Rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a
In ensembles or bands playing within the
In some musical situations, such as a solo singer-guitarist, the guitar accompaniment provides all the rhythmic drive; in large ensembles it may be only a small part (perhaps one element in a polyrhythm). Likewise, rhythm guitar can supply all of the harmonic input to a singer-guitarist or small band, but in ensembles that have other harmony instruments (such as keyboards) or vocal harmonists, its harmonic input will be less important.
In the most commercially available and consumed genres, electric guitars tend to dominate their acoustic cousins in both the recording studio and live venues. However the acoustic guitar remains a popular choice in country, western and especially bluegrass music, and almost exclusively in folk music.
Rock and pop
Rock and pop rhythms
Most rhythms in rock and blues are based on 4/4 time with a backbeat; however, many variations are possible. A backbeat is a syncopated accentuation on the "off" beat. In a simple 4/4 rhythm these are beats 2 and 4.[2] Emphasized back beat, a feature of some African styles, defined rhythm and blues recordings in the late 1940s and so became one of the defining characteristics of rock and roll and much of contemporary popular music.
Rock and pop harmony
Harmonically, in rock music, the most common way to construct chord progressions is to play major and minor "
In heavy metal music, rhythm guitarists often play power chords, which feature a root note and a fifth above, or with an octave doubling the root. There actually is no third of the chord. Power chords are usually played with distortion.
Arpeggios
One departure from the basic strummed chord technique is to play
The Soukous band TPOK Jazz additionally featured the unique role of mi-solo, (meaning "half solo") guitarist, playing arpeggio patterns and filling a role "between" the lead and rhythm guitars.[3]
Riffs
In some cases, the chord progression is implied with a simplified sequence of two or three notes, sometimes called a "
Interaction with other guitarists
In bands with two or more guitarists, the guitarists may exchange or even duplicate roles for various songs or several sections within a song. In those with a single guitarist, the guitarist may play lead and rhythm at numerous times or simultaneously, by overlaying the rhythm sequence with a lead line.
Crossover with keyboards
Electronic effects units such as delay pedals and reverb units enable electric guitarists to play arpeggios and take over some of the role of a synthesizer player in performing sustained "pads". These can serve as sonic backgrounds in modern pop. Creating a pad sound differs from usual rhythm guitar roles in that it is not rhythmic. Some bands have a synthesizer performer play pads. In bands without a synth player, a guitarist can take over this role.
Replacing lead guitar
Some rhythm techniques cross over into lead guitar playing. In guitar-bass-and-drums power trios guitarists must double up between rhythm and lead. For instance Jimi Hendrix combined full chords with solo licks, double stops and arpeggios. In recent years, "looping pedals" have been used to supply chord sequences or riffs over which musicians can then play the lead line, simulating the sound achieved by having two guitarists.
Equipment
A rhythm guitarist usually aims to generate a strong rhythmic and chordal sound, in contrast to the lead guitarist's goal of producing sustained, often higher-pitched melody lines, that listeners can distinguish above the other instruments. As a result, rhythm and lead players often use different guitars and amplifiers. Rhythm guitarists may employ an electric acoustic guitar or a humbucker-equipped electric guitar for a richer and fatter output. Also, rhythm guitarists may use strings of a larger gauge than those used by lead guitarists. However, while these may be practices, they are not necessarily the rule and are subject to the style of the song and the preference of the individual guitarist.
While rhythm guitarists in metal bands use distortion effects, they tend to use less of the modulation effects such as flangers used by lead guitar players. Whereas the lead guitarist in a metal band is trying to make the solo tone more prominent, and thus uses a range of colorful effects, the rhythm guitarist is typically trying to provide a thick, solid supporting sound that blends in with the overall sound of the group. In alternative rock and post-punk, however, where the band may be aiming to create an ambient soundscape rather than an aggressive Motörhead-style "Wall of Sound", the rhythm guitarist may use flanging and delay effects to create a shimmering background, or (as in The Smiths song "How Soon Is Now?"), a reverberating tremolo effect.
Jazz
Rhythm guitar has been especially important in the development of jazz. The guitar took over the role previously occupied by the banjo to provide rhythmic chordal accompaniment.
Early jazz guitarists like Freddie Green tended to emphasize the percussive quality of the instrument. The ability to keep a steady rhythm while playing through complicated chord patterns made the guitar invaluable to many rhythm sections. Jazz guitarists are expected to have deep knowledge of harmony.
Jazz harmony
Jazz guitarists use their knowledge of harmony and jazz theory to create jazz chord "voicings", which emphasize the 3rd and 7th notes of the chord. Unlike pop and rock guitarists, who typically include the root of a chord (even, with many open chords and barre chords, doubling the root), jazz guitarists typically omit the root. Some more sophisticated chord voicings also include the 9th, 11th, and 13th notes of the chord. A typical jazz voicing for the chord G7 would be the individual notes B, E, F, and A. This voicing uses the 3rd (the note B), the 7th (the note F), along with the 6th (the note E) and the 9th (the note A).
In some modern jazz styles,
Jazz guitarists need to learn about a range of different chords, including
Jazz guitarists learn to perform these chords over the range of different
Big band rhythm
In jazz big bands, popular during the 1930s and 1940s, the guitarist is considered an integral part of the rhythm section (guitar, drums and bass). They usually played a regular four chords to the bar, although an amount of harmonic improvisation is possible. Freddie Green, guitarist in the Count Basie orchestra, was a noted exponent of this style. The harmonies are often minimal; for instance, the root note is often omitted on the assumption that it will be supplied by the bassist.
Small group comping
When jazz guitarists play chords underneath a song's melody or another musician's solo improvisations, it is called comping, short for accompanying. The accompanying style in most jazz styles differs from the way chordal instruments accompany in many popular styles of music. In many popular styles of music, such as rock and pop, the rhythm guitarist usually performs the chords in rhythmic fashion which sets out the beat or groove of a tune. In contrast, in many modern jazz styles within smaller, the guitarist plays much more sparsely, intermingling periodic chords and delicate voicings into pauses in the melody or solo, and using periods of silence. Jazz guitarists commonly use a wide variety of inversions when comping, rather than only using standard voicings.[4]
Gypsy pumping
Jazz chord soloing
Jazz guitar soloists are not limited to playing single notes by their instrument. This allows them to create "chord solos" by adding the song's melody on top of the chord voicings. Wes Montgomery was noted for playing successive choruses in single notes, octaves and finally a chord solo. This technique differs from chord-melody soloing in that it is not intended to be used unaccompanied
Funk
Funk utilized the same
In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a percussive style, often using the
Reggae
The
See also
References
- ISBN 0-8256-0343-9.
- ^ "Backbeat". Grove Music Online. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- ^ "TPOK Jazz, members band members, guitarists, history". kenyapage.net.
- ^ "jazz guitar - advanced chords/inversions". eden.rutgers.edu. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011.
- ISBN 9780739038512.
- ISBN 1-4234-3008-5.
- ISBN 0-7390-0260-0.
- ^ ISBN 9780739028179.
- ^ Bradley, Lloyd. This Is Reggae Music:The Story Of Jamaica's Music. New York:Grove Press, 2001