Guitar Serious Fun: Recent Episodes
David Harsh
Playing the guitar is a wonderful way to express how the Lord is moving in our lives. Whether we play for worship, songwriting, or just the enjoyment of music, there is much to talk about when it comes to enriching and enhancing our guitar journeys. Whether philosophical or practical, this is a place where we'll discuss ideas, stories and insights that can equip and inspire you. Welcome to Guitar Serious Fun.
guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Enjoy the chart below, with transcript…
Have you ever seen the abbreviation “Sus” in a chart and thought, “What does that actually mean?” Today we’re going to talk about…suspensions with music on the guitar.
I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. This way, you’ll see and hear everything demonstrated. You can find the video right here:
If you’ve ever seen a suspenseful movie, or if you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of having an account suspended, or your driver’s license suspended, you have experienced suspense.But what do all of these scenarios have in common? They are all temporary. A suspenseful movie can’t be suspenseful the entire time – it just wouldn’t work. A suspended account is usually restored to good standing when the balance is paid, and a suspended driver’s license can eventually be reinstated.
So, I’m not talking about something being permanently taken away – I’m talking about something being temporarily suspended, and eventually – wait for it – resolved.
So, let’s take a moment to discuss what suspensions can look and sound like on the guitar, and why they’re important.
So, when we see the term “sus” in a chart, that’s short for a SUSpended chord.
First of all, the most common chord we’ll find suspensions for is going to be on the Dominant, the V chord in a Major key. And second of all, the most common type of suspension or “sus” chord we’re going to experience is the “sus4.” We could go in all sorts of additional directions, but for now, let’s keep things pretty simple.
So, let’s say we’re in the key of G Major, a very guitar-friendly key. The Dominant or V chord in G is D. But today, we’re not just going to play it as a D Major chord, we’re going to play it as a Dsus4 chord.
Now, my background in music began with a classical degree, which included several years of collegiate music theory, so I’m going to offer you an additional level of musicality here. It involves a three-word process. That process is: “Preparation,” “Suspension,” and “Resolution.”Because, if we think about it, it’s nice to be able to prepare ourselves for suspense, so we can anticipate it just a bit. The plot thickens in a movie. We get a warning notice that our account is about to be suspended. The cop car behind us fires up the lights on his roof to let us know we’re about to be pulled over, which could lead to a suspended license.So “Preparation” is the first step. The second step is the actual “Suspension.”
This is where things are in a temporary state of suspense that is typically not restful. The suspenseful scene happens in the movie, putting us on the edge of our seats. Our account is suspended, so we can’t have access to it. Our license is suspended so it’s temporarily taken away.
So, with this suspension, there’s a bit of tension. There’s tension, but in this musical scenario, this is a good sort of tension. But as I mentioned, we aren’t going to stay in suspense indefinitely. Eventually, we get to the third step, “Resolution,” where the Suspension ends.
The suspense in the movie plot winds down, if only temporarily, as it comes to a resting point in the story. The account is restored. The license is reinstated.
So, again, think through those three words as we continue - “Preparation,” “Suspension,” and “Resolution.”So here we are in the key of G Major. The I chord in G Major is…G Major, right? The IV chord is C Major, and the V chord is D Major.
Now, to bring this right to your fingers in an easy manner, I’ll actually use some “color” chords, so the chords will actually be easier to play, and they also won’t be pure Major chords, but they’ll still totally work for this exercise.
The most important note in this suspension exercise is the high G note on the 3rd fret of the 1st string. I want you to watch this note carefully, because it’s going to remain for three chords, but it will have a different identity in each.
I’ll analyze the first chord as a G5 chord with no 3rd. So, in the G chord, this high G is the root, right? But then, when we move to a C2 chord for the IV chord, we still keep that G up on the 3rd fret of the 1st string, and now it’s the 5th of that chord. It’s at this stage that we start to feel the “Preparation.” In other words, we’re ramping up to the Suspension.
Next up is the V chord, D, but we’re going to keep the high G note on that 3rd string, thereby rendering this chord a Dsus4. Why is it a Dsus4? Because the high G is now the 4th degree of the D chord.
Now, typically a D Major Chord won’t have a G in it, but rather an F#, right? But here, with this chord, the Vsus4 is providing the Suspension we’re after. Right now, it’s not a Major chord.
So now we’ve been put in suspense. It’s not a restful chord. It’s a chord where we’re temporarily “on edge” just a bit.
But what follows a Suspension, ideally? You know it – Resolution.
All we need to do is take that high G note that we’ve had with us all along, and let it resolve down to the F#, thereby establishing the D Major chord, on its way back to…the G chord. See how the Vsus4 chord moves to a Major V chord, and finally back to the I chord?It’s actually quite pleasing to the ear. (Catch the video for the demonstration of this.)
Is there more? Always. Can we create a Sus2 chord? Yep.
Can we create suspensions with 7 chords? Yeah buddy.
Can we play suspensions as bar chords? Of course.
Can we play a suspension without preparing or resolving it? We’re technically not playing them functionally as suspensions, but…sure.
Can suspensions resolve to minor chords? Yes, but that tends to sound a little more “Foreign” in some cases (catch the video for my music reference.)As you can see, we can go much further. But it all starts here with this simple process of KNOWING what a suspension is, and then experimenting with the intentional approach of Preparing, Suspending and Resolving.
Want to go deeper and transform your guitar journey? Check out what we offer at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Enjoy charts and tables below, with transcript…
If you play an A Major chord like most people, you’re missing out. I’ll show you why, and what to do about it.
I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available so you can watch me demonstrate these concepts. You can find the video right here:
Chords exist in context. Am I right? We typically won’t play a song that consists of a single chord, because that would be…boring.
So, if we want to play chords well in context, this begs the question – do guitar chord fingerings really matter? Let’s find out.
I’m going to list three Major keys that are pretty common with guitar players: the keys of A, E and D Major. Which chord do all of these keys have in common? The A Major chord.
In the key of A, the A chord is the Tonic, the I chord.
In the key of E, the A chord is the Subdominant, the Major IV chord.
And in the key of D, the A chord is the Dominant, the Major V chord.
It’s a pretty widely-used chord.
And yet… a lot of guitar players are really making more work for themselves with the fingering they use.
Now, when we fret a note, it’s best to press down as close to the fret as we can, for a clean articulation.
Unfortunately, some of the guitar educational materials I’ve come across teach the A chord with fingers 1, 2, and 3 in a row.
Even if we slightly adjust to fingers 2, 3, and 4, the situation is not improved by much, because there’s not quite enough room for our adjacent fingers to be well-situated on the second fret in these configurations.
So, what do we do? For almost 30 years, I have taken the approach I’m about to show you, and it is truly a game-changer. And it’s actually really simple. Check it out.
I use fingers 2, 1 and then 3. A better way to get situated is to place 2 and 3 on the 2nd fret, like you’re voicing an open A7 chord and then drop in the 1st finger, wedging it right between those other two fingers.
Again, not all three notes will be right up next to the fret, but this is still a vast improvement to what we had before. Remember, even if a finger is not right next to the fret, it can still sound clean; it just needs to press harder, the further it is away from the fret.
So now that you’ve been exposed to this new fingering for the open A Major chord, what can I do to validate its usefulness?
That’s right – I’m going to place it in context.
Remember how we talked about the keys of A, E and D? Let’s say I wanted to move from A to E and back, whether that’s in the key of A or the key of E. Both scenarios apply here.
Watch what happens if I use the “old” way of fretting the A chord. If I start with the less optimal fingering, I have to lift all three fingers to move to the E chord. Then when I go back, I again have to lift all three fingers. Doable, but not ideal. (The accompanying video demonstrates this clearly.)
What if I tried our new and improved fingering?
The first finger stays on the 3rd string and provides an anchor point because although it slides down a single fret, it doesn’t have to be lifted from the string. Way better. (Watch the video for the economy of movement.)
Ok, how about the transition from A to D and back? Even though I do have something of an anchor note on the 2nd string with my 3rd finger, the other two fingers have to re-locate entirely both ways.It works, but is there a better way? Yep. Our new way.
Try it, and then watch with delight as only one finger needs to lift up to relocate as the other two fingers provide anchor points both directions.
So, not only is it a cleaner articulation to play A Major this way, we have a much cleaner transition to and from a couple very closely-related chords. So yes, I believe guitar chord fingerings do matter.
This may be significant to you, or it may not.
But if we’re going to play this chord a few thousand times in our lifetime, wouldn’t it be better to play it more effectively? And wouldn’t it be nice to gain even more visual independence from this chord in context?
Hopefully this gave you a window into my approach to teaching the guitar, and how I like to zoom in for more precision and artistry, which enhances our musicianship and just helps us PLAY better.
Side note: here at GuitarSerious Fun, I published an article/video called “Do Guitar Chord Voicings Matter?” I encourage you to check that out as well.
You can find us on social media with GuitarSuccess4U on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. But if you want the real experience, join GuitarSuccess4U. We have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
See you there!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Have you ever made a mistake onstage while playing your guitar? What’s the best thing to do in the moment, and afterwards?
I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. It takes our discussion to the next level. You can find the video right here:
It’s happened to all of us. We’re playing our guitar in a worship or performance setting, and somehow, we play something differently from how we’ve rehearsed it. And by differently, I mean wrong. It’s clearly not what we planned to play.
So, what do we do? I’ll offer several options for what we can do, and then I’ll let you decide which option is the best course of action. I can’t promise not to “lead the witness,” but I think it’s important to see what the options are. These are six options I can choose when I make a mistake.
#1. Visibly express my disappointment.
Body language is the most powerful form of communication.
So, if I make a mistake and then I…shake my head, frown, smile awkwardly, roll my eyes, or simply look surprised, I’ve just nonverbally communicated to the people I’m serving that I’ve made a mistake.
#2. Ignore the mistake and never speak of it.
This is the extreme opposite. If I know I’ve made a mistake but I not only ignore it, I actually never take time to think through what happened, this doesn’t allow me to benefit from the experience.
And if I try to convince myself that I haven’t actually made a mistake, I just might be avoiding reality.
#3. Visibly show no response, but internally combust.
Some of us wear our emotions on our sleeves, but others keep them all inside.
If I’m visibly displaying that I’m doing fine, but inwardly, I’m having a conniption because of a mistake I just made, it just might not be the healthiest choice for my emotional or mental state.
#4. Keep thinking about the mistake even while playing the song.
Once a mistake has happened, there can be a temptation to look back at the spot in the chart, or think back to the spot in the song, even as we’re trying to complete the song.
But to use an analogy, if I drive over a bump in the road and I look back at that bump while I keep driving forward, I may encounter even bigger “bumps” ahead, if you know what I mean.
#5. Move on, but beat myself up for weeks or months afterwards.
If I make a mistake, but finish the service or the concert on a strong note, that can be good.
But what if I focus on my mistake, hold it over my head, maybe even apologizing profusely when I talk to my collaborators, the congregation, or members of the audience afterwards?
What if, for weeks or months at a time, I belabor the mistake and keep reminding myself of what happened, speaking self-critically the whole time? Profitable? I don’t think so.
Lastly…
#6. Recover gracefully…but evaluate objectively later.
This last option, if you haven’t already decided for yourself, is my preferred approach, because it’s only by learning from our mistakes that we can truly grow.
Some would say that mistakes are easier to learn from than successes. If we know something worked, but we don’t know exactly why, it can be more difficult to learn from the experience.
However, if we make a mistake, we can examine it from a few different angles objectively, and decide how to better prepare for a similar experience in the future. This will help us avoid making (or at least reduce the possibility of making) the same mistake.
Having an intentional time set aside, sometimes with fellow team members on what might be called “Honest Monday,” can be a good opportunity.
The key is not to be too hard on ourselves. If we skirt the edge of 100% negative self-talk, it can be pretty damaging. It can even make it hard for us to keep the joy of music alive.
If we can separate ourselves from our musical offerings and be objective enough to say “That was a mistake, and here’s how I plan to avoid it in the future,” this simple approach can be tremendously effective.
The more specific we can be about our recovery strategy, the better.
If it’s a chord transition, we can work those chords. If it’s a tuning issue, we can practice tuning every time we get ready to play (and this is a great habit for any guitarist.)
If it’s a tempo issue, we can practice with a steady drummer or percussionist who keeps us honest, or at least practice with a metronome.
And the next level is to play the song (with the challenge spot) for an “audience.” By the way, have you heard my definition of an audience? Here it is.
An audience is: one or more people who are listening, giving their undivided (or even divided) attention, thereby compelling us to finish the song we’re playing.This puts us under a healthy amount of pressure, much more so than practicing on our own. If you’re having a hard time convincing someone to listen to you play, become your own audience.
Put your smartphone on a tripod, spin it to “selfie” video mode, and hit “record.” The pressure will go up, and the added blessing is that you can go back and watch yourself play.
Hopefully, these insights have given you some tangible strategies, as well as some behaviors to avoid, the next time you make a mistake with your guitar onstage.
Mistakes are inevitable. But every mistake can be an opportunity to learn and to grow. My hope is that you’ll take those opportunities. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time.
Interested in going deeper? Please check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Do you know how to transpose chord progressions on the guitar? If you don’t, please spend a few minutes with me.
If you think you’ve got it figured out, you still might learn something new here.
I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. It goes much deeper than I can with my typed words, and you’ll be able to hear the chord progressions too. You can find the video right here:
Here are three tips to make transposition smooth and effective.
1. We need to know all the diatonic chords in our starting key.
Do you know all seven chords in C Major? Wait for it…
2. We need to assign numbers to the chords.
Now, my background began in classical music, so I trained with Roman numerals. But just as effective is the Nashville Number System.
As you’ll see from my chart below with chords in C and A Major, there are specific cases and indicators for degrees that the Roman numerals and Nashville Numbers can guide you along with.
With Roman numerals, capital numbers are Major, and lower-case numbers are minor. With Nashville Numbers, we just use Arabic numerals, and we indicate the qualities of the chords with just a number to imply a Major chord, and a number followed by a lower case “m” to indicate a minor chord.
Using numerals or numbers, we need to be able to identify each chord as a number, but then also to identify each number as a chord. So, for example, in the key of C Major, what is the number for C? What about the number for F? Check the chart above to confirm your answer.
Let’s go the other way. In the key of C Major, what is the name of the minor vi chord? How about the minor ii chord? Again, you can check your work.
So, if I wanted to play the progression I V vi IV (or 1 5 6m 4) in C, what would the chords be? C G Am F. It’s a very popular progression.
Let’s do the reverse process. If I played the progression C Em F G, what would the chordal analysis be in terms of numbers? I iii IV V (or 1 3m 4 5). Another very useful progression. Lastly,
3. We need to know the chords and numbers in our destination key.
If we have a destination key we want to transpose to, it would be helpful for us to know those diatonic chords, and to be able to familiarize ourselves with them in the same fashion as numbers. For our purposes today, I’ve chosen the key of A Major (also reflected in the chart I’ve provided).
Now let’s put this knowledge to practical use.
Let’s go back to our first progression of chords in C with C G Am F and let’s transpose that progression to the key of A. If we know the corresponding numbers and chords in the key of A, we know that the chords for that progression would be…A E F#m D. Transposition accomplished!
Now let’s create a new progression in A with I IV ii V (or 1 4 2m 5). Those chords are A D Bm E. Based on how well we know the chords in C, we use numbers and transposition to crank out C F Dm G. Transposition accomplished again!
The accompanying video will add much more dimension and understanding to what you’re reading here.
Now there are a couple subtle ways to check our work. If we know the distance from A to C, which is up a minor 3rd, we can take each chord in the key of A, and move “vertically” to its corresponding chord in the key of C. (The video has more.)
Another method is to think “horizontally” from the tonic to the other chords within each key. The tonic is the home I chord, so this would be the A Major chord in the key of A, or the C Major chord in the key of C. (The video again has more.)
As you can see, this process is going to help us a lot. It’s just a matter of some simple memory work and repetition.
Want to go deeper? Please watch the video for a more advanced progression with some borrowed chords.
Are you ready for some application to validate these tools? Let me ask some questions, all of which end in a positive answer.
Can we transpose from the key of A back to the key of C? Of course!
Can we take a progression in a less guitar-friendly key that either requires lots of bar chords or a capo, and transpose it to a guitar-friendly key with fewer bar chords and more open chords? Yeah buddy!
Can we transpose from one minor key to another minor key? Yep!
Can we transpose from the Dorian mode with one key center to a Dorian mode with another key center? You betcha!
As you can see, there are all kinds of possibilities when we know how to transpose. If you have a worship song and you want to transpose it, you can use this method. You can write out the transposition with numbers, or verbally call it out on the fly as you play with your band. There are digital tools that can do this for you, but if you want to grow in your ability to transpose, I encourage you to try some of this mentally and manually.
I’ve transposed more charts than I can count. And if you can analyze and learn a song by number, and you’ve got a good grasp of several keys, you can quickly transpose that song into any of those keys.
Transposition facilitates easier fingerings, preferred chord voicings, better vocal ranges, and more. See the relevance?
Want to go deeper? Check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Really serious about next steps? Check out our new free web masterclass at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula.Thanks for checking out today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here.
You can also watch the video version embedded below (psst - did you know that GuitarSuccess4U has a YouTube Channel? Please subscribe! 😊)
This video will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript included below…
Looking for an intentional process to help you memorize your songs on guitar? You just found it.
Having led worship for almost 3 decades, many of my recent years have been spent leading from memory. This has really helped me have a better connection with the band, the techs and the congregation.
And as a touring performer all over North America for about the same amount of time, all my performance songs have been memorized.
But how do we get to the point where we can confidently play and sing a song from memory? Let’s take a few minutes to unpack 10 helpful strategies.
1. Stare at the chart.
Assuming you have a visual representation of the chart for your song, print it up or have it ready on a tablet. Look closely. What do you notice?
Whether you’re looking at a lead sheet or a chord chart, there are little clues waiting to be discovered. Maybe there are specific rhyme schemes. Maybe each verse starts with a slightly different lyric. Maybe the chord progression is more involved for the verses, but gets simpler for the choruses. Maybe the harmonic rhythm is different between the verse and the chorus.
2. Mark up the chart.
Using a pencil to make the chart our own makes a huge difference, because we can make notes that will remind us of tricky spots the next time we open up the chart.
An extra measure of care is to use different colored highlighters to mark up verses, especially if you have a lead sheet that includes repeats, different endings, and sometimes the incidental D.S. al Coda markings.
If you’re working with a tablet, you can use an app and a stylus to make notes, and you can color-code them as well. But make the chart your own.
3. Get your prep materials all in a row.
If you’re the worship leader, a great way to serve your team is to supply them with the chart that speaks their language (lead sheet, chord chart, or even a Nashville number chart).
But then, a great way to help their ear along is to purchase the audio mp3, rip it into some recording software and then transpose it to the actual key you’ll be singing in, to make it match the printed charts as closely as possible.
The reality is that some members of your band will reference the recording as the main guide for their preparation, so be thorough in this regard. Again, if you’re preparing lead sheets, chord charts, and mp3s, it’s important that they are all congruent with each other.
Side note: there’s a specific CCLI license that’s available to churches who want to distribute audio recordings amongst worship team members in whatever form – CD, or mp3s uploaded to Planning Center, etc. It’s called the CCLI Church Rehearsal License. Click here to be directed to a page that tells you more.
https://us.ccli.com/what-we-provide/rehearsal-license
Now comes the intentional process that gives us momentum towards memorization.
4. Type up the lyrics.
Although we might be able to find lyrics on the web that we could copy and paste, that’s not going to serve us as well as typing them up.
Will it take longer? Yes. But will it reinforce the lyrics in our minds? Also, yes.
5. Save and print the lyric sheets.
I print up the lyrics to songs with one song per side of a piece of paper. And then I keep them handy, folded up in my pocket, when I’m out and about. I can also keep them on my phone as screen shots or PDFs in a folder.
6. Listen actively to the recording.
The more focused and undivided our attention for this, the better. Listen closely, with and without the chart nearby.
Really consider the chord progression. Can you analyze it numerically? Do you know the progressions in Nashville numbers so that you could play part or all of the song in any guitar-friendly key?
7. Play along with the recording.
With your guitar in hand, play along to the best of your ability as you feel the cadences, holds, chokes, and dynamics. Let the guitarist on the recording guide you as you play.
8. Make a recording of yourself playing the song.
There’s something about playing a song and knowing that the “red recording light” is on. This adds a healthy amount of pressure, but wait for it…you can now go back and listen to, or even watch yourself playing the song (if you’ve captured it on video) and get a clear picture of your accuracy, tempos, words, pitch, and you can also see what you look like as you play.
9. Test it out in front of a safe audience.
Try playing the song for a loved one at home. This raises the pressure from just being in your practice space, to where someone else is actively listening on some level. They can give you their undivided attention, or listen while they’re cooking dinner, etc. Lastly…
10. Bring the song to rehearsal - memorized.
Come to worship or band rehearsal ready to play it from memory (but have it nearby on a music stand, just in case.) See how much you can work without the chart.
Remember, “memorized” means acknowledging every measure and being consistent. Your band will be following their charts, so make sure you’re right on track with the charts you’ve given them.
If you’ve never done something like this before, start with just one song and see how it goes. And give yourself enough ramp-up time to truly memorize it. But watch how much more freedom you’ll have as you interact with your team, the congregation, and ultimately the Lord.
I hope today’s discussion was helpful. It’s very possible that it could lead to some serious fun on your guitar journey if you take time to apply what’s been offered here. Will you?
David Harsh is a nationally touring worship leader, songwriter and performing artist. He is passionate about equipping guitarists to discover their potential. Learn more and join now at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I’m coming to you today with a bit of an announcement and update, as we continue forward.
When I began creating this blog and podcast two years ago, I wasn’t sure exactly how far I would take it, but I’m very pleased to celebrate the fact that for two solid years, I’ve been able to release an episode every single week, with today being episode 105.I have colleagues who are podcasters who sometimes take a few weeks off, but thanks to the blessing of the opportunity to batch content, as well as the Lord’s provision of a lot of creativity and perspectives on how to encourage you, I can celebrate that I’ve been able to consistently churn out some pretty encouraging and practical stuff, without a single break.
I don’t claim the glory for this – it’s all glory to God. I just want to celebrate. Two years is a significant achievement for content creation on such a consistent basis. I also want to give a shout-out to my podcast guests, who include Dawn Jones, Erin Pakinas, Mo Higgins and Jerry Chambers. Their insights have added much more depth to what I’ve put together, because they’ve provided outside perspectives that have really enhanced this experience.
In 2019, we launched GuitarSuccess4U, our online paid offering, which I’ve mentioned after many of these episodes here at Guitar Serious Fun. And if you haven’t learned about it yet because you’ve only recently subscribed, I do cordially invite you to consider joining us.The website for this experience is GuitarSuccess4U.com. As you’ll discover if you explore the website, we have a lavish, yet accessible offering for beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.
This means that it’s not for everyone…but the people it’s for really resonate with what we’ve put together. And it’s so much more than a guitar learning experience; it’s the opportunity to go deep with our passions for the Lord and music and how they intersect.
In the process of building out GuitarSuccess4U, my wife and I studied under Stu McLaren through a training experience called Tribe. They’ve since changed their name to The Membership Experience. Based out of Ontario, Canada, they’ve offered some solid counsel that has launched us forward into our teaching process of taking my 30 years of experience and imparting it through the portal and community that GuitarSuccess4U provides.
One thing Stu is famous for saying is “Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t.”
Which brings me to the change that’s coming here at Guitar Serious Fun. We’ve had a steady increase in followers and readers, but as we’ve checked our analytics over the past two years for how many folks have read the blog or listened to the podcast, the increase has not been as “up and to the right” as we would have liked.I love to create long form content, but in the case of this podcast, it’s a lot like a journal. As one of our Guitar Successors shared with me, some of what I’ve put together here has likely been for…me. And it’s been a great way to process my thoughts and journey.
It has also, of course, been for you – my listeners or readers. Now, I know from our list of subscribers that a significant portion of those who follow Guitar Serious Fun are already members of GuitarSuccess4U. Which is awesome.
Perhaps you are not yet a member but are considering GuitarSuccess4U, and I sincerely hope you do. I challenge you to find as meaningful and affordable of an experience as what we offer.
So, this podcast and blog, Guitar Serious Fun, has been exactly that.
But the avenues that seem to be gaining more traction and momentum for our ministry in this season are our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel and our GuitarSuccess4U Instagram account.
You can find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@guitarsuccess4u.
You can also find us on Instagram at instagram.com/guitarsuccess4u.
We are posting almost daily on both YouTube and Instagram, and some of our shorts, vids and reels are getting some pretty good reach. As of today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun, we have almost 900 followers on YouTube and almost 600 followers on Instagram. Contrast this to just over 60 followers here.Now again, hear me when I say how grateful I am for your willingness to experience what I’ve put together. Your investment of time and attention is a huge blessing to me. But it is indeed time for a change.
So, the change that’s going to happen is this: at this point, I will be doing less of these episodes.
Not that it’s “not working” – but it’s working less than I’d like, and as you know, we’ve all only got so much time to allocate to creating content, especially free content. I love to create content. It’s something that gives me a lot of joy, and I have a working list and folder of concepts that are steadily making their way into the light. People are loving a lot of what I’m putting together, and I’ve never experienced writer’s block, which I guess is something that many people have struggled with.So I have no complaints. Instead, a lot of gratitude!
My wife and I serve under a 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry, appropriately called “David Harsh Ministries,” and our Board of Directors has graciously counseled us to take the new approach of a monthly episode of Guitar Serious Fun, so for the foreseeable future, that’s what we’ll do.The episodes that will be forthcoming will be audio versions of mini topical guitar lessons. So, you can look forward to practical, encouraging episodes that will all link to a video version of what you’ll hear, sometimes accompanied by some charts and tables.
Speaking transparently, my intention is not to turn the Substack for Guitar Serious Fun into a paid experience, at least not at this stage, but instead to help you gain more awareness of how we can serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U.
So…what do I need from you?
Well, I think the best thing you can do is comment after today’s episode. Share your thoughts. Let me know which episode or episodes of Guitar Serious Fun resonated with you and provided encouragement or wisdom.And then, consider providing some topics we could expand upon for future episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, future videos on YouTube, or future reels on Instagram.Will you do this? Will you grab 5 minutes to share some feedback with us?
Believe me, some entire episodes of Guitar Serious Fun have come to life as the result of a single question.
I want to thank you for your time today and for however long you’ve been experiencing these episodes. I do look forward to our monthly connection here.
And I again hope to serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U, where I’m serving our members with most of my time and energy, as we desire to impact the Kingdom of God through a legacy of learning, as our members fulfill their callings in worship leading, songwriting, and the enjoyment of music at whatever level this season calls for.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/10AlternateTuningMyths. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript and table included below…
Have you always wanted to play in alternate tunings, but felt a little intimidated by the process? Not anymore.
Let’s dispel 10 myths together and find some hidden treasures when it comes to alternate tunings.
The 6 machine heads on our guitars are like a 6-digit combination lock, and the alternate tunings we can access with them can be incredibly enjoyable. Here are 10 myths I’m going to dispel about alternate tunings. You ready?
Myth #1 – “Alternate tunings are too difficult to get into.”
By definition, an alternate tuning is any tuning that’s different from standard tuning, so even Drop-D can fall into this category. This is the best place to start. All you do is start with a standard-tuned guitar and then tune one string down – your 6th string, until the 12th fret harmonic matches the open 4th string D (watch the video to see how.)
Myth #2 – “Alternate tunings can be achieved with a partial capo.”
If were to take a standard tuned guitar and place a partial capo on strings 5, 4, and 3 on the second fret, and play those notes open, they would sound an Esus4.
If I tune another guitar to DADGAD and place the capo on the second fret, I’ll have access to the same open notes that sound an Esus4. And although some of the chords might sound similar on both guitars (see the video), that’s where the similarity between the partial capo and the alternate tuning end.
Look at this closed voicing A Major scale on a standard-tuned guitar with a partial capo, and contrast it to a DADGAD capo 2 guitar.
Myth #3 – “You can figure out the tuning of a guitar from an audio recording.”
Sometimes. Not always. I wrote a song in DADGAD and recorded it on an album with my capo on the 3rd fret. Later, a friend liked the song so much that he taught it to himself from the recording, and played it in standard tuning, but with a lot more fretted notes.
Myth #4 – “The tuning dictates the key.”
Not necessarily. I actually learned a beautiful fingerstyle song by Pierre Bensusan in DADGAD while studying with him in France called “L’Alchimiste,” and that song was in DADGAD but in the keys of C and F Major…without a capo. Pretty wild.
Myth #5 – “Alternate tunings require a dedicated guitar.”
I think it depend on how quickly you can re-tune. I caught Michael Hedges in concert a couple times and he had two 6-string guitars for the whole show – one he played onstage, while his technician re-tuned the other one offstage.
He must have played in upwards of two dozen tunings with just those two guitars. At my concerts and when I lead worship, I use at most, three guitars. I try to keep my guitars in neighboring tunings as well, and to plan my sets accordingly.
Myth #6 – “Each tuning takes a long time to learn to play in.”
Actually, once you’ve re-tuned, you can be creating great music in minutes. There’s something sweet about exploring a new tuning for the first time, and finding chord voicings that are just not possible in standard tuning or even partial capo positions.
Myth #7 – “Once you re-tune, you have to re-learn the instrument.”
As I mentioned, you don’t have to re-learn everything in a new tuning. Some strings, if they remain in their original pitches, can allow for some of the same figures we know, like three-string chord voicings or melodic fragments.
Some tunings are nice for specific textures, drones, or certain keys. But a new tuning doesn’t necessitate re-learning the entire guitar from square one.
Myth #8 – “Alternate tunings require special string gauges.”
If we keep the same strings proprietary to their standard locations on the guitar, I recommend medium gauge – 13 to 56, from high to low, because a set of these strings splits the difference between the heavy gauge strings and light gauge strings.
Myth #9 – “Your tunings drastically affect your collaborators’ choices.”
As long as you’re in concert pitch and playing chords or melodies, this really doesn’t affect your collaborators in a major way.
You might have a little fun mystifying your bass player who thinks they know which notes you’re playing, especially on your low strings, but no, tunings don’t affect other musicians, at least not logistically. They may actually inspire your collaborators artistically, which could be really cool. Lastly…
Myth #10 – “There are only a limited number of alternate tunings out there.”
Think about my analogy of a combination lock for a moment. There are lots of possibilities, especially if there are six digits on your lock. If we were to compute each string as having a combined range of an octave (in other words, each string could theoretically be tuned down a Perfect 5th and up a Major 3rd), how many alternate tuning possibilities could there be on a 6-string guitar? Answer: 2,985,984 tunings!
A six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings, so I encourage you to step out and take the risk.
Who knows? You might write an arrangement or a brand-new song in a new tuning…today. Maybe you’ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love, in an alternate tuning, perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your voice, your band, or both. I hope you do.
As we wrap up, without going too deep into a discussion about gear, I will say that there are automated tuners, tuning levers and pegs that can be added to a guitar to customize the precision and speed with which someone can re-tune their guitar. Guitarist Adrian Legg is a prime example of someone who has leveraged these kinds of tools.
But a six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings, so I encourage you to step out and take the risk. Who knows? You might write an arrangement or a brand new song in a new tuning…today. Maybe you’ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love, in an alternate tuning, perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your song, your band, or both. I hope you do.
And if you’re looking for more insights into discovering some hidden treasures that the guitar and music have to offer, I would be honored to be your guide in a one-of-a-kind online experience called GuitarSuccess4U. I’ve never seen anything like what we have, therefore, I had to create it. We have a 6-stage Success Path, proven strategies for multi-modal learning, a collection of hand-picked guest experts, and a community of like-minded Christian guitarists who just might be on a similar journey to you.
Will you discover what we’ve worked so diligently to create? Please take a moment to visit GuitarSuccess4U.com and see what we’re up to. It could change your guitar world, and transform your musical world.
I hope to see you inside GuitarSuccess4U. Keep showing up, have serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript below…
Today we’re going to talk about what it means to love our listener as we play the guitar.
At the school where our children attend, one of the values that is consistently brought forward when writing papers is the idea of “Loving your reader.”This means writing clearly, and writing well. In fact, they even give out penmanship awards for the younger students to affirm their work in this area.
I’d say that as guitarists, loving our listener is tremendously important, whether the listener is enjoying our guitar live in person, over a live stream, or on some sort of audio or video recording.
Today, during this brief discussion, I’ll offer five ways to love your listener. There will always be more, and your suggestions are welcome in the comments, but let’s start with these five.
1. Tune your guitar.
I offer this suggestion because a significant portion of the song offerings I’ve heard over time have been played well, but on guitars that are slightly out of tune.
This actually undermines the entire offering.
There are a variety of ways to tune, from using a tuner, to a tuning fork, to referencing a piano, to using the highly advanced method of equal temperament with harmonics and beats.
But even a simple smartphone app can act as a bridge from being out of tune to being in tune. People may not know which string is out of tune, but they’ll know intuitively if a guitar is not in tune.
Your listener likes to listen to guitars that are in tune.
2. Want to play well.
What does this mean? I basically desire to inspire you to play your guitar well. Some folks I’ve heard are basically “phoning it in.”
They grab their guitar, start strumming, and are generally ok with what comes out.
But here’s the thing: they may be playing some unnecessary strings with their chords (E.G. the low open E under a D chord.)
Or they may be strumming too aggressively for the interpretation of the song.
Or they may be ignoring the opportunity for dynamic variation. So, I encourage you to play cleanly, accurately, and artistically.
3. Desire variety within limitations.
Within the scope of artistic interpretation, we can vary our chords, strumming patterns, and picking patterns, even within the song. Some folks default to just a handful of strumming patterns for their entire worship repertoire, rather than thinking through what the song might need.
And color chords or different voicings can add so much. Think about what the limitations are of the song, and work within those, but bring variety and elegance, based on what you can offer in this season. This applies to worship leading, but also songwriting.
4. Wave the flag of quality over quantity.
In GuitarSuccess4U, I teach my highly unique “Chord Kite Diagram” strategy, where my members are able to zoom in on just four chords and their combined transitions, for clean movements between them.
This translates to a much more pleasing offering. Contrast playing four chords well, with someone who can play 40 chords…sloppily. I think you know what would show love to your listener here: quality over quantity, especially with music. Lastly…
5. Don’t be a perfectionist.
Perfectionism can be the enemy of progress. If we refuse to offer our gifts until they’re “perfect,” we could be missing out on all sorts of opportunities. But if we stay “human” in our delivery, considering these other ways of bringing quality and elegance, we’ll provide something very enjoyable.
People enjoy hearing music from people. Not machines, not A.I., not something mechanical, but real people playing real music.
Tom Jackson, a gifted performance coach with whom I have studied, once said that “Going from bad to good is easy; going from good to great is really tedious.”
Basically, to really buckle down and work towards a quality delivery with your guitar playing won’t necessarily take hours, days, weeks, or even months. It may take years or even decades.
But the good news is that we’re in this for the long game. We’re going to play our guitars for many, many, many, many years, Lord willing.
So, will all this hard work be worth it? Yes.
Don’t let the long game discourage you. Think about how well you want to play, and do what you can today to love your listener. And enjoy the process.
And then, more opportunities will open up for you to play your guitar, and you’ll get better, and better…and better.
And then more doors will open.
Proverbs 22:29 says: “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”
And Psalm 33:3 says: “Sing to the Lord a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
And yes, there will be joy.
I hope these thoughts gave you some ideas for how to enhance your playing. If you’re ready for the next level and a clear, battle-tested success path that leads to loving your listener even more, as you discover the guitar and the joy of music in a Christ-honoring community, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Trust me – there’s more wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration waiting for you here than you can imagine.
Keep playing your guitar, keep having serious fun, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Today, we’re going to talk about five ways to “die to self” as worship guitarists, and the beautiful blessings that can result when we do.
My wife and I are blessed to have two amazing daughters. But with the privilege of having kids comes the need for sacrifice. In saying “yes” to having kids, we inevitably say “no” to some other things, at least for a season.
Can we both just head out on a road trip for a week? Not without making arrangements to have the kids looked after. Can we both work on ministry tasks straight through dinner and late into the night?
Well, with our family culture, we don’t usually do that, because we value the privilege of sharing a meal to debrief the day, and we also spend a few minutes with our kids at bedtime praying together.
These sorts of intentional sacrifices involve a certain amount of what could be called “dying to self.”
And because of our examples, our kids discover what that’s about as well as they wait for the fun activities while prioritizing academics and chores. We also eat nutritious food for our meals, and sometimes follow with dessert. We don’t typically eat dessert as a meal, right?
So much of what I’m about to share with you today boils down to refining and sharpening our characters. The symptom is how and when we play our guitars. The real issue is the flesh, whether we want to talk about it or not.
So, let’s courageously talk today about some ways we can intentionally “die to self” for the glory of God and the benefit of others, as well as the maturity of our souls as worship guitarists.
1. Delayed Gratification
Delayed gratification is a huge missing component of our culture in today’s world. We want fast food. We want overnight shipping. We want instant results.
Food that is cooked fast might taste decent, but it’s often less nutritious.
Overnight shipping has ruined us in some ways. I’m old enough to remember sending a check in the mail to order something, and reading the fine print on the order form that said “Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery.”
If our Amazon Prime order were to take even a week to arrive, we’d probably get a little antsy and frustrated, right?
You’re probably sensing where I’m going when it comes to music and guitar. Many of us really want instant (or close to instant) results with the songs we want to play.
I had one student come to my teaching studio who had never played the guitar before. He said that the first song he wanted to learn was “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, and he wanted to learn it in its entirety during our first lesson.
I cautioned him and encouraged him to be a bit more realistic at the beginning…and after that conversation, I never saw him again.
Some guitarists want to learn songs or develop skills, but they don’t want it to take a lot of time. They long for shortcuts and hacks that reduce practice time to a fraction of what it might normally take.
And unfortunately, some guitar products or sales people promise all sorts of instant results in the short term. This might provide some momentum, but long-term, it’s been my experience that these students will lose momentum when the more intermediate music comes along…because it will take more effort and more time to get results.
Now, there’s something to be said for practicing smarter, with greater focus, and at an optimal time of day after having good rest and with good hydration. To that end, practice sessions can be shorter, and results can come more quickly.
But the reality is that quality practice will still take some amount of time. To expect to learn a significantly difficult guitar song in a matter of, say, 15 minutes total, is not a way to set ourselves up for being able to play the song well.
So, we can “die to self” as we flex our “delayed gratification” muscles and wait patiently as we practice diligently.
2. Hard Work
I remember cramming for tests in college. But it’s my conviction that effective practice cannot be crammed, for the very reason that we won’t have the songs under our fingers long-term, even if we can summon parts of them right away.
And complete songs are much more of value than fragments of songs. Have you ever heard someone start a song, and then trail off as the song just kind of falls apart? We all have.
So, as we wrap up this section, let’s remember that diligent, consistent practice is a way for us to “die to self.”
My father taught me the value of hard work throughout my entire childhood, and it has served me well, and also the people I’ve served and served with.
Many blessings, including good musical execution, are waiting on the other side of good old-fashioned hard work.
3. Setting Aside Personal Preferences
I have some very specific musical tastes. And believe it or not, as a worship leader, some of the songs I’ve led over the course of my career have not been my absolute favorites.
A person I served with on staff at a church was absolutely baffled to learn that I wouldn’t always choose songs that were personal favorites of mine.
But here’s why – and you may already know this. The songs aren’t just for my worship journey. There are many people in the congregation I'm ministering to who might have a deep appreciation for some of those songs that aren’t my personal preference.
The only hard line I need to draw is that the songs I lead must be Biblical. To lead songs that don’t reconcile with Scripture is to lead people astray. And so, I’m always vigilant about the message of the songs I sing (and even write.)
So, if a worship guitarist is on a team (whether in a leadership or support position), and a song they are playing on is not a personal favorite, can they “die to self” and still diligently prepare and lead that song well? That’s my hope as I share these words.
4. Being a Good Listener
In our membership in GuitarSuccess4U, I’m privileged to host multiple guest expert interviews with some of the most gifted musicians I’ve ever collaborated with.And they offer some real pearls of wisdom in these interviews.
One expert, a multi-instrumentalist and producer named Brian Reding, stated that a musician who has less experience will often play more during a song. In some ways, it’s a sign of insecurity or immaturity. To draw a parallel, it’s a lot like the person you might meet at a social gathering who mostly wants to talk about themselves and not really ask anyone else about their interests.
Imagine a less mature guitarist who has come to worship rehearsal. His or her mindset might be, “Well, I’m here. I’ve brought my guitar. I may as well play the whole time.”But here’s the problem: there’s only so much sonic space in the musical texture, and the guitar is just one part of that texture, as are the other instruments and voices. If the guitarist is playing all the time, it could actually muddy the texture and make it hard for other instruments to artistically express themselves.
Brian’s wisdom about less experienced musicians wanting to play a lot is very telling. The flipside is that more experienced musicians will actually do something I love to observe: they will look for places not to play.
Now, that might seem counterintuitive, but following my analogy, if music is like a conversation, we would do well to exchange information. How do we do this? By listening.I love watching a highly gifted musician play on a team for a song, especially for the first time.
They’re often waiting to start playing until they’ve listened a bit to what’s going on around them. Then they play, and perhaps they might momentarily tacet (which is a musical expression for not playing), before coming back in.
And when they do come back in, guess what? It means more. Picture a bass player or a drummer laying out for the penultimate chorus. When he or she rejoins the band for the final chorus, it can feel just right. And people who don’t understand music will still appreciate it.
I love the conversation of music, and I love collaborating with musical “conversationalists,” because they know when to “speak” and when to “listen.” And then the “conversation” is much more meaningful. It’s very honoring when someone asks me about my world, rather than just constantly talking about theirs.
So, if you’re a musician, much as it may be tempting to play the whole time, consider this challenge: “Don’t just do something; sit there.”
So, we can “die to self” as musical collaborators as we look for places not to play, and listen well so as to contribute more gracefully to the musical conversation.
5. Putting on Love
This last action is inspired by Colossians 3:14. If we put on love, we’ll do all of these things well, and for the right reasons.
If we don’t, we’ll do these things with some resentment or bitterness. Any amount of annoyance that creeps into these actions will actually invalidate them before the Lord.
Imagine if I verbally expressed gratitude, but wasn’t grateful. Imagine if I stated that I wanted to serve, but served only with an agenda and frustration at having to do so.
If we put on love, we are submitting to the Lord and making intentional efforts to ensure that our motivations are pure. We “die to self” as we put on love in all these endeavors.
Wrap-Up: The Flesh Must Die
When you saw the title of this article, I wonder if it made you just a little bit curious. That was my intent.
It can be easy to maintain the status quo of what we’ve always done as worship guitarists, but sometimes we need a message to shake us up and grab our attention. That’s been the intent of this collection of thoughts.
Remember, the flesh wants what it wants, but without inviting the Lord to guide and strengthen us, it will try to get its way. So, our fleshly tendencies need to…die.
As we wrap up, I’ll re-cap the five ways we can die to self as worship guitarists:
1. Delayed Gratification
2. Hard Work
3. Setting Aside Personal Preferences
4. Being a Good Listener
5. Putting on Love
I hope at least one of these has given you pause, and challenged you to make some slight changes to your trajectory as a worship guitarist.
One more verse – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a).
If we truly acknowledge the meaning of this verse – that our sinful self has been put to death and that Christ lives in us, we can walk in His strength, for His glory, in all that we do…including through our musical offerings.Let’s do that. And let’s watch what happens when we do.
Now, if you’re looking for more opportunities to be challenged and encouraged, I want to encourage you to check this out. Encouragement is a high value to me and to my members in GuitarSuccess4U. So much so, that the second lesson of every month is actually an “Encouragement Lesson.”Add to this that our Zoom calls are opportunities for real-time encouragement as a community.Interested? Want to learn more? Check out GuitarSuccess4U.com. This could be the game changer you’ve been waiting for. It certainly has been for many of the guitarists I’m serving in this one-of-a-kind community.
Thanks for experiencing Guitar Serious Fun. I hope this has inspired and challenged you. I also hope you’ll like and share this episode with someone. When you do, I encourage you to share it in a way that helps the recipient understand that you want them to be sharpened by it as you have been.
Keep having serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Today, alongside our special guest, Jerry Chambers, we’re going to talk about what to say “no” to on a Sunday morning so we can say “yes” to the most important things.
If you recall Episode 89 of Guitar Serious Fun called “Leading Worship Whether You’re Up or Down,” and you were blessed by it, I think you’ll be doubly blessed today, because Jerry Chambers is back one more time for a follow-up episode.
If you haven’t had a chance to experience our episode “Leading Whether You’re Up or Down”, please take some time when you can to spin through it – I think you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll get a better sense of our guest’s approach to worship leading.
Once again, here’s a little bit about our special guest today. A third-generation worship leader, Jerry Chambers has a passionate heart for knowing God and worshipping Him with others, as well as helping new churches with all-things worship and tech. He holds a Masters of Church Music degree from Southwestern Seminary, and has served at churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Germany and Washington.
Jerry and his wife, Judy, have two daughters and two sons who have huge hearts for serving and living alongside the needy at home and around the world. I met Jerry in 2017 when we were both presenters at the Worship Catalyst Experience at the Northwest Ministry Conference in Redmond, Washington, and I was blessed to be able to sit in on a little bit of what Jerry was sharing with the attendees. We’ve stayed in touch over the past few years, and in an effort to bring in some more outside wisdom to our listeners here at Guitar Serious Fun, I approached Jerry, and he graciously accepted.
Many of our listeners who are pursuing serious fun on the guitar are involved with music at church, and that’s definitely something I’ve been a part of for almost three decades, whether on staff, volunteering, or serving as a guest worship leader. So, in an effort to round out the content experience here at Guitar Serious Fun, I’ve invited Jerry back to share some more of his thoughts.
One of the key phrases that Jerry shared with the attendees at the conference we were both teaching at was “Not on Sunday.” And I can’t even begin to tell you how much this has helped me to keep my priorities aligned as I’ve served in worship endeavors in various settings. In fact, when Jerry and I have connected over the past few years, I still drop the hashtag “Not on Sunday” to him, and he smiles, mostly because he knows it’s coming.
This topic of “Not on Sunday” is a bit more on the administrative end of things, but I think it’s absolutely essential to our process. The administrative details are meant to “undergird” the artistic and theological aspects, so that we can be even more effective in ministry. And “Sunday” is when a lot of us worship, but I think the same thing applies to a Saturday worship service or even a mid-week worship service. The key is to be deliberate and intentional about tasks, perspectives, and conversations on those days of worship.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what Jerry has to say, you’ll be deeply encouraged.
So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode, maybe leave us a 5-star review on your preferred podcast platform, and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/Voicings. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript and some tables included below…
What is something we all do with music, whether we are musicians or not? We listen to it.
How music sounds is pretty important. And yet for some of us guitarists, we can tend to play by shape, and perhaps sometimes take for granted some of the chords we learned early on, or assume that they’re as good as they can be.
I’ve got something that could shed quite a bit of light on your guitar voicing process.
This is a G Major chord.
It contains all the elements of a G chord, the Root – G, the Major 3rd – B, and the 5th, D. But let’s not confuse the formula of a chord with the voicing of a chord.
Ready for a random analogy? My family likes to eat free range eggs. They’re healthier, for a start. This is because they’re from chickens that have more room to roam, rather than being confined to a small space.
Music notes also need more room, especially if they are lower in register. With this in mind, what do you observe about this G chord I’ve just shown you? Well, the lowest three notes are all crammed together. As a matter of fact, on a standard tuned guitar, it’s the lowest Major triad possible. And to me, it sounds pretty muddy.
YOU might prefer to play G Major like this.
The same problem exists, though, because those bottom three notes are still very close together. It’s still pretty muddy because of that low triad.
Because I’m limited by space here, I again encourage you to watch the video where I unpack open chord voicings for several other chords, and even show you what they look like on the piano.
If you watch the video, you’ll discover that at the bottom of each of the voicings, we have Root, 5th, Root, and then we have the 3rd, rather than Root, 3rd, 5th, etc.
Those chickens, er, notes, have room to roam.So how can we give our muddy G Major chord a more open voicing? Would you believe me if I told you it only takes two fingers?Here’s the voicing I recommend:
The notes are G, I mute and skip the 5th string, then D, G, B and G. The voicing at the bottom of the chord is now Root, 5th, Root, and then we continue with the 3rd and the Root, much like the other open chord voicings I show you on the video that accompanies this article.
Want to know how to play it on the guitar? Gently curl your fretting hand pinky (your 4th finger) in toward your hand without bending any of the other fingers. Then, lay your hand across the guitar so you only fret the 3rd fret of strings 6 and 1. Let your 3rd finger mute the 5th string. And soon you’ll have it.
Are there additional benefits to this voicing and fingering? Yes. We have much more economy of movement from this new G chord to a C chord.
Still not convinced? When the 1st and 2nd fingers are freed up with this new paradigm, they can play part of a C Major chord on top of this G chord. It’s called a C over G chord, which works great for folk or fingerstyle guitar.
(The accompanying video has a cool demonstration of what’s possible with this chord.)
I hope this has given you a sense that even something as basic as an open G Major chord can be retooled just a bit to be made much more artistic. It sounds clearer, more elegant, and more pleasing to the ear.
See? We can always go back to the basics. Even those of us who have been playing for decades. So, yes, guitar voicings really do matter. Now, I’m not asking you to completely unlearn and relearn this chord. You can still use the other G chord shapes if you prefer. But finding different voicings for the same chord gives us more options, which leads to greater artistry.
And if anything I just said makes you grin and nod, you’re going to want to check out GuitarSuccess4U, where we go much deeper with concepts like today’s topic, but also color chords, fretboard knowledge, fingerstyle, flatpicking, strumming, capo strategies, scales and modes, and more. And it’s all neatly arranged in a battle-tested format to help you get the most out of the tools, and more importantly, we talk about WHY they are important.
And you get to do all of this in a community of like-minded followers of Christ. Hop on board and see what you’re missing. Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com. I hope to see you inside the membership. Thanks for experiencing today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun, and I’ll see you next time!
P.S. Still reading? I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I posted a mini-version of today’s episode in my Instagram feed and got over 3500% more views and likes than any of my other stuff. I can’t put my finger on why. Can you?
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Today’s episode is unlike any other I’ve offered, because it’s completely improvised.
The only other episode that comes close to this is Episode 85: The Sightless Guitarist, because I literally could not see as I recorded that podcast.
Speaking of podcast, today’s episode is only an audio version, and I encourage you to enjoy it with your ears. There is no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what I say and sing, I think you’ll be deeply encouraged and maybe a little inspired, especially as you observe me stepping outside my comfort zone to deliver these thoughts to you.
Today we’ll talk about the art of improvisation, developing a useable vocabulary, and discovering what it means to be a good “conversationalist,” especially when it comes to the context of music.
So buckle up.
And please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do.
I also invite you to like this episode, maybe leave us a 5-star review on your preferred podcast platform, and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today I’m going to provide a strategy that just might sharpen your approach to playing any song you work on
Today’s episode will be one of the shortest you’ll experience here, because I want to get right to the point.
And I’m going to use an analogy, like I enjoy doing from time to time.Several years ago, I was performing at a big festival, and one of the ladies who was serving the food to the musicians told me about her career. It was an unexpected revelation. She was a smokejumper.
Now, if you know what a smokejumper is, great! If you don’t, it’s basically a firefighter who drops into a forest fire by way of a parachute. I would think that starting at the edge of the fire would be sufficient, but smokejumpers have been able to strategically drop in and drastically reduce the fire damage more quickly, because they target specific spots.It doesn’t make things any easier; in fact, it’s considerably more dangerous. Just imagine it, right?Well, let’s take a piece of music for a moment – it could be a fingerstyle guitar solo in an alternate tuning with lots of ties across the bar line…or it could be a pretty standard worship song in 4/4 time with “Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus” song form.Really, the type of song does not matter for my point of illustration. And the level of difficulty doesn’t matter, either.
What does matter is the strategic approach to tackling the song.
How many of us have heard someone play a song (especially a difficult one) from the beginning, and listened as the song gradually fell apart?Lots of us.
Why would this be, you ask? Perhaps because the person who had practiced it employed the approach, when running into challenges, of going back to the beginning and starting over.
Now I’m not at all against playing from the beginning.But if it’s the rule, not the exception, I have another suggestion…and hear it is. You ready?Find the challenge spot and work on that.
Literally jump into the middle of the piece and work the section that needs the most help.This might feel natural, because it might be right at the chorus.Or maybe it will be in the middle of a measure. Or the latter half of a beat.You’ll know, because you’ll be able to target the point in the music that needs work, and you can approach it from the nearest point of entry.
If you’re in a worship team rehearsal, guide your band to a spot you can all find (e.g. pick-up to measure 9.) If you’re on your own, you’ll have a little more flexibility and can find a spot at a gentler pace.
But do me (and yourself) this favor: avoid the temptation to go back to the beginning over and over.It will save time, it will allow you to get to know the piece better overall, and it will enable you to solidify the more difficult sections more quickly.
In short, it will help you put out the fire effectively…like a smokejumper.
Make sense?
Conclusion and Next Steps
And that just about wraps things up for today. Yep, I wanted to keep things succinct for today’s episode, because sometimes, all it takes is a simple thought to get you on your way.
And if you want more simple thoughts, find us on social media on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook where GuitarSuccess4U has a presence in each. Some of our content appears in all three areas, and it includes short-form content like reels or shorts that are less than 60 seconds long.
Little nuggets of wisdom, encouragement and practical thoughts.
It’s been interesting to watch and see who responds more to what on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, based on the audience.
But if you’re looking for the real meat, the real feast, treat yourself to GuitarSuccess4U, a members-only experience for Christian guitarists who know there’s more to the guitar and music.If today’s analogy and thoughts gave you something to run with, just imagine what a proven 6-stage Success Path and 8 bonus guest expert interviews could do, to say nothing of the Christ-honoring community of what I call my “Guitar Successors.”We’d love to welcome you in.
Learn more and join now at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
And if you want to experience our new free guitar web masterclass, just include a forward slash and the word “formula” after that. So, the URL would be GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does for you with this new Smokejumper Strategy, and I hope to serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U!Thanks for experiencing these thoughts, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today I’m going to provide some gentle nudging to help get some guitar players off the bench and onto the field, and perhaps that might include you.
I’m not a follower of baseball, but I definitely remember some noteworthy quotes from famous players. Jackie Robinson, is one of those. He is known for this quote:
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you're wasting your life."
Now, Jackie’s career was supported by spectators and people who watched him play baseball. Audience members are needed, right?
But for many of us, it’s super important to take the leap and play our instruments for other people.
This can be as simple as taking the guitar out of its case and playing it for a friend or family member…or something on a larger scale, like on a worship team, or in a concert setting.
That’s really where I’m going with today’s episode – I’m not asking my readers to do something nearly impossible. I just want to encourage them to make music, and to do what’s needed to get there. So, let’s keep it real again today as I share some thoughts.
Sitting in the Audience
If you’ve ever attended a concert or listened to someone play any instrument, especially the guitar, you know what it’s like to receive a musical offering, to be uplifted, inspired, or even transported in a way.
Music is powerful.
So, we can be music listeners…or content readers, like you with the blog you’re reading right now. For that, I thank you!
Sitting in an audience can be a passive posture, or we can actively listen, but like it or not, audience members are not typically contributing musically in that moment (unless they’re singing or clapping along.)That performance or musical offering may inspire audience members who are also musicians to go back and practice, and to make music.But some musicians do not take action.
I’ve offered guitar instruction long enough to cross paths with guitar students who are more like audience members.
If that’s their preferred means of enjoying music, that’s great! But if these guitar students are claiming to be guitar players, there can sometimes be a disconnect. Because by and large, some folks aren’t actually playing their guitars.
Not really.
Some of them profess to be guitar players. They sign up for a learning experience, some of them invest good money in tools, instruments, and education, but we’re all comes down to it, they don’t really lean into the process of developing their skills.
They don’t really practice much at all.
They’d rather talk about it. They’d rather watch someone else do what they want to do, and they’d rather not be held accountable.
That’s a harder place to be, because it doesn’t actually lead to results.
Watching other people get results can be fulfilling in a way, because we can live vicariously through them. I’ve heard some people say, “I don’t have a lot of talent, so I like to cheer on others who have more talent than I do.”
So, perhaps they get enough satisfaction from watching someone else get results as they play.
There are a lot of audience members out there watching shows like America’s got Talent, or American Idol. These kinds of experiences can be very engaging and inspiring for an audience, especially people who are not investing time in developing their own gifts.
But that’s the primary posture of an audience member – to receive what’s being shared.
I’ve seen cooking shows that lay out the entire process for how to make a recipe.
But if my hunch is correct, the vast majority of the viewers are just enjoying watching the cook bring their recipe to life, without any real plan for duplicating the process themselves.Now, of course, some may! And I know people personally who find recipes out there on the web in video form and they follow those recipes and make food for their families. But isn’t it easier to just be a consumer, an audience member, or a spectator?It sure is.
I have been an audience member or a spectator, but only temporarily.I am an active guitar player, whether a creative songwriter, performer, worship guitarist, or even a teacher. I place myself in an active posture in each of these roles as I share, sing, lead, create and teach.
I am a copious producer. I’m always coming up with content and musical ideas that I take great joy in sharing. And for some folks, that’s contagious and inspiring for them to do as well.But for others…not so much.Why?
The Obstacles We EncounterReasons for not developing our guitar skills might include the following…
1. Life is too full.
Yes, I agree. Sometimes with work, family, kids, and other responsibilities, it can be hard to make time. But we make time for things that are important to us, right? Even just a few minutes a day can transform our skill level over time on the guitar.
2. Fear.
Believe it or not, fear can paralyze us and keep us from reaching for our goals. For more about this, check out Episodes 50 and 51 of Guitar Serious Fun – The 10 Fears We Face as Guitarists – Part 1 and Part 2.
3. Procrastination.
We can live in the weird space that says, “I’ll get to that tomorrow.” But tomorrow can get pushed out further and further. Procrastination does not pay off, usually.
4. Laziness.
Can guitar players be lazy? Sure. I’ve met them. And you probably have as well.
Hard work is not glamorous, but man, can it help us get the results we want.
When people ask me how I’ve achieved the level of skill I’ve developed on the guitar, I usually respond with “Good, diligent practice and consistent hard work over time.”
Some folks are looking for an easy way to learn. But that’s not how it’s done.
The opportunity to grow is there, but, as Thomas Edison is credited with saying,
“Recognizing opportunity is so difficult for most people because it goes around disguised in overalls, looking like hard work!”
Now, there are different seasons of playing the guitar, as I unpack in Guitar Serious Fun Episodes 17 and 18, “Guitar Through the Seasons” – Part 1 and Part 2.
So, if someone is walking through a season where it just does not make practical sense to play, I understand. Every person has their reasons.
But let me encourage you to find the joy of music in your guitar playing…even when it’s not practical or easy.
Wounds from a Friend
If today’s episode has been a little less uplifting and a bit more of a coaching posture, that’s not by accident.I’m a leader, but one of the main reasons I’ve become the leader I am is because I’ve literally had people in my world growing up who have said, “There’s leadership potential in you, David. Don’t sit back.”
Even if I wasn’t thankful in the moment for these exhortations, I’m thankful now.
Proverbs 27:6 states,
“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
I’m here to gently wound you in a way that might inspire you to take action.
How? Well, I’ve got a few ideas.
Action Steps
1. Set some reasonable goals.
Goals give us a framework, and some tangible thresholds we’re hoping to cross.
2. Share those goals.
Sharing a goal gives it a super-charged amount of momentum, because others are now aware of what we’re working on, and this can provide gentle accountability.
3. Celebrate victories.
When we achieve a goal, we need to celebrate what we’ve done (more importantly what the Lord has done through us.) And if we’ve got other like-minded folks in our lives who can cheer us on, all the better.
Inside GuitarSuccess4U, we call these kinds of victories “wins,” and every time we gather on Zoom, I ask if any of my members have “wins” to share, and usually, many do.
4. Remember the long game.
Those who want to get real results play the long game. They know that this guitar thing will take time.
5. Make real music.
Stephen Humphries, a national Hammered Dulcimer champion I had the privilege of studying with, once said this to me:
“Technique is a means to an end. Make sure the music you want play is that end.”
Mic drop, right?I’m all about techniques that lead me in the direction where I want to be playing music.
6. Don’t go alone.
One African proverb I’ve always appreciated says:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”Journeying with like-minded folks will take you much further, even if it takes a bit longer.
On that subject, if you want a way to find measurable progress on the guitar, please consider GuitarSuccess4U.
And if you’re open to setting aside some intentional time to discover what we’re all about and how we can help you, I highly recommend our new free guitar web masterclass, called The Guitar Success Formula.I recommend watching it from a browser on a desktop or laptop, rather than a smartphone. The URL for that is GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula.
But be warned – it’s not for those who want to sit on the sidelines – it’s for those who want to get in the game.
These action steps could be game-changers for you, and I’d love for us both to find out.
But if all that today’s episode does is serve as a catalyst for you to pick up your guitar, then that’s a win for both of us.So, go grab your guitar and play it. Because that’s what guitar players do.
And maybe set your sights on playing it for someone else, because music is best when shared. Any music you play for anyone represents you setting aside the posture of a guitar spectator and instead becoming a guitar player.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun. We are fast approaching 100 episodes, which is exciting. I’m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you in the future, even if we – spoiler alert – decrease episode frequency and length as I lean into other content platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
Once we cross the three-digit mark for this blog, we’ll be near to 2 solid years of Guitar Serious Fun which will provide a curated collection of thoughts, both practical and inspiring.And these episodes take quite a bit of time to put together. They are a labor of love.
So just know that although I love sharing my thoughts here, it may make more sense for me to lean more deeply into other forms of content, based on time, which as you know, is a non-renewable resource.
So, if you like these thoughts, please share them with others – any episode could be passed along to someone else, but only if you forward it!I’d love to be able to reach more people in this way.I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/CapoReality. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript and table included below…
If you play the guitar, you probably use a capo sometimes. But is your capo holding you hostage? Do you sometimes get confused about which key you’re actually in when you use it? No more!
We as guitarists make use of a variety of tools, but perhaps one of the most common is the capotasto, better known as the capo. The capo gets its name from a phrase that means “head tie,” which implies that it’s being tied to the guitar near the headstock.
But when we put a capo on our guitar, what is happening, exactly?
We’re shortening the length of the strings. This can allow us to play in some keys with open chord shapes to access actual chords that would normally all be bar chords.
Allow me to demonstrate (see the video for a clearer picture of this.) The key of Ab Major, for example, has zero open chords, so they all need to have 100% fretted notes.
The chords are: Ab Major, Bb minor, C minor, Db Major, Eb Major, F minor, G diminished, and we can come back around to Ab Major.
In the video, I play all of those chords again, but with my capo on fret 1. The chords are the same, but many of them are much easier to play, because I use the shapes: G Major, A minor, B minor, C Major, D Major, E minor, F sharp diminished, and ending on G Major.
But let’s not confuse shapes with chords.
Because unless we’re only collaborating with a drummer or a percussionist, there are harmonic consequences to everything we do with the capo. Do you believe it?
If you’re collaborating with a piano player, a synth player, a bass player, another guitar player, a vocalist, someone who plays strings or woodwinds, or any type of harmonic or melodic instrument or voice, they’re going to be playing or singing in a specific key.
And if you are the guitarist who’s leading that band, it’s super important to know which key you’re all in.
Here are some helpful tips so you can be sure of what’s going on.
Memorize marker points
First, memorize the bottom 3 strings, strings 6, 5 and 4.
I walk you through these markers in the video, but you’re welcome to reference the diagram I’m including with this article.
There’s more, but this can give us plenty to work with here.
Which key are we in?
Our first approach is to place the capo and discover which keys we end up playing in when we play shapes.
Let’s say I place the capo on the 3rd fret. If I strum shapes around the tonal center of E, with the open 6th string for the low root, which key am I in? G.
If I strum A shapes, which key am I in? C.
If I strum D shapes, which key am I in? F.
Why? Because the “open” notes at our new “nut” with the capo are G, C, and F. Right? Did you know all of those? This works best with your guitar and capo in hand.
Which key do we want to play in?
Let’s try the opposite approach with placing the capo for keys we want to play in.
Now, let’s say I want to play in Eb Major with a piano player, by leveraging the capo. For a moment, let’s temporarily call that the key of D#. It’s a theoretical key, I know, but go with me.
If I place the capo on fret 1 and play a D shape, it sounds a D#, better known as Eb. That open 4th string is our low root on Eb.
If you want to think in the key of D, this can work for you, but remember, you’re accountable for actually playing chords in the keys the capo has given you access to.
So if the capo is on fret 1, and we play D, G and A shapes, we’ve actually achieved Eb, Ab and Bb chords. Right?
Starting with chords that have open roots like E, A, and D can be pretty attainable, because the capo at the new “nut” easily tells us what those notes are, without fretting above it.
But what about chords like G and C that do have a fretted root? Don’t worry, I got you.
Play an open G chord for a moment. That root on the 3rd fret is a minor 3rd above the nut.
Let’s just make a new “nut” with the capo! Let’s say we want to play in the key of B. Well, a moment ago, we said that B on the 6th string is on fret 7. So, let’s fret the G shape that’s got that 7th fret B as the root, and place our capo down a minor 3rd – a distance of 3 frets, on the 4th fret.
With the capo on the 4th fret, using G shapes, we’ve accessed the key of B.
One more. Play an open C chord, the root for which is on the 3rd fret of the 5th string. It’s a minor 3rd above the open A note at the nut.
Let’s make a new “nut” with our capo for the key of F. Where is F on the 5th string? It’s all the way up at fret 8, just above the 7th fret E we talked about a moment ago.
So, we can start with a C shape with our root on the 8th fret for F, and go down 3 frets to the 5th fret and place the capo there.
We can now play C shapes, with capo 5, in the key of F.
This process works for any Major key, minor key, or even modes, but we have to know the real key we’re in, and at least some of the chords the capo is helping us play.
Our charts, especially the ones we print up for the band, have to reflect this reality.
Otherwise, we’ll have an alternate reality that leads to confusion, or at the very least, a comedy of errors.
I hope this was helpful, and I look forward to next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
In the Timothy Dalton James Bond film The Living Daylights, Bond is traveling quickly through Europe with Kara, a cellist who plays a Stradivarius. She absolutely cannot part with her instrument, even though it’s slowing them both down as they elude their pursuers.
In a moment of frustration, Bond asks, “Why didn’t you learn the violin?”
There are some big instruments out there, and the cello is one of them. Another is the electronic keyboard.
I’ve had conversations with people who play 88-key full-sized electronic keyboards. One of their biggest complaints is how heavy their instruments are to transport.
The two aforementioned instruments aren’t even among the biggest instruments out there. Some need to be brought in on wheels like marimbas, tympani or harps. Others are so big that they need to be permanently located in a church or cathedral, like an organ.
But the guitar? Ah…what a delightfully portable instrument. I’ve taken my guitar to many places, and some of them have turned out to be just a little bit unique.
Today’s episode is mostly intended to be informative and hopefully interesting, with some stories from my travels. I’ll share just a handful of places I’ve played my guitar that are out of the ordinary. I’ve got 12 locations to share with you. Here we go.
I’ll start with some watercraft.
1. The bow of a fishing boat
My father and I have enjoyed many deep-sea fishing trips up the coasts of Washington and British Columbia.
One fishing trip was long enough that it made sense for me to bring my guitar for some diligent practice. So, I’d sit or recline in the bow of the boat, working on my chord fingerings and scales. I’m glad I brought it with me, because I made progress.
2. A Ferry Boat
Near where I live, in the Puget Sound, we often take a ferry over to see relatives. After returning from a guitar seminar with Pierre Bensusan in France, I wanted to show my relatives what I had learned, so I took my guitar on the ferry.
While I was on the ferry, I decided to uncase my guitar and play a little. It wasn’t long before a roving mandolin player showed up where I was seated, and we jammed for a moment.
3. A Raft
When I was courting my wife, one day I made a picnic for the two of us, and drove us up to a mountain lake. I had packed an inflatable Zodiac raft, and in addition to the food items, I had brought a guitar. I enjoyed playing some songs for her out on the lake. You don’t typically see a guitar in a raft on a lake, but there it was.
Ok, now that I’ve talked about watercraft, let’s come back onto land.
4. A Dock
I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with friends at a lake, and to be able to enjoy music while “sittin’ on the dock of the bay.” Yeah, you know what I mean.
There’s something restful about sitting and enjoying some guitar, along with the gentle lapping of the waves. Playing the guitar anywhere near water, especially near a bonfire on a beach, can be very soothing.
So now that we’re back on land, here are a few instances of where my guitar was with me in transit with wheels spinning beneath me.
5. A Chevy Van
On a trip to Montana for some river fly fishing (also with my Dad), I brought my guitar. Interstate 90 East was relatively straight most of the way, so I sat in the back seat of the van with my seatbelt on, working through rudiments and exercises on my guitar. Again, I was redeeming the time.
