Funk guitar lives and dies by the groove. Specifically, funk guitar rhythm is where the entire band finds its pulse, its tension, and its release. Most players focus on the strumming hand when they want to get funkier, and that matters. But the voicings in your fretting hand matter just as much. Two particular chord shapes, the 6th voicing and the 9th voicing, share a single fingering grip and move freely up the neck. Together, they form a movable foundation that makes any rhythm part sound immediately authentic. Rick Stickney has been teaching this approach for years. It works because the logic is simple: one shape, multiple positions, infinite groove. In this article, we’ll walk through the 6th-9th combo in detail, show you how to apply it across the neck, and then hand off to each supporting piece in the cluster. By the end, you’ll have a clear map of exactly where to go next.
Why Funk Guitar Is a Voicing Game
Most guitarists learn funk guitar as just a picking-hand technique. They work on muting, on ghost notes, on the chick. Those things matter. However, what separates a groove that locks in from one that merely approximates funk is the quality of the chords underneath the rhythm.
Funk rhythm parts are built around chord colors, not just chord shells. A plain dominant seventh sounds fine. A 9th sounds alive. A 6th sounds warm and slightly soulful. Put them together in the right sequence and suddenly the rhythm part has a melodic voice of its own. That is the real secret.
The 6th-9th combo works because both voicings are trimmed down. They use a small group of strings rather than the full six. As a result, they leave room in the mix for bass, keys, and horn lines to breathe. Trim the voicing, keep the character, and the whole band benefits.
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The 6th-9th Chord Combo: One Shape, Two Sounds
Here is the key insight: the 6th voicing and the 9th voicing use the same fret-hand grip. You do not need to re-finger between them. Instead, you simply shift your hand up or down the neck by a few frets. Because the grip stays constant, the groove never breaks. Your picking hand keeps moving while your fretting hand glides.
The 9th voicing sits a few frets above the 6th on the same string set. For example, in a common position, the 6th voicing might land around the fifth fret while the 9th sits closer to the seventh. Each position has its own register and tonal character. Lower positions sound warmer and thicker. Higher positions cut through the mix with more clarity and bite.
In addition, both voicings are available in multiple places up the neck. That means you can find them in a low register for a thicker, more supportive feel, or move them up for a brighter, more percussive chick. Rick Stickney walks through each available position so you can hear the difference and choose the right register for the song. Knowing your options is what keeps funk rhythm parts dynamic.
How Sliding In from a Half Step Below Adds Life To Your Funk Guitar Playing
A trimmed-down voicing in the right register sounds good. However, sliding into that voicing from a half step below makes it sound alive. This is the slippery, forward-leaning motion you hear on classic funk recordings.
The technique is straightforward. Before landing on your target chord, place the grip one fret lower and drag it up into position. The slide lasts a fraction of a beat. It anticipates the chord rather than sitting squarely on it. As a result, the rhythm part feels like it is leaning forward into the pocket rather than sitting stiffly on the downbeat.
This approach works especially well when you alternate between the 6th and 9th voicings. Slide into the 6th, hold briefly, shift up to the 9th, slide back down. Because the grip never changes, the whole sequence stays smooth. The picking hand drives the funk while the fretting hand surfs the neck. That combination is what makes listeners feel the groove before they even consciously register what is happening.
The Funky Flutter and Why the Picking Hand Completes the Picture
The 6th-9th combo gives you the raw material. However, how you attack those voicings determines the final texture. Rick introduces a specific approach called the funky flutter. It relies on downstrokes rather than standard up-down strumming, and that single choice produces a warmer, mellower tone.
Strategic upstrums enter the picture to make the voicing cut through the mix at key moments. The result is a funk guitar rhythm part that breathes. It does not assault the listener with constant strumming. Instead, it pulses. For a much deeper breakdown of exactly how to build this technique, check out the full guide on the funky flutter strum and how it shapes your dynamic range. That article lives in this cluster and picks up right where this section leaves off.
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Playing Your Space Across Two Neck Regions
Once you have the 6th-9th grip in your hands, the next challenge is knowing where to use it and where to stay. Funk guitar rhythm players who get stuck often fixate on a single chord shape in a single position. That fixation makes the part predictable. It also closes off the options the neck is offering.
Rick’s concept of “playing your space” means seeing two distinct regions of the neck simultaneously. Each region contains the voicings available to you. Within each region, you can choose register, inversion emphasis, and texture. Moreover, knowing both regions means you can move between them based on what the band needs in the moment.
