Funk Masterclass: Advanced

What’s it about?

The final run on the funk ladder. Fast, furious and filled with skills you can transfer into other styles of playing.

Working at ramped up BPMs, you’ll combine essential funk rhythms with a range of chord changes.

When you’re done, you’ll be able to nail unrelenting funk lines, and have a concrete understanding of the style as a whole.

What are “Play with Exercises”?

Luca shows you what to play, and you play it. As you take turns over the same backing, you’ll be challenged to come in on time and stay on it, with a real musical setting.

What will I learn?

This is a Masterclass built on rhythm, and rhythm demands a rock solid grasp of time. You’ll work on perfecting your internal clock with 8th and 16th note triplets on tracks that aren’t afraid to throw up a few tempo changes.

You’ll learn single note lines using a variety of scales and modes and then combine them with chords at pace. With plenty of chord changes to navigate and the whole neck to cover, your challenge is to do it all smoothly.

Everything in the volume is revved up and once you’ve mastered it all, you’ll be able to create your own full throttle funk lines and be able to lean on new ideas in other settings too.

What techniques are covered?

You’ll find no downpicking here. This is an all out strum fest and Luca has made use of essential rhythm techniques that will help you maximise those funky vibes. You’ll use…

• Strumming muted strings
• Right hand mutes
• Left hand mutes
• Slides
• Bends
• Accents

What theory is covered?

In this volume, you’ll find a great deal of delicious licks on top of all those dance-inducing rhythm phrases. This means you’ll make use of a great deal more theoretical concepts than the previous two volumes.

• Mixing up straight and swing time-feel
• Key funk chord progressions
• Syncopated rhythms
• Mixing modal ideas
• Pentatonic scale

Who is it for?

This is for players who want to get serious about having fun with funk. A pedal to the metal road trip into the depths of funk fury, and you’re invited to get behind the wheel.