Top 5 Funkiest Nile Rodgers Riffs + Funk Tone Tips

[@AndyDion]

7:06 YES!! This is such a cool Niles riff! Thank you so much for showing us!

[@edwinmontgomery1182]

Totally Agree!

[@Mrfuzzypants26]

I dont think he says. What song is this?

[@dobs407]

@@Mrfuzzypants26 Thinking of you

[@Mrfuzzypants26]

@@dobs407 ❤

[@RayzaEFC]

Excellent lesson mate, Nile is one of my favourite guitarists

[@granap]

Thanks! Another cool one is I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross.

[@theescapetomusic101]

Been watching your vids since high school. So glad you’re still making content. Thanks for the great vid!

[@mairenared]

Great video Adrian, I've alway loved Nile Rodgers's style of playing. It's much more complicated than you think. He told a lovely story about making "Let's Dance" with David Bowie. Bowie came to him with the original idea of the song and he changed the arrangement so it came out much funkier. He was a bit worried that Bowie might think that it was too funky but Bowie's reply was "Can anything be too funky?"

[@acpg]

Great story! No such thing as too funky...

[@culcharmediaproductions3201]

@@acpg always love that STANK

[@nicholaschacon6503]

Both cool people and I am glad Bowie said that ! That's a cool way to respond to a very funky Nile Roger's.

[@jakehunt4144]

I think you're the first KZbinr that has the closet guitar tone and playing style to Nile I've seen! Definitely subbing!

[@andreapassetti2366]

“Good Times” , if you see all the live video in YT, how he plays the 3” chord, is from E (bass) string: X77787

[@acpg]

Yes, I've watched tons of live videos. He seems to now play that chord differently in certain live videos than on the original recording. Not sure why he changed it, but both work and sound good. so use whichever option you prefer the sound of.

[@MrWhitey222]

Ooh, I like this lesson ! I don’t listen to much funk to be honest, but it’s so much fun to play these funk rhythms.

[@franciscowolffleal899]

That was awesome. Thank you very much for the lesson, Adrian!

[@bluesman7703]

Bloody great lesson ! Another outstanding job mate !!!

[@marcgib2000]

Grand merci à vous ( de France) , cette vidéo grâce aux sous titres est vraiment très bien faite et l'explication globale est très bien réalisée , ça m'aide pour acquerrir les riffs de good time et get lucky.

[@photus03]

Yo Adrian, fantastic tutorial yet again. thanks . great teacher!

[@namename5917]

Refreshing to hear great info amongst the Oceans of Hackers on You tube! Thank You!

[@colinsmith4014]

Great vid mate. Super helpful! Thanks

[@MikefromAlabama]

Love Nile Rodger's style.

[@MercurialToys]

I don't know how you figured out Thinking Of You, that was intense. I love playing funk guitar, it's a very satisfying style to play. Also a fan of thin picks, good for jangly stuff too, which is about 70% of what I play. 😄

[@OriginalOldSkoolFunk]

@Oliver Jones Nice list especially anything from RPJr. Let me add a few more. Tony Maiden from Rufus and Chaka Khan, Sugarfoot from the Ohio Players, Al McKay, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Bruno Sleight, SOS Band, Roger Troutman from Zapp, Jimmy Nolen and Catfish Collins from James Brown, Garry Schider, Michael Hampton, Eddie Hazel from PFunk, George Johnson from Brothers Johnson, Freddie and Sly Stone, Lloyd Smith of The BayKays...Prince and many others. These are the guys I grew up learning to play R&B and Funk rythm guitar from in the 70's and 80's. Different genres...but I also got a lot from Stax Records Colonel Steve Cropper and Al Greens Teenie Hodges. Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfield had unique styles that are fun to play also and Peter Tosh and Bob Marley laid it down nicely in Ragae. I could go on and on but anyone wanting to learn the essence of this style would be well served to look these guys up...IMHO.

[@KUDGHAT1]

Maann it's super just got bk home.... Only heard the first riff n working on it.... as said it's melodic !!

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Great stuff. Enjoyed it. Listen to: Chic = "So Fine" ( also killer guitar solo ) Nile is phenomenal. oNe LovE from NYC

[@capitaldharma]

Great idea for a lesson. And cool shirt!