I ended up writing some really good music on that trip. Having the guitar nearby was such a blessing during those long hours of travel. And of course, I took time to connect with my father as well.
6. A Bus
On a mission trip to Mexico, a youth group I was in volunteer leadership for decided not to fly, but instead to take a bus. It took longer, but saved some money. I went as a translator, and I had my guitar for the optional worship leading opportunities in the villages where we visited for Vacation Bible School.
I also got to have the opportunity to play it for the base camp gatherings, sharing songs in front of probably two thousand people who had gathered for the evening sessions. It was really cool.
I remember traveling to Mexico, on the way south via Interstate 5. That highway is also rather straight most of the way. I sat towards the back of the bus with my guitar, learning some very technical fingerstyle guitar music by Alex DeGrassi.
One song in particular was the song “Window” in the tuning of ECEGCD – with a lot of very fast sixteenth notes. I took it slow and learned to play it. It was a good use of the time…even thought I was a little self-conscious with the youth kids listening in. I got over it, and I got better.
7. An Impromptu Tailgate Concert
We had lunch with some friends some time ago, and I had written a blues song that I had to share with them. It had some Stanley Jordan “touch style” techniques and a tongue-in-cheek theme. I knew they’d love it.
I had my guitar with me at the restaurant where we met up, and after we paid the check, I invited them out to the parking lot where our SUV was parked. I opened the back hatch, sat down in the back, and played the song for them as they stood in the falling snow, delighted to experience an impromptu tailgate mini-concert.
8. A Shuttle Stop
Not long ago, I was waiting for a shuttle in a parking lot, because I was going to fly out from Seattle/Tacoma Airport.
The shuttle had a covered area where I sat with my suitcase and…my guitar case. I uncased my guitar while I waited, and played some original songs and worship songs that I was planning to play on my upcoming California tour dates.
Two fellow passengers arrived and sat and listened. I started to think that I was intruding on their silence, but when I went to put my guitar away, they stopped me, expressing how much they were enjoying what I was sharing. So, I kept playing.
And as it would logically follow, another location would be…
9. The Airport
After arriving at the airport and making my way through security out to the gate, I’ve often found myself with a good solid hour or more to kill.
I can save my reading for the plane. What I can’t do on the plane is play my guitar. So, I’ll often uncase my guitar, sit down on the floor, and quietly play something. I’m usually competing with a lot of intercom announcements and the hustle and bustle of travelers, so it’s typically not a distraction to anyone.
But if I’m thinking that my playing might be distracting, I’ll just strum with the fleshy part of my thumb and lean over to hear the strings softly humming. I can also make my pick articulations very soft.
It’s a great way to make use of the time, watching the planes land and take off…and occasionally, it leads to a conversation starter with a fellow musician, or someone who just enjoys music.
10. “Crisscross Applesauce” next to the Bathtub
When I was a young parent, my kids sometimes took baths when they were little, and they of course needed very close supervision, but also the opportunity to splash about before getting scrubbed down.
So, I’d sometimes bring my guitar into the bathroom and sit an arm’s length away from whoever was having a bath…and I would strum some chords while closely observing my kid in the bath.
My strumming provided a bit of a soundtrack to bath time, and when I was needed, I just set my guitar down on the floor mat, and helped bathe my kid. It was a good mix of work and play.
11. Stairwells
Some hotels or school dorms have these concrete stairwells that have lots of echo in them. But here’s the thing; an echo chamber can serve as a beautiful impromptu acoustic space.
Playing a soulful fingerstyle guitar piece in one of these stairwells (as long as it’s not too cold) can actually be a really powerful experience, because it’s like a concrete cathedral. The music just doesn’t sound the same as it would in a carpeted room.
So, whether I’ve been at a hotel far from home or needing a study break at college, I’ve found opportunities to take my guitar into the stairwell and let it sing.
Last but not least…
12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional
I’ve saved this one for last, because it was highly unexpected, but super practical.
There are lots of outdoor spaces where a guitar can find its place, especially if the weather is nice. But in this instance, it was more out of necessity.
I was pursuing a vocal performance degree in college, and part of my contribution to the music department was to sing in the concert choir. If you’ve sung in choirs, you know that there are typically four basic vocal parts – soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
I was the bass section leader. And every Tuesday, we’d have sectionals, where, for the majority of the class time, the four sections would break up and go find another large room in the music department to practice, ideally with a piano for “plunking” notes.
But this time, there was a large group of guest high schoolers on campus for an all-day workshop, so we didn’t have a place to practice.
But we still needed to have our sectional. And we didn’t have a piano or even a keyboard.
But what did we have? My guitar was fortuitously stored in my locker that day, so when I realized what the circumstances were, and what our need was, I grabbed it.
I have this clear memory of me sitting out in the seating area outside the Performing Arts Center, leading the Bass Sectional by “plunking” notes on my guitar as they sang, overlooking Bellingham Bay.
It was a unique experience and setting, and we got a lot done.
But there’s one detail about this that you may or may not have noticed. Do you know what was especially unique about what I was doing?Think for just a moment about what you know about the guitar and where it resides in terms of music notation.
The guitar is a treble clef instrument.
Now, the notes in treble clef for the guitar are notated an octave higher than what they actually sound, so as to avoid too many ledger lines.
But let’s back up even further. Playing notes on the guitar is a rather unique approach.
For classical guitarists, it’s their bread and butter. But I was an acoustic folk guitarist. And most people who play acoustic guitar appreciate the opportunity to have chord shapes and perhaps some tablature to light the way.
The good news was that I had been investing a serious amount of time going through all 7 grades of Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method, to the tune of about 400 pages. And this particular method didn’t use tablature. At all.
In choosing this method, I subjected myself to a learning style that allowed me to become musically literate much earlier on in my guitar development, and therefore, I was ready when the need arose for me to guide that sectional.
The guitar was just loud enough to be played unplugged outside to cue notes and fragments for the basses.
The paradigm had shifted from an indoor rehearsal space with a piano to an outdoor rehearsal space with a guitar, but we redeemed the time, and after that sectional, we had made significant progress.
The added bonus was that I had taken the leap towards sight reading a treble clef instrument in bass clef. Good times.
Ok, just for fun, here are the 12 Unlikely Places to Play a Guitar, once more:
1. The bow of a fishing boat
2. A Ferry Boat
3. A Raft
4. A Dock
5. A Chevy Van
6. A Bus
7. An Impromptu Tailgate Concert
8. A Shuttle Stop
9. The Airport
10. “Crisscross Applesauce” next to the Bathtub
11. Stairwells and…
12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional
The Big Picture
So, why has the guitar surfaced in all of these unique places?
I would say that there are two main reasons. First, music practice is important, and perhaps a necessity, and therefore, the guitar was something that needed to be within reach to facilitate progress.
Second, music is a nearly unstoppable force. I believe music is a gift from the Lord, and therefore, it has inherent mystery woven into it. Why do so many of us enjoy music so much?
Because it touches our souls.
So perhaps grabbing a guitar and playing it, regardless of the location in which we find ourselves, allows us to speak the language of music where it would otherwise be quiet.
It’s almost like striking up a conversation as we feel prompted.
So, the appearance of the guitar could be practical…or it could be artistic. Or it could be both.But the important thing is that the guitar did indeed appear.
I’ve met folks who own guitars, but their guitars don’t make much of an appearance very often…to their chagrin. They feel this disappointment, knowing that at one time, they wanted to learn to play, but didn’t set aside time or space.
And at the same time, they feel this longing to discover the joy of music, because they’ve caught glimpses of it when listening to other people play.
Where are you on your musical journey? Do you have regrets about past seasons of not playing your guitar? Do you feel like it might be too late to start? Let me put that misconception to rest…it is never too late to learn to play something on the guitar.
Do you feel like you’re on your own, and don’t have opportunities to learn and grow, aside from the big world-wide web and the vast sea of information that’s out there? To coin a phrase, you are not alone.
But here’s how I can help you, if you see the need for some help. I founded an online experience in 2019 that’s dedicated to helping beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists discover and cultivate their gifts for the glory of God in a community setting.I could go into greater detail, but that description could be enough to pique your interest. If it does, I encourage you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
We’ve got members in this community who are making tremendous progress, not just practically, but musically and artistically, because they’re leaning into a proven method alongside like-minded followers of Christ who are doing the same thing.
What if you tried out what we offer? There’s a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk. I’d love to welcome you in and see how I can serve you. The added unexpected blessing is that you might also offer insights that could encourage me and the other members.
I’ll leave this with you, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to learn more.
One other thought regarding today’s episode: have there been unlikely places where you’ve played (or watched someone else play) a guitar? Please let me know in the comments.
Thanks for listening, keep having serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript and links included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about the pros and cons of learning to play the guitar by watching YouTube videos.
Even before we begin our discussion today, I think it would be important for you to know just a little bit about me, especially if you’re new to Guitar Serious Fun.
I started playing the guitar in 1994 while simultaneously earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis on vocal performance.
My college education gave me a solid music theory base, and I went through all 7 grades of Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method as I applied what I was learning.
I began writing songs in 1996, recording in the studio in 1999, and since then, I’ve toured all over North America leading worship and performing concerts.
Amidst all of this, there’s been a constant thread of teaching music, especially the guitar, and at one time I had a full roster of 50 students with a waiting list.
When YouTube was created in 2005, I was well on my way as a guitar learner and teacher, and this new platform offered some things that had not previously existed.
Someone could capture a video of themselves teaching a guitar concept, for example, and they could upload it for anyone on the planet to watch anytime.
But right there I’ll pause to say that although views can be measured in metrics, there isn’t a standard in place to vet quality content (beyond it being appropriate vs. inappropriate or “likes.”)
There’s grown to be such an influx of content that there’s no way to keep up with the content creators and monitor whether they’re able to unpack and teach a concept well.
So, with a broad stroke, there are two basic types of guitar education content creators on YouTube…
First, creators who are aiming to garner followers and views that will lead to monetization.
Second, creators who have a presence on YouTube but ultimately want to invite their viewers into a paid educational offering that is not necessarily hosted on YouTube.
Speaking transparently, I’m of the latter disposition. Although I’ve uploaded content on one channel off and on since 2008, I’ve been much more consistent with our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel and have seen more viewer response because of this consistency. But my presence with GuitarSuccess4U on YouTube is still modest.
I don’t live on the platform; I post an average of one mini lesson every other week, with shorts multiple times a week.
The mini lessons are usually around 10-minutes long and go deeper than my 60-second shorts.
Posting consistently like this reminds my viewers that I’m here, that I want to provide some value, and my presence helps viewers to learn to know, like and trust me.My goal is not to gain millions of followers and to be monetized. I also have a presence on Instagram, Facebook, and of course, here at Guitar Serious Fun, so it could theoretically be possible to choose just one of those avenues and make it a full-time job.
With respect, I’d rather not go that route.
Instead, I’m passionately leaning into an online offering I launched in 2019 called GuitarSuccess4U, which you may have heard of. If you haven’t, take just a moment to check out our website at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com, and pause this recording. I’ll wait.
If you’ve had the chance to see what we offer, awesome. We hope you’ll check out the reviews, frequently asked questions, member testimonials, and some of the sample lessons.
If you haven’t, here’s the basic skinny on what it is: a self-paced online experience for beginning and intermediate Christian guitar players who know there’s more to the guitar…and who want to access fresh, proven, curated content that’s organized really well.
In addition to that, though, we have multiple expert interviews and bonuses that can’t be found anywhere else.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we have a Christ-honoring community that exceeds the dynamic of a forum or discussion group in its practical and supportive nature.
Some forums or discussion platforms end up being a place where there’s a lot of unconstructive criticism. Not in our community.
And again, YouTube is a powerful tool with great potential, so I’ve decided camp out on this for a few minutes today.
So, let me take you into some of my thoughts as I contrast the pros and cons of YouTube with our GuitarSuccess4U model, and then you can decide what seems best for you in this season.
But first, a story.
The Dictionary
When I was about 10 years old, my paternal grandmother gave me a very thick Webster’s Dictionary – about three inches thick, hardbound, 8 ½ x 11”. This was a decent-sized dictionary, and I was grateful to receive this gift. I’ve flipped through it a lot over the past few decades. But I can confidently say that I have not read through it line by line, cover to cover. That wouldn’t make sense, because there are a lot of words I’ll never use, but more importantly, it would take an exorbitant amount of time.
The main way I’ve used this dictionary (other than as a weight or a doorstop) is to reference words alphabetically for definitions and spellings.
And that’s the normal function of a dictionary, right? It’s rare that someone would underline a huge portion of words in a dictionary like John Cusack’s love interest (Diane) in the movie Say Anything. But perhaps a specific dictionary, like a medical dictionary (in that movie) has this kind of potential.
But let’s draw a parallel just for a moment between a Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary and YouTube.
Both are vast, and both are searchable. If you’re looking for some answers to what you want to learn about, you can likely find a version of it on YouTube.
The concept may be taught well. It may give you some tools to grasp as you get started.
And it’s also “free”…sort of. Remember, YouTube gets paid because of ad traffic, so you will sometimes be paying for what you watch with your time as you wait for an ad to play (or at least the first few seconds.)Now, I have nothing against YouTube ads – I’m building some YouTube ads out right now as I string these words together.
The Only Non-Renewable Resource
Now, did you catch the word I included just a moment ago? It’s the word “time.” In the movie Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark recounts a pearl of wisdom from his father, Howard, to Howard himself many years earlier. It really resonated with me. The wisdom was this: “No amount of money ever bought a second of time.”Time is a non-renewable resource. And although we can’t buy time, we can save time, which may actually translate to saving money as well.
If I spend the better part of an afternoon or evening poking around on YouTube, I may find what I’m looking for. But I may lose a lot of time doing it.
Painful Learning
I talked to one guitarist who learned to play on YouTube, but he described his experience as “painful.”
I totally got it – there was a long slog towards finding what he wanted to learn, and much of it was disjointed and not at all progressive.
This guitarist had been invited into a band rehearsal I was recruited to lead for, for a very specific endeavor that was coming up fast. And as the leader, I had to make observations and intentional choices as I led this group.
With respect, even as I interacted with this individual musically, it became clear that there were some essential music concepts he had not absorbed in his YouTube education that necessitated stopping the rehearsal multiple times, and eventually needing to do something I didn’t foresee happening: I had to seek a replacement for the endeavor we were rehearsing for.
I did this in the kindest manner possible, but it was clear that this guy’s skills were not commensurate with what our band needed to put together for the set for the endeavor that was coming up in a week.
I had to let this guy go.
For the sake of the quality offering as a whole, I had to ask this guy to step down and to continue to develop his skills, hopefully for a future opportunity, while I sought out someone I knew could meet the standard with the time we had left.
A Distilled CollectionLet me drop a word into this discussion that you’ve probably heard. I mentioned it briefly earlier in this episode. The word is “curated.” In layman’s terms, a curated collection is an organized collection of things, whether antiques, art, or in this case, music teaching tools.
If a collection is curated, it has been carefully reviewed for the most effective and valuable criteria. It’s not a random, haphazard group of things. It’s very deliberate.
But to curate something, you need to have time to do so, but also the experience to know what is relevant and of high quality.
Typically, a curated collection is not very large. It’s been distilled and culled to the most essential elements.My approach to building out the GuitarSuccess4U materials in our battle-tested 6-stage Success Path is to do just that. Having led worship, toured, written songs, and recorded multiple albums in the studio for three decades now, I’ve learned quite a bit.
And as I mentioned, I had a guitar studio of 50 students a week upon whom I tested a ton of guitar concepts, to see which ones worked best.And much of what I’ve learned has been by accident or through the “school of hard knocks.”
So, I’ve taken great pains to relieve and prevent the frustration of someone who is wanting to learn to play the guitar or go deeper with what they already know.Someone who accesses our curated collection of materials will learn much more on purpose, and with much less grief and frustration, because everything is clearly laid out.
In terms of guitar study, there are so many different styles out there that the mind positively boggles. Metal, Jazz, Funk and Classical are some of the broad strokes. But then there’s Neo Soul, Gospel, R&B, Punk, and many other styles.
My focus as a folk/pop singer/songwriter and worship leader is: acoustic rhythm guitar, but even within that, there are multiple subsets, including strumming, flatpicking, fingerstyle, and more.
I think there’s wisdom in narrowing our focus to a niche. For a quick summary of my mindset on this, with an analogy about Mashed Potatoes, check out my YouTube Short called “Guitarists – pick one thing and do it well.”(It’s also embedded below.)
I believe we spend time with people we want to be like.
So, if you’re a worship guitarist or a songwriter, you may not be in search of blisteringly fast distorted metal licks or blues grooves…yet. You may actually be looking for chord theory, accompaniment artistry, strumming patterns, fretboard knowledge, and ways to play well with others (all of which we offer).
Words to Live By
I also like to say that “Music is a language, guitar is a dialect, and I’m here to help you expand your vocabulary.”I also continue to revisit the idea that “I don’t just want to help you become a better guitar player; I want to help you become a better musician.” There’s a difference, right?Now, YouTube will have a lot of things for you to discover, but with hundreds of hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, leading to tens of thousands of hours of content that are brand new each hour, there’s certainly no lack of information, right?
And sure, you can search for topics on YouTube, but it’s a vast sea of information, and if I can be so bold, not all of it is presented clearly.
Now, I don’t have anything against YouTube. As I mentioned, I’m working to have a presence there so as to provide some value and inspiration for guitarists I’m hoping will discover what I have to offer them. But it can be a bit intimidating to log onto YouTube, because the looming question is “Where do I start?”
More isn’t necessarily better. There’s a term I’ve come across since we were trained to build GuitarSuccess4U, and it’s called content overwhelm. People experience so much content out there that they sometimes feel overwhelmed.And overwhelm is not a good feeling. By and large, people appreciate being given clear next steps in bite-sized chunks. And that’s what’s informed my teaching style.Sure, YouTube can recommend related content, even within a channel (and I set my videos up in our YouTube channel to do this sometimes.) But given a choice between a few thousand videos on a concept and a dozen videos that are all progressive and battle-tested, which would you choose?Now, I’m not claiming GuitarSuccess4U as the only source of guitar education; that would be presumptuous. Instead, I’m stating that everything I’ve learned on the road, on the worship platform, on the stage, and in the recording studio has informed what and how I teach. My guitar students and my guitar workshops have been excellent “crucibles” for content.I’ve literally sharpened thousands of guitarists with the tools that have found their way into the curated collection at GuitarSuccess4U.
More Isn’t Necessarily Better
Years ago, I performed a concert at a huge camp in California. They had a bookstore. But this bookstore was rather remarkable.
The books that were on those shelves were so theologically solid and inspiring, that my wife and I felt prompted to ask the cashier who the mastermind was behind the book collection.She told us that the book buyer had very deliberately chosen those books. This was someone who was extremely well-read and knew her audience of folks who would be walking through that small bookstore.It was not a huge store like Powell’s Books in Portland that had multiple floors. And it certainly wasn’t Amazon.com. It was a single room. But it was truly a curated collection. And people bought books there. A lot. And here’s the most important part: they were blessed by the books.
People who engage with content that transforms them are the kind of people I’m seeking to serve and bless. I’m not looking for tire-kickers or people who want a quick fix.
My father taught me the value of hard work and worthy efforts. And when I experience stories of success in GuitarSuccess4U, I get really excited.
Some of our Success Stories
Matthew, a hobbyist and worship team member, has experienced tremendous growth with us and has stepped forward to support his worship team on a regular basis with his guitar.Carol, a drummer who was struggling to get traction with guitar (even though she had a solid musical foundation) found us and is now, in her words, on her way to becoming “a complete guitar player.”Roger, a band member who plays multiple styles, joined us and realized how many gaps he needed to fill in, and now he’s feeling empowered as a musician.
Lori, a budding songwriter, came back to the guitar after a 20-year hiatus and began writing about her journey, eventually taking a song she wrote to Nashville to record it in a legitimate studio. Now her worship team is gearing up to share that song at her church.
Cole, a highly-experienced multi-instrumentalist who has played guitar for over four decades, is now able to be an intentional musician with the guitar and to play well with others.
Erin, a beginner, is excited to learn simple songs to be able to play with and for her kids, and perhaps her grandkids one day.
The list goes on, but these successes inspire me and others.
Find Your People
I mentioned the community element of GuitarSuccess4U. I’ll wrap up with this thought:
We’re not trying to foster an insulated community where people feel coddled. We’ve actually got some upcoming Zoom discussions related to being able to laugh at our mistakes and receive constructive criticism.
But there’s a difference between people wanting to help each other out, and comments from trolls.
I’ve seen comments on YouTube and other social media sites about my offerings and the offerings of others that are just plain rude or even nasty. These are things people would never say to someone’s face.
But there those comments are.
But by contrast, what if you logged into a guitar learning experience, received encouragement through the lesson content (which we intentionally weave throughout) and then joined a Zoom call and got “real-time” encouragement again?Wouldn’t you feel spurred on to love and good works, as the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to do in Hebrews 10:24?
I don’t see the YouTube environment as that kind of community (again subscribers to a channel can connect a bit through the comments, but Zooming in real time in a tribe can be much more of a place to bond.)
Someone once told me that the people we spend time with affect us in a major way. Spending time with like-minded followers of Christ who want to be better versions of their musical selves than they were yesterday – that’s a worthy thing.
I hope these thoughts have given you some insights into my perspective for the pros and cons of learning guitar on YouTube.If you’ve found channels on YouTube to follow, that’s great! If you’re learning stuff on YouTube, that’s great, too!
If you want to subscribe to our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel, great! By the way, that channel is YouTube.com/@guitarsuccess4u.
But here’s the next level. If you’ve decided it’s time to be more deliberate in your pursuit of guitar and music for the glory of God, and you want to save some money and especially time, please don’t wait to take this opportunity.
I invite you to join GuitarSuccess4U by heading over to GuitarSuccess4U.com…and then watch what the Lord does with your diligent pursuit of His glory through music.I appreciate your time today. Keep having serious fun as you play your guitar. Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to be a clumsy guitarist, and seven intentional strategies for how to avoid being a clumsy guitarist.
When I’m puttering around at home, I dress pretty casually. One item of clothing that I tend to favor is khaki cargo shorts. They’re comfy.
But sometimes, especially when I’m in a hurry, I occasionally catch the corner of the leg pockets of these shorts on some things around the house. Like drawer knobs in the kitchen. Or the corner of a license plate on my car in the garage.
Catching the pocket on a drawer is startling, but not as startling as the loud “thwap” that happens when I bend the corner of a license plate.
I know what you’re thinking – maybe wear a different kind of shorts than cargo shorts.
But that could be treating the symptom.
Here’s another idea I need to consider: slow down, be more deliberate, and be…less clumsy.
I think this approach applies to a lot of different aspects of life, including…you guessed it…our guitar playing.
Picture me practicing some guitar exercises or a song, whether I’m in cargo shorts or jeans or whatever. What if I make my way hastily through said exercises or song?
I’ll get hung up on things, I’ll miss things, or totally play something wrong.
Is that ok? Yes, I suppose. Because I don’t want to be so perfectionistic that the joy of music goes away.
However, and I think you’ll catch this – I can slow down a bit and really take some intentional steps towards setting myself up well for playing more accurately during my practice time.
In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34, “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?” I took some time to talk about the importance of mental focus. I’ll expand a bit on those thoughts and add a few more here today.
1. Set yourself up for smooth sailing.
If my guitar is in good working order, I’ll be in great shape for a solid practice session. In GuitarSuccess4U, one of the five instant bonuses I award to new members is a video called “10 Tips for Making Sure Your Guitar is Properly Set Up.”I’ll probably not play as smoothly if my action is too high. I may get clumsy.
If my guitar is set up properly, it has a much better chance of staying in tune when I tune it. And speaking of tuning, I also offer my new members another bonus – “How to Choose a Tuner.”
In this video we go over the merits of tuners that are attached to the headstock of our guitars, thereby allowing the vibrations of the notes to be picked up and tuned precisely.
We also talk about tuners you can plug into, whether handheld, or mounted on a pedal board.
We even talk about sound wave beats that can be matched with a tuning fork. All kinds of possibilities.
But having my guitar set up and in tune is going to make for a great practice session. Less clumsiness, right?
2. Make a bit of space.
Having a space dedicated to your guitar practice can be a huge blessing, even if it’s just the corner of a bedroom, or a space that serves multiple purposes (like an office or a study.) Being able to close the door of a practice space allows for fewer interruptions, but also the opportunity for me to play something repetitively without feeling self-conscious.
If I’m sharing the space physically (or sonically) with someone else, I’ll feel reluctant about practicing something diligently until I get it right, because the repetition may seem a bit tedious for my listeners.
These practice space tips and others can be found in yet another of the five instant GuitarSuccess4U bonuses: a PDF called “10 Tips for Making Your Solo Practice Space Great.”
I include photos and descriptions for making your practice space a place that you love to spend time in.
3. Give yourself the gift of solitude.
I love to be able to close the door of my practice space, as I mentioned above.
New members of GuitarSuccess4U get a fun door hanger that is basically a snazzy “do not disturb” sign for their practice space. On one side, it says: “Hold that thought. I’m practicing the guitar. Please give me a few more minutes. Thanks.” On the other side, it says “Get in here – you’ve got to hear what I’m discovering on the guitar – wooo!”
As you might imagine, having uninterrupted time at my instrument can promote better concentration.
Now, we don’t live in a vacuum, and there’s “life” happening around us all the time, especially if we have children under our roof, which is a good thing.
But setting aside time and expressing my need to have an uninterrupted practice session can be a huge gift. It helps if this is a time of day that’s consistent, like before breakfast, or after work, or just before bed, etc. That way, my family can give me the allocated time to tackle my practicing, and then I can be free to engage with them after I’m done.
What’s the opposite of solitude? Well, maybe chaos or at least a state of many distractions.
Again, our world has lots going on, but if I allow sounds from a TV or radio to intrude on my concentration, I’ll get clumsy.
4. Invite distractions on purpose.
The only caveat I’d offer to having a distraction-free environment is that if I’m working to take something I already know well musically to the next level, I can actually invite distractions into my process from time to time.
I can practice a song with totally different music playing in the background to provide a bit of mental resistance, much like a weight lifter can add more weight to strengthen their muscles.
I can also have a TV on if I’m working on rudiments, etc.,
If I can persevere (and play well) amidst distractions, I will do better when it comes time to stand up in front of an audience, a congregation or a studio microphone.
I was gearing up for a Christmas tour one year, and we had guests over for Thanksgiving. So, I invited them to listen to me play one of my most technical songs.One of the guests proceeded to turn on her phone and capture me on video…from about four feet away.
It was initially a bit startling and of course, very distracting, but ultimately, it served as a fabulous catalyst and strengthened my preparation on the song, which went much more fluidly on my Christmas tour.
5. Haste Makes Waste.
If you’ve heard this expression (or lived it) you know that some things can fall off the wagon if we’re too hasty. So, one thing I recommend is to slow down and take things deliberately.
In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 26, “Don’t Get Caught in a Speed Trap,” I speak plainly about how I am prone to rushing the tempos for the songs I play.
Sometimes this is because I’m overexcited in a performance or recording setting, or because I don’t have a strong conviction about how to keep a rushing drummer in check.
But sometimes, it’s because I’m in a hurry to get through a guitar song or exercise. Rushing through these types of things, especially early on in the formative season of the song, can never be a good thing.
Why? I’ll give you a second to guess.
It’s because I’ll likely get clumsy.
And what do my hands know? They only know what I tell them. So, if I rush through my practice session because I’m in a hurry, I’ll make some (or a lot of) mistakes.
And then when it comes time to play the song “for real” (which, in my opinion, is a bit of a misnomer since we should always be playing with intention), I’ll likely “re-state” the mistakes I’ve made in practice.
As several wise music teachers have quipped, “Practice makes permanent.” In other words, whatever is practiced becomes more permanent.
It takes quite a bit of re-training to “undo” incorrectly practiced music.
6. Clean playing is rarer than you think.
The idea of playing cleanly on the guitar is, in some ways, a lost art in some circles.I recall being at a Pierre Bensusan guitar seminar in his home studio in rural France (and as I string these words together, I’m actually enjoying listening to Pierre’s solo acoustic album, Intuite.)
When he was instructing me and a small group of students, he made it clear that playing clean should always be the goal.What is playing clean? You probably know. But it’s basically articulating notes and chords in such a way that they ring out clearly.
No string buzz, no unnecessarily muted (or unmuted) notes, and basically a very strong sense of purpose in what we do.
I could probably dedicate an entire episode of Guitar Serious Fun to this discussion topic (and I may), but for now, I recommend being uncompromising in your execution of the notes you play.I’ll ask a rhetorical question: is it better to learn forty chords that I can play fairly well, or just four chords that I can play cleanly?Based on what I’ve just discussed, the latter is superior.
If I had a nickel for every volunteer worship guitarist I’ve heard play in a clumsy fashion, I’d have a lot of nickels.
Usually clumsy playing comes across to me as an attitude of compromise. I know that some guitarists are just getting started and they want to be available to serve, so I’ll tread lightly.
But if these guitarists can clearly articulate a strong G, C, D and E minor chord progression, not just with their individual appearances, but in context and in transition with other chords, it’s a much more skillful offering than a bunch of chords that just don’t sound quite right.
And even though some listeners are musicians, many are not…and yet, most can discern the difference between clean and clumsy.
You get it – play skillfully as the Psalmist exhorts us to do in Psalm 33:3.
In GuitarSuccess4U, which you’ve heard me allude to a few times in today’s episode and which you likely know a bit about (or are even a member of, perhaps), we leverage a tool of my own design called The Chord Kite Diagram, which I’ve never seen anywhere else. Therefore, I had to create it.
It details multiple “communication pathways” so as to allow chords to function very deliberately in context. In creating the Chord Kite Diagram, I use an axiom that is inspired by Dawn Jones called “Reduce it to the Ridiculous.”You can listen to Dawn and me unpack the logic behind this in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 46, “Reduce it to the Ridiculous” – with Dawn Jones.
A quick summary is the idea of zooming in (almost ridiculously) so as to get something done well.If our guitar playing is worthy (and I believe it is), it’s important to zoom in and get things done well.Imagine if I was having a minor surgery and I was conscious and could hear the surgeon talking with his fellow staff as he or she worked on me.
What if I heard the surgeon say, “Hmmmm…I guess that’s good enough”?
Would that promote confidence? Probably not.
Guitar and surgery are not at all on the same playing field, but you can tell if someone cares about what they do.
I’ve had people say as much after one of my shows. They’ve said, “You really care about what you do, don’t you?” Those are kind, affirming words, and they also show that my intentions as a guitarist have had the desired result.
We communicate an unwritten message in the quality of our musical offerings.
A clumsy offering communicates a certain message. So, let’s be the rare clean-playing guitarist, and communicate to our listeners that we care.
7. Get rest; don’t be stressed.
If we are rested, and our stress level is lower, our clumsy factor will decrease significantly.Yes, playing the guitar is an opportunity to de-stress. But if we’re leaning into an intentional practice session (not just strumming a song for the chance to wind down), it would behoove us to be rested and alert.Being stressed is also not going to help us with our concentration.
Whether I’m driving a car or cooking a meal, I’m less of a safe driver and less of a deliberate cook, if I’m weary and overwhelmed.
I’ll make silly mistakes, which at the very least can involve horns honking at me on the road, or missed ingredients in the dinner.
There’s a whole continuum, of course, and some car accidents and burned meals have been the result of a certain level of clumsiness.
So, in the words of Daniel Tiger, who took up the mantle of Mister Rogers, “Rest is best.” And a low-stress environment, as each of us knows in our heart of hearts, is much more conducive to effective practice.
In terms of applying this to our guitar playing, this is probably fairly obvious, but I still like to point out obvious things from time to time.
Wrap-Up
I’ll touch on our seven tips today again for review as we endeavor to avoid being the clumsy guitarist.
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First, set yourself up for smooth sailing with a guitar that’s set up well and can be tuned to precision.
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Second, make a bit of space for your practicing.
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Third, give yourself the gift of solitude so you can be uninterrupted if that serves your season of guitar playing.
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Fourth, invite distractions on purpose, if it helps you get stronger with your songs.
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Fifth, remember that haste makes waste.
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Sixth, recall that clean playing is rarer than you think (so let’s stay rare with our playing.) And…
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Seventh, get rest; don’t be stressed.
As I’ve implied in my discussion here, the perfect scenario for guitar development won’t always be there. Many times, we work within a less than ideal scenario, and we just have to roll with how things are. But being extra aware and tuned in is good.
Now, if you’re aware and tuned in to today’s episode, you know that three previous episodes of Guitar Serious Fun have been suggested for your enjoyment.
For the listener, you may need to spool back through. For the reader, I hyperlink to other episodes on Substack, as I always have.
If you’ve experienced all 93 episodes up to this point, then awesome! But it’s likely that you’ve joined us somewhere along the way and haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing my thoughts (and the thoughts of some of my guests) in some of our previous episodes.
If that’s the case, please take the opportunity. We’ve got quite the compendium of concise, well-organized topics here at Guitar Serious Fun.
But if you’re looking for the real feast, well, GuitarSuccess4U awaits you with a curated collection of progressive lessons, quizzes, interviews, exercises, and above all, a supportive Christ-honoring community of like-minded guitarists. The best two parts? 1) It’s highly affordable and 2) you get to set the pace.It’s my privilege to be the founder and guide for this unique tribe. And perhaps you are in a season where you might join us. If so, we eagerly await the opportunity to welcome you in, and soon.If not yet, perhaps share today’s episode, or at least our website, with someone you know who might be a good fit for this amazing online experience.
The website is GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks so much for listening. Keep playing your guitar, and the clumsiness will become less and less as you become more and more the guitarist you were made to be.I’ll see you next time.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/Communicate6. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript included below…
Did you know that as a guitarist onstage, you’re always communicating something, whether you’re trying to or not? Your presence on the platform, especially as a worship guitarist or band leader, puts you in the middle of a conversation. Will you communicate well? If you listen to what I have to share with you today, I think you’ll gain some solid tips that will make you much more effective.
After leading worship professionally on staff for over a decade, and touring all over North America as a guest worship leader for almost three decades, I’ve picked up a few strategies that have really enhanced my process and blessed the people I’ve been serving with, both musicians and technicians. And most of these involve non-verbal communication.
Here are six ways to communicate well with your teams from your guitar.1. Cue and establish the tempo. Tempo is essential. How do we achieve consensus for how the song begins?
The worship guitarist can count in. I’ve seen several approaches, but if the song is in 4/4 time and the worship leader (who may also be playing the rhythm guitar) wants everyone in on beat one, and chooses to count 1, 2, 3, 4, is there any ambiguity about when the downbeat of the first measure is?
Nope. It’s super clear.
Some worship guitarists would rather not do this – they don’t want to verbally start the song. A subtler approach could be to tell the drummer to “click in” with his or her sticks, or start the click, by cueing them with a code word. Like, “exalt,” for example.
We could say, “Let’s lift our voices together as we exalt our Lord in song.” Cue the click.
2. Keep the tempo. Some of us have people on our teams who like to rush. If the whole team or band has IEMs with a click, this keeps things more manageable, but without that infrastructure, we need to be able to signal our team with our foot, especially if the tempo is accelerating unnecessarily.
We can stomp our foot, or we can lightly tap our foot, but if we have a solid feel and ability for communicating the tempo, our team should be able to visually “check in” and see if they’re on track with us.
Obviously, they need to be able to have line of sight to our foot for this.
3. Move to (and from) the mic. Let’s assume that you’re leading worship as you sing and play rhythm guitar. Do you need to be at the mic when you’re not singing?
My answer to that is: “no.” Track with me here. If there’s a short (or long) intro or instra break, it does not serve the band (or anyone) well for the worship leader to linger at the boom mic. They’re sending a “false positive” message to everyone and creating a subconscious state of insecurity.
The only foolproof strategy is if the worship leader moves to the side, away from the mic at the breaks, and then comes back when it’s time to sing again, thereby “rebooting” the process.
Coming back to the mic tells everyone (including the projectionist) that the next lyrics are to be sung.
Is this overkill? Not if you’ve witnessed what I have – people from the congregation inadvertently singing “solos” and then stopping abruptly, sometimes not without a bit of embarrassment.
4. Move the guitar neck for ritardandos. Ritardando is the Italian musical expression for “slowing down,” usually at the end of a song.
If you want your band to follow you rhythmically through that slow-down, use your guitar neck. You can literally subdivide the measure by moving your neck down and up, and decelerating the tempo.
5. Raise the guitar neck to signal the end of the song. If the band isn’t certain if the chorus you’re on is the final chorus, etc., simply raise the neck of your guitar about 30 degrees as you sing, and the band can see that as a signal to wrap up. They’ll know the song is about to end.
6. Confirm the length of the closing song (even before it begins.) Sometimes, we need to “call an audible” and truncate the song at the end of the service. We can communicate our plans for this with our teams without saying a word.
For this to happen, it helps to have two versions of the song rehearsed and ready in the minds of the band, but even in the slide shows of the projectionist.
These two versions are: the unabridged version, and the abridged version. But how to communicate with the band and the projectionist which way you’re going to go?
Right before the closing song, I can choose one of two postures that will be visible to everyone, even from far away. First, hands at my sides indicates “no hurry” – and therefore the unabridged version.
Second, hands on my guitar indicates that time is short and we are “in a hurry” – and therefore the need for the abridged version.
Closing Thoughts
I hope these tips have been helpful today. There are more, and I’ll share additional thoughts with you on related subjects in the future.
For now, put some of these into practice for your next time of worship or band offerings. Don’t feel like you need to tackle “all” of them at once.
Thanks for your time today. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Today, together with Nashville session guitarist Dave Cleveland, we’re going to bring you a huge dose of encouragement as it pertains to the journey of a Christian guitarist.
To give you a bit of background on what you’re going to experience if you’re willing to listen to the audio version of today’s episode, I’ve had the privilege of teaching guitar workshops at the Christian Musician Summit here in the Pacific Northwest for fifteen years.
Each time I’ve been invited to teach, I’ve brought topics related to rhythm guitar, fretboard knowledge, chords, the capo and more, all with a view to equipping Christian guitarists to develop their skills for worship leading and songwriting.
My first year at the CMS was 2007, and after road-testing a lot of my teaching concepts for over a decade, I intentionally launched GuitarSuccess4U in 2019.
It was there that I began to draw like-minded people into a community where music is a language, guitar is a dialect, and where we work diligently with joy to expand our vocabulary.I’m always growing as a guitarist and as a musician, and my desire to expand my vocabulary is constant.
So, at this year’s CMS, I was intrigued by a workshop offered by Nashville guitar session player Dave Cleveland.
It was all about capos and alternate tunings, both of which I leverage on a pretty regular basis.
What followed was unexpected: Dave actually invited me to help him teach the class.
With eager onlookers, we delved into multiple capo positions and tunings, leveraged the CAGED System, and called out Nashville Numbers so we could work in tandem.
I like to bring a plan, but in this case, there was very little structure, which actually allowed us to explore musical frontiers I didn’t even know were possible.
Well, I told my tribe of guitarists about this experience and I invited Dave to be on a Zoom call with us to debrief that class, and he accepted. Dave is a gentleman and a scholar, the first-call session guitar player in Nashville, having played on countless commercials, in movies, and on major albums with people like Steven Curtis Chapman, Miley Cyrus, Twila Paris, Lauren Daigle and more.
Over his 32-year career, Dave has recorded over 30,000 songs.
He graciously granted me permission to share some segments from the Zoom call we hosted recently inside the membership.
Typically, I keep these kinds of treats for members only, but I felt like it would be a great way to give you, our listeners here at Guitar Serious Fun, a window into what goes on when we gather for a Zoom call discussion with a guest expert.
What you’ll sense almost immediately about Dave is that he’s super chill, very encouraging, extremely knowledgeable, generous with his ideas, and really, just a brother in the Lord that you’re going to love spending a little time with.
This was a call where I invited my Guitar Successors, as I like to call them, to type their comments and questions into the chat, so we could cover as much ground as possible during our brief time with Dave.
Here’s where I link to my YouTube video that captured the visual aspect of the experience.
Now that you’ve heard a bit of the audio from the workshop, I want to encourage you to listen to the podcast version of today’s episode to enjoy a distilled audio excerpt from the Zoom call where Dave fielded a variety of questions and offered some tremendous encouragement to our community.
Well, I hope you gleaned a few things from our discussion with Dave. I smiled quite a lot as we enjoyed that short and sweet time together.
As you might imagine, I seek out several experts who join us on Zoom over the course of each year, and each expert brings a different bit of wisdom.
We’ve had Jesse Ferguson talking about in ear monitors and how to leverage them.
We’ve had Jeff Sandberg, a world-class saxophonist, talking about improvisation.
We’ve had Brian Reding, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, talking about the art of listening.
We’ve had Jerry Roberts, a slow-handed Eric Clapton-esque electric guitarist talking about weaving electric and acoustic together for worship and designing an app-driven pedal board.
We’ve had Jeremy Calvin, a wunderkind aux percussionist talking about creativity for solid rhythm grooves with percussion and guitar.
We’ve had Adam Bollen, a super intuitive bass player talking about arranging, rehearsing, and pedal effects.
We’ve had Ron Mallory, a highly published arranger and keyboard player, talking about relevant music theory and transposition.
We’ve had Dr. Gordon Myco, a chiropractor and health coach, talking about health, posture, diet, and longevity for our musical journeys.
We’ve had the Master Luthiers of Mike Lull’s Guitar Works talking about the craft of building, repairing and caring for guitars.
And we’ve got more coming up.
Does this pique your interest at all? Leave a comment if it does. And if you’re rarin’ to go and want to find your people, meet guest experts, and most of all, fulfill your potential as a Christian Guitarist, don’t wait any longer.
Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to begin your journey with us and take your guitar playing to the next level. I would be honored to serve you, and our tribe would be honored to welcome you in.
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript and photos included below…
Here at Guitar Serious Fun, we intentionally work to have a good balance between practical and philosophical concepts. Today’s discussion is more on the practical side, but there’s also a philosophy behind it.
Three Pictures of Rhythm
I want you to envision three separate images, and I’ll provide photos of them in the blog version of today’s episode. They are 1) a suspension bridge, 2) a pearl necklace, and 3) a “connect-the-dots” diagram.
First: a suspension bridge:
You’ve probably driven over a suspension bridge at some point in your life. What you might observe as you make your way across the bridge is that it not only takes you from one piece of land to another, but that there are usually at least two points where most of the weight is supported: the towers.
The towers are where the cables are connected, so as to create a parabolic shape, leading from one tower to the next. A suspension bridge doesn’t typically have a single tower. It shares the “weight” between at least two towers. And between those towers is a bit of “rest” or less tension, where not as much weight is carried.
The second image: a pearl necklace.
This is an excellent example of a balance between the connective necklace string and the pearls that are strung on it. There’s a slight gap between each of the pearls. And it’s not one long “tube-shaped” pearl; it’s a collection of pearls.
The last image for your consideration is a “connect-the-dots” diagram.
This is by definition, a collection of dots that are (or will be) connected by lines. Each of the dots is a marker point which can be used, usually in a sequence, to allow for a bigger picture to emerge once the dots are connected.
So, each of these three images I’ve described has anchor points, whether they are the tower of a bridge, the pearl on a necklace, or the dot in a diagram. And each of these images has more than one anchor point, sometimes many.
If you view the trajectory of each of these images, there can be a bit of a rhythm.
The bridge, from one side to the other, has a simple rhythm of: tower, swoop, tower, swoop.
The necklace has a string and a simple rhythm of: pearl, string, pearl, string.
And the “connect-the-dots” diagram has the rhythm of: dot, line, dot line.
Rhythm in Life
Our lives consist of rhythm. We wake up and do our work. We go to sleep. We’re awake, then asleep, then awake, then asleep. We walk, usually right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, etc. Our heartbeat is a rhythm. Our breathing is a rhythm.
Conversations and information exchange can be a sort of rhythm. None of these is even about music…yet. But music is, of course, an avenue where rhythm can be explored. Sure, rhythm doesn’t have to be a part of a song, but it usually is.
For more on this discussion topic, I encourage you to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 77: Rhythms of Rest for Guitar.
Where am I going with all of this? You’ve probably got it figured out, based on the title of today’s episode. Here’s where I plan to land this:
Practicing can be in a sort of rhythm as well, especially if it’s done deliberately. To this end, I want you to think about the time between your practice sessions as essential.
What our mind is doing when we’re not “practicing”
If you’re listening to the podcast version of today’s episode, I’ve put the word “practicing” in quotes. Practicing, by definition, is going over musical content with the intent to improve upon it.Can practicing happen when we are not at our instruments? Before I answer this question, I’ll state that the best form of practice happens when we are indeed playing the guitar. That’s a pretty straightforward fact.I can’t form chords and scales without my instrument. (Ok, there may be an app I can tap on a device for, but the strings and the frets won’t be the same.)
And I can’t strum effectively without my guitar. Again, with a pick in my hand, I could strum in the air, or against the front of my shirt. But practicing with our actual guitar is going to be tremendously effective.
However…when we don’t have our guitars, we can still be “practicing.” How often have you sat back down to practice and sensed that you were “further along” than you were when you finished your last practice session?Why would that be?Because your mind was still mulling over the concepts. You might visualize them, you might hum them, you might tap your toes, and you might sing through the musical exercise or song you were practicing.
And this might happen while you’re doing some mundane task that’s not at all related.
Each time we take a break from our practice, probably for the day, we enter this “mini-season” of rest, which allows for the connective time between the practice sessions.
Based on our images from the beginning of today’s episode (the anchor points of the bridge towers, the pearls, or the dots) each represent our practice sessions.
But the cabling, the necklace string, or the lines represent an equally important part of the picture – the time of resting our hands and our eyes, but still allowing our minds to process the material.
The Lord does something unique in our minds during this downtime. I can’t categorize it in terms of psychology or even physiology; I just know if I’ve experienced it.
The Lord helps us process what we did, and prepares us to do it again on the next level. If you have any desire to memorize what you’re learning on the guitar (a song, a scale, a chord, etc.) you will find this process essential to your success.
But here’s the key – we need to have consistency between work and rest.
An Analogy from the Garden
In GuitarSuccess4U, our members are welcomed into the experience right away with a video that lays the groundwork for how they can develop an effective practice regimen.
Without giving too much away, in this video I use the analogy of a small raised garden bed for vegetables, where I made space, framed the garden, added soil, planted seeds, and watered regularly, keeping an eye out for weeds and pests.
Each of these components in the “garden” analogy has a crossover to how a guitarist can carve out a practice space, develop a plan, take in wisdom and knowledge, and apply a moderate amount of diligent, consistent practice, watching out for hindrances and distractions.
Gardening, as I’ve discovered, especially when it comes to growing food, has a bit of a sequence and routine to it.
If I were to bring in the soil without having a frame for it, that would be out of sequence.
If I were to throw down seeds and then frame the garden, later adding soil, that wouldn’t be optimal either.
And in terms of a routine, if I decided I wanted to pour a hundred gallons of water onto the garden one day, and not water it again for six months, that would be ineffective.
It’s the consistent watering that leads to the plants germinating and coming up through the soil. And some of the watering needs to happen for several consistent weeks before results can be seen as the plants emerge. The watering is done in moderate, consistent amounts.
Eventually, the plants are large enough to harvest. This is a high point, before we move on to the next season and plant a new crop.
But the key word is consistent, or consistency.
Wisdom from an Athlete
A friend of mine named Jonathan (who stays very fit) once shared this bit of wisdom with me, and I’ve never forgotten it. I’m actually including it in some of the teaching I’ll be offering in an upcoming online guitar web masterclass, which you’ll hear about in the near future.The phrase is: consistency trumps intensity.
I’ll unpack this briefly from the perspective of an athlete.
An athlete typically works out several times a week on an ongoing basis. You won’t see an athlete work out 10 hours straight for 7 days and then “call it good” for a year’s worth of exercise, right?
Consistency trumps intensity. An intense week of exercise can be trumped by multiple weeks and months of consistent exercise, of a much shorter duration.
Some athletes train for an event. Another friend of mine, Chuck, recently ran a marathon. He did a lot of consistent training, whether running, strength training, or even intentional measured food consumption, under the close supervision of a coach.Chuck was tremendously consistent, and we spoke at length about his process. Ultimately, the payoff came when he ran the marathon. His consistency had paid off.
The Pit Stop
We can learn consistently, but sometimes our musical development has a bit of a “pit stop” in the form of a concentrated learning environment over the course of a short amount of time, like a single day or a weekend.
Worship conferences fall into this category. They are a great opportunity to grow in our skills, but to me, the main “win” of a conference experience is just that – the experience. It’s the opportunity to be inspired, encouraged, and perhaps offered a handful of insights that can be put to use.
A conference can be a “mountaintop” experience.
A conference also allows for the opportunity to connect with others who are on a similar trajectory. Tips, tools and insights can be absorbed on a moderate level at a conference.
But that conference is rarely more than a few days. Imagine if someone wanted to host a regional worship conference every day for a couple years. Hmmm…I just don’t see that being sustainable for the hosts, or the attendees.Most people need to get back to work and to their own routines, and many folks travel a significant distance to be at these worship conferences. I recall one man traveling from the other side of the planet to be at a worship conference I taught at.
So the “win” of the conference is that it inspires us and serves as a catalyst for each one of us as we go back to our routines and our “week in, week out” worship leading, songwriting, or performing schedule which is hopefully undergirded by some element of consistent practice.
I’ve hosted multiple annual Guitar Symposia over the years. Those have been very uplifting to worship leaders and Christian songwriters who want to grow with their guitar skills.
I hosted our first GuitarSuccess4U Live event last year, and people drove and flew in for it. Our time together was such a blessing, and although I offered some teaching on requested topics, the vast majority of the time was spent with informal jamming, fellowship, and feasting together.
And when everyone rejoined the Zoom calls as we got back into our routine inside the membership, we were more closely connected.
So, I totally support the conference or retreat experience.
Now in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 17 and Episode 18, I offered a 2-part discussion of Guitar Through the Seasons. In these episodes, I did allude to the fact that there are seasons where we need to set down our guitars and play them for less time.
But in a normal schedule, my hope is that you would take a little time each day, ideally in the same location and at the same time of day, to provide that consistency that will lead to traction.
Certain concepts like a strumming pattern can be imitated and picked up almost immediately. Other concepts like some moveable chords, scales, fingerstyle patterns or entire songs may take weeks or months, but if we “chip away” at them consistently, we’ll surprise ourselves.
We’ll find ourselves saying something like, “Hey – yesterday, I couldn’t play this, but today, I can.” And by the way, it wasn’t a one-day transformation; much like when I planted the garden, the seed germinated below ground and then came up through the soil.It became visible one day, but only as a result of consistent care and watering.
Did the plant spring up instantly? Of course not.
Did it respond to the consistent care I gave it? Yes.
Did I leave the plant alone for the rest of the day and give it some space after I watered it? Yes.
To keep watering it hourly would be similar to practicing every hour I’m awake. I wouldn’t be allowing myself the mental or the physical opportunity to…you know it: rest.
Wrap-upAs we close things out today, I’ll leave you with this thought. Life is not perfect, and we don’t live in a vacuum. But if we can tether our practice to our existing day-to-day routine, and allow for rest between the practice sessions, we’ll work with our minds and bodies, and not against them.
When we need a longer break, like weeks or even months, we can do that.
When we are excited to attend a concentrated experience like a conference, we can do that. But the battle is not won on the mountaintop, at the conference. It’s won in the “day in, day out” routine. It’s not super glamorous, but it is worthy, and it does lead to the results we seek.
So, keep practicing, get the rest you need, and watch what the Lord does in your guitar playing and musicianship.
And if you want to see what other people are doing as they sharpen their skills for the Lord and share their combined wisdom, experience and encouragement, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com. I can’t say enough about what an amazing experience this is, and I hope you’ll come find out for yourself.Thanks for listening today, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
I’m thrilled to welcome a new guest to Guitar Serious Fun today. His name is Jerry Chambers.
He’s a third-generation worship leader and has a passionate heart for knowing God and worshipping Him with others, as well as helping new churches with all-things worship and tech.
He holds a Masters of Church Music degree from Southwestern Seminary, and has served at churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Germany and Washington.
Jerry and his wife, Judy, have two daughters and two sons who have huge hearts for serving and living alongside the needy at home and around the world.
I met Jerry in 2017 when we were both presenters at the Worship Catalyst Experience at the Northwest Ministry Conference in Redmond, Washington, and I was blessed to be able to sit in on a little bit of what Jerry was sharing with the attendees.
We’ve stayed in touch over the past few years, and in an effort to bring in some more outside wisdom to our listeners here at Guitar Serious Fun, I approached Jerry, and he graciously accepted.
Many of our listeners who are pursuing serious fun on the guitar are involved with music at church, and that’s definitely something I’ve been a part of for almost three decades, whether on staff, volunteering, or serving as a guest worship leader.
So in an effort to round out the content experience here at Guitar Serious Fun, we’re going to have an intentional discussion about those times when we experience disappointment and discouragement, and what to do next.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what Jerry has to say, you’ll be deeply encouraged.
So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode, maybe leave us a 5-star review on your preferred podcast platform, and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about how sometimes it isn’t even about the guitar.
I play the guitar. And if you’ve been following Guitar Serious Fun for any length of time, you probably play the guitar…or you hope to.Now, we spend a fair amount of time here talking about the practical and philosophical approaches to developing our skill and artistry on this instrument. Every fourth episode thus far has featured a link to a practical mini-lesson. I hope you’ve discovered and been equipped by some of those.
In some of our episodes, we talk about how to be more effective with our practice and execution of musical skills.
But sometimes what may appear to be a guitar-related challenge or issue isn’t about the guitar at all, or even music for that matter.
Today, for the most part, I plan to share a few personal anecdotes or stories about myself, and to draw carefully from observations I’ve made about some other folks I’ve crossed paths with, but I’ll speak generally and without using any names.
What I’m hoping we can glean from today’s discussion is what can be learned.
Track with me here and I’ll bring you into my thought process. Hopefully, it will yield some insights and encouragement for you.
First, it may be about music (but not guitar).
Sometimes, a guitarist needs to sharpen their rhythm ability. I’ve witnessed this on a few occasions. If rhythm isn’t strong, strumming won’t be strong. Nor will the more intricate fingerstyle articulations.
A guitarist who doesn’t have a solid sense of rhythm won’t be able to “play well with others,” or at least as well as they could. So what to do?Perhaps investing in a metronome or metronome app could help. If possible, practicing or jamming with a drummer who does have a solid sense of rhythm could also help.
Any time I can log with a solid drummer is time I count as a privilege. I’ve gotten solid enough with my strumming that I can usually sense if a drummer is accelerating, but I also try to spend enough time with gifted drummers that they can tell me if I’m accelerating.
Typically, we don’t slow down, but there are always exceptions.
Can you sense a song’s tempo even before you play it, in such a way as to be able to quietly count it out for the benefit of your worship team or band? That’s a valuable skill to develop.
But a metronome can really help. Listening to the song over and over to allow us to better sense where it’s going, can also help.
Second, it may be about stress.
I read recently that the body’s production of the hormone cortisol is directly related to how much stress someone is under. And although stress can be caused by a variety of circumstances, our body’s innate response to this stress is the same.
When we are under stress, our bodies literally think they are being threatened. So, whether you are being threatened by an impending deadline for a project you don’t think you’ll have time to complete, or you’re being threatened by a giant, ferocious beast that’s chasing you, your body doesn’t know the difference.It goes into “fight or flight” mode, produces cortisol, and tries to combat the stress. And the result could be insomnia, anxiety, depression, and the loss of the ability to concentrate.
I may be playing sloppily, or rushing, or playing without emotion, or something else. But if you’re wondering if stress can affect our musical offerings, wonder no more. It absolutely can. So it might not be about the guitar. It might be about stress.
And my approach to diffusing stress is first to pray, but also to do some relaxing activities, get proper rest, and spend time with people who are “life-giving” and not stressful to me.
Some people play music to relax. That’s fine! But if you’re feeling stressed, make sure that the music you’re playing is relaxing to you.
Third, it may be about sleep deprivation.
I briefly mentioned sleeplessness under the stress category. If I haven’t gotten good rest, my lack of ability to play well could be directly related to this.I may be less responsive in an ensemble, and I may practice incorrectly. Just as I discussed in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34, “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?”, there can be wasted time – or worse – if we’re trying to do our music under minimal sleep.
So, good rest is super important. I’ve had various seasons of sleeplessness, and sometimes I take a melatonin 30-60 minutes before bed. I avoid caffeine and too many liquids after dinnertime. I try to avoid screen time at bedtime, or at least use blue light glasses so my eyes and mind aren’t overstimulated by devices just when I’m trying to wind down.
And I pray before I go to sleep every night…casting my cares on the Lord, who does not sleep (Psalm 121:3-4.)
But when I can’t sleep (and this sometimes happens for hours at a time), I ask the Lord to guide me in praying for people in my life and in the world.
Fourth, it may be about insecurity.
Some of us can feel insecure around other musicians, especially ones who are more established, more polished, or more resourced with nice gear. But it’s been interesting to me to see that some folks I’ve come across have top-notch gear, or even strong skills, but despite this, they are insecure.
Why would this be?Perhaps they don’t find their identity in Christ, but are striving to find it in their abilities or equipment. This is an easy temptation to fall prey to, because we can see or observe our abilities, and we can physically touch our gear.
Or they may profess Christ, but are still influenced by the desire for human approval. None of us is immune to this.
Christ, until He comes again, is invisible to us, so it’s easy to get swayed by the visible, the temporal, and to lose direction.
Those who focus too much on what other people think of their skills or their equipment are destined to be unmoored, because they won’t have anything or anyone consistent to be anchored to.
I have battled this. Believe me, it’s not a great mindset to have.
Sometimes, our insecurity in our onstage offering comes to the surface because we feel unworthy for the position we’ve been entrusted to fill. Perhaps a worship leader has made himself or herself available, but they don’t feel like their skill set is commensurate with the need.
Here’s the thing: for whatever season this person has been invited to serve, the Lord has them there.
They may be meeting a real need that a more skilled musician hasn’t stepped up to fill. And the congregation would do well to appreciate anyone stepping up to lead them, right?
Every musician has a certain level of experience, and those who are more experienced…wait for it…have more experience. It’s a “Captain Obvious” statement, I know, but how do you get experience doing something? You do it. A lot. And you learn as you do, right?
And for some folks, it’s easy to think about what the congregation or audience thinks of them. I know it’s easy for me to do this.
I’ve had to do some introspection when comes to insecurity, and it usually boils down to being concerned about what people think of me…which is quite secondary to what the Lord thinks of me.So my best course of action is to look at what God’s Word says about my identity in Him, and then to press on, developing my talents for His glory, not for mine.
Fifth, it may be about obedience.
God calls us to obey Him in all aspects of life. And if we’re not walking in obedience, even our music can be affected.
I won’t go deep on this subject, but in our heart of hearts, we know if we’re not obeying what the Lord has commanded or called us to do. We are fallen and sinful, but we are also called to turn from sin, right?
We may be able to play our music while walking in disobedience for a while, but eventually, we’ll run out of strength and focus, because we’ll be trying to do too much on our own.
Again, going back to the Word, and praying for the Holy Spirit’s conviction to stir in us, is essential.Then, taking the opportunity to confess our disobedience to a trusted brother or sister in Christ, followed by repentance, is the clear course of action. Easier said than done? Yes, but only on our own. It’s not an easy thing to invite the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts, and then to confess and repent, but it is a worthy thing, and the Lord has promised to be with us through it all.
Sixth, it may not be about you at all.
If you’ve ever had a rough collaborative effort and you just couldn’t figure out why things were falling apart musically, it’s possible that someone else on your team or in your band was struggling, even if you couldn’t figure out who it was or how they were struggling.
Someone on the team may be unprepared, so the cumulative offering of the band may be of lower quality as a result.
Someone else may be burdened or distracted, so their musical contribution, as well as the energy they bring (or don’t bring) to the creative effort can be diminished.
Any of the aforementioned struggles from today’s discussion could be something someone you’re collaborating with is dealing with, and they may be hiding it well.
You may sense this but not be able to put your finger on it.
That’s ok. Sometimes it just isn’t about us, or what we’re trying to do with our music or our guitars. If we’re able to get to the bottom of why it’s not working, great. But sometimes, we need to chalk it up to it being about someone else and what they are going through, and do our best to either not let it affect us, or if we feel prompted, to ask if there’s anything we can do to encourage them, and maybe even to pray for, or even with them.
So…what is it about?
The bottom line is that it isn’t really about the guitar. It isn’t even about music. It isn’t even about us. It’s actually about the God we serve, and the people we serve in His name.
When this falls into place, we can rest. We can rest in His sufficiency, His approval, and His calling on our lives. And then we can get back to making great music. And having serious fun.
Wrap-Up
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode. This was definitely one of the more challenging and subjective topics I’ve endeavored to tackle, but as I’ve leaned into the Lord, He’s guided me with these words, as He always does.
Sometimes it’s just not about the guitar.
But for those times when it is about the guitar, I’ve got good news for you. We have a tribe of like-minded followers of Christ who are faithfully pursuing their gifts of guitar and music for the glory of God.
And you can discover us at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Will you check it out? Take a moment now, if you have time. Or make a note on your phone to check it out tonight.
But come see what the Lord is doing in this amazing community and experience, and think about whether you might be a good fit for this opportunity. It isn’t for everyone, but it might be for you.
I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about how to address our audiences well as we play.
Even as we start this discussion, I’ll give you a heads up about which direction I’m going – just in case you’re wondering which type of guitarist I’m referring to.
I’m talking about two types of guitarists today. First, I’ll talk about a worship guitarist who offers their gifts as an act of worship in a setting where they are leading others to the Throne of Grace through music…and then, I’ll be talking about a performing guitarist who shares his or her gifts in a message-driven Christian concert setting where people listen.
Then I’ll talk about what happens when those two worlds collide and a guitarist is invited to share a mixed set of songs with worship leading and some performance pieces. You ready? Let’s go.
There are all kinds of purposes for guitar playing beyond these two, but to keep our discussion focused, I’ll stay in these two specific areas, blending them together at the end of our discussion.And there are specific needs that congregations and audiences have as they experience the offerings of these two guitarists, which are worth discussing. There is great wisdom in knowing our audience.
So, if you’re a worship guitarist, a performing guitarist, or you aspire to be either or both, this episode is for you.
When it comes to playing the guitar in public for listeners, not all stages are equal, and not all offerings have the same purpose.
I’d love to offer you some clarifications about what your audience is hoping for, and what you can bring to each of them when you play your guitar.
Part 1 – The Worship Guitarist
The Lord called me to music ministry in the late 1990s. I had purchased my first guitar in 1994, and shortly afterwards, I was playing it at a family camp, and someone approached me saying, “Hey, you have a guitar. You could lead us in worship.”To experience the full story, I invite you to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 6: “Not Ready but Available.”It was at this point that I had just begun to grasp what it meant to lead worship with my guitar.
Fast forward to present day, and I’ve led worship thousands of times, all over North America, and some seasons of worship ministry have found me leading on staff full-time and part-time at Christian churches of a few different sizes, from two hundred to almost two thousand.
Sometimes, I’ve been a worship leader for four songs on a Sunday…other times I’ve led a couple songs to kick off a conference. In other settings, I’ve been a worship leader for multiple sessions at a retreat.
Whatever the case, I’ve been entrusted with playing my guitar in such a way as to lead others in singing to the Lord.
First of all, I’ll ask an important question. Who is the audience in a worship environment?
Well, if you said, “The Lord,” you’d be right. And the Lord asks that we “play skillfully and shout for joy” (Psalm 33:3) and bring contrition in our posture. Psalm 51:17 says “A broken and contrite heart You, o God, will not despise.”Everything we do, especially when we share our music, begins with the heart. Our expression as guitarists will flow from the condition of our hearts. Are we humble? Do we see ourselves as unworthy, yet called to approach the Lord with our gifts?
Do we desire to come prepared, to play well for Him? That’s my hope. He is worthy of our first fruits, not our leftovers, right?Now, the Lord is our primary Audience. Some have referred to Him as our “Audience of One.”
Now, “audience” is a subjective term, because there could be people in a worship environment who are observing as I lead, and they may or may not be contributing with their voices in corporate worship.
But they are observing.
What do they witness from me as I play? Am I clear, confident, and do I lead well, but do I also remain peripheral?
One class that has risen to the top in my collection of teaching offerings at conferences is a seminar I call “The Peripheral Worship Leader.”
The word “peripheral” has to do with the outer part of the field of vision. Still visible, but not central.
If we move into central position, we take the focus off the Lord. People are easily distracted, and we could potentially be contributing to this as worship guitarists. Catch this: we can be peripheral whether we’re in the center of the platform or not. It’s all about posture.
We can also be invisible. By this, I mean we don’t confidently (and yet humbly) show the congregation that we are leading them. If we “blend in” with the rest of the team and people don’t understand who’s leading the charge, we can also fade into the background, and this can be distracting as well .So, a guitarist could be distracting by action or omission. By action, he or she could play too prominently in the texture with big, flashy solos or with dynamics that aren’t sensitive to the context. Or, he or she could be so meek that no one knows what to do next because there’s no real leadership element in place.
Let’s be real: the people who have come to worship are not there to experience a concert. That’s something we’ll focus on in a few minutes.By omission, a guitarist could play out of tune, and as you might imagine, there are people who might not know which strings are out of tune, but they know something’s not right.
And again, people need to know who’s leading, and someone has to lead the band (if there is a band) even if leadership roles are traded out with a few different worship leaders, even on the same set.We, as a congregation should always be able to tell who’s leading us.
It’s a delicate balance we walk as worship guitarists, because people can be so easily distracted.
In terms of the practical aspects, we can take specific steps towards maintaining and preparing our equipment, getting proper rest, having excellent communication with our technicians, rehearsing intentionally with our team, and being as familiar as possible with our music.
And guess what? Even if we do everything in our power not to be distracting, something beyond our control could still happen, and people could still get distracted.But I’d say that being intentional and working towards preparation and skillful execution, while still having grace for ourselves and our collaborators, is a recipe for a healthy worship environment.
Some worship musicians don’t think this deeply about these kinds of things, but those who do tend to be more deliberate, and to offer an unwritten message about how much they feel the beautiful burden and calling for what they do.
I can tell, within moments, if a worship musician is taking their calling seriously.
But here’s the paradox: we can take our calling and our Lord very seriously, and still not take ourselves too seriously. I am constantly striving to find this balance as well.Because if I’m playing precisely, but my body language communicates that I’m carrying a lot of stress, that’s not going to ultimately be a blessing to anyone.
So, I try to bring some levity to my rehearsals, and to intersperse appropriate humor.
Exempli gratia: at a recent opportunity to lead worship for a multi-faceted Christian ministry organization, I asked the sound guy if he could put a bit more my “talent” in my monitor.
I basically wanted him to make me more talented than I was.
Everyone laughed, and we enjoyed the process that much more.
So, as we think about our offerings as worship guitarists, let’s check our hearts, bring our offerings with sincerity and humility, do all we can to play excellently, but still hold things loosely.
Part 2 – The Performing Guitarist
I wrote my first song in 1996. I went on to record multiple albums and to tour all over North America.
But my touring largely consisted of concerts I performed. The albums I recorded were not worship songs. They were what I would call “testimonial” songs.
Now, this is a broad stroke, but go here with me. Worship songs are typically simpler in song form, and more “singable,” whether with rhythms, melodies, or even ranges.
Performance-type testimonial songs can sometimes have more complex song forms, are better to listen to (maybe the chorus is an opportunity to sing along), but can have more complex rhythms, less predictable melodies, and can go really high, because the listener doesn’t have to sing those notes.
So as a performing guitarist, I have a different posture, because my audience has a different set of expectations.
When people come to a concert, they’re much more in a posture of wanting to be ministered to. They are expecting to be taken on a bit of a journey, perhaps to hear stories, and as performance coach Tom Jackson has said, to experience moments.
In my concerts, I incorporate multiple guitar techniques, from two-hand tapping, to looping, to playing the strings with a pencil or a violin bow, to multiple alternate tunings and harmonics, and more.
But when I lead worship, my offering is much simpler.Really, with the exception of the occasional hammer-on, pull-off or slide, none of these above articulations would be appropriate for a worship set.
They’re too prominent and dare I say, showy in the wrong context.
They draw the focus away from what we’re doing in a worship environment, but they’re very much welcome in a performance environment.
In fact, I rely heavily on innovation and the “unpredictable” factor when it comes to playing for particular audiences, like people who’ve never heard me before.
Some venues I’ve served have been what I call “Type B” audiences, where people are already present at an established gathering (like a church, school, retreat or conference). “Type B” audiences may or may not know who I am and what I’m bringing to the event, even if I’ve resourced them with a promotional video that highlights what I do.
Conversely, “Type A” audiences are the ones who come to experience my ministry because they’ve followed me for a while and have gotten to know my music.
A “Type B” audience can be transformed quickly into a “Type A” audience, but only if the guitarist is moving adeptly and swiftly through textures and moments that keep the audience engaged, and even guessing.
