Are You Neglecting Rhythm Guitar? You May Regret It Later ⋆ Chromatic Dreamers

I don’t know the stats, but I can bet that 80%+ of people who pick up electric guitar do so wanting to play licks and solos. I know I certainly did!

I can’t deny how cool it is to play a melody that can reach the hearts of many…but rhythm is often neglected, looked down on, and even made fun of within the community. It’s often seen as easier or not as essential to lead.

Even when it comes to resources, there are hundreds and thousands of videos and lessons about melody and improvising, but not much to practice strumming and chord progressions. (I got annoyed of needing 3 or 4 resources to practice this, so I create an all in one eBook, Rhythm and Chord Progressions).

Now, I didn’t notice this initially, especially since I was learning lead, but when I gained more interest in rhythm, there was so much negativity against rhythm! Don’t believe me? Don’t worry, I brought evidence and receipts.

The first common negative thought was that rhythm was boring and a second choice compared to lead.

‘You’re just playing chords in a loop, yawwwwwn’. I will admit, I thought this too. I get pretty bored quickly, so playing 4 chords over the span of 3 minutes sounded boring as hell.

But the more I got into it, I realized how many chords, and progressions and strumming patterns and techniques there are, and I started having more fun with it. Being able to play along to full songs (instead of bits and pieces where riffs show up) and being able to create progressions and jam to myself is a lot of fun!

The second common thought had people wondering if rhythm was even important or necessary in a band.

I get that some may argue that bass and rhythm both follow the chord progression and beat, so you may not need them both, but I feel these people haven’t listened to much music outside of western or pop music.

That, or they assume because a famous band only has one guitarist, two isn’t necessary, but usually that guitarist recorded both and only plays lead live on stage so it still sounds full.

Japanese music for example, rhythm guitar tends to explore various chords including 7ths, diminished, and mixing power and open chords in the same song, all combined with a more groovy strumming pattern. Bass also tends to be more funky and creative. The song is super catchy without much lead. They still have licks, riffs and solos, but the guitar isn’t in your face like past rock music.

The third common negative thought was that it’s okay to call yourself a “lead guitarist” but rhythm guitarists are told they should just call themselves a “guitarist”.

Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? There’s so much pride in being a lead guitarists, and they can proudly call themselves a lead guitarist without anyone saying anything. But, rhythm guitarists who could play even a bit of lead are told they should just call themselves a “guitarist”.

It’s as if it shouldn’t be pointed out that you prefer or can only play rhythm. That it’s shameful in comparison to being a lead guitarist. It reminds me of people looking at bassists as ‘failed guitarists’, even though some always played bass and they love bass more than guitar.

I’ve posted multiple ads since 2015 when I first tried to create an anime/Jrock band. Most will refer to themselves as a ‘lead guitarists’, others will refer to themselves as a ‘guitarist’, but no one has introduced themselves to me as a ‘rhythm guitarist’, even if the ad had both positions open, since I played keyboard in the first attempt. (Btw, not shaming these individuals at all, I just wanted to demonstrate my point.)

The funniest thing about all of this is that, while there are certainly some rhythm guitarists who may not be that great at lead, there is an OVERWHELMING amount of lead guitarists who can’t play rhythm to save their lives.

Here are some comments from videos of people admitting their lack of rhythm sense or ability to play chords.

In the end, when these individuals who were so focused on lead and solos try to join a band so they have the opportunity to show off their skills further, members of the band are often disappointed.

They would expect the guitarist to play rhythm as that is what’s needed most of the time…and they can’t! This is why many rhythm guitarists get positions easily, even if their lead playing is just ‘okay’. If anything, the band gets to avoid overly enthusiastic lead players with huge egos who don’t want to cooperate and be a part of the band as their only goal in life is to show off their ‘mad skills’.

If you’re a newer guitarist that has been neglecting rhythm, or perhaps an advanced lead guitarist who is only looking into this now and is still on the edge, just know that it’s not too late!

Instead of me explaining points, I’ve looked to reddit to see what they said, and they’ll argue for me. Here’s some reasons why you’ll want to get started now so you don’t regret it later.

