In this first example, I have taken the Amin pentatonic scale, and just played that straight down, sort of like a scale exercise. But, even this lame approach to improvisation, can be made interesting by groovy rhythmization.

In the first bar, you will see how I target the accents in the rhythm guitar (which is example no.1 btw). This creates a tight, but not particularly groovy line. In the second bar however, the secret to funk lead is unlocked for you! Here I’m targeting notes between the accents of the rhythm guitar, and thereby playing against the beat, and “filling in the blanks” in a manner of speaking. This is an extremely effective way of creating groovy solo lines.

Try it on, and then try to apply this concept on ALL your own lines and ideas, over the backing tracks!