Rhythm Guitar Greatest Hits Vol. 1

Doing the same thing over and over can get boring not matter whether it's doing the dishes, or going to work plucking chickens, or playing the blues. So it is important to get some variations under your belt, or fingers as the case may be. Remember to start with the basic feel and then spice it up from there until you have enough options to keep yourself from being bored and to also keep those in the audience on their toes!

Keeping that loose "sloppy" sound on this style of a guitar shuffle can really work well. Also, we can play in different registers by throwing in our 6th intervals again. And be careful when you are doing any kind of "walking" lines so you don't step on the bass player. Bass players are generally docile creatures, but when the guitarist is constantly getting all the solos, girls, video face time, endorsements, etc, they can become a little edgy. So the least we can do is to try to not step all over that cool walking bass part that they stole from Jack Bruce.

Make sure you understand AND can execute the techniques here before you start trying to incorporate them into your playing.

For the hammer-ons to really sound, you have to make sure you are bringing your left hand finger to the fingerboard with a fairly strong touch... or else you just won't hear the note. For pull off's, the trick is to get that 'pulling' movement strong, yet controlled so that you don't end up hitting the strings below and making them sound as well.

Other than that, deciding which notes and strings to hammer and pull is really up to you – what you like and what your fingers can reach! Explore!!

There's no doubt, funk licks and intervals go hand in hand. So much so the next batch of must-know licks will feature an interval that makes up the core of the lick at hand. Getting this party started we look into the venerable octave through a band that, for some, may be another funk discovery - Groove Collective. Based out of the Big Apple, GC has played host to New York's finest, including guitarist Adam Rogers. This octave-driven lick captures the vibe heard in the intro "Up All Night" from the Declassified CD, where the 9th (A) is cleverly played against a groovin' Gm7 bed of disco-funk perfection. Also, note the calculated scratches, as well as the half step toggling between the A and Bb (b3rd) for added slickness.

This lick begins with one of the basic grooves I used in TrueFire’s Acoustic Blues Handbook. The groove is easier to play if you keep your left hand index finger on the 3rd string at all times. Feelin’ the Groove sounds good played slower as well. This will give you the opportunity to work on the feeling to sound convincing during a performance.

Never underestimate the power of using a chord in a melodic way. Chords can be powerful, sensitive, provocative, and interesting. All the elements of great melodic playing, in my opinion. The art in this next riff comes from the simplicity of the chords, their construction and how they are strummed. Notice that while they are based off of just standard chords (Em, G, C) the use of the open G and D string add an open texture that makes the chord more complex and richer sounding. Couple this with the palm muting execution of the riff and we are building tension, drama and making the chords do all the melodic work. A great even palm muted stroke is really going to help in this riff.