1. Rhythm Is More Essential To Any Band

“I want to say rhythm guitar is the easier one to play, but that’s horse shit. If the lead guy screws up a few notes during a solo, most people don’t remember it. But if the rhythm guitarist screws up, the entire ships implodes on itself with women and children burning to death, like that scene in T2. The rhythm is the Cake of the song, the lead solos are just the frosting. Sure the frosting might add some taste to the cake, but if the actual cake is shit. Then it’s just frosted covered shit.

What I am trying to say is that while most don’t mention the rhythm guitar parts, they actually do remember it.”

“I’m in the band role called “lead guitar” in two bands. In terms of actual performance time, I’m playing rhythm probably 80% to 90% of the time. And honestly? I’m a very good rhythm player and only a pretty-okay soloist.”

“I don’t get it either. I’ve played in bands where I do 100% of the guitar solos, and still get kind of baffled at the idea that I’m the “lead” guitarist. I’m only soloing or doing melodic parts a small fraction of the time. Outside of that, doing a lot of “rhythm” work to just make the band sound good.

I can’t imagine a guitar player that just stops playing most of the time to only start when it comes time for “lead” parts. Sounds boring. And the frightening alternative where someone plays “lead” guitar CONSTANTLY through an entire song.”

“Rhythm is the guitarist’s primary focus if he’s competent. In a combo band, nobody should be playing a lot most of the time, meaning that while there is singing going on, there shouldn’t be any real lead playing by anyone, although minimal bits here and there can be quite tasty. A very good bassist shared the idea of it having to add up to 100%; 20% rhythm, 20% bass, 20% percussion, 40% vocals as a metric of how much sustained intensity at each position during the singing part, etc.

Eddie Van Halen’s rhythm is what makes the band work, especially when you consider the abnormal musical relationship between his guitar and his brother’s drums. Opinion here, but Alex VH isn’t a great drummer, but he’s perfect for what they do.”

“It’s an untrue stereotype, basically. In a band, rhythm players (playing primarily chords) are in a bit of a background role compared to the lead guitarist (crazy solos). They don’t get the front-and-center, in the spotlight sort of attention that a soloist gets, and therefore folks tend to assume that they are less important and what they are doing is easier.

In fact, in a lot of cases the rhythm guitarist has the harder job. The soloist has a lot of room to ignore the progression and wander off the rhythm and key without too much damage done. If the rhythm guitarist (and/or bassist) make such mistakes, the song falls apart.”

“Also, nobody in a band is going to be super impressed with your ability to shred. They’re looking for someone with groove, who can lock in with the drummer and bassist. Sure, it helps if you can nail a solo, but that’s maybe 30 seconds of a 5 minute song?

2. Learning Rhythm Makes You A Better Lead Guitarist

“I think that a good lead player has got to have some skill in the rhythm department. Played with a guitarist recently that not only did not know how to play rhythm, he refused to learn the chord structure of the songs. “Just tell me what key I am gonna play in and turn me loose.” And as long as those keys were E or Am, it would almost work. The rest of the band was never sure when he was done with his solos though…because they all wound up sounding the same. I am sure that we have all played with people like that.

I believe that learning how to play the rhythm parts will make you a better lead guitarist personally, and vis-a-vis. It might not be as fun or feel as natural to do the rhythm, but I suggest you do it. Very few guitarists want to play with someone that is always screeching the lead and playing over every bit of the song. (Probably not you or how you play, but I have seen that many of the lead only players feel that they have to fill every second of the song with diddling and wheedling.)

“I’ve only recently started to make a real effort to use more chord tones in my solos and it makes a huge difference. Playing by “feel,” can actually work pretty well with enough experience. But when I purposely aim for a note in the upcoming chord and hit it at the change (or right before), suddenly my playing is melodic and not just a collection of riffs. Even a guy who never plays one second of rhythm guitar will benefit hugely from knowing the changes to the song up and down the neck.”

“Secondly, never learning how to play in time is an unbelievably large handicap. When I’m meeting a new student and hearing them play for the first time, the biggest giveaway that they don’t know what they’re doing is their rhythm. Note choice is one thing, but if you can’t even play to a click, you’re setting up to never be more than mediocre.

The skills that make a great guitarist are universal: knowing your chords, being able to comp a progression, and staying in time with the rest of your band. If you can’t do those basic things, then you have no business even thinking about guitar solos.”

