Funk Guitar Lessons Comparison

Time to get funky. Funk guitar is an awesome electric genre that everyone can groove to. There are a number of guitar courses that offer funk guitar lessons, so how do you know which one to choose?

We have rated, reviewed and compared the top courses that include funk guitar lessons and put them in an easy-to-red comparison table below. Take a look and see which one is right for you:

Guitar Lessons	JamPlay	Guitar Tricks	Jamorama
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Rating Our custom rating considers all of the guitar lessons' features, tools, quality, support, and personal & user reviews to save you time!	Rating: 98.2%	Rating: 95.8%	Rating: 69.6%
Lesson Format Since guitar lessons are offered in many different formats, we classify each one we review to distinguish between them quickly (online lessons are our favorite).	Online Videos & Community	Online Videos & Community	PDFs, Videos & Software
Video Quality If these lessons offer video instruction (and we hope they do), this gives an idea of how well-filmed the videos are.	Extremely High	Very High	High
Total Lessons The number of lessons offered by this community/instructor (and the total lesson time if available).	3,106 Lessons 880 Hours	5,000+ Lessons	148 Lessons ~32 Hours
Teachers One benefit of Online and DVD lessons is the ability to learn from multiple instructors with different backgrounds, genres and skills.	48 Teachers	45 Teachers	7 Teachers
Full Review This table compares the top 5 guitar lessons. Click Read Review to learn more about one option.	Read Review	Read Review	Read Review
Beginner Does this product/service offer beginner guitar lessons? This is the most common level, crucial for getting started at any age.
Intermediate Do they also have lessons beyond the beginner level? Once you've mastered the basics, you'll want intermediate lessons.
Advanced Some teachers even have lessons designed for advanced players that have moved through beginner and intermediate lessons.
Song Lessons Want to learn popular songs on the guitar? Some instructors work hard to get license deals to teach you specific songs step-by-step.
Live Lessons The most efficient way to learn guitar is in-person live lessons. Some premium services offer live lessons through webcam & chat.
Tuner Will buying these lessons give you access to a free guitar tuner?
Chord Library Chords are the building blocks of all guitar playing. Having a chord library where you can easily look up specific chords is essential.
Scale Library Scales are great exercises and can expand your soloing horizons. Scale libraries organize them by key and style to save you time.
Forum Forums are a great resource to get answers to your questions from instructors and other students quickly and easily.
Private Q&A Though getting public answers on a forum can be really helpful, sometimes asking a question privately is more helpful.
Delivery Delivery refers to how you will receive your guitar lessons and how long it will take to get access and start learning guitar.	Instant (Online)	Instant (Online)	Instant Download
Price The current price of guitar lessons (not including any coupon codes, trials or discounts we find for you.)	$19.95/month	$14.95/month	$49.95 or $299
Cost/Lesson Price divided by total lessons. Note: We assume 12 full months of membership for online lessons.	4.8¢ per lesson	4¢ per lesson	34¢ per lesson
Best Deal To help you save money, we find deals and coupon codes for each of the guitar lessons we review.	Get 25% OFF your 1st month!	14-Day Free Trial	$49.95 Digital Only
Guarantee The guarantee tells you how long you can try these guitar lessons and get a full refund of your money if it doesn't work out.	7-Day, 100% Money Back	60-Day, 100% Money Back	60-Day, 100% Money Back
Visit Site This button takes you to the official website to check out their guitar lessons and get started.

Funk Guitar Lessons

Funk music is about the groove, rhythm over melody and harmony. Originating in the mid-late 1960s from a rich blend of soul, jazz, and R&B music – funk is extremely distinct.

Unlike other popular genres in music, the rhythmic groove of funk is often highlighted by the bass player and percussionist, not the guitarist. However, that is not to say that the electric guitar is an insignificant piece of the genre, and guitarists should play another style. Many great funk guitar players like Jimmy Nolan and Freddie Stone have become famous solely off their funky guitar habits.

Funk guitar lessons tend to focus on an extended vamp on a single chord, unlike R&B and soul which is dependent on chord progressions. Funk guitar lessons de-emphasize melody and harmony, instead focusing on complex grooves that are created by, typically the electric and/or bass guitar.

History of Funk Music

If you want to begin with the origins of funk it would be a grave mistake not to mention James Brown. The artist pioneered funk music with a signature groove that emphasized the downbeat, rather than the popular backbeat. The syncopated guitar rhythm added complexity to Brown’s sound as did the slap and pop bass technique which was introduced later by musicians looking to follow in Brown’s admirable footsteps.

Today, the state of funk music has changed in popular music with artists/band either adding funky elements on an individual song or others, like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, blending funk with rock.

Why Learn Funk Gutiar?

Because of its rhythmic qualities, it is easy to see why funk music is often sampled by hip-hop artists. Funk is ideal for lovers of bass heavy music that is driven by the beat. Funk is great for getting people out of their seats and dancing, yet also complex and challenging to the musician, unlike other types of dance music like disco and techno.

As a lead guitarist you may not want to strictly play funk music, but by grasping some of its basic fundamentals you will become a better rhythm player. Of course, this is very useful if you play a lot of rhythm guitar.

Style of Funk Guitar

The fretting hand is crucial in funk music. The guitar player traditionally plays basic chords and riffs, yet the ability to deaden strings with your fretting hand is what gives the electric guitar a rhythmic quality.

The guitar chord rarely rings for long unlike in pop/rock music, opting for a quick hitting, hard driving sound that is quickly struck by the guitarists and, then, almost immediately deadened.

Power chords are also substituted by funk guitarists for favorites like 9^th chords. The focus shifts from lower strings to the higher strings, adding even more distinction.

Famous Funk Guitar Players

A vast number of famous guitar players dabbled with and/or played funk extensively. The genre is famous for the vocal talents of James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Rick James and Issac Hayes, yet also deserves to be recognized for the guitar contributions of Jimmy Nolan (James Brown), Freddie Stone (Sly & The Family Stone), Eddie Hazel (Parliament-Funkadelic), Steve Cropper (Booker T) and Curtis Mayfield.

Famous funk bands include: Sly & The Family Stone, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Isley Brothers, Kool and the Gang, War and Temptations.

Types of Funk Guitar Lessons

Funk guitar lessons, like other genres, are available in different forms of media. Private lessons might take a week or two to examine funk music; however finding an instructor that is 100% committed to teaching funk is rare.

Therefore, turning to the Web is always insightful where you can find a variety of both free and paid funk guitar lessons.

The lessons may also be available in book, DVD, CD, or a combination of the aforementioned media if you are searching for something that is specific to funk.