Rhythm guitar

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Guitar strum About this sound Play : pattern created by subtracting the second and fifth (of eight) eighth notes from a pattern of straight eighth notes.
E5 power chord in eighth notes About this sound play 

Rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, i.e. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together. Therefore, the basic technique of rhythm guitar is to hold down a series of chords with the fretting hand while strumming rhythmically with the other hand. More developed rhythm techniques include arpeggios, damping, riffs, chord solos, and complex strums.

In ensembles or "bands" playing within the acoustic, country, blues, rock or metal genres (among others), a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition plays the role of supporting the melodic lines and solos played on the lead instrument or instruments, be they string, wind, brass, keyboard or even percussion instruments, or simply the human voice, in the sense of playing steadily throughout the piece, whereas lead instruments and singers switch between carrying the main or counter melody and falling silent. In big band music, the guitarist is considered part of the rhythm section, alongside bass and drums.

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 the live venue. However the acoustic guitar remains a popular choice in country, western and especially bluegrass music, and almost exclusively in folk music.

Rock and pop[edit]

Rock and pop rhythms[edit]

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.

While rhythm guitarists may in some cases perform a part composed by an arranger or by the composer of a song, they, like the other members of the rhythm section, are expected to be able to improvise or prepare their own part to fit a given song. This requires rhythm guitarists to have a good knowledge of how to use chord voicings, riffs, and fills that suit the style of a given song.

Rock and pop harmony[edit]

Harmonically, in rock music, the most common way to construct chord progressions is to play "triads", each comprising a root, third and fifth note of a given scale, interspersed four-note chords, which include the sixth, seventh or ninth note of the scale. Three-chord progressions are common in earlier pop and rock, using various combinations of the I, IV and V chords, with the twelve-bar blues being particularly common. Minor and modal chord progressions feature in later popular music.


One departure from the basic strummed chord technique is to play arpeggios, i.e. to play individual notes in a chord separately. If this is done rapidly enough, listeners will still hear the sequence as harmony rather than melody. Arpeggiation is often used in folk, country, and heavy metal, sometimes in imitation of older banjo technique. It is also prominent in 1960s pop, such as The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun", and jangle pop from the 1980s onwards. Rhythm guitarists who use arpeggio often favor semi-acoustic guitars and twelve string guitars to get bright, undistorted "jangly" sound.

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]


In some cases, the chord progression is implied with a simplified sequence of two or three notes, sometimes called a "riff", that is repeated throughout the composition. In heavy metal (or just "metal") music, this is typically expanded to more complex sequences comprising a combination of chords, single notes and palm muting. The rhythm guitar part in compositions performed by more technically oriented bands often include riffs employing complex lead guitar techniques. In some genres, especially metal, the audio signal from the rhythm guitar's output is often subsequently heavily distorted by overdriving the guitar's amplifier to create a thicker, "crunchier" sound for the palm-muted rhythms.

Interaction with other guitarists[edit]

In bands with two or more guitarists, the guitarists may exchange or even duplicate roles for different songs or different sections within a song. In those with a single guitarist, the guitarist may play lead and rhythm at different times or simultaneously, by overlaying the rhythm sequence with a lead line.

Replacing lead guitar[edit]

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.

The Pirates, when they established themselves in 1962-64 and again from 1976 onwards as a separate, power trio entity from Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, were pioneers of the technique of playing guitar solos with a thick chordal rhythm-guitar-like style, which was later popularised by Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s.

A recent innovation is the use of a "looping pedal" to record a chord sequence or riff over which the lead line can then be played, simulating the sound achieved by having two guitarists.


Rhythm guitarists usually aim to generate a stronger rhythmic and chordal sound, in contrast to the lead guitarists' goal of producing a sustained, high-pitched melody line that can be heard over the top of the band. As a result, rhythm and lead players may 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 is 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 their 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 bands, however, where the band is trying 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.


The rhythmic aspect of rhythm guitar is generally much less important in jazz than in, for instance, rock or pop. On the other hand, jazz guitarists are expected to have deep knowledge of harmony.

Jazz harmony[edit]



Jazz guitarists learn to perform these chords over the range of different chord progressions used in jazz, such as the II-V-I progression, the jazz-style blues progression, the minor jazz-style blues form, the "rhythm changes" progression, and the variety of chord progressions used in jazz ballads, and jazz standards. Guitarists may also learn to use the chord types, strumming styles, and effects pedals (e.g., chorus effect or fuzzbox) used in 1970s-era jazz-Latin, jazz-funk, and jazz-rock fusion music.

Big band rhythm[edit]

In jazz big bands, popular during the 30s and 40s, 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[edit]


Gypsy pumping[edit]

La Pompe.[5] About this sound Play 

Gypsy jazz is acoustic music, usually played without a drummer. Rhythm guitar in gypsy jazz uses a special form of strumming known as "la pompe", i.e. "the pump". This form of percussive rhythm is similar to the "boom-chick" in bluegrass styles; it is what gives the music its fast swinging feeling. The strumming hand, which never touches the top of the guitar, must make a quick up-down strum followed by a down strum. The up-down part of la pompe must be done extremely fast, regardless of the tempo of the music. It is very similar to a grace note in classical music, albeit the fact that an entire chord is used. This pattern is usually played in unison by two or more guitarists in the rhythm section.

Jazz chord soloing[edit]

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


Vamp riff typical of funk and R&B.[6] About this sound Play 




Reggae downstroke pattern[7]About this sound Play .

The guitar in reggae usually plays the chords on beats two and four, a musical figure known as skank or the 'bang'. It has a very dampened, short and scratchy chop sound, almost like a percussion instrument. Sometimes a double chop is used when the guitar still plays the off beats, but also plays the following 8th beats on the up-stroke. An example is the intro to "Stir It Up" by The Wailers. Artist and producer Derrick Harriott says, “What happened was the musical thing was real widespread, but only among a certain sort of people. It was always a down-town thing, but more than just hearing the music. The equipment was so powerful and the vibe so strong that we feel it.” [8]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Traum, Happy (1974). Fingerpicking Styles For Guitar, p.12. Oak Publications. ISBN 0-8256-0005-7. Hardcover (2005): ISBN 0-8256-0343-9.
  2. ^ "Backbeat". Grove Music Online. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007. 
  3. ^ Franco and his Great Band
  4. ^ http://eden.rutgers.edu/~pfelton/inversions.html

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