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Learn Funk Guitar - Fast and Easy Lessons

A Quick Guide To Learn Funk Music On The Guitar

The methods of learning funk guitar are vastly different than just learning basic rock guitar. Everything from the strumming patterns, chords and solos has a very unique sound that fit into the funk genre.

The defining staple of funk music is the groove that is generated. If you listen to any James Brown song you can distinctly hear the groove created by the bass and the guitar.

As stated earlier, playing funk music on the guitar has it's own unique sound and this sound is generated from the types of chords that are played with it. Most funk songs don't really use major chords or bar chords that are associated with traditional rock music. When you learn funk music you will see that chords such as minor chords, dominant 7th chords and 9th chords.

Here is a diagram of a D9 Chord with the root at the D note on the 5th fret. Check out the sound clips to check out the different funk sounds.

d9th funk chord

D9 Chord Sound Sample

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D9 Chord Sound Sample

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D9 Chord Sound Sample

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In addition to these chord types, the actual playing and picking of these chords are very unique. A lot of funk guitar players only play the top three strings associated with these chords to give it that distinct funky sound.

The Wah Pedal And Funk Guitar

The use of the Wah Pedal is also used frequently in funk music. The Wah Pedal combined with a strong bass line can give a great groove that is the hallmark of funk music. Check out any George Clinton music to hear this effect. The are many different types of wah pedals and the best known ones are Crybaby, Vox and Morley

Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Multi-Wah Pedal

Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Multi-Wah Pedal

The Dunlop Crybaby 535Q Multi-Wah Pedal allows you to customize and shape the sound of the wah. It takes you from a narrow, sharp wah to a broad, subtle wah with a simple turn of the Q dial. Also offers 6 guitar wah ranges with a variable boost from 0 to +16dB and a hard-wired on/off switch. New custom circuitry consumes less power and eliminates unwanted distortion.


Vox V845 Classic Wah Wah Guitar Effects Pedal

Vox V845 Classic Wah Wah Guitar Effects Pedal

The Vox V845 Classic Wah Wah Guitar Effects Pedal is based on the specifications of the original pedal developed by VOX in the '60s. The V845 Wah-Wah offers guitarists the same legendary Wah-Wah tone in a new sturdy but very affordable design. The fitted AC power connector saves on batteries and the outer case is coated with tough all-black finish making the VOX Classic Wah-Wah a perfect choice for your pedal board.VOX developed the world's first Wah Wah effect during the '60s to give guitarists the ability to sound like a trumpet being muted—an important musical ingredient of the day. VOX's original Wah Wah pedal quickly gained widespread popularity and its unique sonic characteristics have encouraged further experimentation by guitarists ever since.


Morley Power Wah Volume Pedal

Morley Power Wah Volume Pedal

The Power Wah Volume pedal from Morley incorporates a number of pro features like Morley's custom HQ2 inductor, wah level control, and electro-optical circuitry so there are no pots to wear out. TrueTone bypass ensures pure tone and maintains the signal in both Wah and Volume modes. The cold-rolled steel housing is built to withstand years of abuse. LED indicator keeps you aware of its status at all times. Two-year warranty.


Dunlop EVH95 Eddie Van Halen Signature Wah Guitar Effects Pedal

Dunlop EVH95 Eddie Van Halen Signature Wah Guitar Effects Pedal

The EVH95 Signature Crybaby Wah Pedal is a member of the celebrated EVH Signature Series that was developed after intensive design collaboration with the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Early on in the process, Eddie handed over his "Holy Grail" Crybaby-a standard Crybaby customized in the early Nineties with a more vocal-like, High Q inductor and a wider frequency sweep. Amazingly, Dunlop found that over the years Eddie's unique wah style, which uses mostly the middle range of the effect pedal's action, had carved his own curve into the pot's resistive element, making the middle range even more defined and increased the low end sweep. Dunlop's clones of the worn-in pot and hand-selected inductor give the EVH-95 the same "Holy Grail" feel and tone, and it's true hardwire bypass, dual bright blue bypass LEDs, and graphics based on the black and yellow-striped guitar featured on Van Halen II round out this EVH-approved Crybaby Wah Pedal with a voice and look all its own.


Do you want to get a quick jumpstart to learn how to play funk guitar? The products below are great for learning funk guitar. Click on them for more information:

Mel Bay Lick Library Guitar Quick Licks - Nuno Bettencourt Style: Funk Rock DVD ¹ Backbeat Funk Guitar And Bass - Know The Players, Play The Music Hal Leonard Funk Guitar - Guitar Play-Along Series, Volume 52 (Book/CD) Cherry Lane Learn Funk Guitar with Tower of Power's Jeff Tamelier (Book/CD) Berklee Press Funk/R&B Guitar - Creative Solos, Grooves & Sounds (Book/CD) Hal Leonard Funk Guitar Book/CD

If want to learn the basics of how to play the guitar, we strongly recommend that you check out the detailed course packages set up by Learn & Master Guitar. This is one of the best guitar learning packages on the market today. Click here to check it out!

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