How to play Get Lucky by Daft Punk
Get Lucky (feat. Pharrel WIlliams and Nile Rogers) is the 2013 hit from their last album Random Access Memories. A Top 10 hit in many countries around the world Get Lucky won Record of The Year at the 56th Grammy Awards. It’s classic disco rhythm makes a great example to help electric guitarists develop their funk rhythm work.
Chords: Bm / Bm7, D / D6, F#m / F#m7, E / E6
Pick or Fingers? You will definitely need to use a pick to create this atypical funk rhythm. Get Lucky features the great Nile Rogers on guitar, a player synonymous with classic funk and disco rhythm work ; learn from the master! Although they may look complex, do follow the down and up-stroke indications - they are correct.
Acoustic or Electric? Electric guitar, baby, electric guitar! Acoustic guitars are not a good choice for funk style; they are too clunky to get the lightness and sense of ease that funk rhythm style needs. And the tone is just not right for funk.
What are the crossed strums for? A rhythm-slash with a cross-head is a ‘percussive strum’ - a light, muted effect made by relaxing the chord fingers just enough to make sure you only hear the blunt percussive sound of the pick on the muted strings. Percussive strums are a regular part of funk-guitar rhythms.
How does the timing work? The funk rhythm of Get Lucky is typical of the semiquaver timing the style is based on. Rests are muted by the chord hand (leave the strumming hand moving freely) ; in rhythms like this rests are just as much a part of the pattern as are the strums. The rhythm in bars 1 - 4 is counted as “1 and 2 e and a 3 and a 4 and” - practice it nice and slow to begin with and count aloud until you are comfortable with the strum pattern.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 3 : to learn more about the chord forms and funk rhythm techniques used in Get Lucky go to pages 4 - 5, 7, 28 - 29 and 32
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 3 is an advanced/tertiary-level text that deals with the exciting but musically challenging area of Jazz and Funk styles. It features detailed information about the important Jazz and Funk chord forms, rhythm styles, harmony theory and styles of chord use. Presented in notation with chord boxes and some TAB to assist realization. The perfect assist for guitarists wanting to test their rhythm guitar ability & get grooving!
