Jude Smith
PRESENTS

Learn Funk in 7 Days

Funk up your playing in a big way.

Trailer
Sample
share
WHo it's for

Intermediate guitarists

Looking to learn funk but don't know where to begin? This course is the perfect way to ramp up your rhythm.

Time

1 week

Jude will guide you through 7 days of step-by-step instruction with interactive TAB and daily assignments.

Outcome

Play funk effortlessly

You'll leave this class ready to groove like the greats with Jude's focused approach to funk guitar fundamentals.

Make it musical

Take the next step

Once you've built your funk foundation, dive into more advanced classes and guided practice plans.

What you'll learn

Tackle the fundamentals of funk with jam-ready drills designed to give your playing a fresh injection of groove.

  • Master the art of percussive funk rhythm guitar
  • Learn how to lock into a funk groove
  • Level up with colorful chords & practical theory
How it works

Your guided learning pathway

This 7-day course will give you a strong foundation that'll enable you to funk up your rhythm, stay inspired, and become a more expressive guitarist.

Fretting Hand

Welcome to the genre of joy and danceability.

On Day 1, you'll start playing right away with some simple funky chords and the iconic "chank" strum.

Strumming Hand

In funk guitar, your strumming hand is like the Energizer Bunny – it just keeps going.

On Day 2, you'll learn fundamental funk strumming technique and practice locking into the groove over three professionally-produced beats.

The Number System

Wondering what the deal is with all of those roman numerals? 

In Day 3, we take a playing pit-stop for some practical theory that will help you jam with others!

Day 4. Palm Muting

This technique is probably the most iconic sound in funk. In this lesson, you'll explore 3 different ways to incorporate the iconic palm muting sound in your playing.

Day 5. Chords are Colors

Spice up your chordal vocabulary with a fresh batch of colorfully-funky voicings.

Day 6. How to Break Out of a Creative Rut

Feeling less than funky? Learn how to find fresh inspiration when you need it most. This is a key element of making consistent progress on guitar.

Day 7. Expression

Take your playing from good to great with an exploration of techniques that will make you a more expressive guitarist. These are great for all styles of guitar playing.

Curriculum

Stay focused with this step-by-step learning program designed by our expert team of music educators.

7-Day Plan

Days 1 & 2

You have to learn to walk before you can funk... We'll kick things off with essential techniques.

Day 1.

After a brief introduction to the birth of funk, you’ll jump right into the thick of things by learning some simple funky chords and an essential string muting technique on Day 1.

In funk, your fretting hand is running the show – it decides which strums ring out melodically and which ones contribute to the rhythmic texture of a song. This lesson is where you’ll learn how to get that iconic percussive “chank” sound and explore how your thumb can help mute strings.

Day 2.

On Day 2, we’ll focus on your right hand with some basic strumming techniques as pioneered by early funk guitarists like Jimmy Nolen (James Brown's Band). Then, Jude will show you how to pick a strumming pattern by walking you through his thought process to locking into 3 groovy beats.

Days 3 & 4

Dive into essential theory that every musician should know and hone your palm muting skills.

Day 3.

On Day 3, we’ll explore an extremely helpful concept called the number system. Learning this will help you communicate with other musicians and quickly transpose songs to different keys.

In its most basic form, the number system involves substituting chords for numbers. Ever heard someone say 'let's play a two-five-one'? That's what you'll work on in this lesson.

Day 4.

Once you get comfortable with the number system, you’ll continue on your funk journey and learn three ways to incorporate string muting in your playing on Day 4.

This is a must-know funk technique – it'll add tension, grit, and rhythmic diversity to your playing.

Days 5-7

Now that you have a grip on the basics, we'll explore some more advanced techniques to fuel your funkin'.

Day 5. Chords as Colors

After you get the hang of palm muting, you’ll have all the techniques you need to funk up your playing. That brings us to Day 5, where Jude introduces the concepts of chords as colors and shows you how to spice up your chordal vocabulary. You'll learn essential chord extensions and get acquainted with the concept of reharmonization.

