Ain't No Sunshine - Intermediate Electric Guitar Tutorial

We look at "Ain't No Sunshine" with a funky style approach using bar chords. When you relax those bar chords, you get interesting rhythmic ideas. The progression includes D minor stepping down chromatically - the chromatic scale just means going down one fret at a time, which really works in this context.

The melody uses A minor pentatonic shape one with one crucial note out of scale order - the major second. This creates the natural minor scale by filling in the gaps of the minor pentatonic. The pattern moves through the top of shape two A minor pentatonic, then all the way up to the next pentatonic shape higher on the neck.

Repeating shapes concept: Those first six notes of minor pentatonic shape one starting at the root also exist starting from the A note on the A string (string five). This is one of the most important concepts on guitar - understanding how shapes repeat across the fretboard.

Playing the melody instead of just chords is essential. I saw a Hendrix video covering Cream's tune where he didn't sing at all - he just played the riff and melody throughout. This demonstrates the power of letting your guitar do the talking. The whole arrangement combines bar chords with little reggae/funky soul-style strumming, plus different shapes of minor pentatonic to create a complete performance.

The key is knowing your bar chords, understanding different minor pentatonic shapes across the neck, and most importantly, being able to play the actual melody of the song rather than just strumming chords underneath.