I showed up to perform a concert at a “lock-in” for a junior high retreat, and the sound guy pretty much greeted me just as he was leaving. He said, “Hey, I’ve got a boom mic and a guitar channel all set up for you in there. Have fun.”I gently stopped him right there and said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m about to try to hold the attention of a bunch of sugared-up junior highers for the better part of an hour. If I stand at a boom mic and just play my guitar, I’ll lose them in the first 5-10 minutes.”It took a little explaining to get the sound guy on board, but then he eventually realized that my collection of instruments and unique tools (like my multi-colored Boomwhackers) were going to be needed to hold the attention of all of those kids, and therefore, there was a necessity to have a good backline of audio support, to say nothing of the video support that would also be needed to put images and lyrics on the screen that would carry them along with a multi-media experience.
Some technicians think mostly about the tech, so we as guitarists sometimes need to do a bit of thinking for them about the artistic presentation.Exempli gratia: I like to use two or three boom mics at a concert, sometimes switching over to a headset mic. This is another “page” I’ve taken out of Tom Jackson’s book.
At a show I performed several years ago, I had a sound tech serving alongside me who was absolutely mystified about why I alternated between boom mic and headset mic.
He asked, “Why don’t you just use the headset mic the whole time?”I answered, “Because different songs will feel differently to the audience depending on the mic. There are different levels of pressure and dynamics associated with the visual experience of having these mics in place.
A boom mic creates a slight barrier and anchors me in place more than a headset mic, which opens up the visual connection with the audience and allows me to roam about the stage.”
He didn’t really get it, but he supported me in it because he had plenty of channels, and that’s what really matters.
I had one sound tech encourage me to use an almost invisible flesh-colored mic as I led worship. But here’s the problem with that. I like to signal the congregation (and everyone on my teams) that we are about to sing, as I step up to a boom mic.
And when I move away, that is another way of communicating that we are not singing at that moment. The boom mic is a tool of communication even beyond conducting an audio signal.
If I have a virtually invisible mic on, the congregation won’t get that visual cue. I’ll have to try to look down and demonstrably cue them with my eyebrows, which can look a little forced.
So certain mics work better for a worship environment, and others can work better for a performance environment.
In my concerts, sometimes I incorporate audience participation, which necessitates me roving about onstage, and even out into the audience. The wireless headset mic is perfect for this application.
And my various guitar techniques, as well as different tempos, grooves, and even postures (standing, seated, roving about) will provide different dynamics for the audience to respond to. Humor, during a concert, can be super enjoyable. I typically don’t try to be funny when I lead worship.
So, it’s important to “read the room,” and to “know your audience.”
Part 3 - When Worlds Collide: Worship and Performance Together
Occasionally, I find myself invited to a venue where I get to perform a concert and weave in some corporate worship. The typical venue for something like this is a family camp or a harvest festival. I love these opportunities.
I also know what a delicate dance it can be to pivot to and from worship songs. Typically, I will follow each worship song with a short prayer, not in a perfunctory “I guess we’d better pray now” fashion, but rather to help us transition from the worship song to the next moment in the concert.
The prayer allows us to recalibrate and to reacclimate to the performance dynamic.
Now, it’s all about being “in the moment.” If I have an audience ranging from five years old to 75, and I’m hoping to minister to them culturally, to keep the young ones engaged, and to simultaneously bless the senior saints with a rich message of substance, while performing some songs, incorporating some worship songs that most can sing along with, and weaving in some fun…I’ve got a pretty tall order to fill.But the good news is that the Lord can carry me through.
Some of my work is in the planning of the set. But some of it is just observing people as they respond (or don’t respond) to what I’m sharing during the event.
Fortunately, I mix the audio for most of my shows from stage, so I can skip over songs that might not work. Even my projectionist works from a set list where he or she can jump to certain slides or videos if needed.So, in these family-friendly worship concerts, the set list is rarely executed exactly as planned…but the audience doesn’t need to know that. They’re just there to be ministered to and led in some worship.
So, I go into a performance/worship presentation with a deliberate plan, and simultaneously I have open hands.
And then, after I get home, I sleep very deeply.
Wrap-Up
Well, today we talked about how a worship guitarist and a performing guitarist can minister in a few different settings, and we touched on a lot of key points related to preparation, execution, the ability to be in the moment and to read the room, and especially how to know our audience.
This is definitely a process and a craft that takes years to become proficient at. And if you’re a worship guitarist, a performing guitarist, or you desire to be either or both of these, I hope you gleaned some wisdom today.
If you’ve got questions, please offer them in the comments. If you want to up-level your guitar playing, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com where I’m actively serving and sharpening worship and performing guitarists week in and week out through a battle-tested online experience unlike any other.
Thanks for experiencing my thoughts here. Keep having serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Today, I’m coming to you totally unscripted. Read on (or listen) and you’ll find out why.
I went to the optometrist today, and they had to put a couple drops in my eyes to dilate them so that they could check and make sure that my eyes were healthy.
Good news: my eyes are healthy.
The less good news is that because of the dilating liquid, I can temporarily barely see things up close, including anything written down, anything on my cell phone, or even the counting numbers on my recording device.
I had to ask my 12-year-old daughter to verify these things so that I could speak extemporaneously and spontaneously, which is exactly what I'm doing here. (Check the audio recording for what I captured for your ears.)
I'm going to hang a few truths on a few bullets that are just now coming to me, but I want to encourage you with the thought that even if something happens that weakens us or lessens our faculties, God can still be glorified.
So the first thing I want to speak to is the idea that not everybody who walks on this planet is able to see things clearly, and God can use that.
The late Fanny Crosby wrote a beautiful hymn called Blessed Assurance and she has all kinds of wonderful imagery including “Visions of rapture now burst on my sight.”
So many wonderful images are in that hymn and it was brought to my attention that she was not able to see.
I don't know how much of her life she was not able to see, but certainly when she penned those anointed lyrics that was something she could see in her mind's eye but not with her actual eyes.
So I want to just highlight the fact that there are a lot of musicians out there who may not be able to see but who can still make great music…and I actually had the privilege of seeing the Blind Boys of Alabama open for Peter Gabriel, probably I think 20 years ago now, and they were phenomenal.
I don't know why I remember this so clearly but one of the guys had such tremendous breath control or circular breathing with his singing that someone was actually able to lead him from the stage out into the crowd and then back up onto the stage while he sustained a note.
I don't think there was any gimmick in play, but as a vocalist I don't exactly know how he was able to accomplish that.
All that to say they performed a tremendously engaging set, and to my knowledge most of them are sightless.
So that's why they call themselves the Blind Boys of Alabama.
So I've seen a few different musicians either in person or on video or I've read articles about them, and they've either been born without sight or they've experienced the deterioration of their sight to the point where they can still play, but they have no visual communication with their instrument, and they are still making great music.
The second point I want to make is the fact that not looking at our instrument can actually be a good thing.
I don't know if you've been led in worship by someone who is pretty visually tethered to their music stand or to their guitar, but it sort of feels like they are kind of having their own dialogue with what's going on up on the platform and they're not really engaging with the congregation.
In my later developments of worship leading strategies, I've chosen whenever possible to be memorized… and that does two things.
One, it allows me to have a really solid knowledge of the music that I have practiced and developed.
But two, it allows me to have great visual communication not just with the band, but also with the congregation and even the technicians.
When I can look beyond what I'm doing because I don't literally have any music to stare at, I can actually communicate better.
And actually, people sometimes have expressed to me that they've felt like I've led them even more sincerely because I did not have a music stand in front of me.
Now, I'm not saying that not having a music stand is the only way to go.
Some of us don't have the bandwidth to memorize our music.
But there's a difference between glancing to reference it and being totally focused on it and unable to look up except momentarily.
So anyway, the idea of being visually independent of your instrument can be tremendously empowering. And to that end I actually want to encourage you to try something that I've done from time to time and that's to sit down with your guitar and work on something that you're developing that you either have memorized or have a pretty good handle on but turn off the lights or put on a blindfold.
If you do that your physical and auditory senses will be heightened, because you will not be able to see what it is that you're doing and you'll feel those larger fret distances, and you'll feel your hands at the instrument really holding on a little bit more intentionally because you have to orientate yourself to the instrument without looking at it.
Any sort of physical motor skill, whether it's a sports skill, a musical skill, any of these sorts of skills where we're using our hands, we need to develop a level of tactile familiarity with our craft so that we can do it better, but also so that we don't have to rely on our eyes.
Because then we can be more artistic, more visually independent, and I would argue that the artistry is increased.
So the last thing I want to share with you is the idea that scripture reminds us that though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (1 Corinthians 4:16).
It's not so much about our visual or even physical abilities.
It's about where we are spiritually with the Lord as we live our lives and do our good work.
So, as I think about our aging bodies, every last one of us will experience a deterioration of our faculties, but that's going to be expected.
People don't get stronger as they get older.
Our vision doesn't get clearer as we get older.
In fact, my optometrist today said that in the next three to five years, I can expect to have a need for a different kind of contact lens that might be able to have a multifocal capacity so that I can read a little bit better up close.
Literally, as I speak to you right now, I could not read a piece of paper in front of me if my life depended on it.
There's no way that I could even see it.
In fact, even as I look at my hand, it's got a little bit of blurriness to it.
Ironically, I was able to drive just fine because I could see distance-wise no problem.
But anything up close was harder, and it just gave me a foreshadowing of what will happen later in my life when I lose some of those faculties, some of those strengths.
What will happen?
Well, there could be a temptation to get discouraged, but also I could also have to rely on other people more.
And as I may have mentioned in the past, I like to be pretty independent.
I like to focus on my good work and not have to ask somebody else for fear of inconveniencing them.
But, in one of our past interviews with Erin Pakinas, we talked about When Your Gifts Are Needed.
Well, I want to flip that, because maybe I need someone else's gifts to assist me.
My youngest daughter was only too happy to read to me what was on my text, or only too happy to tell me that it was Episode 62, where I talked about The Sick Guitarist, because I literally had to say, “What does this say on my computer screen What number is that?”
I couldn't even read it.
So there will come a time when I may not be able to see at all. And Lord willing, I'll still be making music on some level.
So my encouragement to you is to remember that we are not meant for this world.
We are not designed to live for hundreds and hundreds of years.
We're designed to be here for a season and to allow the Lord to work through us as we develop our gifts and share our gifts and as we share His love with a world in desperate need of it.
But eventually we'll go home to be with him and then our resurrected bodies, our heavenly bodies, will not experience any sort of corruption.
We won't have tears, we won't have weakness or pain or sorrow. And it'll be a whole new beautiful glorious thing that God has prepared for us.
Wrap-Up
Well, I hope these musings have encouraged you in some way, whether practically or spiritually, just to remember that we are wasting away, but inwardly we're being renewed day by day by the Lord.
So, try turning out the lights as you practice for a little bit, or put on a blindfold.
Read some of the lyrics of Fanny Crosby and her hymn, Blessed Assurance.
Play some beautiful music on your guitar, and just remember that every time you sit down to play, that's a gift the Lord has given you, because there will come a time when each of us plays our final notes on the guitar.
We don't know when that will be, so let's enjoy music now while we can, and then let's eagerly await the music of Heaven.
And if you want to enjoy music in a group setting alongside a tribe of like-minded followers of Christ, I do encourage you to check out what we've got going on at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
The URL is www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thank you for listening, and I hope to see you next time.
This has been really weird to be able to speak without a script, but I still hope that it has brought some value.
So, we'll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Today is another special episode at Guitar Serious Fun where we welcome back Erin Pakinas for a third time.
Now, I couldn’t have planned this, but we also have a surprise guest who will join us part way through the episode. You’ll have to listen to today’s episode in order to hear what she has to say.
Now, Episode 79 of Guitar Serious fun was all about When Your Guitar Gifts Aren’t Needed.
Today’s episode is a sequel to that episode and includes a discussion for what it’s like when our guitar giftsare needed.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because our guests are both super engaging and enthusiastic, and listening to them will be inspiring and uplifting in many ways. I’m not kidding!
Our returning guest today, Erin Pakinas, is a mother of 5, lives on a farm, has a humorous and godly perspective on life, and she and her husband are pursuing Christ’s glory as they do their good work.Erin co-hosts a podcast called Hauling Off, which speaks to a variety of topics around our church and classical school.
Erin and her husband are members of GuitarSuccess4U, and she was our previous special guest for Guitar Serious Fun Episode 61, “Embracing ‘Good’ Difficult with Guitar and More.”
I encourage you to listen to that episode as well!
When I approached Erin to come back and be a guest with us once again, she was delighted to do so.So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to leave a comment after this episode and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about how someone can still enjoy playing the guitar even if they have arthritis.
Now, I myself don’t have arthritis (yet), and fortunately, I’ve been blessed so far to have continuous use of my hands and arms throughout nearly 30 years of guitar playing, without incident.
But we are not bound for this earth, and there may come a time when our hands may weaken, thereby limiting our ability to play some of the songs we can currently play.
In my travels, I’ve had a few people ask me about what to do if a guitarist has arthritis.I don’t want to claim to be able to dispense medical wisdom, because I don’t have the background; nevertheless, I have a few things I could offer as suggestions. Remember, everyone’s body and hands are different, so what may be effective for one person may not be effective for another.
Also, what may come easily to one person may cause another person to run the risk of injury, re-injury, or exasperating an existing injury. So please be your own advocate and consider what I’m sharing here merely as an opinion, not a medical recommendation. Cool?
Here are a few thoughts that might encourage and empower a guitarist who has arthritic hands.
1. Stretch your hands intentionally and gently before and even after you play.
If you’ve been experiencing these episodes at Guitar Serious Fun for a while, you may have heard the story I shared about how I almost injured my hands due to overusing them with guitar and other instruments.
For a refresher on this story, check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34: “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?”, as well as Guitar Serious Fun Episode 77: “Rhythms of Rest for Guitar.”
In these episodes, I talked about how I read a couple books about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Strain Injury and also worked closely with a physical therapist to strengthen my hands.
The stretches I’ve learned through those experiences are ones I share in the early lessons of GuitarSuccess4U with our members. So, if you want access to those (and so much more), please consider joining our membership. It could change the game for you.
Now I’m under no illusion that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Strain Injury and Arthritis are all the same. They are most certainly not. But they all have something to do with the hands having weakness or fragility, so I think it’s worth doing a bit of research and learning more about how to attend well to our hands.
One of our guest experts in GuitarSuccess4U is Dr. Gordon Myco, a Chiropractor and health coach. Dr. Myco said in one of our lessons, “Take better care of your body than you do your guitar…because you can always get a new guitar.” Right?
2. Take breaks and always be conservative with hand use, not just while playing guitar, but while doing anything repetitive.
This includes yardwork, crafts, or anything mechanical, especially something that requires some strength. We do need to keep our hands moving, but we don’t want to strain the muscles and joints.
Breaks are super helpful, as we also talked about in “Rhythms of Rest for Guitar.”
Speaking of rest, the Lord does some wonderful things to repair muscles, joints and even vocal fatigue as we sleep. But if your hands are in any way compromised in their mobility and agility, it might be worth evaluating your sleep posture.
I don’t yet require them, but I am familiar with wrist guards that keep a person’s wrist in neutral position as they sleep, so that they don’t hyperextend them unwittingly.
But again, I’m not even confident to speak intelligently on the physiological definition of “hyperextension,” so I’ll step back from over-speaking here. Just think, “Wrist guards may eventually be worth considering.”
Now let’s get into the practical aspects of playing the guitar if you have arthritis.
3. Pray before you play.
This may sound familiar, because it is actually a past episode. It’s Guitar Serious Fun Episode 47, by the same title: “Pray Before You Play”. I encourage you to spin through that. Is praying practical? Absolutely. Even offer a simple prayer like, “Lord, you’ve made my hands. I’m fearfully and wonderfully made, and I sense a calling from you to use my hands and the guitar for your glory, in this season. So please provide a way for me to do this, even if it’s a way I can’t yet see.”
4. If you’re an acoustic guitarist, make sure your action is low enough.
I’ve been an acoustic guitarist my whole career. And I’ve crossed paths with thousands of acoustic guitarists. Unfortunately, a significant number of them have guitars that have unnecessarily high action.
This could be because their instruments are in a lower pricing tier. They could have also just come from the store and haven’t been set up yet.
Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, the only shop I trust for repair and all the care of my guitars, was gracious enough to host me at their shop for one of our GuitarSuccess4U Expert Interviews. They took me on a special tour of their workbenches, showed me their Plek Pro machine, and talked about how “Guitar Repair and Care” can be essential to our success. I was even granted permission to provide to my members a special additional short video interview with the late founder, Mike Lull, about his story, process and philosophy of guitar repair.
During the interview I conducted with the guys at the shop, Spencer Lull, Mike’s son and the President of Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, said that even a high-end guitar may still need to be set up by their shop. He said that the vast majority of the work they do is to set up guitars.What does this entail? It could mean re-setting or replacing the nut or the saddle. Incidentally, this is the critical location where the strings are attached to the instrument. If either the nut, the saddle or both are too high, the action will be too high.
The truss rod may also need to be adjusted.
Ironically, there are guitarists out there trying to play music on guitars that have not yet been set up, or that have been improperly set up, and without exaggerating, this is severely hindering their progress.
It would be analogous to driving a car with tires that have very low air pressure.You can still drive a car with really low pressure in the tires, but it’s not sustainable, and it’s much more difficult.
A well set up guitar increases morale.
I taught several workshops recently at the Christian Musician Summit in Tacoma, Washington, and as I spoke about the importance of having a guitar properly set up, I allowed my guitar to make its way around the room.
Each student present tried playing my guitar and handed it off to the next person. And the overwhelming response I heard back from many of them about my guitar was “This is much easier to play on. I think I really need to get my guitar set up properly.”
So in GuitarSuccess4U, one of the 5 instant bonuses my members get access to is a short video I put together called “10 Tips for Proper Guitar Setup.” Getting your guitar set up properly, especially by Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, could be a game-changer, especially if you have arthritis.
It could literally change the action to the point where you can play your acoustic with much greater ease. Notes you couldn’t access before could become more accessible.Mike Lull’s Guitar Works repairs and sets up the guitars of Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.
I mean, if their shop is good enough for those two well-known guitarists, it’s good enough for me. Look them up at MikeLull.com. Follow the menu to “repairs” where you’ll discover that they currently offer a free instrument assessment.
And please tell them David Harsh at GuitarSuccess4U sent you. I don’t currently get any sort of referral fee, but I do get the satisfaction of knowing that they are taking care of my people!
5. Try lighter gauge strings.
I use Elixir Nanoweb Medium Gauge Strings – from gauges 13 to 56. These have a bit of low end for a fuller sound, and they also allow me to tune to the many alternate tunings I like to play in.
I’ve played guitars that require light gauge strings because of how they are manufactured. Medium strings on those guitars would literally strain the neck.
But light gauge strings on a properly balanced and set up guitar neck could be another solution that would allow for more playability with less exertion by arthritic fingers.
6. If you haven’t already, try playing a classical nylon-string guitar.
These guitars provide several benefits, including the fact that the strings take less effort to fret because the strings are made of nylon, not steel. Also, because classical guitar necks are wider, the strings are further apart, so some chords are easier to form.
Now, I’m not a classical guitarist, so I don’t approach that guitar with the posture and hand angles that a classical guitarist would use. Nevertheless, I do find that classical guitars are much more responsive and require less hand strength, which might be a good next step with someone who has arthritic hands.
It all depends on what your fingers are capable of.
I’ve met guitarists who have arthritis who are able to navigate a 12-string acoustic guitar. That, to me, is surprising, because there are literally twice as many strings; each finger has to fret two strings simultaneously for every note.
But hey, if the instrument is responsive, and the guitarist has the strength and is enjoying playing the instrument, I say, make some great music!
7. Try an electric guitar.
Although I’m not an electric guitarist, I will readily admit that electric guitars typically have much more responsive string action, sometimes requiring even less pressure than a classical guitar would. Of the few times I’ve played a friend’s electric, I’ve observed this feature right away.
Depending on which type of electric (Stratocaster, Telecaster, etc.) you may discover variations in the guitar neck shape, and how the manufacturer has fashioned the instrument.
With this in mind, you may want to try playing a few different electric guitars, whether at a friend’s house or even in a guitar store showroom. Your hands will tell you what’s working…but remember, as I’ve mentioned, some of the guitars in that showroom – even the electric guitars – may not have been properly set up yet.
8. Experiment with some open / alternate tunings.
There are more possibilities for alternate tunings than you can imagine. But the ones that tend to require less fingers are ones that contain drones and low notes for an actual chord to be played open. Drones like low D A D on the three lowest strings, for example, can be foundational for an open D-based tuning.
DAD (on strings 6, 5 and 4) could be the basis for DADGAD (perhaps one of the most famous and well-loved tunings), but also DADF#AD (which is open D Major), or even DADFAD (open D minor, which actually allows for more versatility, as songs I’ve composed in that tuning have revealed.)But if someone re-tunes a few of their strings (down, typically), entire worlds can open up where they can let a lot of the strings ring open, unfretted, to the relief of their fretting hand.
Side note: tuning strings down allows for lower tension and easier “fretability.” Is that a word? Nope, but you get it. Some tunings I’ve experimented with involve tuning some strings up. So try down-tuning first.
In some tunings, a single note can be fretted and slid up and down the neck, and it can still sound interesting. Some chords in alternate tunings require fewer fingers, which can be a relief.
Another side note: if you’re going to collaborate with someone else, it’s a nice gesture if you can know what some of the basic chords are in the alternate tuning in which you find yourself, because when they observe your hands on the frets, if they’ve got guitar or bass background, they’ll be confused to see you in unconventional locations playing “new” notes or shapes.
9. Experiment with some partial capos.
There are multiple partial capos on the market, some of which fret all but a single string, or just half of the strings. Note that a partial capo does not place a guitar in an alternate tuning; this is confirmed by playing a bar chord or a closed voicing scale in position above the capo, where the notes remain from where they were before the capo was applied to the guitar.
But a partial capo can allow for some fingerings with the use of fewer fingers. These can also allow for drone notes.
There was a capo manufactured years ago called the Third Hand, and fingerstyle guitarist Harvey Reid was super helpful about spreading the word about what this capo was capable of.
It has since been surpassed by the SpiderCapo, which basically fulfills the same function: six spinning tumblers that allow for 63 combinations of fretted notes per fret. It is the “Cadillac” of partial capos, because it allows for all possible options. The current model of the SpiderCapo that I have is not super rugged. It doesn’t feel like it’s been very well manufactured, so I kind of have to baby it on my guitar neck.Through Harvey Reid, I was made aware of Liberty Guitar, a new method of playing guitar using a slightly altered tuning and a tool called a “flip capo.” Some of this method only uses the two middle fingers of the fretting hand, which may provide considerable relief for someone with arthritic hands and allows guitarist to get faster traction if their hands are not as strong.
As demonstrated by this concept, you can combine an alternate tuning with a capo, whether complete or partial. But do some experimenting and discover what’s possible.
10. Experiment with a bottleneck slide.
There are a few tunings, specifically DADF#AD (open D Major) and DGDGBD (open G Major) that have been fairly easy for me to tune to. Once there, I’ve tried using a slide up and down the neck, so as to facilitate the basic open I, then 5th fret IV and 7th fret V chords, for slide guitar.
This is an entire genre, and it definitely places the guitarist in a certain style of playing. But the “win” here is that he or she can play slide guitar with very little strain or stress of the fretting hand, because the reality is, they aren’t fretting. They’re placing the bottleneck or slide just against the strings, not even pressing down much, and they’re still making music.
11. Take a break from the guitar.
I don’t encourage someone to quit playing their guitar simply because they have arthritis. Hopefully, today’s discussion has shown my hope, to the contrary, that they stick with it.
But if someone’s hands are weak or tired, it might be nice for them to enjoy a short season of music on another instrument that’s less demanding. Instruments that come to mind are: harmonica, autoharp, hammered dulcimer, or even singing. Each of these are instruments where we can enjoy music without a lot of exertion of the hands.
Lastly…
12. Place yourself in the path of a guitar teacher or guitar community.
The road to musical proficiency can sometimes be lonely. And even after we’ve made significant progress, we can still experience moments of discouragement for one reason or another.
For this reason, I highly recommend GuitarSuccess4U. It’s a tribe of like-minded guitarists who are all accessing the same premium, curated collection of tools.
It’s not a support group per se, but it does provide tremendous support. For some of our members, these are their people. Guitar is not something everyone in the world speaks or understands, so when we gather for our weekly Zoom calls, there’s a level of empathy and understanding that isn’t found in other places.
Members experience accountability, encouragement, and an incredibly in-depth, yet accessible approach to the instrument.
Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed.”
I can think of two of our members currently who are on the journey of an arthritic guitarist.
What if you, as a guitarist who is struggling with arthritis, were to join us, become known in our community, and then discovered some collective wisdom from the group? It could be a game-changer for you.
All it takes is a tiny change in our trajectory to send us in a whole new direction.
I invite you to check out our website if you haven’t already – at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
We have a list of Frequently Asked Questions, and some sample lessons as well.
Re-cap
In closing, you might appreciate knowing that today’s episode came to life as a result of an e-mail exchange I had with someone asking for wisdom for a guitarist with arthritis. They asked the question, and here, in this episode, was my answer.
Can you see what a single question has produced in today’s episode?
If this discussion directly relates to you, I hope these strategies are in some way helpful to you as you persevere through the season of arthritis and still desire to make music on some level with your guitar.
So, if you have a question or a topic you think we might be able to tackle here at Guitar Serious Fun, let your thoughts be known in the comments for today’s episode. As you may recall from Guitar Serious Fun Episode 22: “I Don’t Know…But Let’s Find Out,” I will intentionally avoid speaking about something I’m not familiar with, or pretend to know something I don’t. That’s just not how I roll.But if the topic is in my wheelhouse, I’d be glad to share my thoughts here. So please continue to experience my offerings here and to share Guitar Serious Fun with others in your circles. We’ve got more great stuff coming up.
Thanks for experiencing my thoughts. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to acknowledge the importance of having people in our lives who cheer us on as we play our guitars.
As I string these words together, I’m seated on a bench at our local swimming pool while my daughters diligently practice swimming on their swim team.
Every few months, they get to participate in a swim meet, where they get to see if they can beat their personal best. There isn’t a huge amount of focus placed on competing against other swimmers, no matter how many lanes are full.
I’d like to draw a parallel, right off the bat. Just like our discussion in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 66, “The Guitarist We Should All Surpass”, the aim is to grow and improve steadily, and to compare ourselves with who we were yesterday.
But at these swim meets, there are usually hundreds of people, a loud voice broadcasting the heats, and a loud beep and a flash to provide the starter cue for each race to begin.
It’s a little intense.
And as a parent, my responsibility is to volunteer in some capacity. Sometimes, I’ve been an announcer, literally saying, “This is the first call for such and such event. Swimmers to your marks. Mister or Madam Referee.”
Other times, I’m holding a button in one hand and a stopwatch in the other as I time the swimmers from start to finish. Inevitably, when I’m timing the heats, I’ll have a queue of swimmers all lined up in order. They range in age, all the way up through high school.
But at a recent meet, I was surprised to see some very young people. Like age 7. There was one particular young man who was standing next to the starter block in his little swimsuit, cap and goggles, and he was shaking, like a frightened animal.He was afraid. This was his first meet.
Now, I was only there as a timekeeper, but this little guy looked right up at me and was clearly in need of some encouragement. We’ll call him Henry.
Henry said, “Do I have to do this? ‘Cause jumpin’ in the water freaks me out!”At first, I didn’t know what to say, but then the words came to me. “Henry, you know how to swim, right?”He sheepishly nodded. It was clear that swimming wasn’t the challenge – it was the loud, high-pressure environment of the meet that seemed to overwhelm him.
“Well, Henry,” I said, “everybody’s just here to get better at swimming. You want to get better at swimming, right?”Again, a small, meek nod.
I said, “Henry, you’re up next. So, I encourage you to just go for it. See how you do. Just enjoy swimming and do your best. You got this.”Something about what I said was enough of a catalyst to Henry for him to mount the starter block and to jump (not dive) into the water and complete his short swim.
Did he get a great time? No. I think he was among the last to finish.
But what do you think happened in his mind as he completed the race?He felt a sort of victory…one that he wouldn’t have felt if he hadn’t jumped in and swam. And I’ll bet anything that the next time he stood by the starter blocks for a meet, he would have less reluctance and more courage.
So, in a way, I served as a sort of “cheering section” for little Henry.
Taking Heart
The word “courage” has to do with “taking heart.” We are courageous from our hearts. But sometimes we need to be “encouraged” by someone else.Henry didn’t need practical advice. He just needed someone to believe in him, cheer him on, and tell him that he was going to be fine.
I have people in my life who encourage me. The words they offer are deeply felt, and deeply needed by me.
When I’m about to lead worship, there are times when I need to be encouraged to step forward in obedience. When I’m about to do a concert, I often need to be encouraged to bring the message I know the Lord wants the audience to hear.
When I’m thinking about writing a song, I sometimes need to be encouraged to express my creativity on that intimidating blank page and to lean into my art, trusting that no matter how many drafts and revisions, there will eventually be a song to share.
The people who encourage me are first under my roof. My wife and daughters believe in me in ways that no one else does. My extended family and my close friends are also very supportive.
There’s also something to be said for fellow musicians who “get it,” and if you’re a musician, this needs no further explanation.
If you’re an aspiring musician, and you’re thinking about learning to play the guitar, you’ll eventually understand that we musicians think about music a little differently from the average music listener. We feel it more deeply in some ways, and we understand it on a whole different level. But that means we often need an extra measure of encouragement in this type of art. We feel things more deeply, including doubt or discouragement.
So, encouragement is vital to our process, and to our calling.
Now, a case could be made for someone who states that they don’t need any encouragement to do their music. Perhaps those kinds of people exist, but I haven’t met them.
However, I’ve found a loophole. Progress with music can still provide encouragement, and perhaps that’s where they receive their form of encouragement to keep going.
But having a “cheering section” in your corner can really help you with morale, perspective, and even the “joy” factor as you continue forward on your musical journey.
So, I believe every guitarist needs a cheering section.
Don’t Give Up
If you’ve ever heard the song “Don’t Give Up” – a duet between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, you know that Peter sings the verses about his struggles, and Kate takes the choruses and the bridge, as she encourages him to keep going, no matter how hard it gets.
If we have people in our circles who can encourage us, we are much less likely to give up. But if someone is living life as an island, they’re in isolation, and they get discouraged about their lack of musical progress or something related to their musical journey, they just might give up.
Speaking transparently, my default setting is to self-isolate when things get hard. I don’t tend to ask for prayer, for encouragement, or for support. I turn inward. This is not good.Have you ever met someone who quit their musical instrument? We all have.
There can be various reasons for quitting an instrument, but I would again submit for your consideration that if someone has a cheering section in their life, they are much less likely to give up.
I invite you to consider spinning back through Guitar Serious Fun Episode 71 – “Why Some People Quit Guitar (and How to Avoid Giving Up)”. There are eight tips I offer in that episode, and the 7th one is to connect with a tribe of guitar players.
I’ll share the African Proverb with you again – “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Right?
We need others.
Kate Bush was a “cheering section” in that song for Peter Gabriel. We need that “cheering section” in some aspect of our lives as we lean into the guitar and music, because the challenging times will come. There will be things that take weeks, months or years to overcome musically, and without that “cheering section,” things could take longer or maybe not even happen.I’ve shared with you about songs I’ve created that have taken upwards of seven years to learn, because they’ve been so complex and technically demanding. Do you think I needed a “cheering section” along the way?
When we’re dealing with people we serve or serve with, who don’t have anything positive to say to us, or who express their lack of appreciation for what we do (see Guitar Serious Fun Episode 70 – “The Underappreciated Guitarist”), we need a cheering section to offer us some affirmation.
When it’s been a while since we’ve felt real momentum on our musical journeys, we need a cheering section.
When we don’t feel like practicing but we know it’s going to be good for us, we need a cheering section.
Next Steps
Let’s say you have people in your life who truly encourage you on a regular basis. That’s great. I praise God for that. If you are feeling encouraged, I encourage you to pass along some encouragement to someone else.
The people who need the most encouragement are probably not going to outright ask for it. I just don’t recall encountering folks who say, “Hey, I could really use some encouragement with my guitar playing. Could you say something to me that might encourage me?” And yet…if encouragement is offered, it’s typically appreciated on some level, or maybe on a very deep level. For those who have an especially deep appreciation for the love language of words of affirmation, the opposite tends to do even more damage. Saying something critical (not constructive) can have lasting effects on these kinds of people…like decades of emotional hurt from a single conversation.I do believe we need to be sturdy vessels, like I talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 58 – “When Someone Criticizes Your Guitar Playing,” but let’s be sure to be kind whenever we can. Those who are receptive to constructive criticism will go far.
But sometimes, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).
And like my mama taught me, “If you don’t have something nice to say, maybe don’t say anything at all,” right?
If you’re spiritually and emotionally sensitive enough, you’ll know when to share your thoughts. Timing is key. Someone who has just stepped off the worship platform from leading might not be ready for immediate feedback of a critical nature (whether constructive or not), even though the socially unaware congregant might be jumping at the chance to “help” them with some thoughts.
Waiting until later in the week to have a conversation (not send an e-mail or text, which can be misinterpreted), might be a better way to serve that individual.
So, look for opportunities to be an encourager, a cheering section.
We each need someone who believes in us. And more people who believe in us can be even better.
Inside GuitarSuccess4U, we host weekly Zoom calls where my members (whom I affectionately call my Guitar Successors), gather for 30 minutes to enjoy informal discussions about any manner of topics, whether practical, theological, philosophical, or to enjoy some time with a guest expert. But everyone leaves these calls deeply encouraged, including me. This is one of the unique aspects of GuitarSuccess4U that I just haven’t found anywhere else; a like-minded community of followers of Christ who are developing their guitar skills at their pace, for the glory of God.
That’s a recipe for sweet fellowship and encouragement.
And if that wasn’t enough, the second lesson of every month inside GuitarSuccess4U is what I call an “Encouragement Lesson,” where I take time to offer an encouraging thought, scripture, story or anecdote that’s intended to build up the viewer and remind them that they are not alone and have what it takes (including the presence of the Lord) to press on and pursue their goals.
Have you experienced a guitar learning environment where encouragement was a value that was “baked into” the experience? I have not. Therefore, I had to create it.
So in terms of next steps, if you haven’t yet found your people, and you value encouragement, you just might want to take a closer look at GuitarSuccess4U. The website is GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Please have a look around and discover what might be missing from your guitar and music journey.
Wrap-Up
As we wrap up today, I’d like to circle back around to the swim meet.
Now, little Henry the swimmer may have instantly forgotten me in the cacophony of that swim meet.
Or maybe…just maybe…he’ll grow up with a faint memory of me cheering him on, so much so that he might soon become a “cheering section” for someone else, not just on his swim team, but in other avenues of life.
Can you sense the “legacy” factor of what I’m alluding to?
We have no promise of tomorrow, but we can leave a legacy. Even today. So, if you can take a step towards encouraging someone else on their journey, you can become a part of something bigger.
I truly hope you do. And I look forward to the possibility of speaking encouragement into your life, even beyond these episodes here. So, keep playing your guitar, keep having serious fun, and if you’re looking for the next level, please consider joining GuitarSuccess4U.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/modes2. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below…
Welcome to the next level of our discussion of modes. If you have some familiarity with modes on the guitar with individual notes and you’re ready to learn how to leverage modes with chords, you’re in the right place.
Now, if you’re not quite ready for this step because you need a little bit of an introduction to modes themselves, I’ve got good news for you. I’ve created a mini-lesson that sets up today’s lesson perfectly. I encourage you to experience that one first from Guitar Serious Fun Episode 76, “The Road to Modes – Part 1: Notes.”
On the other hand, if you’re ready to tackle modes with chords, then let’s jump in with today’s mini-lesson!
Last time, we talked about the 7 diatonic modes. For your review, the names of the modes are: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
The modes with the Major quality are the Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian, and the modes with the minor quality are the Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian and Locrian.
Last time, we played all the modes in the key center of C Major. Just to illustrate that modes can be found based on any key signature, today, let’s use the very guitar-friendly key of G Major.
The seven notes we’ll use to tackle everything we need today are: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#.
One of the useful tools I’ve created for harmonizing a scale, especially in open position, is something I call the Skipping Scale. (And if you want to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 16, “The Art of the Skipping Scale,” please do.)
Basically, we walk up the scale from the lowest version of each note, and skip back down once we hit the open 4th string D.
So, if I play a G Major scale in this way, I’d play the notes G, A, B, C, D, then I’d SKIP down to open E, F#, and finish on G. What’s another name for the G Major scale? That’s right – the G Ionian mode.
All the other modes can be achieved in this manner. I’ll supply a table for the G Major Skipping Scale with my diagram.
These seven notes can then be used for what purpose? To harmonize the scale with chords. We can latch the chords onto these degrees – and with seven notes, how many chords will we use? Wait for it – just seven chords.
Keep them in the same order, and these modes will unfold right before your eyes and ears.
Now, to be fully transparent, I will say that there are two chords in the key of G that are less commonly used, at least by those who are newer to the guitar. The first one is the minor iii chord, B minor, which is commonly articulated as a bar chord.
The other chord which could make things a bit more difficult – but not impossible – is the diminished vii° chord, which is F# diminished. This is not a bar chord, but it may be less familiar to you. (I unpack both of these chords in the video.)
I’m providing a multi-colored table for you that shows all seven of these modes lined up in such a way that the identical chords and qualities are in columns, even though their contexts are different. I’ve captured in blue the chords that depart from the Major key, and I’ve captured in pink the chords that depart from a natural minor key.
Note that every mode has Roman numerals I through VII, but that they are each different, depending on the mode. The upper-case Roman numerals are Major, and the lower case are minor and on one occasion, diminished. But see how they all line up, as we survey the entire collection of modes in a key signature of one sharp.
I invite you to play through each of the modes, starting and ending on the first chord. For example, A Dorian mode starts and ends on A minor.
Ok, are you ready for some practical application? Let me ask you a question. When I play a song in a key, do I always play all the chords in that key? Usually, no. But there are distinct chords I can use that fall where the modal scale has been altered, which can add the flavors I need.
Let’s say I’m in the more major-quality D Mixolydian mode, here in the key signature of one sharp, and I want to play the chords on degrees I, V, VII and IV.
Normally, in a D Major scale with two sharps, those would be I, V, vii° and IV.
But in the D Mixolydian Mode, we only have one sharp, and the two middle chords in this progression that will be impacted by this difference will be the minor v chord and the Major VII chord, which will be totally transformed.
We instead have I, v, VII, and IV with D, A minor, C Major, and G. Very different. Much more epic. Much more refreshing. Much more…modal!
What about a minor-quality mode like A Dorian? Normally, A minor has zero sharps, so if I played i, III, iv, I’d end up with A minor, C Major, and the minor iv chord, D minor, which is fine.
But what about deriving a mode from this key signature of one sharp? What does that F# do to a D minor chord? It makes it a D Major chord. Now, we have A minor, C Major, and D Major. Much more mysterious. Much more hauntingly beautiful…and again, more modal!
So, as you can see, modes can really come alive with chords as well. And modal melodies can sound beautiful over modal chord progressions, again in multiple styles of music.
Thanks for journeying with me today on the road to modes.
If you want to go deeper, we dedicate a concise but thorough module to discovering all the modes in multiple guitar-friendly keys with scales and chords, inside GuitarSuccess4U. Talk about equipping you for artistry! Please check out what we’ve got going on at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Keep showing up to raise the bar with your mental and motor skills on the guitar!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
I’m thrilled to welcome a special guest back to Guitar Serious Fun.
Today’s episode includes a discussion for what it’s like when our guitar gifts aren’t needed, and the unexpected blessings of what that might entail.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because our guest is super engaging and enthusiastic, and listening to her will be inspiring and uplifting in many ways. I’m not kidding!
Our guest, Erin Pakinas, is a mother of 5, lives on a farm, has a humorous and godly perspective on life, and she and her husband are pursuing Christ’s glory as they do their good work.Together with our pastor’s wife Morgan Higgins, Erin hosts a podcast called Hauling Off, which speaks to a variety of topics around our church and classical school.
Erin and her husband are members of GuitarSuccess4U, and she was our previous special guest for Guitar Serious Fun Episode 61, “Embracing ‘Good’ Difficult with Guitar and More.”
I encourage you to listen to that episode as well!
When I approached Erin to come back and be a guest with us again, she was delighted to do so.So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about some intentional strategies for making your gear last, especially your music gear.
Speaking of gear, I’m pretty excited today, because the podcast version of today’s episode marks the debut of the use of my new Blue Yeti microphone. I’m hoping it captures the nuances of my speaking voice even better than the way I was recording it previously. In the podcast version of today’s episode, I offer an A/B comparison between it and the Sony PCM-D50 Professional Portable Stereo Digital Audio Recorder, which I’ve used for all our previous podcast episodes up until now
Here’s my new little recording setup with the Yeti.
I’m not well-versed in the arena of sound equalization or E.Q., so if you are, and you get a chance to listen to the podcast version, perhaps you might offer a constructive thought in the comments that will help this sound even better.
But I want to give a shout-out to my brother-in-law, Marc, for giving me the mic, to my friend Hollis for re-soldering it and giving it a more robust connection, to my sister-in-law, Tauryn and her family, for giving me a shock mount so the signal is uninterrupted by bumps to the mic stand, to my folks-in-law, Bill and Jane, for giving me a pop filter to prevent plosives with the ps and ts that will inevitably be a part of things, and to my wife, Whitney for ordering me the necessary cable so I can record to my computer, rather than to a portable audio recorder.
Many hands do make lighter work. I’m truly blessed to have this next level of gear, and I look forward to fine-tuning the mic, and the room, to make these episodes sound even better.
Speaking of the next level of gear, let’s talk about your gear today, whether it’s your guitar, or anything you use to make your guitar sound good out there.
I have a philosophy about equipment that I learned from my father. And it’s this: buy good gear, and take good care of it.
He’s got tools, fishing gear, and more. And he usually goes the extra mile to buy a higher quality version of something, and then to take extra good care of it.
Now, as we talked about in Guitar Serious Fun episode 25, “Is the Guitar Future-Proof?” there are some pieces of equipment that simply need to be replaced over time.
But here are 10 ways to make your music gear last.
1. Buy the best gear you can for the longest stretch.
There are certain price brackets for certain types of gear that jump significantly based on the materials they are made with. Sometimes, these are the cables or the hardware we use to conduct our signal chain. Other times they are the software applications and there’s going to be a discernable difference from product to product based on cost, or even within different tiers or versions of the same product.
Lastly, as you might expect, some guitars are more expensive based on the woods they are made of, and whether aspects of them are handmade, and even the name of the luthier on the head stock.
2. Handle your gear properly.
I understand that this is probably a given, but I’ve seen people handle their equipment in a less than gentle manner.
Exempli gratia: coiling cables. I’ve seen folks wrap them around their elbow like an extension cord…wait for it – even sound technicians at churches.This is not optimal, since it can lead to faster wear-and-tear and a reduction in signal connectivity. Instead, I recommend the over/under method with the large wrist motion and the small finger motion. If you don’t know what this is, reach out to me and I may be able to demonstrate it for you in one of my social media videos.
3. Encourage others to treat your gear well.
I did a show once with multiple other artists, and we all had our gear onstage. I had a tuning fork carefully resting on a dish towel that was on a metal music stand, and I watched in disbelief as a drummer came up and grabbed it. Before I could speak, he said, “Don’t mind if I do,” and he began banging it against the top of the metal music stand.I stopped him and said, “I mind if you do. That’s a very precise instrument for tuning. Can I show you how to use it?”
He was a bit taken aback, but he was young and inexperienced, so I offered him a quick lesson in how I use the fork. I tapped it against my knee and also against my elbow. Bone is softer than metal, especially bone with some tissue over it. Hitting a tuning fork against metal will eventually cause it not to be able to tune as well. Other precise pieces of equipment need to be handled properly by us and others.
4. Transport it well.
When I go on tour and I drive, I carefully stow my gear in hard cases so that nothing gets damaged. This includes my mixer, that I use to mix levels from stage.
Even if gear gets carried by folks who are helping me load in or load out, the cases I use are sturdy enough to sustain being dropped. Not that I want to have any of my gear dropped…I just want to be ready for the rigors of the road.
When I fly, I put “fragile” stickers on my hard case for my guitar, and in my suitcase, I wrap some of my more fragile equipment in some of my clothes.
I even put some of my long pieces of equipment like my violin bow and the antennae for my wireless receiver – inside capped percussion tubes called Boomwhackers. They serve as protective enclosures, but they’re also a part of my show. I love dual-purpose stuff.
Anything I can do to protect my gear from being jostled about and getting damaged allows me to transport it well.
5. Store it well.
I had an IT guy who served our family for years who described some of our laptops like saddles for horses. He said they’d been “ridden hard and hung up wet.” I don’t know much about saddles, but if they are mostly made of leather, and they’re “hung up wet” they might not be as responsive the next time we get them out for a ride, right?So, having an instrument like a guitar put away well can be good. What does this mean? Maybe tuning it before it goes in its case or up on the wall. Maybe wiping down the neck with a cloth so that the oils in our hands don’t wear down the finish of the fretboard and further oxidize the strings.
In our guest expert interview inside GuitarSuccess4U with the Master Luthiers of Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, they talk about how even normal play can cause wear-and-tear on the guitar neck, simply because of the oils in our fingers. They offer several suggestions like the one I just offered. They also have some products they recommend for re-oiling the neck properly to protect it. Basically, instead of just putting the guitar in its case, or on the wall, you can “hang it up dry” so that it’s more responsive and has more longevity.
6. Keep it maintained.
Some gear, especially instruments, does better if it’s been taken to the shop occasionally. I again mention Mike Lull’s Guitar Works – the only shop I’ve trusted since the year 2000. They know what to do whenever I take my guitars to them.
7. Only adjust and repair within your ability.
One more shout-out to Mike Lull’s Guitar Works. I don’t do anything to repair my guitars, and I don’t even feel comfortable adjusting the truss rod. That may sound crazy, but that’s just where I’m at.
For those who like to fix and set up their own guitars, you have my respect.
But because I play in so many alternate tunings and have customized electronics, a bone nut and bone saddle, and my instrument is so unique, I’d rather not be the one to adjust and repair it. That’s just my preference.
I love to pay people to do what they do best. I’ve had people ask me to work with them on capturing their music for an audio recording. That’s just not what I do. I’m not a studio engineer or a producer.
Instead of building out a studio of recording gear, I’ve instead chosen to focus on my song craft, my stage presentation, and the content creation, like what you’re experiencing right now.
To try to be “jack of all trades / master of none” does not appeal to me, so again, I’ll delegate to someone who can capably adjust and repair my gear. When it comes to Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, I really don’t trust anyone else.
As for cables, I met someone on my tour who does a great job with soldering and heat-shrinking my cables, so I go to him to do that; otherwise, I’d probably damage my cables if I tried.
If you have someone you trust to do adjustments and repairs (even if that’s yourself), great. But if you don’t trust yourself, like I don’t trust myself, there is strength and wisdom in delegating these tasks.
8. Beware of dust.
If an instrument is sitting out for any length of time, specifically a mixing board or a keyboard, there can be a very real possibility of getting dust in between the knobs or the keys. And dust, over time, leads to a faster decline of the instrument’s operational capacity.
All it takes is a cover to keep this from happening. I have a custom-shaped cover that stretches over and protects my keyboard. The cover I bought for my mixer is a bit smaller than the mixer itself, so I use a piece of gaff tape to hold it on…or even lay a black dishcloth over it. This works in a pinch.
And as a bonus, if my gear is set up at a concert venue, having the mixer covered can keep curious hands from wanting to turn the knobs. This has happened in the past.
9. Loan your gear out with care.
There are lots of words of wisdom out there, including Polonius’ soliloquy from Hamlet in Act 1, Scene 3, where he says, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Now, this involves money, but I’d say that these words of caution could inform whether we choose to loan our instruments or equipment out.
I don’t want to get too caught up in protecting my equipment that I don’t have a gracious, generous spirit, but I will say that I’ve loaned out gear, only to have it returned in worse shape than when I first had it. I loaned a prized signed DVD to someone of a live concert, and it came back heavily scratched. It still plays, but it was clearly left “reading face down” on a table or something.
I’ve had other pieces of equipment borrowed and returned in less-than-optimal condition. I’m not trying to hold onto the past too tightly, but I do think we can learn from these kinds of experiences. I also wouldn’t feel comfortable loaning out my best guitar to someone. I’m all right having them play it as I supervise, but I’m not ok with it leaving my sight for any amount of time. It’s just too dear to me. Lastly…
10. Keep your gear safe.
“Safe” is a subjective term, because a measure of safety for one person may be very different from another. Some folks would say leaving your guitar in the trunk of your car in a parking lot while you go shopping is “safe.” I would not, for two reasons which you may be realizing even as I speak to you.
First, if someone wants to, they could “borrow” your guitar out of your car without returning it for the rest of your life. In plain language, I’m talking about theft. I know people this has happened to.
The other reason why I don’t recommend leaving a guitar in your trunk is this: if it gets warm outside, so will your guitar, and if it’s a particularly hot day, the glue that holds your instrument together could melt, thereby turning the instrument into firewood. Another tip I have is to take photos of your guitar so you can identify it, including the serial number. In the case that it does get stolen, and if for some reason it resurfaces in a pawn shop or an online re-selling retailer, you can produce documentation of the serial number and hopefully re-claim it.
These are just two tips from a special PDF and video I offer my members inside GuitarSuccess4U. This bonus is called “10 Ways to Keep Your Guitar Safe,” and it unlocks with Lesson 12 in the Foundations stage of our Success Path.
I encourage you to join GuitarSuccess4U, not just for that collection of wisdom, but also for access to an entire battle-tested Success Path with six incredible stages, plus eight guest expert interviews that represent hundreds of years of collective wisdom, and lastly, a community of like-minded followers of Christ who are also pursuing their dreams on the guitar for the glory of God.So, buy good gear, and take good care of it. These are the 10 tips, one more time:
1. Buy the best gear you can for the longest stretch.
2. Handle your gear properly.
3. Encourage others to treat your gear well.
4. Transport it well.
5. Store it well.
6. Keep it maintained.
7. Only adjust and repair within your ability.
8. Beware of dust.
9. Loan your gear out with care.
10. Keep your gear safe.
Well, I hope today’s episode offered you some tangible tips to enrich your journey as a guitarist and as a musician. Our gear is essential to our art, and for many of us, it makes the difference for how well a musical offering is presented. We want our gear to work well for us.The key is to take care of our gear, so that it will take care of us.If you have anything you’d add to this list, please offer your suggestion in the comments. I’m honored to share my insights with you here, and as you’ve probably gotten the sense of, I count it a privilege to minister to the members of GuitarSuccess4U as I share from my almost thirty years of experience doing this thing.
If you want a glimpse at what we offer inside the membership, please head on over right now to GuitarSuccess4U.com. It’s designed for a very specific niche of guitarists, and perhaps you are in that niche. It could be exactly what your guitar journey needs right now.
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode. I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I took my car in for an oil change recently, and as I suspected, the brakes had worn down to where it was time to talk about replacing them.
The guy at the counter said they were at 3 millimeters, which is dangerously close to being gone. After a quick phone call to my wife about the timing of having the brakes replaced, I told the guy at the shop, “My wife and I have decided that it would be good for us to be able to stop.”Out of nowhere, a very clever bystander quipped, “Well, you’re gonna stop…it’s just a question of how and when.”
Very true.
I definitely think it’s better to be able to have some control over stopping my vehicle, rather than the alternative.
You may be a musician or worship guitarist who plays music full time. You may enjoy music as a hobby.
But if you’ve ever tasted burnout in any aspect of your life you know that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Sometimes it can be exhilarating to skirt the edge of burnout with all the things we’re trying to tackle, but there can be a mental and physical toll on us of we push ourselves too hard.
And then we crash.
Whatever your musical posture and skill set, I’ve got a few ideas to share with you today along the theme of rest.
Let me ask you a rhetorical question. Are rests a part of music? Absolutely. Whether we play from actual notation, or just charts with words and chords, a well-written song will have moments where some musicians play less or not at all at times.
If you want a clear indicator of the importance of rests in songs with lyrics, think about what a 4-minute song would sound like with non-stop vocals. I mean literally, a voice singing throughout the entire song without taking a single breath. With a little studio digital magic, this is actually one of many things that are possible. But our ears need breaks where the vocalist stops singing, if only for a moment, as the band takes over.
Ears can get fatigued as well. More on that in a bit.
Guitar may be the undercurrent of a song, especially if it’s strummed rhythm guitar, but even if we drill down into a strumming groove, we typically find that the pick isn’t grazing the strings every time it passes over them.
Ergo, there are even rests in strumming patterns.As I talk about in GuitarSuccess4U, there are an infinite number of strumming patterns, due to the characteristics of when we are not making contact with the strings.
And in terms of the bigger picture of our daily rhythm, perhaps there are times when we pause from our guitar playing as well. What does that look like, and how does it help us to resume with greater focus, passion and momentum?
Now as I mentioned in Guitar Through the Seasons, Guitar Serious Fun Episode 17 and Episode 18, there will be times in our lives when we set down our guitars.
But what about incorporating rest as a part of our routine?
Here are a few thoughts.
1. Good sleep helps us play better.
If you’ve ever pulled an all-nighter or two with studying for an exam, you know that in the short-term, sleep can be postponed. But it can’t be eliminated.
Having multiple gigs in a row, or a very late night can be doable, but it’s not sustainable. Getting good rest, especially when a musician is on the road, is essential.
Younger folks tend to want to stay out late, push the limits, and think about their choices later. I’ve played late night song sets, and closing sets at festivals. These sets have been 10 p.m. or even as late as midnight, to ring in the New Year.
They can be super fun, especially since they can draw a crowd of fans that is just getting their evening started at that point. One of our members in GuitarSuccess4U went to a multi-day bluegrass festival where folks were informally jamming until 5 a.m.
For the festival, that’s fine. As a habit, eventually there will be a price to pay, and that includes compromising our health and our concentration…to say nothing of what sleep deprivation does to someone’s singing voice.
And in terms of safety, I know people personally, (including musicians) who have been so tired that they’ve fallen asleep at the wheel and experienced a rather intense “wakeup call” when they’ve driven off the road.
Caffeine can help, but when it comes to rhythms of rest for our recovery, there’s no substitute for literal rest in the form of sleep.
2. Taking breaks preserves our muscles.
If you’ve ever played a really long concert set, practiced for multiple hours straight, or tried to get the most out of a block of studio time, you could be overdoing it with your hands and voice.
The intricate muscles of our hands and vocal cords are fearfully and wonderfully made by our Heavenly Father, but they have also been entrusted to us for the long game. I’ve met folks who have sustained injuries like chronic vocal fatigue, carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injury. They have regretted how aggressive they’ve been with their bodies, and in retrospect, they wish they had heeded the early warning signs of injuries they’re now recovering from.
I certainly don’t want to be negative, but I do want to be realistic. If we don’t build in regular intervals in our routines to rest and not play or sing, we could overdo it.
But there’s something also to be said for warming up and stretching.
As I talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34, “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?”, There was a season early on in my career where I played so much guitar that I overdid it. How did I know? I was unable to pick up my firstborn infant daughter without experiencing shooting pain through my wrists.
Fortunately, these were early warning signs that I was on my way to injuring myself…I had not yet permanently done so.
So, what did I do at this point? Well, I read multiple books on carpal tunnel syndrome prevention, as well as the prevention of repetitive strain injury. These books are written for people who do things repetitively like painting, assembling things in an assembly line or pulling espresso shots.
But more importantly than these books, I sought the counsel of a very gifted physical therapist who was able to observe my posture, down to the angles of my wrists as I played my guitar. He was able to diagnose the problem.
But beyond this, he prescribed three very specific stretches that have been absolute game-changers for me. Not only do I use these before I practice; they have prevented further injury and pain for over a decade and a half.
I have taken intentional steps inside the early lessons of GuitarSuccess4U to demonstrate and teach all three of these stretches, and my members have benefitted tremendously from them. I will say that everyone’s physical limits are different; some folks come with previously existing injuries, so I always caution everyone who tries these stretches out, to take them slowly and listen to their bodies.
But if we are playing demanding passages of music on our guitars, especially acoustic guitars with steel strings, and we feel our fretting hand forearm getting warm, that’s a sort of caution light.
So, it’s important to take breaks, but also to stretch and warm up (or even warm down) around our practice, performing, worship leading or studio time. Rhythms of rest are found in these avenues as well.
3. Building in margin keeps us balanced.
Younger kids get recess during school. Adults get coffee breaks at work. We all need breaks.
When it comes to the recording studio, typically time is blocked out in hours. But here’s the thing; unless we’re able to take a few breaks during our recording sessions, we can overdo it, especially if we’re “on the clock,” and we’re the ones paying for the time.
Some of my most relaxed recording studio sessions have been shorter, like less than two hours, because I came well-prepared and didn’t have to play a segment over and over. I was able to avoid repetitive strain injury because of this.
So here’s some wisdom: don’t let the studio be your experimental space where you’re creatively coming up with new ways of playing your song on the guitar.
Sure, there may be slight spontaneous variations, but if someone is exerting their hands on a piece over and over and trying to mentally grasp what they want from the song, and they don’t have a clear idea, and it leads to hours of playing the same thing over and over, it can be a recipe for fatigue.
Having a game plan, and an end of session time marking can be good. It sets an expectation that we come prepared and – wait for it – we stop, even if we haven’t gotten the takes we want.
There’s no shame in coming back later to do a better take. There is a problem with playing for many hours, hoping to get it right, even as focus and strength are waning.
A much lower pressure environment is the practice space. We can assign ourselves a practice regimen that stays limited to 30 or maybe 60 minutes. Anything more than 60 minutes of guitar playing needs to be followed by an intentional break.
Trust me – your mind, hands and ears will appreciate the margin.
As for the concert or the worship service, typically your hands will get breaks when other musicians play, or you tell a story, or there are other components of the service like the sermon, etc. Unless you paint yourself into a corner with a 4-hour concert, you’ll be fine.
The only 4-hour set I did that I can remember was a farmer’s market, but what I was able to do was alternate between guitar, keyboard and hammered dulcimer, and I made sure that the songs I was playing were not too demanding.
I also had the option to stop for a few moments between songs to grab a sip of water, or greet friends who had come to the market. It was a pretty low-key venue.
Even when I’ve heard performers do longer concerts, whether at a coffee shop or a grandstand, they’ve taken breaks. With a coffee shop venue, it’s almost expected; the proprietors want the artist to stop and let the people queue up for beverages and refreshments. It adds to their profit for the evening.
We have a venue here in Washington State called the Gorge Amphitheater, right on the Columbia River. It accommodates about 19,000 people. I remember attending a sold-out concert there performed by James Taylor in 2003. The show was almost three hours long.
Halfway through the concert, James said with a twinkle in his eye, “We’re going to go backstage and…think about what we’ve done.” That was his way of saying he and his bandmates needed a break.
Where were 19,000 people going to go during James Taylor’s break?
The answer is: nowhere.
We just sat in our seats, some of us stood up and stretched, chatted with our neighbors, and we took about 20-30 minutes to give James the margin he needed so that he could come back and give us a great closing set.
So, a rhythm of rest in taking breaks that lead to margin in any venue helps us find that balance that allows for our best musical offerings.
4. Time away from music keeps our ears fresh.
My parents gave my eldest daughter a t-shirt for her 16th birthday that said, “A day without music is like…just kidding – I have no idea.”
She has such a deep love for music of many styles, eras and genres that it’s rare to witness her not listening to music. And that’s ok.
But studio engineers will tell you that they need time away from an audio project to keep their ears from playing tricks on themselves. They literally build in time away from their studio, not listening to music, or at least not listening to the music they’re mixing, so that they can get the right mix in the end.
One of my dear friends and collaborators is a studio engineer, and he has literally told me that if he spends too much time mixing a project without a break, he’ll have to go back and start over, because he’ll experience what he calls “ear fatigue.”
So even a rhythm of rest when it comes to listening can be important to consider.
Wrap-up
As we wind down today, I’m hoping you’ll take away from our discussion that it’s not just about rest. It’s about a rhythm of rest. Where we work, and then we relax. We play, and then we rest. We pursue another aspect of a project, and then we sleep.
Rhythm is all around us. It’s in our heartbeats, our breathing, and our footsteps. The conversations we have with others, whether verbal or musical, have a sort of rhythm that involves exchanging ideas and thoughts. We alternate listening with speaking, or listening with playing.
Why should our music and our resting be any different? So, whether you’re thinking it would be important to get good sleep, take breaks, build in margin, or even take time away from music, these thoughts could be good medicine for your long-game success.
The Lord set a beautiful example for us when He rested on the seventh day. Although the Lord’s Day is typically a day when I’m serving with music, I do try to build in a day of margin on the weekend so that I, too can have rest.
But the beautiful result of building in the rest we need as musicians is this: when we get back to work, we are refreshed, more focused, and ready to make great music again.
I also find that I think more clearly and creatively when I’ve had good rest. And clarity and creativity are essential to my work. Even the words I’m stringing together for this episode require tremendous focus and creativity, which I love to pour out…but only when I’m well rested.
Well, I hope today’s discussion gave you some good insights and provided the opportunity to reflect and perhaps strategize about your rhythms of rest. If you have thoughts on what I’ve shared here, please comment.
Also, feel free to share today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun with someone you know. We’re working to make these episodes available to more listeners and readers, because we think they could enrich the lives of a lot of Christian guitarists.
Lastly, if you don’t have a guitar teacher and you’re looking for a game-changing learning experience for your next season of guitar playing, take a moment to explore GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Talk about intentional rhythms that allow for rest. Our six stage Success Path, the sequence of weekly lessons each month, the carefully timed guest expert interviews…they are all laid out in a clear, intentional rhythm that allows for plenty of rest and refreshment.
GuitarSuccess4U could be the rhythm you need in this season of your guitar journey.
So, get some rest, take some breaks, build some margin, and take a little time away. And watch how refreshed you become when you get back to the music you love to play.
Thanks for experiencing my thoughts here at Guitar Serious Fun. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/Modes1. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below…
Have you always wanted to experiment with modes on your guitar?
Welcome to a clear, concise discussion that will light the path for you on “The Road to Modes.” I’m here to show you some important first steps towards claiming all 7 modes on your guitar.
So, what’s a mode in music? Well, basically it’s a 7-note scale.
Even if you’re not a lead guitarist, it’s super helpful to understand the 7 modes and how they differ from each other, because there’s a very real chance that you might sing a modal melody. And…spoiler alert – Part 2 of this 2-part mini-series will focus on modes with chords. The good news is that each mode is based on 7 notes. The better news is that they can all be played with the same 7 notes. All we need to do is start on a different note, as we keep them in the same order.In a nutshell, the 7 modes, which can be derived from the Major scale in this order, are: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. The modes with the Major quality are the Ionian, Lydian and Mixolydian, and the modes with the minor quality are the Dorian, Phrygian, Aeolian and Locrian.
How in the wide world of sports do we memorize these names?
Well, I’ve got two fun mnemonic memory devices for you. Choose the one you like better. The first one is: I Don’t Punch Like Muhammad A-Li. The second one is: I Don’t Play Loud Music Any Longer.
Today, we’ll just be focusing on the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, starting and ending on each of the 7 notes. I’m providing some handy fretboard diagrams of all 7 modes in open position, but the video has much more.
Here are some unique descriptions of the 7 modes, each of which is built on sequential degrees of the Major scale.
The Ionian Mode is actually the Major scale.
Next is the Dorian Mode, which is like a natural minor scale with a raised 6th degree.
Then we have the Phrygian Mode, which is like a natural minor scale with a lowered 2nd degree.
After that, we have the Lydian Mode, which is like a Major scale with a raised 4th degree.
Then we have the Mixolydian Mode, which is like a Major scale with a lowered 7th degree.
Following this, we have the Aeolian Mode, which is better known as the natural minor scale.
Finally, we have the Locrian Mode, which is the most unstable of all the modes, and which is like a natural minor scale with a lowered 2nd degree AND a lowered 5th degree.
As you can see, each mode is slightly different. All it takes is one small change to one mode to transform it into a different mode.
To use an analogy, if I’m trying to call someone on the phone using a 7-digit number, but I change just one of those digits as I dial, I’ll call someone else, right?
To demonstrate how each of the modes sounds different, I encourage you to watch the accompanying video where I take the well-known public domain melody “Joy to the World” (which is a descending Major scale) and I bring it through each of the 7 modes.
Now, just for the sake of argument, what if I ignore the rules of the mode? Well, things won’t sound quite right.
Here’s a quintessential example: the traditional melody for Scarborough Fair. It belongs in D Dorian, but if I changed one note – the raised 6th degree of the scale – the B natural, as and lower it to B flat, changing the D Dorian mode back to the D natural minor scale you’d recognize the change instantly. (I do this in the video as well.)
So now you’re a bit more familiar with modes. (Watching the video will help you see and hear them too.)
The next step is to familiarize yourself with how they feel on the fretboard as you play them, whether in open position, or inside any moveable scale form. I recommend starting with the key center of C Major, but you can play any mode in any key signature.
Where do we find modes, especially the ones that aren’t simply Major or minor? Everywhere.
They’re hiding in plain sight in classic rock, modern rock, electronica, classical music, Spanish guitar music, pop music, film scores, Celtic music, jazz music, folk tunes, and of course, worship music.
We just need to know what to look for, and especially what to listen for. Once we have command of these modes, we can use them for our own arranging and composing.
We cover a lot more ground and go much deeper with modes and many other relevant artistic and musical concepts for guitar inside GuitarSuccess4U. I encourage you to check it out even now, while you’re thinking about it. It could change the game for you.
P.S. Be on the lookout for part 2 of this 2-part series where we leverage modes with chords. See you then!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about 12 intentional strategies that lead to playing complete songs, which leads to a complete experience for you and your listeners and the expansion of your repertoire.
I came across a Dave Matthews Band guitar songbook a while ago in my local Guitar Center called “Just the Riffs.” It contained literally the most notable guitar riffs from some of their best songs.
Around that same time, I heard a guy jamming in the showroom on some of those same riffs, but here’s what I found interesting. He was only able to start the songs. He hadn’t taken the time to learn any of the songs he was jamming on in their entirety.
On the flipside, I found another book with complete transcriptions of Dave’s songs, and I took the time to learn a few of those songs, note for note. It took more time and more focus, but the rewards were much greater.
Lots of music stores are haunted by guitar players who can play part of a song…like the intro or the signature riff.
Maybe that’s why the movie Wayne’s World had that scene with the sign on the wall that said “No ‘Stairway to Heaven.’”
Our guitar playing can be replete with small segments of songs.
But what about learning a complete song? That’s sometimes easier said than done, especially if it’s a more technical piece. But I believe it can be done, with the right strategies.
Here are 12 strategies for helping you learn a complete song.
1. Invite the Lord into your process.
Let’s remember that the Lord is the Giver of our gifts. He has endowed us with the ability to see, hear, and play music, and He is the One in whose strength we can walk best.
To try to embark on any endeavor without the Lord is considered foolish.
Psalm 127:1 reminds us that “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.”
I love the idea of asking the Lord to guide me in the selection of my next song, and then to empower me with self-discipline and dedication to see it through.
2. Start with a song that’s within your ability.
In my experience, it’s much more motivating to tackle an easier song and move on to a more challenging song, than to go in reverse. Hitting a ceiling and realizing we can’t quite get there yet can be discouraging.
I’ve mentioned this before, but several years ago I had a student come to my guitar studio for his first lesson with me (and his first lesson on the guitar) and he stated that the first song he wanted to be able to play on the guitar was Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix.
Again, he had never played the guitar before, so after I gently cautioned him to learn some beginning and intermediate skills so as to build up to such a challenging song, he left…and I never saw him again.I can only hope that he took a strategic approach to building his skill set before embarking on Purple Haze.
It’s about a balance – we want to play music that thrills us and sounds good, but we have to be realistic about what we’re expecting of ourselves in this season of playing. We can be overambitious, but that can lead to frustration. This makes me think of the quote from the first Top Gun movie where Captain Tom “Stinger” Jordan says, “Your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.”
Let’s do what’s within reach, and stay humble in the process, keeping our egos in check.Side note: humility is much more becoming to us as followers of Christ than arrogance. Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”This mindset will allow us to embark on songs that are within our reach.
3. Choose just one song, and focus on it.In my experience, it can be easy to add half a dozen songs to the mix and not really make much progress on any of them. The effort is more “wide” than “deep.”
The songs end up competing with each other for quality time on your instrument.
If you have a hard time deciding, list the songs in order of preference or interest, and start with just one, knowing that once you’ve tackled it, you can move on to the next one.
4. Set a deadline for when you want to be able to play it.
Being “able to play it” is a flexible phrase. Do you mean play it “all the way through?” Hopefully that’s implied by today’s discussion. What about “at tempo?” That’s another level.
