A Beginner's Guide To Funk Guitar

Funk guitar is one style of playing that I think is useful for just about every guitar player out there. The techniques and ideas behind the funk guitar style will help you find the pocket and step up your rhythm chops, plus its super fun to play.
Huge thanks to ‪@TomoFujitaMusic‬ for helping me teach this guitar lesson today.
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[@TomoFujitaMusic]

Rhett, Great funk lesson! Thanks again for having me!

[@RhettShull]

You’re the man Tomo!

[@nicfry3061]

Tomo=Legend!

[@JustSomeGuy]

I love Tomo Fujita. He's such a great teacher. I also love when he teaches something simple and then proceeds to do 12 chord changes in a quarter of a second.

[@BordersJambo]

Tomo is an amazing dude. I would so buy his autobiography.

[@TheFir196]

Yep. 1 lesson video from Tomo can keep you busy for days.

[@normanperkel139]

He has two great DVD’s that are definitely worth getting!

[@ItsMrMcFly]

The most amazing part of Tomo's playing is his level of precision. You only hear the exact notes that he wants to hear. That level of accuracy and precision is always amazing to see.

[@jmabs5096]

Everybody funk: Single coil, Strat Rhett:Gold top Les Paul.

[@RhettShull]

It’s the funkiest guitar I have.

[@ryaneggleston4585]

@@RhettShull To be fair, it's a Deluxe

[@jmabs5096]

@@RhettShull it's a beautiful guitar and envy it, just busting Rhetts chops, love you Rhett glad the injury is healing nicely!

[@TrainwreckNC]

A lot of funk guys played LP's SG's and es series

[@tedonyszczak3029]

Mini humbuckers rock! I have a 71 deluxe with minis and it is the most versatile ever.

[@RalphMercuroMusic]

Love Nile!!! He really unlocked my funk playing with two techniques. Never play more than three strings at a time and the funkier you get the less the chords ring out to almost playing nothing or VERY muted...

[@mjohns908]

If anyone is wondering, the knee slapping exercise that Tomorrow is doing early in the video is a foundational drumming concept called gridding, which is the fundamental way that drummers develop extremely accurate syncopation even when not filling the space with ghost notes. Maybe not necessarily a concept that's too common for pitched instruments.

[@CatmanJimbo]

Just saw a Cory Wong interview where he talks about playing drumline in high school, and I've seen him discuss that same warm up in a different video. I bet that's where he took it from!

[@PragmaticDany]

Yeah the dude is a living metronome

[@charliemoody7168]

I’ve been asked countless times, how do I “keep track” of left hand, right hand, feet…it more than just muscle memory, though that’s important: it involves what I call rhythmic memory, or ‘embodying’ the beat. You can see dancers doing it if you watch them - the beat and it’s ‘fragments’, or pulses, get distributed to the head, the shoulders, hips, hands and feet, and a dance comes out. Or a drum rhythm. Or a funk strumming patterns. It’s called ‘syncopation’: “the placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't ‘normally’ occur… the correlation of *at least* TWO sets of time intervals.

[@nuthinbutlove]

I'm a guitarist and I've practiced the same exercise almost the entire time I've been playing. I would recommend it for almost all musicians.

[@rikoguitar]

Tomorrow huh 🤣

[@celestxl835]

Rhett didn't use Tomo as clickbait for the thumbnail, mad respect

[@baimun]

When I was showing someone some funk and reggae licks I explained the correlation of the right hand rhythm picking and when to choke notes with the right hand is like a drummer's high hat. They don't just leave it open and do rolls.... it's the striking pattern along with when to let it ring, when to ring and cut, or to be closed the entire thing.

[@hyramjackson]

That comparison is perfect, in fact I have done that without thinking of it

[@ChristianoSts]

can't stop from the RHCP is a great example of not playing full chords and filling very well the harmony.

[@stevanvinter2835]

My dear God the thing that he does at 15:29 made me stop the video and replay it several times. What a guy! :)

[@EthanTheMighty]

corey wong taught me the shifting-the-accent practice technique and it slaps

[@ThrillHouse666]

"Cory Wooooong!" Love that guy! One of the few guitarists that makes me happy just watching him play!

