- "Rhythm (Guitar)" redirects here. For gameplay mechanics involving the Rhythm playable instrument, see Guitar.
Cooperative Lead (left) and Rhythm (right) instruments in the song "Helicopter" in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar role that provides all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g. Drums and Bass) and to provide all or part of the harmony, i.e. the chords from a song's chord progression.
Songs featuring Lead and Rhythm tracks[]
In Cooperative Play or Practice mode, some songs in Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero Arcade, and the Guitar Hero: On Tour series (a Bass/Rhythm Career mode also exists in the On Tour series) feature a playable 
Rhythm track and may feature a separate playable 
Lead track (and a different audio tracks) instead of the normal, playable main 
Guitar track (mixed with Lead and Rhythm). Songs with a playable Rhythm track lack a playable 
Bass track as Rhythm replaces Bass.
Some songs with multiple lead guitars in the audio that features an playable Lead track and a playable Rhythm track will use the Rhythm track as a second lead guitar such as guitar duets in "Free Bird" and "Trogdor" from Guitar Hero II and DragonForce songs from Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
The following songs have a playable Rhythm track instead of a playable Bass track.
Guitar Hero II[]
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" | The Rolling Stones | WaveGroup |  Co-op Lead
|
| 2006 | "Dead! | My Chemical Romance | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1973 | "Free Bird" | Lynyrd Skynyrd | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1983 | "Institutionalized" | Suicidal Tendancies | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1973 | "Jessica" | The Allman Brothers Band | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 2004 | "Laid to Rest" | Lamb of God | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1976 | "Last Child" | Aerosmith | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1988 | "Mother" | Danzig | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1974 | "Strutter" | Kiss | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1984 | "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" | Spinal Tap | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| 1993 | "Who Was in My Room Last Night" | The Butthole Surfers | WaveGroup | Co-op Lead
|
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Arterial Black" | Drist | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2004 | "Gemini" | Brian Kahanek | Yes |  Main Guitar
|
| 2006 | "Laughtrack" | The Acro-Bats | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2006 | "Less Talk More Rokk" | Freezepop | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2006 | "Soy Bomb" | Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2003 | "Trogdor" | Strong Bad | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock[]
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Guitar Battle vs. Lou" | Steve Ouimette ("Inspired by The Charlie Daniels Band") |
Yes | Guitar Battle
|
| 2007 | "Guitar Battle vs. Slash" | Slash | Yes |  Guitar Battle
|
| 2007 | "Guitar Battle vs. Tom Morello" | Tom Morello | Yes | Guitar Battle
|
| 2005 | "Helicopter"[a] | Bloc Party | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 1988 | "One" | Metallica | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 1974 | "Same Old Song and Dance"[a] | Aerosmith | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Avalancha"[a] | Héroes del Silencio | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2006 | "Go That Far" | Bret Michaels Band | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2006 | "Through the Fire and Flames" | DragonForce | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" | Steve Ouimette ("As made famous by Charlie Daniels Band") |
Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2005 | "Halo Theme MJOLNIR Mix" | O'Donnell/Salvatori/Vai | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2008 | "Heroes of Our Time" | DragonForce | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2006 | "Operation Ground and Pound" | DragonForce | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2006 | "Revolution Deathsquad" | DragonForce | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2007 | "Slash Guitar Battle" | Slash | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 1996 | "So Payaso" | Extremoduro | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2007 | "Tom Morello Guitar Battle" | Tom Morello | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2007 | "The Pretender" | Foo Fighters | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2007 | "We Three Kings" | Steve Ouimette | Yes | Main Guitar
|
|
Guitar Hero: On Tour[]
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Avalancha" | Héroes del Silencio | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2006 | "Ça Me Vexe | Mademoiselle K | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2005 | "Helicopter" | Bloc Party | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 1977 | "I Know a Little" | Lynyrd Skynyrd | WaveGroup | Main Guitar
|
| 2005 | "Monsoon"[a] | Tokio Hotel | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2004 | "Monster" | Beatsteaks | Yes | Main Guitar
|
- Notes:
- ^ While labeled as "Rhythm," the song has a rhythm guitar track in the first half of the song and switches to a bass guitar track in the second half starting on Chorus 2.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith[]
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Beyond Beautiful" | Aerosmith | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2008 | "Guitar Battle vs. Joe Perry" | Joe Perry | Yes | Guitar Battle
|
| 1989 | "Love in an Elevator" | Aerosmith | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 1979 | "No Surprize" | Aerosmith | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 1988 | "Rag Doll" | Aerosmith | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Joe Perry Guitar Battle" | Joe Perry | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 1985 | "Let the Music Do the Talking" | Aerosmith | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 1996 | "Rats in the Cellar" | Aerosmith | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
| 2005 | "Talk Talkin" | Aerosmith | Yes | Co-op Lead
|
Guitar Hero World Tour[]
Guitar Hero World Tour—as well other console Guitar Hero games since then—do not support playable cooperative lead guitar and rhythm guitar tracks but the Guitar Battles in Guitar's Career could be treated as such, though, logically, the dueling lead guitars would be charted under Part Guitar for the player and Part Bass for the A.I. However, their downloadable content counterparts only feature Guitar (both dueling guitars charted into in one), Bass, and Drums tracks.
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Ted Nugent Guitar Duel" (Career) | Ted Nugent | Yes | Guitar Duel
|
| 1985 | "Zakk Wylde Guitar Duel" (Career) | Zakk Wylde | Yes | Guitar Duel
|
While the player can chart 
Lead Guitar and 
Rhythm Guitar tracks in Guitar Hero games featuring the Music Studio or GHStudio game mode, they can only select one of the two Guitar parts (
Keyboard also selectable in Music Studio games) as the custom song's playable Guitar track, while only the charted Bass part or the charted Keyboard part (if not selected for Guitar) can be set as the custom's playable Bass track.
Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades[]
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "All Night Now"[a] | Free | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 1984 | "I Can't Drive 55" | Sammy Hagar | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2007 | "The Pretender" | Foo Fighters | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 1976 | "Sweet Home Alabama (Live)" | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Yes | Main Guitar
|
| 2007 | "Tarantula" | Smashing Pumpkins | Yes | Main Guitar
|
- Notes:
- ^ While labeled as "Rhythm," the song has a rhythm guitar track in the first half of the song and switches to a bass guitar track halfway in during the Bass Break before switching back to rhythm guitar in the final quarter.
Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits[]
| Year | Song title | Artist | Master recording? | Lead Guitar chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "I Wanna Be Your Man" | Endeverafter | Yes | Main Guitar
|
-
The Devil Went Down to Georgia -
Through the Fire and Flames -
Free Bird -
Tom Morello Guitar Battle -
Trogdor -
Slash Guitar Battle -
One -
We Three Kings
All items (49)