I recommend being able to play it all the way through, at tempo. At that point, I’d say you’ve become familiar with the song enough to say that you’ve learned it.
Perhaps we’ll dedicate a future episode of Guitar Serious Fun to the process of memorizing and internalizing songs for our repertoire. Stay tuned…
But setting a deadline acts as a catalyst. Writing it down on the calendar (like Dawn Jones talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 69 – “How to Read it on the Run with Guitar and More”) gives us much more momentum and increases the likelihood of getting it done by 60%.
Contrast this to the all-too-easy mental thought process of “I’m working on it; we’ll see when I can make time to get it done.” Yeah, that’s less definitive than setting a deadline.
Want a real catalyst? Commit to having the song ready for a worship set, or for a concert. There’s nothing like an upcoming endeavor in front of people to get you practicing and working on a song.
5. Ask for gentle accountability.
Asking for accountability is like ordering a healthy meal at a restaurant. You know it’s going to be good for you, and once you’ve placed the order, you know it’s going to be coming, even if you don’t love the taste of it as much as the “less healthy” food.
Having someone in your world who can check in with you in a friendly way, similar to a workout buddy, can act as another catalyst to spur you on towards completing the learning process on the song.
If you set a desired completion date, you can ask them to check in with you at specific intervals with a quick text message or verbal conversation to see how it’s going.
Each time they check in, they provide a gentle reminder of what you’re hoping to get done.
6. Set digital reminders.
Perhaps you’re not quite ready to open a conversation with a real person. That’s fine.
You can leverage your phone, e-mail, calendar, or even futureme.com (where you write a digital letter now to your future self, to be opened sometime in the future.)
These digital reminders can be less intense than an actual person checking in on you, but they can also be less effective, because it’s much easier to hit “snooze” or “delete” than to “ghost” a friend’s communication when they reach out to you, especially if they care about you and remain lovingly persistent.
7. Listen to a recording of the finished song…often.
My daughter and I were reflecting recently on how much music stays in our minds after we’ve heard it.
In the 1994 picture “The Shawshank Redemption,” inmate Andy Dufresne played an LP in the warden’s office of the short duet “Sull’aria” from The Marriage of Figaro. For broadcasting it across the whole prison and turning up the volume when the warden asked him to stop, Andy was punished with two weeks in “the hole,” a dark place of solitary confinement.
When he returned to the general population of the prison and sat down to lunch with his fellow inmates, he said that his time in “the hole” was “the easiest time” he ever did. They couldn’t believe it.
He said, “I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company,” to which his friend Floyd said, “So they let you tote that record player down there?”“No,” Andy said, motioning first to his head, “It was in here.” Then he motioned to his heart, “and in here. That’s the power of music. They can’t get that from you.”Music is so powerful. Listen to it. If there’s a recording of the song you want to be able to play, listen to it. A lot.
Just listening to it will allow you to experience the subtleties and nuances of it, including the artistry and dynamics, as well as the mechanics of tempo, chord changes, and melodies or other elements.
8. Practice the song with a metronome.
Try playing the song at varying speeds with a metronome. See how well you can keep up.
The metronome keeps us honest, because it won’t slow down for us if we’re dragging, and it won’t speed up with us if we’re rushing. A metronome (or a metronome app) can be a huge blessing in helping us recover our tempo awareness on a song. I tend to push the tempo, especially when I get excited or nervous (and yes, I still get nervous from time to time after over 25 years of playing the guitar in front of people.)
9. Practice the song with the recording.This is a step I’ve rarely seen people take, especially when it comes to worship music. They just want to show up and jam the song with the worship band, which is fine.
But what about playing along with some really solid recorded musicians who really don’t care how many times you want to go over the song?
Honestly, this approach is even better than playing with a metronome, because it helps facilitate a level of memory work that can lead to more visual independence from the page. I highly recommend it.
10. Practice with the song recording in your desired key and position.
I rarely play worship songs in their original keys due to the vocal ranges of some of today’s worship vocalists. But by leveraging a tool like NCH Software’s WavePad, I’m able to take the purchased audio track and transpose it (down, usually) to a key that’s more suitable for my voice.
On a side note, WavePad has the capacity to change tempo and pitch independently. So, if I need to decrease the tempo of the recording to 75%, this can make the song even more attainable in the early practicing stages without lowering the pitch.
I will say that playing short segments at tempo is better than playing the whole song slowly, because playing at tempo engages the muscle memory much more effectively.But there are all kinds of digital tools that we can use to bring songs closer to us. The key is to make sure we don’t rely too heavily on the tools, but instead lean into actually practicing and learning.
11. Play the song for a “safe” audience.
Music is best when shared. Before you “go public,” I encourage you to connect with a family member or a friend who’s willing to listen to you play the song.
You can invite them to give you their undivided attention and to offer their feedback based on their experience, or you can encourage them to listen with “divided” attention while they’re doing something else (like cooking or folding laundry.)
Just knowing that they’re listening to you play can compel you to complete the song, much more so than if you were playing it alone in your practice space.
A “safe” audience provides a “soft” opening before you step out into the real world and present the song on a stage or platform.
Remember, the sound of the song is only a part of it. Your body language and facial expressions, as well as your visual independence from your printed charts and even your guitar, are important additional elements.
12. Keep the song fresh.
Once you’ve got the song under your fingers (and if applicable, in your voice), ideally, it’s good to play it frequently enough that your fingers (and voice) can make it happen almost on command. This is the art of practicing and maintaining a repertoire.I read an article in a music magazine from the 1980s that reinforced this. The author, whose name I cannot recall, said, “Don’t forget to practice your repertoire. Practice the songs you know. Make sure these songs are ready at a moment’s notice to be shared with your audience.”As worship leaders, our audience is the Lord, but you get it – sharing a song publicly is very different from practicing it alone in our rehearsal space.
Re-cap
So to review, I encourage you to take these 12 steps to be able to play through an entire guitar song:
1. Invite the Lord into your process.
2. Start with a song that’s within your ability.
3. Choose just one song, and focus on it.
4. Set a deadline for when you want to be able to play it.
5. Ask for gentle accountability.
6. Set digital reminders.
7. Listen to a recording of the finished song…often.
8. Practice the song with a metronome
9. Practice the song with the recording.
10. Practice with the song recording in your desired key and position.
11. Play the song for a “safe” audience.
12. Keep the song fresh.
If you can think of more strategies for how to learn a complete guitar song, please leave a comment! If this has been helpful to you, please leave us a 5-star review on your listening platform.
And if you want to take your guitar playing to the next level where you have a safe community with good, gentle accountability, you just might want to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
I eagerly await the opportunity to serve you there and to watch in delight as you learn to play the songs you want to learn to play…in their entirety.
Thanks for experiencing what I’ve prepared for you today. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today we’re going to discuss the idea that we can always be teaching the guitar.
Now, if you haven’t experienced last week’s episode, you may want to check it out, because it does illuminate the flipside of what we’re talking about today and sets us up really well for our discussion.
It’s Guitar Serious Fun Episode 73: Why We can Always be Learning the Guitar.
I bought my first guitar in 1994. And even that first week, I had the opportunity to show someone else what I had learned, with some of the early notes and chords I was forming.
I had no idea that the Lord would one day use my life as a vessel for communicating guitar and music concepts to people all over North America and beyond.
I praise Him for that, because that has led to a legacy of sharing knowledge that will likely outlast my lifetime.
But at one point, I had to embrace the idea that I was a guitar teacher, at whatever level I was playing this amazing instrument.
My daughters have both attended a Classical Christian School for many years, and if you’ve experienced the wisdom of Erin Pakinas, one of the teachers at the school, who has graciously appeared as a guest on the podcast for Guitar Serious Fun, you have heard some whispers about the school culture.
Erin was our guest in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 61: Embracing “Good” Difficult with Guitar and More, and spoiler alert: she’s going to be back in several weeks for a couple more episodes.
Our headmaster’s office at the school has had a simple, but profound quote on the wall for many years. And it shakes me to the core every time I see it. The plaque says:“You are always teaching.”
Mic drop, right?
What’s implied by this message, of course, is that any teacher anywhere, does not simply begin to teach when he or she steps up in front of any number of students.They are teaching at recess, at school events, at informal gatherings, at school service projects, on field trips, during awards ceremonies, when students run into them at the grocery store, at home with their families, and during summer vacation.
None of these venues I’ve just listed is a classroom. And yet the teachers are always teaching.
But are the teachers the only ones who are teaching?No. We are all teachers, and we are always teaching.Picture this: a student does something to offend another student, by action or omission. They disregard having committed the offense, and they move on.What have they just taught everyone who has witnessed this, including the impressionable younger students? That unkind behavior is not worth repenting of.
Fortunately, I have not seen this very often at all at the school.
By contrast, let’s say the student offends the other student and is quick to reconcile. What have they taught everyone in earshot, but also everyone who will hear of the experience in the near future?They have taught that it is a Biblical principle (See Matthew 18) that we should seek to restore broken fellowship as soon as possible, because it honors the Lord.
Note for just a moment that these examples from a school environment are not music-related. Are they nevertheless still important teaching opportunities? Absolutely.
The Performing Teaching Guitarist
Let’s turn our attention to a venue where a musician is sharing his or her music with someone else.
Let’s say he or she is playing the guitar well, with a humble, yet confident posture. Their body language is clear, and they are honoring the Lord and their hearers by all that they are doing. They are offering their first fruits, and the best offerings they can summon.
What are they teaching?I think you know, but I’ll lay out a few observations. They are teaching that putting on humility and playing skillfully (both of which are Biblical attributes) are important to their craft, artistry and ministry. They are teaching their listeners that playing well and relating to an audience are high values. They are teaching them that the discipline of practice and clean execution require dedication, but they also yield satisfying results on both sides.
The opposite scenario presents the opposite form of teaching (and without going into the inverse of a presentation like this, I can say that I have witnessed this as well.)I will say that although everyone has a different skill level, it can be apparent when a guitarist chooses to stumble through a couple dozen chords sloppily, when he or she could really focus on just a half a dozen chords and play them well. Quality over quantity, right?Spoiler alert: inside GuitarSuccess4U, members discover a unique tool early on called the Chord Kite Diagram that helps guitarists of multiple levels zoom in and get chordal and transitional precision in their playing on an unprecedented level.
The Worship Leading Teaching Guitarist
When it comes to a worship offering, I was clearly reminded at a worship conference of an important fact. And this statement did not come from the teaching faculty, which were outstanding, by the way.It came from one of the students who was in a few of my guitar classes. His name was Adam, and he said, “We as worship leaders are also teachers.”Another mic drop, right?Does this mean that the teaching on the platform is not just limited to the person preaching the Word?It sure does. Because if someone steps up to lead the congregation in worship, they are teaching the congregation what is involved with bringing praise to the Lord.
They can literally “teach” a song, but more importantly, their whole process is evidence of how important the act of worship is to them.
If they are “phoning it in,” or playing with less precision than they are capable of, or if they are not communicating well with the team members, or they are not walking in step with pastoral leadership as they offer their gifts, or…or…or…they are not teaching well.On a practical level, this may seem like a “Captain Obvious” statement, but when I am a lead vocalist playing a rhythm guitar, and I’m standing in front of a boom microphone, I show the congregation (and the technicians) that we are all singing when I am at the mic…and when I’m not at the mic, we are not singing.
Does that make sense?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a worship leader hang out right at their mic, or even fade upstage just a foot or so, during an instrumental intro, outro, or a long section without lyrics, thereby creating a “false positive” message to the congregation and technicians that we “might” be singing.So, here’s what I recommend: fade to the side. Just a foot or two.
When you come back to the mic, you’ve rebooted the situation and taught everyone that we’re singing again. Everyone. The congregation. The band. The technicians, especially the projectionist.
I won’t go into detail for slide shows and whether to leverage the power of the blank slide, but if there’s one thing that can be confusing, its having lyrics up on the screen when we’re not supposed to be singing them, or when they’ve “expired.”
This can be solved by having a blank slide for an instra, and as I’ve mentioned, moving laterally so as to clearly communicate to the congregation that they don’t need to be singing at that moment.
So, after a brief moment without lyrics, the worship leader comes back to the mic, the projectionist cues the next slide, and everyone continues singing, undistracted.
That’s a practical, but super helpful approach to “teaching” the congregation in a worship setting.
What about on a Scriptural level?
Everything we do communicates how we treasure the Word, especially if we quote scripture as we lead the congregation, choose scriptural songs or pray the Word.
So as worship guitarists, we are definitely teaching. Always. On and off the platform.
And when I say “off” the platform, I mean the way we conduct ourselves in rehearsal, but also in life.
People who know me as a worship leader also know me in a men’s Bible study setting, a Life Group setting, and a family setting. It’s my aim to be the same person in all of those venues.
I haven’t always observed this effort on the part of worship leaders; some transform, whether significantly or slightly, into a worldlier persona when they don’t think others are looking. This is dangerous to our testimony, of course, and teaches that integrity can be compromised. The “Good for You” Medicine that Doesn’t Taste Great
If we want the medicine that will bolster our ability to teach well, it makes sense to follow these three words.
“Lead by example.”
It’s easy to teach someone else a concept. But it’s not as easy to lead by example in consistently applying that concept.There have been many guest ministry opportunities the Lord has allowed me to have where I teach a worship workshop to a group of musicians at a hosting church, and then rehearse members of that group in with a song set.
I acknowledge the technicians in my communication and preparation, as well as the rehearsal, run-thru and service.
From start to finish, I employ the concepts that I teach them. And then the musicians and technicians can say, “Hey, this guy uses the stuff he teaches.”
It’s one thing to encourage people to do something. It’s another thing entirely to explain why that action is beneficial, and then to put it into practical use.Also, in GuitarSuccess4U, every month of lessons concludes with what we call our “Relevance Lesson” for that month. In that lesson, I talk specifically about how I leverage the concepts I’ve taught that month. The key word in each Relevance Lesson is the word “why.”“Why” is tremendously important. It helps us clarify our efforts in a major way.
How much sense would it make for me to teach my members a bunch of tools, and then say, “Yeah, I really don’t use this stuff, but you might.”Not much. Life’s too short to learn a bunch of guitar concepts that just aren’t relevant.
And that’s why I make every effort to scrutinize what I’m teaching to make sure it has the broadest application possible…within the niche of guitarists that I serve: beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.
You Could be a Guitar Teacher…Right Now
What about a practical exercise? I encourage you to take a concept you’re familiar with on the guitar or with music, and communicate it to someone else who may be less familiar with that concept.I’m not talking about a full-tilt hour long guitar lesson. I’m talking about sitting down in a common area like at your kitchen table or on your living room couch with a family member or friend and asking, “Hey, can I show you something on the guitar?”
Then teach them a concept you have learned. It could be a single note on the fretboard. Or a scale. Or a chord. Maybe it’s a strumming pattern.
It’s not critical that they totally absorb and instantly demonstrate back to you what you’ve taught them. It is important that they mentally grasp what you’re showing them.
Now, perhaps you don’t have your guitar nearby. Maybe you could teach someone you know something about music theory fundamentals.Remember, you can’t spell “fundamental” without spelling the word “fun,” right? Or “mental,” but that’s another story.Maybe you can explain to them what a quarter note is, and how many quarter notes fit in a whole note in a measure of 4/4 time. Maybe you can help them discern the audible difference between a measure of 4/4 time and a measure of 3/4 time and how they feel totally different.
Maybe you can sing a Major scale for them up and down, and then lower the 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees to make a natural minor scale. No need to have an instrument nearby; just sing the scale and see if they can tell the difference.
Relaying a musical concept to someone else is tremendously powerful because a) it demonstrates that we ourselves understand it, b) it reinforces our knowledge and execution of it, and c) it allows us to think and communicate clearly how it’s accomplished.
Teaching really does help us become better learners and musicians.
The proof will in the pudding. Does your impromptu “student” understand what you’ve communicated? If not, break it down into more digestible pieces until they do.
This is a great way to break “The Curse of Knowledge,” which we talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 29, by the way.
Before you know it, you’ve clearly demonstrated what you now know yourself to be: a teacher.
Wrap-Up
Now, as I’ve mentioned previously, we are always learning, or at least we always can be. And as of today, we have come to grips with the startling truth that we are always teaching, whether by intention or by accident.
This is a sobering fact, because most of us live out our lives in a community setting on some level.
So, I want to encourage you to consider what it is that you are teaching, when you’re playing your guitar, or even when you’re not.
You might be pleasantly surprised to see that the Lord is using you for His glory in some unexpected ways.
Well, today, we talked about why we can always be teaching the guitar.
I hope today’s episode was illuminating for you. And if it was, I encourage you to share it with others. Please consider giving us a 5-star review on your listening platform.
I need to know if this is making a difference, so that I can continue to create this content.You may also be pleased to know that we also have a presence with GuitarSuccess4U on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, so please check out some of the offerings I’ve placed there.
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode. I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
In the 2003 Victorian era action/adventure film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” Sean Connery’s Allan Quatermain turns to Shane West’s Tom Sawyer in a close call where he rescues him, and says winsomely, “Eyes open, boy. I can’t protect you all the time.”
Tom Sawyer later returns the favor, and they both grin, having escaped death yet again.
In our guitar and music journeys, the stakes are usually not as high as life and death, but the rules are the same: we need to keep our eyes open.
Why? Because learning experiences abound…but only for those who see them.
When People are our Teachers
When someone is starting out with the guitar, everything is new. Even if they’ve had some musical background on another instrument (which I like to call “lateral learning,” for which I might dedicate a future episode of Guitar Serious Fun), there’s going to be new stuff to overcome.
Some of these new things require the “mental skills” side of learning, and others require the “motor skills” side. But who are our teachers as we learn?Everyone. Literally.
One of our guest experts inside GuitarSuccess4U (our online game-changing guitar membership for Christian beginning and intermediate guitarists) is a highly skilled musician named Brian Reding.
Brian is a multi-instrumentalist, an engineer, and a producer, which means he has the capacity to track full songs on a high level of production in a unique way.
Brian produced my best album to date, This Side of Heaven.
On this record, Brian played acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar (fretted and upright), keys, Fender Rhodes, drums, aux percussion, world beat percussion, horns, and he sang multiple layers of background vocals, even contributing a vocal percussion beatbox.
He played more instruments than this on the record, but this should give you an idea of what he’s capable of. His execution of notes on these instruments and vocals was of the highest caliber. He’s truly a unique individual. I’ve never met anyone like him.
You’re welcome to listen to my album on any of the streaming platforms, and if you like what you hear, you can buy it while it’s still available in hardcopy form with a 20-page full color booklet.
Reach out to me via my website, www.davidharsh.com and I’ll even sign it for you before I ship it to you.
Nashville Producer Morgan Cryar, to whom I’ve alluded previously, said that when an artist hands him a copy of an album they’ve recorded, they usually include an apology with it.
Not this album. It’s an absolute masterpiece; not because I’m “all that,” but because Brian brought tremendous skill and talent to the project, not just with his motor skills on all these instruments, or even his ears, but also his mind.
With a producer’s mind, he knew what each song needed, so he could literally call upon himself to record all the parts. You might argue that with only one person playing most of the instruments (I played acoustic guitar and piano and sang the lead vocal and some harmonies), it might have the potential to lose some of the freshness that could come with multiple instrumentalists and vocalists.
Not here. Not in this case.
Brian’s caliber of musicianship and production are truly “next level.” Why do I go to all this trouble to speak so highly of Brian? Because of what I’m going to tell you about him next.
He’s a student of music. He’s always learning. And perhaps that’s why he’s so good at the many things he does.
During our interview in GuitarSuccess4U, which members get access to, Brian made a simple but profound statement.He said “Everyone can be your teacher.”
Let’s see if this passes muster.
Could an intermediate guitarist teach something to a beginning guitarist? Sure. That’s almost a given.
Could a beginning guitarist teach something to an intermediate guitarist? I would argue “yes.” Here’s why…
That intermediate guitarist may have taken some of the fundamentals for granted. A beginning guitarist is at a stage where nothing is taken for granted, because it’s all new.
And even something as simple as a chord voicing could be fresh knowledge for an intermediate guitarist…if their eyes are open to what the beginning guitarist might show them.
Another scenario: could a non-guitarist (who plays another instrument) teach something to a guitarist of any skill level? Well, yes. That musician may have musical insights that carry elements of artistry, musicianship, or even theory that they could pass along…if that guitarist’s eyes are open.
And these non-guitarists are hiding in plain sight…often on the very same worship platforms on which we serve.
Could I learn from my drummer? Absolutely – tempos, cadences, ritardandos, accents, grooves, and so much more.
Could I learn from my bass player? Yeah buddy – voice leading, inversions, articulations and dynamics, and so on.
Could I learn from my keyboardist or pianist? You’d better believe it – register, voicings, chordal embellishments…just imagine.
What about a non-musician? Could he or she teach something to a guitarist? Well, think about what happens when we share our music with an audience, or a congregation.
Would there be elements about how that presentation is received that could illuminate our process?
What if we play a song that we think will come across as clear and powerful, but the listeners in the audience are confused because the message is unclear and the song needs a few re-writes to coalesce into a more refined form?One of the great sayings I’ve held onto over the years is that “Great songs aren’t written; they’re re-written.” I’ve been on the receiving and the giving end of this wisdom many, many times.
An audience (no matter the size) may contain music lovers who aren’t necessarily musicians. But they listen.They have souls. They can process a message and see if it can impact them.And if a song has too many words, or has improper “emPHAsis” on the wrong “sylLAbles” (listen to the podcast version for what I mean), the audience, if asked, could teach the artist/guitarist how something could be refined in their presentation.Maybe the guitarist is playing too fast. Maybe he or she is out of tune, out of rhythm, or out of pace with what the song or the ensemble requires.There are many, many things a non-musician can discern from a song or a performance, even if they can’t define them in musical terms.
Even body language. What if the performer frowns onstage or looks serious as they play, but they don’t realize it? Is that a musical thing? Nope. But does it affect the performance? It sure could.
But the guitarist is only going to be made aware of this if their eyes are open to the visual and verbal responses of the audience.I’ve had close friends who have offered me the right kinds of “wounds” like the ones from Proverbs 27:6. They’ve told me things about my performance that I’ve needed to refine for the sake of the audience.And because I’ve listened and applied what they’ve shared with me, my show and my songs have improved considerably.
Now, let’s say a guitarist is playing on a worship team, leading songs that are sung by a congregation. Could that guitarist learn from the congregation?100%.
Let’s say that the worship guitarist chooses a song that’s brand new to the congregation, even though this guitarist knows the song well.
If their eyes are open, they can become aware that the congregation isn’t singing along because they don’t know the song.
Could the guitarist “pivot” and walk everyone through the chorus a couple of times, so as to teach them and equip them to sing the song?
Absolutely. But only if their eyes (and ears) are open.
What if the song is not placed comfortably in a singable range? Could the congregation directly or indirectly teach the worship leader that it needs to be adjusted? Could the song itself need to be scrutinized so as to be categorized as a “listening” worship song rather than a “sung” worship song based on how intuitive and accessible it is? It’s worth considering.
This kind of helpful feedback can refine us as worship guitarists in amazing ways…if our eyes are open.
When Teachers are our Teachers
Yes, I know teachers are people too. The distinction I’m drawing here is that there are some who have positioned themselves as teachers of guitar and music, as opposed to folks who have not.
And some of these teachers can teach incredibly well.
So, it’s a given that a good guitar teacher can teach us things about the guitar and music. However, there’s a flipside: and you may or may not appreciate it. If you’ve listened to Guitar Serious Fun Episode 29: Breaking the Curse of Knowledge, you know who I’m talking about.I’m talking about teachers who simply lack the ability to teach, regardless of their skill level.
If someone is virtuosic as a guitar player, it is not a guarantee that they can relay guitar knowledge to their student. But the beautiful reality, as I stated in that episode, is that the student can still “self-teach.” This does take an extra measure of skill and time, but if you do it enough, you start to develop the knack for observation and then the ability to take apart and translate what you observe.
I go into this in greater detail in the aforementioned episode about the Curse of Knowledge.
The reality is, though, a student can only self-teach if their eyes are open.
The Unexpected Teacher
Remember, we can learn from others about how to do things…but we can also learn from others about how not to do things.
One of the teachers at our daughters’ school uses the phrase “The School of Soft Knocks” to describe the process of learning from others´ mistakes.
Now is learning from others’ mistakes less costly? Yes. Absolutely. Any sort of loss that has been sustained by another person can be avoided by us. If our eyes are open, right? You’re getting it.
We can even watch someone doing something in our direct field or circle of influence and internally say “I really don’t see the benefit of doing that.”I recently heard a story of a worship leader who asked the congregation to clap during a song in a worship service, and when the congregation did not enthusiastically respond accordingly, this individual stopped the song midstream, and verbally reprimanded the congregation for not clapping.If I had observed that, I probably would have seen the congregation’s response, which would have confirmed to me that I personally would not take that approach.
So, we can learn how not to do some things in our area of expertise…you know it – if our eyes are open.
When Equipment is our Teacher
I once had a show where the perfect technical storm happened. My guitar battery died, my guitar cable shorted out, my loop station powered off, and my direct box stopped processing my guitar signal. This happened all at once. Just shy of helpful, right?
Fortunately, I was able to adapt and find alternate pieces of equipment of my own, as well as those of the hosting church. Having backups saved the show.
Another time, my sound board, having been reconfigured by a tech as he helped me put it away at the previous venue, was not functioning the way I needed it to for a weekend of shows. That prompted me to connect with that sound tech and ask him if he had “zeroed out” some of the knobs, which he had done, just out of habit.
That gear, though not even a person, taught me the value of backup equipment, as well as the knowledge of what the equipment was capable of on some level, so as to be able to troubleshoot.
But my eyes needed to be open to realize what was going on, so that I could learn.
When Experience is our Teacher
Some would say “Experience is the best teacher.” I agree.
I’ve played enough shows and led enough worship services that I can confidently say that there’s not much that can surprise me these days.And I thank God for that. Because He’s allowed me to have enough of an accumulation of experiences that I typically know what to do, or what to ask for, when that experience happens again.
The bonus blessing is that some of those stories have resulted in some significant victories, and I can share them with you here at Guitar Serious Fun.
But even the failures are incredible opportunities to learn.
But only if we, once more with feeling: keep our eyes open.
An Essential Requirement for Learning Well
We can learn from people we interact with, teachers of all kinds, equipment, and experiences. These opportunities to learn come to us daily, sometimes hourly. We can always be learning.
But what’s the requirement beyond keeping our eyes open? It’s to be teachable.
I’m going to lay out a hard fact for you: not everyone is teachable.
Do you know how I know this? Because after teaching thousands of guitarists across North America, even, and especially in Christian circles, I’ve come across many folks who create an artificial ceiling for themselves.
They do this by claiming that they’ve “been there, done that,” or that they already know what they need to know.
I’ll let you in on a little secret that may discourage or inspire you: we will never learn everything there is to learn about the guitar or music.
But that’s a beautiful thing, because there’s always more to learn. And if we approach each new day or opportunity with the question, “Lord, what do you want me to learn today,” that ceiling vanishes, and we can fulfill our potential.Will our potential be the same as someone else’s? Of course not. But we’re not called to pass up others. As I mentioned in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 66, The Guitarist We Should All Surpass, we’re called to be better than the guitarist we were yesterday, right?
So, if you consider yourself to be teachable, you’re going to love what I’m about to share with you as we wind down today. If you don’t consider yourself to be teachable, this won’t ring true for you. It might in the future, but I’m pretty confident that only folks who are teachable right now will “get it.”
We have an online guitar learning experience unlike any other, that includes battle-tested, premium, curated content, relevant application of concepts, a roster of guest experts with hundreds of years of collective wisdom captured in exclusive interviews, deluxe, full-color worksheets, a Christ-honoring community of like-minded, eager guitar learners, and 5 instant bonuses.It’s called GuitarSuccess4U. And because I saw a deep need for a learning experience like this and couldn’t find one, I founded it in 2019. It’s for beginning and intermediate teachable Christian guitarists.
The URL for this amazing experience is GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Again, if you’re not teachable, it won’t make sense to where you’re at in your journey right now.But if you are teachable, it could change the game for you. I hope you’ll check it out.
Well, I hope today’s episode about “always learning the guitar” was inspiring and encouraging to you. And if you want to share it with someone else, please do.
If you want to experience some of our more than six dozen other episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, please do.If you want to offer us a 5-star review on your listening platform, please do.
If you want to leave a positive comment, for today’s episode, please do.
And if you have discussion topics we haven’t already covered that you’d like to see shared here, and you want to comment here or reach out to me directly at GuitarSuccess4U.com, please do.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/ACE. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below…
If you’re looking for a game-changing strategy for claiming the fretboard quickly and effectively – that most people don’t know about – this is the place to start.
So first, what’s an octave? It’s a perfect interval comprised of 12 half steps, where the low note and the high note share the same name, but are located in different registers.
Take a look at this legend for a moment.
I’ve got yellow lines to indicate octaves where I skip one string. Note that I need to make an accommodation for the tuning, as I traverse the Major 3rd in the tuning on the way to strings 2 and 1.
Then I have a blue line that shows where I can play an octave as I skip two strings – and still play the notes simultaneously with my fretting hand. I’ll do this only from strings 5 to 2 today.
Lastly, I have a green line to indicate a double octave from strings 6 to 1, as I skip four strings.
All of these lines will come into play with the three diagrams I’m about to walk you through. Remember, I’m working with octaves that can be played simultaneously with my fretting hand.
Now before we continue, I’m going to let you in on a little secret that will reveal how the fretboard works in this situation, through a mathematical sequence of numbers. You ready?
Think of the three lowest single-digit odd numbers in decreasing order. What are they? 5, 3, 1.
Now, how about the three lowest single-digit even numbers in decreasing order? They are: 6, 4, 2.
Try saying those sequences back to back a couple times, starting with the odds.
5, 3, 1, 6, 4, 2, 5, 3, 1, 6, 4, 2.
As you will soon see, these numbers tell us which string to use as we map out the octaves from low to high on the frets.We have a 6-string instrument. Between frets 0 and 11, a single note appears only once per string, so how many instances of that note will we find on the fretboard inside that frontier? Six instances.
I’m providing three diagrams I’ll reference as I continue forward.
Let’s start with the A notes. Observe (on the accompanying video) as I connect these notes together by four octaves, and one double octave.
Starting with the lowest note fret-wise on the open 5th string, the A notes are on strings 5, 3, 1, 6, 4, 2.
If we know how to form the octaves, the notes just fall into place, using our sequence of descending odd and even numbers. Notice that the C notes start “mid-sequence,” beginning on string 2.
The E notes can start off with a double octave, indicated by a green line from strings 1 to 6.
As a bonus (in the video) I can start on string 6, and actually make my way all the way up to the 12th fret of the 1st string to make this even more neatly laid out for you, with the descending even numbers, followed by the descending odd numbers.
So today, we learned how to map out the fretboard octaves with the notes: A, C, and E. And what does that spell? ACE! We just figured out how to ACE our fretboard with octaves!
What does this help us do? Anything we want! Moveable chords, scales, arpeggios, capo positions, the CAGED System, and more. It literally unlocks our fretboard for us!
Well, hopefully, there were some “lightbulbs” that appeared over your head during this quick lesson. As you can imagine, there’s so much more. We covered three notes today – and there are technically 12 notes…and you better believe that we cover all of them from multiple angles inside GuitarSuccess4U, leading to mastery of the fretboard.
We don’t just focus on fretboard KNOWLEDGE, though. We take time for the APPLICATION of that knowledge to cultivate artistry and musicianship. This experience at GuitarSuccess4U could be what’s missing from your guitar journey. Please head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to see what we’re all about.
Thanks for having some serious fun with me today, sharpening your skills. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Why Some People Quit Guitar (and How You Can Avoid It)
I connected with a friend recently who shared with me that his son, though an avid saxophone player for many years, had recently lost interest in the instrument. There was not a real explanation, except that he had sort of fallen out of love with the saxophone.
Now as we talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episodes 17 and 18, “Guitar through the Seasons (Parts 1 and 2),” there are definitely different times in our lives where we play more or less music on our instruments, but what about stopping completely and indefinitely?
We’ve all met people who have quit their instruments. And usually, they regret it.
Some people start out with great intentions, but along the musical road, some decide to stop, for one reason or another.
If you’re playing the guitar and you don’t want to fall out of love with it, please consider these eight “catalysts” I have for you today.
1. Be realistic with how much you expect of yourself.
As musicians, we can have lofty dreams of performing on grand stages, recording albums that have national distribution, and gaining a viral following on social media.
But the Lord may not have this plan for us. To that end, I think it’s good to have reasonable expectations, so that we can meet those and exceed them.
When it comes to the actual discipline of regular practice, if we ask too much of ourselves, it can be hard to sustain.
Practicing 2 hours a day may work for someone for a few days, but once they miss a few days of this 2-hour regimen, regret and overwhelm can set in. What about 15 to 30 minutes a day?
That’s a much more sustainable endeavor, especially for a hobbyist or someone who plays the guitar on the more recreational side.I’ll add the pro tip that practicing at the same time, for the same amount of time, in the same place each day leads to even better consistency…even for people who just play the guitar for fun.
2. Make sure you are playing some music that feeds your soul.
Not all the music we will play will be in the center or our passion or taste, but some of it should be.
Some of the things we play will be technique-building, and they may sound good, or they may sound monotonous.
Some songs are more life-giving than others, and some songs are too difficult to play in some early seasons of guitar playing.However, easier versions of guitar songs exist, and when we get a taste of what’s possible as we play an actual song, we can feel momentum.
I had a young guitar student for several years who was just starting out, but who had a deep appreciation for James Taylor, whom she had seen in concert. So, I found a way to simplify some of his songs so she could play them.
Stephen Humphries, a national hammered dulcimer champion and follow of Christ with whom I’ve studied, offered this pearl of wisdom. He said,
“Technique is a means to an end. Make sure the music you want to play is that end.”
Mic drop.
If all we’re doing is sharpening our musical techniques and rarely actually playing real music, it can be very easy to lose sight of our goals.
That’s why, in the five “joining bonuses” when my members join GuitarSuccess4U, they get instant access to a legitimate song I wrote about the joy of playing music on the guitar in a community.
And they can learn to play it at one of 14 different levels of play, so even guitarists who have never played a note can be playing along with me right away.
3. Set some realistic goals and write them down.
Speaking of goals, as we talked about in Episode 69 – “How to Read it on the Run with Guitar and More” with guest Dawn Jones, if we don’t write down what our goals are, we will get much less traction, and then we will feel much less progress.
In that episode, Dawn said that “Research has shown that if you write something on your calendar, you have a 60% chance of completing it, compared to if you don’t write it down.”
So, write down some realistic goals. And as we talked about with Dawn, put them somewhere visible so you can “read them on the run.”
4. Seek out some quick wins.
Believe it or not, learning to play a chord, or strum a strumming pattern, can be a great win that can fuel your desire to keep playing.
But make it a quick win. Not a huge endeavor. If you’re looking for some ideas for wins, I encourage you to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 55 - “Bookending Your Guitar Practice with Wins.” Many of these are ones our member of GuitarSuccess4U have come up with on their own.
5. Go see a guitar player you admire in concert.
Remember, this is not the same thing as watching someone on YouTube, which can be good. But there’s something about the excitement in a live venue when a performer interacts with their audience and plays well.
I will never forget seeing the late Michael Hedges in concert in 1995. It was inspiring to my guitar journey on multiple levels, because his skill set was unparalleled. Also, the journey he took us on with his multi-faceted concert, all within the limitations of just a couple guitars, a flute, and a piccolo, was captivating.
I kept a journal for many years of concerts I got to experience, and I jotted down particular elements of those shows that impacted me as a music listener, and also as a musician. The Michael Hedges concert was the inspiration for that journal, and that memory still keeps me excited about the guitar.
6. Have some sort of musical outlet for your playing.
I want to credit one of our guest experts in GuitarSuccess4U for this suggestion. His name is Brian Reding, and he not only produced my best album to date, he graciously filmed a video interview with me about many different aspects of musicianship, especially centered around listening well.
The members of GuitarSuccess4U have enjoyed this interview immensely.
Brian has been a music teacher, a funk band leader, and also a worship leader. In his words, a guitarist needs to have an outlet for their musical expression.
When we play our guitar in a collaborative, live setting, it validates our efforts. Think about this. If we keep our guitar in the practice space, no one but us gets to enjoy what we’re working on.
But if we team up with a worship team, a cover band, or even jam in a song circle of hobbyists, we get to share what we’re working on, and play in collaboration with others.
These collaborations give us the opportunity to practice and prepare music, and to self-observe when we’re “in the moment.” I guarantee you that playing with others helps us raise our game as musicians.
If we can break past the intimidation factor and allow ourselves to be humbled a bit by the process, we will emerge as better players in many ways. Our tempos, our musicianship, our ability to listen, these will all be enhanced.
Also, if we know the band is expecting us to come prepared, that will provide accountability, leading to more diligent practice, more wins, and more progress.
7. Connect with a tribe of guitar players.
If you’ve experienced these episodes of Guitar Serious Fun for any length of time, you probably know where I’m going with this.
I am honored to lead an online community of Christian guitarists called GuitarSuccess4U.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Inside this community, those who engage in the weekly Zoom calls find a whole new level of support and encouragement.
We also hosted our first ever live “in person” event in 2023. It was unreal. We had discussions, worship, teaching sessions, jam sessions, guitar diagnostics, member spotlights, and we feasted together.
There were laughs, tears, hugs, and people bonded, because they had Christ and guitar in common.
And as the members returned home, I’m confident that they each had more wind in their sails, a greater sense of purpose, and a desire to go deeper with their skills.
The African proverb I’ve quoted before to my members, and in Guitar Serious Fun says,
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Lastly, I’ll circle back around to the title of this blog/podcast…
8. Have serious fun.
The guitar can be challenging, but it can simultaneously be very fulfilling. A good challenge that we can overcome can really spur us on as we continue forward.
I have several friends who hunt. Given the choice between going out into the woods and pursuing their prey, even in difficult conditions…and having a large, freshly slain animal carcass delivered to their front doorstep, they would pursue the hunt every time.
It’s all about the thrill of the hunt.
People in our culture are swayed by an “easy” way to learn. But this can be short-lived and misleading.Guitar can be hard to learn. I don’t mean to make it harder; on the contrary, I want to make it simpler and also more fulfilling. And in GuitarSuccess4U, I’ve found a way to cut through a lot of the confusion.
But as I’ve talked about in these episodes, we do ourselves a disservice if we expect the learning process to only be fun all the time.
Because what happens when the fun stops? Should the learning stop? I hope not.
So, engage in serious fun, and watch what happens when you overcome obstacles that you didn’t even know you could.
Then, you’ll find yourself, like in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 3, saying “Yeah Buddy.”
You’ve probably noticed in today’s episode that I’ve alluded to no less than five previous episodes of Guitar Serious Fun. If you’ve already experienced all five of them, awesome. Maybe spool through them again. But if you haven’t, your Serious Fun homework is to do so.
These episodes are served up with a great deal of care, and they’re concise, so you can enjoy them swiftly and gather wisdom and encouragement in an efficient manner.
As we close, I encourage you to proactively build some infrastructure around yourself so that when you think of quitting your instrument, you will have much more protection in place.When others give up, you will press on. And then…the joy of music and the long game will be yours.
Lastly, if you want to know where and how to accelerate your progress in a serious fun way, in a community of like-minded followers of Christ who are also pursuing their dreams on the guitar, I invite you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com. This experience could also act as a catalyst for your guitar and music longevity, if you lean into it.
Thanks for experiencing another episode with me today. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
If you’ve ever slaved away with your musical efforts and been relatively unnoticed, or poured your heart out before an audience that gave you their “divided” attention, or had someone (maybe even a co-laborer in Christ) take your work for granted, this episode is for you.
Sin is in this world. Let’s start there. People will say things, do things, or fail to say and do things because the sinful nature affects all of our actions and omissions.
But people are also human, and they sometimes forget to express how they feel if they appreciate something. And forgetfulness is not typically something that people do intentionally.
When things are said that are unkind, or body language communicates indifference or a lack of appreciation, this can be hard for those of us for whom “words of affirmation” are a key love language. I’m speaking autobiographically, of course.
And we can communicate a lot, even without words.
But just as words of affirmation can be a huge blessing to me, words of criticism can really affect me, much more so than some folks I know who typically don’t let those kinds of things affect them.If you want my insights into how to cope with criticism, I encourage you to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 58 - When Someone Criticizes Your Guitar Playing.Today’s episode is a little different, because for those of us who serve, sometimes our work goes unnoticed. So, someone isn’t actively criticizing what we do…it’s more like they are disregarding what we do.
Is that ok? Well, after you’ve heard what I have to say, it just might be.
I’ll paint three scenarios for you that have the potential to be discouraging, but really don’t have to be. And spoiler alert: there are four words that will make all the discouragement fade into the background or go away entirely.
As I predicted, I hinted at these in Episode 66 of Guitar Serious Fun: The Guitarist We Should All Surpass. I’ll share these four with you as we’re winding down today.
But first, let’s look at three scenarios together.
Scenario 1: The Volunteer Worship Leader
Let’s paint a picture of someone who has a tentmaker vocation to provide for their family, but they serve at their local church as a volunteer. This is how I got started in worship ministry, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity.
In this first scenario, the church is likely small, and is therefore unable to pay for someone to serve in this position.
Some worship leaders of the volunteer type are deeply appreciated, but let’s talk about someone who is hypothetically disregarded for what they do, and perhaps sometimes taken for granted.
Maybe the congregation sings with them, or maybe they only sing on the songs they prefer.
But this individual works a full week, comes in on one of the weeknights to prepare things for the rehearsal, and then leads that rehearsal. Maybe the band says “thank you for leading us,” but maybe they don’t.
And when Sunday comes around and they arrive early to make sure everything’s in place, the band trickles in, they run the songs, and the service begins. How does the church surround this individual to thank them? Maybe they don’t. And then the week repeats, with work and volunteering, over and over.
Now, the Lord doesn’t call us to burnout, so perhaps this individual needs to build in time for rest and recovery. But even then, without a certain amount of appreciation, they can lose stamina and their morale can decrease.
Scenario 2: The Paid Worship Pastor or Director
Here, we have someone who serves at the church and is actually monetarily compensated for what they do. I’ve been here, too.Their role may be exclusively dedicated to music, or it may be a hybrid of music leading and administrating over the tech realm. Or maybe part of their position involves shepherding the youth.
But this individual is tasked with resourcing the teams in a similar way, and joins in meetings with pastoral staff so as to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Now there are pastors out there who are musicians. But some are not. And although some value the musical contributions of the worship team, some – not so much.
Let’s say this worship leader leads four songs, that add up to 20 minutes. Let’s say the pastor preaches a sermon that’s over twice as long. Speaking quantitatively, one could say that the preaching of the Word is a higher priority, simply by virtue of the fact that more time during the service is allocated for it.
But I would push back on that, because the service is a worship service, and the whole program, as it were, is intended to declare and proclaim God’s worth, whether we are studying the Word, preparing for it, or responding to it.
So, if a pastor does not show appreciation for the worship team or the worship leader/guitarist, it could be because the pastor is mostly focused on the text for that morning.
And the pastor may be going over sermon notes in the front row…even as the band is leading soulfully from the platform.
What if congregants arrive for the service after the music set has concluded? What if they leave just as the closing song is starting? That can be super discouraging for those who have prepared diligently to lead the singing.
What if, in the re-cap meeting a couple days after that Sunday, the pastor guides the conversation to be mostly focused on the sermon, rather than the music? Does this mean the music is any less significant?
Well, it’s not, but it might feel that way.
Does the Pastor intentionally wish to make the Worship Leader feel like his or her work is less valuable? I hope not. But that message can still be communicated, or at least perceived.
Scenario 3: The Concert
Let’s say a guitarist is performing a concert. This is something I’ve done more times than I can count.
And when I perform, I generally classify my audiences into two categories.
Type A audiences have come to hear me play because they follow me and enjoy what I do. Type B audiences don’t know anything about me, and my presence at their event is more of a surprise, or at least they don’t know what they’re in for.Typically, Type A audiences are more attentive and respectful. Type B audiences need a little bit of “winning over,” but with my multi-faceted program and my winsome manner, I typically can draw them in within the first few minutes.
But there are always exceptions. Some concerts I’ve performed have been very well-executed, and yet…
There are people who look bored or disinterested, even during some of what I would consider to be the most interesting parts of the show. They may start talking to each other, or even to me if they’re young and socially unaware.
They may also be on their smartphone while I’m trying to sing from my soul.
And although the vast majority of the audience tends to get on board, what am I tempted to focus on?
The negative minority.
Performance coach Tom Jackson, with whom I have studied, claims that if you are a performer, 97% of your audience wants to like you, and that remaining 3% will never like you, no matter what you do.
And while it’s important to acknowledge that there are going to be people who dislike our offerings or don’t appreciate them, it’s also important to remember those who do appreciate what we are presenting.
So, perhaps I’m being swayed too much by the critics, but they’re out there, and I feel underappreciated at times.
What to do?
Well, if you’ve come this far, you’ve probably identified in some way with at least one of the above scenarios where you’ve played your guitar, whether for pay or not.
Let me ask a couple questions.
First question: is it about us? Well, actually, when it comes down to it, it’s really not. Those can be harsh words to take in, but even my music (that I’ve worked so hard to craft and share) is not about me.
And that’s actually pretty liberating, because that means the criticism that comes is not really meant to be fully carried by me. I can listen to it, and evaluate it, but it’s just not mine to carry completely.
And the lack of positive feedback is also not something I need to bear the weight of. Again, I need to be objective and make sure what I’m doing is in line with my calling and what has been asked of me, but people, in their sinful or human nature, may not express their appreciation.
Second question: if it’s not about us, is that ok?Yes, I suppose it is. Because if I’m ok with this reality, I can move on and focus on my art, and my worship offerings.
Last question: who is it about? In other words, Who is it for?The Lord. Right?
Colossians 3:23-24 says:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Years ago, we had a sweet missionary couple come speak to our Sunday school class. Their names were Roy and Elvia Sprague, with the Northwest Independent Church Extension, a ministry to churches.
To be frank with you, I can’t recall much of what they said. Except just four words. And these four words have the potential to change the game for you. These four words are:
As unto the Lord.
Perhaps that’s all the Lord wanted me to remember, because those words are just as clear to me today as the moment they were spoken those many years ago.
And what this means is that I can rest in the sufficiency of the Lord, for whom I am laboring so intentionally.
Even these words I’m stringing together are in some ways designed to benefit and bless you, but if I don’t get any feedback or positive comments from you (which are totally optional), I can still remember that this is for the Lord.
A few years ago, I read a short book (and by this, I mean 44 pages short) with the title of “The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness” by the late Tim Keller. The cover of the book has a picture of a mirror with no reflection. The title of the book and the image on the cover pretty much summarize the contents, but I do encourage you to look it up if you want some further reading on the subject of navigating what it means to be underappreciated.
Wrap-Up
So, as you continue forward playing your guitar, take in the criticism, take in the affirmation, and even the silence. But when feelings creep in that imply that you are underappreciated, perhaps not appreciated as much as you would like, or worse, remember this:The Lord smiles upon your sincere work. And He’s the One we’re meant to please, above all others.
I hope today’s episode was encouraging to you. Don’t worry – I don’t need you to extend your appreciation to me with a comment, unless you want to.
But I will invite you to share this episode with someone you know, perhaps someone who serves in worship ministry and maybe plays the guitar as they do…and perhaps at times they feel underappreciated.
It just might put some wind in their sails, and remind them of those four essential words: As unto the Lord.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
I’m honored to welcome back a previous guest on Guitar Serious Fun. She was actually our first guest ever - and she’s got more to say today.
Her name is Dawn Jones, and she is an International Speaker, Executive and Leadership Coach, Author, and Presenter of more than 20 published books and audio/video programs including her best-selling Top 7 Personality Challenges.
She has also created and produced programs on Time Management, Supervising People, Conflict Resolution, Women in Leadership, and more.
For over 20 years, Dawn Jones has empowered over 70,000 people in more than 1,700 presentations in 8 countries. Whether she is working with Leaders, Project Managers, Engineers, or Businesspeople, she is passionate about helping people achieve their goals.
Dawn helps people recognize and resolve personality and communication challenges, all while helping her clients strategically reach goals, build healthy & productive teams, and increase profits.
In her free time, Dawn and her husband volunteer and support non-profit groups in America and East and West Africa where they help people build a hope and a future for the next generation.
I met Dawn over 20 years ago through her incredible Booking Workshop and Successful Booking curricula, the latter of which she actually allowed me to present the voiceover for her introduction. Dawn and I have both presented at Christian music conferences, and we’ve have crossed paths with some of the same people, including Morgan Cryar and Tom Jackson, whom I’ve mentioned in past episodes of Guitar Serious Fun.
This is the audio from a Zoom call that I hosted with Dawn, so I invite you to listen in, listen closely, and grab some helpful tools from Dawn.
You can learn more about Dawn at dawnjones.net.
Dawn joined us in Episode 46: Reduce it to the Ridiculous, and provided some tremendous insights.
And she’s back!
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because our guest’s highly articulate and intentional delivery will draw you in immediately.
So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/fingerstyle. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below…
If you’ve always wanted to experiment with fingerstyle guitar but you didn’t know where to start, you’re in the right place.
Fingerstyle guitar spans multiple genres, and can be applied beautifully to worship music, folk music, pop music, and more.
Today, I’m going to show you my approach to a “crash course” for fingerstyle guitar.
Now, as you may know, a crash course is a quick, intense approach to learning something, so I want to keep our expectations reasonable.
The world of fingerstyle guitar is vast and beautiful, and even though we’re only going to tackle one fingerstyle pattern today, I think you’ll be able to celebrate a win with me, because it’s a good one. So, let’s embark on some important initial steps.
Let’s start by defining some quick terms. I like to use the Spanish system for memorizing my thumb and fingers. Even if we’re not playing Spanish or classical guitar, this system can totally benefit us.
The names of our picking hand digits can be found in this diagram.
{Diagram – Abbreviations for Picking Hand Digits}
Try saying just the letter that corresponds to each. We have: p, i, m, a, and c. Try going backwards: c, a, m, i, and p.
Now, let’s talk about how we place these digits on the strings.
Our pulgar, or thumb, is so strong, that we can start by allocating strings 6, 5 and 4 to it. The thumb literally owns half of the strings for beginning fingerstyle guitar. Then, the indicio or index owns string 3, the medio or middle owns string 2, and the anular or ring finger owns string 1. The chico does not get used in these early stages.
So, from low to high, the digits owning these strings are p, p, p, i, m, and a, and from high to low, they are a, m, i, p, p and p.
Let’s take what we’ve just established and apply it to a simple open chord: E minor. I’m just going to use my picking hand over and over to arpeggiate this open E minor chord. I encourage you to watch the video and to play along for this.
Next, I’ll form an A minor chord and play an arpeggiated figure that also repeats.
Now that we’ve established the A minor notes, I’m actually going to make this just a bit simpler. I’ll only be using the pulgar, indicio and medio – just p, i and m, for a pattern I’ll call “Sweetly Rocking.” It’s just one note shy of what’s called “Travis Picking.”
As you can see and hear, this sounds rather nice with just a single chord. But as I’m sure you’re aware, fingerstyle patterns can be applied to any chord. The video has a demonstration of me playing this same “Sweetly Rocking” pattern through several chords, some of which are color chords.
Even with a single fingerstyle pattern, there are so many possibilities!
Well, this was indeed a crash course for fingerstyle guitar, but we made some great first steps.
If you’re ready to go deeper and discover insights that I’ve distilled down from almost 30 years of guitar study and performance, as well as crossing paths with some of the most accomplished fingerstyle guitarists on the planet, please visit www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Hopefully this inspires you a bit with your guitar playing. Thanks for spending a little time with me today. Keep playing, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
It isn’t actually helpful to always be learning things on the guitar. Track with me as I walk you through some insights that could really bless you on your creative journey.
I have a decent collection of guitar method books, DVDs, and yes, VHS tapes I’ve compiled from over the years. Most of them are ones I’ve meticulously studied in order to enhance my knowledge of the instrument.
I’ve also earned a Bachelor’s degree in music, taken lessons, attended masterclasses, workshops, symposia, and traveled far and wide to acquire guitar and music knowledge.
I am a lifelong learner. But I’m also a doer. By this, I mean that I am always looking for knowledge that can be put to use, and then, I’m also looking for ways to use it.
To that end, I’ve recorded four full-length albums to date of my original music, mostly on the guitar, using the skills and tools I’ve developed through my various methods of learning.
I’ve also arranged songs by other people, and I’ve performed more concerts and led more times of worship all over North America than I can count.
I’ve applied much of what I’ve learned, because I’ve learned a lot that can be applied.
Believe it or not, though, there’s such a thing as spending too much time learning things. How is this possible?
The bottom line is that we spend too much time learning, and not enough time doing.
Stu McLaren, an entrepreneur whose insights I have been blessed by in a membership I was a part of for several years, said something in one of his discussions.
When the subject of knowledge versus action came up, he said something that really impacted me, and I have permission to share what he offered. These were his exact words:
“Learning new things becomes a form of procrastination that stops people from doing the very thing that they need to do to in order to move themselves forward.”
Wait, what? Learning becomes a form of procrastination? It sure does.
For the purposes of illustrating this point, I’ve come up with a hypothetical guitarist by the name of Mortimer.
Let’s say Mortimer has been playing the guitar for a few years now. If Mortimer is hoping to write his own songs on the guitar, what happens when he subconsciously says to himself, “I don’t know enough about the guitar yet to write songs”?
Well, Mort will continue on his trajectory, learning guitar tools, but not applying those tools to making actual music. And that, in a word, can be…tragic.What if, after a significant period of time (and even a year can be significant) Mortimer is still taking in guitar knowledge in some way, but nothing artistic has been expressed through his fingers or his voice?
To his dismay, a year has gone by, and although Mortimer may have learned some new guitar skills, he may have traded the acquisition of those new skills for time lost making application of those skills.
Poor Mortimer…let’s not be a Mortimer.
In order to avoid Mort’s fate, we need to have a balance between acquisition and application.
In our discussion, Stu went on to say that “Ideally, our experience should be equal parts ‘learn’ and equal parts ‘do.’ Action is key. Implementation is the key.”I think it can be elusive to embark on a quest for knowledge without necessarily having a plan to implement that knowledge. So what can we do?
Well, I recommend five things.
1. Feel the Urgency.
We don’t have the luxury of unlimited time. None of us has any promise of tomorrow. Our health will not always be what it is. Our physical ability to play and sing will not always be with us.
Having a sense of urgency gives us a bit of perspective when it comes to realizing that now is the time to make intentional progress in the areas of learning, but also applying what we know.
If we subconsciously say, “Well, I’m sure I’ll get to a point to where I can use this stuff…I’ll just keep learning for now,” we may wake up one day when it’s quite a bit later in our lives, and some options aren’t there anymore.
Even if you’re not like Mort, you may still have some guitar-related goal that you haven’t checked off.
You may want to record an album.
You may want to join the worship team.
You may want to team up with someone else in your friends or family circles to make music locally, or share your music with a community – whether in a living room or in an auditorium.
But you need to picture yourself living your God-given dreams, and have some goals written down, perhaps even forming a level of accountability with someone you know, so that the urgency can remain, and the progress can be made toward application.
2. Be Vigilant.
As you learn things, perhaps you have enough musical savvy to see where the application factor can come in.
But if you don’t have this awareness yet, do your best to find out whether the stuff you’re learning can be applied to what you want to do.In GuitarSuccess4U, my online experience for beginning and intermediate guitar players, I conclude every month of our Success Path with a Relevance Lesson.
Just as you may suspect, the focus of that Relevance Lesson is to show where all the tools I’ve been teaching you that month can be applied.
I spend very little time in GuitarSuccess4U teaching topics or tools that don’t have much use.
Life is simply too short.
Now here’s the thing – some of the tools out there may be designed for the center of your wheelhouse. Others may not.
Exempli gratia – I’m a rhythm guitarist, not a lead guitarist, so most of my time is spent strumming or fingerpicking chords that have beautiful embellishments.
I support my voice with the guitar. So although I learn some scales to better understand melodies, modes, and even guitar position playing, you’ll most likely find me as an accompanist to my own voice.
Someone else may lean away from chord formulas and more toward developing fast melodic licks because – you guessed it, they are more of a lead guitarist who doesn’t necessarily sing. Each approach is valid. But as you can see, certain topics and tools are more applicable to one guitarist than another.
So I invite you to be vigilant, and to try to discern if what is being taught can be used by you in this season. And yet remain open to the fact that maybe, down the road, something that doesn’t currently apply to you, may become useful.
3. Apply What You Know Now.
In GuitarSuccess4U, I wrote a song about the learning experience we all have as guitar players. It’s called “My Sweet, Sweet Song.”
It uses just one strumming pattern throughout, and it has five open chords that are very, very easy to play.
This song is one of five instant bonuses that are made available to our members as soon as they join.
Why would I make a song so simple available right away? Because I want to get my members playing real music as soon as possible. There’s something very satisfying about playing an actual legit song.
And if you’re curious, the song comes with a deluxe PDF and 14 levels of play to allow literally anyone of any level to enjoy playing the song with the video lesson right away. It has waffle chord shapes, tablature, and even notation for those note-readers out there.
And it has a lead sheet, but also a chord chart, and even a rhythm chart. All languages of music are considered and presented.
“My Sweet, Sweet Song” is a perfect example of being able to play a song with just a handful of tools.
If you know just a few chords and can keep time with a simple strumming pattern, you have enough to get started.
Think about cooking for a moment. Pretend that you wanted to make a meal one evening, and you only had a handful of ingredients, because grocery shopping was happening later in the week.
Could you creatively combine those ingredients you had to make a simple but tasty dinner? We all gotta eat. You’d probably find a way to improvise something, even if it wasn’t a subtle gourmet dish.
I doubt that if you had, for instance, bread, cheese, mayonnaise, and a can of tomato soup, you would choose not to eat because you didn’t have all the necessary ingredients for a slow-roasted brisket with spring vegetables drizzled in balsamic vinegar.
You’d probably make a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, right?
The tools we have on hand can be put to use, and then we can add more to those tools over time. Who says we can’t write a song with four chords, and later discover a way to enhance that same song by weaving in some color chords, or even some additional chord substitutions?
I’ve done it, to my utter delight, and the songs I’ve refreshed have taken on a whole new level of artistry.
But here’s the kicker – I didn’t wait to write “the perfect song.”
So make sure that you’re placing yourself in a posture of being inspired to write, or perhaps arrange a song, based on what you currently know. Don’t procrastinate and wait – there’s a song within you that can come to life based on what you know right now.
4. Use Your Gut
This one’s a bit subjective, but this is where you need to be your own advocate.
Let’s say you’ve acquired a lot of guitar resources, and you just don’t seem to have the time to implement them all, let alone go through the content.
I’ve met a lot of guitarists who are in this set of circumstances.
Before they know it, another learning opportunity comes along, with a new course, a new video series, a new guitar workshop or a retreat. Are those opportunities detrimental? Of course not. They’re designed to help you.
They’re also designed to help the person who wants to help you, and by that, I mean that they want you to purchase their product. It’s how they make their living, and that helps them continue to help others.
It’s a significant part of how I make my living. Nothing bad about that. But the right thing at the wrong time can be the wrong thing.As good of a resource as something may be, those who offer it may not know where you are in your guitar journey, so you may need to assert your own needs. This is where you need to be able to say, “Actually, I’ve got a good amount that I’m working on right now. I’ll set a reminder to check that out.”
Or there may be an option for you to join a mailing list, to be kept in the loop to receive some free goodies, so that when the time is right for you to join, you can. That’s exactly what we have laid out at GuitarSuccess4U.
There is so much out there on the web in terms of guitar resources and educational materials. And a lot of it is excellent.
GuitarSuccess4U is one of those resources, and it’s amazing.
But it’s not for everyone, right now.
It is for followers of Christ who are teachable, humble, willing to pay for value, learn at their own pace, and are all about glorifying the Lord with their gifts. Inside the portal are over 100 lessons, and each is there for a very specific reason.
But it is designed to be used in the season of life where you need that content and that experience.Contrast this to websites and memberships that give you access to tens of thousands of lessons. To me, that can lead to overwhelm, quickly. If people who use those tools can find what they’re looking for and apply it, they can experience progress.
But I’d say that a simple, clear path with curated content, and access to a community, all of which we offer, provides a great recipe for success…provided that the person using that recipe is self-motivated and can apply themselves to what they’re learning, and then use that information to make real music.
So use your gut as to whether you want to take on more tools in the season in which you find yourself. You need to create the “grid” for your success, and if something doesn’t fit through the grid, as attractive as it may be, it needs to wait.
5. Learn, Do, Learn, Do
So as we wind down for today, I just want you to take hold of this rhythm. Learn, do, learn, do. Say that with me. Learn, do, learn, do.
Are there seasons of more learning and less doing? Certainly. Are there seasons of more doing and less learning? Sure.
But if we find ourselves just learning and not doing, something needs to change…otherwise we are ineffective, and we will find ourselves regretting our choices.
And if there’s one thing the devil always wants, it’s to see followers of Christ become ineffective, or too busy to be effective.
Wrap-Up
Well, I hope today’s discussion got you thinking about where you’re at when it comes to your “learning” and your “doing.”
Are you merely acquiring knowledge, or are you taking intentional time and approaches to putting it to use?Trust me, at the end of our lives, I think we’ll wish we had taken more action towards fulfilling our God-given dreams, and less time learning how we might make them happen.
Let’s have some serious fun on the journey.
So, if these words have resonated with you, it just might be time to take action. And that might mean that it’s time, for now, to take a break from learning guitar and start applying what you’ve learned towards making actual music.
But when the time comes for you to level up your playing on the “learning” side so that you can “play” and “do” more, we’re here for you at GuitarSuccess4U.
➡️Can I ask a favor? Would you share this episode with someone you know? We would love for more people to experience what we have to offer.
Thanks for experience this episode, and I’ll see you next time. Now go learn, do, learn, do, learn, do…
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I’m about to get real with you, so buckle up. Some of these episodes are practical, some are inspirational, and others are meant to challenge your character.
This is one of those character-challenging episodes.
But if you’re receptive to what I have to share today, this episode has the potential to sharpen you.
It’s designed for followers of Christ who desire to “run the race in such a way as to get the prize” – as 1 Corinthians 9:24 commands us.
I’ve been in the “Guitar Game” for almost 30 years.
That is to say, I’ve been playing this instrument onstage, offstage, in the studio, by myself, in bands, as a worship leader, a songwriter, and a variety of other roles, to say nothing of the teaching opportunities I’ve had along the way, as I now lean full-tilt into equipping others to play this amazing instrument through my unique online experience at GuitarSuccess4U.
I count it a privilege to have had these many experiences.
But there’s something I’ve battled to this day in terms of my pursuits and abilities. And it’s the struggle that comes with peripheral vision. That’s not a good thing to struggle with when you’re running a race.
Basically, I look to the side and see where people are on their guitar and musical journeys, and I get envious, arrogant, or even lazy. I take my eye off the prize.Which of these three characteristics is attractive, or brings glory to God?None of them.
I’m basically a hot mess at times, but the Lord can use anything, even my failures, for His glory. And I hope He does something here, so that’s why I’m stringing these words together.
I’ll unpack each of these three traits – envy, arrogance, and laziness, from the perspective of a guitarist who ultimately wants to bring glory to God.
Envy
The Bible is clear that we are not to envy others. In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verses 21-23, Jesus warns us that from out of a person’s heart come evil thoughts, including envy. He says these “vile” things “defile” us.
That’s pretty strong language, but I believe it’s meant to get our attention.
Wanting what someone else has, whether possessions or abilities, takes us nowhere good.
So if there’s another guitarist out there who plays a nicer guitar, plays more skillfully, or is in higher demand as a performer, worship leader, or teacher than I am, it’s not fruitful to want to be as good or better than they are.
Even if I work hard and practice hard, and do everything in my power to excel, if it’s motivated by a desire to surpass those I envy, it’s not coming from the right motivation, and therefore does not honor the Lord.
This is easy to say, but harder to live out, as are many simple things of this nature. But being envious takes my eye off the prize.
So that’s the envy factor. On the other side we have…
Arrogance
If you’ve ever met someone who’s outwardly and blatantly arrogant, you know how repulsive it can be to interact with them, especially if they profess to know the Lord.
But there’s an inward arrogance that I can sometimes keep cloaked and hidden, and it’s even more insidious and ugly. Allow me to explain.
When I hear another guitarist play who is less skilled than I am, there are times when I am somehow tempted to say to myself “Well, at least I’m better than that guitarist.”
Saying or thinking this may give me a short-term boost of artificial confidence, but let me tell you, that feeling wanes quickly in the light of the fact that I know, in my heart of hearts, that this displeases the Lord as well.
I again go back to Mark, chapter 7, verses 21-23, and what do I find, right there in the same passage about envy? Arrogance. It’s stacked up right there, along with several other unattractive traits.
Yeah, arrogance does not serve anyone. It creates a false sense of self-worth, based entirely on pride and the belief that I am somehow better than someone else.
Objectively speaking, I may have a more valuable guitar, or I may be better practiced, or more confident, or have more tour dates or more guitar students than someone else I see out there, but so what? It’s really not important.
And did you know that envy and arrogance can be combined? I can literally think “I really wish I was as good at such-and-such as that person, but at least I’m better than them at this-and-that.” Yeah, not healthy at all.
I’ve taken my eye off the prize again.
So, arrogance does not serve me, and does not honor the Lord.
Laziness
There are many Proverbs in the Bible that speak to the subject of laziness, but I’ll hone in on one that creates a rather vivid image. Proverbs 26:15 says, “A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.”
What an image, right? Imagine someone who wanted to eat their food that way. They wouldn’t really get a whole lot of nourishment, would they?
Well, if my hands are idle like that, I won’t make the progress I long to make as a musician, on any level.
Fortunately, the value of hard work has been “baked into” my upbringing. My father taught me the value of a good work ethic even from an early age, leading by example with integrity in a career that was entirely commission-based.
And there’s an entire spectrum of work ethic, from doing nothing, to working way too many hours and forsaking family time. It’s about a balance.
But in some musical endeavors, I’ve been lazy.
Sometimes, it’s because I’ve thought to myself that some of my ministry work wasn’t that important, which is deceptive, because Kingdom work is always important.
Sometimes, my laziness crops up, because when envy kicks in, I somehow subconsciously think to myself “I’ll never be as good as that guy, or that gal, so I may as well not put in the work.”And this form of self-sabotage manifests itself in the form of missed practice sessions, or “phoning it in” when I really could put in more effort.
But in my laziness, I might get passed up by a less-skilled guitarist.
So, then another problem appears. Because if I then decide to attempt to be less lazy, but only to avoid being passed up by someone, that’s the wrong motivation as well!
Laziness also takes my eye off the prize, because I’m no longer “pressing on toward the goal” (as Philippians 3:14 calls us to).
So laziness takes me nowhere good.
Three Antidotes
Let’s now talk about the antidote we can each take in, to help us overcome envy, arrogance and laziness.
The antidote to envy is gratitude. We can be grateful for what we have, where we’re at, and – wait for it – we can even be grateful that the Lord has blessed someone else with their gifts and success. This includes gratitude for what the Lord has given to secular musicians. God can use anything. If I’m discontent about something, especially if it’s because I’m envious, all it takes is a bit of gratitude to steer me right back on course.
We have a framed quote at home that says “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”Wow. Let that sink in.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 exhorts us to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”If it’s God’s will, we would do well to do that, right?
Next, the antidote to arrogance is humility.
Genuine, sincere humility is the opportunity to think less of ourselves, even when the temptation is there to do the opposite.
When people have praised me for my musical gifts, I try to direct the praise upwards, by way of a hand gesture pointing to the Lord as the Giver of my gifts.
But I can also sincerely thank them for their affirmation, as I am a steward of those gifts.
Philippians 2:3 says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”
Someone once told me that the opposite of faith isn’t doubt – it’s confidence in the flesh. I don’t know if that resonates with you, but the idea of exalting myself is really a way of taking from God’s glory.
So, humility is the sure method of combating arrogance.
In terms of laziness, the antidote for that is hard work, but with one qualifier: as unto the Lord. I may unpack those four words in a future episode of Guitar Serious Fun, but let me first quote Colossians 3:23-24:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Mic drop.
If I’m serving Christ with my gifts, I would do well to work hard for His glory. And then the laziness factor gets put in check.
Not of This World
Years ago, a friend gave me a copy of Petra’s album “Not of This World,” and the title song reminded me that we are strangers and aliens here. So our behavior should look different from those who don’t know Christ.
In the secular world, envy, arrogance and laziness are common.
There can also be a “corporate ladder” feel to the pursuits of a secular musician. They can pursue accolades, sponsorships, renown, and a social media following with viral responses, ultimately leading to more income.
We can lean into our good work, too, but we need to have the right moral compass. Is it wrong to work hard? No. Is it wrong to have a solid social media following? No.