[@Garythefireman66]

Nile Rodgers is a legend. He worked with so many greats, including David Bowie. His riffs are iconic 🎸

[@yoniyampolsky2597]

Best style to emulate- Fruscantie's. Perfect blend of rock and funk. Great technique that creates a rougher, more modern punk sound

[@jarryd2018]

Was thinking exactly that watching this. I find myself trying to emulate him even when I'm not.

[@DanialAbrar]

Currently everything I play seems to emulate him lol

[@DADA-ey2ir]

This is why social media platforms are so great nowadays. You get to learn from great minds like Tomo when it used to be a privilege.

[@TheJuggernautv2]

LOL, it always comes back to Tomo. The power behind the Throne!

[@bkebradley]

The triplet thing he did at 15:28 was so sick

[@BlueL1n3]

Yes! I was about to say the same thing! It was like muted raking or something. I keep scrubbing back to it and replaying it.

[@mikecito1717]

Play it at .75 speed to really catch the trick.

[@PulledPurk]

Funk?! Dang, you must be feeling a lot better!

[@OokisMcFlookis]

I love that idea of voice leading using different inversions, that's a great way to make a part more interesting

[@CrazyUncleSam24]

Definitely my favorite video based around an interview you made. You give plenty of room for the interview to breathe and the parts you give really expand on the ideas to explain it more. It also helps that Tomo is amazing.

[@guppybill]

Tower of Power! That's where my favorite funk and soul comes from. East Bay Grease. Got ya' some right here!

[@andypomeroy7447]

So cool to see this broke down to the elements. This was such a common style of playing in the mid to late 70's. We just played what we were hearing on the radio and records, not understanding what we were playing. Nice to hear the comments about over playing the rhythm and how to accent. Good content here, Rhett!

[@jamaisvu2815]

Thank you

[@RemyTrahant]

Awesome, thank you Rhett, thank you Tomo! At GIT my instructor Pathik Desai who taught the funk guitar class turned me on to the late, great Ross Bolton who used to be the funk guitar guru at GIT, and Pathik based his entire funk beginner course around Ross' curriculum and I highly recommend to everyone to pick up Ross Bolton's Hal Leonard Funk Guitar book, it's a great workbook to get you on your way!

[@titus2120]

I hav always been impressed by you nce first ran accros you. But now.... FUNK!? Wow... And this is weird. I'm a 66 year old black guy who grew up on rock in Los Angeles. II'm a Rock guy. But FUNK!? Wow. I am so impessed. More please!!! Oh. And Ell done, sir!!

[@EasyHeat]

My mom took me to see the Ramones live on my 7th birthday in 1983. Forever influenced my musical journey.

[@istvandejesus]

Is great how good you are healing from your injury. God bless!!!

[@TeeDOG6]

When I was a did, I was a classic rock guy. Then as I got older, I started to appreciate blues, then funk. Funk is awesome.

[@TheOdieD3]

Thanks for this Rhett ! So fun!!! My favorite video so far

[@jasonmccarthy3370]

Great video! I always love to see @TomoFujitaMusic . Fantastic player and musician. More please!

[@AF-fb6yp]

Playing less to create more space and not playing full chords etc! So simple but very easy to not realise. Great video

[@bendayze]

Rhetts clean tone is my solo tone

[@J.D....]

Stratocaster 4th position Righthand motor going FUNK

[@JakeTerch]

I like position 3 or even position 2 on a Tele for funk!

[@abcrx32j]

*Me being confused for a second* *Remembers how pickup switch positions are numbered*

[@unitoftemp]

Firmly flexed tape to that 4th position.

[@ferramirez4570]

Just to confirm 4th position is Middle and Neck or not?

[@TokeGerdts]

@@ferramirez4570 Yep!

[@mrjljjl]

Bootsy collins has your back when it comes to funk bass. Funkadelic baby, Groovy vibes.

[@harrysachs2274]

It's all about the 1

[@eadonayre]

That strat sounded amazing

[@TheDeugsy]

thanks to Tomo and you, such a refreshing listening !

[@ilyatishchenkov6501]

When it comes to learning funk quitar I will always remember that VHS with Ross Bolton's guitar course my dad gave me when I was a kid. It literally rocked my world!

