20 Funk Fusion Licks

JAKE SAYS:

When I was a teenager, I had “worked a lot on my technique” (the reason for the quote marks will soon be clear) and could play really fast. I could also play some nice slow phrases, but here’s what a mentor once said to me... I had no “3rd or 4th gear”! When improvising, I’d play some perfunctory, basic opening phrases and then launch into full-on shred with little in between. The automobile analogy also works for dynamic range; when I started playing gigs, I noticed that I used a light, effortless touch for “shred” but my default picking technique was much more aggressive. So, when I played fast it sounded weak; an anti-climax.

Learning all this was the beginning of a quantum leap in my guitar development.. Essentially, my attention turned to the issue of “control” instead of “technique”, making my playing effective at any dynamic level or tempo.

On that subject, the tempo of the backing track is 94bpm. This can be an awkward tempo for speedy playing: 32nd notes are slightly too fast for me to improvise effectively; sextuplets are ok, but you have to be careful with the triplet feel to avoid unnatural groups of accents; 16th notes are a little ponderous, requiring greater emphasis on note choice (also too much swing on the 16ths can sound messy if the drummer is playing straight 16ths on the hi-hat). Of course, “sheets of sound” textures (see licks 19 and 20) are possible, but, those are “5th gear” licks... that stuff is best in small doses.

You might not have thought about tempo in this way before, but it’s good to be aware of how the beat can be divided. The more you can sense these divisions when you’re playing, the more compelling your playing will be. I can almost guarantee this, and the world’s best guitarists have been endorsing similar sentiments for yonks. Moreover, I have designed the licks in this package to encourage dynamic control and flexibility in your picking hand. These are crucial skills in developing a good time feel.

If you’re working through these licks, you’ll see that whammy bar articulations are a big feature. I’ve been working on my whammy bar control for a long time, and here’s one thing I’ve noticed: when students struggle with this technique, it’s often because of how their guitars are set up. My bridge “floats”, so I can pull it up and push it down. It’s set up like the amazing Carl Verheyen’s guitar: when he pulls the bar all the way back, the high E goes up a semitone, the B string a whole-tone, and the G string a minor 3rd. This supposedly helps tuning stability too, but I’m no luthier.

I sincerely hope you can adapt these licks for your own use. The backing track has been designed as a really simplistic bed for experimentation, with a few breaks just to change things up a little (an opportunity to work on rhythm playing, perhaps?)

Happy jamming!