The soul-searching questions of “why do you do this, and for whom” can shed a lot of light here.
And if our eye is on the prize, we can, by God’s grace, keep things in balance.
The Guitarist We Should All Surpass
Now we get to the crux of our discussion. It’s become very clear to me that…
There will always be someone better at guitar.
There will always be someone who is not as gifted at guitar.
There will always be someone who works harder than we do. And…
There will always be someone who doesn’t work as hard as we do.
As long as I’m living on planet Earth (and I don’t foresee us colonizing Mars any time soon), I will be here with a lot of people. And rather than give in to the struggle that comes with peripheral vision, I can focus on the prize, and what the Lord desires of me.
And now, things get really simple. Because although there will always be someone better, or not as gifted, or who works harder, or doesn’t work as hard as me, each of these facts becomes irrelevant.
This happens when we identify the guitarist we would do well to surpass in all of these categories.
I’ll now speak directly to you, and who you would do well to surpass.
It’s someone I suspect you know.
It is: the guitarist you were…yesterday. That’s it.
Work hard to surpass where you were yesterday in all these areas. Be grateful when you cross new frontiers. Be ambitious. Find joy, or even serious fun on the journey. And give yourself grace, knowing that it is Christ whom you are serving.
Don’t look to the side and give in to peripheral vision. Take it from someone who has wasted a lot of time doing that. Look ahead and run the race well.
And if you find along the way that you need to do business with the Lord, take a break, leave your gift at the altar, and go be reconciled to your brother, or confess to the Lord, and then come back and offer your gifts some more.
Keep your eye on the prize.
Wrap-Up
Well, I hope this discussion blessed and challenged you.
Now, you may be thinking, “Dude, you’re like, bearing your soul here. That’s awfully personal.” Yes, I agree, but if this podcast is designed to enhance your guitar journey, transparency can be a part of that, with a view to sharpening you. Again, if you’re offering your gifts to the Lord, and I am as well, could it be a blessing for me to share with you what has inhibited my offerings, and what has allowed me to overcome those challenges?
I think so.
I welcome your comments and thoughts, and if you’re looking for like-minded followers of Christ to run the race with as you discover your guitar gifts, I invite you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
If you’ve heard my heart a bit in these words, you’ll know that more of this, as well as lighthearted thoughts, and amazing battle-tested guitar tools are waiting for you when you join us. GuitarSuccess4U isn’t for everyone, but if you consider yourself to be grateful, humble, and you’re willing to put in a realistic amount of work to claim your definition of guitar success, you are welcome in our tribe.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript (and photos) included below…
My eldest daughter recently returned from her first international adventure.
She went on a special trip with some of her schoolmates to England, Scotland and France. While in England, she had the privilege of visiting The Kilns, a beautiful house in Risinghurst, Oxford.
When she got home, she shared with me how profound of an impact this experience had on her.
Why is this house significant? It was the home of author C.S. Lewis, who blessed us with a host of literary works, including the Chronicles of Narnia.
Upstairs in the house is the wardrobe that inspired those amazing books.
I’m including a few of my daughter’s photos here.
C.S. Lewis has had a profound impact on me as well, through his writings and quotes. In my opinion, one of his most powerful quotes comes from The Weight of Glory, in the “Learning in War Time” segment he crafted during World War II. Lewis said this:
“If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.”
That’ll preach.
I can fall prey to procrastination, and can self-sabotage by waiting for favorable conditions, especially with my musical development and progress.
But I don’t have to.
None (or some) of the following are real quotes I’ve heard or spoken, but they should give you an idea of what “favorable conditions” might look like, and how the “perfect” scenario can be a little elusive.
“I’ll practice when I’ve got more time.”
“I’ll play my guitar when I can make an actual physical space to practice.”
“I’ll write songs when I have less going on.”
“I’ll audition for the worship team when I’m a bit more polished.”
“I’ll make plans to collaborate with a fellow musician when school is out.”
“I’ll develop my creative and practicing routine when school is back in session.”
“I’ll get my guitar tuned up at the shop when I have a bit more flexibility in my schedule, or some more financial resources.”
“I’ll learn to play the guitar when my life is a bit less hectic.”
Do any of these sound familiar?
Perhaps the best way to combat these, well, potential “excuses” is to meet them head-on and to have an intentional, gentle debate with them, to see how legit they really are.
Let’s do this here and now, and I’ll walk you through my approach to each of these.
If the statement is “I’ll practice when I’ve got more time,” could something be done to make the time?
What could be moved around so that more time could be available?
If we want to set aside two hours every day for practice, that could rock our schedule paradigm pretty hard.
But what about 10 or 15 minutes? Is there a specific time of day where that modest segment of practice could happen?
Consistency trumps intensity, right?
Maybe a short practice session could happen in the morning before everyone else in the house is awake, or in the evening when they’re asleep. Maybe on a lunch break.
But setting aside that time, and committing to it (even deciding the night before that it’s going to happen) will help us overcome the hurdle of reluctance, when willpower wanes.
We can say to ourselves, “I’ve already decided to do this, so I’m going to follow through and do it.”By way of a parallel illustration, we all need to eat, right? I don’t picture myself saying, “I’ll eat meals when I have more time.” That wouldn’t make sense, would it?
Music can be nourishing to us in some ways that food cannot, and if we don’t play it very often, we can grow hungry and feel starved for that rich part of life that we know can bless us. So, let’s see if we can prioritize just a small segment of consistent time.
What about “I’ll play my guitar when I can make an actual physical space to practice.”?
In a pinch, virtually any space can become a temporary practice space.
I have found some unique, unusual places to practice my guitar (a college hallway, a moving vehicle while wearing a seatbelt, the bow of a boat, a dock, a picnic table, and more.)
None of these were really “favorable conditions,” but I made do, and I made progress.
I will say that having a space set aside that’s inviting and cozy can really make practicing more creative. We talk about this in one of the bonuses I give my members of GuitarSuccess4U as soon as they join. It’s called “10 Tips for Making Your Solo Practice Space Great.”
But even without a permanent space, we can still make space to get some practicing done.
If the statement is “I’ll write songs when I have less going on,” well, when might there be less going on?
Some of my best songs emerged in a very full season of life. And some songs are born out of stressful or emotional seasons. If I had waited for the emotions to subside, the fodder for my creativity might not have been as fresh.
This is a question that could be expanded upon in an entire episode, but can creativity be scheduled?
In her book “The Creative Habit,” Twyla Tharp absolutely argues in favor of this. I love that book. In my GuitarSuccess4U lessons, you can see her book winking at you from my bookshelf just to your left as I teach.
Cultivating the creative habit could be one of the best habits you develop, in any season of life.
What about, “I’ll audition for the worship team when I’m a bit more polished”?
Well, yes, worship directors want their members to be practiced and playing well, but there may come a time when someone just needs to step forward and audition, if only to get a little feedback.
And even if the answer from that worship director is “Not yet,” the guitarist auditioning can gain some insights for what they can work on.
Better to know more at this point about what’s needed, so as to be able to spend the next three to six months working intentionally on what will serve them and the team better, be it rhythm, clean chords, dynamics, or whatever’s needed.
Skill is something that can always be developed, and if we wait until we’re “perfect” at something, we may be waiting an awfully long time.
Next up is, “I’ll make plans to collaborate with a fellow musician when school is out.” Yes, school can be a pretty jam-packed season. Take it from someone who has sat with his kids for countless hours working through math, vocabulary, and quizzing them in preparation for exams. I get it. School is busy.
But so is summer.I watch in awe as our summers get filled with lots of (good) activities that can sometimes give us less margin for the other things we’ve wanted to do.
Sometimes just setting aside time on the calendar can be the best measure of being proactive.
This includes reaching out to a fellow musician and saying, “Hey, let’s take time a week from Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. for a creative musical session, whether jamming, co-writing, or just enjoying playing through some songs we both know.”
Because if we don’t make time in the summer to do the things we long to do with guitar and music, we’ll fall prey to believing this next statement…
“I’ll develop my creative and practicing routine when school is back in session.”
And then we’re busy with school, hoping for another opportunity next summer.
Yes, it can be a bit of a circle. Not a vicious one, but a predictable one.
But school does offer a routine.
And a routine can be a great framework to latch habits onto, including creativity and practice, both of which I’ve mentioned. With care and intention, the creative routine and/or the practice routine can be brought alongside the school routine.Maybe you have flexibility in your day to where the kids are at school and you can do some of your music. Or maybe after you’ve welcomed them home, as they get settled into their afternoon homework, you can grab your guitar.
Or maybe you’re the student, and you’ve had a full day of classes. The guitar can still call out to you from your practice space and invite you to use a different part of your brain for a few minutes before you get down to studying, or even as a study break. I did this more times in college than I can count.
There are windows of time where we can build our dreams even during the busy-ness of the school year. They might not be “favorable conditions,” but they can still happen.
Next, we have “I’ll get my guitar tuned up at the shop when I have a bit more flexibility in my schedule, or some more financial resources.”
Postponing guitar repair is something I’ve seen many people do. We can often hobble along on a guitar that “sort of” works well, but we can be foregoing a better situation.
Now, it can be expensive to repair certain guitars. But where I take my instruments at Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, they evaluate and provide an estimate, free of charge, so I at least know what I’m in for, and then I can budget or save for it.
But imagine if you had high string action, for example, and all it took was a new nut, saddle, or even a truss rod adjustment to change the game and give you the playability you longed for. It could make all the difference in the world. So, dropping off your guitar at a shop you trust, and having them evaluate it, perhaps on your lunch break, could be worth less than an hour of your time to invest. Waiting to do this could lead to low morale, because the instrument is going to be less responsive, and then…you guessed it…less motivation for practice or even creative expression.
Finally, for your consideration, “I’ll learn to play the guitar when my life is a bit less hectic.”
Some of the busiest people I know can still find time for their music. You’ve heard the saying, “If you want to get it done, give it to a busy person, and they’ll make the time to do it.”
There’s a lot of truth in that.
The reality is that we each have “life.” Stuff we want to do, stuff we need to do. And we make time and prioritize those things that are important to us.
There is a beautiful dance that goes on in the life of a parent, because they have work, leisure, and they’re constantly speaking into the lives of their kids. It’s a great privilege. And it can be tiring in a good way as well.
When I was growing up, my mom had a framed saying on the wall that said “Trying to keep house while children are growing is like shoveling the snow while it’s still snowing.”Right?But here’s the thing. We need to shovel the sidewalks, whether it’s snowing or not. And maybe we get the reward of a day or an afternoon where our sidewalks are pristine and have no snow on them.
But that’s not real life. So more than likely, we’ll need to shovel them again. Soon. And we’ll need to keep house, and chase our kids around, and help them with their homework, and make dinner, and do dishes, and all the things that come with life.
We all have to be realistic with what we ask of ourselves, but with the beauty of music and the deep calling many of us are walking in, sometimes we need to wade in and face those “unfavorable conditions.”
When we do, we discover the joy of learning and progress that’s waiting on the other side.
So, which “favorable conditions” are you waiting for, and what can you do now to seek knowledge (especially with guitar and music) even though those conditions aren’t present yet?
If you’re looking for a tangible solution, I’ve got one for you. And you may have heard me talk about it. It’s called GuitarSuccess4U.
Suffice it to say, it’s a game-changing, unique and accessible approach to learning the guitar, for beginning and intermediate Christian guitar players who need the flexibility to pursue their definition of success at their own pace, from the comfort of home.We’ve poured thousands of hours and decades of experience into something that will save you time, and more importantly, discover the joy of music as you fill in all kinds of gaps that lead to musical artistry.
And we’ve factored in the idea that favorable conditions aren’t realistic.
As one of our member, Megan, has said…
What’s really cool is that for each lesson, we provide a video version (that can be sped up if you’d like), as well as an audio version, and even a transcript that you can read along with or skim through. Many of the lessons also have full-color worksheets.Can you see how we’re working to make conditions more favorable for your guitar development?
And if you’re wondering what the financial commitment is, currently the monthly tuition for beginners is $29 a month. That’s it. That’s like 95 cents a day. Compare that to a month of professional lessons of this caliber at about $300, and we’re talking about an incredible value.Intermediate members pay annually for all access, and their tuition is $297 a year, which amounts to 81 cents a day.
This means that intermediate students have a full year of access to incredible content for less than the price of a month of lessons.
Yeah buddy.I will say this – no matter what kind of guitar learning experience may be out there, no matter how awesome or affordable, it’s not going to work for someone who signs up for it, but doesn’t utilize it. Right?
This applies to any endeavor – we’ve got to take some time to dig into what’s available.
I can’t say enough about GuitarSuccess4U. I’ll let you check it out for yourself.Well, I hope today’s discussion was fruitful and encouraging for you, and maybe it helped dismantle some of the apparent barriers to your guitar progress.I still stand by what C.S. Lewis said: “Favorable conditions never come.” But I love what he said just before that statement: “The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable.”How badly do you want guitar knowledge? Badly enough to seek it while conditions are still unfavorable?I sincerely, truly hope so.
And I hope you desire to seek guitar knowledge with me and our tribe of eager guitar learners who love Jesus. You’ve come this far. Maybe you’ll take the road to GuitarSuccess4U that has opened before you here. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/5boxes. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript included below…
Today’s strategy will be super helpful in showing you key locations on the fretboard that you can use as marker points on your way to mentally owning your guitar.
Memorizing the fretboard can be a confusing, frustrating process. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it can sometimes be sweet.
Speaking of sweet, my wife really enjoys chocolate. Now, if I was a really generous and thoughtful husband and I wanted to dote on my wife extravagantly, I could – Buy Chocolates Each Friday.
Hold onto those four words for a moment.
I have a tactic that could be really helpful to you as you endeavor to tackle certain specific locations on the fretboard.
If you’ve experienced previous sample lessons of mine, you know that I’ve highlighted natural notes on my fretboard maps, and today is no exception.
Have a look at the diagram I’m providing here.
Up and down the fretboard, we have a “boxed set” of four notes. These notes are B and C, and E and F.
I’ve made all the Bs pink, all the Cs orange, all the Es green, and all the Fs blue. On my diagram, you’ll see all 6 of the pink Bs, all 6 of the orange Cs, all 6 of the green Es, and all 6 of the blue Fs.
But there are only four situations inside our frontier here where the four notes are all grouped together on consecutive strings on the same two frets, so I’ve grouped them into four nice little boxes, which I’m calling “sweet boxes.”
Let’s use the mnemonic device from earlier – Buy Chocolates Each Friday, to help us as we go from the lowest to the highest strings, playing the notes B & C, and E & F on juxtaposed strings at the same frets.
We can reference each red box that encapsulates these four notes.
We can first go from the lowest strings to the highest strings. We’ll start on strings 6 and 5 at frets 7 and 8 as we “Buy Chocolates Each Friday.”
Next, we can move to strings 5 and 4 at frets 2 and 3, as we “Buy Chocolates Each Friday.”
We can then move to strings 4 and 3 at frets 9 and 10 as we – you guessed it – “Buy Chocolates Each Friday.”
For now, I’m going to skip over to strings 2 and 1 at frets 0 and 1 with – once more with feeling – “Buy Chocolates Each Friday.”
We’ve played the notes in four intact boxes that span 2 strings.
Let’s do a little sleuthing here. If I’m playing a set of two juxtaposed strings, and I have a 6-stringed instrument, how many sets of juxtaposed strings can I access? Well, I can play on strings 6 and 5, 5 and 4, 4 and 3, 3 and 2, and 2 and 1.
So, I can play five sets. But haven’t I only shown you four boxes?
That’s exactly what I’ve done. That’s because we have an anomaly, because of the tuning of our guitar. Although most strings are separated by a perfect 4th, one set of strings is separated by a Major 3rd. And which set of strings shares that interval? Strings 3 and 2, the strings I skipped over a moment ago.
Now, what if I bought a box of chocolates for my wife, but I accidentally dropped the box as I was crossing the street, and it got ran over by a truck? Well, it wouldn’t look like a box anymore. Because of the tuning between strings 3 and 2, we have an anomaly.
If we look closely at our piano fretboard from today, we see that we do have another “box” on strings 3 and 2, but it is disjointed because it got ran over, and that’s why I’m outlining it in blue. I’d feel blue if my chocolate box got ran over, wouldn’t you?
So, if I want to play this set of B & C and E & F here on strings 3 and 2, I’ll need to play notes on frets 4 & 5, and 5 & 6 respectively. “Buy Chocolates...Each Friday?” Yeah, maybe next Friday, right?
So, now you can play all five sweet boxes from low strings to high strings – strings 6 through 1, including the box that got ran over.
As you can probably tell, two of these boxes are lower in register – indicated by bold letters on our diagrams.
You can also move from the lowest frets to the highest frets for these five sweet boxes, as I demonstrate in the video that accompanies this article.
This discussion has been pretty technical, but you of course have the option of watching and re-watching the video if you want to establish these locations more securely.
The next level is to try to access these five “boxes” either by ascending or descending strings, or ascending or descending frets.
But get to know these patterns with the Five Sweet Boxes. They will serve as great anchor points for full and partial chords, the capo, and also scales, arpeggios, and any musical fragment that’s anchored on the fretboard in any key.
Thanks for exploring this lesson. Keep showing up! And if you want a much more comprehensive, self-paced experience, treat yourself to www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know that I’m very fond of analogies and their power to help illustrate a thought.
So, go here with me as we talk about SCUBA diving. That’s right, the Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus that many of us recall Jacques Cousteau using in his amazing undersea expeditions.
Years ago, I had the privilege of training to be a PADI diver – another abbreviation for you – Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
I trained in the cold waters of the Puget Sound. And on my many adventures, I got to go on a lot of different diving expeditions that varied in difficulty and complexity.
My first of several trainings was the basic Open Water Diver course. And it began in the classroom, but was shortly followed by several training dives in…
The Local Swimming Pool
Since I had never donned the BC (Buoyancy Compensator) with the tank and the regulator, my instructors wisely thought that training in a pool would be the safest controlled environment. And they were right.
Once I had the gear on, I was able to submerge myself and enjoy the quiet world of underwater buoyancy, even as I looked around and saw the pool tiles and stripes that marked the depths.
This was a great place to start, but ultimately, it was not going to be the best place to remain. What followed logically was…
The Sheltered Beach
We have some beaches in the Puget Sound that have great topography for walking into steep inclines and getting right into the water. But the water is cold, and it’s murky, and there are some unpredictable aspects to the submarine landscape of Puget Sound. My instructors knew their way around, and they showed me where to go, so after several open water dives, I was ready for…
The Reef
My dad and I took some of our less heavy dive gear on a plane down to Belize in Central America, where we enjoyed diving on Glover’s Reef, about 2 ½ hours off the mainland. This is where we saw the more beautiful colors, because the water was super clear.
I was able to go up and down steep walls of coral and sea life, because I had gotten really good at controlling my buoyancy level with my devices and even my breath.
I still hungered for the next level of challenge, which ended up being…
The Night Dive
Diving at night is also exciting, because even if you’re in the murky waters of the Puget Sound, which we often were, we got to shine our light, which contained all the colors of the spectrum, and see things in their true colors.But diving at night required an extra level of certification. It was important that we know how to plan for unforeseen circumstances, like how to signal our diving buddies if we got too far away from each other, or how to surface if there was an emergency.
Night dives were a step towards the next type of diving which was…
The Wreck Dive
I promise we’ll talk about the guitar very soon! You might be thinking – is this a blog about scuba diving?
So, if you’re going to swim inside a wreck, there’s a next level certification. This is because you have to be very aware of yourself spatially. Having a tank on your back makes you larger, and unable to fit through smaller openings in a wreck.
It’s one thing to dive into a wreck; you also have to be able to get back out of the wreck.
And I had bought a book called “141 Dives in Washington and British Columbia,” so I was super excited to discover the vast collection of undersea wrecks that were silently waiting…whether boats, train cars, or other unexpected playgrounds. Next was…
The Drift Dive
The best way to describe diving in a current is that it’s like flying underwater. We dove in a passage in the Puget sound called Agate Passage, for which we had been certified, but it had to be a 3-man operation.
One person drove the boat on the surface while two divers floated almost effortlessly below, holding onto what I’d call a “wishbone” rope that split to their two ends, and went up to a float on the surface.
But the water, as we had been warned, was swift. The boatman actually had to zigzag upstream, against the tide, to keep pace with the divers.
The best part was that the water brought so many nutrients to the sea life on the floor that it was just teeming with anemones, mosses, and other organisms.
We dove when the tide was moving, so we could get the most motion underwater. But it was also a bit precarious, because if one of us let go of the rope and drifted away, it could have gotten dicey.Fortunately, the third man of our operation was a Master Diving Instructor who showed us exactly what to do.
Optional Dives: Ice Diving and Cave Diving
Now that I have a wife and kids, I’m much less adventurous when it comes to thrill-seeking. So, I can confidently say that I will never dive in ice or in caves.
Ice diving involves cutting a hole in an icy lake, and diving down in the water to see the dark, clear landscape. I’ll let you think about what might happen if a diver lost track of where he or she entered the ice.But don’t think about it for long.
Similarly, cave diving involves a very specific approach, including a dive line, so you can make your way back out. But unlike ice diving, cave diving can get really claustrophobic with small, dark passageways, and the silt on the floor of the cave can get kicked up, thereby decreasing or eliminating visibility.
And the divers only get so much air in their tanks.
I’ll watch movies about ice diving or cave diving, thank you very much. No need to experience these myself.
Plan the Dive…Dive the Plan
One thing that teachers of many different skills will say is that some of the beginning concepts we learn are used by experts.
And one thing I learned early on as a diver was the importance of having a plan for every aspect of the dive, and sticking to it.
Even if I was planning to dive to 50 feet and I dropped a piece of gear like a light or a camera, and it fell to 100 feet, my plan was to complete the dive and surface, without trying to salvage the gear. Changing the duration or the depth of a dive mid-stream is not wise, for multiple reasons. There are dive tables that show the amount of nitrogen concentration in the blood after a certain amount of time at depth.It’s just not worth it to push the limits. So, having a plan, and sticking to it, leads to peace of mind, but also safety.
The Guitar…Onstage
Ok, now the moment you’ve been waiting for. Connecting the dots. This has got to be one of the most long-form analogies I’ve ever offered, but if you’ve come this far, you’ll appreciate it.
The Local Swimming Pool = The Living Room
Here’s where everything will start to make sense. If you’ve been playing the guitar a certain amount of time, you’ll feel the urge to share what you’ve played with someone else.
A low-pressure performance opportunity involves playing something you’ve learned on the guitar, in a living room setting, probably for family and maybe a few friends. This is the first place to start. It’s a safe environment where people will be very understanding. They may even politely applaud, even if you struggle at times.
The Sheltered Beach = A Church Group Gathering (E.G. Bible Study)
There may be an opportunity for you to bring your guitar to an existing group who might appreciate what you have to share. This could be a life group bible study, a youth group, or some other informal gathering where people are open to hearing a couple songs from you, or having you lead them in a couple worship songs.Again, the pressure is low, because they’re just glad to have you with them.
The Reef = An Open Mic
Here’s where a forum for sharing your talents is in place, but with less people you know. You’d be stepping up to a mic (or plugging in your guitar) in a performance space that will likely have sound reinforcement with a PA, and some folks listening.Note that I said “some.”
There may be a fair amount of people chatting, even as you play. Don’t take this personally.
They’re not there for you – they want to have a place to hang out, and they might listen in for a few minutes if they like what they hear.
The Night Dive = A Worship Night
Here’s where you can step into a worship team environment, perhaps in a supportive capacity, strumming your guitar while someone else takes the lead. You’re not primarily responsible for holding tempo or starting songs, but you do get to be part of a group and to feel what that’s like.
Mistakes are more audible, though, so you’ll need to be well-prepared and adapt to changing variables.
The Wreck Dive = A Professional Concert
This is where I spend most of my time as a guitarist. I’ve toured all over North America and played venues as small as a coffeehouse, and as big as a grandstand.
Each has a different intimidation factor, because although the sheer grandeur of the grandstand and all those people in the stands can cause nerves, the intimacy of a coffeehouse where people are sitting right in front of you, just feet away, is a different kind of intensity.
As with wreck diving, I as a performer need to be keenly aware of everything that’s going on in the space, whether I’m solo, or with a band. I need to sense if the audience is with me. If the audience is made up of multiple ages (as mine typically are) I get to respond to their comments.
If the emcee goes rogue and says something that doesn’t set me up for success, I can adapt. If something unexpected happens, like we talked about in Episode 45 of Guitar Serious Fun – “Glancing Back, Looking Forward,” I can adapt.
But if I don’t adapt, you guessed it…things can be…a wreck. So, I approach the live concert performance with respect.
The Drift Dive = The Recording
Whether I’m stepping into the audio recording studio, or filming a video, whatever will be captured will have a lasting finished product.
It will be memorialized on a website, or on social media, or it may be sold as a product that someone can watch over and over, so I definitely want to get it right.
There is some room for post-production and editing, but it serves everyone well to have the material practiced to precision.
Being super prepared is essential. And like the three-man operation of a drift dive, I’m relying on at least one other person in the mix to, well, mix and dial whatever’s needed for production.
Lastly, for now…
Ice Diving and Cave Diving = Live Video
In this day and age, we’re doing a lot more live streaming with music. But depending on the audience size, it can be a little intense, especially since the recording is kept or archived.
Imagine if a glaring musical mistake happens in a live video concert or a live worship concert. How much of that can be edited out or forgotten? Hopefully, most of it.
But unlike a non-live recorded video, the pressure is really on, because in addition to the people watching in the room, there are present and future people who will be watching over the camera feed.
So, a live concert or a live worship offering is something to be carefully considered.
Plan the Dive…Dive the Plan = Plan the Set, Play the Set
I know a lot of people who are spontaneous when it comes to music. I am not. I’m working on it, but really, my creativity comes in the planning of an event.
My set lists and my cue sheets really show my process. And maybe in a future episode of Guitar Serious Fun we can talk about planning and creating set lists.
But for now, I’ll let you know that I like to have a plan from which to depart, if necessary. And I usually have minimal departures.
This allows me to stay on track, and to avoid distracting my audience or congregation with what I call “blinks” that take them out of the experience.
Closing Thoughts
So, are you ready to step out onto the stage with your guitar? Maybe you need to start in the living room. Or maybe you’re ready for the concert.
But one thing’s for sure: each of these subsequent venues (or types of diving) involves more and more pressure.
When it comes to the ice divers and the cave divers out there, they didn’t go under the ice or into the cave for their very first dive. They started in the local swimming pool and worked up to it.
In a similar fashion, a beginning guitarist doesn’t embark on a professional concert offering right at the get-go. He or she starts out in the living room as their first performance venue, and eventually they become an expert at whatever level they feel called to be.
So, as a guitarist on stage, start with something simple, and see how you do. Look back at how it went. Ideally, record yourself and objectively evaluate what you did.And when the time is right (and you’ll know,) notch it up a bit to the next level.
We should always be bringing our best for the Lord, no matter how large our audience. And really, He is our audience.
But let’s bless those who are listening in by playing well.
I hope this unique way of drawing parallels to our guitar journey was helpful and interesting. And if you’re a scuba diver, or even if you’re not, I’m hoping that my analogy helped bring things into sharp relief for you.
Finally, if you’re looking for some solid tips and tools for enhancing your guitar progress in a seriously fun way, alongside fellow like-minded followers of Christ, I invite you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.
Here’s to many great guitar expeditions. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk briefly about what the implications are when a guitarist gets sick.
Now, when you saw the title of today’s episode, perhaps you thought the word “sick” was slang for “awesome,” or “ridiculously skilled,” like a guitarist who can play blisteringly fast licks on his or her instrument.
But if you listen to my voice on the podcast version of this, you’ll be able to tell instantly that I’ve got quite a bit of congestion, because I actually am sick. I woke up with what I might call my “talk radio” voice. And a whole lot of coughing.Thanks to the magic of audio editing on the podcast version, I’ll be able to notch out any coughing fits or the need to blow my nose or sneeze, but if you’re listening, you will still need to endure this altered sound of my voice for just a few minutes today.
Here's why.
I rarely miss the opportunity to learn something, and today is no exception. I invite you to learn with me. Here are a few talking points I’ll offer you. First…
Illness is a part of life.
Illness, though annoying, is a reality on our journeys. Even if we’re super healthy overall, we will occasionally encounter illness.
And how we respond to that illness can be a mindset thing that helps us recover more quickly, but also embrace the need to take time to recharge.
When I’m sick, I’m reminded that this world is not my home, and that my strength does not come from me.
I’m also reminded that prayer is important, and if I take each bout of coughing as an opportunity for a brief prayer to the Lord to sustain and restore me, I take my eyes off myself and I focus on the Great Physician and what He might be teaching me.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: we are always learning…or at least we always can be. Second…
We can power through…until we can’t.
Sometimes, the illness is slight, and we can pace ourselves with fluids, vitamin C, and gear down just a bit as we continue with our work, our practice, and our lives. But some illnesses really knock us over at times.
I’ve met guys who are super “masculine” who say “I’m going to ‘embrace the suck’ and just power through this illness. It’s not going to affect me.” Or “I refuse this, so it’s just going to go away.”
Meanwhile, they’re physically miserable. It might actually be better if they took a day or more to heal.
I don’t necessarily think “powering through” an illness is the best course of action, but if the illness is slight, taking things just a bit slower and being aware of our bodies and minds can help.
As I string these words together, my mind is pretty clear, but not as clear as it is when I’m healthy, so if there’s less logic in my thoughts, that may be partially due to my illness. So, I ask for your grace, if that’s the case. Hey, that rhymes.
Now, if someone has a severe or chronic health situation, sometimes things need to be put on hold on some level. It’s ok to do that. We need to be able to give ourselves permission to hit the “pause” on some areas of our lives. Next…
Illness is an opportunity to learn things.
Some of us, including me, sometimes tend to think that we have unlimited energy or strength, but this isn’t reality. This misperception can get checked real quick if a bout of illness comes along.
Living like I’m in charge takes me places where the Lord is not the focus, and then I forget that each breath, each heartbeat, is a gift from Him.
Colossians 1:17 reminds us that “[Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” He is literally holding me together. I’m not doing this – He is.
So perhaps a bout of illness can be an opportunity to be reminded that my strength, my life, my breath…these are not my own.
And it’s humbling, for sure, but it also lends perspective. Humility never hurt anyone, and neither did perspective. Next…
It takes two to tango.
Since this is a guitar blog, let’s talk for a moment about the guitar, and how we learn.
The guitar learning experience requires two basic parties: a teacher and a student. If one of the parties gets sick, well, the lesson needs to be rescheduled.
It just makes very little sense to try to keep a lesson while one party is fighting something…and if that lesson is in person, there’s the risk of “sharing” what one of them has with the other.
For years, I taught one-on-one guitar lessons, with a roster of 50 students and a waiting list. I enjoyed it, especially when students applied themselves.
I also had a cancellation policy, because inevitably, some students missed a lesson due to illness. And once in a while, my health (or lack thereof) precluded me from teaching well. So, I’d cancel a day of lessons, and would reschedule those students’ times with me at their nearest convenience, usually the following week.
It can be inconvenient to cancel a lesson due to illness, but here’s the thing…this can actually be prevented, even in the case of illness. Go here with me.
You may know that I’ve created an online guitar learning experience unlike any other. We have premium lesson content that I’ve recorded in video, audio, and transcript format, with full-color worksheets. And my members get access to these materials 24/7. So, if I’m ill, I don’t have to worry about trying to be strong enough to teach a lesson. I can rely on the lesson content that I’ve carefully crafted, that’s waiting for my members in the portal.
And of course, that lesson content was captured when I was feeling well, and thinking clearly.
Conversely, if a member is ill, they don’t have to go through the lesson content at that time. They can wait, and recover, and then revisit the lesson at their own pace, at a time when they’re feeling better. They can even “batch watch” some of the lessons, or speed them up if they want to.
Problem solved. The tango can continue, even despite illness.
Now, some students prefer a one-on-one teacher, and I fully support that, but if you think about the logistics around driving to a person’s teaching studio, or agreeing on a mutual time to connect either in person or over Zoom, there can be added factors to overcome.
By contrast, the learning environment I’ve put together is a game-changer.
The lesson content has been created based on almost three decades of touring, performing, leading worship, and recording in the studio, so it’s highly relevant, and can be enjoyed over and over.
Plus, we have guest experts who speak on a variety of guitar-related topics as well…which you wouldn’t find in a one-on-one lesson environment.
I’ll leave it with you to take a closer look at what we’ve got, but rest assured, if you’re a beginning or intermediate Christian guitarist and you’re looking for something to help you get out of a rut, you may have just found it.
You can check it out at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Next…
Perseverance and patience are worthy things.
Struggles and trials, especially like illness, can lead to opportunities for perseverance and patience.
James 1:4 reminds us that “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
And patience is one of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians chapter 5.
The Lord can use illness to produce these virtues in us…if we allow Him to do so. Lastly…
We are being renewed by the Lord.
I’ll leave you with one more passage of scripture.
2 Corinthians 4:16 says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
We are all getting older. We are all getting weaker. But these are only the physical sides of things.
Illness is a physical thing. Sure, it can impact us emotionally, but when we are spiritually nourished by the hope that we have in Christ, we remember that we are not bound for this world.
We can make music (especially when we’re feeling well), but we can also rest and recover.
We can also experience lifelong rest in the sufficiency of God’s plan to bring us home after we’ve learned what He wants us to learn here.
So, keep learning, keep growing, take things at your pace, and remember that when illness comes – the learning and growing doesn’t stop; it’s just a little different.
Well, I hope today was uplifting and encouraging for you on some level. Thanks so much for being willing to listen to my “talk radio voice” as I’ve shared these thoughts with you.
My coughing has brought me what I like to call a “rockin’ headache,” so I’m going to go lay low, force fluids, and do all the things, so I can get back to life.
But even as I do this, I’m going to prayerfully invite the Lord to continue teaching me that He is my strength. I’ll see you next time…hopefully, when I’m feeling much better.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
I’m thrilled to welcome our second guest to Guitar Serious Fun.
Today’s episode includes a discussion for what it means to embrace “Good Difficult” things, including aspects of our guitar journey.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because our guest is super engaging and enthusiastic, and listening to her will be inspiring and uplifting in many ways. I’m not kidding!
Our guest, Erin Pakinas, is a mother of 5, lives on a farm, has a humorous and godly perspective on life, and she and her husband are pursuing Christ’s glory as they do their good work.Together with our pastor’s wife Morgan Higgins, Erin hosts a podcast called Hauling Off, which speaks to a variety of topics around our church and classical school.
Erin and her husband are members of GuitarSuccess4U, and when I approached Erin to talk about today’s subject, she was only too happy to jump into the mix.So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/syncopation. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript included below…
Did you know that syncopation, in addition to being one of the most effective tools of music to engage the ear, is also one of the most precarious when it comes to playing accurately?
As strumming or flatpicking guitarists, we often come across guitar music that is syncopated…so what do we need to do when that happens, and what do we need to watch out for?
First, let’s define syncopation as: a temporary displacement of the regular beat in music, typically caused by stressing the weak beat. In other words, it’s an offbeat rhythm that sounds more unique and perhaps a little unexpected.
And syncopations happen a lot, especially in guitar music. Now, if we stress the strong beats as we play, like 1, 2, 3, 4…we’ll have a much easier time staying on track, because those are pretty easy to feel, hear, and articulate. But here’s the thing: playing on the beat isn’t always sonically interesting.
It’s often more artistic to occasionally leverage syncopation.
If you’ve played syncopations on your guitar – in just about any style, it’s possible that your tempo has been accidentally altered – and that usually means it has increased, probably without your intention, maybe even without your knowledge.
This has happened so much in my musical interactions with others, that I’ve come up with a simple saying about it. And here it is. You ready?
Every syncopation is a temptation for acceleration.
Do you believe it? I’ve worked with instrumentalists who somehow end up increasing a syncopated song’s tempo incrementally to where it’s distinctly faster than when it started. Sometimes this happens with a keyboard turnaround or a drum fill.
You can probably tell where I’m going with this – it can also happen with our strumming or flatpicking on the guitar. I say “our,” because I’ve done it too!
Let’s take a look at two short syncopated examples I’ve created for you as we discuss potential pitfalls, and some strategies I recommend to avoid those pitfalls.
Before we get into these two examples, let’s remind ourselves that quarter notes are counted with “1, 2, 3, 4,” eighth notes are counted with “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” and if we JUST count the offbeat 8th notes, we have “& & & &.” Right?
Syncopation with Strumming
The first example I’ve put together for you is a strumming groove involving multiple up strums, with some notes tying into other notes, creating several syncopations.
This groove in 4/4 time features a plethora of “offbeats” which are indicated by the “&” symbol. Note that four of these offbeats are accented, indicated by the accent symbols above the notes, but also the balls on the ends of the arrows.
The dotted arrows, as you might imagine, are silent. This is my special strumming system that I use in GuitarSuccess4U to help color-code ALL our strumming patterns.
Here’s the most important tip I can offer you when it comes to syncopation as you strum: keep your hand moving. All the time. If we pause, or even try to move “economically” by only strumming as the articulated notes appear, we will likely accelerate. Remember, every syncopation is a temptation for acceleration.
If you’re a detail person, you noticed that there are 10 points of contact because of this rhythm. And 10 is an even number, right? So, that means we could strum down and up and complete the cycle here, even though we’d be strumming incorrectly.
But we actually need to move down and up for 16 strums, even the ones that are silent, so we can stay on track.
Syncopation with Flatpicking
If you like to play individual notes with a pick, I’ve got one more example for you. An open A minor pentatonic syncopated riff is a great place to hang out for a moment.
And as you’ve probably seen in flatpicked notation, we have a symbol above the downstroke that looks like an industrial-strength staple, and then above the upstroke, we have a rather slender looking “V.” Feel free to articulate this, and remember to pick down on the beats and up on the offbeats, whether voiced or silent.
Closing Thoughts
Now, there will be exceptions to what we’ve talked about today, but the vast majority of our playing
will be cleaner and more precise if we follow this approach.
Why am I so particular about strumming or picking down on the beats, and then coming back up on the offbeats, whether voiced or not? It’s because I really don’t want us to even have to think about it.
If you’ve experienced Guitar Serious Fun Episode 48: “Strumming: Sloppy or Skillful?”, you know that once we’ve got this figured out, we can move on to making music.
Speaking of, I’m sure there’s a song at your fingertips that has syncopation in it, whether strummed or flatpicked. If you look closely at your song, you’ll find some instant application for what I’ve shown you today.
Until next time – pursue skillful playing, and remember: don’t give in…to the temptation of syncopation.
And don’t forget to check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com, where we go deeper with all kinds of tools, including strumming on multiple levels!
Thanks for hanging out with me, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
It could be argued that we live in an age of impatience.
We want our Amazon Prime delivery to arrive the day before we click the mouse. We want our restaurant food hot and ready as soon as we pay order it. We want “instant results” with less effort.
Sure, some of those things are possible (maybe not Amazon a day early; I was of course being hyperbolic.) But it’s my conviction that good things come to those who wait…and that better things come to those who invest with patience and persistence.
But these are not universal virtues; we’re often looking for hacks that can sometimes come in the form of shortcuts or substitutes. These impatient steps can lead to a certain amount of results, but at what cost?
Cramming in College
When I was in college, many of my professors gave me a heads-up about when our major exams would be. And I knew that studying for these exams would be essential.
But sometimes I was guilty of “cramming” the night before, having done little or no studying thus far.
Occasionally, I pulled off a B+ on the exam, but the downside was that shortly after the test was finished, I had forgotten most of the material.I had used my short-term memory as my cache for the information on the test, because I had crammed it.
But here’s the thing – I was earning a music degree. Do you think some of those early concepts (especially music theory) came back later and needed to be recalled for “next-level” courses and exams?
Yep. So, I learned quickly not to cram, at least not in my music major.
Speaking transparently, I still did some cramming of concepts for some of my General University Requirements, but looking back, that wasn’t wise either.I had substituted cramming for actual diligent study, and I reaped what I had sown.
Fire and Water
Twice, recently, I’ve seen signs that have cautioned me against substitutes for the sake of safety.I was walking in the local Wal-Mart and spotted a multi-pack of fire clickers. You know, the lighters with the trigger and gooseneck end that you can use to light a fire on a grill or in a wood stove.
On the packaging, I saw these words:
“No lighter is child-proof. There is no substitute for proper adult supervision.”
I agree. Giving little 3-year-old Johnny access to one of these lighters and letting him run through the house or the yard with his “torch” could lead to serious problems.
And that’s probably why this warning was issued. Some parent somewhere abdicated their responsibility to keep the lighters out of reach, and either by action or omission, let a young one access the lighter unsupervised, and then…there was a fire of some kind.
The same day, I took my daughter to swim practice, where I observed this sign on the wall at our local pool:
“Watch your children for pool safety; there is no substitute for supervision.”
This warning sign spoke volumes, even in a venue where three lifeguards were standing ready.
Now, these two warnings about fire and water imply the potential for extreme scenarios, but each of the warnings was likely the result of a parent choosing in the moment not to be as attentive and present, perhaps because they were trying to do too much at once.
Now, kids can be hard to chase down. Some of them abuse trust or think they can do more than they can.
I can’t speak intelligently to potential circumstances where fire or water got out of control, and they’re likely a lot more complicated circumstances than I might realize, but one thing is true: if those children had received undivided adult supervision, their safety would have been improved significantly.
“Cakedrastic” Circumstances
On a lighter note, I’ve tried my hand at baking things with comedic results. And sometimes this has happened as a result of trying to substitute an ingredient or a method that had not been tested.
I’ve tried an ingredient substitution, and watched in sorrow as my “baking project” became a drastic baking disaster.
I had been looking for a shortcut, or I was impatient and didn’t want to run to the store or visit a neighbor to get the actual ingredient I needed, and thus, I allowed a substitute to decrease the quality (or obliterate the quality) of what I was putting together.
But as the soprano Beverly Sills is known to have said, “There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.”
The Iron Triangle
You may have heard of the Iron Triangle. I talk about this sometimes, because I think it’s a super important picture to remember. It applies to a lot of different aspects of life, whether business or just doing things we do each day.
There are three sides of the Iron Triangle: Good, Fast and Cheap.
According to the rule, you can have two sides, but not all three.
If something is good and fast, like overnight shipping, it’s not going to be cheap.
If something is good and cheap, like a professional graphics designer waiving his fee for your album art as he “makes time” in his off hours to gradually get it done, it’s probably not going to be fast.
And if something is fast and cheap, like a quickly microwaved freezer meal, it’s probably not going to be that good.
We have to be able to accept these parameters, because they’re almost on the caliber of laws of nature. They really can’t be bent. We can sacrifice aspects of each of the sides in favor of having all of them, but they won’t hold together as well.
Learning the Guitar
Let’s take this idea of “no substitutes” into the guitar learning realm, which is a huge part of my passion – equipping beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.
In this day and age, we have a lot of options at our disposal for guitar learning. Some are in-person, with a one-on-one guitar teacher. Others are at workshops or conferences as a group.
Then there are apps and digital products like recorded instructional videos.
There’s also something called “edutainment” – the idea of sharing an Instagram reel or a YouTube short that has 60 seconds or so of information…with a nugget of instructional wisdom, encapsulated in a fun, entertaining manner.
I’ve been trying my hand at these recently. And if you wanted to follow me, I certainly wouldn’t mind. I’m findable on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/guitarsuccess4U
I’m also findable with a whole set of YouTube shorts at www.youtube.com/@guitarsuccess4u
So, each of these learning methods has merits, and each has downsides.Without drawing a Venn diagram and taking opportunity each apart, I will say that when it comes to learning the guitar, some substitutes are less optimal. Like those that don’t have personal connection.
As relational beings, we as humans appreciate the opportunity to have genuine interaction with some sort of dialogue (I’m not talking about Artificial Intelligence.) Emotional exchanges where we have the opportunity to encourage each other are more valuable than we may realize.
So, a guitar method book, a DVD, or digital iterations of these in the forms of PDFs and online videos, can only take us so far. I can’t ask a PDF if it was glad to be a part of my guitar development that day. I can’t receive sincere, specific, verbal insights from a pre-recorded video about what I’m working on.
And try as they might, the innovators of AI cannot replace a real person. They might get close with permutations of responses, but an actual conversation with a person is unique and special.
Again, those tools (and digital interfaces like apps, quizzes, and even guitar-emulating video games) can provide value and enjoyable experiences.
But there is no substitute for interpersonal interaction.
To me, the best of both worlds is to have excellent teaching materials with…a personal touch. And I’ve done this for a couple decades – offering one-on-one lessons with worksheets and charts I’ve made, that I’ve personally walked my students through, giving them gentle encouragement and accountability along the way.
But with a studio roster of 50 students a week with a waiting list, something had to change for me. In addition to touring and recording, life also got fuller with the beautiful addition of family.
Here’s where I was…I didn’t want my learners to have to experience unnecessary substitutions, at least not in large amounts.
So eventually, the Lord brought to my wife’s mind the idea of creating an online experience where students could access the most relevant concepts I have curated from my three decades of guitar playing…and those could be combined with actual interaction with…me.
We call this unique experience GuitarSuccess4U.
The teaching materials are meticulously crafted to be simple and accessible (and that took literally thousands of hours, so as to save my members a lot of that time.) Totally worth it.
Side question: what’s the only non-renewable resource we use every day? Time. Now, there’s a difference between saving time and wanting to do something that takes almost no time. I’m wary of someone who uses language like “instant” or “overnight.” As a musician, nothing, and I repeat, nothing has come to me instantly or overnight. Some of my best songs have literally taken years to develop. That might discourage you, but if you’re in this for the long game, you’ll see the value of taking the time to dig in and discover your potential.
Also, never underestimate the power of community for the benefits of encouragement, accountability, and the gentle reminder that you are not alone.
The interpersonal interaction inside GuitarSuccess4U includes our weekly Zoom calls, as well as comment threads in the portal where the membership materials are. My goal is to host an in-person guitar camp for my members in the near future.
And while the membership is at a manageable size, I do offer private one-on-one lessons over Zoom, and in person for those who are within driving distance of my studio.
But in this way, I have offered my members a battle-tested curriculum with videos, audio files, transcripts, and PDF worksheets for maximum effective learning and retention…and they experience the blessing of community as well. Peek at our online Google Reviews and you’ll see how much our members love this.
Think about this for a moment. If you watch an instructional guitar video, and you have a question, you might be able to find an answer with enough sleuthing. But what about being able to bring that question to the one who created that video and that worksheet, in a real-time Zoom call?
I love answering questions based on the material inside GuitarSuccess4U. I also love it when our members help each other answer questions.
If you desire to get out of some guitar ruts, to explore new musical frontiers, and to discover your guitar potential for the glory of God, I encourage you to check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
You just might find the learning experience you’ve been waiting for.
Remember – there are lots of easy shortcuts that promise “hacks” for learning the guitar, but many of them only take you so far. True, quality musical offerings require a “long game” mindset. And that is a worthy thing.
But we have found a way to save you a lot of time, to help you learn the things you need to learn for your definition of guitar success. There is time that’s required…it’s not going to happen instantly or overnight, but in that way it actually feels more worthy, because you’ve invested the time.
It’s been my experience that if I don’t invest time or resources in something, I just don’t value it as much. If I’m given something, I appreciate it, but if I earn it, or earn the money to purchase it, I think I’ll take much better care of it.
The same could be true in an investment like this. We find that when people pay, they pay attention.
So, accept no substitutes for good guitar teaching. I challenge each of my members to put a reasonable amount of time and effort into their learning, and when they do, I hear about the wonderful results they are getting.
Some of the best music we will ever play is waiting just on the other side of some good, diligent hard work. That sounds a lot like serious fun to me.
I hope today was a good balance of ideas that were convicting and encouraging. But please, lean into your guitar pursuits. They are worth it. And please check out GuitarSuccess4U. And share this episode with someone. And follow me on Instagram and YouTube. You know, all the things.
I’ll leave you with this quote from the famous inventor Thomas Edison. He said, “There is no substitute for hard work.”I really don’t have anything to add to that. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about what to do when someone criticizes our guitar playing.
I’m taking a swing at another subjective, relational topic today. So, if you experience these words and you agree, disagree, or have things to add…your comments are welcome, especially if they are constructive.
I certainly encourage you to honor the Lord with your comments – but if you’ve been experiencing this content for even a few episodes, I’m thinking you are already on board with that. I’d also like to extend a word of gratitude to my wife, Whitney, for helping me gather some thoughts for today’s episode.
If you’re like me, you play the guitar. And if you’re like me, you want to get better at playing the guitar.
But there are times when we get discouraged because of what people say about our guitar playing.
I’ve got a few strategies I want to invite you to consider on your guitar journey that might give you some encouragement.
Two main types of criticism
Criticism can be divided into two basic categories. First, the type that’s designed to tear down, and second, the type that’s designed to build up.
If criticism is offered in such a way that it basically says, “What you’re doing is not good, or not good enough,” with no suggestion for how to improve, I’d call that the negative, “tear down” type of criticism.
We have an enemy. Satan. The father of lies. The devil. The accuser. And he can often be a part of this kind of criticism.
These kinds of darts he throws are intended to destroy, paralyze, and keep us from moving forward. And sometimes something is said that is directly intended to wound, or it could be said in a less than intentional way and therefore perceived as negative criticism.
There are things people have said to me in musical and non-musical circles that were very unkind. And they were communicated in ways that could have been improved upon, or even not spoken at all.
I saw a movie several years ago that I cannot openly recommend to fellow Christ-followers because the language was so coarse. It was the 2014 movie Whiplash, where the protagonist, a very gifted drummer named Andrew, comes under the tutelage of a ruthless jazz teacher by the name of Mr. Fletcher. Fletcher stops at absolutely nothing to get the very best from his students and shows no empathy or care for their feelings. His words are crude, unkind, and he even resorts to shouting and slapping one of his students for not playing in tempo.
This “quality at any cost” mentality is very much “of the world,” and I don’t believe it has a place in our faith-based approach to music.
Again, we are called to “play skillfully,” as Psalm 33:3 commands, but we are also called to “speak the truth in love,” as Ephesians 4:15 reminds us.
As I watched Whiplash and observed the faces of the students under Fletcher’s direction. They wrestled with the pursuit of perfection and the simultaneous hurt they experienced from such harsh criticism. They played better, but in my opinion, it wasn’t a “win.”
Criticism that is intended to build up, on the other hand, is typically offered in the form of constructive criticism. Just as buildings are constructed, criticism offered with the intent to build up, is constructive.
If someone offers me constructive criticism, it usually comes in the form of showing me what needs work…but then, wait for it…how to improve.
This essential component of a suggestion for how to make something better really makes the criticism constructive.
This type of criticism is from the Lord. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” If He is working in us, He will bring people into our lives to help make us into vessels for His glory.
So, constructive criticism is intended to help us remain humble, and to grow spiritually. If we are teachable, we can be open to constructive criticism.
Consider the source
If criticism of any kind is offered, we have to be careful not to simply accept it without thinking. We need to consider the source.
I’ve shared this story before, but a fellow dorm dweller in college heard me playing my very first hours of guitar, and said, “Dude, whoever’s trying to play that music, just stop. You suck.” This was a source that probably was not worth listening to. He offered no suggestions except to quit. Not a great source to receive opinions from.
I’ve also shared this story before. I recently posted a video on social media of me teaching a basic guitar concept. One person offered a single comment: the word “moron.”Now, that is instantly recognizable as negative criticism. There was no suggestion for how to improve, just this simple negative word. I was curious, so I clicked on this guy’s profile. All of his photos showed him frowning. He looked, quite possibly, like one of the most unhappy people I had come across in a while.
And he himself hadn’t contributed anything for others to consume or enjoy. A telltale characteristic of a critic is that he or she doesn’t actually produce much – they typically spend most of their efforts cutting others down. It’s not a generous posture at all.
Social media is tricky. Not everything that’s offered in terms of comments is worth considering, especially the negative stuff. There are things people will type into a comment that they would never even think about saying to someone’s face. It’s like shooting from behind a hunting blind or something.To use another description, when I was in my more mischievous pre-teen years one winter, I was outside with some of my colleagues, and there was one kid I didn’t like very much because he had always been unkind to me.
Rather than make efforts to reconcile and mend the relationship, I chose to make a snowball and lob it vertically overhead, with perfect precision so that it came down the back of the inside of his coat.
I had thrown it straight up, but by the time the snowball got back to earth, I was turned and looking a different direction, and the expression on my face was “innocence.” I had been a coward. But he found me out and an adult had to get involved.
People who offer negative, borderline anonymous criticism, are really not worth listening to.
Anonymous criticism on a comment card at church carries zero weight with me.
Things like “I didn’t like that arrangement of that hymn,” or “Too loud,” without any contact info with which to engage, are really not worth my time. If they include an e-mail address or phone number, I can open a conversation and get to know where they’re coming from.
Now, if someone offers criticism of a negative nature, and I have a chance to consider the source and realize that the thoughts were well-intended, if offered in a hasty manner, I can have grace for their miscommunication. I think of younger kids in some of the school chapels I’ve presented.Sometimes, young kids might shout out things like, “That doesn’t look right,” or “You played the wrong note,” or something like that. No filter, right? What they’re trying to do is add their voice to the conversation, even if it’s not presented eloquently or diplomatically. I can let those comments go.
If someone I care about says something a little harshly, I need to seek reconciliation, and to keep short accounts. I’ll need to go to them and say, “Hey, did you really mean what you said when you told me I was playing too fast?”And perhaps I was.
But the relationship is more important than what is being criticized.
I have had a handful of ministry relationships where I thought I had communicated my concerns and criticisms well enough while offering suggestions, but they were not received as I had hoped. And looking back, I could have used a different method.
E-mail is a way of communicating information, but it’s really not great for communicating emotion, because people can read into it.
Suffice it to say, when I’ve offered criticism or suggestions over e-mail, I’ve had mixed results. The better solution would have been to gather with them in person, and have a conversation face-to-face, or at least allow them to hear the tone of my voice over the phone.
When I’ve sent e-mails containing constructive criticism, some folks have chosen to discontinue their part on the team, but without giving me a chance to work through the misunderstanding with them.
This can be really tragic, because not only can they harbor resentment without seeking reconciliation, they can actually convince others to leave with them. And it’s my conviction that this kind of behavior is not a way to honor Christ. The deceiver loves it, because it causes division.
Now, if I was rude or mean to a team member without explanation, they still have the burden to seek reconciliation, as Matthew 18:15-20 commands us. But my desire to restore, even under the misunderstanding circumstances, has not always been accepted or received.
Speaking of Christian circles, I wish I didn’t have to say this, but some very mean, negative criticisms (without constructive suggestions) have emerged from the mouths of some people who profess Christ. This is not a display of the Fruit of the Spirit.
But since we’re all sinful by nature, it’s going to happen. Let’s be aware and prepared for it.
Lastly, on this subject, don’t forget that we ourselves can self-criticize.
And what we say, we can start to subconsciously believe. Words like “I’m so stupid,” or “I’ll never get this,” are not only destructive to our process; they’re insulting to our Creator.
When we start to hit the “repeat” button on those words in our heads, even after we stop saying them, we start to believe them.
Our inner critic can take something we say (or someone else says) and magnify it. So, we need to take every thought captive (1 Corinthians 10:5) and to check it with what would honor the Lord and ourselves, as His children.
Instead of negative self-criticism, we can say things to ourselves like, “I may not have this yet, but I’ll keep working on it,” or “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” or “This is the long game.” But it needs to be less negative, and more constructive.
So, we need to consider the source. And if we are the source, let’s be sure we’re offering constructive criticism in a way that honors others and ourselves, as well as the Lord.
Consider the motivation
If someone is offering criticism, they have some sort of motivation. It could be to make themselves feel better by belittling us with an insult. Or, it could be to help us grow as musicians, or even with our character. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
If the motivation of the person offering their opinion is to help us, we would do well to receive their counsel, even if it doesn’t feel good. On the other side of that conversation, we can experience growth, progress, and forward momentum.
If they only want to be mean, we can allow the Lord to take those arrows, and then we can move on to the next conversation, or even more appropriately, we can take a little time in the Word to read what God has to say about us.
Maybe try reading Psalm 139 as a start.
But everybody has an opinion.
And like it or not, any sort of ministry where we offer our musical gifts, especially up front on the worship platform or the stage, is bound to draw unsolicited input from congregants or audience members who would never in a million years have the courage to step up and do what we do.
You are not your music
I book my own shows, and Whitney has helped me do this for several years. We hired a few part-time booking assistants for a few months, but I’d say that most of the booking responsibilities, especially in recent years, have been mine.
It’s exciting and unpredictable to send e-mails, texts, and to hop on the phone, because you never know what people are going to say. Some may be very responsive and excited, others moderately interested, and others disinterested, or even silent (which, over time, can communicate disinterest.)Early on, when someone was disinterested in hosting my ministry, I took it rather personally. I thought, “Maybe I don’t have something to offer.”
But here’s the thing. I had played enough concerts and led enough times of worship that people had verbally expressed to me their deep appreciation…so I had temporarily forgotten that I did have something to offer.
But not to everyone.
Imagine if in the process of reaching out to five dozen venues or so (which is what I typically average in a booking session), every single venue said, “Yes. Let’s put something on the calendar. And we can accommodate your honorarium, no problem.”First, I’d need to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. But second, if they all wanted to book me, my calendar would be overwhelmed with commitments, to say nothing of the physical toll it might take on me to have multiple days of engagements in a row.
I’ve found my sweet spot of about 30 to 50 shows a year or so. One year I did about 100, and it was too much. There are other artists out there who can play 200-300 dates a year. That’s fine, but it’s just not for me.
If I want those shows on my calendar, I need to sift through the venues that aren’t interested, to get to the ones that are interested. If, every time someone said “No, we’re not interested,” I decided not to get back on the phone or send any more e-mails, I’d be giving in to unnecessary discouragement.
I received some helpful insight from Dawn Jones about this early on. Dawn was our guest on Guitar Serious Fun Episode 46: Reduce it to the Ridiculous.
When talking about rejection in the booking realm, Dawn encouraged me to pick out an object on my desk. I chose a mug full of highlighters.
She said, “David, I want you to think of this mug of highlighters as your ministry talent – your guitar playing, your singing, your worship leading and your performing. When a venue says they’re not interested, they’re not saying that they’re not interested in you. They’re saying that they’re not interested in your ministry talent. It’s like they’re saying, ‘We don’t have a need for highlighters with the projects we’re working on right now.’”
I literally printed up those words and put them on the mug of highlighters right where I could “read them on the run.”
I know it can be easy to take things personally, and I’m working through this off and on as I do ministry, but the one thing I can keep coming back to is the fact that my gifts, abilities, and talents are not me.
Tom Jackson, a performance coach I’ve mentioned in previous episodes, asks the question, “Is everybody who listens to your music going to like you?” The answer is obviously, “No.”His follow-up question is simple but illuminating: “Is that ok?”And when we answer, “Yes,” we realize how incredibly liberating that is.
I am not my guitar. I am not my music. I am not my abilities.
Who I am is a child of God. And being loved by Him, at the end of the day, is what matters most.
Sturdy Vessels
When I was on staff as a Director of Worship, I put together an audition process that allowed me to keep a moderately high standard for the musicians I brought on board.
I say “moderately,” because in church ministry there can be a fine line between excellence and perfectionism. And one person who works really hard and plays a few songs really well could actually surpass the merits of someone who’s very talented but plays sloppily because they don’t practice.
Character is paramount, as well.
So, when I auditioned people to be on the worship team, I made it very clear at the beginning that they need to be ok with the word “No” or the words “Not yet” after they audition. They aren’t automatically granted a spot on the team just because they auditioned.To those whom I felt weren’t ready, I offered constructive criticism and gave them some things to work on, so that in three to six months, they could come back and audition again. But even at that point, they still needed to be ok with the words “Not yet.”When I’ve said “No” or “Not yet” to some folks, they’ve been pretty upset, for one reason or another. Perhaps they were allowed to offer their musical gifts at their previous church but weren’t up to our standards yet. Perhaps their level of self-awareness was not high.
But for one reason or another, I’ve had to respectfully decline bringing them on board. When they’ve gotten upset, their “true colors” of being offended or annoyed have shown me that their character was also not ready for the worship leading responsibility.
Those who remain teachable and humble are much more suitable for the worship team, especially because they’ll go work on their skills and come back.
Now, on the subject of sturdiness, we need to be strong enough to take criticism without harboring resentment for receiving it.
We need to acknowledge that the Lord makes each of us for various purposes. 2 Timothy 2:20 talks about articles that are for special purposes, while others are for common use.
For the clay to tell the potter “Hey, I belong in a palace, not a small house,” may actually skirt the edge of telling the Lord that He doesn’t know what He’s doing.
Maybe our intuition for guitar playing or music is not strong enough to be shared on a platform. Ever. Could we embrace that?
Maybe it’s something for us to share with friends and family, or perhaps in a Sunday school classroom. Does that make it any less significant?In God’s Kingdom economy, I’d say “no.”
We need to be sturdy Christians who aren’t bowled over by a little gust of wind in the form of criticism of any kind.
We need to be able to take it, consider it, and benefit from it – wait for it – even if it’s offered by a mean person in a mean tone.If someone says something truly unkind with absolutely no intent to edify us, we can still learn. At the very least, we can learn from that exchange how not to speak to others.
We’re always learning…or at least we always can be, and this doesn’t just include music, right?
So, when someone criticizes your guitar playing, your singing, your hair, or whatever, ask yourself whether it is negative or constructive criticism. Consider the source. Consider the motivation of the person criticizing you. Remember that you are not your music. And stay sturdy.
We are playing the long game. To last long enough to play the music that the Lord has called us play, for the people He has called us to play for, we need to be sturdy and resilient. The promises of His Word will be there to remind us that we are precious to Him.
And if you want to play the long game with me and other like-minded guitarists who are followers of Christ in a seriously fun environment at your own pace, from the comfort of home, in a highly affordable experience that is unlike anything else, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode, please comment. If you didn’t enjoy it, please also comment. But if you have criticism, I encourage you to keep it…constructive. Right?
Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about cultivating our awareness as guitarists, and why that matters.
This was a pretty tricky episode to put together, because it’s a little subjective in parts…but I’m actually quite pleased with where it went. See if you can track with me, and consider leaving a comment after you’ve experienced my thoughts.
Have you ever walked through a crowded area and crossed paths with someone who wasn’t really looking where they were going? I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve actually also been the guilty party.
It’s easy enough to look back at where we’ve been walking from, but not watch where we’re headed…and that can result in at least a comedy of errors, or perhaps a messier situation.
If someone isn’t watching where they’re going, they’re going to struggle.
We as guitarists have the potential to play well, to communicate well, and to enjoy the process…especially if we can reduce or eliminate some of these struggles.
I’ve got a handful of illustrations that are designed to help us understand the importance of awareness, all with a view to helping us be more aware of what we are doing, but especially of what is going on around us.
The Beginning of Batman
In the 2005 Christopher Nolan movie Batman Begins, Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne trains with mentor Ducard as he develops his skills.
One of their exercises is a sparring sword match on an icy pond. Just when Bruce thinks he has overcome Ducard and says “Yield,” Ducard looks up at him and says, “You haven’t beaten me. You’ve given up sure footing for a killing stroke.” Then, suddenly, Ducard taps his sword against the ice, and Bruce falls through it into the water.
The recurring phrase that is uttered throughout this movie is “Always mind your surroundings.” Having a heightened awareness of our surroundings helps us “do battle” better, and to be victorious. We can overcome obstacles and challenges, but we have to be…aware.
Nertz
One of my early memories of courting my wife was playing the card game “Nertz” with her family. I did not play well.
I discovered quickly that to have my eyes mostly on my own cards was not going to be sufficient. I had to be aware of the piles in the middle of the table, but also every other player’s rows of cards in front of them.
This would allow me to know what was coming up next, so I could get rid of my cards. But this was not a relaxed, calm game…it was a race against the other players. You snooze, you lose, right? The more players, the faster you had to act if you saw an opportunity.
This game continues to be a family favorite. I’m including a photo of the table where my kids and their cousins are having a rousing game of Nertz on one of the Puget Sound ferries.
Even playing this game with just my wife has been challenging. I’ve even found myself the recipient of friendly advice for what to play next. This proves that she is completely aware of her situation, but also of mine, which informs her situation.
I don’t love the game, but I love what it teaches: “Be hyper-aware of your needs, the needs of others, and how to meet those needs, even in a competitive environment.”
The most skilled Nertz player knows what’s going on in their hands, but also in the hands of their fellow players.
Even helping each other can lead to our own success, but we have to be…aware.
Situational Awareness
I was a guest musician at a Christian school recently where they had brought in some law enforcement officers to train the students and faculty in the unlikely event of an active intruder. Everyone was encouraged to memorize the address of where they were, so that in the event that they needed to call 911 for help, and they only had a moment to talk, they could at least state the address. It’s important to know where we are. And it’s important to know what to do if something changes the situation.
And some of this is made possible by…preparation. Being prepared helps us to focus and act intentionally when something unexpected happens.
But when it all comes down to the moment, our safety, and even our lives could depend to some extent on how tuned in we are to all that’s happening in the situation. Sometimes a crisis brings adrenaline, and those who are the calmest are the ones who can function the best.
Making it through a crisis can be done, but we have to be…aware.
Social Awareness
We’re all learning how to be better conversationalists, and we grow in this area each time we talk with another person. But some folks have more to learn. They tend to be what I’d call “socially unaware” or perhaps “less” aware.
This is demonstrated when they do most of the talking, or don’t sense when the person they’re talking to wants the conversation to wind down. They simply don’t respond to social cues, because they’re just not aware.
This can happen at any age. But when someone is aware of the climate of the conversation, it blesses everyone. They know how to contribute, how to ask good questions, and how to add value to what is being discussed…primarily because they know how to listen.
We can listen, we can respond, and we can build up others as we talk, but we have to be…aware.
Defensive Driving
If you’ve been driving for any length of time, you know that not every driver out there is aware of what they’re doing. They may be preoccupied by the fact that they’re lost or turned around, or they may even be hindering their own progress by looking at their cell phone.
In the past month, I cannot tell you the number of drivers I’ve seen on the road who have been texting while they drive. I couldn’t count how many I saw. That’s obviously a subject for another time, but I wish those folks would wait to send a text until after they get where they’re going, so as to avoid a possible collision.
It’s up to us to be defensive drivers. I recall years ago a bumper sticker that said “Visualize world peace.” This was eventually met with a similar bumper sticker with a bit of a snarky tone that said “Visualize using your turn signal.”Not everyone signals before they turn. We, as the other drivers, need to be on the lookout for their “less than awesome” driving, especially as a matter of safety. We need to know where we’re driving, we need to be watchful for how others are driving, and we need to notice traffic signs, lights, and all the rest.
Our safety in the context of the road and the other drivers depends on what we do moment by moment. We really have to be…aware.
Sensitive to the Spirit
I always appreciate spending time with followers of Christ who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Sometimes, in a conversation, someone I’m talking to will feel led to pray about whatever we’re talking about…right then and there. That shows a level of sensitivity that I believe honors the Lord, because it invites Him into the conversation and also brings His authority and guidance.
If we have a plan to do anything in life at all, and we feel a prompting from the Holy Spirit to change what we’re doing, we need to respond to that.
Perhaps the Holy Spirit is prompting us to give something to someone, to have a conversation with someone, to pray with someone. Any and all possible things can happen if we are stirred, convicted, or prompted by the Holy Spirit. But we have to be…aware.
Putting it into Context with Guitar
Yes, I believe there is direct application in multiple contexts where we play our guitars, specifically on the worship platform or the stage from where we are ministering with our music.
Let’s say we play guitar in a band, specifically on a worship team. What do we need to be aware of? I’d say everything.
First, like Bruce Wayne or Batman, we need to mind our surroundings. We need to know what’s going on in the space in which we’re playing, as we listen to the other musicians, the sound of the room, the response of the congregation, the vocalists, and their various musical decisions.
As a part of minding our surroundings, we need to know where we are in the music. If we don’t know that, we can get lost. I recall leading worship as a guest at a church, and as we rehearsed the set, the bass player started playing lots of notes that didn’t make sense. I paused the song and gently asked him if he knew what was happening.
He humorously responded “Where did I go?” We got back on track, and the rehearsal resumed. But for a moment, that musician didn’t know where he was. I needed to know the music well enough to be aware of this, so I could guide him back.
Second, like the Nertz card players, we need to know what’s in our hands, and also in the hands of our fellow “players.” We need to know what the band is doing, so we can be more musical. In other words, if the band is doing something dynamically contrasting, or there’s a specific groove, we need to be able to support that. Knowing our music well also helps with this.
We can help the other players, especially if we know what their role is, and where they are in the song, or even in their musical development. We’re a team, and we can be there for each other.
Part of being a good “player” is to know what pastoral leadership is doing. Sometimes, pastors think like musicians. Sometimes. But this is not common.
I’ve had pastors encourage me (in the moment) to “play a few bars of something while I pray.” They don’t know what they want, but they ask for it. We need to know how to accommodate their requests, and often with very little notice.