[@nbase2652]

Yeah, picks really do make a difference. You might wanna give the Dunlop ULTEX Sharp .73 picks a shot. I love using them for funky stuff as they allow for a particularly strong & crispy "chick" sound. They also appear to last a little longer due to the rather hard material, which is always a plus when you're grinding them down with a lot of accented 16th notes. By the way, you can always re-sharpen your picks by dragging them across a rough carpet (in case you didn't know already)

[@tikitikibamboo]

Sharpen em` Steve Vai style hahaha

[@PiotrHryncyszyn]

Some people have an EQ pedal balance between single coil and humbucker guitars. I just take a thinner pick. O.1 mm can be a difference between a meh sound and an OK sound.

[@teamaster592]

Great tones, congratulations, I only wish there was You are Beautiful, from album Believer. Its brutal riff matches the drum part perfectly, but I cannot find the chords anywhere

[@ek2thehands]

Very nice 👍. Can you do the song upside down and I'm coming out? Both sung by Diana Ross but played by Nile Rodgers. I will try that blending technique too! Thanks for the info. Great Job!

[@acpg]

Thanks! Yes, might well do a full Nile Rodgers song lesson in the future - both your suggestions are great.

[@InfiniteRiffs]

This is really good!

[@Crinkle65]

Awesome shirt

[@gallp13]

That was great a ton of fun.

[@GlennMichaelThompson]

Great lesson. Just to be clear... you refer to Bb as B in riff number 4, methinks.:0) Cheers.

[@transformationgeneration]

I enjoy this kids lessons so very much. I've been watching the Series, "The Crown" so I suddenly feel like I'm being taught guitar by the Monarchy LOL

[@raulramirez449]

"And all girls say pretty fly for a white guy"...

[@meadish]

Niled it.

[@RDNZL1000]

Well, I got the joke!

[@stephenfiore9960]

Very Funnky

[@Twitexter]

More Nile Rodgers stuff! Detailed whole songs tutorials, please! Those songs are the reason I bought a guitar 😍

[@reyramirez5695]

if you ever get to do a full lesson of "thinking of you" by sister sledge that would be awesome. thanks.

[@randallrichard2709]

Please!!!!!!!

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

@@randallrichard2709 Seconded

[@danadams8649]

yesss

[@caesarchoi4017]

yessss

[@kenjones6441]

Sir, you are fantastic. Absolutely love this video, as I , like you admire Nile Rodger’s playing. So so helpful. Thank you, will keep me practising for hours.

[@garethbruce6475]

Nice fun lesson Adrian 👍 Nile is the best example of a player that has everything and doesn't need a grand solo to prove his worth or reputation. Not many guitarist's like that I can think of? Johnny Marr that's about it

[@acpg]

Yes, I agree you certainly don't need widdly-woo solos to be a great guitarist.

[@andrewparker7016]

Curtis Mayfield is good too

[@maryfield9730]

Yes! Johnny Marr cited Nile Rodgers as an influence, in his book.

[@uknowme1811]

@@maryfield9730 named his son after him.

[@moreorlesslikeso]

Great tutorial - as always! Competent and to the point, yet so modest and respectful to the music and the artists you cover. And the sound is definitely spot on!

[@MusicFed]

Get lucky is tricky. I think there are 2 guitars and one is playing upper structure chords. I think one of his secrets is recording direct with tons of compression, but with a relatively light touch (le freak)

[@thirty3point3_904]

Was fortunate enough to see him last year. He opened for Cher -- if you can believe that. Should have been the other way around. Great lesson. Putting this one in my "Return to - Many Times" folder.

[@BedeLaplume]

You always come up with really cool ideas for tutos!

[@nicennice]

Yeah excellent lesson Adrian. Whenever I am getting slightly bored or stale on guitar you always have something to peak my interest again. Brilliant content on your channel.

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

Nice production Adrian, very fitting for a Nile Rodgers special. I particularly liked your segways, skills!😎🎙🎸✅

[@ootrip40]

As someone who had to listen to many guitarplayers screwing up Niles' genius playing, I have to say: you've got that down very nicely, Sir. Respect.

[@bakkels]

Just wanted to say that I go back to this video _a lot_. I mainly play blues but I love to play some funk as well just to mix it up. Nile is the king of course, and this vid is just a perfect reference anytime I want to go back to that. Also, it's here that I learned he uses the neck PU. Man, we have so much preconceptions: "Funk is a strat on position 2 or 4". Hell no! The neck pu is where it's at! (which should just be the general strat slogan in my opinion)

[@dundeedolphin]

I think it's helpful to point out that Rodgers never strums across all six strings. Instead, he hits only a couple of strings at a time, muting the others. 👍

[@ericb9609]

what guitar amp are you using? I'm using Amplitude 5 with a Fender Twin Reverb emulation but it doesn't sound anything like the real funky thing. What should I do?

