Anytime I've wanted to get into a new style, the first thing I do is get the music that is the essence of the style, many of the players I like, I find out who influenced them, osmosis is a wonderful thing, for funk, I'd recommend a steady diet of Earth,Wind and Fire, Ohio Players, James Brown ( the hardest working man in show biz ), Parliment and the Funkadelics, etc, timing is very important in funk, hearing the real funk will help alot , ,........