We might want to come back around and ask them to set us up for success with a little more planning…but some pastors just don’t work like that, so flexibility is essential.
When we know what the pastor is doing, especially if it’s a departure from the plan, we can make adjustments, but we have to be “in the moment” and totally aware to be able to do this.
On the same subject of being a good player, we need to know what the techs are doing.
Sometimes, despite the best of intentions and efforts, a song form won’t get communicated to the projectionist, and what is up on the screen for the congregation to sing is not what is on our music stand (or in our rehearsed set.) If this is the case, no matter how we’ve planned to sing the song, what trumps this is what we are “technically” telling the congregation is happening.
Third, in terms of situational awareness, beyond the obvious need to know what to do should there be an emergency in the church (e.g. knowing the address, etc.), we also need to know if, on a much lesser level of seriousness, the service is going long.
What do we need to do at this point? Does it fall to us to cut or abbreviate the final song? In an upcoming episode down the road, I’ll unpack the value of communicating well with our teams, but I’ll give you just a taste.
I have been known to craft and rehearse two versions of a closing song – one unabridged, and the other abridged. These versions have corresponding slide shows. And I cue these visually, without a word. If my hands are at their sides, my body language is communicating that I’m in no hurry – therefore, the unabridged version will be used.
If my hands are in “play” mode on the guitar – fretting hand on the neck, strumming hand at the strings – then I’m “raring to go” with the need to opt for the abridged version. Everyone – musicians, technicians, and especially the projectionist way up in the booth, gets the signal, and the length of the service is preserved, or at least kept close to “on track.”
Fourth, in terms of social awareness, we need to know our part in the musical conversation. The best thing we can develop is our ability to listen, because then we can contribute intelligently to what is being discussed.
(I’m being metaphorical in my language – I’m talking about the notes we play.)
If a piano player is playing a high riff with lots of 16th notes, there’s no need for us to re-state that on the guitar. We can play more sparsely in a lower register. We can also parallel the drum beat. Whatever the song requires. But we need to be “socially” aware so as to contribute well to the musical conversation.
Fifth, like a defensive driver, we need to be on the lookout for when fellow bandmates change tempo, or even accidentally play wrong notes. Is it up to us to steer them back on course? Maybe. Or maybe we need to come alongside them.
If a car in front of me stops unexpectedly, I need to change my course and stop as well, or we’ll collide. So, if the drummer changes the tempo or does something unexpected, I, like a good driver, may need to imitate what he’s doing, for sake of preserving the flow of the song.
Sixth, and perhaps most important, I believe we need to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in our musical offerings.
More times than I can count, I’ve been a part of a worship experience where someone was prompted to sing a song again, or add a verse or chorus, or add another song, or linger on a song. Different church denominations approach this differently – some are more structured in their framework, others are more open to what might happen.But any time I’ve been prompted by the Holy Spirit in a worship setting and responded to that prompting, I’ve been grateful for what the Lord has done. And in performances, sometimes I’ve felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to sing a particular song at a concert that I wasn’t planning to sing.I’ll ask a rhetorical question – can the Holy Spirit guide us as we plan the worship sets or the concert sets? Absolutely. The Lord is a God of planning as well, so even if the Holy Spirit isn’t prompting us in the moment on the platform, He may have already prompted us to put together the very song set we are playing.
Unlimited Potential
As we wrap up today, let me offer this closing thought. As worshipers, musicians and guitarists, we have tremendous potential as we use our gifts.
But if we aren’t aware, like each of these vignettes I’ve talked about today, we just might miss out on those opportunities to grow, to make an impact, or to be a blessing.
So how aware are you as a guitarist? Have you learned some things today? If you have, I’d love to know. Please leave me a comment, a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, or both.
And please also check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Lastly, as a friendly reminder, four weeks ago in Episode 53 of Guitar Serious Fun, I made a humble request. And I’ll ask once again. Would you give us some feedback on how we’re doing with this blog/podcast, and whether we should keep it going?The survey should only take about 5 to 10 minutes and it can be found at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/SeriousFunSurvey.
I know I asked three or four things of you today, but I’m in an asking mood. Again, please comment, give us a high rating, check out GuitarSuccess4U, and take the Guitar Serious Fun survey. Any or all of these could bless me, but ultimately, future guitar players who could be sharpened by what I’m offering here…and could also bless you as a guitarist.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/3rows. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript included below…
Let’s enhance our knowledge and skills a bit today with some fun fretboard memorization tactics. Today’s strategy will give us a much better grasp of just three specific rows of notes on our guitars, which will help us claim the fretboard faster.
Now, is it possible to memorize the entire fretboard? Sure. Does it make sense to start with key marker points so we can get our bearings and speed up the process? Definitely.
Here’s my plan for my brief time with you today. I have six mnemonic devices I’ve either curated or created to accelerate your ability to memorize three remarkable rows on your fretboard for the purpose OF: 1) chord placement, 2) scale placement, 3) capo placement, and 4) anything else you want to discover and play up the neck.
These six devices come in pairs, and we can find them ascending or descending across the frets at three locations where only natural notes exist. And where are these locations? See my table with this article (and on the video).
[Insert diagram where appropriate]
These rows are at frets 0, 5 and 10. Until we cross the repeating threshold at the 12th fret, nowhere else on the guitar neck can natural notes be found straight across the frets in standard tuning. Every other fret has at least one, and as many as six notes that can be classified as either a sharp or a flat.
Let’s start with the open strings from lowest to highest. The notes are: E, A, D, G, B, and E. You may already know these, and you may even know the memory device I’m about to offer. It’s: Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.
Nice, right? Let’s try going the opposite direction at this same location. The notes are: E, B, G, D, A and E. The memory device I’ll suggest here is: Easter Bunnies Get Dizzy At Easter.
Yes, I know these devices are just a little bit hokey, but hey, sometimes we need to get a little silly in order to memorize things well. Let those two devices sink in as you memorize these natural notes at fret 0.
Now, we move on to fret 5. These notes may not be as well-known to you, but fortunately I’m about to make them a whole lot more accessible.
From lowest to highest, they are: A, D, G, C, E, and A. The memory device I’ve come up with for these is: After Dark, Gophers Chomp Every Apple. Sure, gophers could eat apples if they wanted to, when they wanted to. So, picture a bunch of gophers chomping apples after dark.
Let’s reverse those notes with: A, E, C, G, D, and A. That memory device I’ve created is: All Elephants Consume Grass During April. Ok, so we’ve got animals eating plants here at the 5th fret. That’s fine, but more importantly, we have some memory devices with mental handles that we can grab onto. Take time to become familiar with these two memory devices at fret 5.
Finally, let’s jump up to fret 10, where we have one more row of natural notes. It’s time for some fun animals that like to move in a festive fashion, as we learn two memory devices I’ve made up for you.
The ascending notes are: D, G, C, F, A, and D. Ready? My wacky mind goes here. I say: Dancing Gorillas Can Frolic All Day. Sure, why not?
And before the frolicking is done, we can go the opposite direction with: D, A, F, C, G, and D, because…wait for it…Dogs And Ferrets Can Go Dancing. And that wraps up our mnemonic devices for fret 10.
Well, there you have it: six memory devices designed to help you memorize the natural notes in three remarkable rows, at frets 0, 5 and 10. I invite you to spool back through these to make sure you’ve got them. Say them and play them. Smile and shake your head at them.
More importantly, use them to claim essential locations on the fretboard. And before you know it, you won’t have to think about what you’re playing – you can just make great music!
Why is all of this relevant? Well, as I mentioned at the beginning of our time, we can quickly locate moveable chords and scales, and we can more intentionally place our capo, especially when we can leverage these marker points up the neck.
And P.S. if you’ve looked closely at the names of the notes I’ve provided for these fretboard locations on today’s diagram, you’ll probably notice that some are boldface, some are plain type, italic, etc. And as you might have guessed, that’s because they are classified on my maps by register. So good, right?
Now remember, it IS possible to memorize the entire fretboard, but I’d submit to you that it doesn’t happen instantly. We need to work strategically, over time.
And the good news is, I have a method that I’ve never seen used by anyone else, and it has proven itself.
The better news is that I’ve laid it all out clearly, with tools like the ones you’ve discovered today. During this brief mini-lesson, I’ve given you a small window into what’s possible. There is so much more.
In GuitarSuccess4U, my online monthly membership, my members go through a six-stage Success Path, where they move through carefully crafted lessons that lead to a clear understanding of the guitar.
In the “Knowledge” stage of our Success Path, we take 18 weeks to steadily build out the fretboard so that we can claim it from every possible direction.
This leads to better retention.
And don’t worry – we also discover some amazing color chords each week of this stage to help keep the content fun, light, and musically interesting.
But as you might imagine, these materials are available to members. Which leads me to the best news. YOU can join this amazing community and raise your game as a guitar player, for the glory of God.
Check out GuitarSuccess4U.com to discover what you might be missing in your guitar experience. I hope to serve you as a guide on your guitar journey.
For more fretboard adventures, feel free to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 12 - “Fretboard Mapping: Like a Retro Video Game,” and stay tuned for more fretboard fun down the road with the “Five Sweet Boxes.” What are those about? You’ll see…
Keep showing up, and I’ll see you soon!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
First of all, what’s a “win?” Well, in layman’s terms, it’s a small victory that gives us the courage to continue forward.
When we feel the “wins” of guitar and music, we get a sense of momentum and traction. It doesn’t take much, but when we experience a “win,” we feel invigorated, filled with hope, and it instills tremendous confidence.
By contrast, if we feel like we aren’t winning, well, we can easily get discouraged. And what is the battlefield where wins and losses play out most of the time on our guitar journeys? Our practice time.
How to practice is a discussion for another time, but what we do leading into or out of practice can set the tone going in, and wrapping up a practice session. This is what I’d call “bookending” our practice.
I have several tips I’m going to offer you, but guess what? Not all of them are my ideas. In a recent Zoom call inside GuitarSuccess4U, I was joined by several of my members, whom I affectionately call my “Guitar Successors.” And they had some great ideas. Ready to get some practical encouragement?
Bookends for Leading Into Your Practice Time
- I say, “Pray before you play.” This phrase may sound familiar to you, because it’s actually the focus of Episode 47 of Guitar Serious Fun. I encourage you to grab 6 minutes (or less) to spin through that episode.
Praying at the beginning of our practice time sets the tone, but more importantly, puts the focus on the Lord as the One who will provide any sort of guidance towards the progress He desires us to make.
- Cole says, “Play favorite songs you enjoy (that are difficult enough) for some good warm-up.” It would be good for you to know that Cole is a pretty seasoned rhythm guitar player of almost 50 years, with a solid grasp of chords and rhythm.
So, when he sits down to play something, he wants to be able to reach just beyond his comfort zone towards something that will give him a bit of a challenge.
This will keep his mind and hands engaged and focused as he warms up for a solid practice session, and the advantage here is that he’s playing songs he enjoys playing, which is very much a “win.” Thanks, Cole!
- Jim, one of our newer members, says “Go back and review concepts from a recent GuitarSuccess4U lesson mentally and physically.” Whatever your practice regimen, it can be easy to forget what you worked on last time.
On a side note – if you jot down what you worked on in shorthand in any sort of practice journal, you’ll know exactly what you did last time.
Jim is advocating a quick review of the previous lesson, not just reading through the transcript, but actually playing through the chords, strumming patterns, or exercises that were offered in a previous lesson.
That way, he’s reviewing and retreading what he knows – which builds confidence – but also ramping up for what is purposefully placed next in the process – which leads to greater confidence with the new material. Thanks, Jim!
- Linette says, “Organize your practice space or materials just a bit for visual space and focus.” Some of us – myself included – tend to let our practice spaces or binders get a little messy. Entropy is not conducive to solid learning.
Linette, who is highly administrative and deliberate, knows that a tidy workstation leads to more effective practice. She’s been with us in GuitarSuccess4U for several years, and I always appreciate the way she approaches her practice with intention.
Taking just a few moments to organize your practice space leads to visual space and an awareness of where everything is, whether pencil, metronome, or tuner.
Having things neatly organized in anticipation of a practice session is invigorating and empowering, and leads to a better practice session. Thanks, Linette!
So that was the first part of our discussion. Let’s talk about the second part…
Bookends for Coming Out of Your Practice Time
1.I say, “Take a GuitarSuccess4U Encouragement quiz, check your work – rejoice in the correct answers, and understand how to fix incorrect ones.” Now, you might not be a member of GuitarSuccess4U yet, but of course, you could join us and experience the wealth of neatly-organized, bite-sized lessons that are waiting for you. Want to know where to find this? Just head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Back on this subject, I offer an Encouragement lesson the second week of every month, which not only provides and uplifting story or quote (which, by the way, is a total win), I also offer a short quiz.
Gaining insights into what we know and are still learning, is definitely a win…and it’s facilitated in no small part by this quiz. Exempli gratia – I have some listening quizzes where I check to see if you can identify certain types of chords or rhythms by ear.
Ear training is a huge part of musicianship. So, you can take the quiz, experience the “wins” of correct answers, and – wait for it – experience the “wins” of figuring out how to fix incorrect answers. I’ve quoted him before and I’ll quote him again: Nelson Mandela said “I never lose. I either win, or I learn.” Let learning be a “win,” too!
- I also say, “Play something you learned today (perhaps at a slower tempo).” Whatever you’re practicing on the guitar, it’s always good to learn something new.
And depending on the level of difficulty, it’s good to try playing a segment of it, even at a slower tempo, so as to demonstrate to yourself that you’ve overcome the next obstacle.
If the song is tremendously technical, just try a measure, still slightly slower than tempo. If the song is not as technical mechanically, try playing it along with a recording of someone else playing it, again at a slightly slower tempo.
If the song is new to you, as I’m suggesting it would be, be sure to play through whatever segment of it in a way that doesn’t put pressure on you to keep up with the prescribed tempo. That’s for later.
For now, it’s about playing part of a real song, or an exercise, in a way that shows you that you have learned and can reproduce what you’ve learned on some level. That’s definitely a “win,” because you’re showing yourself what you’ve accomplished.
- Jim has another tip. He says “Play something on the guitar that you’re extremely confident that you can play.” This tip actually came from Jim’s recent observations of a golfing instructor at the practice range where Jim plays golf.
Towards the end of the lesson the golf instructor was offering to his student came a strategic “bookend” suggestion. The instructor told the student to hit some shots he was extremely confident in. That way, the student would end the practice session on a high note, helping him to feel good going into his next round of golf.
Ending on a high note, or ending well, is something I’ve heard other guitar instructors recommend. Because the “taste in our mouths” as we leave the practice space can still linger into the next time we sit down to practice, a day or two later, this is extremely important. If it was a “sour” taste because we ended on a struggle and put down our guitars with disappointment, we may feel more intimidated about getting back into the practice mindset.
However, if we’ve finished strong, even on something that’s totally within our reach, we have a good feeling, a “good taste” going into our next practice session, which, as you’ve probably gathered at this point, is a bookend “win” on both sides – the end of one practice session and the beginning of the next one. Thanks, Jim!
- Shirley says, “For fun, try playing another instrument to wind down (e.g. ukulele).” Shirley is one of our intermediate members, and she’s a worship guitarist. Another fretted instrument she’s been cultivating is the ukulele.
As a change of pace, she recommends winding down the guitar practice session and transitioning briefly to the uke, to play something different (most likely quite accessible) to sort of “cleanse the palate.”
This is likely quite a lot of fun, which allows for a different kind of brain activity and also leads to the feeling of victory in a related way, still with music. Definitely a “win.” Thanks, Shirley!
Lastly…
- Ephron says “Pray at the end of your practice time.” I hadn’t considered this, but having concluded many of our group Zoom calls in prayer, this totally makes sense.
The victories and the struggles we’ve encountered on the guitar during our practice session are once again committed to the Lord, where He can take them and use them for His glory, whether to remind us of our utter dependence on Him, or perhaps to use them to develop our brains even while we are away from the guitar.
There’s no such thing as too much prayer when it comes to our guitar journeys. Thanks, Ephron!
Well, as you can see, Proverbs 15:22 is clearly on display here.
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed.”
I’d like to give a shout-out once more to Cole, Jim, Linette, Shirley and Ephron for their great suggestions. There were others on the call who contributed to the discussion and nodded their approval.
And that Zoom call was a “win,” too, because everyone walked away with a better picture for how to bookend their practice sessions with “wins.”
👉🏻 Which “win” from today rings true to you? I’d love to know. Please leave me an answer in the comments.
And if you’re looking for wins, you may have just found your people. Don’t wait. Join us at GuitarSuccess4U.com and see what the Lord does to give you momentum, focus, and joy on your guitar journey.
I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about the lasting impact of music, and how we can recognize and harness it.
Music has a way of transcending time. This is regardless of style or genre. But it’s my conviction that music that has certain qualities and characteristics has the potential to go the distance. Track with me here through a few musical vignettes I’ve chronicled for you.
Born to be Alive
Patrick Hernandez, a French singer, released a song called “Born to be Alive” on a disco album by the same name in 1979.
I discovered the song in 1986, seven years after it was released…but in a very unusual way.
I was hanging out in Boston, Massachusetts, touring that city with some family, and I stumbled upon a mixed cassette tape on the side of the road with no one’s name on it but the words and letters “The TT Mix PL” written in thick purple felt pen.
I had no idea what those letters stood for, but my curiosity was piqued, so I put the tape in my backpack and brought it home to Washington State.
I spun through it multiple times, but “Born to be Alive” stood out way beyond all the other songs in the mix, and my father and I enjoyed listening to it over and over on road trips for a couple years after that.
23 years later, this same song was included in the soundtrack for the Russell Crowe political thriller State of Play, presented in a new techno version performed as a cover by the Flugel Horns.
I heard it in the background about an hour and 19 minutes into the movie, just as supporting actor Justin Bateman pulled up in a Cadillac.
The song had reemerged on my radar for the first time since 1986. Whether that song had longevity is open to discussion. But it had definitely made enough of an impression that even after 23 years of not hearing it, I was able to instantly recognize it.
That Voice Again
Another song, “That Voice Again” by Peter Gabriel, was released in 1986, the year I had discovered the mixed tape.
It begins with a harmonic Major 3rd between the notes B and D sharp, to start the opening chord sequence for the intro before the song settles into Db Major. This is a song that has been a favorite of mine for a while.
While putting gas in my car at the local Costco recently, I heard a car horn honk those exact first two notes – B and D sharp. “That Voice Again” was instantly brought to my mind. I had to double-check and make sure that that’s what I had heard. I had my daughter pull it up on her phone, and sure enough, my mind had instantly been transported to the song.
I still listen to Peter Gabriel and have appreciated the ways he has reinvented himself, especially with his symphony orchestra arrangements.
Cast Away
Speaking of orchestra, Alan Silvestri wrote some beautiful music for the 2000 movie, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks. But the music only took up 24 minutes of the movie, which ran a total of 2 hours and 23 minutes. That’s less than 17% of the film that had a film score under it (there were several well-placed Elvis songs as well.)
But with only 24 minutes of film score, Silvestri had to choose his notes carefully, so as to make the most impact. And per the Internet Movie Database, he chose to go simple. Really simple.
The only instruments he used in his score for Cast Away were an oboe, a piano, and strings. And the music was hauntingly beautiful.
The movie made an impression on me when I saw it many years ago, simply because of the loneliness Chuck Noland had to endure on that island for over four years. It was punctuated by the mournful music that swelled after he left the island. And again, per the IMdB, there is not one single note of written musical score in the film until Nolan leaves the island (1 hour and 43 minutes into the movie).The timing of the music was very, very deliberate.
In fact, even while my daughter was watching it with me, she commented that there wasn’t any music under the island scenes.Robert Zemeckis, the director, was very intentional about the timing of the music. Go with me here. I think there wasn’t music under those scenes, so that when there was music, it meant more.
Several years after that film had made such an impact on me, I was leading worship as a guest worship leader at a church in Wenatchee, Washington, when I heard the worship leader from that church, whose name was Isaac, play those haunting orchestral notes on the keyboard as we were dialing in our levels.
The music was unmistakable. And it brought up a surge of emotions as I heard it. I turned to Isaac and simply asked, “Is that the score from Cast Away?” He nodded, appreciatively.
That music still impacts me today. And it’s music without words.
A Medieval English Round
The summer I experienced the tragic loss of my sister, I attended a music camp. The experience was a bit of a blur, but it was healing in a way, as I got to sing with people I’d never met, while enjoying the language of music that we had in common.I can remember many of the songs we sang, nearly 30 years later. One of them was a traditional Medieval English round called “Sumer Is Icumen In.” It’s believed to have originated in the mid-13th century.
We sang it jovially, and enjoyed discovering how to sing in old English. It basically means “summer has arrived.”
That same year, a film about the life of C.S. Lewis was released. It was called Shadowlands. I saw it a few years later. And guess which song was sung by the choir on May Day morning in that movie? Sumer Is Icumen In. I recognized it right away.
Fast forward 30 years, and now I’m working with the choirs at my daughters’ school as a volunteer vocal coach.
In sifting through some of the music folios, guess what greeted me at the top of one of the pages? The very same old English round. Word for word, note for note, the music leapt off the page and greeted me like an old friend.
Bringing it All Together
What do Born to Be Alive, That Voice Again, Cast Away and Sumer Is Icumen In all have in common? Not much, except for the fact that they each impacted me in different ways…across time.
There may be songs that have had an impact on you as well. And these songs could go the distance in your life.
They may bring you back to an earlier time, whether sweet or sad. They may have spiritual significance, or they may just be rich in musical composition. They may have words, or they may be instrumental.
But these songs can travel alongside you through life. How do we create music that goes the distance? I would suggest three things.
First, decide the distance you want the music to go.
Is it for all mankind? Maybe that’s a bit ambitious, but don’t be afraid to aim high. Write or create music that speaks to peoples’ hearts. Let your faith in Christ be an inherent part of what you do as you compose.
Maybe your songs will impact a close circle of friends or family, or maybe they will bless your church family. Maybe they will travel to people whom you’ve never met. I’ve had the privilege of impacting lives through my music ministry that I may not cross paths with this side of heaven.
Second, be content if your life is the only distance.
Sometimes, songs are personally significant to us because we have a special connection with them. That may be enough. Personal expression and personal worship are very, very significant.
Third, think about why a song has endured.
Some of the great hymns of our faith have been around for centuries, and will likely endure long after we pass away. There’s something about their rich content, often scripture set to music, sometimes encapsulating the gospel in a single song…this has staying power.
I’d say that some music out there is just fun to listen to, but is rather temporal and temporary. Can we still enjoy it? Sure. But the music that will likely go the distance will have something extra about it. It doesn’t have to have words, or it can. It doesn’t have to have carefully-crafted lyrics, or it can.
But listen for music that goes the distance. This may require you listening more closely. That’s a subject we talk about on multiple levels inside GuitarSuccess4U.
If this sounds interesting to you, please check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. We could help you discover the music that’s within you, that may also go the distance in your life and in the lives of others.
You and I are only on this planet for a little while, so let’s keep our ears open for the songs that move us, including songs in our heads that are waiting to be expressed…and shared.
I hope this was helpful. If there are songs that have impacted you over the years, please let me know in the comments. And if there are topics I can discuss here in Guitar Serious Fun, please also comment.I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, I’m doing a little happy dance because we’ve just crossed the frontier of one year of Guitar Serious Fun. That’s one episode each week for 52 weeks. Definitely a reason to celebrate.
It’s also a reason to pause and assess whether it’s wise to keep going. And that’s why I’m going to humbly invite you to trade the 5 to 10 minutes you might have spent receiving my thoughts here, for 5-10 minutes of your thoughts in a short 16-question survey.
The reality is, there’s only so much time. And I need to know if I’ve been spending my time in a way that is beneficial to people like you who are looking for guitar wisdom on their journeys.
If this is not the avenue for sharing my thoughts, I’m ok to bring this to a close in the near future. But if it has been a blessing and you see the potential for more blessings through this form of content, I need to know. Here’s how you can tell me.
Please follow the link to our short survey and share your thoughts.
There are some multiple-choice options, and a few “open-ended” questions. You can complete as many or as few as you’d like, skipping the ones you’d rather not answer.
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And if I get enough positive feedback from my listeners, I’ve got more ideas for episodes which you’ll get to experience in the very near future! I hope to see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/posturetips. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript included below…
Sometimes we need to take a break from talking about music to attend to the details that help us play the music we want to play.
One of those details has to do with this important question: Do you stand or sit when you play the guitar?
Maybe you do both. Let’s take a few minutes to consider some ideas and strategies that can help you as you spend time playing your guitar.
I highly recommend watching the accompanying video to this article, because I demonstrate multiple posture examples. You can watch it (while it’s available) at: www.guitarsuccess4u.com/posturetips.
Standing & Seated Play
For about 30 years, I’ve been playing acoustic dreadnought guitars or a similar shape. The shape of this guitar allows me to rest my arm on the outside of the guitar body, with the elbow of my strumming arm at about a 90-degree angle in neutral position, as my strumming hand addresses the strings.
I typically don’t use a strap on my acoustic when I’m sitting down and practicing, because I’m able to hold it against me with my arm, but when I stand, a strap is absolutely necessary.
Evaluating Posture
When it comes to standing play, it’s important for us to keep our bodies centered over our feet, with equal distribution of our weight on each foot. Standing for long periods of time can be tiring, so be sure and have good support in your shoes.
When possible, I also recommend using an anti-fatigue standing mat. This is especially helpful when I’m practicing on a harder floor for long periods of time.
On the upside, standing does give us a lot more mobility. For example, if I’m leading worship, I prefer to fade to the side when I finish singing (so I’m not just standing at a mic during an instrumental section) and then I move back to the mic, to show everyone that we’ll be singing again.
Strap Length
I practice seated most of the time, usually without a strap. But when it comes to standing, I’ve made sure my strap is adjusted to a length that allows my fretting hand and forearm to hold the guitar at a similar angle to when I sit.
Note that the neck of the guitar will be more vertical when I stand, but my fretting hand and forearm should maintain a similar angle as they approach the guitar neck. My upper arm will be closer to my body when I sit, and further away from my body when I stand, but everything else should look and feel very similar.
If you’re unsure of the strap length you need for standing play, I encourage you to first get comfortable with your preferred seated posture and angle without a strap, and to capture a photo or video of your fretting hand and forearm as you play in that seated position.
Then, attach your guitar strap, stand up, and try to imitate that hand and forearm angle, capturing a photo or video of you standing, adjusting the strap until your fretting hand and forearm look and feel similar to when you were seated.
Other Pro Tips
I like to practice through my songs in the posture I plan to perform or lead worship in. Although I don’t typically sit when I lead worship, I do perform some guitar ballads in a seated position.
I also like to minimize variables, so as I stand, I often practice while wearing the same shoes I’ll be wearing onstage when I’m in front of a group of people. This is because I sometimes use pedals, and I want the feel to be familiar with the least amount of new sensations. Practicing in my socks can be more relaxed or cozy, but unless I’m going to be onstage in my socks, it’s worth putting on shoes.
As for clothing, I try to avoid wearing vests with buttons that can click loudly against the back of my amplified guitar. When I wear a jacket or a suit, I prefer to sit without a strap, especially because a jacket tends to restrict my movement, and I’ve even experienced some wear in the collar because of the friction from my guitar strap.
It’s also very common for me to practice with a music stand or tablet. In this case, I recommend having as neutral of a posture as possible, keeping the stand high enough to avoid a downward tilt of the head, which is not good for our spines.
And of course, with standing posture, if I only need to reference the stand or tablet occasionally, I may have it low and off to the side. The only thing I don’t recommend – and I’ve seen this a lot – is to have a music stand so high during worship that it actually creates a visual barrier so that people have a harder time seeing the worship leader. Ideally, having no music stand or tablet at all is the best scenario, but that of course, necessitates memorization.
Now, it could be argued that I’m getting a little too obsessed with details here, but think about it. If we’re going to invest hundreds or even thousands of hours playing our guitars, it makes sense to have a solid posture and stance that not only avoids discomfort, but allows for optimal play, and therefore longevity.
I hope this has been helpful. Now go…stand up, sit down, play, play, play!
And don’t forget to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com where you can take your guitar playing to the next level.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about the process of unearthing and cultivating our hidden talents – and spoiler alert – they don’t all have to do with the guitar, or even music.
I love adventure movies about archaeology. I grew up watching “Indiana Jones,” and in recent years have enjoyed the “National Treasure” movies, and even the new-ish Tom Holland caper “Uncharted.”
In the latter, when talking about the discovery of a priceless archaeological relic, one character says, “You never get used to that feeling.” She’s talking about the exhilaration that comes with finding something beautiful that has been hidden away for a long time.
Nearly three decades ago, I had the unique experience of traveling to Central America with my father.
With my command of the Spanish language, I was able to arrange multiple means of travel, from small aircraft to taxis.
We decided to take a taxi day trip into Guatemala, because we wanted to experience the Mayan Ruins of Tikal. Several of these structures had been carefully excavated by archaeologists. They were incredibly majestic and built with a level of extreme precision by a civilization that was well ahead of its time.
One particular location that was quite breathtaking was La Plaza Mayor – the Great Plaza, where two towering temples were placed perfectly opposite each other.
I decided to make the ascent of a huge staircase to the top of one of the temples. The stairs were made of perfectly chiseled stone, and they were steep. There were no handrails anywhere, the stairs were twenty feet wide or so, and there were almost 200 steps to the top of the temple, so the ascent was a little precarious.
When I got to the top, I could see straight across to the other temple, but when I looked the opposite direction, I could see several dozen structures peeking through the jungle canopy.
I carefully made my way back down to the ground, and began to walk around some more.
As I explored the area and walked a few miles, I would frequently walk past what seemed like a huge hill that did not seem in keeping with the flat topography around it.
These large formations were completely overgrown with jungle vegetation. Only when I stepped back to survey these “hills” did I realize what they were. They were unexcavated Mayan ruins.
I overheard the conversation of a local touring group, and was fascinated to hear the guide say that the vast majority of the ruins in the area had not been excavated, due to the tremendous financial expense involved with unearthing them.
So the ruins that I could see represented only a fraction of the ruins that were there.
You may have already grasped the parallel I’m about to draw with today’s episode. We have talents. Some of them are evident, especially because they’ve been cultivated to an extent.
But like the myriad of ruins in the Guatemalan jungle, there is always good work to be done, to excavate and to reveal what is there in our collection of hidden talents.
Musical Talents
Some of these talents may fall into the category of musical abilities, and even in terms of music, there are subsets.
We may have a strong talent for rhythm. I know people who don’t know the specific nomenclature associated with rhythmic analysis and counting, but who have tremendous groove intuition.
We may have harmonic skills that show promise. We may have a natural inclination towards vocal harmonies, or harmonies on an instrument.
With arguably the most important instrument we can develop (our ears) we may hear things in music that we can recognize and take to the next level, or we may have intuition towards imitating or even transcribing what we hear.
We may have a knack for arranging or synthesizing something into another genre of music, such as taking a classic hymn and bringing it into a contemporary or folk style.
Our musicianship may be focused on the guitar, for which we may have a propensity for coaxing strong grooves and rhythms, or gentle, elegant fingerstylings.
Some of these gifts are ones we can be born with, or develop at an early age, but which we may still need to “unearth” and “cultivate” with the aid of someone who can graciously guide us.
The word “Education” is made up from the Latin root “educere.” It actually means “to draw out” as with a talent or gift.
And when a gift is “drawn out,” it can be shaped into a skill. And I believe a skill (especially a musical one) is something to be cultivated over the long game.
So, I’ll pause and ask the question – what are your musical gifts? Have you discovered them yet?
Perhaps you have self-awareness to know which aspects of music are intuitive and naturally a part of your giftings. Here’s the thing, though – a natural ability, when left completely alone without nurturing, is in some ways a missed opportunity. Did you catch the words I used a moment ago?
They were “cultivate” and “shaped.”
Think about a diamond in the rough. If someone finds a diamond, but it does not get shaped, its beauty might not be fully experienced by others.
Imagine a wedding ring with an uncut, rough diamond mounted on it. It would have inherent beauty, for sure, but from a practical standpoint, it might not stay in the prongs; there’s a chance it could fall out. But more importantly, it would in some ways look “unfinished.”Now, we are never finished. The day we stop learning and growing is the day the Lord brings us home…even if we wind down our public musical offerings and “retire.” I’ve met retired musicians who have played music all the way up until their last day on earth.
But I’ve also met musicians who lack the discipline to cultivate and unearth their talents, and who would rather rest on what their natural ability can provide. This is unfortunate, but common.
Remember how I mentioned that the Mayan ruins were unearthed at considerable expense?
Developing our musical talent could cost us money in the form of education, lessons, and study materials. I’m not sure how you’re choosing to learn the guitar, but there are many different ways to learn, from private lessons, to group classes, the occasional workshop at a conference, an instructional DVD, or an online experience.Having gone through all of the above, I chose, in 2019, to launch GuitarSuccess4U, a one-of-a-kind learning experience for beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.
One of the main reasons I brought GuitarSuccess4U to life was because I didn’t see anything out there that offered what I knew was possible.
In a nutshell, it’s a self-paced experience that goes deep enough to help you understand the guitar from multiple angles, but also how to apply what you’re learning for practical use.
It also includes expert interviews that go beyond just the study of the guitar, including health and posture, guitar repair and care, and how to listen closely.
I’d also say that it’s highly affordable. It’s not the least expensive learning option out there, but it’s a fraction of the cost of private lessons of this caliber.
For those who want to learn “for free,” consider the hidden cost of having to sift through all the free online content that’s out there. The hidden cost is: time.
And while it’s essential for us to invest time in unearthing and cultivating our talents, there can be a lot of wasted time spent looking for tips in some pretty confusing places.
It’s been my experience that people who want to learn to play the guitar aren’t just looking for information. Information is just about everywhere.
What they’re looking for is organized information with application. In other words, they need a clear path to success, with a curated collection of tools, and a process that guides them along and shows them how and why to use what they’re learning.
Ergo, I chose to create GuitarSuccess4U. I invite you to explore our website – it’s located at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. This could change the game for you.
Whatever your musical talents may be, it’s my conviction that they need to be unearthed and cultivated in order for you to fulfill your potential. Will you invest the resources and time to develop them?
What about Talents that Aren’t Musical?
There are many talents that I would say work hand-in-hand with our musical gifts, but that aren’t what I’d consider musical talents.
We may have a natural winsome charisma or stage presence which allows us to welcome an audience or a congregation of worshipers into an experience where they immediately let down their guard and enter in.
If you think this is something everyone has…I challenge you to think again.
I’ve sat under the leadership of people where I’ve felt quite awkward as they’ve spoken from the platform. They either don’t have the gift of being “up in front,” or if they do, they need to cultivate it. They might frown while they speak, or they might have a monotone cadence to their voice. They might “um” and “uh” their way to communicating their thoughts. They might look down at the floor because of some subconscious insecurity.
Confidence and stage presence are not guaranteed. It’s likely that they can be “unearthed” or “cultivated,” but it may take time and guidance. I’ve worked with musicians to coach them to be more confident, especially as they speak.
A healthy self-confidence can promote joy in those we share our music with, on and off the platform.
We may have an eye and ear for detail that is not limited to music, but influences how we lay out our equipment, connect the cabling, and position our instruments and accoutrements onstage.
This eye for detail may lead to a higher level of organization. It may allow us to edit charts, lyric slides, or anything printed or digitally captured. We need good editors, and not just to catch spelling errors, but also to re-shape words and phrases for better communication of thoughts or ideas.
We may have good verbal or even non-verbal communication skills that equip collaborators to reach deeper for their offerings. Think about how important body language and facial expressions are for communication. I have worked with musicians who can communicate what they want from me in the moment simply by the way they look at me. That’s a talent that not everyone has unearthed or cultivated. I’ve seen the opposite: musicians who keep the same facial expression even when they could offer more communication.
These talents I’ve listed here don’t directly related to music, but they all intersect with our musical expression.
We may have many talents that are evident to others, but that we actually take for granted as something we just do. Not everyone has every talent, and you may have unique gifts that others do not.
But let me press you a bit, because if you’re experiencing these words, you’re still breathing. And it’s likely that you still have your faculties enough to be able to play music on some level.
So, if that’s the case, you and I may still have some talents that remain to be discovered, at least in their full potential. And if we are leaning into the discovery and cultivation of those talents, then that’s a beautiful thing.
There are different seasons of musical development, as I talked about in Guitar Through the Seasons, Part 1 (Episode 17) and Part 2 (Episode 18) of Guitar Serious Fun. Under some circumstances, we need to rest and recharge, or focus our attention elsewhere, rather than developing our musical talents. I definitely want to acknowledge that.
However, if we have the bandwidth to further cultivate our talents, and we’re not doing this…I’d like to challenge us to make some changes in the rhythms of our lives. I’d like to exhort you to claim your talents, and to make some intentional efforts to develop them.
If you know, for example, that you’ve got a great way on stage, a solid command of your instrument, and a heart to serve with your gifts, keep going. Keep learning, and keep growing.
Side note – if you don’t have a clear vision for what some of your talents are, I encourage you to ask people you trust. Literally ask them, “What are some of the strengths you observe in me as I play the guitar?”People whose opinions you can trust might help you hone in on what your deep areas of strength are.
Be open to their insights, though, because they may also tell you what they perceive to be an area that is not strong at all. That’s actually a reason to rejoice, because we can’t all be really good at everything.
It’s important to focus on areas of skill, and not spend unnecessary time trying to get good at something we just don’t have the inherent abilities for.
Sure, we all need to be available to do what needs to be done, but I love watching someone walking in their giftedness…especially when they are working diligently to develop it.
So, may we feel the exhilaration that comes with taking our talents to the next level by unearthing them…but let’s not rest in that feeling, but rather take joy in cultivating our talents and stewarding our talents for God’s glory.
And let’s have serious fun as we do it, shall we?
Wrap-UpToday we talked about our hidden talents, and how to unearth and cultivate them.
Remember, your talents may be musical, non-musical, or both. But lean in, and take some intentional time to discover what it is the Lord has blessed you with in terms of strengths. Once you’ve got a better sense of those, I challenge you to develop them to the extent that time allows for. There are people out there who need you to step forward with your gifts.
And if you don’t know what some of your gifts are, pray, seek counsel, and find out.
And then let me know how I can serve you. The best way I know how to equip guitarists as they cultivate their gifts for the glory of God is through GuitarSuccess4U.I’m working to develop a presence on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook as well, where I can offer insights and helpful tips. But the real feast is waiting inside GuitarSuccess4U, where I’ve literally spent thousands of hours creating that unique experience.
This podcast at Guitar Serious Fun is just one more avenue where I offer practical encouragement for guitarists. And I hope today’s episode has done that.
If it has, would you leave a comment, a 5-star review, or both? If it has been particularly empowering to you, please share it with someone else.
Thank you for taking time to experience what I’ve put together for you. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to conclude our discussion about the fears we face as guitarists.
As I mentioned last week, fear is not fun. But it is important to acknowledge, because it does come into play on our guitar journeys, and when we are aware of it, we can do battle with it.
Last week, in Episode 49, we talked about the first five fears we can all face as guitarists: Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of hard work, and fear of losing control of our art.
Today, we continue with the next and final five. Are you ready? Let’s go for it.
Years ago, I was deeply moved by the TV movie “The Fourth Wise Man,” which was adapted from the short novel “The Other Wise Man” by Henry van Dyke. This was a historical fiction based on Biblical circumstances. It wasn’t scriptural on all accounts, but it really made me think, and perhaps my summary of it will do the same for you.
Starring Martin Sheen, The Fourth Wise man tells the story of Artaban, the fourth Magi, who tries to follow in the footsteps of the other three magi, because he longs to meet Christ.
He knows that Jesus has been born and is in a manger in Bethlehem, and he begins a journey that he hopes will take him to that stable.
He travels with three precious jewels – a ruby, an emerald, and a pearl, all of which he hopes to give to Jesus, much like his fellow magi gave gold, frankincense and myrrh. But his journey is not a direct path, and when Herod issues the decree that the children be slaughtered, Artaban finds himself in a small town. The soldiers are searching all the homes, and Artaban stumbles upon a young mother protecting her baby from what is inevitable. Artaban chooses to save the life of this child by giving away the ruby to a soldier, who then says to his fellow soldiers, “There is no child here.” The look of gratitude on the mother’s face cannot be fully described.
Later, Artaban encounters a colony of lepers living out in the wilderness, and instead of passing them by, he spends many years ministering to their needs through medical care, but also helping them build a working water irrigation system so they can thrive, even as outcasts.
He has to sell the emerald to pay for tools, materials and medical supplies, but some of the lepers are healed or restored, because of the time Artaban spends serving and living with them.
Finally, years later, Artaban makes his way as a very old man to Jerusalem, where Christ is being crucified.
As he makes his way through the city, he encounters the daughter of one of his former colleagues who is being sold to pay for her father’s debt. This colleague who had lost everything had pridefully ridiculed Artaban in the past, so Artaban owes him nothing.Yet, Artaban gives up the pearl to save this young girl from a life of slavery or worse.
But there, as he looks up and witnesses Christ crying out his last words before dying on the cross, Artaban thinks of himself as a failure. In that moment, Artaban collapses out of grief and exhaustion and passes away.
As he looks up, Christ is standing right in front of him, and Artaban recognizes him immediately.
This fourth wise man tells Jesus about how he has longed, his whole life, to give him the gifts he brought, but has missed the opportunities to do so, and upon meeting him at last, has nothing to give.But in his gentle and comforting voice, Jesus says to Artaban, “Whatever you have done for the least of these, you’ve done for me.” This is a direct quote from Matthew 25, verse 40.
I lead with this illustration because our calling may be clear, but even if it isn’t, nothing is wasted in the Lord’s hands, especially when we are doing what we do for His glory.
So, let’s look at fear and how we can face it in five more ways…
#6. Fear of Missed Calling.
Have you ever had the fear of missing out? Some people abbreviate it with FOMO. This is often a way to get people to jump on board with an opportunity before it’s gone. It’s a legitimate tool of marketing, one I’ve used from time to time with unique one-time opportunities I offer at GuitarSuccess4U like live interviews or bonus content.
FOMO is just a social experiment to see who will take advantage of an opportunity.
But what about missing out on an entire calling? Is that possible? To Artaban in “The Fourth Wise Man,” that’s how things appeared. He had felt called to bring those gifts to Christ, and according to his limited vision, he had missed his opportunity.
I might fall prey to this fear – that I’ve pursued the wrong calling and therefore missed my true calling by investing in one area over another – or perhaps I feel like I’ve started “too late” in life to make a difference. But where is the Lord in all of this?
If I knew, early in my life, exactly what I was called to, that would be ideal. If I had a time machine right now that I could use to go back and do what needed to be done, knowing what the future held, that would also be ideal.
But life is not ideal.
Artaban would have loved to have found his way to the Christ Child with those three gifts, entering the stable at Bethlehem right alongside his fellow magi.Instead, he went on a long journey and only encountered Christ himself at the end of it…meanwhile God had other plans to use him all along the way, and Artaban obeyed.
So, are we pursuing our calling according to our agenda first, or are we walking in obedience?
Praying for the Lord’s wisdom, for a second chance, for a “later in life” ministry, is a noble thing, but it’s my conviction that the Lord’s calling on our lives is, in some way, an ongoing experience.
We may be called at some point to a single conversation. The Lord may use that conversation to direct us to an entirely different season than we might expect.
And even as Artaban “missed” his calling, he actually fulfilled another one that was perhaps even more praiseworthy. He was so busy ministering to the Lord’s people that he actually served the Lord in a very real way.
#7. Fear of Incomplete Work
This one’s a little subjective, but once we get into it, I think you’ll grasp what I’m going for.
I want you to think about some of the larger structures out there in the world that were built over the course of centuries, like some of the great cathedrals of Europe. There were laborers and artisans working on these structures that knew for a fact that their lives would come to an end before the work was finished.
And there were others who were born, grew up, and were trained to take up the mantle and continue this work.
Can you imagine how humbling it must have been to work on a grand structure like this, only to have to embrace the fact that you would never see it come to completion…that you would pass away long before the finishing pieces were laid into place?Well, in some ways, our work is like that. Sure, we can have a career in music, and we can write and record as many songs as we have the strength to do, but maybe we won’t do as much as we’d hoped. Is that worth fearing?For the world, yes.For us as believers, no. We can start something that someone else can finish.
This isn’t just something that happens with music. Child rearing, developing a culture around a church or Christian school family…these are all legacy opportunities into which we can lean, but we can also embrace the fact that we are planting trees that future generations will be shaded by.
Think about sharing the gospel for a moment. I’ve heard that a non-believer has to come in contact with, and have intentional conversations with, several believers whom he or she considers to be rational, thinking people of integrity, before considering accepting Christ. One person told me this number is around 30.
I can’t say for sure how many folks spoke to me before I accepted the Lord, but I know it was more than one. If someone “leads” someone else to Christ, are they the ones who have done all the work? Well, no – especially since the Holy Spirit is actually the one working in that individual’s heart. But if the believer is ministering to and inviting the nonbeliever to faith, and they accept the invitation, it’s not just because of the work of that last person.
To use another analogy, many drops of water have impacted the stone before it broke…and for the final drop to take the credit is, in a way, a little arrogant. We each have a part to play in impacting the lives of others, and this side of Heaven, our view of what is happening at the time can be very limited.
And by the way – the work of discipleship should then follow conversion – and in this way, more people are brought into that new believer’s life.
If I were a part of building a cathedral in Europe, and I was the one to place the final stone on the top, or carve the final sculpture in one of the columns, would I have been the one to have “built” that cathedral?
No – in this scenario I would be a part of the crew, but there would be many who would have gone before me and laid the foundations, the structure, and crafted all the artwork, inside and out.
There could be a temptation on the part of the cathedral makers, or the music makers, to fearfully see their work as potentially “incomplete” and therefore not even worthy of starting, but imagine if the builders of the great cathedrals out there thought this way. We wouldn’t have their beautiful structures today.
So, if I’m “building musical cathedrals” and I’m afraid that I won’t see their completion, I need not fear.
Even if I don’t finish what I’ve started, as long as I lean into it as much as I’m capable of doing, perhaps the Lord will use my work as a testimony to inspire someone else to carry on my legacy in their ministry.
I again go back to GuitarSuccess4U.
I have a name that I like to call my members. I call them my Guitar Successors.
And this has two meanings – first, I desire their success, but second, I know that one day I will play my very last song on the guitar. I don’t know when that will be – the Lord knows, but I’m all about legacy. So, in creating this experience, I want to pass along my wisdom, passion and values to others, and in that way, they are also my Successors, because they will succeed me, right?
If you feel a prompting from the Lord to become one of my Successors, please listen to that prompting. I would be honored to speak into your guitar journey and impart encouragement, wisdom, and tools to enhance what you’re doing or hope to do.Please take time to find out more at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
#8. Fear of Success
The first fear we talked about in our previous episode was the fear of failure. Believe it or not, there can actually be an inverse fear called the fear of success.
This is a much subtler force, and it has several names. It can masquerade as laziness or procrastination, but the root of the issue is actually self-sabotage. And it actually incorporates several of the fears we’ve been discussing.
Basically, what happens subconsciously is that a guitarist or artist is actually afraid of bringing their dreams to life, because they just don’t know for sure that they want everything that comes with that reality.
They may fear the idea that with a certain level of success, everything could become overwhelming and precarious, and it might all fall apart.
They may fear succeeding at something and the temptation to become prideful, which they might consider a form of failure.
They may fear the new frontiers they’ll need to cross if things get more complicated (as they usually do when plans take on momentum.) It’s possible that they will need to expand their team as they expand their reach, which involves trust, and not all teammates prove to be trustworthy…even in Christian circles.
They may figuratively apply their own parking brake, even as they are pressing down on the gas pedal.
What does this look like, practically?
Not writing down the song that keeps spinning in their head.
Not making time to practice, when they do have the bandwidth to work on their skills.
Not sharing their music where they have clearly been invited to share.
Not stepping out in faith to create a small recording project to see how the process goes, and
Not embracing what may actually be a calling.
Self-sabotage is not what the Lord desires of us. Going back to the parable of the talents from last week, the Lord does desire our faithfulness and stewardship, even if we only double two talents to four, instead of five talents to ten.
But we need to say no to fear, and step out in faith, even with small steps.
And what happens if we succeed on some level? If we are committing our work to the Lord, He will be there to give us discernment for the next step, and He may also provide godly counsel to enhance the conversation.
I’d rather embark on success – according to my definition – than to fear it. Life can get overwhelming at times, and our task list can take over. There are various seasons to our playing, of course, and sometimes we need to do less. But let’s not abandon our good work because we’re afraid of the new levels of ministry that come with success.
#9. Fear of Man
This is a big one. And it’s probably the one that comes up the most on my guitar journey. There are many subsets to this. And these fears come in the form of questions.
What if people don’t like my music and they tell me so, either directly or by their silence?What if they don’t want to bring me out to serve their community at a ministry endeavor?
What if they don’t value what I do, and they aren’t willing to pay me for my efforts?What if someone want to take advantage of what I do for their own gain, and they want to steal my ideas and present them as their own without crediting me?
What if they will be critical of what I’ve worked so hard to create? What if they won’t follow, like or share what I post on social media, or worse, what if they “dislike” or provide a negative comment about it?
Well, these are all “what if” questions, and sometimes playing the “what if” game takes me nowhere fruitful. Sometimes it can actually be pretty destructive to my progress and mindset.
First of all, as I’ve talked about, not everyone is going to like my music. Some may actually dislike it. Can I live with that? I think so! But for those who do like it, that connection means that much more.
Not everyone will book me to share a concert. It’s ok – the Lord knows where I’m supposed to serve. I may want really badly to serve at a particular church, school, camp or conference, but the Lord may have that door closed for a very specific reason which may remain unknown to me.
And “no” could mean “not right now,” but even if it means “never” I can still be at peace with the Lord’s sovereignty.
What if someone wants to copy my work and misuse it? Well, I do take intentional measures to register my works with the Library of Congress so that they are all legitimately copyrighted, but people infringe on copyrights anyway. This is, in a way, a form of stealing. But again, as we talked about in our previous episode, with #1 - Fear of Loss, we might not be meant to have that song.
My heart actually goes out to the thief, because there just can’t be a lot of joy in a life like that.
Proverbs 10:2 says “Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit.” And it’s God’s economy. They’ll have to answer to Him for their thievery. The Lord sees everything.
What if people are critical in some way? Well, constructive criticism can serve me well. But there are haters out there. And all they want to do is criticize and speak negatively.
They may hate what I do, but there’s a passage of scripture that really lends some perspective.
In John 15:18, Jesus says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
Wow. That’s actually quite liberating. He can take it. He’s much stronger than I.
Let the haters come. Let them comment negatively. If I can, I’ll delete the comments. I may also have my settings set on “approve” comments. But people are born into sin, and there will be folks who say negative things about what I do.
And perhaps I just need to have a thicker skin and to consider the source. But I need not fear man.
Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
Which brings us to the final fear of our collection…
#10. Fear of God.
Now, just to be clear, God has the capacity to put fear into the hearts of His enemies. He can, He has, and He will.
But for those of us who look to Him as our Lord, the kind of fear we are called to carry is a holy fear, which might be better described as awe. Like the respect and fear we might have of a lion, or the raging sea. These are images that are beautiful, but also deadly in the right context. To have awe and respect for a lion allows us to appreciate its might and strength, but also to realize that it could take our lives from us in an instant. The same is true of the ocean. Colossians 1:17 reminds us that the Lord holds everything together. We are standing on the earth, held down by gravity, because of Him. This commands – or ought to command – our fear and respect.
I recall walking through the student bookstore in college and seeing a stack of Bibles on a shelf. The Bible was likely a textbook for a history class, as this was a public, secular university.
But when I heard the snide remark of a fellow student, I was grieved. “Holy Bible,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t need that stuff.” He didn’t actually say “stuff,” but you get it.
That is an example of disdain and total disrespect. That’s the opposite of awe. I’d venture to say that this individual was exalting “self” above God, simply by his conduct and speech. I was offended.
And yet, in some contexts, I’m not permitted to speak or sing about my beliefs, because others don’t want to hear them.
We live in a world where people are often walking on eggshells with their words, because they fear that they might offend someone else by what they say.
Now, I don’t go out of my way to offend people at all, but if in the process of being obedient to the Lord and His commands, I were to disappoint someone who does not treasure Him, that person might get really offended.
With respect, I’d much rather offend man than God. Any day of the week.
Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “If fear of the Almighty is the beginning of wisdom, then surely fear of the Almighty is the starting place of any fruitful endeavor.”So with my desire to have fruitful endeavors, I say, “fear the Lord.” Let this be the only fear we embrace and live out, on our guitar journeys and in our calling as guitarists, and especially as followers of Christ.
Wrap-up
Today we brought this discussion of facing fears in for a landing. The 10 fears we’ve reflected on over these past two episodes are as follows.Last time, we discussed: fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of hard work, and fear of losing control of our art.
Today, we discussed: fear of missed calling, fear of incomplete work, fear of success, fear of man, and then the only legitimate, worthy fear – the fear of God.
I’m not sure if any of the nine illegitimate fears in our discussion are ones you’ve wrestled with or are wrestling with now, but my hope is that this discussion over these past two episodes has provided some good food for thought, or at least some comforting words from scripture.
We need not fear anything or anyone on earth…and as long as we have a holy fear or awe of the Lord, we’re in a great position to have fruitful endeavors.
I’ll conclude with one more phrase that has stayed with me for nearly 20 years. It was embroidered on a quilted banner in a small church in Wellington, Colorado where I performed a concert. Here’s what it said: God’s will done God’s way for God’s glory never lacks God’s provision.
Mic drop.
I’ll say that one more time. God’s will done God’s way for God’s glory never lacks God’s provision.
If God wants it to happen, and he wants you to be a part of it, do it His way for His glory, and He’ll make it possible. In spite of circumstances. In spite of doubt or fear. In spite of what anyone else might do or say.
So, the next time any of these illegitimate fears come to mind, say “no” to any or all of them, and say “yes” to fearing and trusting the Lord to guide you on your journey.
Keep showing up, and watch the Lord show up when you do!
And if you want me to keep making these episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, I’d love to know. Please leave a comment, a five-star review if the platform allows it, or even share it with someone. I don’t know how long I’ll be making Guitar Serious Fun available, but based on interest, I’ll keep churning these episodes out.
Thanks for experiencing my work, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about fear. Really? Fear? Yep. Fear falls on the serious side of Guitar Serious Fun.
Now, I know that fear is not what we might call a fun subject, per se, but it is relevant to our guitar journeys, so I believe it’s important to talk about it.
I’ve battled fear much of my life, and also over the course of much of my music career. Fear has taken on many forms for me.
The subject of fear has enough complexity to it that I believe it warrants a two-parter here at Guitar Serious Fun. So today’s episode is one of two episodes where we’ll discuss the 10 fears we face. We’ll talk about five today, and five more next week.
And spoiler alert: at the epic conclusion of all of this, as we talk about the 10th fear, it will be the only fear I believe we need to embrace. The rest are fears we need to overcome in the strength of the Lord.
As I address each of these fears, I’ll provide some words of encouragement, and I’ll cite some scripture at certain points as well. Interestingly enough, the phrase “do not fear” or some variation of it, appears in the Bible 365 times.
I’d say that’s evidence that the Lord does not want us to be afraid.
So, let’s talk about how we can face fear.
To start things off, I’d like to provide a window into some of the mission trips I’ve served on.
High school and college were wonderful opportunities for me to step outside my comfort zone, to look outside my life, and to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to serve in a missions setting. During high school and college, I went on 10 mission trips over the course of about 10 years.
Whether doing inner-city street evangelism, or building houses for the impoverished, I encountered many different scenarios where I could have been afraid.
Most of the time, I was supervised by adult leaders who had an eye on the situation, and there was also an over-arching missions organization coordinating the effort, so things were intentionally looked after. But we didn’t have cell phones in those days, so sometimes we felt a bit more vulnerable.
One mission trip involved bringing hot meals into low-income urban housing where people were living out their final days in isolation, battling terminal illness.
For this leg of the mission trip I had at least two other people with me as we brought meals to these fragile people. It was coordinated through an organization that prepared the food, but needed teams to distribute it.
I recall being in an elevator as we made our way to a dark, quiet floor in what was a pretty rough part of the city. We knocked on apartment doors to give these people the meals they had signed up for. Everyone thanked us, and most of the time they opened their doors just enough for us to hand them the food and leave.
We were sophomores in college, and one of my teammates was trembling slightly as we did our work. She seemed to be a little afraid.
But for me, I had a strangely overwhelming sense of calm. I can’t explain it, except that I felt like the Lord was with me at every turn, and that He offered me His comfort, even in those dark corridors.
I was doing His will, and He was with me. And I suppose it was the fact that I was focusing on serving the Lord that kept fear from overwhelming me.
Fear is something many of us battle on our musical journeys. Some kinds of fear are more obvious; others are much more subtle. And some are fears we struggle with…even though we don’t even realize that we do.
I’ve learned over the years that it’s never healthy to make decisions motivated by fear. It’s also not good to live in fear.
But fear can be prevalent, so I believe it’s important to address 10 fears we can all face as guitarists. Let’s take the first five today, one at a time, in no particular order of significance.
#1. Fear of Loss
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. This is a familiar story about a master who entrusts various amounts of talents to his servants before he goes on a journey. I’ve alluded to this parable in a few different episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, including Episode 46, Reduce it to the Ridiculous – with Dawn Jones.
Now, in the context of the parable, a talent was a measure of money. And although two of the servants doubled their money by prudently investing and stewarding their talents, one of the servants physically buried his talent.
This servant in the parable defended himself to his angry master by basically saying he didn’t want to lose anything. Fear of loss is hard, because we have no guarantee of tomorrow, and the reality is that we just might lose things or people who are precious to us.
I myself am coming up on the 30th anniversary of the tragic passing of my younger sister. Loss is a part of life.Even our own lives are not guaranteed to us, right? So when it comes to music, perhaps we might not cultivate our talents because we’re afraid that by investing in them we might lose something – perhaps the time we put into practicing, or the money we invest in resources or instruction.
We may fear the loss of our instrument to theft. We can take precautions, like not leaving our guitars in an unattended vehicle. We can buy music gear insurance. But our treasures are meant to be in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:20).
Having open hands about our stuff can be pretty liberating. I’ve heard stories of people who have had possessions stolen, and who have responded in faith with words like, “Well, I guess the Lord doesn’t want me to have that right now.” That’s a pretty deep faith.
We may fear injury. Is it important to wear gloves when we handle rough items like chopped wood or sharp metal? Yes! Just like we’d wear a seatbelt when driving a car, we can take precautions to protect ourselves.
Injuries happen, though – short term or long-term chronic injuries. I’ve sustained both. As of this episode, I can still play the music I want to play, and each day being able to do this is a gift from the Lord.
The loss of love ones, our stuff or our abilities are real fears. Perhaps those fears could lead us to avoid leaning into our musical callings in some way, for fear of loss.
But I haven’t met a single musician who worked hard or invested in musical development and wished he or she hadn’t done so.
The only musician I heard about recently who may have regretted purchasing a guitar is the one who, despite being warned not to leave it in his car, did so, and when it was stolen, ended up making payments on an instrument he no longer owned…for the better part of another year.
But let’s dispel that fear – the fear of loss.
I’d rather look back on a life well-lived, and talents well-used, having played a decent guitar and enjoyed it, for however much time the Lord has allowed – than to have not invested in my abilities and some good gear, for fear of loss.
#2. Fear of Failure
“But what if I fail?” I’ve spoken those words at various times in my life.
There are many different areas where we might think or say those words.
For example, have you thought about stepping forward to share your music with an audience, or to lead worship on the platform at your local church? Has it occurred to you that some of your audience members might not appreciate your music, or that you might stumble and struggle to play well during a worship service?
I’ve gotten up on the worship platform and played songs I thought I knew. I’ve missed chords, dropped words, sung flat, and broken lots of guitar strings. I’ve had mornings of worship where I’ve felt like a “pipin’ hot mess”…and yet the Lord has somehow moved through my inadequacies to minister to His people.
Interestingly enough, some folks have been very encouraging to me under those circumstances, thanking me for leading them “so well.”Contrast this to other mornings where I have played with great precision and artistry, and been met with “crickets” in terms of verbal congregational response.
But over the course of many years, with dedicated practice and experience, I’ve raised my game and played and sung more and more capably.
What about the music industry? Have you given careful consideration to prayerfully taking the step of faith to pursue music vocationally on some level? Has it come across your mind that you might “fail” at that?
I’m an indie recording artist. I decided a long time ago that success to me was not household name recognition and six figures of record sales. It was: making enough money through the use of my talents to provide for my and my family’s needs, including their spiritual and emotional needs.
If someone’s goal is to be a chart-topping platinum record selling artist, selling one million units, and they don’t reach that, is that a failure? I’ve only sold about 30,000 units total of all four of my albums.
Is that failure? Only when compared with the lofty goal of selling one million units, which, by the way is not realistic for an independent artist without the backing of a significant amount of personnel in the industry. Side note: even with a label, a booking agency, and all the people involved with marketing an artist, platinum status is not guaranteed.
On a related subject, if our goal is to perform concerts and have that be the only source of income to sustain our family, is that realistic, right out of the gate? Artists who are signed to a label aren’t guaranteed financial security in that situation.
Some artists may actually need to rely on other sources of income for an extended season to keep their dream in motion. If that’s the case, is that failure? Again, no.
And speaking autobiographically, my performance career has ebbed and flowed from a few dozen shows a year to a hundred shows a year. I took a full-time and part-time worship position to be more local and to provide more consistent income for my family for over a decade, while still touring part time. Was that a failure? I really don’t think so.
I believe failure is a rather subjective term.
As I mentioned in Episode 45 of Guitar Serious Fun – “Glancing Back, Looking Forward,” Nelson Mandela once said, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.” And sometimes it’s a learning experience that serves us the best.
Sometimes our definition of failure hinges on our definition of success. In other words, if our goals are unrealistic and we don’t meet them, we could consider ourselves failures. I believe we need to be realistic with our goals, and also to be realistic with how we evaluate our accomplishments in light of those goals.
In this current season at the time of this episode, my ministry is not limited to concerts. It also includes guest worship leading, worship team consulting, and nearly a couple dozen seminars I teach. I encourage you to peek at www.davidharsh.com to learn more about my onstage offerings, as well as my seminars.
The other aspect of our ministry which is gaining momentum and significance is GuitarSuccess4U.
If you haven’t discovered GuitarSuccess4U, it could be a game-changer for you or someone you know who wants to develop their guitar skills for the Lord. The website for that is GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Since I don’t tour exclusively, have I failed as an artist? No. Actually, some touring artists have such a rigorous schedule that they risk missing out on relationships and family moments. Remember how I stipulated that success for me was also providing for my family’s spiritual and emotional needs?
Making enough money to sustain them, but not being around for them, does not serve anyone well.
I am fortunate to be able to say that I was able to watch each of my daughters’ first steps.
In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 9, “Do we need to Understand Music to Enjoy it?” I talked about my dad’s favorite artist, the late Harry Chapin.
He is most famous for a song called “Cat’s in the Cradle” that speaks of a missed opportunity as a father, and it begins with these poignant lyrics:
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
May it not be so. If there’s a failure that we could fear, that’s probably one of them. The failure to be a present parent. But as a musician, especially one who is in pursuit of the Lord’s will, there’s no failure to be afraid of.Remember, it’s God’s calling. If He wants to supply the need through other avenues, including working in a non-musical venture for a season, then perhaps that’s what He wants to do.
But let us not fear failure as professional musicians just because our sights have been set unrealistically high.
When it comes to writing songs, will everyone love our music? Nope. I’ve been up onstage performing a concert where people have literally looked at their devices or looked away from the stage the entire time. Is that failure on my part? No, it’s not.I’ve played for an audience of two thousand people. Did two thousand people buy my CD that day? Nope. More like 50. Does that mean that only 50 out of 2000 people liked my music? No. I take from these scenarios that it’s God’s economy, and it’s really not about me. So I don’t need to fear failure with my art, my presentation, or my worship leading. God can use it all.
And even when I write songs that don’t connect – there’s an opportunity to revise them. A songwriting coach once told me that “Great songs aren’t written – they’re re-written.”And making mistakes on the platform with my guitar are actually opportunities for self-examination and a better approach to practicing and preparing for next time.
So let’s not fear failure, because God can use it all.
#3. Fear of the Unknown
Some people thrive on the adrenalized feeling that comes with an unexpected outcome. They love the suspense. Others want to know what the plan is, even before step one is put into action. I tend to be someone who likes to be “in the know.” But sometimes we need to walk by faith. There’s walking blindly without any strategy, and there’s taking intentional steps of faith, guided by wise counsel.
We as musicians may be fearful of what may come in the future as it pertains to our music. We may wonder what the Lord has for us, and if we don’t know, we may hold back on cultivating our gifts.
But when we listen to fear, we don’t listen to the still small voice of the Lord who has the capacity to prompt us through the Holy Spirit, to step forward.
Fear drowns out a lot of what could be a clear, guiding voice, telling us that we need to lean into our gifts.
The unknown can be intimidating, but is it intimidating enough that it should keep us from cultivating our talents? Perhaps not.
Will we fully know what the Lord has for us before we embark on it? I don’t think so. We need to live in the moment, trusting Him for the next season, or the next thing.
This will allow us to get down to the business of working on our craft and taking steps to share it with a waiting world.
#4. Fear of Hard Work
This is a fancy way of describing what it’s like to be lazy or complacent. Thomas Edison once said, “There is no excuse for hard work.” The soprano Beverly Sills once said, “There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.”
I’ve been lazy or complacent at different seasons of my musical journey. I’ve “phoned it in” and just played what I know. Sometimes, time is not on my side to cultivate or create new things, and it’s all I can do just to maintain my current repertoire.
But there are new songs to learn, and to create or to arrange. And what bridges the gap between not knowing a song and being able to present it capably and confidently?
Good old-fashioned hard work.
And with hard work come patience and time, two things that some folks just may not want to invest, at least right now.
Not everyone wants to work hard to fulfill their dreams, but those who do experience a tremendous reward of making things happen.
But let’s not fear hard work. Some of the best music we will ever play is waiting on the other side of good, hard work.
Lastly for today…
#5. Fear of Losing Control of our Art
My first recorded endeavor was a compilation I was invited to be on, where I contributed two of my earliest songs. With the best of intentions on both sides, the recording came out, and the production aspect had taken both of my songs into new stylistic realms that I hadn’t anticipated.
I liked what they did. Liked. I didn’t love it.
And unfortunately, my expression of these sentiments wasn’t timed well, because the disc was already finished and pressed. And one of the titles was actually worded wrong in the CD insert. But hey, that was an excellent learning experience for me.
What I learned was this: I like to have some control during production so as to help achieve my vision for the finished product. This was my first opportunity to record something, so I really can’t fault myself or the team that invited me onto the project; there was a lot of “new.”In the years that followed, I acted as the producer for two of my albums, all the way down to overseeing the graphics design. This had its upsides: I was at the wheel, but the productions hit a ceiling on multiple fronts.
My fear of not having control of these projects resulted in what I look back on as amateur offerings for both projects.
Another project followed, where I again produced, but incorporated some outside counsel a bit more, and was able to take the production standard up a bit more in how it sounded and looked, but still not to where I knew it could go.
Finally, it happened. I joined forces with a producer and multi-instrumentalist who was so gracious and so talented, and yet had such a clear vision for how to carry the songs across the finish line based on my artistic vision. I also found a photographer who had an amazing eye for lighting and faces.
It took me relinquishing some control to allow a great thing to happen with this album. I will qualify this scenario: I was shown audio recordings of this producer’s past work that met and exceeded my standards. The same was true of the photographer.
I did the diligence to make sure the work of these two artists was on par with what I would be paying them (which was a lot, but worth it) and also commensurate with my expectations. And it became my best record to date.
There can be a scenario where an artist relinquishes control to those who do not steward their gifts well, and the project does not turn out well. I want to acknowledge that.
Rather than be fearful of losing control, though, I would recommend being diligent and vigilant. Requesting samples of past work, and even referrals from past clients, can really provide clarity and peace of mind as well.
But let’s not fear losing control of our art. God’s got this, and we can lean into His sufficiency.
As we wind down today, I’d like to go back to the story I opened with about my mission trip adventures. I was prompted by the Lord to go on these trips. And they were uncomfortable, had a lot of unknowns, and opportunities to be afraid. But He was with me. So I said no to fear.
Is the Lord always with us? Yes, He is, if we’ve surrendered our lives to Him and accepted what Christ has done. Embracing the good news of the Gospel is all that’s needed to be saved and brought into a relationship with the Lord of the Universe, in whom we find the peace that passes all understanding that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
With that, I think we’ll let things rest until next week.
Today, we talked about the first five fears we can all face as guitarists: Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of hard work, and fear of losing control of our art.
We’ll come back next week for the epic conclusion. Remember my spoiler alert? Fear #10 is the only fear I believe we need to embrace. Stay tuned for that.
