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Tutorial - Funk Rhythm Guitar
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Funk Rhythm Guitar - Principles

Martin Miller 43 lessons

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Hello IGers,

Today we’re getting into some funk rhythm guitar. These riffs will be useful for getting your timing and groove in shape as well as expanding your vocabulary of rhythm styles. Before we do the actual playing let’s clear up a few principles.

Sound
Use a clean tone (or slightly breaking up) and go for a middle position or single coil pick-up.

Muting
Make sure there are no open strings ringing out at any time. All the dead notes are created by touching the strings with the fingers of the left hand without actually pushing them down.

Picking
Use strict alternate picking. The rhythm dictates picking directions (all quarter note and eighth note beats get a downstroke, all the notes in between get an upstroke).

Timing
The sixteenth notes in this example are slightly shuffled, meaning they’re in between a straight and triplet-y feel.

Get this stuff locked in with the rhythm section as tightly as possible!!!

Now, on to the riffs!

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