Movement from the 9th to the 13th you also want to make sure these are done succinctly and in the groove. When you add in the extra flair parts like the Your chords will often be played in staccato styles as funk gets part of its syncopation from the brief strums up and down the fretboard. Even if you are playing alone you want to focus your strumming on this offbeat aspect. This offbeat style is what helps give the song its very distinct funky rhythm. The song itself starts on the 'and' beat before the Then to the notes B and Eb on the fourth fret, to get that signature riff at the end of the chorus line.Īs you get the chords down for the song you can start adding in more fills fromĪnother reason this funk classic is great for guitar players is that it will challenge your rhythm and syncopation. From here we bend on the notes Db and F on the 6th

On the 6th and then an Eb9 on the 5th fret. The chorus is much simpler with an Ab major up the Fm7 on the 8th fret and then the Bbm7 Here we give the Ab a muted strum before breaking into the chorus. Into the chorus we ascend with the chords Bbm on the 1st fret and going up with Cm, and to Db major where we play a bass note riff up the fretboard of Db-D-Eb-E-F-Gb-G and back down to This Dorian scale we then jump back to a Gb9 where we riff on the 9th and then use our pinky finger to hit the 13th, giving it the funk. We then move back one fret to the Fm and then two back to the Ebm. Next we move down two frets and use the same shape for This song is a great exercise in barre chords as it starts on the Ab, and we use the A barre shape all the way at the 11th fret. The Guitar Chords and Rhythm The Chords Used The funky clavinet, and the perfectly timed 16th notes of the drummer it all makes for a groovy and danceable song. When you add this simplicity with the syncopation of bass with a The chorus uses these same chords but in a new structure, making it a rather simple song with no major changes. Remember in Dorian we flatten the 3rd and 7thĪfter descending with these chords it riffs on the Gb9 to the Gb13 before repeating.Įxtended chords like 9ths and 13ths are hallmarks of a funky The song is in the key of Ab and literally descends a Dorian mode scale from the start with Ab Gb FdimĮbm Db Cb Bbm and into Ab again.

Stevie Wonder and other soul and funk artists would often use the Dorian mode and it is on full display in 'Tell Me If this song has a familiar vibe, it's not for any Superstitious reasons, it's because it was written by Stevie Wonder. The Musical Structure of 'Tell Me Something Good'

Chords to tell me why