What I'm thinking about more, is like, how do composers create interesting parts for so many instruments? Surely it can't all be an exercise in playing the same chord either open, fretted or notes an octave up or down. What kind of advanced intervallic theory can happen, with regards to chords?
well, the vast majority of orchestral instruments are only capable of playing one note at a time, and have quite a limited pitch range... so that'd explain why it's slightly easier to do for, say, an orchestra...
the piano/harpsichord was invented to let one person play the entire orchestral piece by themselves, and/or cover for, say, if you had three friends, one of whom played trumpet, one violin, and one cello, you could, as harpsichordist, cover the viola and lower brass parts, etc.
and the guitar is known as the "one handed keyboard"...
No real help, I'm afraid, but I guess it might help to understand why it works slightly easier for the orchestra...
I have no experience of playing guitar in a band myself, but I guess the main things to do are play a melody line when the other guitarist is playing chords (or vice versa), play arpeggios when he/she's playing chords (again, or vice versa), play barre chords when they're playing in the open position, play inversions, play subtly different chords (say a major 7th when they're playing a major, something like that), play high on the neck when they're low, etc- or let them play the first and the major third, while you play the 5th and 7th (so altogether you're playing a
major 7th), etc.
which as you say, you already know about. I dunno, I guess. :D
