How Rhythm and Lead Guitar Differ – and Why Both Are Important
For those first starting out on their journey with the electric guitar, there is often a bit of confusion about what guitar playing actually looks like. That’s probably because guitars play two major roles in modern Western bands: rhythm guitar and lead guitar.
Many new guitar enthusiasts are drawn to the instrument by the lead soloing of the greatest musicians in history, whose fingers move with lightning speed and can literally make their guitars wail. But these newbies quickly learn that soloing is only one part of guitar playing—and one that typically comes after they’ve spent some time mastering rhythm.
The Role of the Rhythm Guitar
The rhythm guitar is generally played with chords and strumming, and, along with percussion, forms the backbone of most Western music. The typical rock, country, folk, or pop band involves at least one rhythm guitar, as well as drums, a bass, possibly a piano or keyboard, and then some type of lead stringed instrument, such as another guitar or even a ukelele or banjo. The rhythm guitar gives songs their full, rich tone and builds the musical structure over which the rest of the more detailed notes, lyrics, and other sounds are layered.
The rhythm section often operates in the background, with less fanfare and hype than lead instruments and vocalists, but it plays an essential role in creating music, driving the timing, tempo, and melody. Rhythm instruments are generally considered to include piano, guitar, bass, and drums, but these can all also be used as lead instruments. To better understand the difference, think of rhythm as the rich combination of sounds that create the body of a song, while lead is the detailed ornamentation that gives the song its unique personality and pizzaz, although that isn’t to say that rhythm can’t also be intricate and impressive.
While there are exceptions to this rule, many vocalists will choose to play rhythm guitar while singing, as it generally follows a more basic pattern than lead guitar that is easier to maintain while also using their voice. Famous rhythm guitarists who played while singing include Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, and John Lennon. However, most of these musicians also played lead guitar too.
Note that rhythm and lead guitar don’t represent two different types of guitar. Instead, they refer to different roles—and therefore different playing techniques—for guitars within a band. However, whether the musician is playing rhythm or lead can influence their particular choice of guitar.
Lead Guitar Solos and Riffs
When people talk about lead guitar, they are generally referring to soloing and playing riffs. Riffs are short, easily recognizable lines of musical notes that are often repeated frequently and give a song its identity. You need only think about the opening, repeating notes of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” to understand the power of a strong riff. Meanwhile, soloing refers to a single instrument playing a standalone passage of notes—often intricate and sometimes improvised—that typically breaks up a song, serves as its center point, or comes between verses. However, it is possible to include a solo at any point in a song, since it’s all up to the musician’s creativity.
It is possible to solo on just about any instrument. Consider the frenzied fiddle solo on Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” John Popper’s harmonica solos on basically every song ever performed by Blues Traveler, and the multiple albums’ worth of solos by bassist Victor Wooten, who came to fame with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones but went on to release some of the most memorable independent bass-powered albums of all time. That said, most solos in modern Western music come from the guitar—and typically an electric guitar of some sort, since amplification makes the notes easier to hear. Indeed, the invention of the electric guitar is arguably what made it possible for larger audiences to hear and enjoy lead guitar playing.
The GOATs of Lead Guitar
Lead guitar is what typically comes to mind when people talk about the greatest guitarists of all time, since riffs and solos are often extremely intricate, fast, and difficult to perform. Plus, they’re often the most memorable feature in a song.
Some of the greatest lead guitarists are Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince, Joe Satriani, B.B. King, and Jimi Hendrix, all of whom are considered virtuosos on the instrument. There are hundreds of others who achieved similar fame for solos and riffs that might have been less difficult, but equally impactful. One example in this category is George Harrison, who played lead guitar for The Beatles and was responsible for perhaps more recognizable solos and riffs than anyone else in history, even if they were somewhat “simpler” than the mind-melting fingering of Van Halen.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if you decide to play rhythm or lead guitar—or both, as many guitarists will end up doing at one point or another. The guitar is one of the most widely played instruments in the world for a reason. It is fun, portable, relatively affordable, and produces wonderful sounds. That’s also why it figures so prominently in the vast majority of bands, and why just about everyone loves to listen to it.