How Does a Solo Guitarist Incorporate Rhythm AND Lead?

[Crashcup]

I have played solo fingerstyle guitar for nearly 13 years. Most of the pieces I play incorporate the melody with rhythm/bass accompaniment, hence, "solo." I deviated from playing exclusively fingerstyle to using a pick about a year ago. I did so to incorporate singing into my performances. So my voice became the "melody" and strumming/picking the accompaniment. I get that.

What I don't "get" is how to play arrangements that have rhythm and lead sections but no vocals. Do I just find the isolated tracks online and play lead over the rhythm section? Or do I record the rhythm section on a looper pedal or into my DAW then play it back to accompany myself?

I'm not as interested in "recording" as I am in playing live, so the looper option would be the preferred choice for me, if practical. I've looked online and mostly find tutorials on to play rhythm or lead, but nothing about how to blend them.

Sometimes the obvious, isn't. What am I missing? Back to fingerstyle?

[phydaux]

It's called "Chord Melody."

Tommy Emmanuel has a few instructional sessions up on youtube. This is what I found after googling "Tommy Emmanuel Master Class:"

[rscott4079]

Hello Crash. Just like you can incorporate the bass and melody into your fingerstyle, you can do the same with rhythm playing. I play a lot of old americana music and most of the time the melody lives somewhere within the notes of the chords I'm playing. I usually pluck out the melody and then try to figure out how to combine the chord and melody together. I change the fingering of the chords a little bit to incorporate the notes of the melody. And in rhythm playing the melody doesn't have to be absolutely perfect. Just enough to give your audience a sense of the tune.

One thing that I found helpful was to memorize the notes of the major scale for each key. It's really easy since we all already know what that scale sounds like (Do, Re, Mi..). It makes it easier to narrow down the notes of the melody when I'm trying to figure them out, because they will most likely be part of that scale.

Happy playing!

[Crashcup]

Okay, it seems I'm on the right path. It really comes down to chord voicings, maybe using shell chords or drop chords to get the accompaniment in srings 4,5 and 6 and melody in the first three strings. I just have to accept that I will need to incorporate some of the elements of fingerstyle into my picking--hybrid picking is also another consideration. That helps, thanks!

[phydaux]

Watch that Tommy video - Use a thumb pick and you can transition from flatpicking to finger style and back in g to he same song effortlessly.

[Crashcup]

Originally Posted by phydaux

Watch that Tommy video - Use a thumb pick and you can transition from flatpicking to finger style and back in g to he same song effortlessly.

Watched it! I don't use a fingerpick, but that's how I play fingerstyle. Tommy's video addresses what I've been missing: Using a thumbpick is really "hybrid" picking. So instead of trying to reinvent the process using a dedicated pick, I can use the thumbpick to transition. And, as rscott4079 mentioned, knowing scales and arpeggios is vital. I've made mad progress in that area over the past year.

I especially appreciated Tommy explicitly stating that learning the melody first is essential.

Thanks to you both for the nudge back into the right direction.

Cheers!

Bill

[phydaux]

Originally Posted by Crashcup

Watched it! I don't use a fingerpick, but that's how I play fingerstyle. Tommy's video addresses what I've been missing: Using a thumbpick is really "hybrid" picking. So instead of trying to reinvent the process using a dedicated pick, I can use the thumbpick to transition. And, as rscott4079 mentioned, knowing scales and arpeggios is vital. I've made mad progress in that area over the past year.

I especially appreciated Tommy explicitly stating that learning the melody first is essential.

Thanks to you both for the nudge back into the right direction.

Cheers!

Bill

Tommy's got a bunch of other short interview-style videos up on youtube when he discusses how he does what he does. All of them as worth your time, even if it's just to watch & listen to him play.

Check out his "My Life as a One Man Band:"

[Cibby]

Before there was Tommy I was a fan of Mother Maybelle Carter who basically invented this style of play...but that goes way back. Still fun to watch you tube videos of her playing style.

[stanron]

It depends, in part, on your preferred genre. If you like jazz then chord melody is an avenue to explore. There are other options. My preferred genre is UK traditional folk.

Jazz chord melody is strongly biased towards harmonisation. I'd venture to say that the harmonising is more important than the melody. In UK traditional folk tunes the melody is far more important than any harmonisation. Big difference.

I started getting into folk tunes towards the end of the last century, first on mandolin and then on the fiddle. For about fifteen years I attended every tunes session I could sometimes four, five or six times a week.

Eventually the scene petered out. The old guys passed on, pubs got better business with football on TV and sessions moved from the city center to the suburbs. I went back to acoustic guitar and tried playing some of those tunes as solo pieces. That was not easy. The solution I found was to play the tune with bass notes.

Here's a couple of examples

The Downfall Of The Ginn



Carolan's Draught



When chords are easy they get used and when the rhythm needs more than the melody provides, notes from chords are added but mostly it is just the melody with bass notes.

[phydaux]

Originally Posted by Cibby

Before there was Tommy I was a fan of Mother Maybelle Carter who basically invented this style of play...but that goes way back. Still fun to watch you tube videos of her playing style.

As much as I love Maybelle Carter, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and all the rest, none of them were doing anything Andres Segovia didn't already know about, and Segovia learned it all from Fernando Sor.

And say what you want about Doc Watson "inventing" bluegrass, and Steve Vai & Yngwie Malmsteen "pioneering" heavy metal, none of them are doing anything Wes Montgomery & Joe Pas didn't already know about.

[catdaddy]

Depending on the style of music, in addition to the methods mentioned above, another possibility for a soloist is to incorporate a foot drum or porchboard bass. Chris Smither uses this to great effect in his concerts.

[phydaux]

Originally Posted by Crashcup

I especially appreciated Tommy explicitly stating that learning the melody first is essential

My takeaway was that after he gave a four step process of what to learn and then what to add next, he steps back and says "Now keep in mind, this isn't music yet. This is skill. It isn't until you master the skill that it becomes music."

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by Crashcup

I have played solo fingerstyle guitar for nearly 13 years. Most of the pieces I play incorporate the melody with rhythm/bass accompaniment, hence, "solo." I deviated from playing exclusively fingerstyle to using a pick about a year ago. I did so to incorporate singing into my performances. So my voice became the "melody" and strumming/picking the accompaniment. I get that.

What I don't "get" is how to play arrangements that have rhythm and lead sections but no vocals. Do I just find the isolated tracks online and play lead over the rhythm section? Or do I record the rhythm section on a looper pedal or into my DAW then play it back to accompany myself?

I'm not as interested in "recording" as I am in playing live, so the looper option would be the preferred choice for me, if practical. I've looked online and mostly find tutorials on to play rhythm or lead, but nothing about how to blend them.

Sometimes the obvious, isn't. What am I missing? Back to fingerstyle?

Crash,
If you're going to use a looper then you can do whatever you want to do, and it's should be incredibly simple.....if you know how to use a looper. I personally do NOT know how, so I do it the old fashioned way, and there's no doubt as to what 'changes' & 'rhythm/groove' I'm playing under my melody.

At the risk of having totally missed your point.......

Regards,
Howard

[Dave Hicks]

A musical acquaintance uses a looper all the time. He makes a loop, then solos over it, playing pop, folk and rock.

He's so good at it that it took me a few tunes to figure out what he's doing. It takes a lot of practice to fit it together smoothly.

D.H.