What kind of guitar player are you?

[(ozover50)]

oh yes there some bum notes in there!

That's the 2% unknown fumbles that I was talking about, Scotty!!

[(scotty)]

oh yes there some bum notes in there!

That's the 2% unknown fumbles that I was talking about, Scotty!!

Ah yes we all have Em.LOL

[(melibreits)]

I'm strictly a rhythm player.... I've tried to learn to play lead, and my attempts are so pathetic that everyone vacates the room, including the cat.... I play just well enough to accompany myself on the songs I've written, or on the ones I know well....but my rhythm technique does continue to improve steadily....so maybe there's hope that I'll be able to play lead by the time I have grandkids (that'll be a long time from now, hopefully!) LOL! Oddly, I find that playing lead-type things comes easier to me when I play bass.... I don't know why.

[(sloop_john_b)]

Unashamed lead guitarist here.

[(captsandwich)]

Actually I'd like to change my answer. I am an unashamed lead guitarist with uncooperative digits.

[(jps)]

I play both rhythm and so-so lead work. I tend to go for fingerstyle playing a lot more than pick playing, even getting into doing lead playing fingerstyle.

[(rsm)]

I played both rhythm and lead long ago, even played as the only guitarist in a 4 piece (vocalist, bassist, drummer and me on guitar). I was ok on lead, and found better lead players over time, and I switched to rhythm with a few leads or even as a second lead...though we (me, other guitarists, drummers) could never find good bass players or vocalists, so I switched to bass, and we kept looking for vocalists (I really wish I could sing well, things would be very different today . I actually prefer playing bass to rhythm or lead. Getting back into guitar so I can teach my son guitar, bass and keys, perhaps more?

Now with all the shredders, virtuosos, etc., out there the past few decades, my lead playing style is dated I will say that after awhile, even though I appreciate their technical abilities, the "modern" shredder metal lead players get boring to me. Just not what I'm into musically, personally. I think Sir Paul said something similar, and that he never really learned scales, and that many lead guitarists are just playing scales very fast, which, while impressive, he found it boring (hope I'm not mis-quoting him!)

Anyhow, I like George Harrison's early Beatles style of leads to most of the guitar "wanking" since that time (with many exceptions, Blackmore, Barre, Beck, Page, Hendrix,...).

I'm always learning guitar, bass, keyboards...and I've frankly forgotten more than I can remember now. I did find a very good website for chords, see: http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/ I like the approach, and I try to learn a few chords / variations, and remember them too! There's a wealth of learning info on this site.

I think I answered the question? Well, bass, rhythm guitar, old-school lead (but rusty) in that order currently.

Peace

[(Clint)]

The comments about playing bass are interesting. I think playing bass is almost like playing a lead line through the whole song. I've often used a song's bass line as the starting point of a solo.

I think all the rhythm guitarist here are selling themselves alittle short. When you break it down, soloing is alot easier than playing rhythm. After all, the rhythm has to keep it together through the whole song. When you're playing a solo, you only have to be brilliant for about 10 seconds.

[(jimk)]

The comments about playing bass are interesting. I think playing bass is almost like playing a lead line through the whole song. I've often used a song's bass line as the starting point of a solo.

I think all the rhythm guitarist here are selling themselves alittle short. When you break it down, soloing is alot easier than playing rhythm. After all, the rhythm has to keep it together through the whole song. When you're playing a solo, you only have to be brilliant for about 10 seconds.

I second that, Clint. I've been spoiled by playing fiddle in a band with an excellent rhythm guitarist.

JimK

[(jingle_jangle)]

I'm a hack with a great sense of rhythm and tempo.

[(weemac)]

A bit of both, although I much prefer to play melodic bass instead....
Eden.

[(kiramdear)]

I'm a flexible, quick learner who's adequate at lead and rhythm, but not fancy. I like to make up and master lead parts, rather than improvise endlessly. That's good too, sometimes; I guess the kind of player I am depends on the song I'm playing and the group I'm with. On recordings I like to channel different heroes.

[(wj350)]

Jake, you get my vote for "Thread Of The Year" (yes, I know it's only Feb ). Seriously, it's a great question, and I've enjoyed the responses from everyone so far. I hope to read a lot more!

Me, I'm just a past-his-prime (as if he ever had a prime! ) hacker...I do chords, and I get high when I get somewhere vaguely near the way I hear a song in my head.

My good bud Johneek has shown me how to do some simple leads, but truth be told, it ain't ever gonna really happen for me, and I understand that. But I have a great time with what I can do, and it makes this love affair with music so much more enjoyable...

I would feel like "king of the world" if I could be that guy on the beach who can strum out a few songs that everyone at the BBQ could sing-a-long to...

Bill

[(sloop_john_b)]

For all you rhythmers, here's a good place to get started. This is the pentatonic scale, first form, in A minor. I start all my students off with this and make them improvise a solo, often in the first or second lesson after I teach it:

e---------------------------------------5--8-----------
B---------------------------------5--8------------------
G--------------------------5--7-------------------------
D-------------------5--7--------------------------------
A-----------5--7----------------------------------------
E----5--8-----------------------------------------------

[(johneek)]

Unashamed lead guitarist here.

I never met a lead player who wasn't.....