Introduction
Welcome to the world of funk rhythm guitar! This style of guitar playing is a must for any
serious musician wanting to improve his or her rhythm guitar skills.
Generally, good funk players have learned their craft by taking down parts from recordings
or directly from other players. Now, with this video we offer you a clear, concise method
that not only provides all the basic techniques for beginners, but will also challenge the
most experienced professional
Let's begin with some fundamentals:
Right Hand Technique:
Your right hand is the timekeeper. This hand is constantly moving in time with the music;
two up and two downstrokes for each beat (one stroke for each 16th-note subdivision).
There are some exceptions to this rule, however if you are new to this style remember that
itis very rare that you would stop your right hand while playing a funk guitar part. Keep
your arm and wrist loose. Never “fix” your wrist or hand to the guitar. Also avoid “dragging”
your pick across the strings. Instead, try to make it sound as if you are striking all of the
strings simultaneously. Example 1 shows the fundamental right-hand rhythm pattem:
Ex. 1
PVEVAV PVR Ve
P= downstroke
= upstroke
1 2 3 4
It’s important that you memorize the location of the up and down strokes in the bar. They
will always fallin the same place, unless indicated otherwise. With this in mind, up and
down strokes will not be indicated in subsequent examples.
Left Hand Technique:
Your left hand controls the articulation of the notes or chord being played. The rhythm
pattern, percussive scratches and duration of the notes are completely controlled by damp-
ing or depressing the chord with your left-hand on the neck. However, this action should be
very subtle so that your left-hand movement is kept to a minimum - be efficient!Synchronizing the Hands
Isolating the Sixteenths:
Being able to isolate the 16ths is probably the most important fundamental that you must
develop as a funk guitarist. All of the rhythm parts in the video are derived from this basic
skill. Remember to use steady, even strokes while simply “bouncing” your left hand on the
appropriate 16th-note subdivision. Don't exaggerate the attack with your right hand. Use
“tight,” short attacks on each of the 16ths and really try to “lock in” with the metronome or
drum machine.
Combining the Articulations:
Now we'll combine all of the individual attacks into two short rhythm parts:
Ex. 6 exe DeThe “Swing” Feel
‘A swing or “hip-hop feel is difficult to describe in musical terms. The feel is accomplished
by delaying the second and fourth 16th of each beat. It's not really possible to musically
notate this fee! because the amount of swing can vary from one groove to another. In
terms of actually playing a swing feel, your downstroke will remain essentially the same, but
the upstroke should be slightly delayed.
Ex. 8 Seno] Ex. 9
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Bo :
Playing Longer Tones
Now we'll combine longer tones together with the shorter attacks. To play long tones, your
right hand should still move in the constant 16th-note pattern that we've established as our
foundation. However, instead of actually striking the notes, we'll float over the strings
allowing them to ring. Many guitar players have a tendency to stop their right-hand when
playing these longer tones. This is a bad habit because it interrupts the physical flow of
your right-hand which in turn can throw off your time feel.
The example below demonstrates the difference between the constant scratch and this
“floating” right hand. Ex. 10 incorporates this technique into a simple one-bar rhythm part.
Short Tones Long TonosHalf-Step Slide
The half-step slide is a very common device used in funk rhythm Oo G9
guitar playing. Notice that your right-hand must float on the up- Fé —he=,
cycle (second 16th note) of these patterns while the left-hand
articulates the slide. It's very important to play the slide in time
with your left-hand keeping pressure on the fretboard so that the
chord sustains throughout the slide. Examples 11 through 13
demonstrate variations on a simple one-beat slide pattern. Feel
free to either scratch or float the right-hand on beats 2 and 4 S
{indicated as ghost notes):
mes
1
Ex. 12 F
f
Ex. 13
fA —— —
SSS =Combining the Techniques
Here are four short rhythm patterns that combine all four 16th-note attacks with a half-step
slide in either a straight or swing feel:
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Ex. 15
Paar
Ex. 16
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om Ee a eo
Ex. 17
[Brant] FeChords
Much has been written on the subject of chords - far more than we could possibly hope to
cover on this video. However, what we will do is take a look at some of the more commonly
used chord shapes in funk music. Specifically, these are dominant and minor chords.
You'll notice that funk guitar chord inversions typically occur on the top four or five strings
because the lower sirings tend to gat lost in the mix. Be sure to practice these inversions in
different keys.
