It wasn't until lately I picked up rhythm guitar, it's simply not my style of playing

I'm doing some oldschool acoustic blues stuff (on electric) where i play both lead and rhythm, and that style blows my mind

My lead playing is aimed at being more melodic and soulful than flashy lightning stuff

I started playing rhythm back in the day. I am trying to learn lead stuff now. If I had it to do all over again I would try to learn both at the same time. Some of the best bands in the world have guitarists that can do both and their music is usually better for it.

RK

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

i started learning lead guitar first
it was after a few years of playing lead then only i start learning rhytym
it is probably wrong way to go
but that was the case for myself

i started with chords and rythm guitar.

cheers

Right about when I started gigging steadily, I was impressed by Jimmy Nolen's "chicken scratchin" rhythm sound and tried to incorporate some of that into my style.

More about Jimmy :

http://www.funky-stuff.com/Nolen/bio.htm

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

i work on both, they both are very important

_________________
Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

I play rhythm, that's what I started as and it's what I'm best at.... I think I've only ever played lead once on a song a band I was in wrote

Typically, everyone starts out dreadfully slow at single note playing. Remember when you first started playing chords? It could take 20 seconds to form a proper D chord then another 20 seconds to switch to a G. Well, playing notes is a bit faster, but it takes practice, practice, practice.

Always practice slow enough that your technique, timing, and tone are usable and your mistakes are few. Then push a little faster occasionally to stretch your abilities--accepting a larger number of mistakes, but always go back to quality over speed.

Some of my favorite guitar solos are slow: Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb is a great one.

Coming from violin, I started on (more or less) "lead" -- that is, I'd play the melody line and fake the chords. From there, I went on to bass (same idea) and only after that started taking lessons and so picked up chording and rhythm.

That was 40 years ago and back when I eventually went back to "lead" guitarist. But in the years since, I much prefer to develop rhythms that incorporate elements of the melody (finger-picked jazz with a strong sense of beat?). So nowadays, I mostly play sometimes complicated rhythms and rarely classic rock style leads.

Completely rhythm guitar, my favourite players being Izzy Stradlin and Keef. I like playing behind leads but I've never felt the need to express myself in that way........I just enjoy highlighting and falling back/pushing when I see fit.


CC

_________________
Fender Stratocaster (parts build)
Fender Telecaster 72 Custom RI
Fender Telecoustic Deluxe
Gretsch Electromatic Pro-Jet
Gibson Les Paul Standard Plus
Gibson ES-135
Zenith Type-17
Marshall 70's JMP Superbass 100w
Blackstar HT-5

I currently play rhythm in a band. i am really good with finding a backup for lead. I play lead sometimes, if its blues or classic rock.
Rock On!

Lead, which is why I'm struggling now to understand song construction.
When I encounter a non-diatonic change, I wonder how the writer knew
to do it that way.

That's just me.

Rhythm -- I learned chords long before I learned scales.

I learned rhythm a bit before learning how to play lead stuff--my first guitar instructor had me and the rest of my classmates learn "Money (That's What I Want)" for the recital we had, so we only played the chords for it while he sang the song and (maybe)played the lead for it. I think he stuck with the chords as well, though. That recital was great fun--I forget the chords, though. XD If I ever see him again, I'll have to ask him for them, if I never get around to looking them up online.

I'm getting a ton more into lead, though, and I hope to become way more proficient at it.
But, no matter how good I get at playing lead, I think rhythm will always be my strong point. (Maybe. )

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury