How to play Keith by Playlunch
Keith is the tongue-in-cheek hit that propelled Playlunch into the mainstream. Self-described as ‘Bogan Funk’ Keith is from their 2025 album Sex Ed and charted at #4 in the 2026 Triple J Top 100. The high energy funk-rock style of Keith makes it a fun jam track for electric players developing advanced chords & funk rhythms.
Bar-chords : E5 A5 Bb5 B5 D5 G5 Am7 Bm7 C6 B7#9
Pick or Fingers? Pick, definitely. The funk-rock rhythms of Keith are classic electric guitar style and you need the instant attack on the strings to create the bright, direct tone of the recording. Hold the pick securely with your thumb-pad flat on 3/4 of the pick & include your forearm in the down - up action to create a strong strum attack. Also, follow the down and upstroke indications - they are correct.
Acoustic or Electric? Electric guitar, for sure. Don’t risk your hand health by playing full bar-chords on an acoustic guitar for a whole song. The electric guitar is designed for this kind of chord work; acoustic guitars are not.
What are the crossed strums for? A rhythm-slash with a cross-head is a ‘percussive strum’ - a muted effect made by relaxing the chord fingers just enough to make sure you only hear the blunt percussive sound of the pick striking the muted strings. Percussive notes and strums are a feature of Funk rhythm style.
How does the timing work? The funk rhythms in Keith need precise timing to get the recorded effect. Take care to mute the sound on the rests ; in funk style rests are just as much a part of the pattern as the strums. To understand the rhythms, percussive strum & count some individual bars: Bar 2 is “1 and - a 2 and 3 4 - e and“ The suggested rhythm fill is “1 e - and - a 2 and 3 e - and - a 4 | 1 and - a 2 and 3 e - and - a 4”
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 3 : If you’re new to funk rhythms you are going to need some development work to lock the feel in. MGCS3 includes an excellent introduction to funk rhythm work followed by many examples of style that include lots of cool three and four-string funk chords. Go to pages 28 - 31 for the semiquaver rhythms essential to funk. Then gradually work through pages 32 - 39 for full progression examples. Also note the handy jazz/funk chord forms summary on pages 4 - 5.
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 3 is an advanced/tertiary-level text that deals with the exciting but musically challenging area of Jazz and Funk styles. It features detailed information about the important Jazz and Funk chord forms, rhythm styles, harmony theory and styles of chord use. Presented in notation with chord boxes and some TAB to assist realization. The perfect assist for guitarists wanting to test their rhythm guitar ability & get grooving!
