Theory
The week's finish line. Today isn't new learning — it's tying together the right-hand feel you've stacked over three days.
To recap: three things. First, the right hand is a motor swinging in 16ths without rest (Day 1). Second, that swing comes from the wrist snap, not the arm (Day 2). Third, keeping down and up even, you choose only the strike spots to sound (Day 3). Today you roll all three at once.
The goal is to fill four bars of muted 16ths without the hand ever stopping. Over a backing track (drums & bass) if you have one, otherwise to a metronome. What matters is whether the hand hesitates mid-way, or the swing breaks when the bar turns.
There's still no real chord and no flashy accent, and that's fine. This "hand that never stops" is the very skeleton of funk. Next week you'll lay left-hand ghost notes on top to build drum-like rhythm. If this motor feels comfortable today, you already hold the most important half of funk guitar — the other half is just painting color onto this swing. You've spent a week focusing on the swing over the sound — genuinely well done. The moment four bars feel comfortable today, the door to funk opens for you for the first time.
See it
Put three days of feel onto one page. Example 1 is pure endurance; Example 2 is this week's product — your first groove.
Example 1 — continuous 16th motor (2 bars). Sixteenths packed with no rests. An endurance test for a hand that never stops.
▶ BPM 70. Two bars straight, wrist only. Once easy, link two passes for four bars. Keep the swing unbroken at the bar line.
Example 2 — Week 1 groove (2 bars). Sound on the beat and the 'and', empty-pick the rest. Your first groove holding everything you learned this week.
▶ BPM 70. Repeat 4×+ over a backing track. Feel your strokes lock tight with the drums.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up BPM 60–70. Lightly review the muted scratch / empty picking from Days 1–3. Re-check you're using only the wrist.
10–20 min · Brain training (today's target = unbroken connection) Count four bars and confirm the hand doesn't hesitate the instant a bar turns. Focus on the swing "crossing over" the bar line.
20–40 min · Real groove (Examples 1·2 / BPM 70) Build endurance with Example 1 (continuous 2-bar motor) → then Example 2 (Week 1 groove) over a backing track 4×+. Use a metronome if you have none.
40–50 min · Record & reflect (recommended) Record two passes of four bars and check: did the hand ever stop / did the beat drag at the bar line / are down and up even?
Done when: you can hold the muted 16th motor for four continuous bars without the hand stopping or the beat dragging. (Week 1 complete!)
- Hesitating at the bar line. A brief stop when the bar turns drags the beat. Focus on the swing "crossing over."
- Escaping to the arm when tired. As it gets hard the wrist stiffens and the arm takes over. Release before you tire.
- Perfectionism. No chords or accents yet. Today, "a hand that never stops" is a perfect score.
- Skipping the recording. Whether your hand truly never stopped — the recording is the most honest judge. Listen back.