[@Rebelconformist82]

Tomo is a Guru of guitar. I like the guy with the silver guitar technique . Nice sound

[@elizabethanderson2968]

You're lucky ... my folks had the great wall of vinyl in the 70s, and a few lodgers that included founding members of the Average White Band and Blockheads, so having that kinda grounding is SO valuable! Great lessons

[@didyma]

Loved this video. Just what a former metalhead needs to get out of his comfort zone when realizing what he's been missing out 😊

[@RobHarrisGuitar]

Great stuff Rhett. Love the Tomo stuff too.

[@bryangarcia662]

Glad to see your recovering so quickly man, great video! Already signed up for the Inner Circle, can't wait to see what comes next!

[@michaelgray1642]

man, you got it, funk, all about "the spaces".

[@stevegodard4697]

Wow! Not even a funk aficionado, but was blown away by Tomo's skill. Very nice lesson, provides great practice material. Thanks so much!

[@stevepethel6843]

Mute with left hand to determine length of note , alternating. Staccato accents rhythm line 16ths like a drummer percussion leaving out some chords more syncopated. And not so overplaying busy leaving some space and hitting. Sparse. Chords. Thanks for demonstraing guitars part isolated.

I love those guitar fadeouts when you change the scene, so satisfying.

[@santiagohaller2414]

Rhett!! Love your new studio

[@mattquinn8022]

Awesome mate, loved this!!

[@sls554]

Fantastic, Fantastic Funk history!!!!!!

[@Jesse615]

Lately I've really gotten into funk-style playing more. I play bass too, and a lot of the same practices, like muting and a focus on the right hand, carries through easily. One thing I realize that makes the great guitar and bass funk players so great isn't so much their ability to play, but their keen ability to listen. Listening to the other players, the vocal melody, rhythm, etc. is how they find that pocket and create space. I'll take Nile Rodger's tasty playing over the flashy stuff any day!

[@karlsmith3281]

Your right hand seems to be all wrist, Tomo's is sometimes all arm, but on his Le Chic take he does wrist. Please comment. Thanks from county Devon, England.

[@ZacCostilla]

Love the mini-humbuckers!!!

[@suzannecoholic1467]

whew! that was fun! 2 of my fave Rhett and Tomo - amazing

[@brettnecessary2266]

When I started imagining my right hand picking like a locomotive train and messing with the accents being played, a lightbulb went off in my head and I had the funk !! That's how it came to me

[@PNWGuitar]

Nile Roger's is one of my biggest influences so I was excited to hear your thoughts about funk. It's gotta swing its got to support the sing and in my Roger's opinion "If there's not many notes it's not funky"

[@davroshalfbeard8368]

Anchoring the pinky genius just tried it funk is the toughest style for me some times you get the groove sometimes you don't lol. thanks for all the very interesting content . digging that gold top at the start the only les paul i like to cheers now

[@charliemoody7168]

Terrific…*and* USEFUL. Thanks, Rhett, and Tomoe!

[@ChaseandMelia]

Soooo cool!!! Can’t wait to go practice this!!! Love the accent exercise! Soooo tricky!

[@BryanSorensen]

Where I live, we are lucky enough to have an original Detroit “funk brother” (Leroy Emmanuel) that fills the dance floor with nothing but a 335 (sometimes wah) and a Fender Twin (clean). You can actually hear his guitar on the opening sample/riff of Snoop Dogg’s “Who am I”. After hearing him play, you realize the power of great clean guitar playing. (You’ll get rid of your pedals and your on-the edge-of-breakup amps...)

[@b.rodclark7349]

Right rhythm/left mute... so on point!

[@danmorrison8746]

Damn Rhett. This is a supreme episode.

[@bobo3838]

i love tomo fujita! especially his casiopea - ayasake lesson.

[@MrWillyCC]

Great guidance, makes it super easy to understand and follow! And kudos to ur parents for instilling the funk in u at a young age 😃. One of my favorite 80s funk rhythm guitar lines is Sexy Dancer-Prince.

[@davidshortino1138]

Rhett, great funk lesson by you and Tomo Fujita. I learned some new funk techniques. Glad you're back to playing again!!

[@matthewtayloryowieresearch1912]

Niles Rodgers is my 'bro-mance' guitar go-to guy, his riffs are sick, go get yourself well & truly funked!

[@rochellecarter7683]

That was useful. My main take aways were use expensive chords, voice leading (good thing I learned my triads), and most importantly, you don't have to scratch every sixteenth note; just the important ones. Thanks :)

[@michaeld.mahoney9106]

Well done, great funk lesson. Thanks.