This is not about playing more notes. Above all, it is about seeing more options and choosing wisely. A rhythm guitar part that uses two regions feels dynamic and intentional. One that stays in a single box feels static. For a detailed walkthrough of how to identify and navigate these two regions, learn how to stop getting stuck in one chord shape. That piece goes deep on the spatial thinking this concept requires.
Weaving Thirds Into Your Funk Guitar Rhythm Part
Beyond the core 6th-9th combo, there is another layer that elevates a funk rhythm part: intervals of thirds. A harmonized double stop woven into the rhythm pattern adds melodic interest. It gives the guitar part a horn-like quality. Furthermore, it creates the signature funky texture that players like James Brown’s rhythm guitarists perfected over decades.
The challenge most players face is that thirds can feel overwhelming at first. There seem to be many shapes across many string pairs. However, the framework is simpler than it looks, especially once you understand the intervallic logic behind where the shapes fall.
Rather than cover the full lesson here, this article will hand off to the sibling piece in the cluster. Discover how to use intervals of thirds without getting overwhelmed. That article treats thirds as a natural extension of the chord voicing work you are already doing here, so the concepts connect directly.
Why Funk Guitar Lead Is a Timing Problem, Not a Scale Problem
Most players who want to solo over funk reach for a scale. They learn the pentatonic positions, maybe add some blues notes, and then wonder why their leads sound mechanical. The honest answer is that scales are not the issue. Phrasing and timing are.
Funk has a very specific relationship with the beat. Notes that land slightly ahead of the beat create tension. Notes that sit behind it create a loose, comfortable feel. Knowing where to place an idea, and how long to hold it, matters more than what the idea is.
In fact, a two-note phrase with perfect timing will outgroove a ten-note run every single time. Rick addresses this directly in the lead section of the cluster. For a complete breakdown of the phrasing and placement concepts that make funk improvisation work, explore why timing shapes your funk lead guitar more than scales ever will. It reframes how you think about soloing from the ground up.
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Borrowing From the Funkateers
The final layer of this cluster looks outward. Specifically, it borrows from players who were not guitarists at all. Maceo Parker on alto saxophone, Jimmy Smith on organ, and Grant Green on guitar built entire vocabularies around funk phrasing. Their ideas translate directly to the guitar.
Parker’s melodic concision teaches you to say more with fewer notes. Smith’s harmonic movement through funk changes opens your ears to chord substitutions you can apply immediately. Green’s rhythmic attack on the guitar shows how lead and rhythm thinking blur together in the best funk playing.
Because these ideas draw from multiple instruments, they bring a freshness that purely guitar-based vocabulary rarely achieves. Learn how to steal phrasing ideas from the three Funkateers and apply them to your own guitar playing. That article completes the cluster and ties everything together into a single coherent approach to funk.
Continue Learning
The 6th-9th combo is your starting point. From there, each supporting article in this cluster builds a new layer of the complete funk guitar toolkit. Work through them in this order for the smoothest learning arc:
- Build a warmer, more dynamic attack with the funky flutter strum
- Stop getting boxed in by learning to play your space across two neck regions
- Add melodic texture by weaving thirds into your rhythm parts
- Reframe your soloing approach around phrasing and timing, not scales
- Expand your vocabulary by borrowing from horn players, organists, and the best funk guitarists
Final Thought
Funk guitar rewards players who commit to the pocket and think in voicings, not just notes. The 6th-9th combo is not a trick or a shortcut. It is a genuine structural tool. Because the two voicings share one grip, you stay in the groove while your hand moves freely. Because you can find them in multiple neck positions, your parts stay fresh and dynamic. Add the flutter strum, the two-region spatial awareness, the thirds. The phrasing concepts from the lead section, and you have a complete, interconnected system. Rick Stickney built this cluster to give you all of it, piece by piece. Start with the chord shapes in this article. Then follow the path above. Your groove will thank you.
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About the Education Team
Four music-industry veterans with decades of combined experience in music education, curation, and production at TrueFire and ArtistWorks. The TrueFire Studios Education Team plans and edits this content and works with our master-musician faculty to keep it accurate and genuinely useful.
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A true modern day troubadour, Rick has played over 5000 gigs all over the world. From the showrooms of Las Vegas to the steamy clubs of Bangkok and Tokyo, from the shores of Papua New Guinea to the North Pole! Along the way Rick’s learned to distill the elusive aspects of groove, taste and feel into easy to grasp lessons that have allowed students to flourish as guitarists.
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