“You need to understand rhythm to play good lead guitar. Few (if any) guitarists play strictly lead guitar. Usually they turn off their overdrive pedal or turn down the volume knob and play a supportive rhythm to the dedicated rhythm guitarist in between lead parts. Also, it is common for guitarists to blend elements of rhythm and lead in their playing, especially if their is only one guitarist in the band: think Hendrix or John Squire.”

3. People Won’t Complain About You

“What the heck is it with “lead” guitarists who can only play “lead”? Got a guy I play with regularly who has technical skills to spare. He can play any lead riff you can think of, right? Especially if it was ever played by Eddie Van Halen, who, if you ask this dude, apparently invented rock guitar.

But you ask him to play a few chords, maybe put a little rhythmic work in there, some arpeggios, go a little Alex Lifeson with the progression, and he a) gets frustrated and whines and b) can’t seem to get the importance of such things as having something texturally interesting in the background of whatever’s going on. It’s like he just can’t possibly lower himself to such tasks.

Then you listen to him actually TRY to play rhythm, and it’s terrible. He hasn’t bothered to turn the reverb and echo off, so what you get is this screamy, cacophonic, mud-being-stuffed-into-your-ears effect. His chord work is elementary at best, mostly power chords, suspends and the occasional 7th if he manages to remember.

“In my band our lead player can shred when he needs to but he can’t stay in the damn beat. He’s played 5 years longer than I have and can’t play anything on beat. If there’s long rest with no playing he is ALWAYS off and I don’t understand how he’s gotten as good as he can but still can’t play simple rhythm.”

“The better you can play rhythm the better your lead playing will be, imo. I’ve been in (and left bands) where the other guy was “the lead guitar guy” because when it came time for me to rip a solo they couldn’t play a solid rhythm that locked in. From my experience they also generally don’t know how to accompany other musicians and sit back in the mix. It’s sad.”

“If you cant play good rhythm then any cool lead you might play aint worth shit in the big picture. Its the rhythm that moves ass across the floor. I lose all respect for people who can shred but can’t/won’t play good rhythm. It reeks of musical immaturity to me, actually.”

“If you can’t play both your not fully learning the instrument. I love jamming with guys who can’t play leads to save their life but are good rhythm players, lead only players on the other hand are awful to jam with. Often times they cant stay on beat, and will just kinda noodle around because they have no idea how to come up with a basic song structure to jam over leaving all the work to me. More often than not lead only players think theyre the best thing to grace the worlds presents and its incredibly frustrating to deal with.”

“A lead guitarist without any sense of rhythm and timing is utterly useless.
I’d rather have someone who could only do basic solos, but played in time than some guy who could sweep pick on 9 strings at 400bpm but had no sense of rhythm.”

“In college I took a improv guitar class to learn a little theory and improve as a player overall. The class was full of great lead players. Each one of these guys had awesome legato and could sweep really well. But improvisational guitar has two sides, so half the course focused on diatonic harmony and rhythm playing.

Every single one of these guys couldn’t play rhythm guitar for shit. They knew their basic acoustic chords, but couldn’t play with any timing, and some couldn’t even form bar chords without buzzing. I swear if you saw these guys trying to play a Amaj shape bar chord you wouldn’t believe that they have been playing for more than a few months. It got so bad that the teacher just wanted them to be able to hit their chord changes on the 1 without any strumming, like you would do with a novice student. Crazy to think some players can do sweep arpeggios in harmonic minor but can’t string together a couple bar chords in 4/4.”

4. You’ll Be Able To Create/Write Music

“I was never into shredding or scales or anything… I learned to play to write and record good songs. And that’s what I do. I can hold my own on guitar, but I can also sing. To me, that’s far more valuable in a band setting than being able to shred… but as many others have said, I don’t know of anything I’ve met in a professional setting that talks bad on rhythm players. Many “lead” guitarists I’ve played with, in fact, tell me they would rather have the skills or writing or singing than shredding!

Also “lead” guitar in most of today’s music seems pretty meaningless. At least, a lot of the bands I listen to today say they trade the parts they play from show to show so as not to get totally bored.”

“This absolutely. As a songwriter my MAIN focus is rhythmic diversity. I often ask myself how I can I do things different with my right hand (rhythm hand) way more than I do with my left hand. I feel a lot of the stagnation in current guitar-based songwriting other than in metal (which I do agree is the most innovative genre right now in “guitar music”, however it’s not for me if that makes sense) has arisen from too much emphasis on the notes/chords in the songwriting as opposed to the rhythm. Like the guy above me said, most (all?) of the chord progressions and note patterns have been done. But there is SO much that can be done differently with the rhythm hand and I rarely hear guitarists or songwriters for that matter talking about it.”

