Mark Lettieri’s GrüvSköol

There are plenty of classical and jazz etudes out in the world. But when it comes to funk, there’s a mothership-sized hole out there. In summer 2017, Mark Lettieri set out to change that, by putting together GrüvSköol: a series of 10 guitar-powered etudes that use cool looping and funk-guitar techniques.

The pieces are short and digestible — you’ll likely be able to walk away with a new concept and start using it right away. Each groove (“gruv”) is explained in a breakdown by Mark and is transcribed note-for-note.

The chords could be the best part. Mark uses wacky voicings and slash chords that make the parent chord sound completely new, and many passages use chords that have been rhythmically broken apart into intervals across the neck.

The rhythmic content ranges from simple comping to extremely advanced. Some passages in 4/4 will make your head spin. Whatever level you work at, playing along with Mark here is an invaluable way to work on the funk feel and attack, concepts that make all the difference in this style.

This course is recommended for the intermediate-to-advanced guitar player, with plenty of helpful content between those levels.