How do two guitarist play a song that is meant for only one guitar? like the whi

Question:So should one guitarist play higher than than the other one or what?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: So should one guitarist play higher than than the other one or what?

In the band that I'm in we cover a few songs played with single guitar parts... Chevelle's "Seein Red" for instance.

What we do is double up for the heavy parts or when we want to emphasize the sound, and when we want to pull back one guitarist will play the part and the other will play sparsely - hit one chord instead of four, the top few notes of a chord instead of the whole chord, etc. The idea is that this provides a contrast and increases the overall band dynamic.

Something we also do is play harmony or octaves. In one of our other cover songs there is a simply melody played between power chord chugging... so we double up on the power chord chugging, but for the melody one of us plays it "straight" and the other plays it an octave higher. This gives a fuller sound and really adds to the overall effect. On some of our material we will harmonize melodies like this by thirds, but it really depends on if it fits the song.

Take "Seven Nation Army", for instance. You could have one guitarist play the melody while the other only comes in for the choruses... or you could have one guitarist play the melody while the second plays it an octave higher (or lower!). You could harmonize by thirds or fourths or some mixture in between. You could create a sparse, simple melody that complements the other melody too.

Play around with it, and listen for what sounds good and fits your style.

Saul

You'll need two guitarists. The White Stripes guitarist overdubs all the guitar parts; otherwise he wouldn't be able to play both at the same time. Typically there is a rhythm guitarist and a lead guitarist in bands with two guitarists, the lead plays riffs and licks, while the rhythm guitarist is an essential part of the rhythm section, playing chords and sequences without much variation. If there is only one guitarist, he can learn to mix lead and rhythm (listen to Jimi Hendrix for inspiration; he did this). Hope it helps, bud!

Another thing that could work, if you have the access to one, is a looping station. record a verse riff on the fly, and loop it over and over to solo over it.

Something that Jack White has also been doing is playing around with keyboards, especially older monosynths, like those from Moog. That's the way he plays Icky Thump...quickly passing between playing the guitar and hitting random notes on a Moog.

For lines that only one gtr is playing, both players play in unison (makes a very full sound). When multiple melodies are present , each player plays one.

Look at your guitar as an orchestra not just a guitar.

You can do anything, especially with a electric, from high piccolo sounds to tuba grunts and airplane dive bombs. So be inventive and use the whole range of your instrument.