Want to master funk guitar? You’d better familiarize yourself with ‘chanking’ and shell chords – two essentials of game-changing James Brown guitarist Jimmy Nolen

Donnie Laudicina teaches a James Brown-inspired funk rhythm figure.

Often in funk, the guitarist’s role is strictly rhythmic. It’s less about shredding or melodies and more about adding a syncopated rhythm or some texture, and that means most of the work lies with the picking hand.

Here, in this lesson from Pickup Music, you’ll learn funk fundamentals like chanking and shell chords.