When someone hires you as a guitar player, they just want you to play the right stuff. That means playing the right parts, using the right sound, locking with the rest of the band and if playing a solo, make it just right for the song.
To get and keep work, it’s so important to play solid rhythm guitar. Unfortunately, most guitar players slack on developing this aspect of their playing and wonder why they don’t get called for gigs.
Most guitar players probably spend 95% of their time practicing soloing and 5% of their time practicing rhythm guitar. But on the gig, it’s the opposite — 95% of the time you’re playing rhythm guitar and only 5% of the time soloing.
The solo is the focal point of the song for a moment, but rhythm guitar is often what defines the song. Try dedicating a week of your “listening time” focusing on rhythm guitar parts.
Rhythm guitar is not boring. It doesn’t have to be complex or simple but it has to be “right” for the song, and that’s the challenge.
Fretboard Biology delves into rhythm guitar in a lot of genres. It’ll get you playing the right stuff — and knowing why.