Day 6. How to Break Out of a Creative Rut

Staying inspired is the best way to make sure you don't stall your progress on guitar. On Day 6, Jude breaks down his tried and true methods for breaking out of a creative rut.

Day 7. Expression

On Day 7, Jude is laying down the gauntlet! He'll challenge you to work on some melodic concepts that will take you from being a good guitarist to a great one.

Take it further

Ready for more funk? Want to expand your soloing skills? Check out these additional classes.

Funk Guitar with Nicole Cerminara

Get some groove into your life. In this Master Class, you'll learn Nicole Cerminara's signature plucky fingerstyle funk techniques. This advanced class will challenge you to hone your sense of rhythm – especially in your picking hand.

CAGED Bootcamp

Learn how to solo in any key across your entire fretboard with our ultra-popular CAGED Bootcamp led by acclaimed guitarist-educator Dr. Molly Miller.

Advanced Fusion and Funk Guitar

Feeling stuck? Boxed in? Uninspired? Join Horace Bray as he teaches you advanced techniques and concepts to elevate your playing with fusion and funk concepts.

Student stories

Learn how Learn Funk in 7 Days has helped real guitarists break through their playing plateau and realize their potential.

“My favorite part about pickup music is probably nerding out in the forum with everyone. Just knowing you have a creative community to reach out to if you have any questions or you're stuck in a rut.”

Vicki Huang

United States

"I would highly recommend Pickup Music to pretty much anyone who has been playing for a few years and doesn't feel like they are getting better any more."

James Harrod

United Kingdom

“One of the things that's been the most fun for me has been the SongSquad challenges... connecting with other people in the Pickup Music community on Instagram and just encouraging each other as we're learning songs and practicing.”

Vin Thomas

United States

"Pickup Music really helped me push my musical boundaries."

Wytse Hokwerda

Germany

Hear from REAL students

Find out why 20,000 members all over the world love Pickup Music

What’s in every Pickup Music membership?

Start learning – free trial

1,000+ Lessons

All skill levels

Interactive tabs

Track your progress

Daily practice plans

New lessons every week

Choose a plan that's right for you

Start your free 14-day trial today.
Cancel anytime.

Recommended

Annual Plan

All-inclusive access to every course.

$149.99

/yr billed annually

You save $30 per year.

1,426 people started a free trial in the last 30 days.

Annual plan includes:

See what a Pickup Music membership is all about.

14-day free trial

Guided learning

Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.

Personalized feedback

Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.

Progress tracking

Monitor your guitar gains.

New releases every week

Never run out of lessons to work on.

Interactive TAB

Follow along with every note.

Multiple HD angles

Get an up close and personal learning experience.

Supportive community

Get into the holiday spirit with step-by-step guitar lessons covering your favorite songs.

Members-only forum

Unlimited personalized learning support from our team of pro guitarists.

SAVE 17%

Unlimited access for less than 1/2 the price of one private guitar lesson per month.

Monthly Plan

All-access to online guitar lessons to level up your playing.

$14.99

/mo

1,426 people started a free trial in the last 30 days.

Monthly plan includes:

See what a Pickup Music membership is all about.

14-day free trial

Guided learning

Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.

Personalized feedback

Know exactly what to practice at every step of your guitar journey.

Progress tracking

Monitor your guitar gains.

New releases every week

Never run out of lessons to work on.

Interactive TAB

Follow along with every note.

Multiple HD angles

Get an up close and personal learning experience.

Supportive community

Workshop your playing, get feedback, and perform live in our online practice groups.

Members-only forum

Unlimited personalized learning support from our team of pro guitarists.

SAVE 17%

Save $30

Frequently Asked Questions

If your questions aren’t answered below, please chat with us.

Is Pickup Music right for me?

Do you feel like your guitar playing has hit a plateau? 

Are you stuck in a guitar rut where you're just playing the same old chords and licks?

Are you looking for fretboard freedom?

At Pickup Music, we specialize in:

  • taking beginner guitar players and turning them into intermediate players
  • taking intermediate guitar players and turning them into advanced players

How do we do it? 

