Hey once again, shredders!
For this tutorial, I chose to break down a track that was (structurally) written by myself and a drummer friend of mine, Brandon Hopkins, with some super funky bass lines and keyboard tracks done by Tony Dickinson. (www.tonydickinson.net). It's entitled Vanilla Funk Sundae - and we'll be highlighting all the parts in the track minus the middle solo break-down which features instrument trade-offs.
The track is reminiscent of one of my favorite funk rock groups, Cosmosquad. It features tons of shuffle grooves, cool, smooth, Guthrie-esque legato lines, etc.
Some things to highlight before we get started:
a) The transcription is written in an 8th shuffle feel. The notes may look as if they're flying at you in a straight 8th feel, but be certain that you understand how this feel operates by analyzing the demonstration video.
b) Play for the groove. With this style of music, particularly in the rhythm section, certain instruments "drag" the rhythm, which in turn will contribute to better groove. So yes, while it's important to play to a click track/metronome/backing track, make sure you really focus on the groove and how well your guitar is settling in. Remember, this ain't metal!