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Funk Rhythm Guitar with Ross Bolton Produced by David Schaub
Notation System Tablature: The six-line staff graphically represents the six strings of the guitar, with the top line indicating the highest sounding string (high E string). A number on a line of tablature designates the fret at which the note is played (0 indicates an open string).
A scratch is simply a percussive attack achieved by muting the string(s) with your left-hand while attacking the string(s) with your right-hand. Notice that no distinction is made between scratching chords and scratching single-note parts. In the first section of this book (up to Example 40), scratches may be viewed as rhythmic “place-holders” in the notation to help show the rudimentary structure of a line.
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www.videoprogressions.com This book copyright © 1995 Video Progressions. Copyright renewed © 2007 Video Progressions, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Unauthorized reproduction in any form is an infringement of copyright. Infringers are liable under the law.
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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 DVD, we offer you a clear, concise method that not only provides all the basic techniques for the beginner, but will also challenge the most experienced professional. Lets 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 16thnote 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” your pick across the strings. Instead, try to make it sound as if you are striking all of the strings simultaneously. Example 1 shows fundamental right-hand rhythm pattern:
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 damping 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!
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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 guitar player. 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 drum metronome or drum machine.
Combining the Articulations Now we’ll combine all of the individual attacks into two short rhythm parts:
3 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 feel because the amount of swing can vary from one groove to another. In terms of acutally playing a swing feel, your downstroke will remain essentially the same, but the upstroke should be slightly delayed.
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 tendancy to stop their right-hand when playing these loner 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. Example 10 incorporates this technique into a simple one-bar rhythm part.
4 Half-Step Slide The half-step slide is a very common device used in funk rhythm guitar playing. Notice that your right-hand must float on the up-cycle (second 16th note) of these patterns so that the left-hand can articulate 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 (indicated as ghost notes):
5 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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Chords The world of chords is a vast subject that could not possibly be covered in depth on this video. Therefore, what we will do is take a look at some of the most 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. The lower strings tend to get lost in the mix. Be sure to practice these inversions in different keys. Dominant Voicings The term “dominant” applies to the family of chords with a major triad and lowered seventh (root, 3rd, 5th, 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).
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Tricks with Dominant Chords We can isolate parts of these chords to create more interesting rhythm parts. Examples 23 and 24 approach the “tritone” (3rd and flatted 7th of a dominant chord) from a half-step below:
8 Minor 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). Notice the major sixth (or 13th) interval in examples 27 and 28. The sound of this interval in minor harmony is very typical of “old school funk” (i.e. early James Brown).
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Example 30 is typical of an Earth, Wind & Fire rhythm guitar part. Notice that the scratches are very pronounced all the way through this example:
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 pull on the strings in a “fanning” motion (a.k.a. B.B. King vibrato). Technically, the “shake” in this example will extend the last 16th of each bar into the beginning of the next measure (be sure to float your right hand for the first two 16ths of each bar.
10 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.
11 Skank Skank parts are the most aggressive of the single-note lines. This harsh, percussive style really cuts through when the band gets going. It is 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 result is a strong, solid tone along with the percussive attack of two or three strings scratched with the right-hand.
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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 breakdown 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.
13 Double-Stops The term “double-stop” simply refers to playing two notes at the same time. The techniques 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.
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 subdivisions (wherever it feels right) in place of the rests. In this example I tend to scratch the last two 16ths of bar one, and th the third 16 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 on top or behind the beat? Most of the time we just listen to music for fun, but as a musician you need to learn what to listen for. You can learn as much from listening as you can from playing. 16th- NoteTriplet 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 16th-note strumming pattern can be corrected by suspending your right-hand on the second 16th and returning to a downstroke on the third 16th.
15 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 (originally in G minor, we’ll move it down the neck to D minor). The [B] section is Ex. 41, however in the last bar of this section we’ve added an A9 chord as a “turnaround” (a turnaround is simply a short passage that leads back to the beginning of a song).
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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 “turnaround” passage ends with a 16th-note triplet on the second half of beat 3, leading into beat 4.
17 Conclusion The examples on this DVD 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 both the traditional and progressive artists who define the style. Your own repertoire of creative rhythm guitar parts can best be developed when you have 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, I have put together a short discography of some suggested listening (in no particular order): James Brown 20 Greatest Hits, Star Time (Box set), both on Polydor. It all 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 party music. Sly was and continues to be a big influence on other artists. Parliment/Funkadelic Tear off the Roof (Double CD, Greatest Hits collection), Polygram. Like Sly, the vibe is loose and crazy. This music isn’t for everybody, but some of the grooves are amazing. Tower of Power In the Slot, Urban Renewal, Back to Oakland, all on Warner Bros. This is “sophisticated” funk. These recordings have it all: super-intricate rhythm section grooves, incredible horn parts and great ballads. It doesn’t get much better than this. Earth, Wind & Fire All ‘n All, I Am, Gratitude and The Best of Earth wind & Fire, Vol. 1, all on Columbia. Everything written for Tower of Power applies to this band as well. By the mid seventies these guys set a standard for all other bands to live up to. Al McKay’s rhythm guitar playing is simply brilliant. Average White Band: Best of 1974-80, Warner Bros. This disc is full of great rhythm guitar ideas. It’s also a good example of some great arrangements for two guitars. Rufus: Stompin’ at the Savoy, Warner Bros. Chaka Khan: What ‘Cha Gonna Do For Me, Warner Bros. Both of these selections feature amazing guitar work by David Williams; in my opinion one ot the best rhythm guitarists working today. Prince: Hits/B-Sides (3 disc set; especially disc #2), Warner 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 to share my love for this style of music with you. Good luck on your musical journey! Ross Bolton
