Rhythm Guitar Options

Creating guitar parts that compliment those of other musicians you are playing with will make you a very popular guitarist! Following are some of the options I think of when creating rhythm guitar parts onstage or in the studio.

Rhythm Guitar Options

• High to Low
• Fast to Slow
• Active to Sparse
• Groove vs. Fills
• Clean to Dirty
• Chords to Notes
• Sustain to Staccato
• Simple Harmony to Complex
• Play ‘with’ vs playing ‘against

Creating parts that are in contrast to what others are playing lends a sense of space that is musically pleasing. Additionally, the use of contrasting elements make unison parts sound that much more powerful when they do come in!

Keep these rhythm options in mind next time you are writing rhythm guitar parts and see if they don’t move you in new directions.