# Lead guitar

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lead_guitar
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lead_guitar.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_guitar
> Source revision: 1344983986
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Musical part for a guitar

This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lead guitar" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

**Lead guitar** (also known as **solo guitar**) is a musical part for a [guitar](/source/Guitar) in which the guitarist plays [melody](/source/Melody) lines, [instrumental fill passages](/source/Fill_(music)), [guitar solos](/source/Guitar_solo), and occasionally, some [riffs](/source/Riffs) and [chords](/source/Guitar_chord) within a [song](/source/Song) structure. The lead is the featured guitar, which usually plays single-note-based lines or [double-stops](/source/Double-stop).[1] In [rock](/source/Rock_music), [heavy metal](/source/Heavy_metal_music), [blues](/source/Blues), [jazz](/source/Jazz), [punk](/source/Punk_rock), [fusion](/source/Jazz_fusion), some [pop](/source/Pop_music), and other music styles, lead guitar lines are often supported by a second guitarist who plays [rhythm guitar](/source/Rhythm_guitar), which consists of accompaniment [chords](/source/Guitar_chord) and [riffs](/source/Riff).

## History

The first form of lead guitar emerged in the 18th century, in the form of [classical guitar](/source/Classical_guitar) styles, which evolved from the [Baroque guitar](/source/Baroque_guitar), and Spanish Vihuela. Such styles were popular in much of Western Europe, with notable guitarists including [Antoine de Lhoyer](/source/Antoine_de_Lhoyer), [Fernando Sor](/source/Fernando_Sor), and [Dionisio Aguado](/source/Dionisio_Aguado). It was through this period of the classical shift to romanticism the six-string guitar was first used for solo composing. Through the 19th century, the classical guitar would find prominence in [chamber music](/source/Chamber_music) ensembles, used for melodic accompaniment, as well as being used in solo composures. These styles would spread into America by the mid-19th century, and would influence early "parlor music".

Through the later 19th century, Steel Strings began to appear, particularly by [Martin Guitars](/source/C._F._Martin_%26_Company), and by the 1880s the [Piedmont Blues](/source/Piedmont_Blues) style was emerging in the rural south. The Piedmont guitar style would become a heavy influence on [Ragtime](/source/Ragtime) music, which in turn would influence emerging blues styles in the early 20th century. Through the 1910s, blues guitarists including [Willie Brown](/source/Willie_Brown_(musician)) and [Charley Patton](/source/Charley_Patton) began pioneering [slide guitar](/source/Slide_guitar) techniques, which would become a staple of the [Delta Blues](/source/Delta_Blues). These techniques would be built upon heavily through the upcoming decades and through the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression) by such artists as [Tommy Johnson](/source/Tommy_Johnson_(guitarist)), [Ishmon Bracey](/source/Ishmon_Bracey), [Robert Johnson](/source/Robert_Johnson), and [Robert Wilkins](/source/Robert_Wilkins). Through this period other forms of blues guitar developed often with heavy ragtime or piedmont influence. Among the most prominent of these guitarists include [Blind Blake](/source/Blind_Blake), and [Blind Willie McTell](/source/Blind_Willie_McTell) the latter playing with thumb and metal finger picks on a [Twelve-string guitar](/source/Twelve-string_guitar) to better replicate the sound of the [piano](/source/Piano). Piedmont and ragtime guitar styles also provided a foundation for early [Country Music](/source/Country_Music) guitar styles with such musicians as [Maybelle Carter](/source/Maybelle_Carter), [Sam McGee](/source/McGee_Brothers), [Bayless Rose](/source/Bayless_Rose), [Frank Hutchison](/source/Frank_Hutchison) heavily developing these styles.

Through the 1920s, the emergence of early [jazz and swing guitar styles](/source/Jazz_guitar) appear with virtuosos [Eddie Lang](/source/Eddie_Lang) and [Lonnie Johnson](/source/Lonnie_Johnson_(musician)), the latter with a heavy blues influence. Lang used a plectrum pick while Johnson played with both finger picks and a plectrum. Later [Django Reinhardt](/source/Django_Reinhardt) would rise to prominence, playing in the [Gypsy Jazz](/source/Gypsy_Jazz) style. These guitarists are still often considered the greatest innovators of their styles. At the same time, [The Delmore Brothers](/source/The_Delmore_Brothers) would pioneer [flatpicking](/source/Flatpicking) guitar through rapid-picking melodic solos which would greatly influence many future guitarists in [bluegrass](/source/Bluegrass_music), early [rock and roll](/source/Rock_and_roll), and [country music](/source/Country_music). [Robert Nighthawk](/source/Robert_Nighthawk) became the first blues musician to record with an electric guitar and would greatly influence such greats as [Muddy Waters](/source/Muddy_Waters) and [Elmore James](/source/Elmore_James).

