Rhythm vs Lead: Which should you focus on? Which is more important? Which leads to more opportunities? Which is more beneficial as a learner?
I remember asking myself this when I was about a year into guitar learning and was considering switching from lead to rhythm. I have made the switch and I have no regrets. In fact, my eyes have only opened to all that rhythm has to offer after switching.
In the electric guitar world, there is definitely more bias for lead and being the badass one on stage, but if you’re not too obsessed with being the one in the spotlight, then keep reading.
My Story & Why I Switched
For me, I wanted to be in a rock band since middle school when I saw a group practicing. I always loved music and played many instruments, keyboard, viola, clarinet, etc, including bass drum in drum line. However, I didn’t play any rock band instruments, nor had friends who were interested in joining me to make a band.
After graduating, I decided to give up on music. I was already having doubts in my abilities. I lost the school’s singing Idol competition and I realized my voice was quite soft, especially for a black woman. Sure, I could learn some easier songs on piano, but I couldn’t read and play complex classical pieces like some other kids. I could play other instruments, but I couldn’t create or improvise. I can only learn and memorize.
I figured there was no future in music for me, so why waste my time? I was done fooling myself and retired….or I tried to. I really wanted some kind of hobby, something that I could get better at, instead of scrolling on social media all day. I tried things outside of music, but nothing stuck. I did pick up a few instruments as well, but they were too loud to practice with my family at home.
Around 2016, Yorkdale mall had Guitar Hero in their arcade, and I really loved it. So much, I bought some used games and equipment for my 2nd hand Wii at home. After playing it for a few months, it resparked my band dream, and I figured, I could be using this time to learn the real instrument. Cliffs of Dover was definitely my favourite song on there. I loved how beautiful and melodic it was, so I was definitely attracted to the lead guitar side of playing.
Thus, for my first year of playing guitar, (which included a 2 year break between months 8 and 9), I was very focused on Lead. I did learn my basic chords, but otherwise, I was focused more on scales, speed, improvising etc.
Now, I definitely did enjoy it. I was able to do more things than I ever could on past instruments, but it also felt quite limiting. I was bound to the backing tracks on Youtube, which didn’t fit the style of music I wanted to play. For the Japanese music I did like, the lead bits were either very simple and minimal, or too hard and complex for me at that stage. I also didn’t like feeling dependent, as lead isn’t very impressive on it’s own.
When I attempted to put a band together again, I would have been the lead player, but I realized our song options would have been really limited as I wasn’t at a skill level to cover the coolest songs. As hard as I tried, I could play them…but at like 50% speed. I tend to get clammy hands when I have to be fast and precise, and I would get frustrated when I had to keep rerecording due to mistakes.
So, I had to make a ‘hard’ choice, but it was an easy one. I didn’t want to hold the band back, and in the end, all that mattered was that I got to play with a band on stage. My role didn’t matter. And if anything, I’d rather be more free to jam and engage with the audience, so I switched to rhythm.
I thought it would be boring and repetitive, but it wasn’t! Japan is very experimental with their chords, chord progressions, and strumming patterns, and I loved that I could learn more songs in a fraction of the time, thus I got to play more songs I loved sooner.
I say this all because I feel there’s still a lot of negative mentality around rhythm. I actually did a lot of research for this article where I talk about the perception around rhythm, and how a lot of lead guitarists cause trouble for others. Rhythm is seen as something easy, simple, and boring, but it is one of the most important roles in a band.
Rhythm can be as boring or as complex as you’d like, and I hope to show the world all it can do when I improve. But for now, if you’re not sure which path you should take, here’s my argument for rhythm.
1. There Are More Opportunities As A Rhythm Guitarist
Rhythm is always needed. Guitar is such a versatile instrument and it can be used in so many genres, from rock, to pop, to reggae, bossa nova, jazz, etc, but the one constant between genres is chords and rhythm.
Thus, playing rhythm will mean more opportunities as a musician. You can play solo with or without a singer, you can play in a rock band, in a blues group, or a mariachi band. If you are a professional rhythm guitarist, your opportunities will be tremendous. As a teacher, most people will want to sing and play as well.
You are extremely valuable as music is all about rhythm and harmony. Melody is kinda useless, or not as impressive, without harmony backing it up. A solo without a backing track doesn’t have the same impact.
2. Less Competition As A Rhythm Guitarist In A Rock Band
Whenever I put up ads looking for a guitarist for a band, 90% of respondents introduced themselves as a lead guitarists. There were a few who said they can play both, but they also made it clear that they would prefer lead. Then there’s those who have never really focused on rhythm and sucks at strumming and changing even basic chords, let alone barre chords and 7ths.
Thus, a lot of bands will already have a lead guitarist as everyone wants to be a lead guitarist. If they are looking for a rhythm player, they would expect a decent rhythm player. Really good rhythm players who want to be in rock bands are hard to find, almost as hard as bass I would say, but they are both valuable and necessary. Imagine lead playing a lone with drums….
3. You Can Have More Fun On Stage With Rhythm
I get it, who doesn’t want to be cool and have all the attention when they bring out a technical and speedy solo? But how much of your attention is going to be glued to your hands on the fretboard? Oh, and let’s not forget the moments when you have nothing to play, so you’re just standing there.
Now, while, rhythm isn’t persay “easier” than lead, there is a lot less variation in comparison. You get to play 1 or 2 chords per bar in most cases, and if you’ve been practicing, you should be able to do this without even looking at your hands. You don’t need to as much effort or attention to play what you gotta play. Thus you can be more present, grooving, bobbing your head, interacting with the audience, or having some fun with the other band members.
