Funkadelic, Phish, Herbie Hanconk, Duke, cameo, Confunshun. MF, Chile Peppers and some Audioslave etc. That's better than sheet music.

[FlyingKeys]

Back in the day my funk band bought a bunch of charts from Dave Eskridge. They were really well-done and worked well with our band (2 trumpets, 2 tenors, 1 bari sax and full rhythm section). He's done arrangements for the last few Tower of Power albums and has a lot of their old stuff along with other funk and soul groups. Last I checked his website isn't up - perhaps that means he's not selling his arrangements anymore., but he's a member here, try PMing him.

 

I arranged about half of the charts but it got to be too much time and I felt the horns weren't pulling their weight (in many ways) and finally said {censored} it.

[AunShui]

Thanks for all the input. We're taking a break right now, but when we get back together and decide our set list, i'll make everyone a CD with recordings and then see if I can make any sort of use able arrangement on GP. I'll also look through the literature that my concert band teacher has and see if anything will help me arrange the stuff.