Well, maybe we’re doing Funk Guitar Unleashed today 😉

Seriously, though, this strumming idea comes up in both funky styles of blues, and straight up, James Brown style funk guitar…

It even comes up in rock/pop music for songs like, “Long Train Running,” by the Doobie Brothers.

But… it’s a strumming pattern I consistently see done very wrong, and that’s no good for your grooving.

So let’s look at how it’s supposed to be done, and break it down into steps.

By the way, there are quite a few funky style rhythms in my Strumming & Rhythm Mastery course (recently updated to version 2.0) along with some blues, rock, alternative, country, and all kinds of other strumming styles. It does say, “Mastery,” in the title, right?


    15 replies to "The Funky Blues Strum Pattern You Might Be Playing Wrong"

    • Michael+Chappell

      hey Griff, Great lesson and a refresher. I do have a lot of the BGU courses including this one Strumming & Rhythm Mastery, but alas have not gone through it all until now but now will do. Yes I have broken the G string doing this so I try to play a bit lighter. I seem to always replace all the strings rather than just the G because I keep dates from the change of all strings.

      As always your lessons are great, take care.

      Cheers

      Michael- Sydney-Australia Feb 2024

    • Benton

      Love funk… blues funk…jazz funk..plain old funky funk. Love it all.
      thanks.

    • David

      Griff PLEASE provide TAB for this PLEASE! I’m a advanced beginner and you go way too fast for me. I learn much better from having visual. Thanks

      • Robb

        Often times Griff does not want to include tab for specific reasons. I do agree that it can be helpful for us in the advanced beginner area. He does have a course on Strumming and Rhythm Mastery. There is also one of his free lessons called Better Double Time Strumming. Since this lesson today is centered on the groove, you could just write out the 1 e + uhs and indicate which are strums and which are skips. The put it together slowly as he shows here. Then it amounts to counting, practice slowly, and increasing speed. Good luck.

    • Paul

      Funk players have big pick trees. 😉

    • Sam Gordon W.

      Thanks Grif, good stuff, your the Man!!!

    • blind Lame Bob

      Another fan of Play That Funky Music White Boy…….

      Funk Rhythm Course, yes, count me in.

      The information in BLU course and other smaller courses is just a started. I’d be interested in seeing an emphasis on:
      Typical R&B and Funk Chord Progressions thorough the years
      Useful Lead lines and lead fills
      Walking bass lines
      and Rhythm fills.

      The course could also get into some Rolling Stones Material swapped over to standard guitar – Brown Sugar, Honk Tonk Women, Satisfaction [ this is a neat song, check it out on headphones ], and Street Fighting Man.

      Yes, I’m aware of the copyright god, so please make it work.

    • Accardo

      Great lesson as always Griff. To be honest with you I’d rather play rythm than solos and funk rhythm is probably the most challenging and coolest rhythm there is. Just my opinion of course.

    • Louis

      I like your shirt. Memphis is my hometown although I’ve lived in Virginia for 58 years. Good lesson my friend.

    • Bob K

      Now I’m going to have “Play That Funky Music White Boy” in my head all day long!!!!

      I absolutely love the funk rhythm with the chucks. Great lesson, even if I’m nowhere near ready to play it well (or badly😆)

    • Sam

      For the record, I’d order Funk Guitar Unleashed.

    • TSGordon

      Wait! – What, no “funk guitar unleashed”?

    • Sam Florez

      Well was a bust. I got excited for all of two seconds!!

    • Richard

      Griff, I’m all in if you want to make a Funk Guitar Unleashed course. Just let me know when it’s ready!

      • TSGordon

        Clearly, this lesson works better After you’ve worn out your first MEMPHIS t-shirt.

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