4. You’ll Attract A Better Community With Rhythm
Not all musicians can vibe or work with lead players. They are known as cocky, egotistic musicians who usually don’t care to learn any music theory or terminology and can’t always play in time. Even if their skills are impressive, if they can’t follow along or play well with others, some will lose respect for them.
Being a rhythm player means you don’t mind being in the background for the sake of the group. You acknowledge the value of timing, chords, and progressions which is the basis of all music. And this kind of thinking is what will attract others to work or jam with you. Jamming or playing in an orchestra is a team effort. Being a musician is about playing with others.
While there are rhythm players who don’t know much theory, they will know the names of the chords they play, and that alone is enough to discuss and play with others.
5. Rhythm Allows More Creative Freedom
In my story above, I mentioned how I felt limited. As a lead guitarist, I was at the mercy of whatever was available to play along to. Even if I wanted to solo to a different progression, it didn’t matter because a backing track didn’t exist for it.
With rhythm, however, you are creating the foundation of these songs. If you play both, you could use a looping pedal to play the chords, and solo over it after. You can also sing and use your voice to create melodies.
You are controlling the base of the song, and everything else, from bass to drums, can be created form what you decide. The power is in your hands.
6. Rhythm Teaches Good Rhythm
“No duh captain obvious.” Well, regardless, what makes good music is a good steady rhythm to a good steady beat. Being able to keep in time and play what you need to play within each bar is a vital foundational skill. Rhythm guitar players will know how to do this.
Lead guitar players can be a hit or miss however. If they’re only learning solos, they may be practicing alone or just copying the song, but they aren’t paying much attention to the metronome or where the notes play within each bar.
Not to mention, since some may not have worked on their strumming, they suck at that too, but in a band setting, being able to play together on time is a very important skill that should be developed asap. Drummers obviously learn it, and bass players are known to be funky and cool because they keep good rhythm as well. Don’t fall behind.
7. Chords Are More Readily Available
Here’s something else to consider. As a whole, it’s way easier to find chords for songs than tabs. Tabs are special, and you’ll find them for popular hits, especially for big bands like Metallica or Red Hot Chili Peppers, but if you want to find tabs for lesser known hits or obscure bands, good luck.
Tabs are usually fan made, so if others aren’t interested in learning that song, or they don’t have the skills to tab it out, you probably won’t find them. This is probably why there are some riffs and licks that the majority of guitarists know and is now hated and forbidden (Stairway to Heaven, Smells Like Teen Spirit, etc).
Chords, on the other hand, are easier to figure out since Western music tends to stick with basic chords, thus more people can make them and submit them. They also take less time to write out since you just need a letter and sometimes a symbol. A lot of solo guitarists just want to sing along to their songs so they need chords.
I actually requested chords for a complex song, so I ordered some on Fiverr and got them same day. It’s that easy. So you can learn and play more songs faster as a rhythm guitarist, and as mentioned earlier, you’ll also have more opportunities to create.
8. Learning Chords Allows You To Play Songs By Ear Faster
If you do plan to learn by ear in the future, which I really hope you do, understanding chords and the progression will make learning by ear way faster than you ever dreamt. You may be wondering how, especially when you can just take each note at a time and figure out where it is on the fretboard, but listen up.
If you figure out the main chord, you have the key of the song. This already gives you a big indicator of where to start. When you know the key of the song, you’ll quicker be able to figure out what other chords are likely used. A lot of solos go along with the progression, and this is how they avoid hitting the wrong notes.
If you know you’re playing a G major chord, you’ll play notes that work with G major, like the G major scale, or E minor scale. When the chord changes to C major, which is the IV (4) chord in that scale, you’ll know the notes will more likely be something with in C major or A minor and so on. It’s no longer a guessing and memorizing game.
9. Lead Is Losing It’s Appeal In Modern Music
When’s the last time you heard an epic guitar solo in a popular song? When’s the last time you heard guitar strumming in the background? Clearly, one is more popular than the other in this day and age.
Whether you care to accept that rock has been dying for decades or not, it doesn’t change the fact that pop, hip hop, and other electronically made music like house an lo-fi are trending. There is also a big boost for more musical genres like indie and neo soul that uses guitar, but in a rhythmic sense with more complex chords.
If you really want to expand as a guitarist and get your name around, you will need to be flexible and open, but you won’t have much opportunities as lead. Not everyone is as intrigued by shredding, and some just see it as noise.
10. You’ll Have To Play Rhythm Regardless
The biggest point, because rhythm is a necessity, even if you don’t like it much, there will come a time where you will need to, or they may find someone else.
If the band has one guitarist, you’ll be playing rhythm the majority of the time. If you’re in a band with two guitarist, if you’re not playing a solo or a random lick, you can either stand there doing nothing, or you can double up on the rhythm.
I don’t think there’s many, if any, guitar paths where you’ll get to ONLY play lead. If you’re a one trick pony, then you’ll lose many opportunities to rhythm guitarists who can play along with any band in any genre.
Conclusion
All in all, rhythm shouldn’t be neglected. While I get the argument that bass can sometimes replace rhythm and lead will play the more memorable parts, rhythm can be vital in various other settings.
While I do agree with those who say you should play what you like, you should still aim to be a well rounded guitarist. You can focus on lead, but still learn you chords and practice strumming. You can focus on rhythm, but still learn your scales and work on your fingering. Be able to understand both so you can show or describe your ideas to other guitarists.
You have nothing to lose, and the world to gain by learning both. But if you’re in a situation where you can only choose one, and every other site is pushing you towards lead, I hope this gives you a good argument on why you should still consider rhythm.
If you’re interested in improving your rhythm, check out my article on great Youtube practice playlists! Also check out my eBook “Rhythm & Chord Progressions” for 75 patterns to practice!
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