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Flea’s Funkiest Bass Line Was
Hidden For Over 30 Years!

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Flea’s Funkiest Bass Line Was Hidden For Over 30 Years! 02

Flea’s Funkiest Bass Line Was

Hidden For Over 30 Years!
It’s one of Flea’s funkiest ever bass parts, and
it’s been hiding in plain sight for 30 years, on
an album we all thought we knew inside out!
Blood Sugar Sex Magik was a game-changing
moment for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. “With
that album, we really grew into being the band
that we always wanted to be,” Flea said to
Guitar World in 2011. “It was like we took what
was great about us and just gave a lot more
depth to the instruments and structure.”

In this lesson you’re going to learn one of

Flea’s most funky bass grooves, which has
been hidden on this album for over 30 years!

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Flea’s Funkiest Bass Line Was Hidden For Over 30 Years! 03

RHCP: Funky Monks

It’s time to dive into one of Flea’s finest 5-string moments! Flea is
widely known for playing 4-string basses, but on Funky Monks, he
made use of his 5-string Music Man StingRay.

After the soaring final chorus, you’re momentarily kept waiting before
this stomping funk groove plays in all of its hidden glory. As you’ve
come to know, a consistent ingredient in Flea’s musical sauce is the use
of short, crisp staccato articulations, which is exemplified throughout
this great bass line. It’s a perfect example of his super-catchy and
grooving riff-writing style.

Throughout this (slightly swung) jam you’ll find variations on defining

funk elements, but for extra ‘stank’ be sure to nail the staccato
phrasing throughout. Once more resting on the downbeat, Flea starts
with a contagiously funky lick that finally lands on the root on beat 3.
He switches to a more minimalist approach in the second bar, following
a chromatic walk up from E to F#. Note the interweaving of open D’s in
bar 5 as Flea adds variations to the line. Hopefully, playing along to this
bass groove will inspire you to keep the funk alive!

Full Score
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continued

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