Filthy Funk Phrasing for Lead Guitar

In order to start feeling "in-the-pocket" 16th note phrasing, we must first break down a beat of 16ths into many different combinations and practice them with a steady time source. This consistent practice will help to internalize the rhythmic patterns.

If you are not able to keep up with the examples at the tempo provided in the lesson yet, I suggest working with a metronome. Start at the fastest tempo you can play cleanly, and gradually increase the tempo over time until you can reach 120 bpm cleanly. Once you've reached that tempo, you should be able to play along with the video. Also, if you have difficulty keeping the picking hand in motion, replace rests with ghost notes on the muted string. Doing this will ensure that you can hear whether or not you are maintaining the motion.

Pay close attention to your picking direction. All of the rudiments are to be played with strict alternate picking. Remember, even if you have a rest on a part of the beat, the right hand is going to continue moving in 16th time. Have fun with this!

In this lesson, we will cover a series of 12 exercises designed to help you master the playing of 16th notes using alternate picking and various rhythmic patterns. Starting with hitting every 16th note and progressing through exercises that emphasize different parts of the beat, these exercises are tailored to build your right-hand dexterity and timing. By practicing with a click and maintaining proper hand motion, you'll learn to overcome common challenges, employing techniques like ghost notes if needed. The exercises are geared towards gradual improvement, with an ultimate goal of playing at dance tune tempos, ideally between 120 and 130 BPM. The guidance provided is meant to allow for incremental progress, and the importance of increasing tempo gradually, perhaps in increments of 3 to 5 BPM, is emphasized to ensure skill development.

Now that we can play the basic rudiments, we are going to combine two or more of them to create phrasing patterns. You can do this completely randomly, but I've put a few examples together for you to try. At first, just play your pattern on one note, then create a lick with it by applying the phrasing pattern with the scale you are working with.

In this lesson, we will cover the creation of rhythmic phrasing patterns, focusing on two specific examples. The first pattern emphasizes the omission of the second 16th note on beat one and the playing of the middle two 16th notes on beat two, while keeping the right hand in motion. This pattern is then demonstrated over a funky backing track in E. In this section, techniques are employed such as sliding up into specific notes, playing in E minor pentatonic, and using the blue scale and double stops. The lesson also touches on specific fret techniques on the 12th, 15th, and 16th frets, and blends major and minor phrasing. These exercises form the foundation to explore further, enabling you to create various phrasing patterns that can be applied with different melodic ideas. By combining different beats or measures of rudiments, endless variations can be formed to enhance your musical creativity.

In this lesson, we will cover a musical technique known as the "one-two punch," a super simple but very funky device you can use to get stanky phrasing. Usually, you will hear horn players use this. This concept involves playing a short, staccato note on beat one, followed by a longer, more sustained note on beat two. The specific notes used are flexible, as long as they are within the key; in this case, I demonstrate the technique in G Minor. After presenting examples with a metronome, including a variation that involves sliding up into the fifth, I explain how this phrasing pattern is a favorite not only among saxophone players but also among other musicians. It's a simple yet effective way to create a rhythmic effect that adds character and interest to the music. To further illustrate the concept, I also demonstrate how to play the one-two punch over a funky backing track in G Minor, showing how it can be integrated into a musical context.

In this demonstration, Rick will showcase a full performance, integrating all the techniques we've explored throughout this lesson series.