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Rhythm Guitar vs Lead Guitar
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Thanks to the incredible popularity of video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, an ever increasing number of kids, teens and adults are gaining an interest in learning how to play guitar. If you’ve chose to play lead guitar, you may be surprised to learn that most bands make use of both a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist. On the surface, it is often the lead guitarist that garners all of the publicity and the spreads in all the rock magazines, but the music itself would fall apart if it wasn’t for the craftsmanship of the rhythm player. Let’s take a look at rhythm guitar vs. lead guitar what each person does in a band and what each person’s responsibilities are.
While you don’t hear about kids wanting to grow up to be rhythm guitarists, there is no doubting the importance of a solid rhythm section in any successful band. When you play rhythm guitar, you provide the chord progression that makes the song go. You give the lead guitarist a platform in which to operate. Without the rhythm guitarist providing the foundation of the song, there can be no lead guitar or singing providing the melody. Most rhythm guitarists use triads, or particular chord progressions, to build a song with the assistance of the drummer and bass player. While playing rhythm guitar may put you in the background, anyone who really knows music will tell you that your job is absolutely vital.
In the battle between rhythm guitar vs. lead guitar, you often hear the lead guitarist claiming victory long before the conversation has even started. Not only does the lead guitarist play over the rhythm section, they often stand at the front of the stage and have far more interaction with the crowd during a live performance. Ask any music fan to name five lead guitarists and you will likely hear names like Eddie Van Halen and Peter Buck, but in reality, almost every lead guitarist not only knows how to play rhythm sections, they often slide back and forth between the two, sometimes in mid-song. If you are fighting the rhythm guitar vs. lead guitar battle yourself, remember, the basic tenants you learn for both styles will help you become a better overall player.
Often times, guitarists will begin to learn rhythm first and then move on to soloing once they have a firm foundation. What many people don’t realize is that while most new guitar players are in a rush to pose for music posters as real life guitar heroes, the progression most guitarists make is to begin with rhythm, move on to lead and then back to rhythm to really learn all of the intricacies and finer points of this complicated yet beautiful craft.
In truth, there is no real rhythm guitar vs. lead guitar battle. These two positions work beautifully together to create complex and beautiful music together. If you have your mind set on playing lead, take some time and develop your rhythm skills, as well. You’ll not only learn a lot about music, you’ll become a much better, all around player. You’ll learn that the rhythm guitar vs. lead guitar battle is not a battle for supremacy, but one for perfection.
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