“My friend’s dad has been playing music all his life, in multiple genres, and in multiple countries. The best advice I’ve ever gotten about music was from him.
“Don’t worry about the notes. You can get them later. Focus on the rhythm, because every combination of notes has already been done. The major change between songs is the rhythm.””

“Honestly, the thing that helped me the most was learning how to work my way around the neck. Mostly the main scales and different chord voicings. I’m on mobile so I can’t really link you directly to anything, but learning how scales and chords relate is a major key to writing riffs. A thing I do is come up with different chord progressions and tie them to a mood, like for example progressions in Dm tend to be the saddest of sad, while C major is the highest of highs.”

I found this threat on ‘Songwriting Workflow’ very interesting. People tend to start with lyrics, chords/progressions or riffs/rhythm. Licks and solos were always an afterthought.

5. People Groove More To Good Rhythm Playing

“Without Rhythm there is no music it’s just chaotic noise! If you anything you should be working your whole life towards having perfect rhythm and finding the pocket of the groove! I’m a guitar player as well as a DJ so rhythm is very important to what I do.”

“Not exactly an authority on the subject, but IMO bad lead playing is easier to hide than bad rhythm playing. Even the sloppiest solo can sound great when hidden behind a ton of wah, distortion, etc. but none of that can mask a bad rhythm player.

As for your friends, have them listen to great rhythm guitarists like Mike Devries from Chimaira or Marten Hagstrom from Meshuggah — aside of course from James Hetfield. I can pretty much guarantee none of them will be talking shit about rhythm playing when they hear “Bleed” by Meshuggah for the first time.”

“Just gunna throw this out there: Ted Greene, Ed Bickert, George Van Eps, Lenny Breau. I would trade all the picking chops and shredding solos in the world to play just one chord progression like these cats.”

“It’s amazing that anyone could hate on rhythm guitar in a world with Malcolm Young, Nile Rodgers, Myles Kennedy, etc.”

“I almost think I like listening to creative rhythm works than lead”

I love rhythmic guitarists who take the chords and create interesting arrangements with spiced up chords, inversions, and all kinds of stuff. It really throws into perspective how even simple pop and rock music can be complex if you want it to be.

Conclusion

All in all, I’m not telling you to play rhythm if you don’t want to. Life is short, do what you want to do. However, if you were on the edge, or you’re someone who is getting into rhythm but are feeling discouraged, I hope this has helped you gain a new perspective.

As many have said above, being able to play with a band and really drive the rhythm is what can make or break a song. Lead isn’t always around, but rhythm is consistent. It will definitely open a lot of opportunities for you and you’ll be able to understand music enough to play better solos.

And if anything, I find the rhythm community is certainly more welcoming. It’s not about showing off or who can play the fastest, it’s about being part of a team and sharing cool rhythmic ideas.

When you learn that sounding musical and being in time is way more important than flashy licks and speedy solos, I think your true start as a musician begins.

So, if you’re interested in a resource where you can focus on you rhythm and playing progressions in different keys, check out my eBook Rhythm and Chord Progressions.

As a beginner myself, I couldn’t find something that combined everything on one page, meaning I had to reference many things just to learn and practice strumming with progressions. I fixed that by combining 15 different progressions and strumming patters with 5 keys and their chord charts all on one page, for a combination of 75 chord progressions for you to practice. Definitely check it out!

And if you’ve decided to take the leap over, you can read my article on best Youtube channels to learn lead, or check our GuitarTricks which was a wonderful resource for me. I wrote an article about my experience here, and you can try them out for 2 weeks full access with this link (I am an affiliate for Guitar Tricks. By using this link, I may get financial compensation with no additional cost to you).

UPDATE DECEMBER 2024: “No Longer Dreaming” Published!
If you’re a beginner or inexperienced musician who wants to break out in this competitive field, check out my new eBook! I started this blog when I was still a rookie guitarist with no experience, but with confidence and a plan, I created a band and we performed at a venue, conventions, and a festival in the span of 2 years.
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