What fears are you battling these days? Do any of the aforementioned fears from today’s episode come into play on your journey? I’d love to know. Please include them in the comments for this episode.
And don’t forget to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com, and to like and share what I’m doing here, especially if you’re hoping to experience more of these episodes.
I’m working to develop my audience for Guitar Serious Fun, and I need your help. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next week as we bring this two-part series to its epic conclusion.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/strumming. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below.
As followers of Christ, we are called to play skillfully (Psalm 33:3). But are we doing that?
One of the ways we often find ourselves articulating chords is…strumming. Strumming the guitar is like walking. We do it a lot, and sometimes we don’t even think about how we’re doing it. It’s possible that over the course of our guitar journey, we will literally spend thousands of hours strumming our guitar.
So, are we walking steadily, or are we limping? Let’s find out. I believe it’s worth taking a close look to make sure we’re on the right track.
First of all, I recommend focusing on two specific axes – our elbow and our wrist. I believe that we need to have a delicate balance that includes both of these axes, not just one. To help shed light on this, let’s use the analogy of racquet sports. Let me suggest three types of racquet sports that typically use different ratios of elbow and wrist movement. There’s only one that I believe is similar to optimal strumming. Let’s see if you can guess which one it is. The three types of racquet sports are:A. Tennis
B. Badminton
C. Ping Pong
Which do you think is the most ideal approach that leads to strumming skillfully? I invite you to watch the accompanying short video to get my answer…and to see actual footage of people playing these racquet sports, which further illustrates my point.
Depending on how we play, we can create unnecessary fatigue in different parts of our arm. Incorrect, unbalanced strumming can also translate to less artistic playing. However, if we strum well and balanced, not only will our strumming sound and feel good, we can experience tremendous longevity.
Now let’s apply strumming to an actual pattern. Here’s another analogy for you. Crafting strumming patterns is a lot like baking bricks. If the bricks are even and precise, the structures we build with them will be solid, level, and plumb. If not, look out – the walls will tilt and they’ll be all out of whack. And if our strumming isn’t precise, it will affect us, our collaborators, and even our listeners.
I’ll illustrate sloppy and skillful strumming with a simple, fairly common strumming pattern in 4/4 time. I call it the “Camp Strum” and you may have used it, or you may have observed it as you’ve watched another guitarist play. Whatever we want to call it, this strumming pattern has been a part of several chart-topping legitimate songs out there. It consists of a quarter note, followed by two eighth notes, the second of which is tied to another eight note, and finally, three more eighth notes. Note the rhythm counts below the diagram. How would we strum it? We could strum it like this:
That could be repeated, it’s certainly economical in terms of how little we’re moving our strumming hand and arm, but guess what? Even though this is very common with guitarists I’ve encountered, it’s really not the best way to strum. The hand hesitates twice in the measure, which could lead to rushing, or hesitating by accident.
Let me ask you this. If I’m rushing or hesitating, how is that going to affect other instrumentalists I collaborate with? Are they going to love it? Nope. This is what I’d call sloppy strumming.
Here’s the rule I like to keep for simpler rhythms like this. Strum down on the beats, and upon the offbeats or the “&s.” Keep that as a rule, and you can’t go wrong.
So, let’s re-tool the arrows to have some silent strums coming up on the “&” of beat 1 and then coming down on beat 3. We now strum the same rhythm, but with a more refined execution.
As you’ll see from the video, we have a much more natural articulation without any rushing or hesitating, at any tempo. The constant “down up” motion, whether voiced or not, keeps our hand in rhythm, for the benefit of our precision, as well as anyone else who might be playing along. This is what I would call skillful strumming. And once we have our strumming dialed, we can focus on other aspects of making music.
So, strum skillfully, and watch where your skill takes you. Keep showing up!
And don’t forget to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com where you can take your guitar playing to the next level.
Thanks for taking time with me today to explore another topic that can lead to serious fun on the guitar. I hope this was helpful, and I look forward to next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I believe that sometimes it’s important to pause and talk about the spiritual aspect of our guitar offerings, which we are called to present as acts of worship (on and off the platform). If we are worshiping with our guitar playing, it’s in response to a calling, because the Lord calls us to worship. And He who calls us to worship “will supply our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
But we need to align ourselves with His purposes through prayer, so that we can walk in step with Him in all aspects of our guitar playing. This includes solo practice, worship band practice, recording, any time we are holding our guitar, and even when we are not.
Really, we are called to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I certainly want to do His will above my own, don’t you? But this doesn’t happen by accident. We need to intentionally pursue His will as we develop and offer our gifts. Much of this happens when we pray.
Praying Before Solo Practice Time
For years of my guitar development, I had a sign on my wall that said “Pray Before You Play.” Each time I sat down to practice, this gentle reminder helped me cultivate the habit to pray. My prayer really set the tone for my practice time. It still does.
Just to be clear, my prayer before my practice time has always been brief, but very intentional. It’s not perfunctory; it’s not done by rote. I don’t say, “Lord, please bless my practice time. Amen.”
On the contrary, I pray things like, “Lord, thank you for these musical gifts you’ve entrusted to me. I know I will be held accountable for my stewardship of these talents. I want to play well, for Your glory alone, and I want to use this time well that you’ve given to me.
Grant me wisdom to know what I can focus on, and help me to maximize my efforts so as to practice efficiently…but please also give me Your joy as I discover what You would have me learn today.”
Praying With Your Worship Team
In my years of leading worship from the guitar, I have always committed to praying before a worship team rehearsal, and also before the Sunday morning run-thru. It’s so important to commit our work to the Lord as we prepare to offer our gifts. This allows us to align our hearts with Him together, so that we can lead well. Also, if we are not in accord relationally and spiritually, our prayers may be hindered, and the people we serve will be affected. We need to keep short accounts with our teammates, walk in integrity, and prayerfully lay our worship offerings (including the preparation) at His feet as we prepare to lead God’s people in worship.
We may pray before or after sound check, but it’s vital that we pray before we begin rehearsing. Once in a while, something technical falls apart – the monitors stop working, the projection computer freezes, or the audio signal chain gets broken somehow.
When I’ve finally resorted to prayer, that tech challenge has either been solved, or the team has been given what they need to persevere through the challenge. I have grown in my walk with the Lord to where I go to prayer much more readily.
Years ago, I was a guest worship leader at a church where the worship director (who was a very seasoned musician) gave me the responsibility of preparing and leading the team on a Sunday morning. He played the piano to support this team I was leading.
When everyone had arrived and tuned up, I asked the rhetorical question, “Shall we pray?” I expected everyone to nod in agreement, and to join me in committing the morning to the Lord. Instead, I was startled to hear the worship director say, “Nah, we’re good. Let’s get on with the music.”
He wasn’t joking. I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe my ears. May this never happen in the heart of any worship musician, anywhere.
We all need to pray, especially when we are preparing to lead others in worship. I’ll also add that asking another team member to pray (vocalists, instrumentalists, and tech crew) is a wonderful way of hearing their heart for the Lord as they speak. I’m often deeply humbled when I hear a fellow team member pray.
If you’re like me, your life is pretty full. The time we have available to practice, whether solo or as a band, is limited. Let’s make that time count. Let’s commit our practice time to prayer, and watch what the Lord does to multiply our efforts.
Wrap-Up
Well, I know this was a shorter episode today, but I think it was important to be succinct on this matter. If it has encouraged you, please let me know in the comments.
And don’t hesitate to like and especially to share this episode – and others – with people you know. We’re coming up on a year of these episodes, and I’m hoping to bring more of these truths and the Lord’s Word to people through this unique avenue of discussion.
Thanks for reading/listening. I’ll see you next time.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
I’m super excited to welcome our first guest on Guitar Serious Fun.
Today’s episode includes a discussion for what it means to “Reduce it to the Ridiculous.”
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because our guest’s highly articulate and intentional delivery will draw you in immediately.Her name is Dawn Jones, and she is an International Speaker, Executive and Leadership Coach, Author, and Presenter of more than 20 published books and audio/video programs including her best-selling Top 7 Personality Challenges.
She has also created and produced programs on Time Management, Supervising People, Conflict Resolution, Women in Leadership, and more.
For over 20 years, Dawn Jones has empowered over 70,000 people in more than 1,700 presentations in 8 countries. Whether she is working with Leaders, Project Managers, Engineers, or Businesspeople, she is passionate about helping people achieve their goals.
Dawn helps people recognize and resolve personality and communication challenges, all while helping her clients strategically reach goals, build healthy & productive teams, and increase profits.
In her free time, Dawn and her husband volunteer and support non-profit groups in America and East and West Africa where they help people build a hope and a future for the next generation.
I met Dawn over 20 years ago through her incredible Booking Workshop and Successful Booking curricula, the latter of which she actually allowed me to present the voiceover for her introduction. Dawn and I have both presented at Christian music conferences, and we’ve have crossed paths with some of the same people, including Morgan Cryar and Tom Jackson, whom I’ve mentioned in past episodes of Guitar Serious Fun.
This is the audio from a Zoom call that I hosted with Dawn, so I invite you to listen in, listen closely, and grab some helpful tools from Dawn.
You can learn more about Dawn at www.dawnjones.net.
Spoiler alert: Dawn will be back for at least one more episode in the not-too-distant future as we talk about what it means to “Read it on the Run.”So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I believe stories are a wonderful way to convey a perspective, or to shed light on an important truth.
And if you’re new to Guitar Serious Fun, welcome to story time. People who know me know that the Lord has blessed me with a lot of experiences on my musical journey. And I love to share a lot of those stories here.
Some of these stories are humorous, some are frustrating, but all are worth considering, because I’ve learned from them, and perhaps you can too.
When my Gear Threw me for a Loop
I performed a mini-tour recently where I had to pivot and change my plans just before I went onstage. This was because I was unable to leverage my creative looping approach in my performance.If you’re familiar with my live show, you know that as a solo guitarist, I like to stack and record multiple sonic layers with my instruments and voice to create a live texture that sounds like a full band. This is just as fun to create as it is to experience.
But something was not working with my onstage mixer for these shows. Every time I tried to layer sound, after just two loops, everything became distorted and sounded, well…bad. I felt helpless and annoyed, but I chose not to let this technical challenge get the better of me.
I pivoted. I changed my song sets to feature more of my ballads and stories, and less of my innovation on the guitar.I still played well and brought elegant guitar artistry; I just didn’t loop. And when I got home, thanks to a good friend of mine who has some mad tech chops, we were able to do some testing of the gear and to isolate the problem.
For inquiring minds, I had somehow turned up the aux knob on the loop channel on my onstage mixer, thereby sending the loop signal back into itself and consequently overloading it. This is what had caused the overwhelming distortion in the loop.
Initially on this tour, I was quite befuddled and annoyed, but once I had accepted that my tech circumstances weren’t going to change in time for these shows, I calmed down, put on my “game face,” and gave some great performances.
What’s more, I didn’t let the audience know about any of my technical struggles; I just played well for the Lord.
Had I chosen to bring the audience into my frustration by apologizing all over myself, I would have made it all about me, and these audience members probably wouldn’t have been able to focus on the message as clearly.
At these concerts, the people were really blessed. They told me so, both with their applause during the shows and with their words of affirmation after the shows.One couple who came up to my merch table, whom I hadn’t seen in almost two decades, took time to share how grateful they were. I asked them what their favorite part of the show was.The husband, who has a whimsical sense of humor, said, “My favorite part was the whole show…and my least favorite part was when it was over.”
Looking back at the concerts on this mini-tour, there was a great temptation for me to ask myself, “Couldn’t my shows have been a lot better if I had been able to loop?”
But as my wife astutely pointed out, I had plenty of good material to offer them, and perhaps it was by the Lord’s hand that I wasn’t as innovation-focused in my performance, and more message-focused.
It had also become clear that the demographic that was at these shows was a bit more “seasoned,” and had a longer attention span than some of the “youthful” audiences I’ve played for. The “youthful” audiences I’ve served often need me to keep things at a pretty brisk pace, constantly changing gears to keep them engaged…which is fine.But the “seasoned” folks tend to sit more attentively, and they made up the majority of the people at these concerts.
People wept. They nodded with empathy. They smiled. They were moved. They were ministered to.
And as I thought about the message-driven songs I subbed in for the looping songs, I got the sense that the Lord wanted me to share some ballads with this demographic…and had I been focused on looping, I might not have done that.Perhaps there were people in these audiences that really needed to hear those ballads. Perhaps the Lord moved in these circumstances to allow for those messages to be shared, not just in spite of my technical challenges, but because of them.
Because of the Lord’s provision, I was able to bring some great shows to some listening ears, and to share a wonderful message with some tender hearts.
And although it was good for me to think through the challenges and to pivot, it would not have been fruitful for me to dwell on the fact that my loops weren’t functioning.
Stewing over this and wishing that I had been able to innovate, and wondering if the audience would have “liked” my show more would have been a waste of energy.
So…I glanced back to learn from my experience, but then I spent most of my energy looking forward.
We are not Coroners
I did an event one time where I was the featured musical guest. It was a benefit concert where my portion was to share a set of my original music.
Part of the process, after the event was over, was to talk with those who had brought me out, to review all the aspects of the event.
I don’t have any issue with that process. We can always learn, and I’m constantly trying to place myself in a posture of asking what I can improve upon.
But these folks chose to use a term to describe this debrief process that I wasn’t overly fond of.
They called it the “post-mortem.” That’s a pretty morbid term, right?
Nobody had died. The performance had gone very well, people had given generously to the cause. The experience, all in all, was very life-giving. As guitarists, we’re not coroners – we’re not trying to determine the cause of death. And in this case, there was no death. As a matter of fact, in some ways, the joy and the message lived on, even after the concert.
So I suppose I was a little confused by the expression of a “post-mortem,” even if it was offered tongue-in-cheek.
My preferred term would have been: a “debrief,” or a “re-cap,” always with a view to looking forward to the next endeavor.
This “post-mortem” discussion was designed to look back at the event, to analyze what went well, but especially what needed to be improved on.
I took their cue and glanced back, but once we had checked all the boxes, my choice was to look forward to the next endeavor, with a posture of hope and anticipation.
Failure is an Opportunity
Having technical challenges, musical memory lapses, or any kind of struggle during a concert can be frustrating, but the Lord can also use these circumstances for His glory.
Once, my main guitar ran out of battery power in the pickup, and because I didn’t have a spare battery, I used my secondary guitar as a lifeboat.
Do you think I packed a spare battery next time? You better believe it. But what I didn’t do was belabor the fact that I couldn’t play my main guitar for that show.
Even though I was annoyed by it, I glanced back, looked forward, and moved on.
At a wedding, I played some worship songs where I literally blanked on the words. These were well-known songs, and I really wanted to lead them well.
I was memorized…or so I thought, but ended up “composing” some lyrics on the fly. Not my finest hour of sharing music, but definitely an opportunity to learn, and to work harder on the memorization side of my music.
Memorization is a whole topic that I may get into down the road. It’s one thing to play memorized by myself, and quite another to play memorized in front of an audience.
So, when I make mistakes onstage as a guitarist, I can glance back at them, and still look forward.
As opposed to saying, “Well, I really botched that song in performance,” I can say to myself, “I need to practice that song more for next time, and I know exactly which parts.”
Expect the Unexpected
I did a concert one time where a friend of mine came backstage to greet me just before I went onstage.
At first, I thought this was just a friendly greeting, to cheer me on as I prepared to bring my message in song.
But he had a level of urgency to his voice and posture, and this was made evident when he promptly told me that a fellow guitarist (whom I had known and followed for many years) had just passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack.
This really affected me emotionally, as you might imagine. The first 30 minutes of my show were an absolute blur, because I was in shock, and grieving.
This individual who had shared this news with me was a dear brother in the Lord, but perhaps he could have considered the context, and especially the timing of that conversation, before approaching me with such heavy news.
Perhaps if he had been a bit more objective, he would have waited until after the concert, or even a day later, but he, too, was grieving, and perhaps wanted to have some sort of emotional fellowship with me so we could sit together in that.
But I had a show to perform.
I couldn’t have predicted that bombshell. It wasn’t even on my radar. How do we plan for something like that? The reality is that we just may not be able to.
The Lord still used me in my performance; I was still doing good ministry, but as I glanced back at that experience, I decided that as I looked forward to the future, I either needed to sequester myself backstage before my shows so as to mentally prepare, or more realistically, to develop a sturdier posture in the face of the unexpected.Perhaps I’ve grown in my ability to sense if someone is taking a conversation somewhere that isn’t needed just before a show.
It’s been many years since that conversation, so without knowing for sure, I think I’m emotionally aware enough that I could navigate tragic news like that…hopefully relying on the bringer of the news to consider the timing of the conversation.
In a season of my professional worship leading, I used in-ear monitors. It was within the first week of using them that I experienced an unexpected occurrence.
Here’s how it went down. We did the Sunday morning sound check, the rehearsal, and everything was running smoothly. But just as I was inviting the congregation to stand for the first song of the first service, my direct report walked into the auditorium.
He was my boss, and he was there to check on things and to observe how the music was going. But I didn’t see him walk in.
Do you want to know how I knew he walked in? My sound guy grabbed the “talkback” mic at the sound board, and just as I was strumming my guitar and about to sing, he said, with a little cheekiness in his voice, “Hey, your boss just walked in.”
Those spoken words went right into my in-ear monitors, for me and me alone, at a pretty strong, cozy volume.
Helpful information? Sure. Good timing? Not really.
Doing that would be like coming up to a golfer, just as they were about to tee off on the U.S. Open Tournament, and whispering into their ear during their backswing.
Needless to say, I was a bit distracted, and my first few words came to me with a lot more effort and concentration.
Glancing back, I took the opportunity during a “post-mortem”…sorry…a “debrief meeting” to gently ask my sound tech to use the “talkback” mic during rehearsals, and only in case of an emergency during the service.He got it – though not a musician, he was tuned in enough to realize what would have been more helpful.
After that, having glanced back, I looked forward to the next Sunday of worship, and we established our technical and musical rhythm.
It didn’t become a thing – it was something neither of us dwelled on, but both of us learned from.
When someone in the audience does something unexpected during my show (and these kinds of things have happened more often than I can count), I can glance back, and still look forward.
Instead of saying, “Man, I was so distracted when those kids in the front row got up and danced during my set – they nearly derailed me,” I can say to myself, “What a great opportunity to enhance my concentration skills. I need to try practicing my guitar at home while my kids are dancing in the front room.”
There will always be unexpected things that happen before, during or after our performances or worship leading opportunities.
These are all opportunities to grow. Nelson Mandela said, “I never lose. I either win or learn.”
Right?
The stories I’ve shared with you today are not failures, if we take the opportunity to learn from them.
In a way, struggles (like the ones I’ve mentioned) are actually more educational than successes.
Think about it. If we experience a challenge, there can be all kinds of helpful details to examine. We can look at what happened, and learn from it.But it’s important to glance, and not to linger. To beat ourselves up emotionally for something that “went wrong” is not productive. Negative self-talk can really hinder our ability to thrive.
We also need to have a teachable mindset, and to trust that the Lord knows what He’s doing more than we do.
Who do we think is in control? This affects everything we do. If we think that we are the ones in control, we’ll make decisions based on that. But if we are being led by the Holy Spirit, because we trust that the Lord wants to move through us, we will live differently, perhaps holding things a bit more loosely.
Obviously, we need to make plans, but we also need to be ready for how the Lord might move.
Proverbs 16:9 says, “In a man’s heart are many plans, but the Lord determines his steps.”We have an enemy who wants nothing more than to accuse, to hinder, and to cause us to doubt ourselves.
But instead of allowing fear to overtake us as we do our good Kingdom work, let’s learn, grow, and find the joy of the Lord, even when, and especially when, things are difficult.
We can do this by trusting Him…and we can press on, having serious fun, by glancing back, and looking forward.
Today was another great story time. I hope you were encouraged, challenged, and inspired a bit, as we talked about how important it is to glance back at our challenges, but also to look forward to future possibilities.
Perhaps you’re glancing back at your recent guitar adventures, wanting to enhance your playing for the glory of God, as you head into an unknown future.
If you’re looking for some solid wisdom and encouragement in a like-minded community setting, please check out GuitarSuccess4U, our one-of-a-kind online guitar experience. You can head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com, where you can learn all about what’s waiting for you.
I’ll see you next time - looking forward.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/closekeys. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below.
If you play open chords on the guitar, do you want those chords to sound clean? Sure! We all do.
Now, some of the chords we play don’t involve all 6 of the strings. And that’s ok.
However, if we let all the strings ring on these chords, even the ones we don’t need, our chords can start to sound muddy.
Let’s take a look at three color chords in the key of G. The first chord is a G5 (no 3rd), a strong, open chord that literally only consists of the notes G and D over and over.
I fret this with my second finger on the low G on the 3rd fret of the 6th string, and then I add my 3rd finger on the same fret of the 2nd string for a high D. One more note – the high G on the 3rd fret of the 1st string, with my 4th finger.
The special trick I want to make sure you observe is that I’m using my 2nd finger to mute the 5th string so that I don’t have an “A” sounding in this chord.
So, the notes (from low to high) are G, D, G, D, and G. Listen to how clean this sounds with that 5th string muted. This sounds much cleaner than if the 5th string A were to ring open, unmuted.
Next up is a version of the IV chord in G, which many people like to call a C2.
Literally, the only difference between this chord and the G5 chord is that I move my 2nd finger over to the 3rd fret of the 5th string for C.
With the 6th string omitted and the 4th string muted, we only have the notes (from low to high) C, G, D and G.
Now comes the special trick.
I’m again going to use my 2nd finger to mute an unneeded note from the open 4th string, D. But in addition to this, I’m going to wrap my thumb around to mute the unneeded open 6th string E, just touching it – not fretting it. This is much more attainable with a moderate guitar neck size; classical guitars are too wide for a thumb wrap.
So, this version of C2 sounds much cleaner than if I were to let the 6th and 4th strings ring open (as I demonstrate in the video).
One more color chord on the V chord with a D5 (no 3).
This chord literally only has 3 notes. They are: open 4th string D, my 1st finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string for A, and my 3rd finger on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string for another D. The notes are simply D, A, and D.
It’s time for a special trick, and this actually involves three fingers.
First, I’ll let my 3rd finger rest against the open 1st string to keep it quiet.
Second, my 2nd finger is going to lightly touch the open 5th string, and maybe even the 6th string. I’m not fretting these notes at the 3rd fret – I’m just silencing them with the tip of my 2nd finger.
And then, as before, I’m going to use my thumb to wrap around and silence the open 6th string.
So, half of the strings will ring, and half of them will be silenced, allowing for a much cleaner chord than if strings 6, 5 and 1 were to ring open.
Once I’ve gotten my fretting hand disciplined and trained to complete these tricks for each of these chords, I can just enjoy them in sequence. And my strumming hand is free to strum any or all of the strings.
I can try to strum only the strings I need, but the added bonus is that if I do graze the silent strings, they sound percussive, and they add to the palm muted feel that provides some artistry. (See the video for a demonstration.)
These three chords can be easily used in G Major, as I said, but also in the A Dorian mode, the D Mixolydian mode, and the E Aeolian mode, which of course, is E natural minor. This is just a glimpse of what’s possible, but I feel like it puts us on the right track for much cleaner playing. And whether the people listening to us know it consciously or not, we are playing with greater skill and precision, because only the notes we want to ring are sounding.
Again, the video will shed a lot more light on how these chords look and sound on the guitar.
So, use these strategies to help make all your chords sound clean.
And don’t forget to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com where you can take your guitar playing to the next level!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I remember the second week I learned to drive a stick shift. The first week was in a parking lot, and there wasn’t much about that experience that was very memorable...just learning the basics.
The second week, however, was a whole new piece of business.
Speaking of business, just as I was learning stick shift, a family friend welcomed me into his landscaping and irrigation business for the summer.
Although I had been driving for a couple years, I had only driven automatic transmission cars up to this point.
And all of his rigs were stick shift pickup trucks.
I knew the inevitable conversation was coming. I knew that very soon, he would ask me if I was “all good” with taking one of his trucks to pick up a load of sod, a bunch of plants, or some PVC pipe fittings.
That conversation happened right away.
“Dave,” my boss said, “I’m gonna need you to run up to the landscaping supply place to get some stuff for today’s job. It’s just up the road. Can you take my truck?”“Well, sir,” I said, “In the interest of full transparency, I’m not yet confident with a stick shift.”“We’re going to have to do something about that,” he said. “Come with me.”And as you might have gathered, what happened next took place during my second week of driving a stick shift. He had me hop in the driver’s seat, while he rode shotgun, and together we went to get the landscaping supplies.
Again, up until this point, I had only driven a stick in a parking lot. A parking lot.
Next thing I knew, we were on the freeway, with cars zooming all around us as I fiddled with the gears, trying to work my way up to fourth gear, sometimes grinding, sometimes just “hanging out” in neutral between the gears.
Talk about jumping into the deep end.
Driving on the freeway is complex enough, but driving a stick on the freeway, having only learned a week prior, was…intense. But I’m thankful to my boss for that experience, because it equipped me in a very real way to get things done for the business that needed to happen. I learned a very useful skill as well.
And before I knew it, I had developed the muscle memory necessary to drive other stick shift vehicles.
Any skill we learn, especially one that uses our hands, in my opinion, requires three things: a learning environment, a good teacher, and the opportunity to practice.
My learning environment for stick shift turned out to be the freeway. My teacher was my boss, and the opportunity to practice came in the form of essential errands I would run for the business on a regular basis, sometimes multiple times a day.
Did you notice that my learning environment was also practical? In other words, I wasn’t just practicing in my learning environment – I was demonstrating what I knew. I was applying the skills I had learned.
Think about your guitar playing for a moment. How did you begin? Was there a learning environment, whether it was your family room with a device playing instructional videos, or perhaps in a music lessons studio?
Was there, or is there, a teacher in your world with the capacity to offer knowledge, wisdom and instruction?
Maybe your teacher was someone you knew, like a friend or family member. Maybe it was a professional teacher whom you paid for lessons.
It’s possible that you taught yourself. As I talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 29 – “Breaking the Curse of Knowledge,” if the teacher is not able to relay information well, we need to “self-teach.”
Did you have an opportunity to practice? Perhaps you had that opportunity and you took advantage of it on a regular basis, at a specific routine time each day. Or perhaps you missed some opportunities. That’s part of life, too.
I’ll take a moment here to offer something you may have heard me mention…or if you’re new to Guitar Serious Fun, this could be the first time you’ve ever heard about it.It’s called…GuitarSuccess4U. It has all the elements mentioned above – a learning environment, a good teacher, and the opportunity to practice.
The learning environment is a portal with a clear Success Path, consisting of multi-modal organized lessons that move in sequence and foster tremendous progress and musicianship.
The good teacher is me, based on almost three decades of performing, recording, and leading worship with the guitar. Plus, I bring in multiple guest experts to teach beyond what I know.
The opportunity to practice happens when each lesson concludes, as I give you specific things to work on, with worksheets and short exercises designed to enhance your learning.
And each month wraps up with a Relevance Lesson which shows you how to apply what you’ve learned so far.
Sound good? Sound really good? I’ll give you the URL so you can explore. It’s GuitarSuccess4U.com.
In terms of where you’re at right now, I may be catching up with you today towards the beginning or the middle of your guitar journey.
But we all begin somewhere. As the late great actress Helen Hayes once said, “The expert at anything was once a beginner.”
Speaking of acting, I enjoy watching movies. And there are some seasoned actors on the silver screen who have sometimes taken my breath away with the way they deliver their lines. But they all started out somewhere.
I like reading about the background of some of these actors. Some began in an acting school. Others started out in a career path that had nothing to do with acting, and then they discovered their true passion was acting.
Some started on a local stage, worked up to more prestigious stages, and then moved on to television, before going into film. But in the life of each of these actors, there was a moment when they were called upon to speak their very first lines.
I don’t know if these actors take time to think back about their first efforts very often, but the reality is that their current skills are only at that level because of their first efforts, and because of all the work they’ve done from way back then…to right now.
I’ll say that again. What they’re able to do now is a result of the accumulation of experience and practice.
This process is often guided and shaped by someone who has gone before them, who can posture themselves as a guide on their journey.
In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 39 – “The Voice of Experience,” I talked about nine experts in their fields.
Remember them? First, there was the clock expert from the family business of repairing and transporting clocks.
No doubt, he was once taught his trade by a more seasoned person, likely his father. And he was once entrusted with moving his first clock. Think about that. His first clock. Do you think everything went smoothly that first time?
Then there’s the electric guitarist. His first chords and melodies were likely not as tasteful as the ones he can summon now.What about the aux percussionist? He’s so young, I’m tempted to think that maybe he was born with his rhythm chops, but even his early efforts had to be simple and basic.
The keyboardist had to start somewhere, probably with a simple scale and some basic chords, leading to the proficiency he can now summon in literally all possible keys.
The drummer probably started with a paradiddle or simple rudiment as he learned how to hold his sticks.
The producer heard his first audio recording and began to notice what mixed music sounds like.
The bass player put on his first bass guitar and started thumping the low notes, getting a feel for the large strings on the frets.
And the guitar luthiers applied their early knowledge to repairing their very first guitars, possibly with the need to repair what they broke in the process.
Were those learning experiences? Absolutely. And experience can sometimes be the best teacher…as it allows us to develop…the voice of experience so that we might one day pass our knowledge along to someone else.
For a guitarist on their journey anywhere but the very beginning, there exists the opportunity to look ahead at what’s possible, by observing those who are further down the road than they are. Those more experienced guitarists could be complete strangers that they watch on a stage or video. Or they could be people they know.
And that can be a blessing, as the guitarist can be inspired as they see what could await them through diligent practice.
But there’s another exercise that I think can also be helpful, especially if a guitarist has been playing for a few years and needs a little encouragement.
It’s to look back to day one. Or week one. To look back at when they were just getting started.
What purpose does this serve? I can think of at least three purposes.
First, it takes us back
They can look back and see how far they’ve come. They can literally say that all the guitar skills they currently possess were not theirs when they first started out.
Now, if you have a hard time visualizing what it felt like to strum your first chords on the guitar, I have an exercise you can do right now to bring that into sharp relief.
It goes like this. First, sit in a chair and hold your guitar. Second, strum a few chords.
Now comes the interesting part. Flip the guitar almost 180 degrees to where you would fret and strum with opposite hands. Try to play those same chords and strum them.
A little more difficult, right? Especially since the tuning would also dictate mirrored shapes for the chords.
That can give you a window into where you started out.
Second, it gives us inspiration going forward
Something inspiring happens when we clearly see the distance we have traveled from day one to present day. We can check off the obstacles we’ve overcome, and the skills we’ve acquired.
Maybe we can even recount the songs we’ve learned, written, performed or led in worship. Seeing all those accomplishments, as long as we stay humble, is good fuel for moving forward.
Why? Because the current obstacles, challenges, and the songs we haven’t yet tackled seem much more within our reach. Looking at what we’ve accomplished allows us to visualize accomplishing more.
And if our pace in the past hasn’t been as fast as we’d like – in other words, it’s taken us quite a bit longer to learn some things…that’s ok. We can quicken the pace moving forward, always being realistic.
But progress will be made, as long as we show up, and continue to invest in our guitar journeys. Remember, your timing may not be the Lord’s timing for the developing of your skills. But faithfulness, obedience and stewardship are much more important to Him than speed or quantity.
Third, it gives us empathy
We can see beginners, or guitarists who are not as far along as we are as people we can encourage.
As long as these guitarists are leaning into their giftings, they are also moving forward, at their pace, and sometimes they appreciate empathy or encouragement.
“I was there once,” I might say. “Keep after it – you got this!”
Any time a more experience guitarist has offered sincere encouragement, I’ve been grateful.
Closing Thoughts
When it comes to skill development, we’re always growing (or at least we always can be.) But let’s always remember where we started.
And when we remember back, we can have a little tiny make-believe conversation with our younger selves.
We can say, “Oh, you cute little baby guitarist! You’re just getting started, and you’ve got your whole life in front of you. It’s not always going to be easy, but it will get better.”
Each of us starts off as a cute little baby guitarist. And in some ways, that’s a great place to be, because we’ve embarked on a grand adventure.
But as we grow up, we don’t realize how much we’ve grown. I remember relatives telling me, “You’re taller than the last time we saw you.”Wait for it – people will eventually say to you, “You’re more musically accomplished than the last time I heard you.”
It will come. Keep growing. Have serious fun as you grow. Stay humble, and enjoy the process.
And maybe share this episode with someone you know.
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Transcript included below…
As I string these words together, I’ve just come from a musical rehearsal I’ve been leading, where I simply tried to do too much with the limited time I had.
I felt my emotional intensity rising as I glanced at the clock, knowing that there would not be enough time to do the remainder of the songs well.
What was I trying to do? Well, with my musical creativity, I brought several untested exercises and some creative musical tools into the mix, and really, the task list was already pretty long.
I knew, in the back of my mind, that things were much more hectic and rushed because I had tried to cram too much additional optional musical activity into the early part of the rehearsal.
How in the world could I have done this more effectively? Well, upon reflection, I am noticing two words: “untested” and “optional.” Both of those words need to be carefully examined.
The reality is that if something is untested, it can be super fun, but it might not be “wired tight,” so to speak. And before we know it, we’ve run long and have shortened the remaining time for other elements.
If something is “optional” it needs to be considered a possibility, but also a lower priority.
Perhaps I could have tested and timed the exercises, and then lined them up with the time that I knew would be taken up by other required activities for the rehearsal.
It’s really nothing that a simple stopwatch couldn’t have solved, along with a bit of repetition to hone in on what was possible and/or needed.
The Law of Diminishing Returns
Have you ever come across that phrase? In basic terms, if we keep everything constant (including a timeframe) but increase the amount of things we want to get done in that timeframe, we’ll eventually reach a point where we will be less productive.
We’ll hit a point on a graph where things will actually start to diminish, instead of increase.
So under those circumstances, “more” eventually results in “less.”
But here’s the thing. It can be hard to know where that point is, until we hit it.
It’s sort of like an invisible laser that triggers an alarm. Once we cross that point of trying to do too much in too short of an amount of time, we know it, but it can often be too late. Often, the resulting side effects are frustration and stress.
And not just for us. This can also happen for our collaborators.
If time had not been so limited in that rehearsal, we would have been able to get a lot more done, in an unhurried fashion, and those untested and optional elements I had brought to the conversation would likely have fit into the mix.
But as I mentioned, the timeframe was a constant – it was a limited amount of time where after a certain point, everyone needed to leave.
Something had to give. And it’s my opinion, having learned from this, that it makes more sense…to often do less. And what are some environments where we can err on the side of “Less is more?” Let’s talk about several.
The Worship Team Rehearsal
This is a group of people, paid or unpaid, who gather to rehearse in some worship tunes.
The important question to ask is, “Does the band know the tunes?”
I suppose there are varying degrees of how well a band knows songs. They could have a cursory knowledge, having listened to them on the way to rehearsal.
By contrast, they could have them memorized forwards and backwards, to where they could jump in at any point and find their way in seconds.
Let’s say the band is planning to rehearse songs that are pretty familiar to them.
In this scenario, they have 5 songs to prepare, and their rehearsal allows for 90 minutes. They would still have a 1-hour run-thru to look forward to on Sunday where they would finalize the songs, but the goal of this rehearsal is to help the band gel together.
There are all kinds of potential variables, but let’s say they know each other well and have played together a lot.
Let’s say that the songs are average length – 4 or 5 minutes, and that they don’t present too many potential pitfalls with odd keys or time signature changes, but that some of the band members haven’t played a few of the songs very much.
How much time to spend on these five songs? If I were leading that band, I’d budget a total of 15 minutes per song. 10 minutes for working out any elements that needed to be worked out, and 5 minutes for a final pass.
So with an opening prayer and a quick sound check, we’d be 10 minutes or so into the rehearsal, if everyone lands on time.
Then, we could spend about 50 minutes working the set, dialing in some of the subtleties.
That’s our first hour. I’d open it up for questions at that point, and then if everyone was all good, we’d run the set, maybe with some simple verbal cues as placeholders (announcements, sermon, etc.) and then as the set wraps up, we’d have a moment to close in prayer and pack up, keeping the rehearsal at an hour and a half.
But what has the potential to compromise this infrastructure so that we actually run out of time?
Well, there are all kinds of possibilities. Someone could arrive late, someone could be unprepared and need extra coaching, there could be a crisis that needed to be prayed over.
We could have a tech glitch – ever had one of those? Troubleshooting can eat into the rehearsal time. Or maybe there’s a totally new song that warrants extra time, like twice as much as any of the others.
If we only have enough time to get everything done if the scenario is perfect, we could be setting ourselves up for some frustration. Better to leave a little margin, or at least to know what the team is capable of, as we plan.
And if we need to run long with the rehearsal, we would do well to make sure everyone buys in on that.
If a rehearsal ends on time but there’s still work to do, I always take the measure of making sure everybody knows what they need to be working on in anticipation of Sunday.
If absolutely necessary, a song can be cut from the set at some point. We don’t need to chase perfectionism, but we do need to work within the time parameters.
The Worship Service
When we get to Sunday, I don’t like to add anything new. I’ve done this, and it has either resulted in the band struggling, or at the very least, technicians who feel put on the spot because they thought they had the whole picture handled.
Some people love a last-minute change, but not the technicians I’ve served with. They’re doing their best to accommodate multiple variables, and adding something last minute does not equip them well.
The only change I might make to a Sunday morning, as mentioned a moment ago, would be to cut a song. But I’d do this with the buy-in from everyone from pastoral leadership to technicians, so no one is surprised by the change.It’s much easier to remove an element than to add one.
The Professional Band Practice
This could refer to a cover band, a house band, or a bluegrass band, but you get the picture.
A professional band has a similar paradigm, but there’s a bit of a higher bar that’s set for preparation and execution. Given the same amount of time, they will likely get through more material.
But here’s the thing – there’s an additional level beyond technical proficiency with these songs; it’s the ability to perform the songs well.
Working the song set with transitions, angles, and all those things that help make a concert dynamic, and it’s something I learned from performance coach Tom Jackson.
Even some of the most seasoned bands out there don’t dedicate time to cultivating the nuances of their live show.
Sure, they play their songs, and often very, very well…but much of the audience, in the words of Tom Jackson, doesn’t know whether the performer is singing High C or drinking Hi-C. The audience just came to enjoy a great performance.
So, if the pro band has 90 minutes (which may only be a quick rehearsal), they may have 10 memorized songs in hand. If they run each song once, they may stay under an hour. But the remainder of the time could be spent working onstage interaction: visual handoffs, humorous moments, and more.It’s my conviction that a rehearsal is a great opportunity to do some next level work beyond the solo practice, so the better prepared the individuals can be, the further the group can go.
The Solo Practice Time
Speaking of, a solo practice time is a different paradigm. We’re not influenced by collaborators when we practice alone. And we may not choose to ask as much of ourselves as we work out our skills and repertoire in our “man cave” or studio.
Perhaps a beginning guitarist can commit to 15 minutes. I’ll ask a loaded question – would it make sense to try to get through four songs in that timeframe? Nope.I’d say a good strategy here would be a couple warmups or stretches (3 minutes) some skill-building exercises with strumming, chords, or fingerpicking (7 minutes), ending with a song that’s already gaining momentum (5 minutes.) Finishing with actual music is very rewarding and reminds us why we’re doing what we’re doing.
A more advanced guitarist could simply scale this approach to 30 or 60 minutes.
I would keep warmups and stretches at just a few minutes, but maybe focus more on technique (perhaps 20 minutes), ending with repertoire building.
Side note: it’s always good to expand our repertoire, but also good to work on our existing repertoire, to keep it fresh.
So, less can be more in a solo practice time.
The Concert
Depending on the number of performers, the variety of skills available, and the attention span of the audience, there can be a wide range of what is offered at a concert. I’ll speak personally from my shows in a few different settings.
When I had a band, it made sense to use the band for most of the time, but for one or two songs, a piano ballad could “cleanse the palate.”
My drummer was actually gifted with a very good tenor voice, so we surprised the audience when he set down his sticks and sang some harmonies.
But in general, the band show was pretty streamlined to be a three-piece with me on guitar, and then my bass player and my drummer.
In those years of touring, it made logistical sense to have that simple setup, and to use what we had to present some dynamic and groove contrasts.
But when I went solo, which has become the majority of my career, I broke into more sonorities, because I was just one man up there.
If I played for a focused adult audience with a long attention span, I’d use fewer instruments, like guitar, hammered dulcimer, and maybe piano.
But if I played for a young audience, like a school assembly or a group of wiggly young campers, I knew that I needed to be constantly changing the focus.
To this end, I used a loop station (a recording device for live performance) that involved multiple implements (percussion, Boomwhackers – which are pitched percussion tubes, and some hand rhythms on my guitar). I also sang into the sound hole of the guitar and stacked my voice.
Add to this the element of audience participation (whether with people “naming that tune” or actually coming up onstage for a musical exercise that was fun and message-driven), and I had quite the varied show.
But there was a price to be paid. And it was a car filled to the top with gear…sometimes including a portable sound system. And as I’ve learned, not only does equipment have a monetary cost, it also bears a set up and tear down cost, to say nothing of load-in and load-out.
This has made those multi-faceted performances a labor of love, because not only am I pivoting after every song to a different instrument or piece of technology, I also need to rehearse more at home to make sure those transitions are solid.
I now mix my live show from stage, so the 16-channel mixer is something I’d also classify as an instrument. I’m constantly muting and unmuting channels, depending on which instrument I’m playing. So I have to ride the wave and check myself.
In addition to playing the guitar, I also play piano, hammered dulcimer, banjo, and the Chapman Stick, and I can do some acappella songs as well with my looping technology. I don’t typically bring all my instruments to a show. I usually leave one or two out – but not my voice, of course.
I’m also always evaluating my performance to see which elements need to be added or taken away.
Why? So that I can bring something different to the venue next time and because…less is more.
It’s been possible for me to hold my audience’s attention with far less gear, when I haven’t had a choice. How do I know this? Because I’ve flown to some shows, where I could only bring a guitar case, a suitcase, and a shoulder bag. That’s a very different capacity from a full SUV.
The Lord gives us what we need to do His will.
We also need to be sensitive to what would be appropriate to the venue. And really, even some of my venues will have perpetual wigglers in the crowd, because they’re all sugared up with root beer floats they just consumed before my show, etc. Even all my gear and all my fast songs might not be enough to accommodate their attention span.
It doesn’t all rest on me, but I do try to find that fine line in a solo concert where I’m blessing the audience and not wearing myself out. I like to be “good tired” after a show.
The Showcase
Occasionally, I’ll be added to a mix where I get to play just one or two songs, and that’s it. My time slot is 5 or maybe 10 minutes because I’m sharing the stage with half a dozen other performers who have a similar allotment.
This could be at a conference where multiple presenters are part of a general session. I’ve done this many, many times.
I also know that there are college showcases where people register as performers, pay some good money and travel a good distance, so as to be up in front of college recruiters who are looking for talent to share with their students. I haven’t gone this route, because although I’ve played for a few colleges, it’s not my main target audience.
But the time slot for these kinds of things could be as little as one song, maybe two.
So, what’s my mindset for a showcase? Pack as much into those two songs as possible? Maybe. But a better thought would be contrast.
What could I do between those songs, or even in the middle of one of those songs, to show different sides of what I can offer?
Think about your songs for a moment, and consider which songs might exhibit different sides of your lyricism, technique, tongue-in-cheek humor, or whatever you think the audience might appreciate.
My most recent showcase was for the Christian Musician Summit, a conference that has been around since the early 2000s, and for which I’ve taught since 2007.
I had 15 minutes. And guess what? My audience was all musicians. Talk about intimidating. Many of them were professionals.
I started out with an original song called “Satisfied” to warm up the crowd, then played a tongue-in-cheek blues song I wrote called “Blues for Lazarus,” and then finished with my rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy,” mostly because Christmas was right around the corner.
My song choices allowed for different tones, tempos, techniques, and even looks. But they were all on the guitar.
By tones, I mean joyful, clever, and innovative.
By tempos, I mean upbeat, medium, and intense.
By techniques, I mean strumming with a partial capo and palm muting, then touch-style blues, then “August Rush”-style Christmas tapping.
As for looks, my first song began with me standing at a boom mic, and then I switched to a headset mic, for which I sat on a stool to play the second song, and then I stood with the headset mic for the third song.
Did you catch it? All three songs were with just one guitar. No instrument switching. I was very limited by time and instrumentation, but I offered a lot of contrast.
Each song felt totally different...all within the limitations of just my guitar and my voice.
And the audience was very appreciative.
So, the showcase seemed to be a great place where “less” was “more.”
The Artistic Interpretation
Several years ago, there was a viral video out there of a drummer who played on the Hillsong song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).” Bless this guy – he could play those drums.
But there was something about how he played that seemed out of alignment with the script of the song. There’s an instra break about 2/3 of the way through where the band takes over, but this guy really took over. I mean, he played as many notes as he could.His interpretation, in my opinion, was too much.
I like when a musician plays less at times, because they can.
Brian Reding, my producer, who is also one of our guest experts in my online guitar experience called GuitarSuccess4U said in our interview that it actually takes more skill and experience not to play.
It takes more courage. It’s easy to just play a bunch of notes. Playing less sometimes takes more effort.
So, depending on the song, there could be room for “less” musical articulation, so as to let the song “breathe” a bit more. It depends on the song, but the first step is looking and listening for opportunities not to play. That way, when we do play, it means more.
The Songwriting Session
There’s a rather intense phrase out there that says “Kill your darlings.” But where it gets its roots is in literature. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and Stephen King, both writers, basically said we need to get used to the idea that not everything we create needs to be shared…at least not in its current state.
It’s ok to create – don’t misunderstand this – we need to create as much as we feel called to create. But certain things need to be prioritized in terms of how much they are brought forward and presented to an audience…especially when they’re not ready.
Some of these creations need to be re-shaped. Someone once told me, “Great songs aren’t written; they are re-written.”
Imagine if some of the greatest songs out there had been recorded only in their first draft form. I reckon that the quality of these offerings might be significantly lower.
I know this, because as a songwriter, I know what it’s like to stare at a version of an original lyric or progression and say to myself, “It’s good…but I know the best version of this is not here yet.”I wrote a song for my father called “I’ll Tell You Now.” It’s a very reflective fingerstyle ballad about telling our loved ones that we love them…while there’s still time.
As I wrote this song, I went through revision after revision. I woke up at 3 a.m. with the third verse. When the song finally coalesced into its finished form, I had made 13 drafts to get it right.
I had to “kill” each of the previous revisions so that it could be recreated as a subsequent draft. But it was worth it.
I was in a songwriting workshop where the presenter said that some people have brought him their songs and said, “God gave me this song,” to which the songwriting coach has harshly responded, “I see why – He didn’t want it anymore.”Ouch.
But sometimes we need a bit of a reality check to realize that not everything we write comes out perfect at first.
And this can lead us to yet another instance where “less is more.”
The Album
I’m not sure if you aspire to record an album, but it can be the culmination of an artist’s efforts.
As of this episode, I’ve recorded and recouped four professional albums.
On an album, there can be wonderful contrasts where some songs have full textures and others are more minimal…and yet, they all still feel like they come from the same artist.
My latest album kicks off with an easy shuffle medium tempo tune, then moves into a full-tilt funk tune. Then, I have a world-beat reflective tune, and then the fingerstyle ballad, “I’ll Tell You Now,” which I alluded to earlier. All of these songs sound like me.
What has had the most impact on people? I’ve gotten a ton of positive feedback on the fingerstyle ballad. Brian Reding, whom I mentioned earlier, produced my album and provided all the instruments besides my guitar and piano.
He had to do very little with “I’ll Tell You Now”…mostly some gentle keys, cello, and a little synth. We didn’t even do background vocals. Less was more.
I’m always wary of producers who want to add instrumentation and extra vocals just to fill the texture. This can lead to over-producing.
James Taylor, a guitarist and singer/songwriter whom I’ve followed for many years, included some rather poignant liner notes in one of his albums as he expressed his gratitude to the players on the record.
He said: “Thanks for the notes you played, and for the notes you didn’t play.”
Again, for some of the songs, less was more.
So, if you’ve got a production mindset and want to record an album, do a lot of listening – to your own stuff, but also to the musicians whose music you admire.
And then look for ways to peel back layers and reengage the ears of your listener as you arrange the songs for recording, sometimes with full textures, sometimes with sparse textures.
When Less is Less and More is More
I realize that by closing this discussion with a contradictory argument, I may be undoing what I’ve been putting together today, but hear me out.
There’s something to be said for variety.
Some performances incorporate literally hundreds of onstage musicians, to say nothing of the vast technical support they need behind the scenes.
These people are capable of variety.
If all I do is play instrumental guitar, I can still present variety in my fingerstylings.
If I’m more of a ballad musician, I can still bring lighthearted moments to add variety my song sets.
But once in a while, it’s important to add something to the mix just to change it up. Remember how I mentioned that my drummer sang harmonies? That’s adding more.
Doing a multi-generational concert as a solo artist sometimes takes more – more gear, more transitions, more contrasts. But it does help keep the audience engaged.
It’s all about meeting the paradigm head on and doing what you do…well.
The German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “It is working within limitations that mastery reveals itself.” If we have limitations, perhaps that’s an opportunity for our mastery to be cultivated and revealed.
So, as you look at your scenario for music, whether it’s the worship team rehearsal, the worship service, the professional band practice, the solo practice time, the concert, the showcase, the artistic interpretation, the songwriting session, or the album, perhaps today’s discussion has helped shed some light on where you can focus.
And perhaps you’ll find darlings to kill, or at least words or notes to re-finesse, so that you can make things just right. Be ok with saying “no” to adding some things to the mix, so as to avoid the point of diminishing returns.
But don’t forget to have – you know it – serious fun.
Hey, leave me a comment if something about this episode rang true for you. I’d love to hear from you.
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Transcript included below…
I love a good story. Sometimes, true stories are the ones that are the most compelling, because someone out there actually lived out what is being described.
Then there’s historical fiction – based around actual events.
The story I’m about to share with you are historical fiction, with a bit of autobiographical non-fiction as well.
To start things off, here’s a true story about me when I was a kid…and just a heads up – this is not about guitar…yet.
Fireworks and Timing
I started out as a rather impatient young man, and this was manifested in a variety of ways.
For example, when the Fourth of July came around, I could not wait to light off fireworks. We had a lake place we liked to visit in the summers, and that’s where we would usually celebrate the Fourth. One summer, my dad bought two huge variety packs of fireworks.
“These are meant to be lit off at night,” he instructed me. “They’re much less enjoyable during the day, so let’s wait to light off most of these until I get back out here to the lake after work tomorrow.”
“Sounds good,” I said, “but can I light off some of them during the day before you get back into town?”
“Yes, but only some of them,” he replied.Well, “some” was a rather subjective term to me – it wasn’t quantifiable – and the only thing it didn’t mean to me was “all.”
I wanted to see those fireworks light up. And I just wasn’t willing to wait until the evening.
So can you guess, out of probably 80 fireworks, how many I lit off during the day?
All but one.
That’s right. And my dad was quite disappointed when he got back out to the lake after work to discover this.
My impatience had definitely been an influencing factor, because I did not want to wait for the right timing to enjoy those fireworks, and my decision was not a blessing to the rest of the family either.
The Impatient Guitarist
As I introduce “the players” in our fictional tale, I’ll start out with this one. Imagine a guitar player who is learning to play the guitar, but who struggles with impatience.
We’ll call this fictional guitarist Herkemer. I don’t know anyone by the name of Herkemer, but hey, it’s a unique name, so we’ll go with that.
Herkemer is at about a decade or so into his guitar journey, but he has hit a few plateaus. What are those plateaus?
They could be any number of things – struggling to play bar chords cleanly, leveraging only a handful of strumming patterns, or perhaps unwittingly altering his tempo when playing with or for others.
If he’s being real, Herk knows that there are areas he needs to grow in, but if possible, he’d really like to overcome these obstacles quickly.He hops around and looks at short free videos online, and sometimes takes a guitar class at a conference.
He hears a song and wants to learn to play it, but after starting the process of learning the introduction, he runs out of steam and moves on…or, he plows through the song, playing it with much less skill than he knows the song deserves.
Throughout this stage of his guitar journey, Herkemer takes some small steps forward…but does not get the results he’s hoping for.
He knows there’s more to his guitar potential, but doesn’t have a clear vision for how to move forward.
He’s also a lone warrior with very few people in his life who “get” his appreciation for music, so there’s very little accountability or encouragement coming his way.
When he sits down with his guitar, his smartphone is not far away, and it’s not uncommon for him to get into a text or e-mail exchange during his practice session when, deep down, he knows this is a distraction from his focus for practicing the guitar.
When pressed for goals, Herkemer verbally states that he wants to “Get better at guitar,” or “Learn more skills.” But these are not specific, measurable, and all the rest…and they are verbal, so they’re not written down.
As a result of these influencing factors, he stalls out a bit, and either maintains a holding pattern or worse – he leaves his guitar on its stand or in its case for too long.
Over time, he actually develops a bit of an aversion to playing, because it’s not yielding the results he wants.
The irony is that more playing, specifically more intentional playing, is what could change the game for him.
So Herkemer becomes another example of a guitarist who stays on a plateau he longs to rise above, but either doesn’t know how, or is reluctant to explore how.
And even if he experiences short-term wins, they are often not enough to boost his morale toward leaning into his guitar learning with more discipline, so as to attain more tangible results.
This is not a great place to be, and yet, I’ve met more guitarists than I can count, who fit aspects of Herkemer’s description. They’re looking for a quick solution that can provide some sort of shortcut.
In fact, I was in an online forum the other day, where someone started a comment thread with the question “How long will it take me to learn to play the guitar?”
When I saw that question, my heart sank, because I believe it was the wrong question to be asking.
I’ll circle back around to that in a little while.
For now, let’s look at another perspective with true stories from my journey.
Papier-Mâché All the Way
Around that same season with the fireworks debacle, I borrowed a book from the library. It was all about how to make puppets.
One particular type of puppet intrigued me – a puppet with a head made out of papier-mâché. Now, if you’re familiar with papier-mâché, you know that it comes from a French phrase which literally means “chewed paper.”Now, typically, artists who use papier-mâché don’t actually chew the paper – they tear it into smaller pieces and use some kind of glue or paste to create things.
As I would soon discover, the sky is the limit when it comes to papier-mâché.
As I made that puppet, I began the long journey of discovering what it means to mix the best proportion of flour and water for the paste, and how to tear the newspaper in the appropriate size for the shapes I wanted to make.
And as of this episode, I’ve made a couple dozen papier-mâché creations that vary in size.
The more recent adventures with papier-mâché accelerated around the time of my firstborn’s 10th birthday, and these parties seemed like excellent venues for our creations.
We began with a five-foot diameter model of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. After this came a hobbit house from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – and it was an actual house in the corner of my daughter’s room that you could go inside – “No admittance except on party business.”
After this, came a huge popcorn box piñata…
…then a pirate ship battling the mythical 8-tentacled sea beast, the Kraken, and several other creations.
One thing I’ve learned about papier-mâché is this: it’s a process.
It can’t be done in one sitting. It’s literally impossible to do ten layers of papier-mâché without allowing a day or two between layers for the paste to dry.
And most creations take upwards of 10 layers, depending on how serious they get.
If a wet layer is applied to an already moist sculpture, the moisture gets trapped and the sculpture will disintegrate over time.
Instead, what’s needed is a single session each day, or every other day, of about 30 minutes…leading to some really cool potential.
What is also needed is a clear vision of the finished product, whether a photo or a drawing. But what is needed most is…you guessed it – patience. Papier-mâché is not for those who want instant results.
The fastest project I’ve done to date was an overnight Goliath head for my daughter’s classroom – and I basically just did a single layer of newsprint over cardboard.
I tried to dry it in a small room with a couple heaters going…I blew a fuse…and ended up bringing it to her classroom the next morning with the paint still wet.
We’ve since talked about the need for more lead time, which is always a blessing.
Most recently, I created a giant mascot head of the 16th century French reformer John Calvin. This was inspired by an idea that a teacher at our school had.
With the timing of this project, I had 10 days’ notice before our school’s Reformation Celebration Festival. I was given the option to do it over the course of several months or even a couple years, but I chose to aim for the deadline…and I met it.
I didn’t want to wait, because the Reformation celebration was, in my opinion, the perfect venue to present this in.
So, I had to walk the fine line between patience and urgency.
Let’s park on that word for a moment.
Urgency.
I don’t think urgency always implies impatience. Having urgency can mean that we are aware of the swiftness of time, and that we need to move with purpose.
We can still be very deliberate, and make intentional efforts to accomplish our tasks, fueled by urgency, but still with a posture of patience.
It was with this mindset that I was able to skillfully and joyfully complete the giant John Calvin mascot head, with very positive responses from all who saw it.With the transcript of this episode, I’m including a photo of the “in process” view of the head, about 3 days in, as well as the finished product.
As you can see, a good result came with diligent, steady application of my time and focus, even in a shorter period of time – 10 days.
Of note, some of my most in-depth papier-mâché creations have been accomplished over the course of about three months.
Let’s now introduce the second character in our tale as we look at a hypothetical example of another guitarist.
The Patient Guitarist
Meet Evelyn. She’s been playing for a few years as well, but her approach to the guitar is very different from Herkemer’s approach.
Evelyn is someone who loves and listens to a lot of music. She hums and sings as she goes about her day, and she hopes to one day write her own music.
The guitar is her chosen vessel of musical expression, and although she’s not all that comfortable playing in front of people yet, she’s very deliberate with her strategy and approach to the instrument.In her home, she has a dedicated room where her guitar rests on a stand, in tune, with a music stand nearby containing the songs she’s learning and is excited to learn.
In terms of difficulty, the songs on her stand range from “I can play this with very little effort” to “This is a bit more of a challenge, but it’s within my reach if I apply myself diligently.”
She’s always trying to steadily raise her game with songs and tools that will enhance her skills – never trying to bite off more than she can chew, but definitely digging into the more artistic and academic sides of the guitar.
When Evelyn goes into her practice room, she either leaves her smartphone in another room during her practice slot, or she brings it in, but puts it in “do not disturb” and “airplane mode” so she won’t be interrupted.
She has a digital list of songs she can currently play, as well as a list of songs she wants to learn to play.She keeps a simple practice log near her practice station, so she can recall what she’s worked on, and keep a steady tally of the time that she’s spending in focused practice.
Evelyn has a few friends who play the guitar as well, and she loves spending time either listening to them, or even playing her guitar with them.
When it comes time for her to play for listening ears, she gets a little nervous and wants to shrink back and stop playing, but she courageously proceeds, unapologetically. When her husband is in the kitchen, she sometimes plays quietly at the table, knowing that he is listening.She’s actively aware of how her hands feel on the guitar as she plays when her husband is nearby.
She knows she tends to struggle with chord transitions or tempos when she’s “on the spot,” so as she plays, she makes mental and physical notes of what needs re-shaping so she can spend time on those areas especially.
She doesn’t spend a large amount of time practicing, but the time she does spend is very deliberate, with minimal distractions, and she has a clear vision for what she wants to work on…always with a view toward achieving her desired results.
She’s got a full life, but she prioritizes her guitar practice routine because she knows it will lead to a level of fulfillment down the road, but even along the journey.
She has good practice days, and rough practice days, but she looks at her practicing arc as the big picture, and isn’t discouraged when she struggles with something.
Certain concepts, like sight reading, ear training, or finger strength are things she knows can’t be overcome in a week, or even a month, so she remains steady, taking things gradually.
Because she logs her practice, she’s able to look back over the course of a year or two and see tremendous progress that wasn’t evident in the moment – much like a hiker can’t tell how high they are up a mountain until they turn back around to look down over the valley.
Evelyn doesn’t want to be the best guitar player – she just wants to be the best version of herself, and better than she was last year.
She has simple, specific goals about what she wants to accomplish, and these are printed up and taped to the inside of the door of her practice space, so she can read them on the run, and check them off when they have been accomplished.
With this approach, Evelyn is playing the long game, and she is making the progress she longs to make.
I have also met “Evelyns” out there who are committed to their guitar growth. And when I meet them, I’m overjoyed, because I see them realizing their potential. And I love to pour my encouragement and wisdom into these kinds of people, because they’re already moving forward.
Compare and Contrast
I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’ll add that in our tale of two guitarists, they both love the Lord. It is possible to love the Lord and to miss the mark on stewarding our gifts.
This is a hard truth to swallow, because it means that we have some regrets about where we are, versus where we’d like to be.
Herkemer loves the Lord, but He just doesn’t prioritize the focus to cultivate his talents.
Evelyn also loves the Lord, and prayerfully overcomes her obstacles, at her own pace. She may be what some call a two-talent servant, but she’s still doubling her talents from two to four, if you recall the parable from Matthew 25.
Herkemer has a love for music, and wants results. Some who hear Herk play may actually think he’s “on track” with what his gifting and potential allow for. But Herk knows he’s capable of more.
Evelyn shares those same attributes of music appreciation and a desire for results, but she has found a way to achieve her results, with her definition of success, and even if others might expect more of her, she is content with her progress.
Herkemer has excuses about how busy his life is, and while we all have seasons of life that are busy, his excuses tend to be perennial – there’s always something intruding on his desire to cultivate his gifts.
Evelyn avoids making excuses, because she knows they can be self-defeating. Instead, she remembers that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), and that each day is an opportunity to start fresh.
Herkemer wants answers and solutions quickly, and his impatience leads to his fizzling out in the practice space, and his priorities give way to crisis or things that come across his desk in the moment.
Herkemer’s phone is a distraction at inopportune times; Evelyn’s phone is set aside and out of the way of her dream-building.
Herkemer has no one in his circles to build him up on a regular basis; Evelyn has surrounded herself with a small tribe of like-minded folks who know how to share encouragement and constructive criticism.
Herkemer plays the same basic repertoire of songs, struggling to play many of them well; Evelyn only counts songs in her repertoire that she knows she can play cleanly at a reasonable tempo.
Herkemer sometimes “phones it in” and gets by with just “winging” it; Evelyn sets a standard for herself, and while avoiding perfectionism, aims for skillful execution.
Herkemer considers himself a bit of a victim; Evelyn owns her stuff and will acknowledge her mistakes as her own.
Herkemer self-imposes his limitations because he is impatient; Evelyn patiently watches her obstacles melt away over months and years.
Herkemer knows there’s more to his guitar journey; Evelyn can taste the goodness of a fulfilling guitar life.
Closing Thoughts
Which of these two guitarists do you think is experiencing serious fun? I think I know. It’s Evelyn. Herkemer is experiencing serious frustration. Not so with Evelyn. Her frustration is momentary, and usually gives way to the satisfaction of overcoming her challenges.
Now, you know my last name is Harsh, right? Perhaps as you’ve heard me describe Herkemer today, you’ve thought my description to be a bit too “harsh.”
Well, that’s the luxury I have when describing a fictional character – I can paint him or her with a bit of hyperbole or exaggeration.
Herkemer is definitely on one side of the patience spectrum, quite a ways away from Evelyn. But the reality is that we may each have traits in common with both of these guitarists.
I’ve already shared with you that my mindset (with the fireworks) began in Herkemer’s camp. And there are times when I take pages right out of his book.But if we as guitarists want to grow, we need to be looking at Evelyn’s approach.
As a papier-mâché artist and as a guitarist, I’m now taking the artistic approach of seizing daily, intentional opportunities as I cultivate my craft.
Again, Evelyn is fictional, so perhaps she seems a bit too perfect here – but there are attributes we can consider and aim for so as to be more like her.
Different seasons of our guitar journeys allow for different amounts of time and focus to be applied to our music – you can spool back through Guitar Serious Fun Episode 11 and Episode 12 for more of my thoughts on “Guitar Through the Seasons.”
But the key is to be patient. I’ll add another word to the mix: persistent. It is the persistent guitarist who gets it done.
A persistent guitarist can be a very patient guitarist. He or she can feel urgency and still move at a steady, gradual pace toward their goals. Impatience does not serve any of us well, because it leads to compromises on multiple levels, and even non-musicians can sense if we have been impatient with our craft.
Perhaps you are looking for a way to grow as a guitarist, much like Evelyn does. May I suggest a tribe of guitarists who just might be an excellent fit for you?
I invite you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com to discover what could potentially help you become more like Evelyn. We have several Evelyns in our tribe who don’t share her name, but do exhibit many of her qualities.
I will say that it’s not just GuitarSuccess4U that could change the game for you – it’s a prayerful commitment to inviting the Lord to cultivate the fruit of the spirit, especially patience, in your life (see Galatians 5:22-23.)
With patience in our lives, everything we do can be impacted for the better.
The Lord has definitely cultivated patience in me over the years, and my capacity for delayed gratification has grown quite a bit over time. But this has taken years.Sure, I get impatient from time to time about things, but when it comes to the things I can have control over, or at least influence over, I am more willing to wait and to play the long game.
I’ll circle back around to the beginning of this episode where I mentioned that I saw in the online forum the question: “How long will it take me to learn to play the guitar?”
With what you know about me, what do you think my answer is? Here’s my answer:
“Your whole life.”The question we should be asking is: “How can the Lord cultivate patience in my life so that I can play the guitar better than I did yesterday, and for His glory?”
That’s a much better question to be asking.
We are always learning to play the guitar, or at least we always can be. I am always learning to play the guitar.
I’d venture to say that Herkemer could be learning to play the guitar, but he keeps getting in his own way.
Evelyn is definitely learning to play the guitar.
Some people get discouraged when I tell them that even if they played for multiple hours every day of their life, they still wouldn’t learn all there is to know about the guitar and music.Others get inspired.But really, what we need to know about the guitar is between us and the Lord.
If we spend too much time learning, at the expense of the relationships in our lives, that’s not success, right?
If we squander the time and expect to reap a harvest for which we have not sown, we are erring on the side of laziness.
Instead, let’s learn what we can, with the time and talents we have, and surrender our gifts to the Lord for His use, and for His glory.
When will we have learned all we need to know? When we play our final note and the Lord takes us home.
And oh, what a wonderful new musical experience heaven will be.
Today we looked at two different fictional guitar players, and what we can learn from each.
We can learn things from Evelyn. We can also learn things from Herkemer.
As long as you’re teachable, it’s very likely that you’ve learned quite a bit today!
What will the tale of your life reveal about you as a guitarist and a musician for the Lord?
As you continue forward, enjoy each day as an opportunity. Consider enjoying some of your guitar days with us at GuitarSuccess4U.
Lastly, let the music you play be something you and others deeply enjoy, as you offer your gifts to the Lord.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/idealkey. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript and diagrams included below.
GUITAR
Finding a Song’s Ideal Key | David Harsh
How do we choose the best key for a song, especially one that has a vocal melody?
There’s a common misconception out there that basically states that melodies in the key of D are higher than melodies in the key of C. Let’s dispel that myth today.
If someone were to argue that a melody in the key of D is higher than a melody in the key of C, they wouldn’t necessarily be correct.
Now, if we’re talking about the same song, then that statement applies. If I sing a melody in C, and I transpose the song that melody is in up a Major 2nd to the key of D, then, yes, I’ll sing that melody higher.
But otherwise, all bets are off.
Why? Because how high the notes in a melody go, is not directly related to which key the song is in. The highest notes in a melody are actually based on the vocal range of the song.
The Italian word for this is tessitura. In simple terms, the tessitura is the range, in this case, of a vocal part, within which most of the tones lie.
Let’s take a hypothetical melody I’ve created, and assume that it spans the entire range of a song. I’ll call this “Song #1” just to give us a point of reference.
Now, the range or tessitura I’ve used for this song is literally a Perfect 4th, from C to F.
This is a very small tessitura, perhaps one of the smallest there could be for a song, especially since a lot of songwriters will utilize higher notes for greater artistic impact. Nevertheless, a Perfect 4th could be the complete range of a song.
Now, let’s look at another hypothetical melody I’ve created, one that has a much larger range. Here’s what I’ll call “Song #2.”
Here, I’ve created a vocal melody that spans 2 whole octaves.
I’ll admit that this is a bit on the extreme end as song ranges go, but I’ve encountered participatory worship songs that meet these criteria, or at least come close in range.
Now, both of these songs I’ve just demonstrated are currently in C Major.
One spans a Perfect 4th. The other spans a perfect 15th.
Let’s say that someone wants to play Song #1 in D Major, instead of C Major. The key of D is a Major 2nd above the key of C. But does that mean that Song #1 in D now has higher notes in the melody than Song #2, still in C?
I think you know the answer. Nope.
What if I transposed Song #1 up to the key of E, or even the key of G? Will I sing higher than the melody in Song #2 in C? Still nope. Even in the key of G, the highest note of Song #1 is a C, which is still a perfect 5th below the highest note of Song #2 if it is still in C.
Song #1 has a long way to go before it catches up to Song #2 in terms of register. Why? Because Song #2 has a much wider tessitura.
Let’s observe a couple things about these two songs. First, Song #1 provides us with some advantages. It can easily be transposed to a lot of different keys and still be what I’d call “singable.” People with limited vocal ranges in your congregation could lock into this melody and have very little trouble accessing these notes.
