Lead guitar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For a list of lead guitarists, please see list of lead guitarists
Lead guitar refers to a role within a popular music band, especially a rock band, that provides melody or melodic material, as opposed to the rhythm of the rhythm guitar, bass, and drums.
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[edit] Overview
A lead guitarist typically plays solos, riffs and fills. Solos are improvised or written passages played with the accompaniment of the rest of the band often at the song's climax. Riffs are usually song introductions and often repeat for the duration of the song. Fills occur during the pauses of the lead singer's parts between phrases or sections.
With the advent of hard rock and metal, the role of the lead guitarist became more varied and often virtuosic. Speed-enhancing techniques such as alternate picking, sweep picking and tapping, to name but a few, are some of those used by today's guitarists to maximize the speed of their solos and/or riffs.
However, in several subgenres of modern art rock, equal emphasis has been placed on sonic experimentation and texture.
[edit] Lead Piece
Is a riff played throughout the whole song. Besides the solos and fills
[edit] Style
In addition to the sound of the guitarist's instrument, effects and amplification equipment, many players exhibit a style of playing which marks them out in a similar way to their tonal signature. The use of particular scales, the length of notes played and the way they are bent (a technique in which a string is pushed sideways, along the fret to increase its pitch), in addition to creating a worthwhile performance, will also allow the playing of many well-known guitarists to be identified by listeners.
[edit] Effects
While lead guitar styles are often characterised by the individual sound of the guitarist, the majority of lead guitarists have a regular set of effects which help them to define their sound, making it similar in some ways to the variation in individual voices.