[@groovedwareman]

Thank you for excellent video. I think I have spotted my problem. Your fingers are long and slender. Mine are shorter and stubbier. I think this is why I will never be able to achieve lead guitar god status.

[@andrewleach1667]

Don't even think that bro, just keep practicing. Anatomy really doesn't matter much, anyone can play great with enough time in the shed!

[@JessesAuditorium]

What a beautiful strat, and your voice is calming lol. Cheers.

[@awrebyawe]

"Thinking of you" is my favourite riff as well! "lose yourself" is up there as well. Great playing and teaching!

[@DaveKaplowitz]

Dude, you are really bringing the funk! Great choice of riffs!

[@mexidelico]

I really dig your awesome presentations and this is no exception!

[@erwinvandijke6169]

A Bad Brains T-shirt and teaching almost contradictory music is very funny.

[@dudeabides3860]

really good video! But you should have mentioned that nile rodgers rarely plays the full chord, he plays 3 or even 2 notes only and he let‘s the chord ring out even less! Nonetheless amazing video, I couldnt figure out those riffs by ear

[@wmccourtney2814]

GOOD. though IT''D BE 100% BETTER IF THE CHORDS WERE WRITTEN OUT.

[@jarekpilachowski8541]

Great lesson Adrian 👍😁 I love Nile Rodgers songs and his way of playing guitar. BTW Beautiful 60's Strat 👍

[@tomscotland]

I have a little trouble counting time on the get lucky vamp. My ear just doesn’t want to hear a four count.

[@nstrug]

We need a full walk through of Savoir Faire.

[@michaelv1986]

Continued from my last post…The first thing that I noticed watching Diggin Dirt was that each and every band member are incredible players. As I dove into old funk bands, it was the same thing… Every player kicks ass. The recordings are honest and if a guitarist is using effects…. They only use one or two at a time in a cool & creative way. Not like today’s albums that use 10 digital multi effects all smashed together. My dive into the funk legendary bands uncovered TONS of bands I never had heard of before. I was floored how many albums and live recordings James Brown had. A special treat was finding Dyke and the Blazers !!!! I beg your subscribers who are not familiar to check them out, especially the guitar work. Shame on me for knowing so little about these great funk bands and the incredible guitarists in them. Other funk band favorites and awesome funk guitarists; The Average White Band, Mandrill, Parliament, Sly and the Family Stone, Bobby Byrd, Stevie Wonder, Ohio Players. *** Don’t just listen to the bands Top 3 Hits. At least preview every song on each album. You won’t regret it.

[@markuspboeddeker5930]

A fellow Dyke & the Blazers fan! Cheerleader!

[@markuspboeddeker5930]

I hate autofill..Cheers!

[@michaeleaster1815]

Fabulous lesson... thanks so much! Suggestion for another lesson: more on syncopation with 16th notes. I've seen videos by Mark Lettieri re: looping, where he casually says "or you could accent the 'and' on 2-ee-and-uh" and I not even sure how to get started on that kind of thing.

[@danapplebee4408]

Great video. I love Nile’s playing. But I love that Bad Brains T-shirt even more 🤘🏼.

[@talktokale]

Ayyyye, my boy rocking a Bad Brains shirt!

[@KUDGHAT1]

At work in the music store shall go home hear n comment pal already liked coz u play only melodic stuffs which most don't

[@jesusbarreraperez1893]

Great. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@ShlomirBareket]

Awesome stuff, but you missed another if his weird timing classics UpSide down for Diana Ross!

[@erock.steady]

c-notes and g-strings are the entire reason i play guitar.

[@harleygrandpaernie]

Great job. I love your acoustic lessons as well. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. You Rock brother

[@michaelv1986]

Hey Adrian, thanks for this video !! This was one of the best guitar & tone tutorials I’ve found. I recently was at Hueneme Beach Festival in So Cal, & discovered a great funk band called DIGGIN DIRT. They were sensational and I encourage all you subscribers to check out their KZbin channel. I was so inspired by Diggin Dirt that I dove in head first to see what bands their influences must have come from. I also wanted to learn more about the chords, riffs, right hand tactics and how to get those guitar tones! This video was a great help !!!