Through the 1940s [Merle Travis](/source/Merle_Travis) would greatly develop the [fingerpicking](/source/Fingerstyle_guitar) techniques pioneered by guitarists like Maybelle and McGee, and develop a style of his own based upon the thumb solely providing the bass line, and the index finger solely providing the melody. This style would be the foundation for many future guitarists including [Chet Atkins](/source/Chet_Atkins), [Scotty Moore](/source/Scotty_Moore), [Doc Watson](/source/Doc_Watson), and [Earl Hooker](/source/Earl_Hooker), though many used two fingers rather than just the index as Travis had done.

## Creating lead guitar lines

To create lead guitar lines, guitarists use [scales](/source/Musical_scale), [modes](/source/Musical_modes), [arpeggios](/source/Arpeggio), [licks](/source/Lick_(music)), and [riffs](/source/Riff) that are performed using a variety of techniques.[1] In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop contexts as well as others, lead guitar lines often employ [alternate picking](/source/Alternate_picking), [sweep picking](/source/Sweep_picking), [economy picking](/source/Economy_picking) and [legato](/source/Legato) (e.g., [hammer ons](/source/Hammer_on), [pull offs](/source/Pull_off)), which are used to maximize the speed of their solos or riffs. Such "tricks" can employ the picking hand used in the fret area (such as [tapping](/source/Tapping)), and even be augmented and embellished with devices such as [bows](/source/Bow_(music)), or separate electronic devices such as an [EBow](/source/EBow) (electronic bow).

Some guitarists occasionally use skills that combine technique and showmanship, such as playing the guitar behind their head or picking with the front teeth. In a [blues](/source/Blues) context, as well as others, guitarists sometimes create leads that use [call and response](/source/Call_and_response_(music))-style riffs that they embellish with string [bending](/source/Bend_(guitar)), [vibrato](/source/Vibrato), and [slides](/source/Slide_(guitar_technique)).

### Jazz guitar soloing

[Jazz guitarists](/source/Jazz_guitar) integrate the basic building blocks of scales and arpeggio patterns into balanced rhythmic and melodic phrases that make up a cohesive solo. Jazz guitarists often try to imbue their melodic phrasing with the sense of natural breathing and legato phrasing used by horn players such as saxophone players. As well, a jazz guitarist's solo improvisations have to have a rhythmic drive and "timefeel" that creates a sense of "[swing](/source/Swing_music)" and "groove". The most experienced jazz guitarists learn to play with different "timefeels" such as playing "ahead of the beat" or "behind the beat", to create or release tension.

Another aspect of the jazz guitar style is the use of stylistically appropriate ornaments, such as grace notes, slides, and muted notes. Each subgenre or era of jazz has different ornaments that are part of the style of that subgenre or era. Jazz guitarists usually learn the appropriate ornamenting styles by listening to prominent recordings from a given style or jazz era. Some jazz guitarists also borrow ornamentation techniques from other jazz instruments, such as [Wes Montgomery](/source/Wes_Montgomery)'s borrowing of playing melodies in parallel octaves, which is a jazz piano technique. Jazz guitarists also have to learn how to add in passing tones, and use "guide tones" and chord tones from the chord progression to structure their improvisations.

In the 1970s and 1980s, with jazz-rock fusion guitar playing, jazz guitarists incorporated rock [guitar soloing](/source/Guitar_solo) approaches, such as [riff](/source/Riff)-based soloing and usage of [pentatonic](/source/Pentatonic) and [blues scale](/source/Blues_scale) patterns. Some guitarists use rapid-fire [guitar shredding](/source/Guitar_shredding) techniques, such as [tapping](/source/Tapping) and [tremolo bar](/source/Tremolo_bar) bending. Guitarist [Al Di Meola](/source/Al_Di_Meola), who started his career with [Return to Forever](/source/Return_to_Forever) in 1974, was one of the first guitarists to perform in a "[shred](/source/Shred_guitar)" style, a technique later used in rock and heavy metal playing. Di Meola used alternate-picking to perform very rapid sequences of notes in his solos.

When jazz guitar players [improvise](/source/Improvisation), they use the scales, modes, and arpeggios associated with the chords in a tune's chord progression. The approach to improvising has changed since the earliest eras of jazz guitar. During the Swing era, many soloists improvised "by ear" by embellishing the melody with ornaments and passing notes. However, during the bebop era, the rapid tempo and complicated chord progressions made it increasingly harder to play "by ear". Along with other improvisers, such as saxes and piano players, bebop-era jazz guitarists began to improvise over the chord changes using scales (whole tone scale, chromatic scale, etc.) and arpeggios.[2] Jazz guitar players tend to improvise around chord/scale relationships, rather than reworking the melody, possibly due to their familiarity with chords resulting from their comping role. A source of melodic ideas for improvisation is transcribing improvised solos from recordings. This provides jazz guitarists with a source of "licks", melodic phrases and ideas they incorporate either intact or in variations, and is an established way of learning from the previous generations of players

