Do you spend enough time honing your rhythm guitar chops?
Rhythm guitar is easily the most important job on the instrument. Lead guitar solos are great but account for a tiny fraction of your playing time onstage. Rhythm playing is where it's at.
You don't need to be able to hit 100 notes a minute to be a great player and in fact, some of my favourites are the people who reject that in favour of more clearly serving the song, whilst still being astonishingly inventive. Today, I'd love to share some of these people with you. They are hardly unsung heroes, but this area fo playing deserves more space in our lives. Here they are! Enjoy!
The Greatest Rhythm Players at a Glance
Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers is the king of laid back funky riffs and this is the perfect example of his style; subtle but totally essential to the feel of the track. His playing here comes in short sharp bursts and that's kind of the beauty of it, the funky little strokes filling the space without overcomplicating the track or making it sound too busy. Essentially, he just flavours it, accenting the chord changes and sitting right behind Bowie's iconic vocal. Easily among the greatest rhythm players of all time, Nile can inject the funk into anything and a tasteful delay on top of his timeless tone was exactly what Let's Dance needed to finish it off. Put on your red shoes and check it out above!
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is a bit of a king of rhythm playing. People often think of rhythm playing as big dirty chords (don't worry, we'll get there...), Marr's is the polar opposite, creating delicate textures within tracks and seemingly always picking exactly the right notes to accent Morrissey's crooning along with the smooth bass lines the band are known for. This track features some gorgeous, jangly 335 playing with that touch of chorus that became his signature sound. Marr has a distinct talent for creating seemingly simple patterns that are incredibly difficult to replicate with anything like the same authority or class, earning him a reputation as one of indie's leading rhythm men! Have a listen to the video above and have a go at playing it yourself, you'll quickly see what we mean!
Malcolm Young
Here we are rockers, you knew this moment was coming! Of course, Malcolm Young was going to feature here. He may not have run laps of the stage in a schoolboy outfit but maaan did he drive that band's sound?! Sometimes all you need is a killer chord sequence, a big tone and a heavy right hand and Malcolm is the only proof you need of that. Angus may have been the one to get your attention but Malcolm was the real star of the show for me. A true legend and pioneer of hard rock.
James Hetfield
Chhhhyeeeaaaah! You already know where I'm going with this... no list of rhythm legends would be complete without the most solid arm in metal! Hetfield is a true machine of rhythm guitar, dominating the genre since 'Tallica's debut record Kill 'Em All. His rhythm work is always fast furious, heavy and pretty complicated if you ever brave trying to play along. There are a ton of tracks I could've chosen to demonstrate this, and as much as it's an obvious choice, Master of Puppets is my go-to for the instant wow factor. The rhythm parts on this are just brutal and they're ALL played using downstrokes only! It's tracks like this that have cemented Metallica's role as kings of metal. Get this one turned up loud, it's the only way!
Keith Richards
Keith Richards, or the ‘Human Riff’ as some journos called him back in the day, is a very valuable player. Of course, he and Ronnie together create that ‘ancient art of weaving’ with their lead guitar parts, but it’s as a chunky, silvery rhythm player that Richards truly proves what he’s made of.
The amount of riffs, intros and grooves that have come from Keef and his favourite Tele Micawber is just too numerous to mention, plus it’s a waste of time: you know them ALL already!
Geordie Walker
Killing Joke’s late guitarist played like he was spreading jam onto toast. His right hand was never too much nor too little, it was exactly right, as was his attitude. Asked about doing a collaboration with Jimmy Page, Walker remained unimpressed at the idea of having Page’s ‘fiddly bits’ all over his rhythm playing.
Huge points for playing an old 1950s Gibson ES-175 (fully hollow, with P90 pickups) at astounding volume with buckets of gain. Legend.
Carlos Alomar
When people rightfully praise David Bowie’s unending stable of great guitarists, they tend to heap praise on those who provided the fireworks - Ronson, Fripp, Belew and Gabrels - whilst not including the one who was perhaps the most valuable of them all. Carlos Alomar’s distinctive snaky style and funky feel provided Bowie with a huge amount of his 70s and 80s sound. Check out Golden Years, Stay, The Secret Life of Arabia and countless more. Those wonderful, distinctive melodic rhythm guitar parts? That’ll be Carlos!
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is a heroic figure for a number of reasons, but the one I care about today is her badass guitar style. Whether in the Runaways or as a solo artist, Jett had a sound to match her vibe: sharp, larger-than-life, and street-smart. Armed with her trademark Gibson Melody Maker, Joan Jett slashed and smashed the guitar with a rebellious punk energy, showing the boys how to do it with style.
Steve Cropper
When you have the tone and the timing, you’ve nearly got it all. What hit songwriter and producer Steve Cropper also had - and it’s a rarity amongst guitarists to this day - was the skill of restraint. He knew when coming out of the track and not playing when it benefited the song, and he had the cajones to do just that.
Cropper’s snarling Tele tone set the mark for all garage rockers that heard him and took it further, but his taste and timing are what made him such an important figure in the world of guitar.
Billie Joe Armstrong
Green Day’s frontman has a guitar collection to die for, a tone to die for, and a propulsive rhythmic style that’s more nuanced than a casual listen would suggest. As part of a three-piece, it’s his job to fill out the sound as well as explain the harmonic changes. He tends to keep things simple, direct and super-crunchy, and when it's time for something fancy, it’s most often written in service of the song.
Django Reinhardt
It’s tempting to call Django Reinhardt the original acoustic shredder, given how technical and impressive his playing is even now, 80 years after his heyday.
His rhythm style though, is well worth celebrating: this guy didn’t let up for a second! As you no doubt know, his left hand was injured in a fire and so he only had the use of his index and middle fingers, but boy did he make use of ‘em! Violin-playing cohort Stephane Grappelli must’ve had a hard time making himself heard around Django, but what a glorious rhythmic noise he made!
Pete Townshend
Anybody who popularises the notion of ‘windmilling’ a guitar is on the right track as far as I’m concerned. Pete Townshend, who had a pathological love of smashing perfectly good Rickenbackers back in the day, is obviously one of rock’s great rhythm players. All I have to do to convince you is say ‘Pinball Wizard’, or ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
See? You agree with me! Townshend made rhythm guitar an artform, instead of the boring job that the loser second guitarist had to do whilst the other guy nailed the solos. For that, he is worth his weight in gold.
Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen? In a blog about rhythm guitarists?
Yes, definitely. He was one of the very best rhythm guitarists there ever was. Of course he was! Forget the 16 bars of guitar solo in the middle of any VH tune and what you're left with is a ton of exceptional rhythm riffs, grooves and parts that all have an infectious natural swing. With lots of bands, it’s the rhythm section that determines overall groove, but I hear it far more in Van Halen as coming from Ed. His internal clock was always set to ‘badass’ and you can hear it in every song he ever played on. Best. Rhythm. Guitarist. EVER!
Rhythm is King
Rhythm is often overlooked but it's an essential part of playing the guitar. Whether you're a solo guitarist or jam alongside a face-melting shredder, it's essential to carry the groove and fill the space to allow the full band to shine. This was actually a really tough list to narrow down because there are so many players that I go to for incredible rhythm work but I hope this has given you a snapshot of some of the true greats. Hey, your soloing will take care of itself, okay? Focus on your rhythm playing and your timing, and you'll level up far quicker!
