The Lead Guitar

Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure. The lead is the featured guitar, which usually plays single-note-based lines or double-stops. In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz, punk, fusion, some pop, and other music styles, lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays rhythm guitar, which consists of accompaniment chords and riffs.

Lead guitarists are the more glamorous and "rock star" type, as they are characterized by their mastery of the fretboard. Lead guitarists add solos to songs, and often use the structure provided by the rhythm guitarist's work as a foundation for their improvisation. While their work is often more impressive and glamorous, they generally cannot stand alone and need the structure created by the other members of their band in order to offer their greatest contribution.