  • First, we ask you a few questions to figure out exactly what skill level you’re at. 
  • Second, we ask you to commit to a series of Master Classes and Learning Pathways that focus on specific techniques. These comprehensive week-by-week courses are the best way to get your playing to the next level. 
  • Third, we get you to track your progress on your personalized learning dashboard.

Finally, we give you support and feedback through an exclusive members community and live practice group sessions with other members. This focused approach to learning guitar will help you bust through the beginner basics, break out of the intermediate plateau, and level up your playing.

This guided learning approach is the fastest way to make real progress on the guitar.

What makes Pickup Music better than other guitar lesson sites?

We're glad you asked! So many things:

  • Pickup Music gives you week-by-week guided learning. This is so important for making progress and getting out of the beginner plateau. Instead of just making you watch a video of an instructor talking about how they play guitar, we break things down for you on a daily and weekly basis.
  • Each daily lesson is accompanied by practice exercises where the instructors play along with you - almost like they're sitting right beside you. This eliminates the guess work so you know exactly what you need to focus on to make real and lasting progress with guitar.
  • Our lessons take you beyond the basics. Most online guitar lessons are good at teaching new guitarists the easy stuff. Pickup Music goes beyond that to help advanced-beginners and intermediate guitarists break through to the next level.
  • Our teachers are the best new and modern guitarists in the world. You'll find touring musicians, professors of music, and virtuosos from every genre to guide you through your guitar journey.
  • We have an extensive library with over 1,000 lessons across most genres for every type of guitarist. This means we have the right learning pathway for your unique starting point and preferred style of playing.
  • Pickup Music lessons are jam-packed with features to enhance your learning experience. This includes interactive TAB, multiple HD camera angles, backing tracks, and extensive course notes. All of this is designed to speed up your learning so you can achieve real results in your playing.  
  • We keep it fresh - we drop new lessons every. single. week. Plus, we're always striving to make each new lesson better than the last.
  • Pickup Music is a supportive and welcoming community. This is the place to connect with fellow guitarists, get feedback, and grow together.

What's included in my Pickup Music membership?

Everything! You’ll have unlimited access to every lesson on Pickup Music from every instructor. That means every Learning Pathway, Master Class, SongSquad, Licks Package, 5-Minute Lesson... we could go on, but you get the idea. It's an all-inclusive membership for one affordable price.

How long are the lessons? How long will it take me to complete them?

Pickup Music's lesson plans are designed to suit the amount of time you have available to practice.

Only got a few minutes? Try our 5-Minute Lessons to quickly add a new skill to your toolbox.

Got half an hour? Try one of our Essential Lick Packages or SongSquads to expand your vocabulary in different genres.

Got a couple of days? Try a Master Class with one of our world-renowned artists. Each class is broken up into short, digestible modules focused on one topic. We encourage you to complete the exercises for each lesson video before moving on to the next one because the lessons typically build on each other.

Ready to really commit to a multi-week program? Try one of our Learning Pathways. Over 6 weeks, these detailed courses will take you on a day-by-day journey to master each level in the genre. Learning Pathways include daily practice exercises so you know exactly what to focus on. These courses are the best way to make lasting progress.

Whichever approach you choose, we recommend building the exercises you learn into your daily practice schedule. The best way to improve as a guitarist is through a consistent practice routine rather than sporadic, longer  sessions. Learning guitar is a day-by-day, life-long journey!

I'm brand new to guitar. Is Pickup Music the right choice for me?

Absolutely! We make learning the guitar made fun & simple – the way it should be.

Too many people get frustrated with guitar because they develop bad habits and poor technique. Avoid these costly and time-consuming mistakes by taking Pickup Music's structured and step-by-step approach to learning guitar.

You'll start with Pickup Music's introductory program Beginner Learning Pathway. Over three weeks, we break down everything from simple chords and melodies to rhythm and lead playing. By the end of the program, you'll be able to play any simple pop or rock song (and even write your own).

Most importantly, we make sure you don't get stuck in the beginner's plateau - a common pitfall for guitarists who are just starting out. You'll keep making progress through Pickup Music's guided Learning Pahtways. These programs are designed to quickly take you from a beginner player to an intermediate one who feels comfortable across the whole fretboard.

