Since there are 2 people playing the lead guitar, Davy Jones and Jackie Chan, *ahem* sorry it's Don Felder and Joe Walsh, why do people call it a solo?
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A guitar solo doesn't have to mean a solo person playing guitar. A solo just means that the instrument itself, in this case the guitar, is not being heavily accompanied by a singer or other instruments. Go on Wikipedia's "guitar solo" page for a lengthier answer.
If I'm not mistaken, the "solo" refers to the fact that the guitar is the sole driving instrument of the song, not that there is only one guitar. I think Thin Lizzy used a similar technique in "The Boys are Back in Town".
#1
Those type of lead breaks in rock and other genres are sometimes called duos.
Those type of lead breaks in rock and other genres are sometimes called duos.
Duos can also be simultaneous lead playing by guitar and bass, that will require more clarification.
So 'Dueling Banjos' is just a banjo solo at its heart?
Next question: is that colitas he's smelling (or does somebody have colitis)?
When musicians are playing together they often take turns, rather than constantly playing on top of each other; and the one whose turn it is to “solo” often improvises, rather than merely repeating the main melody or chord progression. The rhythm section usually proceeds regardless, with some degree of repetition; this is the difference between leading and supporting parts in music.
In jazz for example, often a trumpeter or saxophonist takes the lead by default (it may even be his band; cf. The Miles Davis Quintet, in which Davis played trumpet, and usually took the first solo, though by no means the only one). And many jazz bands have both a trumpeter and saxophonist (i.e., more than one “lead” instrument). But so the saxophonist may “take a solo” while the trumpeter “lays out” for a few bars. (Laying out means not playing.) Then, once he finishes soloing, the pianist, and/or drummer or bassplayer may even take a solo before the whole band finally resumes playing together. As they say on Mandalore, This Is the Way. 😉
So yes, The Eagles had more than one guitarist, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t take turns soloing. 🤷 Usually, when there are two guitarists, one plays lead guitar while the other plays rhythm guitar. The latter is more repetitive, and typically involves strumming chords, as opposed to plucking discrete notes. And so if one guitarist is strumming chords while the other is sliding, bending, doing runs etc., this is the whole reason they call the latter soloing (or leading, or improvising). In a nutshell, the guy doing the flashy stuff is the one playing lead, and the guy doing the repetitive stuff is the one playing rhythm; but of course they may take turns, which is called trading off; or occasionally even double a part, say one on melody and the other on harmony. I guess you could call that last example a “double guitar solo.” Granted, solo is an odd choice of word in that case, but as a musical term it has come to have its own meaning, so there’s no contradiction.
Finally, consider also lead vocals vs. backing vocals. It’s the same principle. When you have more than one singer, the one singing the melody is the one leading; but e.g. Simon & Garfunkel famously took turns singing the melody and harmony of the same song.
This was a good question, and I hope I haven’t just confused you more. 😅 Rock On. 🤘
In jazz for example, often a trumpeter or saxophonist takes the lead by default (it may even be his band; cf. The Miles Davis Quintet, in which Davis played trumpet, and usually took the first solo, though by no means the only one). And many jazz bands have both a trumpeter and saxophonist (i.e., more than one “lead” instrument). But so the saxophonist may “take a solo” while the trumpeter “lays out” for a few bars. (Laying out means not playing.) Then, once he finishes soloing, the pianist, and/or drummer or bassplayer may even take a solo before the whole band finally resumes playing together. As they say on Mandalore, This Is the Way. 😉
So yes, The Eagles had more than one guitarist, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t take turns soloing. 🤷 Usually, when there are two guitarists, one plays lead guitar while the other plays rhythm guitar. The latter is more repetitive, and typically involves strumming chords, as opposed to plucking discrete notes. And so if one guitarist is strumming chords while the other is sliding, bending, doing runs etc., this is the whole reason they call the latter soloing (or leading, or improvising). In a nutshell, the guy doing the flashy stuff is the one playing lead, and the guy doing the repetitive stuff is the one playing rhythm; but of course they may take turns, which is called trading off; or occasionally even double a part, say one on melody and the other on harmony. I guess you could call that last example a “double guitar solo.” Granted, solo is an odd choice of word in that case, but as a musical term it has come to have its own meaning, so there’s no contradiction.
Finally, consider also lead vocals vs. backing vocals. It’s the same principle. When you have more than one singer, the one singing the melody is the one leading; but e.g. Simon & Garfunkel famously took turns singing the melody and harmony of the same song.
This was a good question, and I hope I haven’t just confused you more. 😅 Rock On. 🤘
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