## Role in a band

In a band with two guitars, there can be a logical division between lead and rhythm guitars, although that division may be unclear.[1] Two guitarists may perform as a guitar tandem, and trade off the lead guitar and rhythm guitar roles. Alternatively, two or more guitarists can share the lead and rhythm roles throughout the show, or both guitarists can play the same role ("dual lead guitars" or "dual rhythm guitars"). Often several guitarists playing individual [notes](/source/Musical_note) may create chord patterns while mixing these "harmonies" with mixed [unison](/source/Unison) passages creating unique sound effects with sound altering [electronic](/source/Electronics) [special effects](/source/Special_effects) such as doublers or a "[chorus](/source/Chorus_effect)" effect that over-pronounce the lead significantly sometimes to cut through to be heard in loud shows or throw its sound aesthetically both acoustically or electronically.

## Effects and equipment

In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop contexts as well as others, the lead guitar line often involves melodies (as well as [power chords](/source/Power_chords) from the rhythm guitars) with a sustained, singing tone. To create this tone on the [electric guitar](/source/Electric_guitar), guitarists often select certain [pickups](/source/Pick_up_(music_technology)) and use electronic effects such as [effects pedals](/source/Effects_pedals) and [distortion pedals](/source/Distortion_(guitar)), or sound [compressors](/source/Audio_compression_(data)), or [doubler](/source/Doubling_(voicing)) effects for a more sustained tone, and [delay effects](/source/Delay_(audio_effect)) or an electronic "chorus" effect as well as electronic [reverb](/source/Reverb) and [echo](/source/Echo_(phenomenon)) for a reverberant sound.

To attain this sustain effect guitarists often use [tube amplifiers](/source/Tube_amplifiers) such as those from [Marshall](/source/Marshall_Amplification) or [Fender](/source/Fender_Musical_Instruments_Corporation).[3] The tube effect comes from the way amplifying tubes [distort](/source/Distort) when pushed to the limits of their amplification power. As the guitar signal's [waveform](/source/Waveform) reaches the amplifier's limits, amplification decreases—rounding off the top of the waveform. This amounts to [compression](/source/Dynamic_range_compression) of individual wave cycles, and is pleasing to the ear.

High volume can induce [audio feedback](/source/Audio_feedback), which a guitarist can control to dramatically increase sustain. By holding the guitar at a certain distance and angle from the amplifier speakers, a guitarist can create a continuous, undecaying sound. Electronic special effects that use [effects loops](/source/Effects_loop) can artificially reproduce this. Other effects that embellish lead guitar tone and pitch include the [vibrato bar](/source/Vibrato_bar) which physically alters string tension, [slides](/source/Slide_guitar), and [wah-wah](/source/Wah-wah_(music)) and [univibe](/source/Univibe) effects.

## See also

- [List of lead guitarists](/source/List_of_lead_guitarists)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-dummies_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-dummies_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-dummies_1-2) Chappell, John; Phillips, Mark; et al. (2009). [*Guitar All-in-One For Dummies*](https://books.google.com/books?id=NY0u2Y2XECAC). [For Dummies](/source/For_Dummies). pp. 191–193. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-470-48133-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-470-48133-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians*, by Robert Rawlins, Nor Eddine Bahha, Barrett Tagliarino. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2005 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-634-08678-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-634-08678-2), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-634-08678-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-634-08678-6)[\[1\]](http://musicalstudy.com/). Page 141

1. **[^](#cite_ref-premierguitar_3-0)** Salter, Trent. ["Marshall Amplification: Interview with Jim Marshall"](https://web.archive.org/web/20101213053331/http://www.premierguitar.com/archive/interviews/jim_marshall.htm). *Premier Guitar* (April/May 2003). [Marion, Iowa](/source/Marion%2C_Iowa): Gearhead Communications, LLC. Archived from [the original](http://www.premierguitar.com/archive/interviews/jim_marshall.htm) on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.

v t e Guitars Playing Chords Harmonics Jazz Lead Picking strum Rhythm Tunings Guitarist list By type (six string) Acoustic acoustic-electric steel-string dreadnought Archtop Classical Electric Flamenco Flat top Fretless Guitarrón mexicano Headless Lap steel Parlor Pedal steel Requinto Resonator Romantic Semi-acoustic Hybrid Additional strings 7 Armónico Russian 8 Brahms 9 10 Baroque Chapman Stick English Yepes 11 12 13 25 Harp Multi-neck Ancillary Bajo sexto Baritone Bass Chapman Stick Chitarra battente Craviola Cuatro Guitalele Lyre Rajão Requinto Six-string alto Tenor Timple Tres Viola caipira Related topics Amplifier Electric guitar design Guitar wiring History of the classical guitar List of guitars Luthier experimental Manufacturing list of manufacturers Prepared guitar Vibrato systems Vintage guitar Category

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lead guitar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_guitar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_guitar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.