[@klisher]

Thanks for that, i just checked them out. Top notch. Singer is amazing. 👍👍

[@alexZZGuitar6447]

Many thanks Adrian really useful lesson :) a lesson on a full song by Nile would be awesome like you mentioned in the video.

[@jayogden773]

Your lessons are awesome Adrian! Spot on and detailed!

[@DolphCas]

Excellent lesson. Thank you. More REM please!

[@charleswind8298]

Chord charts would be helpful.

[@rickjones8016]

I wish you lived next door, DAMN.....!!!

[@greg77hot]

play that funky music white boy ...lol

[@guitarstring5981]

Hi, what guitar are this? Thanks

[@patrickmaloney8717]

Awesome. Niles is one of my favorites. Thank you!!!

[@michaelvogt-gitarre9096]

Hi, which strings gauge is the best for funk ?

[@-GuitarZero]

This was fantastic. I love the range of styles you demonstrate in these videos.

[@patricklavastre7053]

Thanks burthow the chords on tabalatures

[@cadenforbes6180]

Weird Bad Brains lesson

[@acpg]

My Nile Rodgers T-shirt's in the wash...

[@nckwlch]

what! a Bad Brains T shirt.... that cannot be.

[@DavidKemp]

Riff 5: Le Freak by Chic at 18:49

[@sevchyk]

Which guitar model do you use?

[@kingtriplebbb5347]

WOW!!!!!- YOU GOT IT!!!! SOUNDS JUST LIKE IT !!! GOOD JOB 🙋🥇🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆👌👌🙏🙏🙏Thanks for Sharing💓💕💖💞💘Yaaaaaaa💘

[@ChrisJones-ht9zn]

Great lesson as always. Just a quick one, is your Strat am American original?

[@acpg]

Yes, American Original 60s Strat. Couple of years old. I like it.

[@Jordan-ff6mc]

how do i get this tone on my boss katana mkii

[@chuffa1130]

Definitely interesting when wearing a bad brains t-shirt, in correlation with a Niles Rogers tutorial very well done, being from the United States I've seen the bad brains quite a few times back in the '80s, I will say I did see them back in 1987 when they played in Camden Town in the UK

[@elMaxx5]

Ex-so-lent content!!!

[@guitarjonn7103]

Thanks, Rodgers is one of the best at this and it's good to showcase him. Another one of my favorite riffs by him is on Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out". But I have to respectfully disagree on Get Lucky. To my ears, for each measure, starting on the 3rd 16th note of beat 1, it fundamentally goes like this: ==/==/==/==/==/= (with variations). Of course, there's a second guitar playing sparsely placed single lines, as well, sort of similar to how James Brown might do it. It's a great groove, played it on many a gig when it was new. What I recall most about it, though, was how tricky it was playing that part while singing the chorus as well.

[@damocarew]

“Thinking of you” defo my fave ever 👍

[@loontil]

Flock Of Seagulls specs...

[@ralphcundiff5180]

You are a great guitarist and teacher

[@jasosmurray137]

6 DAYS ON THE ROAD DAVE DUDLEY NEXT

[@TheGael128]

plspls pls tell me where i can get your glasses

[@lylenesse6066]

Well done, thank you!!

[@thedoc1210]

the discipline in this type of playing is top

[@kalonjijones362]

I appreciate your shirt.

[@JoseAv-tx4yl]

You're awesome

[@ashfordp676]

Nice guitar bro!

[@dresingular]

Had me at BAD BRAINS.

[@kruse8888]

You need a noise gate pedal.

[@daviddouglas7950]

Hey, this is fun! Got the 1st once, well sort of. 😎 Looks like you're doing well, that's great. Maybe old Cat should rewrite the song to read " ooh baby, baby, It's a weird world..." Hang in there amigo & thanks for this! Dave in the Adirondacks

[@neilrushworth5958]

When you split the signal , does the volume have any bearing?

[@acpg]

Yes, I think you can play around with the relative levels of the two signals. I had the DI level a bit lower than the amp. But you could certainly try them at both the same volume or more DI than amp. Think it depends on what kind of tone you're after and how it sits with the other elements of the mix.

[@nickgreen2497]

Great stuff Adrian, thanks. Just realised I've been playing Le Freak wrong for years...