by Daft Punk
The guitar on this song was played by one of the all time great rhythm guitarists, Nile Rodgers. [Edit: I should also give a mention to the great Paul Jackson Jr. who I think plays the second guitar part here. An awesome player who is unfairly overshadowed by Rogers when people talk about this song.] As I explain in the video, the main riff is in fact made up of two separate parts layered on top of one another. There’s the more prominent scratchy chord part, and then a subtle single-note part underneath. In terms of chords and notes it’s very simple, but with this style of playing it’s all about the feel. Once you’ve got the hang of the basic rhythms it would be a good idea to work with a metronome or a backing track of some kind, so you can hear whether you’re achieving that elusive tightness and funkiness. Recording yourself and listening back to your performance objectively is also really helpful.
Below is my transcription of the riff, which should help you to see where the various chord accents fall. It’s hard to accurately notate this style of playing, so just use the music as a guide. If you keep your picking hand moving, feeling the 16th note groove, the scratches should just come naturally. Above all, listen to the recording and try to copy the feel from that.
