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 it is 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” yourpick 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 mVABVAV VV VV downstroke Ve upstroke It's important that you memorize the location of the up and down strokes in the bar. They will always fall in 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 DeThe “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 = tabicictaton 7 A Fe = 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 Tonos