There is a grand, noble tradition among guitarists, and it is this: we steal. Not amps, not each other's dinner, not (usually) each other's picks — licks. So here is me lifting a slick little line straight off Giacomo Turra's fretboard, which feels especially cheeky given the man is basically the patron saint of the great "wait, where did that lick come from?" debate. Turnabout, as they say, is fair play.
This is Lick #75: ten seconds of tasty funk phrasing that Turra originally played on guitar, and that I then also played on guitar, because sometimes the transcription process is refreshingly literal. If you like collecting cool lines from other players and filing off the serial numbers, welcome — you are among friends. And a couple of honest thieves.
How this Giacomo Turra funk line works
The secret sauce is not the notes you land on — it is the ones you sneak in just before. Turra-style funk lives on chromatic approach notes: you pick a chord tone as your target, then slide or step into it from a semitone below (or above), one grease-slick fret at a time. Wrap that around a base of pentatonic shapes, and the chromatics stop sounding like mistakes and start sounding like intent. Add slides so the phrase glides instead of stomps.
The genuinely useful takeaway: put your strong chord tones on the strong beats, and let the chromatic passing notes fall in the cracks — the "e" and "a" of the beat. That syncopation is what makes a line feel funky rather than merely fast; it is all about the rhythm of the melody, not the note count. Play it slow, get the target notes locking with the click, then speed it up until it grooves.
Is it stealing if I credit the guy in the title? Legally I have no idea, but musically it is called "having good taste." Grab the tab and Guitar Pro file and steal responsibly over on my Patreon.