Funk Guitar Basics Part 1

May 31

Funk Guitar Basics Part 1

Beginner, Rhythm, Chords, Technique, Guitar, Funk Add comments |

An article by: Kenny Robertson

Hey, in this lesson we’re going to be looking at some of the fundamental basics of funk guitar that are often over looked when approaching this genre. A mistake that many guitar players make when laying down a funk groove is massively over playing with constant 16^th note strumming, filling every space in the groove with muted dead notes.

Although this approach definitely has its place in funk and without it we wouldn’t have such classic funk riffs such as “Long Train Running” by the Doobie Brothers or “Good Times” by Chic, but sometimes its just better to lay back and let the horn lines, melodic bass lines and laid back drum grooves come through, all of which are definitive aspects of funk, not to mention the parts which get the crowd dancing! I’ve written a short 2 part composition which will be the basis for this lesson but along the way we’ll be looking at some theory and technique as well. (A big thanks to Nick Stevens for providing the bass on the example tracks!)

Full Funk Track

CHORDS AND OCTAVES

Here are the chords we will be using for the 1^st part of the composition,

Each of them are taken from a full chord and use only the 3 notes on the treble strings, I have included the relevant tones of the full chord to demonstrate this. This is a common approach to using chords in funk, by using the higher notes it prevents the overall sound from becoming too muddy and helps the bass line come through. In the 2^nd part we will be using basic octaves taking the root from the G-string and the octave on the E-string, again by only using fewer notes we can give the groove more room to breathe.

RHYTHM The rhythm for this piece will be using strictly alternate 16^th note alternate strumming but where as a lot of players would fill the gaps with dead notes we’re going to eliminate these to give the groove more room to breathe. If you’re not used to playing with strict 16th note strumming it will be best to practice the groove to a metronome and actually include the dead notes, remember to use strict up and down strumming, once you become more confident with the technique start to weed out the dead notes until you are only playing when a chord is needed, as always when practising a new technique start off slowly and build up to the full tempo (120bpm)

CHORD RHYTHM WITH DEAD NOTES

And here is the rhythm for the octave part of the composition with dead notes included.

OCTAVE RHYTHM WITH DEAD NOTES

Now here is the full transcription of the composition, I’ve included tablature and notation as well as the full track and a backing for you to practice with.