What the difference between the annual and monthly plan?

The only difference is that the annual plan saves you $30 a year.

Both options come with a free 14-day trial. That means, we won't charge your card for the first 14 days - you can cancel anytime before then.

With an annual membership, we bill you once a year up-front, and you save 17% as a result. We'll send you reminders before we bill you each year so that you don't accidentally forget about it.

With the monthly membership, you pay month to month. It's a subscription, so we bill you each month until you cancel.

Cancelling your plan at any point is very easy to do online - no tricks, emails, or phone calls required. Just click a button on your account page.

Is a Pickup Music membership worth the money?

When you first start learning guitar, it's okay to bounce around with random free lessons on YouTube and searching for TABs online. 

That approach is going to make you an OKAY guitar player, but it's not going to help you take that leap to becoming a serious guitarist - a player who can:

  • Play naturally, without thinking about every move
  • Jam with friends and learn their favorite songs quickly.
  • Blast through that beginner level, break out of the intermediate plateau, and start playing like a pro!

To become a serious guitarist, you need a clear learning pathway to get to the next level. You need to free your mind and unlock your fret board - you can do this with Pickup Music's expert step-by-step instruction. Having this clear learning pathway is  key to making real progress on the guitar.

What about the price? Is it worth it?

Private lessons will cost you about $50 per lesson or $2,600 a year. Going to a music academy will cost you about $40,000 a year.

A Pickup Music membership costs just $150 for the whole year. That works out to 41 cents a day!

Signing up for a Pickup Music membership also means that you can stop wasting your time and effort trying to guess what you should practice next. Our guided programs eliminate the guess work so you know exactly what you need to focus on each day and week to make lasting progress with guitar. This will increase your efficiency and speed up your progress.

Is it easy to cancel?

Absolutely! You can cancel at any time (although we'd be sad to see you go). Cancelling is easy, no tricks. Just go to your account page and click a button.

You won't be charged anything if you cancel during your 14-day free trial.

If you cancel after your 14-day trial, you won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.

Once your membership expires, you will no longer have access to the classes you were enrolled in during your time as a member, but you can easily restart your membership at any time. Just log in to your account and renew a monthly or annual membership to pick up where you left off.

Can I buy lessons individually?

We don’t sell lessons individually. But the good news is you get access to every single lesson on Pickup Music through the one membership. If you’re only interested in one lesson, you could purchase a monthly membership and cancel when you’ve finished it – we have a hunch you’ll want to stick around though :)

Can I cancel my membership at any time?

Yes! All you have to do is click a button on your account page. No tricks, no emails, no calls. It's a straightforward process.

You won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active and you'll continue to have access to the site until your membership expires on the day it was originally set to renew.

You can easily restart your membership at any time. Just log in to your account and renew a monthly or annual membership to pick up where you left off.

Note: Once your membership expires, we'll save your progress on your Dashboard if you decide to rejoin at a later date.

How does the 14-day free trial work? What is your refund policy?

Your credit card won't be charged for the first 14 days
When you first sign up to a Pickup Music membership, your credit card will not be charged for 14 days. That means that if you decide to cancel within 14 days of signing up, you won't pay anything.

If you decide to cancel after that, you won't be charged at your next billing cycle
That means: if you’re a monthly member, you won’t be charged for the next month. If you’re an annual member, you won’t be charged for the next year.

We don’t offer refunds for payments that have already gone through. But if you choose to cancel, you will retain full access to the membership until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.

Will I be automatically charged each month / year?

The membership is a subscription. After the 14-day free trial, you'll be automatically charged monthly or annually (depending on which plan you choose). We send you reminders before your annual subscription renews so you don't accidentally forget about it. You can easily cancel by turning off auto-renew at any time in your account page.

How do I restart my membership?

It’s easy to rejoin Pickup Music and we’d be thrilled to have you back! We even saved all of your lessons for you while you were gone on your Dashboard.

To restart your membership, simply head to this page, select the plan of your choice, and sign up with the email address you used to sign up the first time around.

Get your 14-day free trial.

Try it out