When many people think of classic rock and rock in general, they think of the catchy guitar rifts, lightning fast guitar solos, and amazing lead guitars. Because of this, rhythm guitar are given less emphasis and rarely get the spot light.
Rhythm guitarists are often placed in the background with the lead guitarists and vocalists in the forefront getting all the recognition. Because of this, some view being called a rhythm guitarist as, almost an insult. They think that being a rhythm guitarist just means you are not good enough to play lead guitar.
Is this true? Does being a rhythm guitarist mean that you are not good enough to play lead?
Most certainly not! Many seasoned guitarists choose to play rhythm guitar. Why? You might ask. Many guitarist choose to play rhythm for a simple reason, they enjoy it. But why do people view rhythm guitar as less important than lead guitar?
Lead guitar is usually considered the more difficult of the two, but does that make it less important? Not really, in many cases the background rhythm guitar is just as important as the complicated lead guitar. The rhythm guitarist has the important role of setting the underlying theme and structure of a song.
Comparing lead guitar to rhythm guitar is much like comparing a drummer to a vocalist. They cannot really be compared because they play two entirely different roles. Each fulfills a purpose that the other cannot do quite as well. This is like wise true with rhythm and lead guitarists, they each serve a purpose that the other cannot serve quite as well.
Because rhythm guitar is usually more simplistic than lead guitar, beginner guitarists usually start by playing rhythm. This is not a bad thing; because rhythm guitar is often not as complicated lead guitar, this makes it is easier to focus on the rhythm and beat of a song, instead of just the individual notes. For this reason it best even for lead guitarists to play some rhythm guitar, doing so will help them to become a better lead guitarist in the long run.
So if you are a rhythm guitarist don’t fret and don’t let anyone tell you it is unimportant. It is very important and can even make you a better lead guitarist.
Next lesson we will talk about how you can become a great rhythm guitarist and some techniques that will help you on your way
