“Stevie would fill out the sound by combining bluesy licks with chords and rhythmic playing”: How to blend rhythm and lead blues guitar like John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan takes a ripping solo on his number one Strat, live at at the Alpine Valley Music Theater, Wisconsin. He wears a white shirt and a patterned waistcoat.

Whether you’re a pro musician or play with bands in your spare time, chances are you’ll spend the majority of your time fulfilling rhythm guitar duties.

You’re certainly not alone in this – many great soloists are also fantastic rhythm players, covering both rhythm and lead parts and frequently blurring the lines between the two. Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan are great examples of this blending of styles, with the solo/examples here (broadly speaking) inspired by the latter.