Lead guitar
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.
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 picking,
arpeggiating and
fret tapping are some of the techniques used by today's guitarists to maximize the speed of their
riffs.
Lead Piece
Almost any rock song has a lead piece (or break) or a section where the vocals give way to the guitar to take the main
melody line of the
song. Often in
rock music, introductions and outros are also taken on by the lead guitarist.
Effects
Generally played through a series of modulating and distorting effects, the lead guitar styles are often characterised by the individual sound of the artist. A majority of the famous guitarists have a regular set of effects which define their sound, making it similar in some ways to the variation in individual voices.
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.
*
Duane Allman of the
Allman Brothers Band and
Derek and the Dominos *
Jan Akkerman of
Focus and solo
*
Trey Anastasio of
Phish and solo
*
Ace Andres*
Jeff Beck of
The Yardbirds and solo
*
Chuck Berry*
Ritchie Blackmore of
Deep Purple and
Rainbow*
John Cipollina of
Quicksilver Messenger Service and
The Dinosaurs*
Eric Clapton of numerous bands and solo
*
Billy Corgan of
The Smashing Pumpkins*
Dick Dale*
Dimebag Darrell of
Pantera*
Rick Derringer of
The McCoys, the
Edgar Winter and
Johnny Winter Bands, and solo
*
K.K. Downing of
Judas Priest*
The Edge of
U2*
Ace Frehley of
KISS*
Marty Friedman of
Megadeth*
Robert Fripp of
King Crimson*
John Frusciante of
Red Hot Chili Peppers*
Noel Gallagher of
Oasis*
Jerry Garcia of
The Grateful Dead and several other bands
*
Synyster Gates of
Avenged Sevenfold*
Janick Gers of
Iron Maiden*
David Gilmour of
Pink Floyd*
Peter Green of
Fleetwood Mac and solo
*
Jonny Greenwood of
Radiohead*
Kirk Hammett of
Metallica*
George Harrison of
the Beatles*
Jimi Hendrix*
Gary Hoey*
Steve Howe of
Yes,
Asia and others
*
Tony Iommi of
Black Sabbath*
Matthias Jabs of
Scorpions*
Eric Johnson*
Adam Jones of
Tool*
Brian Jones first lead guitarist of
The Rolling Stones*
Alexander Kapranos of
Franz Ferdinand*
Ed King of
Lynyrd Skynyrd and
Strawberry Alarm Clock*
Kerry King of
Slayer*
Jeff Hanneman of
Slayer*
Mark Knopfler of
Dire Straits*
Robby Krieger of
The Doors*
Andy LaRocque of
King Diamond*
Alexi Laiho of
Children of Bodom*
Yngwie Malmsteen*
Johnny Marr of
The Smiths*
Mick Mars of
Mötley Crüe*
Hideto Matsumoto of
X Japan*
Brian May of
Queen*
Mike McCready of
Pearl Jam*
Ronnie Montrose of
Gamma and solo
*
Gary Moore ex
Thin Lizzy and solo
*
Dave Murray of
Iron Maiden*
André Olbrich of
Blind Guardian*
Dave Mustaine of
Megadeth*
Dave Navarro of
Jane's Addiction*
Jimmy Page of
Led Zeppelin and
The Yardbirds*
Axel Rudi Pell*
Luther Perkins of
Johnny Cash*
Joe Perry of
Aerosmith*
John Petrucci of
Dream Theater and
Liquid Tension Experiment*
Randy Rhoads of
Quiet Riot and
Ozzy Osbourne*
Robbie Robertson of
The Band*
Gary Rossington of
Lynyrd Skynyrd*
Dave Sabo of
Skid Row*
Carlos Santana*
Joe Satriani*
Brian Setzer of
The Stray Cats*
Neal Schon of
Journey*
Hank Shermann of
Mercyful Fate*
Slash of
Guns N' Roses and
Velvet Revolver*
Adrian Smith of
Iron Maiden*
Robert Smith of
The Cure*
Mick Taylor of
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers later replaced
Brian Jones of
The Rolling Stones*
Kim Thayil of
Soundgarden*
Glenn Tipton of
Judas Priest*
Pete Townshend of
The Who*
Robin Trower of
Procol Harum and solo
*
Steve Vai*
Eddie Van Halen of
Van Halen*
Stevie Ray Vaughan*
Joe Walsh of the
James Gang, the
Eagles and solo
*
Leslie West of
Mountain*
Johnny Winter*
Ron Wood first of
The Small Faces then replaced
Mick Taylor of
The Rolling Stones*
Zakk Wylde of
Ozzy Osbourne and
Black Label Society*
Angus Young of
AC/DC*
Frank Zappa