[@Bomber848480015]

Perfect video for me as I am working on this now.

[@gordonbezanson4710]

O man I love the color of that stratocaster .

[@normanmozley3659]

Always on the one! Norman

[@marccano1609]

Great lesson and nice job!! THX!

[@ti3mpo618]

Amazing, thank you for this

[@booyakuhsha24]

i love rhett! thank you so much for all you do. my mind was blown when you said Tomo was gonna be a part of the video. absolutely incredible stuff! everyone can learn from musicians like you and tomo because you're both so positive and always looking to collab with others. fookin love it rhett! thank you again this was awesome! BRING ON THE FUNK

[@notbraindead7298]

I’ve been a huge fan of Rhett Shull for a long time. He’s an incredibly talented and versatile guitarist.

[@kojam1]

Wish I appreciated it when I was a kid. Moved to Canada from Jamaica when I was 6 saw Tom Petty and KISS on TV and was only into hard rock from them on!!! Want to I was waaaaaay older that I appreciated it. Tomo Funk Master desu yo!!! You should also have Guthrie same Phil X on to wax on about it. Saw X through down stone chops ass he demo's a guitar in some guitar store. Been trying to find that vid. That kid gots some chops

[@scottfrommaryland7658]

Thanks Rhett, this was a great introduction to funk playing. Something I had been avoiding because I didn't understand it.

[@raysmith1630]

Tomo Fujita is really an amazing guitarist!! As are you Rhett...

[@かわいい89]

I’ve been watching Tomo for a minute now so great

[@santrixhimself3679]

Tomo Fujita might be the nicest person on all of youtube

[@daniellea5603]

Love that chicken scratch!

[@StarQueenEstrella]

I think that’s how one of James Brown’s guitarists, Jimmy Nolen, described it

[@daniellea5603]

Exactly

[@stewart8737]

Getting the funk out...great lessons...

[@dracul74]

Been a longtime subscriber of Tomo’s... love his channel. So many good tips...

[@DavidLightWill]

that was awesome---thanks for the post

[@jeromejackson2455]

Right on brother

[@deanbibb3680]

Nice job, gentlemen

[@lukalekov1530]

Tomo is the man thank you Rhett awesome video

[@adriengahery9471]

I didn't expect you covering that genre of music! Great content, as always.

[@banditsbikeco3439]

So glad I watched this video. I’ve always been that guy who loves mutes, and it’s always been pleasing to me…so much that my style is pretty much all based around muting strums. Started doing it from Punk rock influence. At times I’ve thought it was a hindrance, but now I know I need to dive into funk….I think it’s going to help me branch out more.

[@globaltrekkerexplorer]

There is a band The Floozies that has some cool funk guitar. Groovy lesson!

[@stevekannes89]

Great one man. Thanks

[@jakeward3209]

Yesss!! I needed this

[@Jcrash71]

We have the future Larry Graham on our hands... Keep it up! Enjoyed the video

[@GUSCRAWF0RD]

4;30 this guy is a train-ed rythm machine I couldn't change accents in a tapping pattern like that, I bet real drummers train that kind of thing... Impressive

[@TraneFrancks]

Yeah, but what does Tomo Fujita know anyway? It's not like he's John Mayer's guitar teacher ... Oh, wait.

[@vstags]

Love it Rhett!! Great coverage of funk guitar. I was born in 65 and have great memories of this type music all over the radio. Any chance of putting together a beginner lesson to counting and keeping the beat while playing? I'm a beginner and would find it very useful. Thanks bro!

[@brutalslam8443]

This was great Thank you!

[@martinfisher7193]

This is an excellent video! ❤

[@MichaelMYouTube]

Thanks for continuing to deliver GREAT content!

[@vietnammg]

Took me around 2 years to learn the basic of funk guitar. But just like Tomo said it's 90% in your ability to mute strings with left hand fingers and the strumming flexibility of the wrist your right hand. It takes time but it's very learnable. You will send picks flying a lot though.

[@manuelmesamusic]

Awesome collab!

[@chikezieJack]

Beautiful instruction

[@gcoudert]

This has to be the best funk guitar video on YT. Thank you so much from a frustrated keyboard-playing guitarist. I'm going to give this another go.