Members PhilGould Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 No matter what I try, I just cannot find myself enjoying playing lead guitar parts at all. I much orefer playing rhythm guitar. Problem is that this seems to make me somehow a 'strange' guitarist to other musicians. Also, I've been told, although I feel this is wrong, that my insistence on playing rhythm guitar is going to effect my chances of playing guitar well. Anyone care to comment? Should I force myself to learn to play lead or just carry on with what I'm doing now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 I don't think you get good by forcing yourself to play anything musically. The only way to really get good at something is to do it endlessly. I stopped early on trying (force myself) to work on a certain technique or style just because I thought it was something I needed to do. As I get older and my musical sphere expands I end up working on things I never thought I would work on and actually enjoying it rather than forcing myself to do it. I don't think any great musician got there by forcing themselves to do it. It's your musical journey. I think you should do whatever gets you where you want to go with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jerry_L Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 it worked for Freddie Green: Frederick William "Freddie" Green (March 31, 1911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PhilGould Posted November 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Didn't harm the career of one of my favorite guitarists, Boon Gould, to take a backseat and play rhythm either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Not if it's good comping. There's a ton more to that than a great deal of lead guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 I've never really thought of them as two separate things . Rhythm is rhythm, whether it's chords or single note screaming solo's with lots of whammy bar, both have rhythm.Depending on the band and the song, you're sometimes required to spend more time on one or the other, but I don't find it helpful personally to separate the two in my mind. I learned guitar by playing every Beatles song I could, and my elders told me that John was the rhythm player and George was the lead player. Except, John played an awesome chord based solo in "You Can't Do That" And then you've got Paul who was the bass player who played one of the best lead guitar solo's ever imo.."Taxman"..not to mention the really cool "lead" lick in "Ticket to ride" So, with that in mind, I think I just play guitar and try and play what's required by the song. Of course Jimi played both simultaneously. Edit: Also as 1001 suggests, different genres have different vocabularies. If I'm supposed to provide comping support to a sax solo in a jazz tune, then I don't think I'd keep the gig long if I kicked in my tubescreamer and started playing 32nd note neo-classical runs a la Yngwie.On the other hand, If I was the only guitar player in a classic metal band, people are going to expect me to be able to play some sort of guitar solo with some level of virtuosity.I don't think it hurts to add more strings to the bow as it were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JonR Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Originally Posted by PhilGould No matter what I try, I just cannot find myself enjoying playing lead guitar parts at all. I much orefer playing rhythm guitar. Problem is that this seems to make me somehow a 'strange' guitarist to other musicians. Also, I've been told, although I feel this is wrong, that my insistence on playing rhythm guitar is going to effect my chances of playing guitar well. Anyone care to comment? Should I force myself to learn to play lead or just carry on with what I'm doing now? Man, you are definitely WEIRD... Surely all normal guitarists want to stand out the front with their foot on the monitor and their hair blowing in the wind, while pulling constipated facial expressions! If you don't want to do that, there has to be something funny about you...You need to go and join that strange club including weirdos like Keith Richard, Pete Townshend, John Lennon, Freddie Green...Seriously, you're quite right that an "insistence on playing rhythm guitar is going to effect my chances of playing guitar well." It will affect your chances by IMPROVING them! The foundation of "playing guitar well" is a solid sense of rhythm. (A lead guitarist who is not also a great rhythm player is not going to be a very good lead player.)Besides, you are also improving your chances of employment. Good rhythm guitarists are valuable, and rare. Because most guitarists want to play lead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BydoEmpire Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 I've never really thought of them as two separate things . Rhythm is rhythm, whether it's chords or single note screaming solo's with lots of whammy bar, both have rhythm. Agreed! Some folks - like Hendrix - do an awesome job at doing everything at the same time. It's all just playing music. Play the music you like, the music that inspires you. Let someone else figure out if it's "rhythm" or "lead" playing. Seriously, you're quite