War - Lowrider - One Chord Song!?!? (Patreon)

8 years in the making, today we are doing our very first 1 chord song. Lowrider by War. Naturally, a one chord song is going to be a little quicker tutorial, but I am not just going to leave you with the strum pattern and that is it, we are also going to break down the bass groove as the groove is what makes this song so cool. If you are wondering, "How do you even write a one chord song?" The answer is this. In music we have three elements, harmony, melody and rhythm. Harmony is the chords, melody is the part that people sing and rhythm is how all of the pieces move. Harmony has rhythm, melody has rhythm, and there are also sections of songs like the drums that only have rhythm and add nothing to the harmony or melody. To compose a one chord song it focuses heavily on the rhythm, and the groove. The groove is the slight details in the rhythm that make it unique, emphasizing certain notes and hits, pushing the beat, pulling the beat, these little details can make a rhythm really come alive and pop off the screen.

Will improve

• Groove
• Compositional skills
• Funky power

Related Lessons

• Mixolydian Masterclass 
• How to count music 
• How chords are built  

More Funk

• Funk chords and Wah Wah 
• Play that Funky Music 
• James Brown - Sex Machine 
• Earth, Wind & Fire - September