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Lesson 1 of 4

Single-note riffs

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Funk single-note lines sit low, like a second bass part, and mix real notes with muted ghost notes ("x" in the tab). The ghost notes keep the groove ticking without adding pitch.

The first riff is in E minor pentatonic (E, G, A, B, D) in open position. The second moves to 7th position and adds F# and C# from E Dorian, the funkiest minor mode. Fingers: one finger per fret, index on fret 7 and pinky on 10; stretch the index back to fret 6 for the C#.

Picking

Keep the picking hand moving down-up in sixteenths all the time, just like rhythm scratching. Each note is picked by whichever stroke falls on it. For ghost notes, touch the string with your fretting finger without pressing it to the fret.

The most common mistake is notes ringing into each other. Lift the fretting pressure after each note so the line is staccato and percussive. It should sound tight, almost like a drum.

Start at 60 bpm, loop a single bar, and only speed up when every ghost note is a clean "tick".

Exercises

Open-position riff in E minor pentatonic

60 → 95 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, open
    2. low E string, muted
    3. low E string, open
    4. low E string, fret 3
    5. low E string, muted
    6. A string, open
    7. A string, fret 2
    8. low E string, muted
    9. low E string, open
    10. low E string, muted
    11. low E string, open
    12. low E string, fret 3
    13. A string, open
    14. low E string, muted
    15. A string, fret 2
    16. D string, open

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Seventh-position riff in E Dorian

60 → 95 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. A string, fret 7
    2. A string, muted
    3. A string, fret 7
    4. A string, fret 10
    5. A string, muted
    6. D string, fret 7
    7. D string, fret 9
    8. G string, fret 6
    9. G string, fret 7
    10. G string, muted
    11. D string, fret 9
    12. A string, muted
    13. A string, fret 7
    14. A string, muted
    15. A string, fret 9
    16. A string, fret 10

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Riff in A Dorian, 5th position

60 → 95 bpm
  1. Bar 1
    1. low E string, fret 5
    2. low E string, muted
    3. low E string, muted
    4. low E string, fret 5
    5. A string, fret 7
    6. A string, muted
    7. A string, fret 5
    8. low E string, fret 8
    9. low E string, muted
    10. low E string, fret 5
    11. low E string, muted
    12. low E string, fret 7
    13. low E string, fret 8
    14. A string, muted
    15. A string, fret 7
    16. A string, muted

Clean 3 times in a row? Raise the tempo by 5 bpm.

Checkpoint

Move on when you can do all of these.

  • Riff clean at 95 bpm with every ghost note dead
  • Pick strictly down-up on the sixteenth grid
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