there is an extremely rare breed of musicians that can just stand there... do their thing.. and the audience is awestuck. Their music just holds the audience there. No need to prance around the stage or flashy antics...
Eric Johnson? Eric Clapton? John Petrucci? Steve Morse?
But it's entertaining to watch some of the "showman" guitarists once in a while.. Like EVH, YJM etc etc... heh.
Actually, there's something else to note:
GUITARISTS!!!!! If you're going to play a gig, and your strings have been on your guitar for months, CHANGE THEM!!!!! It's bad enough that the tones are dull, do you want to risk breaking a string easily too? AND, don't change it just the night before. Do it a couple of days before so the strings can stretch, and they don't go out of tune easily during the gig... Especially those with Floyd Roses...
Here's a joke:
What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians?
A drummer... :lol:
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Lionel www.soundclick.com/demioblue "Whether I'm a good guitarist or not depends on who's listening"
I don't think you're being fair to a rhythm guitarist here. how's rhythm less technical than lead? I've always dreaded the distinction between rhythm and lead. if you're a guitarist, you're a guitarist. no guitarist should focus solely on either rhythm or lead.
Honestly, to me, if you can't play rhythm, you can't hold a lead... Not the other way round. The rhythm guitarist is more important than any self-absorbed, egomaniacal, narcissistic Lead guitarist... You can survive without the lead, but not the rhythm...
To get the best practice, play in a 3 piece band... the guitarist has to hold BOTH forts...
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Lionel www.soundclick.com/demioblue "Whether I'm a good guitarist or not depends on who's listening"
Wow thx for all those useful tips and infos.
really good stuff kudos
Thing that pisses me off is when you go for a gig, people dont know how to appreciate music, --> Metal/screamo = Wah hardcore, power, jazz/blues = Ah they suck, no skill.
What bothers me is when the general public EYES the lead guitarist and considers the rhythm guitarist inferior. I know a lot who consider rhythm guitarists inferior. Does this make the rhythm guitar and the bass the instruments for the not-so-talented??
Its all a matter of role. Some guitarists handle lead, some rhythm, so that the guitar parts in the music sounds full and complete. Rhythm requires different skills than lead, but is certainly not easier. Similarly lead requires different skills from rhythm and is also not any easier.
I prefer playing rhythm, but I also play lead so I am not being biased here. It helps if you play both rhythm and lead, so you understand what each of them require.
Wow thx for all those useful tips and infos.
really good stuff kudos
Thing that pisses me off is when you go for a gig, people dont know how to appreciate music, --> Metal/screamo = Wah hardcore, power, jazz/blues = Ah they suck, no skill.
Too true!
People who dislike a form of music say, "it sucks" when they should be saying "I don't like this kind of music." This kinda thing pisses me off real bad... A techno fellow has no right to say heavy metal sucks, and vice versa... All about personal taste and preference...
I play both rhythm and lead, and lead is tougher, shredding solos and such, but hey, what a guitarist plays in a song is not a true test of his/her ability. because everybody's part matters, solos sound naked without the rhythm. Lets say yngwie malmsteen decides to play rhythm guitar on a song, are you gonna say the lead guitarist is better? Definitely not.
Agree with Eugene, Metal/Jazz/Blues are all not easy to play, all need feeling especially jazz and blues but metal needs the speed. Though it doesn't apply to everything, eg the stuff click five play. No offense but that stuff is really on the simple side...