right that an "insistence on playing rhythm guitar is going to effect my chances of playing guitar well." It will affect your chances by IMPROVING them! The foundation of "playing guitar well" is a solid sense of rhythm. (A lead guitarist who is not also a great rhythm player is not going to be a very good lead player.) Agreed x2! Paul Gilbert and Eddie Van Halen can definitely shred, but their sense of rhythm is outstanding. They groove. That's what makes them so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PhilGould Posted November 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Originally Posted by JonR Man, you are definitely WEIRD... Surely all normal guitarists want to stand out the front with their foot on the monitor and their hair blowing in the wind, while pulling constipated facial expressions! If you don't want to do that, there has to be something funny about you...You need to go and join that strange club including weirdos like Keith Richard, Pete Townshend, John Lennon, Freddie Green... That's what annoys me about a lot of guitarists...the whole constipated-faced, posing bullplop.And if that's the weird club, sign me up! Seriously, you're quite right that an "insistence on playing rhythm guitar is going to effect my chances of playing guitar well." It will affect your chances by IMPROVING them! The foundation of "playing guitar well" is a solid sense of rhythm. (A lead guitarist who is not also a great rhythm player is not going to be a very good lead player.) Can only help my bassplaying too. Besides, you are also improving your chances of employment. Good rhythm guitarists are valuable, and rare. Because most guitarists want to play lead... Well that can only be a bonus given there's a million guitarists fighting for band places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Yes, you are weird. I suggest counseling and attending as many Paul Gilbert seminars as you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PhilGould Posted November 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Originally Posted by Virgman Yes, you are weird.I suggest counseling and attending as many Paul Gilbert seminars as you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BydoEmpire Posted November 13, 2012 Members Share Posted November 13, 2012 Originally Posted by Virgman Yes, you are weird.I suggest counseling and attending as many Paul Gilbert seminars as you can. All joking aside, he's a great teacher and excellent rhythm player. He could probably help your rhythm playing a lot! A friend of mine is doing an online course with him - you basically send videos of things you're working on and he sends video replies - and has gotten a lot out of it. I saw a few of his replies to various videos, and 90% of the time the answer is "you need to work on your rhythm, and here's how you can do that." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted November 14, 2012 Members Share Posted November 14, 2012 I guess it depends ... I have met some cats who join the Rhythm Guitar Players Association (Better known as the RGPA) mostly because they are too lazy to put in the hours it takes to play lead well. So if you like it because you simply like it better then that's great... But if you "like" it better because you can't be bothered with all the work - then thats a whole 'nother matter. Only you know down deep which is you. Personally I have never put much thought into the direction i take... I just follow what I enjoy. My "style" will be the culmination of that trail at the end of the day. If you like rhythm - you like rhythm. Who cares what anybody thinks of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PhilGould Posted November 14, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 14, 2012 Whoo-hoo, I'm not weird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted November 14, 2012 Members Share Posted November 14, 2012 Originally Posted by jeremy_green I guess it depends ... I have met some cats who join the Rhythm Guitar Players Association (Better known as the RGPA) mostly because they are too lazy to put in the hours it takes to play lead well. So if you like it because you simply like it better then that's great... But if you "like" it better because you can't be bothered with all the work - then thats a whole 'nother matter. Only you know down deep which is you.Personally I have never put much thought into the direction i take... I just follow what I enjoy. My "style" will be the culmination of that trail at the end of the day. If you like rhythm - you like rhythm. Who cares what anybody thinks of that. Yeah, there were a number of guitar players in the 90's particularly who didn't play solo's because it was "cool" not to. I never really understood that. Play what you like and give it 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BarneyGumbel Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 A friend of mine once said that the greatest give one guitar player can give another is a rock solid rhythm. A really great rhythm guitarist can be an incredibly valuable member of a band, and I would think, in high demand. If you enjoy it, then do it, and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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