Originally Posted by: RickBlackerNor am I easy to play along with either. I must admit that. My interest level in playing chords is very low, thus, I've spent very little time learning them.

This, my friend, is something you truly want to get over. Not to be too direct but you really want to.

First, a great lead player is often a great rhythm player. Why? A sense of timing. Not just 'metronome' timing but the kind that thinks in terms of when to play and when not to and the musical tension that comes with that.

Second, a nearly sole lead focus is a trap. I didn't bother playing lead the first two years I played and became a solid rhythm player and so much so that I had someone say that it was too bad I wasn't capable of lead playing (odd? yes)...Forward only two more years and my lead playing catapulted well past what I thought I could ever play. As they say, I could shred. Why? See that first point. Even though I knew so little theory and still do, I had a really good sense of timing and melody that I think I gleened from rhythm.

Third, jamming will become an increasing drag. Being able to comp some simple chords and fall in to a pocket is a uniquely cool experience. I think it's a trap to focus on the 'complicated' part of playing. Hum me an Yngwie Malmsteen song? By contrast, bet you could give me a few bars of Billy Squier's 'The Stroke'. A very simple song but memorable all day long.

I'm not intending to drill ya down but I've seen so many guitar players do the same thing and wonder why no one wants to jam. It's hard to jam with the kind of 'how many guitar players does it take to screw in a light bulb' type of guy. (answer: 10. 1 to screw it in and 9 to say they could do it better and faster). I don't think you're doing that but it is a possibility when the basis of the playing is not the anchor of being a good rhythm player.