The Importance of Rhythm Guitar on Your Band
Most often, rhythm guitarists need to step aside to let the lead, bass and drums do their own thing.
However, rhythm guitarists play a huge role in the band.
Think about this: John Lennon, Chuck Berry, Pete Townsend and Brad Whitford made it big without taking the lead part and they made great songs in the process.
Rhythm guitar's role is simple: hold down the group's melody while providing a steady rhythmic pattern for the whole band to follow-not including the vocals.
Just imagine a Kirk Hamett's guitar solo without the backing of James-sounds "naked" right? How about Slash's amazing solo on "Sweet Child O' Mine" without Izzy's "muscle" on the background? In a trio like Cream or Rush, the rhythm section usually falls on the bass and drums.
Ideally, it could sound much fuller if there's a 2nd guitar backing up both the bass and drums-just like Aerosmith and the Beatles.
Do you get the idea? In order to really appreciate the role of a rhythm guitar, let's look on its two important roles mentioned earlier: rhythm and melody.
Melody Remember the old punks of the late 60's and early 70's? They've stripped down the bands ensemble to bare minimum.
Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated" is rhythm all throughout.
Did it sound bad? Nope.
Rapid arpeggios were a great technique employed on the 1960's pop to provide a solid rhythmic melody.
The Animal's "House of the Rising Sun" featured steady but rapid arpeggios in the background.
Usually, a rhythm guitar performs a simplified two or three chord progression called "riff".
It is a short and repeated phrase which sums up the whole essence of the song.
The opening riff of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" clearly highlights this idea.
Rhythm Rhythm guitars often mirror the drumbeat specifically on beats 2 and 4 on a syncopated fashion like what many blues artists do; while reggae and ska have their own version of rhythmic style technique called skank.
Listen to John Lee Hooker's "Boom! Boom!" and notice the steady rhythm in the background.
Another reference is "African Roots Dub" by The Skatalites.
While the lead guitarists became famous because of their amazing forays, keep in mind that once in their careers they too learned how to play rhythm guitars.
Even the great Jimi Hendrix reverts back to being a rhythm guitarist to highlight the verses just like what he did on "All along the Watchtower".
Playing with a rhythm guitar on your band puts a lot of meat to your sound and a nice memorable riff that your listeners will hum all the way back to their homes.
However, rhythm guitarists play a huge role in the band.
Think about this: John Lennon, Chuck Berry, Pete Townsend and Brad Whitford made it big without taking the lead part and they made great songs in the process.
Rhythm guitar's role is simple: hold down the group's melody while providing a steady rhythmic pattern for the whole band to follow-not including the vocals.
Just imagine a Kirk Hamett's guitar solo without the backing of James-sounds "naked" right? How about Slash's amazing solo on "Sweet Child O' Mine" without Izzy's "muscle" on the background? In a trio like Cream or Rush, the rhythm section usually falls on the bass and drums.
Ideally, it could sound much fuller if there's a 2nd guitar backing up both the bass and drums-just like Aerosmith and the Beatles.
Do you get the idea? In order to really appreciate the role of a rhythm guitar, let's look on its two important roles mentioned earlier: rhythm and melody.
Melody Remember the old punks of the late 60's and early 70's? They've stripped down the bands ensemble to bare minimum.
Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated" is rhythm all throughout.
Did it sound bad? Nope.
Rapid arpeggios were a great technique employed on the 1960's pop to provide a solid rhythmic melody.
The Animal's "House of the Rising Sun" featured steady but rapid arpeggios in the background.
Usually, a rhythm guitar performs a simplified two or three chord progression called "riff".
It is a short and repeated phrase which sums up the whole essence of the song.
The opening riff of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" clearly highlights this idea.
Rhythm Rhythm guitars often mirror the drumbeat specifically on beats 2 and 4 on a syncopated fashion like what many blues artists do; while reggae and ska have their own version of rhythmic style technique called skank.
Listen to John Lee Hooker's "Boom! Boom!" and notice the steady rhythm in the background.
Another reference is "African Roots Dub" by The Skatalites.
While the lead guitarists became famous because of their amazing forays, keep in mind that once in their careers they too learned how to play rhythm guitars.
Even the great Jimi Hendrix reverts back to being a rhythm guitarist to highlight the verses just like what he did on "All along the Watchtower".
Playing with a rhythm guitar on your band puts a lot of meat to your sound and a nice memorable riff that your listeners will hum all the way back to their homes.