Dominant Voicings
The term “dominant” applies to the family of chords consisting of a major triad and a low-
ered seventh (root, 3rd, Sth, flatted 7th). Some of the following chord shapes also contain
“extensions” such as the 9th and 13th. Examples 20 through 22 will help you apply the
chord shapes (which may be unfamiliar at this point).
Ex. 18
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Ex. 22 SS ee
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Tricks with Dominant Chords
We can isolate just a few notes out of these chords to create some interesting sounds.
Examples 23 and 24 approach the “tritone” interval (3rd and fiatted 7th of a dominant
chord) from a halt-step below:
Sraicnt] wr Es (es
sah
and Swing
Org Eo os E9
SoMinor Voicings
The minor chord shapes in this section are very similar to the dominant chord shapes on
page 6. The only difference is that the 3rd has been lowered (root, flatted 3rd, 5th). The
major sixth (or 13th) interval in examples 27 and 28 is very typical of “old school funk”
(ie. early James Brown).
Bara
Gm Gmie_ Gmi7 Gri @mieG mi7
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Ex. 28
Gm? Gmié Gmi7 Gm? G mise mi?[Sraint ] Gm?
Example 30 is typical of an Earth, Wind & Fire thythm guitar part. Notice that the
scratches are very pronounced all the way through this example.
Sight
Gm b
mi
Example 31 requires a “shake” on the last chord. Lay
your first finger down on the 8th fret across the 2nd, 3rd
and 4th strings. Using your thumb for leverage on the
back of the neck, push and pullon the strings ina“fan- MYM VY | (my)m ¥
ning” motion (a.k.a. B.B. King vibrato). Technically, the
"shake" in this example will extend the last 16th of each
bar into the begining of the next measure (be sure to
float your right hand for the first two 16ths of each bar).
Brrsight
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aon
Ex. 31
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Single-Note Parts
Playing single-note lines is another way to embellish a rhythm track. Coming up with an
effective line can be a real challenge, as well as a test of musical maturity. Single-note
parts are generally quite short and use very few notes.
Muted /Open Picking
“Muted” picking (a.k.a. “bubble picking” due to it’s percolating sound) requires a strong
picking motion, while at the same time muting slightly with the palm of your right-hand next
to the bridge. “Open” picking simply means that you allow the notes to ring as you play.
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Ex. 32
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Ex. 33
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Ex. 34
‘SuatSkank
‘Skank parts are the most aggressive of the single-note lines. This harsh, percussive style
really cuts through when the band gets going. tis also the most difficult style to master
because it requires that you isolate a single note while simultaneously muting the adjacent
strings with your left-hand. The resutt is a strong, solid tone along with the percussive
attack of two or more strings scratched with the right-hand.
Ee
Ex. 35
‘Sraight
Ami?Ex. 39
Putting it all together...
Now we'll combine chords and single-note lines to create some very interesting rhythm
guitar parts.
Note: Up to this point scratches have been indicated to help you understand the break-
down of each beat. More specifically, the scratch indications defined the location for each
up and down stroke (as outlined in Example 1). Now we'll move into standard notation
where scratches are replaced with the appropriate rest values. It's important that you make
this transition. Hopefully the previous examples will help you visualize where the scratches
should fall. Feel free to rewrite the parts with scratches if necessary.
Ds pe Dis pe
= =B
Double-Stops
The term “double-stop” simply refers to playing two notes at the same time. The tech-
niques for playing double-stop parts are basically the same as playing single-note lines:
the most important of which is to keep your pick moving! When coming up with your own
double-stop parts it helps to have a good harmonic understanding of the fretboard.
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Example 44 is a “New Orleans”-style shuffle part (a la “The Meters”). This example moves
around a lot and would be considered a “featured part” rather than supportive rhythm-
section line. It combines double-stops with a muted single-note line at the end of bar two.
Even though scratches are not indicated, feel free to scratch on the 16th-note subdivsions
(wherever it feels right) in place of the rests. In this example | tend to scratch the last two
‘16ths of bar one, and the third 16th in the first beat of bar two.
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Playing and listening to funk guitar will make you appreciate the “Art of the Groove.” To
really understand what makes a track “groove” you need to become an intelligent listener.
