Red Hot Chili Peppers Style

Hi GMC!

Welcome to my new lesson inspired by the newest music by the great American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The band consists of Anthony Kiedis (vocals) and Flea (bass), longtime drummer Chad Smith; and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who joined in late-2009, replacing John Frusciante.

Special guest in this lesson: Sebastian Leopardi from Cirse on Bass Guitar.

Music Style:
RHCP is a rock band with an emphasis on funk, but they also incorporate elements from pop, punk and psychedelic rock. In this lesson I’ve got inspiration from their latest album which keeps the band essence but incorporate a more modern sound with more effects on guitars, and new approaches to drum grooves. Over this type of grooves and progressions, Anthony Kiedis sings very catchy phrases with a mix of pop, rock, funk and hip hop.

Tonality, Chord Progression & Scales:
Their music combines different kind of tonalities, but when talking about slow tempo and ballads, the most used tonality is minor Aeolian. Minor chords like Dm and Am are usually found in their music, as well as Em. The solo and funk patterns are mostly composed with pentatonic minor scale, and minor Aeolian mode. This lesson is in A minor and the progression used is inspired by their most popular ballads, even from previous albums.

Techniques:
This is not a tricky lesson but it requires a good control of rhythm (the part 1 is a funky pattern that needs precision but a good control of groove and dynamics), chord changes, and bending.

Sound:
I used LePoin plugins to create the guitar tone. These are free amp emulators that are extremely recommended. The cabinet used for this guitar tone is HyBrit which is a Marshall amp emulation. I’ve also used a phraser fx. Check out the settings:





Tuning: standard EADGBE tuning

Tempo: 85 BPM