Dr. Pepper – The Red Hot Rhythms Of John Frusciante
The Red Hot Chili Peppers recently ended a four-year recording hiatus with the 28-track, double-disc Stadium Arcadium (Warner Bros.), which debuted at the top of the Billboard charts. Perhaps the Chili Peppers’ strongest work to date, the album posted opening sales numbers that nearly doubled those of their previous record, By the Way. This success is due in no small part to guitarist John Frusciante’s infectious, funky style, which you can also hear on his seven solo albums, to say nothing of his soundtrack work, including Vincent Gallo’s The Brown Bunny, and assorted sideman outings with everyone from the Mars Volta to Glenn Hughes. In this lesson, though, we’ll focus on Stadium Arcadium’s great rhythm-guitar moments, revisiting a few RHCP classics along the way.
Spicy Chords
The Chili Peppers use plenty of interlocking rhythmic parts. For instance, the verses of “Dani California†are propelled by a clean-toned riff that mimics Chad Smith’s drums [Fig. 1]. Played with a downstroke, each root note (thumb-fretted on string 6) is synched to Smith’s bass drum; on beats 2 and 4, the four-string chord stabs are coordinated with the snare. Fig. 2, meanwhile, approximates the chorus’s grinding power-chord riff.
In songs like “Especially in Michigan,†Frusciante uses power chords in a slightly unconventional fashion: Instead of placing these root-5th shapes on the guitar’s lower strings, as most rock players do, he slides them along strings 3-4 [Fig. 3], doubling bassist Flea’s lines while staying out of his register. Strum these chords with downstrokes throughout, for evenness. For another example of Frusciante using upper-register power chords, check out the title track to the classic BloodSugarSexMagik.
Frusciante-Style Funk
In the Chili Peppers’ heaviest funk offerings, such as “Readymade,†you’ll often hear Frusciante and Flea bust out a groove with single-note unison riffs, Fig. 4, for instance is derived from the E blues scale (E-G-A-A#-B) and E Dorian mode (E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D), with the major 3rd (G#) and major 7th (D#) thrown in for interest. This approach can also be heard in older songs, like “Mellowship Slinky in B Major†(BloodSugar) and (Good Time Boys†(Mother’s Milk).
“Hump De Bump,†which informs Fig. 5, features another single-note funk pattern: a steady stream of 16th notes that outlines a D7 chord (D-F#-A-C), offset by muted notes (Xs in notation and tab). For each mute, relax your fret hand’s grip while maintaining contact with the string, producing a percussive attack. So that the muted notes aren’t overpowering, be mindful of the accent marks throughout.
Frusciante sometimes decorates single-note riffs with slides, mutes scratches, and chord stabs – see Fig. 6, based on “Turn It Again.†Each chord tone-based fretted note is preceded by a muted 16th. For a slightly different sound, try a pull-and-snap fingerstyle technique – pull and release the strings with your pick hand’s index finger, such that they snap against the fretboard. For other examples of this approach, check out the BloodSugar tracks “If You Have To Ask†(chorus) and “Mellowship Slinky†(verse).
Frusciante often uses hemiola – a three-against-four rhythmic feel. In “Charlie†[Fig. 7], against the overall 4/4 groove, he plays a part that, when isolated, falls into ¾. This creates a polyrhythmic effect – two different meters heard simultaneously. Fig. 8 shows another hemiola, in which a chord is struck every three 16th notes. To get the proper swing feeling, think “ling-short-long-short†throughout.
Fig. 9 is a mixed bag, containing funky chords (E7#9, E9), scratchy rhythms, and chord partials – a sliding triple stop (barred with the 3rd finger) and a stationary double stop (barred with the 4th finger). Keep your 3rd finger barred on strings 1-3 throughout the E9-E7#9 chord. These sounds also surface in the manic “Subway to Venus†(Mother’s Milk) and the psychedelic freakout “Sir Psycho Sexy†(BloodSugar).
Mellower Riffs
In the Chili Peppers’ more introspective offerings, instead of using garden-variety open chords like C (C-E-G), Am (A-C-E), and F (F-A-C), Frusciante might use 7th chords like Cmaj7 (C-E-G-B), Am7 (A-C-E-G), and Fmaj7 (F-A-C-E) [Fig. 10]. These chords can be heard in “Strip My Mind,†as well as in BloodSugar’s “Breaking the Girl,†which informs Fig. 11
With its arpeggios, partial strums, and ornaments, “Wet Sand†[Fig. 12] sounds a bit like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.†Keep each chord shape anchorded as long as possible, moving your fingers as needed to add the hammer-ons and pull-offs. Frusciante also uses ornamentation within fully fretted shapes, like in the chorus riff of “Snow (Hey Oh)†[Fig. 13]. Fret the 6th string with your thumb throughout, so that your fingers are free to play the pentatonic notes above: G# minor (G#-B-C#-D#-F#), E major (E-F#-G#-B-C#), B major (B-C#-D#-F#-G#), and F# major (F#-G#-A#-C#-D#) over the G#m, E, B, and F# chords.
In “Hey,†Frusciante places 3rds atop Flea’s bass line, etching out a Cm-Gm-Fm-A# progression. Similarly, in Fig. 14 a series of 3rds is repeated in each bar, while a different root is played on the downbeat and allowed to ring throughout. “So Much I†features a similar harmonic pattern.
Inspired by live versions of “Sir Psycho Sexy,†Fig. 15 uses 10ths to outline an Em (E-G-B)-D# (D#-G-A#)-A# (A#-D-F)-D (D-F#-A) progression. Each measure begins with the chord’s root and 3rd (displaced by an octave). This spacing is then applied to each chord’s remaining tones, as found up the neck on the same string set. For more 10ths work, check out “Scar Tissue†(Californication)