Listen to all the instruments on the track - not just the guitar. Does the track swing or is it
straight? If it does swing, is it just a little or a lot? Often on a single track you will find that
some players swing, and some don’t! Listen for subtleties in the time feel. Is the band
playing ahead of or behind the beat? Most of the time we listen to music for fun, but as a
musician you need to learn what to listen for. You can leam as much from listening as you
can from playing.
16th-Note Triplet
‘The 16th-note triplet is an easy way to add some flash to your playing. In the following
example we've put the 16th-note triplet at the end of the bar. Notice that after playing the
triplet you're left playing an upstroke at the beginning of the next bar. This interruption of the
46th-note strumming pattem can be corrected by suspending your right-hand on the second
16th and retuming to a downstroke on the third 16th.
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Ex. 4715
Applying the Techniques
In this section we'll combine some of the previous examples to show how they might be
used together in song form. Section [A] of Ex. 48 is based on Ex. 28 (in D minor instead of
G minor). The [B] section is Ex. 41, however in the last bar of this section we've added an
AS chord as a “tumaround’ (a tumaround is simply a short passage that leads back to the
beginning of a song).
[A] om =o mié Omi? Omi Dmie Dmi?16
In this piece, section [A] is based on Ex. 38 with an A minor triad added at the end of each
two-bar phrase. The [B] section is based on Ex. 14 (in D9 rather than E9). The ‘tum-
around” passage ends with a 16th-note triplet on the second half of beat 3, leading into
beat 4.
B] 0° aps pe (a9 pe
2 =
pe (a9 po 7a een
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Conclusion
The examples in this video are primarily based on traditional funk parts. While much care
was taken to be as complete as possible, there is no substitute for listening and becoming
familiar with the artists who define the style. Your own repertoire of creative rhythm guitar
parts can best be developed by having a solid frame of reference. Hopefully, after working
through this method, your desire to explore the world of groove music is stronger than ever.
With this in mind, | have put together a short discography of some suggested listening
(in no particular order):
James Brown 20 Greatest Hits, Star Time (Box sel), both on Polydor. Ital starts right here. No funk.
Collection would be considered worthy unless it contained one of these discs.
‘Sly and the Family Stone Anthology, Greatest Hits, both on Epic. Loose, fun panty music. Sly was and
continues to be a big influence on other artists
ParliamentFunkadelic Tear off the Roof (Double CD, Greatest Hits collection), Polygram. Like Sly, the
vibe is loose and crazy. This music isn't for everybody, bul some of the grooves ere amazing,
‘Tower of Power In the Slot, Urban Renewal, Back to Oakland, all on Warner Bros. This is “sophist-
‘cated? funk. These recordings have it al suner-intricate rhylhm section grooves, incredible horn parts
and great ballads. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Earth, Wind & Fire All‘nAll,|Am, Gratitude and The Best of Earth wind & Fire, Vol. 1, all on Columbia.
Everything writen for Tower of Power applies to this band as wel By the mid seventies these guys sot
‘a standard for other bands to live up to. Al MecKay’s rhythm guitar playing is simply brillant.
‘Average White Band: Best of 1974-80, Rhino. This disc is ful of great rhythm guitar ideas. W's also a
good example of sore great arrangements for two guitars.
Rufus: Stompin’ at the Savoy, Warmer Bros.
‘Chaka Khan: What ‘Cha Gonna Do For Me, Warner Bros.
Both of these selections feature amazing gutar work by David Wiliams; in my opinion, one of the best
rhythm guitarists working today.
Prince: Hits/B-Sides (3 disc set; especially disc #2), Wamer Bros. While most people are aware of his
‘music, many don't realize what an outstanding rhythm guitarist he is.
This is by no means a complete list, but it represents a good cross-section of the major
artists. There is also a multi-disc series entitled In Yo’ Face (Rhino Records; discs in this
series are sold separately) that features great tracks from many different artists. Also, a
“greatest hits” package from any of the following bands would be worth your consideration:
Kool & the Gang (early years), Cameo, Ohio Players, Con-Funk-Shun, Graham Central
Station, Bar-Kays.
It’s truly been a pleasure sharing my love for this style of music with you. Good luck on
your musical journey!
Ross Boltonwith Ross Bolton
Produced by David Schaub
Funk Rhythm Guitar
Notation System
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