But as for Song #2 – watch out!
A range of two octaves is a thing to be respected, and perhaps feared. If I start moving this song up by even a few steps, the top high G can easily become a high B or C, which is really high for the untrained male voice.
It’s worth our time to discover what the range is of every song we lead or even present in front of a group of people.
This benefits vocalists the most.
Typically, the bass player doesn’t have a strong feeling about the key. The drummer certainly doesn’t either. Remember, your congregation isn’t filled with bass players or drummers – they’re predominantly vocalists.
So that’s some wisdom for how to find a song’s ideal key. Once you have a better grasp of the vocal range you want to stay in, your charts can be adjusted to accommodate the new keys that you’ll need play in. And that’s a great place to be.
Looking for more? I encourage you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com where all the magic happens
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
When I was about 11 years old, my parents purchased a beautiful grandfather clock for our family. It became a constant presence in three different homes where we lived, over the course of almost four decades.
Now this beautiful heirloom is in my home. This clock has tremendous historical significance, and I am honored to have it where I and my immediate family can enjoy looking at it.
Every time the clock chimes the quarter hour, a wave of childhood memories washes over me and I’m instantly transported to the three different homes and the seasons of life I lived there. The chimes are a gentle undercurrent, and a reminder of the swiftness of time.
Now I get to make new memories as the gentle ticking marks the seconds, minutes and hours, because it’s in our front room.
But getting this clock into my house was no small endeavor. In addition to gifting it to me, my parents arranged for a clock moving and repair company to make sure it was carefully transported from their house to mine.
When the delivery man arrived at our home with the clock, he knocked on our door and presented his business card. I looked behind him to see if there was a small crew of assistants ready to help him move the clock up our front steps.
There was no one else with him.
He got to work, and my family watched in awe as he brought the clock up the steps on a specialized hand truck. I couldn’t bear to watch, but they all said it was accomplished smoothly. This clock is over seven feet high and very heavy, so this was no small feat.
Once he had the clock carefully placed where we wanted it, he measured it with precision and made sure the angle was a perfect 45 degrees in the corner. Then, he proceeded to install the pendulum, the counterweights, and the wood-turned adornments of the crown.
He did this all very carefully with special gloves on, in a way that made me think of those people who bring out expensive musical instruments at an auction, or the trained hands of a surgeon with his tools.He was a soft-spoken man in his forties, and as we chatted, it was clear that he was a part of a multi-generational family business that specialized in the transport and repair of clocks.
I asked him how many clocks he had transported to date, and he said it was in the arena of 2500. I also asked him what the oldest clock was that he had moved, and he said it was a French clock that was at least 300 years old.
Every time he spoke, it was with careful consideration, and just a touch of pride. Not arrogance, but instead great satisfaction in the good work he had leaned into over the course of his career, and the wisdom that had been passed down through generations.
He wound the clock, swung the pendulum, and I watched and listened as it awoke in its new home.
He gave me some brief “care and feeding” instructions, thanked me, and then departed. I remember saying something to my family along the lines of, “This was not his first rodeo.”
Truly, it was not. And I was inspired as I watched him move in a manner that was, well, like clockwork.
There’s nothing quite as awe-inspiring to me as to witness an expert in their element. Something about watching someone do what they do, knowing that they’ve honed their craft for decades.
A lot of these folks have paid good money for their educations, spent time apprenticing under masters of skill, learned on the job, learned the hard way, and learned from experience.
When I’ve asked a highly experienced person a detailed question that the average person would not be equipped to answer, it’s fascinating to watch them quickly mentally scroll through huge archives of wisdom that they’ve carefully compiled over the course of decades.
This wisdom lies in what I’d call their “deep water.”
And when they speak, they often speak very deliberately, because they know exactly what they’re talking about.
Contrast this to someone who wants to “fake it ‘til they make it,” like some of the folks we talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 22 – I Don’t Know…But Let’s Find Out.”
Those less knowledgeable people often answer quickly, perhaps offering premature ideas that haven’t fully formed yet, which are basically pretty telling, as they reveal their lack of experience.
I love the intentional response from an expert, because they don’t just know the answer to my question – they can often offer application of what they know to a very specific scenario.
Would you like to hear about some musical experts I’ve crossed paths with? Allow me to give you a window into our Guest Expert roster at GuitarSuccess4U. As you may know, this is an online guitar experience unlike any other.
Through this membership, in addition to sharing from my almost three decades of music and guitar experience, which spans from stage to studio, I love to bring in guest experts that have guitar “touch points.”
These experts can teach way beyond what I know, especially in their areas of expertise, and they enrich the learning experience for my members, on multiple levels.
Jerry Roberts is our guest expert on the subject of electric guitar. A multi-instrumentalist, Jerry is someone I’ve collaborated with extensively in the worship environment.
As a music teacher and onstage professional, Jerry has shown me his detailed thought process behind designing and operating his app-driven electric guitar pedal board.
With a slow hand and highly tasteful style of playing, akin to Eric Clapton, Jerry has an excellent command of the fretboard, coupled with an ear that guides him well as he improvises, creates solos, and cultivates his own original sound, which is steeped in classic rock.
In our expert interview, Electric Guitar 101, Jerry talks about how his original sound, combined with the effects he uses, has allowed him to offer melodic lead guitar lines and rhythm swells in multiple musical environments, especially in combination with worship leaders or band leaders who play the guitar.
Jeremy Calvin, whom I’ve talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 31, “Called Up or Settled Down,” is also a multi-instrumentalist with an emphasis in Aux Percussion.
As you may know, the prefix aux is an abbreviation of the word auxiliary, which comes from the Latin word auxilium, which means to help or support.
Jeremy knows the art of collaboration so intuitively, that I almost always observe him listening to the groove even before he joins the musical conversation. His “help” is much more than that. His artistic percussive accents really authenticate the grooves he supports.
And he unpacks his process in our expert interview, detailing his approach to supporting rhythm guitarists in particular.
Dr. Gordon Myco, a chiropractor, health coach, and bodybuilding adjudicator, is highly aware of the integral systems of the human body, and how health, posture, and diet are all related. He doesn’t just consider the vertebrae and the neck – he looks at the entire skeletal system and muscular system. He also talks about how the food we eat either leads to toxicity or nutrition. In our interview, I take time to ask Dr. Myco to evaluate my standing and seated postures as I play the guitar. Although eye-opening and a little bit humbling, these have impacted the way I spend my many hours playing the instrument.
Brian Reding, whom I also mentioned in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 31, “Called Up or Settled Down,” is a highly gifted multi-instrumentalist and producer with a tremendous amount of guitar experience in multiple styles.
Speaking from the perspective of a listener and a producer, Brian talks in our interview about how essential ear training is, and with some seriously fun games I spring on him, we put his ears to the test…and he does not disappoint.
Jason Edwards is a highly sought-after drummer who teaches, performs, produces, records and collaborates with some serious players.
I sought out Jason because I can count on one hand the number of drummers I’ve played with who had an absolutely solid rhythm pocket…and he is one of them.
Add to this the fact that he can summon a variety of groove styles in multiple time signatures on the spot, and Jason was the perfect choice for our expert interview.
Complete with a variety of sticks and rhythmic implements, Jason talks about the skillful art of keeping time, trading out leadership roles in a band, and how a guitarist can set up his or her drummer for success.
He had mentioned to me in passing that he had even played the drum kit once with chopsticks, so in the interview, I handed him some chopsticks, and we played…you guessed it…the song “Chopsticks,” with me on the guitar.
He knocked it out of the park.
Hearing words from Jason in our interview about how important it is to hone my guitar craft alone and in a band setting, really challenged and sharpened me.
Ron Mallory, a highly published composer and arranger (like hundreds of published works), plays multiple instruments as well, and the keyboard is the vantage point from which he sees a lot of the music he plays.
Having served with Ron in multiple settings from stage to studio, Ron has shown me what a true gentleman and a scholar can be like in a musical setting.
In our interview, he talks about conquering multiple keys, leveraging the circle of fifths, and doing less at times, to help create artistic contrast, especially when collaborating with a guitar player.
I’m always guided to new levels of musical excellence when I interact with Ron. And by the way, Ron has a tiny soundbyte of tremendous wisdom in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 23, “Don’t Stop Playing Your Guitar.”
Adam Bollen is a ridiculously gifted bass player, whom I also included a tiny soundbyte from in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 11, “Guitar Player, Guitar Owner, or Both?”
As a hobbyist, Adam has surpassed several professional bass players I’ve worked with in terms of skill, and his approach to musicianship always edifies my guitar playing, especially in a worship setting.
Adam leverages technology, skills, music reading chops, and a solid ear to coax some of the most tasteful bass lines from his bass that I’ve ever heard.
Lastly, the masters at Mike Lull’s Guitar Works, whom I’ve talked about in a few different episodes, include President Spencer Lull and Master Luthier, Tom Albert. These guys have an awareness of guitars that far surpasses the average set of eyes and ears.
When a guitar is brought in for repair or setup, they take this instrument into their hands and look it over thoroughly…and within minutes, they are able to assess what the guitar needs, and what will be involved with restoring it.Having had my guitars re-fretted, Plekked, and set up by these gifted artisans since the year 2000, I can tell you firsthand that they have a level of experience that promotes nothing but trust from me.
And as they talk about in the interview, they want their customers to love playing their instruments, so anything they can do to repair or fine-tune them can lead to this.
So, as I look back over these eight interviews, each of which I was honored to coordinate, I am in awe at the amount of wisdom that these generous experts have, and were willing to share. Four of the interviews were hosted in my “man cave” studio, three were interviews “on location,” and one was hosted on Zoom as we transcended a couple of time zones.
And now the interviews are safely captured in the GuitarSuccess4U portal.
Each time I go back and watch or listen to these interviews, I smile. I smile because I know that others who experience the interviews will also be blessed and uplifted, as well as sharpened and equipped, through the knowledge that they have offered.
Closing Thoughts
Well, today has been quite the episode. I hope you’ve been uplifted and perhaps offered some insights for your guitar journey.
In addition to hearing examples of how experts in their field can be called upon for wise counsel with regard to their interaction with the guitar, you’ve also been offered a window into the bonus guest expert interviews that are waiting for you inside the GuitarSuccess4U portal.
Incidentally, if you want in to that portal, it’s your move. The membership is waiting for you at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
What are the common denominators with all of these experts? They all intersect in one way or another with the guitar, and they each speak with…the voice of experience. I’d also add that as they do their good work, it’s not uncommon for them to experience serious fun.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to seek the counsel of these experts, because I’m a better musician for it, and perhaps a more disciplined, healthier, well-rounded person, to say nothing of how well I steward my guitars. These experts have provided some of the wisest counsel I’ve received in my career.
Proverbs 15:22 Says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed.”
I really don’t have anything to add to that.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, I want to talk briefly about an administrative element that can benefit guitar players who lead worship, play concerts, serve at weddings or memorials, festivals, school chapels, conferences, or just about any venue where someone might wield a guitar.
Now, I may have almost lost you at the word “administrative,” but I think we can all agree that in addition to the artistic side of our musical offerings, there is also a logistical side.
With this in mind, I believe there are a few things we can do that can bring peace of mind to us, and even to the people we collaborate with.
Most notable is the strategy of putting together a gear checklist so that everything we bring to a venue can come back home with us, and only those items.
You might have a simple setup, like: a guitar, capo, tuner, strap, and cable. Or, like me, you might have multiple instruments, several stands, dozens of cables, and even a portable sound system in tow.
I do my best to be as self-contained and self-sustaining as possible when I serve in ministry. In other words, I don’t assume that a venue will have items that I know I’ll need…even simple things like boom mic stands or guitar stands. I really prefer my equipment whenever possible. But I can be flexible, especially when I need to fly to a venue.
Looking back over my career, regardless of whether I drove or flew to venues, I eventually wised up to the fact that it might be prudent to make a list of the gear I was bringing to the venue.
As my presentation got more complex, so did my equipment. And some of it was on the expensive end, or at the very least, the customized end. So, I needed to make sure I brought these things on the road, and also brought them back home. Let’s take a closer look at two of these items.
Specialized Gear Piece #1: the TA4FThere is a particular item that’s a little unusual that has found a place in my collection of equipment for over 20 years that I’ve grown to depend on for every concert.
It’s a battery pack and receiver for my wireless headset. This battery pack has a connection that some technicians will recognize – it’s called a TA4F. Turns out, it’s not a universal connection.
I’ve used this setup for over two decades at my shows, and it doesn’t take much for me to pack it up when I drive to gigs.
But when I knew I was flying out to a venue hosted at a huge conference facility, I submitted a tech rider with all my specs, and even followed up with one of the staff members with a phone call to make sure they had a TA4F. His response was, “Sure, I think we can do that.”“Hold on,” I said. “You think you can do that, or you can do that?” We talked for a few minutes, and I wasn’t entirely certain at the end of our conversation that he would have that item in hand.
So what did I do?
I packed a more portable and lower-end version of the battery pack and receiver (with my needed TA4F connection) to have as a backup.
After flying to the city where this event was to take place, I took the train, walked multiple blocks, and arrived at the venue, where I greeted the technicians.
“So, you guys have a TA4F connection for my headset mic, right?” I asked.
Their response was a blank stare. They had no idea what I was talking about.
Their front of house tech said, “Listen, I don’t know who you talked to, but we don’t have any of that kind of equipment here.”So, my backup setup became a lifeboat. And this setup was, of course, listed on the gear checklist I brought with me. The event went off without a hitch, and people were blessed as I played my guitar and sang into wired mics and my wireless headset mic.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. “Why not just sing all of your songs into the same mic?” Yes, that would certainly be more practical.
But perhaps I might ask a similar question, in a totally different area of artistic expression. If someone is a painter, would they use the same brush for all their paintings? What I’m getting at is this: in the words of performance coach Tom Jackson, “If your songs don’t all sound the same, they shouldn’t all look the same.”
That’s where the different mics come in. After following Tom’s wisdom for over two decades, these various tools have really proven themselves to enhance my artistry, especially since I don’t travel with a live camera crew to amplify the look of my show.
Let’s talk about another custom piece of equipment in my collection of gear.
Specialized Gear Piece #2: The Foot Cradle Apparatus
For one song, I play two guitars at once; one with my hands, and one with my feet.
To keep the “foot” guitar in place, I have a special customized cradle my dad built, that attaches to a customized stool I sit on, and which has straps that lash the guitar down so it doesn’t move as I fret and strum it with my feet.
The operative word for the cradle and the stool is “customized.”
I call this device my “foot cradle.” It folds up nicely, and I wrap it in a blanket for transport. The song, which I call “Four Limbs,” is a great closer for my concerts, as I sing about bringing glory to God with all that I do.
You may recall me mentioning this when I talked about my America’s Got Talent audition in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 23: “Don’t Stop Playing Your Guitar.”I did a concert several years ago where I drove over an hour to the church I was serving at. I had planned to play “Four Limbs” for the evening concert, but partway through the morning of worship services, it dawned on me that I had not packed the foot cradle.
I had no margin to go home and get it because I had a 3-hour guitar seminar I was planning to teach in the afternoon, which led right up to sound check, a quick bite for dinner, and then the show.
The pastor, who was very “can-do” and solution-minded, saw the perplexed look on my face and said, “If you’re missing something, I’m sure we have something like it here at the church, or if not, someone in the area probably has one.”
I didn’t quite know how to put it, but once I used the word “customized” a few times, he realized that it was looking like the song would need to be scrapped for that evening’s set. So sad. Not tragic, but disappointing.
Fortunately, my sound tech’s wife graciously agreed to make the “two-hours plus” roundtrip trek to my house and back to retrieve the cradle. I thanked her profusely, and then performed the concert, closing it out with “Four Limbs.”I never made that mistake again – I’ve always brought the cradle to my shows. Why? Because now it’s listed on my gear checklist.
Now, I usually remember to bring the gear to the venue that I need, but there have been occasional times where I’ve left gear at the venue.
In the years before I had a gear checklist, I can recall a few incidents where I left cables that didn’t have my name on them that became absorbed into the venue’s equipment. Another time, I left a customized mic stand at a church. I even left a guitar strap at a festival I played at.
But one time, I left my custom Four Limbs stool at a venue, and had to drive almost 3 hours roundtrip to reclaim it. I hadn’t included it on my gear checklist.
I could tell you more stories, but you get it. Having the gear checklist is essential to my process, whether I’m doing my complete show, or teaching guitar workshops at a conference, or leading worship.
I now include a gear checklist even when I travel to a conference as a student, because I want to make sure I have everything with me for optimal learning.
My mindset for “gearing up” for these venues is not unlike a team of astronauts flying to an unexplored planet. They have a manifest of equipment that they’ve loaded onto the shuttle. And they travel with everything they need.
If a piece of equipment is not on board, they’re not going to find it on the unexplored planet.
I served at a church plant for several years where we knew that the school that was hosting our services was not positioned to provide anything but power from the wall. So we came with an entire backline, most of which was in a box truck that pulled up each Sunday morning.
But there was a host of music gear that also needed to come with the band, which varied each week based on how much gear we used at that week’s practice.
And certain band members, in addition to bringing their own stuff, brought gear that the rest of the band could use, like music stands or amplifiers.
The drummer had his own gear checklist, because he brought a full drum kit. Not having a snare drum could have really put a damper on things, right? Fortunately, we always had the full kit.
I put the gear checklist in the digital “plan files” for our Planning Center plan each week. (Notice how many times the word “plan” was used in that sentence.) The mindset behind the gear checklist is the idea of planning.
We can’t wing it each time and hope to have success – there needs to be a plan of action. This is easier for some than others, but it can bless everyone. Sure, we can throw a bunch of stuff in the car and grab what we need at the gig, but efficiency eventually pays off.
This is especially important when time is limited.
I did a show one time at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle, where I shared the stage with two full bands, both of whom had a ton of gear.
In terms of performance order, I was second in the lineup. So I had my equipment staged to the side, pulled it up onstage for my set, and pulled it right back offstage afterwards. This kind of setup is very common, especially when I’ve played Christian music festivals in a lineup of multiple artists. Having less gear helps, but it’s still a quick transition.
A friend was helping me put my gear back in the cases after my set after my Hard Rock Café show, and he shook his head at my 2 column, 2 page gear checklist.“This is crazy,” he said. To which I replied, “This is not my first rodeo.”
Suddenly, he got it. If I had accidentally left some of my cables, mics, or other gear behind, they would have been unintentional gifts to one of the other bands or the venue. The flipside is also true – I could have unintentionally taken gear that didn’t belong to me.
That would have been very unfortunate, especially since the gig was a good drive away from my house, and the other band members were from all over the region. But everything went back to its proper home.
At the end of the gig, what saved the day? The gear checklist.
If you plan to take your guitar anywhere, I highly recommend a gear checklist for you in your guitar travels.
You don’t have to make it super fancy, but here are a few ideas.
Tips for Making and Using a Gear Checklist
First, type it up in a document you can save or print.
Having it in digital form to glance at on your phone can be good. A printout is something you can hand to someone who is helping you pack up, so they can read it out loud to you.
I recommend both. I’ve occasionally lost my printed version in the shuffle and needed to rely on the digital copy on my phone.
Second, listing things in categories can be super helpful. I tend to group things by how they fit in cases, whether instrument cases, suitcases, or bags. I have a list of stands as well.
Third, feel free to number certain items, and/or to use boxes on the document that you can check off.
Even as I type up the gear checklist, I highlight things on my desktop as I load them into my car, and once they’re all in, I “unhighlight” them, and then I print up the checklist.
Here are some sample screen shots of gear checklists I’ve made for my ministry endeavors.
You can even lay everything out and snap a photo with your phone, which I’ve done, but this only works if it can all lay flat without hiding equipment underneath it. And this approach is best for a simple setup with just a handful of items.
Sometimes, I’ve shown up without an essential item, like a power supply, direct box, or adapter. And most of the time, the venue has been able to provide it.
But there have been times where I’ve needed to go without a certain part of the performance because I didn’t have the gear to support it.
I’ve also had multiple circumstances at the end of a show when I was ready to head out, and when it was really tempting to just say “Yeah, I probably have everything.”
But my better judgment gave me the motivation to read through my gear checklist, and sure enough, there was a cable or music stand that had almost been left behind, sometimes blending in with those from the venue...because someone had unwittingly moved my gear over to the venue’s gear.
Once again, saved by the gear checklist.
One bonus pro tip is to find some way to label your gear, either with a label maker, or some colored tape. But do something to make it look distinctive, so that if a sound tech is packing up alongside you, he or she can say, “Yeah, this must be yours, because it doesn’t look like one of ours.”
Once you’ve created your gear checklist, save it as a template so you can make use of it in different iterations for the needs of each specific venue.
And after your gear checklist is all dialed in, what’s next?
You know it…playing you guitar, bringing glory to God, and having serious fun. You’ve done the diligence, and now you can reap the benefits.
Well, I hope these ideas have been as helpful to you as they have been to me in my decades of touring, leading worship, teaching workshops, attending conferences, and playing for events.
Please know that my heart is to serve and encourage you practically, and if this episode has accomplished that, I’m doing a little happy dance over here.I also invite you to drink deep of the knowledge I’ve carefully curated for beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists inside my unique online experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
I invite you not to wait, but to join now. I hope to see you there.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I was driving home one evening after teaching a guitar clinic to some eager learners.
As I was driving, I came to a long section of bumper-to-bumper traffic on northbound I-5. The lanes narrowed to where I was in the “fast” lane next to the HOV lane. But I wasn’t going very fast. As a matter of fact, I was inching along at about 5 miles per hour.
And suddenly…my “check engine” light and my whole dashboard lit up – and my car just stopped. It died instantly, without warning.
Startled, I took a moment to compose myself. Then I put it in neutral, put on my hazards, opened the door, stepped out, and pushed my car across the HOV lane to the shoulder, as people honked and flashed their lights at me.
With my heart racing, I caught my breath, sat there for a few minutes, and then tried starting my car again. Thankfully, it started right up.
Because I wanted to be able to pull over if it died again, I continued to inch my way along in the HOV lane as a single-occupancy vehicle.
I anxiously bit my lip as I drove, because I knew that the lane I was in was designated for cars with two or more passengers, and this was confirmed by occasional signs along the freeway that said “HOV violators – maximum fine of $536.”
But I was driving alone.
I verbally rehearsed my legitimate explanation to any potential police officer who might feel prompted to pull me over.
I was relieved, a few miles down the road, to see a temporary sign in place that said “HOV lane open to all traffic.”I drove directly to our evening church service, where I was able to catch the last 30 minutes of worship, and then I walked up to the pastor after we were dismissed.I stated my car trouble situation to him, and the pastor graciously called out to the congregation for any mechanically-minded folks to come help provide me with some counsel and assistance.
A handful of folks responded very cheerfully.
They walked out to the parking lot with me, and I popped the hood of my car. They looked over the engine with a flashlight as I turned the car on and off, and even with a code reader, they couldn’t isolate the problem.
The car seemed to run fine, but I was not certain that it wouldn’t just stop running again, and I didn’t want to just take the car home, only to wait for the same experience I had just had on I-5.
So, my wife got in her car and followed me to our local automotive shop, where I dropped my key off in an envelope through their door slot.
The next morning, I called to see if they had had a chance to diagnose the problem.The guy who picked up the phone said, “Hey, man, I don’t know how to tell you this…your keys are here, but your car is gone. We can’t find it anywhere.”There was a moment of silence, and then I offered a quiet, “What?” in disbelief.
“Nah, I’m just kidding, bro,” he said. “It’s Monday and I’m just trying to get my week started.”I laughed, awkwardly at first, then heartily. “Ok, well, thanks for that,” I said. “Any guess as to what’s going on with my engine?”
They had pinpointed the problem – a crack in the fuel hose, causing too much oxygen to go into the engine, so the fuel was “diluted,” causing the car not to run well.
This was exacerbated by my slower driving through the construction zone, because the RPMs of the engine were far fewer at 5 miles per hour.
There had been such a low amount of fuel going to the engine, that it was destined to sputter and die.
The boys at the shop replaced the hose, and now my car runs better than ever. It was almost like getting a new car, because any time I pressed down on the gas pedal, it was much more responsive.
A pure, non-diluted fuel mixture was being delivered to the engine, and I could get where I needed to go.
A couple parallels to our guitar journeys, if you will…
#1. We need good guitar content.
We can “fuel” our minds with random, or less organized tools that we hop around for online, but our momentum probably won’t be strong with this process.
Unfortunately, many guitar players have settled for this diluted approach, because they are willing to take a non-linear approach to learning music in the hopes of saving money.
Don’t get me wrong – I like YouTube. I have a presence there that I’m working to develop. A lot of good things can be discovered there for free.
But what some guitarists save in financial cost, they can often waste in the form of time. And what is the only true non-renewable resource? Time.
Someone recently told me that people who want to go deeper with a skill (like guitar) aren’t just looking for information. They’re looking for organized information, with application.In other words, they need someone else to curate practical content, to guide them through an intentional process, and then to show them how to apply that content. One of the key words here is relevance.
I will say that as someone who has been playing the guitar for nearly three decades, I have learned a lot of musical concepts “by accident.”
My approach to learning the instrument, even in more organized settings like lessons, symposia and workshops, has been far from linear.
And when it comes to music, not all of our experiences will be linear, but some structure can be good medicine for our minds. It can give us concepts to grab onto as we find our way.
So, a less structured, more random and roundabout way of learning the guitar is not what I desire for my fellow Christian brothers and sisters who want to discover their gifts.
I don’t have a time machine, so I can’t go back and learn the way I wish I had learned.
But I do have the next best thing – an online experience called GuitarSuccess4U where I lay out a clear Success Path that I’ve created, with some of the most curated, premium content I’ve ever put together. This is the way I wish I had learned to play the guitar.
I’ve taught private lessons, hosted guitar symposia, and offered conference workshops for decades, but GuitarSuccess4U is the most in-depth approach I’ve ever offered, as I share the most relevant parts of my guitar journey as a songwriter, worship leader, performer, and recording artist.If just one of these aforementioned forms of guitar expression appeals to you, so will GuitarSuccess4U.
Please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com to discover what could transform your approach to this unique instrument.
So, a well-organized process for learning the guitar can give us a richer fuel mixture to allow us to go many more miles down the road towards our destination, and towards our definition of guitar success.
#2….and the title of this episode – your journey is your journey.
As I was making my way up the I-5, the experience of watching my car die without warning was quite surreal. There I was, listening to music, filled with elation from having passed along some essential guitar concepts to a group of eager young guitarists.
Then everything changed.
One minute, I was relaxed, and the next, I was watching in disbelief as my vehicle came to a sudden stop in the middle of a freeway with hundreds of cars around me.
As I was slowing to a stop, because my engine was no longer working, people began to honk at me, and it seemed like they were quite annoyed.
Those fellow drivers didn’t know my vehicle was incapacitated – they could have thought I was texting and holding up traffic by being negligent.
But my car was actually in a crisis state. I didn’t have the capacity to tell them what was going on.
It wasn’t until I was standing outside the open driver’s side door, pushing and steering my car to the shoulder, that those behind me actually understood what I was dealing with.
At that point, they gave me a wide berth.
Every guitar player (including you) is on their own journey. Some have an open road with no obstacles at all. They have a full tank of gas, and a heart full of love.
Perhaps they’re serving in worship ministry, and their pastor “gets” and appreciates them, and gives them all the resources they need to do their good work.
Their congregation is supportive and sings along with them, even when the songs are less familiar, because everyone has invested in the culture, and they know that they gather in the Lord’s name and for His fame.
Maybe these “full tank” guitarists are feeling inspiration and motivation to explore new ideas as they create, arrange, and empower others in their circles to do the same.
Maybe they’re embarking on songwriting or recording, and they’ve got seemingly endless amounts of inspired creative ideas for production, bringing in friends who play violin, or sing amazing harmonies and such.
They work with their fully invested worship team to put together a professional quality album to bless the congregation and surrounding community, maybe even breaking out into the mainstream circles through Spotify.
Perhaps their guitar is on the higher end of quality instruments, and is therefore responsive, increasing their morale as they practice and create.
These “full-tank” guitarists show no signs of slowing down on the musical freeway.
Other guitarists, though, are just barely making it to their destinations. They’re depleted, worn down, and they need a tune-up – sometimes literally. They haven’t felt the joy of music in quite a while. They have a godly pastor, but he doesn’t have a lot of empathy or understanding, and does not affirm them in their musical calling very often.
To that pastor, music is secondary to the preaching of the Word, so he hasn’t given much thought to investing in or empowering his worship department.
These depleted guitarists don’t have a strong connection with their congregation, many of whom seem to be exhibiting “consumerism” in their approach to music, using phrases like, “I didn’t like that song,” or “I wouldn’t have done it that way.”
In terms of their worship team, there is disunity, a lack of punctuality, and even some passive-aggressive sarcasm in their remarks at practice. Many don’t come prepared, and are offering the leftovers, rather than their first fruits.
These collaborators are Christians in name, but often not in deed, and are not responsive to the discipleship and leadership efforts of the worship leader.
Even these worship guitarists are feeling the limitations of their instruments. They ended up with a decent guitar, but it’s lower in quality, and therefore not as responsive as they try to play it.
So, it’s a vicious circle – they don’t play much because they don't feel as home on their guitar, and because they don’t practice much, they aren’t able to achieve the artistic expression they know they’re capable of.
These “empty tank” guitarists pick up their guitars to play, much like they’re trying to start a car that is in desperate need of an oil change, and they’re not entirely sure that the car will even start.
Traveling Mercies for our Fellow Travelers
On these many roads of life, there are many people, each on their own journeys.
But how can we even tell how much gas is in the tanks of our fellow travelers?
The answer is – we can’t.
I don’t want to assume that someone who looks like they’re doing fine, is actually doing fine. I want to get to know the person, so that I can learn how their journey is going.
If our fuel mixture is diluted, and we are weary, and we run the risk of needing to pull over to the side of the road because we can’t go the distance, my hope is that our fellow travelers would clue into this.
But beyond this, I would hope that they wouldn’t just “understand” that we are struggling.
My hope is that they would see our need, and take time to actually help us.
What form could this take on our journeys as musicians?Here are a few thoughts.Perhaps someone is feeling depleted spiritually. A short time of prayer together, even over the phone, or a quick text with encouragement, can go a long way. The lost art of the handwritten note can be even more impactful.
Maybe a worship leader is feeling unsupported emotionally. There’s a time and a place for this person to intentionally approach their team or staff leadership and be transparent. In the interim, though, providing a listening ear can help them feel less alone.
Note the difference between listening with sympathy or empathy…and engaging in a bitter complaining session. If you want to hear my thoughts on complaining, I refer you to Guitar Serious Fun Episode 30 – What Gratitude Does for Our Guitar Playing.
Maybe a songwriter has encountered a dry spell. An intentional creative session or co-writing endeavor could help bring some fresh insights.
And if the guitar they play is itself in a state of disrepair, some help could be offered to get the instrument up and running again. This could be as basic as tuning the strings, putting fresh strings on it, or even adjusting the truss rod.
It also never hurts to have a good guitar shop take a look and assess what they would charge to tune it up, perhaps with new frets, new machine heads, or a bone nut or saddle. Since the year 2000, I’ve trusted only one shop with my guitars – Mike Lull’s Guitar Works in Bellevue, Washington.
Incidentally, members of GuitarSuccess4U get an inside look at this shop through my exclusive interview with their President, Spencer Lull and their Master Luthier, Tom Albert.
We talk at length about the setup process for optimal guitar play, and they show me their workbenches, tools, and their highly precise Plek machine.
I don’t consider myself to be a guitar repair technician on any level. I draw the line at restringing – but even so, I’ve helped a lot of people put fresh strings on their guitars.
I don’t even adjust my own truss rod. I know my limitations. But having the truss rod adjusted by a qualified professional – like the Mike Lull guys, can make the difference between having to work too hard for your notes, and having that balanced string action for optimal play.
If I had been stuck on the side of the road, and unable to start my car up, you can be certain that I would have called for help, either by reaching out to my wife, or by calling for roadside assistance.
But how many of us are struggling on our guitar journeys and we simply don’t feel safe enough to cry out for help?I would say that asking for help, though perceived as weakness by some, is actually a sign of strength. It shows that we don’t know all the answers, and we want to get out of our state of incapacitation.
I’m just talking about guitar, but this applies to many different aspects of life.
The value of community under these circumstances, cannot be overstated.
So, if you’re traveling along your journey as a guitarist, and you’re feeling alone or in need of encouragement, there may be people in your world who can offer that.
And of course, GuitarSuccess4U provides an incredible community…not just our regular encouraging Zoom calls where you can enjoy fellowship with other like-minded guitarists, but also a monthly Encouragement Lesson that takes time to offer stories, quotes, and memorable reminders of why we do what we do as guitar players.
I also make myself available to my members, whom I call my Guitar Successors.
In this season, I actually offer private one-on-one guitar lessons (exclusively for GuitarSuccess4U members), some in person, many over Zoom.
As the membership grows, this won’t be sustainable, but right now, it’s my joy to speak into people’s lives in real time as they discover their potential.
I like to say that in the GuitarSuccess4U portal, the pre-recorded lessons are where people get to know my mind.
But it’s in the Zoom calls, whether the group gatherings or the one-on-one lessons, where people get to know my heart. And my mind and heart are totally committed to blessing my members.
The Lonely Road
I didn’t always have people encouraging me on my musical journey. Tragically, some of the most negative and non-constructive comments actually came from music teachers.
As a result, a lot of my encouragement needed to come from within, and I became a very self-motivated guitar student.
And of course, seeking the Lord’s comfort through the Word was essential. He is the Everlasting God, and I renewed my strength in Him, so that I did not grow weary and faint (see Isaiah chapter 40, verses 28-31.)
So as a result of traveling many miles on a lonely road of learning the guitar, I’m committed to cultivating a positive, safe, encouraging environment, with sincere accountability for all of my members, which leads to…you guessed it…serious fun.
Well, my hope today, is that you gained some insights for your journey, which is, of course, unique to you.
Others may be driving faster, with fuller tanks, and others may be trailing behind you, running on empty.
But where you are is where the Lord wants you to be, even if it’s not where you want to be right now.
And my prayer is that you would find joy in the journey. Resist the temptation to glance to the side too much – just stay the course and focus on your progress.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Consider the value of community.
There will be people you come across on your journey who will genuinely want to help you. And you may be called upon to help someone else. Be on the lookout for those opportunities as well.
I’m so grateful to the Lord for getting me home safely that night, and I pray that as you, my fellow traveler, make your way along the winding roads of life, that you will feel the constant companionship of the Lord as He guides you.
Thanks for taking some time today on this leg of your musical journey to hear my thoughts.
I’ll see you down the road.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/closekeys. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Today, we’re going to talk about how to leverage the Circle of Fifths to move seamlessly between keys.
Have you ever played several songs in a sequence? I’m quite sure you have, but if you haven’t, that time is coming. Maybe you’re leading a set of worship songs, performing a concert, or you’re thinking about a recording order for an album.
There are several factors to consider when we put songs into sets, one of which is the keys the songs are in.
In my early years of worship leading from the guitar, I would put together a set of songs that were all in the same key, just to be “on the safe side.” But we shouldn’t ever be at the mercy of the key of a song. We should be able to choose the songs based on tempo, groove, and of course, theme.
With this in mind, I want to talk briefly about what’s involved with accessing closely-related keys.
Starting from a Major Key
Let’s begin with the commonly-used guitar key of D Major. I’ve provided what I like to call my Super Spy Decoder for the seven diatonic chords in this key. They are: D Major, E minor, F# minor, G Major, A Major, B minor, and C# diminished.
If you’ve played a song in D Major, you’ve likely used most of those chords…perhaps not the C# diminished chord as much, because it has such an unstable, dissonant quality to it. You’ll see that in my decoder, I’ve created an orange box with an “X” through that chord. But the other six chords, including the Major I chord, are all a part of the key of D Major.
Now, if you’re familiar with the Circle of Fifths, you know what a powerful tool it is. If you’re not, I’m going to provide a couple little slices of it to illustrate how to access closely-related keys.
As you look at my first little six-chord slide of the Circle, you’ll find five keys that are “closely-related” to D Major. What do you notice? All the chords in D are here except for the C# diminished chord.
These chords are the starting chords of the closely-related keys. Moving counterclockwise from D to G, or clockwise from D to A, we are advancing by 5th along the Circle of 5ths. The relative minor keys for each of these three Major keys are inside the circle. B minor is the relative minor key of D Major. E minor is the relative minor key of G Major. And F# minor is the relative minor key of A Major.
So, if I’m leading a song in D Major, and I want to think about other keys I could play in after that song, I now have five immediate options.
Why are these keys closely-related? Because they’re pleasing to the ear when we move to them. Why are they pleasing to the ear? Because they each start on a chord that is already in the key of D. Those closely-related keys again, in no specific order, are G, A, E minor, B minor and F# minor. So…that’s a Major key example.
Starting from a Minor Key
Let’s say we’re starting from the key of E minor. The seven diatonic chords in E natural minor are available here in a new Super Spy Decoder.
They are: E minor, F# diminished, G Major, A minor, B minor, C Major, and D Major. At this point, you may know what I’m going to say, even before I say it. The diminished ii° chord (the F# diminished chord) is not going to be as accessible, so it won’t remain in the picture, thus my orange box with an “X” through the chord.
Look at my second little slice of the Circle, with E minor as the key we’re starting from.
Again, we have five other keys that are within easy reach of E minor, and they all start on a chord that’s diatonic to E minor. These five closely-related keys again, in no specific order, are G, C, D, A minor and B minor. And…that’s a minor key example.
So as long as we’re in close proximity to a key, we have access to any of five keys that share either the same key signature or a key signature that’s just one sharp away.
Just to illustrate what happens when we don’t move to a closely-related key, but instead try to jump to a key on the other side of the Circle of Fifths, we could start from D Major, a key with two sharps, and without warning, we could attempt to play in A flat Major, a key with four flats. Even a non-musician who hears a guitarist jump to a new key like that will have a sense that something isn’t quite right.
Whether you need to jump across the Circle or not, you can see (and hear) that this is much less of a smooth transition. We of course have the freedom to pause and insert a spoken thought or a prayer to avoid an awkward key jump like this…but not typically on a recorded album.
We can also make our way musically to keys that are further away, but this often involves the process of modulation. And of course, there’s also transposition.
For now, though, remember that if you leverage closely-related keys, you’ll play song transitions that are much more pleasing to the ear.
In terms of an example of a song order using closely-related keys from today, we could start with a song in D, followed by a song in G, then a song in E minor, another song in D, and end on a song in A. And again, if we have two songs back-to-back that are in the same key, no worries!
Taking this Even Further
As we wrap up, I want to mention the fact that closely-related keys are accessible around the entire Circle of Fifths, as you might imagine. Any of the 24 keys will have five closely-related keys that can be easily found and accessed using this method.
So, put this strategy to use, and watch your options for song sets unfold in wonderful, highly musical ways.
And if you want to see the complete picture with my unique approach to discovering – and leveraging – the Circle of Fifths, I encourage you to join GuitarSuccess4U. This is where knowledge and application converge.
Thanks for taking time with me today to explore another topic that can lead to serious fun on the guitar.
I hope this was helpful, and I look forward to next time!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to depart a bit from a guitar focus to talking more about worship leading, as we consider the unexpected team player who is standing out in the congregation, ready to help us…along with several other helpful strategies for leading well from your guitar.
In the many years I’ve had the privilege of serving in worship ministry, I’ve experienced a variety of worship team configurations, styles, and approaches. Some have been quite simple and pared down, and others have been much more complex.
In the simple scenarios, I’ve either led solo from my guitar, or perhaps with just a small ensemble consisting of myself, a keyboard player, and a cajon or djembe player. Simple instrumentation like this can be elegant, and can still allow for the congregation to hear each other well.
In the more complex scenarios, we’ve had as many as 10 musicians on the platform, including drums, percussion, bass, piano, keys, acoustic rhythm, electric rhythm, electric lead, and then other lead instruments like woodwinds, and then several vocalists. In these scenarios, the very full sound washes over the congregation and envelops them.
The technology used to support these teams has also varied, based on the needs of the team.
With more people comes more equipment, whether more floor wedge monitors, hot spot monitors, or personal mixers rigged to In Ear Monitors. Some musicians like to have a binder with charts on a music stand, and others like to use a digital tablet.
If you want to get super techy, you can rig a tablet to a foot pedal so you can turn your digital pages with your foot.
And if you’re using In Ear Monitors, in addition to having the opportunity for a click to keep you on track with rhythm, you can set up the track to include verbal cues for verses, lyrics, or even indicators for which instruments do what. But this can get into the technical weeds pretty quickly.
There are all kinds of tools we can acquire to assist us with our process.
The Common Thread
What has been most consistent, though, whether in simple or complex worship scenarios, is the fact that lyrics are usually projected behind the band for the congregation to follow along with.
Whether there are two or 10 lines of text, and whether the aspect ratio is 4:3 or 16:9, a projectionist follows along and gives the congregation their visual reminders of what the lyrics are, by advancing the slides.
I’ve worked with everything from PowerPoint to SongShow Plus, to MediaShout, to ProPresenter, to Proclaim. Each has its upsides and downsides.
The Confidence Monitor
Sometimes, we also have a monitor on the back wall, whether a flat screen TV monitor or a rear projection from a ceiling-mounted projector. And this setup has become known as the “confidence monitor.”A confidence monitor is designed to promote confidence in the band, because it can reassure them that they are on track with whatever song they are leading.
Of course, the band will likely be referencing their own charts, and some band members may not even look up at the confidence monitor, or even at the congregation. If they aren’t looking up, it may be because they’re bashful or don’t know where to look…or more likely, they don’t know their music well enough to look away from it.
I personally believe that when leading worship (whether as the leader or the band) it’s super important to know the music really well, so that you don’t have to be visually glued to the music stand or tablet, and so that you can be aware of everything that’s going on around you, onstage and in the congregation.
The Invisible Ball Toss
To help cultivate mental awareness in a team setting, I’ve taught a game to worship teams I’ve worked with that I call “the invisible ball toss.”
In this game, a group of 5 to 8 people forms a circle. One person in the circle starts by tossing an invisible “ball” to someone by saying the recipient’s name.
That person then throws the “ball” to another person, saying that recipient’s name, and the round concludes when the “ball” is tossed back to the person who started the sequence, as the starter’s name is uttered with the toss of the “ball.”
That process is repeated several times.
Simple enough? Perhaps.
But then, the starter chooses a new category. It could be a type of food, a color, a type of animal, or whatever comes to mind. A new sequence begins as, say, the animals are named and the “ball” makes its way around the circle in a new route.
Once the second round is moving well, the starter goes back and adds the name sequence to the mix in addition to the second round.
So, we have two invisible “balls” making their way around the circle at the same time. And if the group is still hungry for complexity and an even greater challenge, they can add a third layer, and after that, to have everyone in the circle try closing their eyes. What does this game accomplish, besides amusement and laughter?
Well, each person has to be thinking about where they will toss the ball, but they also have to be listening for the ball that’s coming to them.
And if two or three different balls will be coming their way at different times, or at the same time, they really need to be on their toes.
Translate this to the worship leading experience where we need to know where our bandmates are in their contribution to the song (such as a specific guitar riff after the first chorus).
Who’s taking more of a leadership role? Where is the sonic space? How is the groove going?
We also need to know how the congregation is responding.
Case in point: if the congregation does not seem to know a song, I as the worship leader need to be tuned in enough to sense this, so I can “break formation” and take the congregation back to the beginning where I can actually teach them the song.
My tech crews have known me well enough to follow me, and I “signal before I turn” to keep things smooth, as the projectionist adjusts to where I am taking the band and the congregation.
But if I’m not aware that the congregation isn’t singing, because I’m too caught up with my own tasks, I won’t be able to serve them as well.
I also try to remind myself that as the worship leader, or any band member, it’s important to frequently look out at the congregation, because really, I am being entrusted with leading the congregation in song.
Types of Confidence Monitors
Leveraging the confidence monitor can help make the worship time a smoother experience, especially for the band, and it can provide a few different options, based on what the monitor is capable of.
The most basic option it can provide is the lyrics that everyone is singing.
In other words, what the congregation sees up behind the band, is the very same set of lyrics the band sees in the back of the house, behind the congregation.
The next level up from this is two sets of lyrics – first, the lyrics that are being sung, and then below them, often in yellow, the lyrics that are “on deck,” in other words, the lyrics that will be sung next. This adds a layer of complexity, but can also help foster confidence.
Yet another level exists, and it involves including additional cue words or even chords on the back wall, to remind the instrumentalists what is happening next.
Words like “Chorus” or “Bridge”, or even chords over the words, can add detail…but they can also clutter the screen.
One downside to the confidence monitor is that if it is up high behind the congregation, it can feel like the worship team is looking high above the people. I’ve seen very cleverly concealed confidence monitors either at the foot of a stage with a small flat screen, or even in a repurposed floor wedge monitor that looks like an audio monitor, but is actually a confidence monitor.
But again, the team may end up looking too far down at these if they have to rely too heavily on them.
Where to Look?
As we think about our worship repertoires, we may realize that some songs may contain text that is “about the Lord,” “to the Lord,” or “to each other” as we proclaim His goodness.
Looking at people could still be permissible even if we are singing to the Lord – because the Lord is unseen. Looking away from people, though, when we’re singing to each other, could be confusing.
Where we look is subject to interpretation, and some of us may choose to even close our eyes at times.
But looking away from our music stand is something I recommend.
Leading Worship Off-Book
In my most recent worship leading position, I self-imposed memorization. In other words, I insisted on having all the songs that I led be memorized by me.
And this really blessed me as well as my team, because I was able to achieve excellent visual communication with them that I wouldn’t have been able to, had I been riveted to my stand.
I also received appreciative remarks from the congregation from time to time, most of whom were not musicians, but who keyed into the relational aspect of being visually connected with me.
When I began my time at this church, I started the process by challenging the worship team members to be memorized as well, but some got overwhelmed, so I opted to let them make their own choice, and most chose music stands that they could at least reference part of the time.
I rehearsed during the week with the team memorized, but I had my music stand off to the side so I could reference it if needed, but then on Sunday morning, for the service – as well as the two run-thrus, I was completely memorized.
And because our church was a portable one, meeting in a school…wait for it…I also did not have a confidence monitor. Several churches I’ve served at have not had a confidence monitor, and having this weekly scenario without it made me stronger as a leader.
I was still pretty confident though, because although I did not have charts in front of me as I led, nor a screen to cue me, I knew my music quite well. I had worked hard to memorize the songs, and I kept a fairly concise repertoire, playing each song the same way every time.
Once in a while, I might fade back and glance out of the corner of my eye at the screen behind me for the first word of a verse, but this wasn’t sustainable, because I wanted to look out at the congregation as much as possible.
I did this for almost 5 years.
Meanwhile, I toured quite a bit, and served as a guest worship leader in a variety of settings at various churches. Some did not have confidence monitors. Some had them.
And some, although they had a confidence monitor, occasionally forgot to turn it on – even after it had been on for the sound check and run-thru.
I recall clearly the first of two services at one church where some switch didn’t get toggled, and I was without rear-projection lyrics on the back wall for the opening song set. Fortunately, I knew the songs really well and didn’t need to have the confidence monitor.
There are other times when the projectionist has been slower and has not advanced the slides in the cadence of my song flow. This means I have to know the songs well, because the projectionist is not with me.Usually, they catch up to me, and we’re fine…but I have to be ready for when they are not with me.
There came a time, though, early on in this season, where I realized that there was an asset, an accomplice, a teammate out in the congregation who was a worthy substitute for a confidence monitor.
Can you guess who that was, based on the title of this episode?The Confident CongregantNow, let me first explain what a confident congregant is not.
It is not someone who simply stands there and does not sing. I’d call this person “the listener.”
This individual may be worshiping inwardly, like we talked about in Episode 33 – “Tough Crowd or Appreciative Audience,” but if they are not singing, I would not consider them to be someone positioned to support me in my effort.
There’s another congregant I’ve seen many times, and this is one I’d call “the mumbler.” This is a person where, if I look at them, it’s rare that I can visibly discern what the words are that they may be trying to sing.
This is a very tentative individual, who again could be worshiping with devotion, but who does not manifest this posture outwardly.
Their lips move, but only haphazardly. At times, it even looks like they are mouthing words in a different language, and our worship lyrics are being overdubbed.
When I see this person “sort of” singing, I know that I can’t consistently rely on them visually.
What I’m talking about in terms of a confident congregant is someone who is visibly committed to singing the words.
I can tell in seconds if someone is a confident congregant because every bit of their body language indicates that they want to be there, and they are taking the opportunity to sing with great appreciation and joy.
Do they have to be a good singer? Not at all. In fact, it’s rare that I will be able to even hear the confident congregant. But if he or she is singing boldly, and I can see him or her, I’m set up for success.
Usually, the confident congregants situate themselves in the first couple of rows, which is a blessing to me, because they are nice and visible.
Now I still say that memorizing the song, or at least knowing it really, really well is the best measure of care, because what I don’t want to do is gaze into the eyes of the confident congregant for more than a few seconds. That could get awkward…pretty fast.
Building a Repertoire of Songs
As I endeavor to develop and internalize a repertoire of songs, there are several intentional steps I take. My worship song repertoire building method in a nutshell, is this:
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Discover the song
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Learn the song
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Become very familiar with the song (perhaps even memorize it)
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Practice the song with the band, referencing the chart as little as possible, and then…
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When leading the song in church, grab a little boost of confidence from the confident congregant
If the script of the song is joyful, you may even exchange a spontaneous smile with them.
As you lead the singing, or even if you’re supporting the worship leader from your guitar, if you know the song well enough, you won’t really need to look at the confident congregant much at all – you’ll know where you are most of the time.
Remember, you don’t have to memorize your music.
You don’t have to work without a music stand or a tablet. And you don’t have to ask your projectionist to turn off the confidence monitor if you have one.
You can rely on multiple forms of support.
But as you become more comfortable in the worship space and look around as you play, when that rare moment comes along when the projectionist isn’t on time with a slide transition, or you aren’t 100% sure how that second verse starts, you can glance out at your incognito worship team member, who may not even realize what a blessing they are, and grab the cue you need to keep moving forward.
With that, I challenge and encourage you to play skillfully, lead God’s people in a sincere worship offering, and have serious fun as you do it. And when the need arises, as it often will…let the confident congregant cue you.
I hope this discussion was helpful to you, and that you now have some new perspectives on collaboration, memorization, and worship leading with confidence…knowing especially that there may be helpers in the congregation who are a blessing simply by being there and singing to the King with us.
Here at Guitar Serious Fun, while many of these episodes pertain directly to the guitar, some do not, and that’s ok. Our musical journey has many touch points.
Another discussion from not too long ago that I might encourage you to check out, if you want another non-guitar related topic that can be highly relevant, especially to performers, is Episode 14: From Paying to Play to Playing for Pay.
As you can probably tell, these episodes are meant to enhance, inspire, and equip you.
And if you are feeling momentum in any of these ways, I encourage you to spread the word about what we’re doing here. Please forward any of these episodes to others whom you think might appreciate them.
And on the subject of Guitar, I hope you’ll check out GuitarSuccess4U.
Thanks so much for experiencing today’s episode, and I’ll see you next time.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to consider the idea that practicing the guitar can sometimes be harmful.
Don’t worry – this isn’t meant to discourage or scare you – it’s actually meant to free you up to enjoy your guitar in a more intentional way.
As guitarists, I believe we need to be intentional. This includes many aspects of our enjoyment of this incredible instrument, especially how we play our guitars, and for how long.
It’s also important for us to consider what people say to us about our guitar playing, and reconcile it with what is true, even if advice is offered with the hope of encouraging us.
I’ve taught guitar workshops for almost two decades at regional worship conferences. In a class setting like that, I’ve encountered people with varying levels of experience.
Sometimes, people will offer their thoughts in class, and often, their statements are met with nods of agreement. However, there are things I’ve heard that I’ve felt prompted to gently disagree with.One of those statements, offered by a student in my workshop on practicing, was this: “The more you practice, the happier you’ll be.”I think this individual was trying to say, “Practicing diligently leads to progress, and therefore to fulfillment.” But what I heard her say was that happiness was in direct proportion to the amount of practicing we do.
It’s certainly legitimate to argue that practicing is an essential part of our guitar journeys, but are there things we can do as we practice that can actually cause harm?
I believe there are.
Track with me here. I don’t want to live in fear, nor do I want to discourage you from practicing.
Our ability to play well is directly related to our approach to practicing. And what bridges the gap between hearing a song on the guitar and being able to play that song well in its entirety, is…you guessed it…practice.
But there are three things I believe we need to be on the lookout for, so that we can know when it’s time to “stop” practicing. And by stop, I actually mean “pause.”
Please consider these thoughts I have for you today.
Hand Strength
The Lord has blessed me with good hands for the guitar. He has given me what I need to be able to play a lot of different chords, melodies and articulations.
There are chords, though, especially in alternate tunings, that can span multiple frets. I recall attending a guitar workshop at the studio of Pierre Bensusan in France, where he played a chord in DADGAD that spanned nine frets from the 3rd to the 11th fret, which I was not able to replicate (and still cannot).
Pierre, as well as many guitarists I’ve come across, has strong hands with long fingers. Some guitar players my age literally have the length of an entire digit beyond my hands. So, these guitarists are able to accomplish more than I am.
But I’m still confident that the Lord’s creation of my hands is exactly what He wanted for me, so I am grateful.But what I’m keenly aware of, in addition to my hand size, is my hand strength.
Over time, I’ve become more aware of what I’m capable of, and what my limits are.
I see great value in playing enough guitar to keep my hands strong.
In addition, I rotate through several hand strengtheners that allow me to fortify different parts of my hands. The main one I like is a squeezy spring I bought on eBay for about $10.
I’m including several photos of this particular tool here.
I actually bought a dozen of these on eBay from a vendor in China, because I didn’t know how long they would be available, and I’ve broken a few of these by using them so much. I’ve also misplaced some of them.
As of this episode, a few of these are available from a vender in the U.S. for $20 with free 4-day shipping. I’m not linking to it because these kinds of items come and go quickly.
But a search on eBay with words like “hand strengthener,” “grip exerciser,” and so on will yield dozens of different products like this that are on the market, averaging $10-$20 or so.Now, I’m not a hand specialist, so I’m not prepared to dispense wisdom on the care and treatment of our hands in the arena of physical therapy.
Please remember that everyone’s hands are unique, and that each of us needs to be aware of our limits in all that we do.
If there are tools or techniques you’ve used to enhance the strength of your hands as a guitarist, I welcome them in the comments.
But I will say that practice, especially in healthy doses, along with the squeezing of these kinds of “toys” when I don’t have my guitar with me, has really led to my stamina and longevity as I fret chords of many kinds.
And I am an acoustic guitarist. Which means I have to work harder for my notes. But they are worth it, I assure you.
On the subject of hand strength, if you find that you’re just starting out as a guitarist, give yourself grace, and limit your time on the instrument.
In GuitarSuccess4U, I start off the early lessons by teaching several helpful stretches that have been game changers for me. Let me explain what I mean by game changers.
Around the time I became a father, I was practicing so much that I actually overdid it. I knew I was in trouble because my hands hurt too much for me to be able to pick up my infant daughter. That’s a problem on multiple fronts.
So, I sought a remedy – I went to a physical therapist, and I brought my guitar with me. He observed how I was playing, evaluated my posture, examined my hands, and helped me get back on track. Fortunately, I had not done damage of a lasting nature, and the stretches I began to learn (which I still use to this day, over 15 years later), have kept my hands and arms limber and ready for when the strenuous guitar passages come.
These stretches changed the game for me.
Unfortunately, I have personally met two guitarists who are world-class professionals, and whose stories did not turn out so well.
Because of the demanding guitar playing that each of them was embarking on for a prolonged period of time (perhaps without adequate stretches), they injured themselves.
Each of them had to undergo wrist surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, and had to take off at least a year from playing the guitar.Can you imagine having your musical voice on the guitar go silent for a season like that, knowing you could have prevented it? So, these kinds of stretches are the “ounce” of prevention that are worth the “pound” of cure. More, of course, at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
But beyond stretches, what about a level of awareness of how our hands and arms are doing over the course of a practice session?
The person in my workshop who said, “The more you practice, the happier you’ll be” was actually met with a respectful qualifier from me.
I said, among other things that, “There can actually be a point of diminishing returns if we practice for too long.”
How aware are we when we practice? Do we keep an eye on the clock or a stopwatch? Do we know when our hands start to show signs of being tired?Depending on your level of experience, I don’t recommend practicing for more than an hour at a time. Take a break. Do something completely different with your hands, and preferably less strenuous.
I notice that when I’m playing passages of music that are particularly technical, after 20 to 30 minutes, my fretting hand forearm begins to feel warm. Very warm.
Those tendons are heating up because of all the intense work I’m doing on the frets.
Consider the warm tendons in your fretting arm to be the “caution” light coming on, exhorting you to change what you’re playing, or if necessary, to take a break from playing for the afternoon, or for the day.Ignoring this “caution” light can lead to muscle and nerve damage which I don’t know how to classify physiologically, but which I know is very real and has the potential to be detrimental.It can be tempting to push through the pain, but trust me, the only kind of pain you want is the soreness on the tips of your fretting hand fingers as you develop callouses.
So yes, overexerting ourselves by playing difficult music on the guitar for too long…can be harmful. Let’s avoid that, shall we?
Mental Focus
When we practice, there are a variety of things we can spend time doing: scales, speed-building exercises, chord transitions, strumming patterns, fingerstyle, flatpicking, and so on. And on a side note, I teach exercises that develop these motor skills inside GuitarSuccess4U.
There’s also the mental aspect of acquiring a deeper knowledge of chord theory, which doesn’t take as much physical exertion, but does require our minds to be sharp.
Certain musical topics like the memorization of the fretboard, non-diatonic chords, various types of modulations, and more, can make our brains get a little frazzled if we focus on them for too long.
And even as I teach these concepts in GuitarSuccess4U that I just listed, I break them down into modest segments that can be consumed at a reasonable pace for maximum benefit.
Think about your ability to focus as you play the guitar. Does your practice session need to begin with technical, demanding material? I would actually advise against it.I like the idea of starting off with something simple, and almost mindless, as I make myself at home on the instrument.
After I’ve tuned up (which I do every time I practice), I get reacquainted with my guitar in a way that says, “Good to see you, friend. Let’s see what the Lord has for us today as we work together.”
It’s like meeting with someone for coffee.
I’m not going to go deep on a discussion topic right away – I’ll first exchange pleasantries, maybe even debrief our most recent conversation (which would be our most recent practice session, right?) and then ease into the more challenging material.
I won’t go into great detail here, but during my practice session, I make sure to work on something I don’t yet know how to play, but also to play through something I do know, because we also need to keep our repertoire songs fresh.
I keep water nearby, so I can take a sip occasionally. This helps keep my mind alert for longer. But there does come a time when my mind starts to wander. That’s when I’m likely to encounter what I call “The Fuzz Factor.” The Fuzz factor is when I start to get sloppy. I start to miss notes, or to drag, or even accelerate the tempo. I become noticeably less precise.
The biggest indicator of “The Fuzz Factor” though for me is this: I begin to make mistakes in a song in places where I never make mistakes.
This is my cue to stop – even if I haven’t hit my hour mark.
If I choose to keep playing, to push on through, I can cause harm. I might not cause physical harm, because my hands might not be tired. But is there another type of harm?I would say yes. It’s what I’d classify as muscle memory harm.
Now, muscle memory is a topic for another episode, perhaps, but you get the idea. Our fingers develop a mechanical memory for how to play something on the guitar.
And our fingers only do what we tell them to do. They can’t think for themselves.
So, if I play something incorrectly and I don’t fix it, my fingers basically think to themselves, “I guess that’s how we’re supposed to play it.”They don’t have the ability to say, “That didn’t sound right; let’s fix that.” Our fingers simply cannot think for themselves, so we need to think for them…and to be watchful and intentional.
Let’s say I’m practicing, and after about 45 minutes, as I’m working intensely on a very technical guitar piece I plan to perform or lead soon, I start to experience “The Fuzz Factor.”What do I do?Option #1 – I can play it once more and see if I can do it. I think this is a good option, because I can get a feel for the status of things.
Option #2 – I play until I make a mistake, and then I hit the brakes. I like this approach too, with one qualification – I think it’s super important to finish by practicing some aspect of the passage correctly.
Option #3 – I can keep on playing it until I (hopefully) get it right, but with how mentally worn down I might get, that’s not likely.
I don’t recommend this third option, because I could be reinforcing incorrect playing, which is what my hands will remember. And the next time I grab my guitar, I won’t be standing on solid ground; I’ll probably play some of those mistakes that I was “practicing.”
Now, if I’m weary and lacking focus, I won’t choose to play the song segment in its entirety. That, as we’ve discussed, would be counter-productive.
Instead, I’ll “divide and conquer.” I’ll just take one part of the challenging section and break it down in some way.I might play it much slower. I might just isolate the variables to the movements of my fretting hand, or my picking hand, but not both.
If it’s a song that I sing while I play, the obvious choice is to take my voice out of the equation.But it’s important to end on a strong note.
Back to the coffee meeting analogy; if I encounter a point of verbal disagreement with someone I’m meeting with for coffee, I don’t think it would be wise to end our conversation at that point.
Continuing the coffee meeting analogy, if there’s a disagreement, I think the best course of action, especially if it’s not looking like total reconciliation is immediately possible, is to take a moment to pray, to reassure each other that we’re still friends (even if we need to agree to disagree), and then to commit to meeting up again to continue the conversation.
Stopping a practice session earlier than we’d like is not quitting. It’s just hitting the pause button.
Conversely, prolonging a practicing session even though things are not going well, can lead to muscle memory harm, which we certainly want to avoid.
So, if you find yourself encountering “The Fuzz Factor,” and your hands are simply not cooperating, try to intentionally bring the practice time to a close, playing some aspect of the challenging section correctly, because the last thing you play is what your hands will remember most clearly.
Team Dynamics
Many of us play our guitars in a setting where we collaborate with other musicians. We may be professionals in a band, or volunteers on a worship team.
It’s likely that our rehearsals are in the evening, or even late at night, due to daytime work hours for some of our collaborators.
If you’re a “night” person, this is not as much of a challenge. “Morning” people may struggle to stay focused as the rehearsal progresses.But everyone will have had “a day.” And a day could have been uplifting, but often, it has depleted us mentally and physically.
This is when we need to watch out for the risk of physical or muscle memory harm, which we’ve talked about, but not just for ourselves…for our collaborators, too.
I’ve been a part of worship team rehearsals that are very focused, but also concise. Like, literally 45 minutes.
This necessitates a high level of preparation and professionalism on everyone’s part. Each song basically gets one, maybe two passes, with time for a few questions.
In this environment, there’s really no major danger of over-exerting our hands or minds, because it’s a short sprint.
But I’ve also witnessed, first hand, a less planned-out rehearsal that went upwards of 3 hours. This was more of a collaborative brainstorm session, and for some, that’s how they process ideas.
There may be freedom in the room for people to come up with musical articulations and to talk about who steps forward in the sonic texture at different times.
But three hours for a set of four or five songs? Really?
I think, with a rehearsal that long, we run the risk of getting hazy, and at the very least playing a lot of guitar with only short breaks for discussion. I don’t recommend it, unless you and your team have a solid routine for rehearsals.
Someone’s hands (or even vocal cords) run the risk of fatigue if they press through a rehearsal like that. And often, we’re distracted enough by what we’re working on that we don’t realize how our muscles are working…or straining.So, in terms of a healthy team dynamic, I’d say that preparation, and a balance of spontaneity can lead to a good rehearsal…especially if the leader can verbally “check in” with everyone and ask how they’re doing.
Be your own advocate, though. If your worship leader is not tuned into the fact that your long day has been just a bit too long, you may need to sit down, sit out, or step out. Do this respectfully, of course, but anyone who values your longevity will get it.
Overdoing it physically or mentally in a team environment is not worth it. We can still keep the standard high, especially if we take care of ourselves.
Wrap-Up
Well, this was quite the discussion. Perhaps you went into this episode with a bit of trepidation, unsure as to where I was going to go with this topic. Perhaps it has been informative.
I’m hoping that in some way, you still feel encouraged to practice. Just make those practice times count, and know when to pause.
My hope is that you’ll be able to play your guitar for a very long time over the course of your life, and that some of today’s ideas help make that possible.
If this episode was encouraging to you, I invite you to do two things.
First, please leave a comment with your thoughts. I’m in the process of taking my live practicing workshop and turning it into some kind of online educational experience, and these thoughts today are just a glimpse at that.Second, if you’re not already investing in your guitar journey in an ongoing way, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a place where we have a curated collection of premium guitar content that is all arranged in such a way as to help you make tremendous progress, in a self-paced, God-honoring environment with a community of like-minded guitar players. Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to learn more.
So, keep practicing, but stay tuned in to all that’s going on as you do. Know your limits, play the long game, and watch how far the Lord leads you down the path of serious fun on the guitar.
Thanks for experiencing this episode. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today we’re going to talk about how to serve and play our best, regardless of what our audience does.
I’ve led a lot of worship and played a lot of concerts over the past three decades. And I’ve got stories that could make you laugh, drop your jaw, or shake your head.
Perhaps today’s thoughts will lead you to do any or all of those things.
But really, my hope is that you’ll allow yourself the freedom to reflect on the types of audiences you play for, or hope to play for, and then to ultimately open your hands for how the Lord might use you.
Worshiping on the Inside
I led a morning of worship for a men’s breakfast one time at an area church in Seattle. I had been entrusted with the privilege of providing the music component alongside a speaker.
My song choices, were, I thought, pretty well-known, because this was not a community I served weekly.
This was a one-time endeavor, so I was relying on the renown of my song choices to facilitate an environment where these men would sing out.
And sing out they did – all but one of them. As I led the singing, I saw one man near the front with his arms folded and his mouth closed. The expression on his face was clearly a frown. And it stayed that way the whole time.“What could I do to make this guy sing, or at least smile?” I wondered.
Well, I tried to bring levity and joy to my verbal remarks, I led the singing with a smile on my face, and at a certain point, I even looked right at him and met his eye for an extended moment.
Still, no smile.
It didn’t occur to me that this guy might be worshiping on the inside, because he just looked so unhappy and miserable on the outside.
I began to silently say to myself, “If he loves Jesus, why doesn’t he notify his face?” and “If he’s so unhappy, why doesn’t he just leave?”
But those weren’t productive things to focus on, so I just led the singing and I did the best I could to steward the opportunity that had been entrusted to me.
After the event was over, this very same man – the one who looked so unhappy – came right up to me and told me he wanted to talk to me.
“Uh oh,” I thought. “Here it comes – a list of things I did wrong.”
But to my utter delight and surprise, this man said (and I wish you could see my face as I try to duplicate his remarks), “Young man, you really blessed me today. You presented such a sincere, quality offering, and your delight in the Lord was very evident. I am so grateful for your Christ-honoring ministry.”
His face was unchanging, still bearing the deep frown from earlier. The words were encouraging, even in spite of the visual display of what looked like disappointment or even bitterness.
I didn’t have the heart to tell this guy that his face looked the opposite of what he was saying. I just thanked him for his words of affirmation, gave the glory to the Lord, and tried to focus mainly on what he said, not how he looked as he said it.
Well, obviously, I’ve held onto how he looked, because I’m still talking about it to this day. But what did that experience teach me?It taught me that I shouldn’t judge someone merely on their appearance. Was he interested and appreciative, even though he didn’t look like he was? Yes.
Should his lack of positive body language have affected me as much as it did? Perhaps not.
It’s been several years since this experience, so perhaps if I saw someone looking like him in a current worship environment, I might not take them as seriously.
This experience also taught me that although I can present an invitation to sing to the Lord, not everyone is going to take me up on it. And that’s ok.
Lastly, it taught me that perhaps my focus should not be on the people I’m leading in worship – at least not most of my focus.
It has happened in the past that a handful of people in the worship congregation have looked less than enthusiastic as I’ve been working so hard to lead them well.
And this guy looked genuinely annoyed. Perhaps that’s just how he always looks.
But my main take-away from that experience was that ultimately it wasn’t about me. Who was it about? The Lord, right?
Stuck on Top of a Waterfall
Several years ago, I submitted one of my recordings for a “Battle of the Bands” competition, and I got in.
Living on the western side of the state of Washington, I knew that if I made it to the final round, I’d be traveling over to north Idaho. And that’s just what ended up happening.
I grew up on the east side of the state, and the venue for the final round of this Battle of the Bands was actually a water park I went to as a kid.
So, I got in the car with my mom, who has always appreciated my music, and who graciously agreed to support me in this endeavor. Together, we made our way across the state of Washington to Wild Waters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
When I checked in for the competition, it became clear that I had come as a solo performer. The rest of the contestants (and there were three others) had full bands.
“Wow, you’re really talented,” one of the other band members said to me at the check-in desk. His voice was definitely sarcastic, as if to say, “Good luck competing with our full bands while you just play your solo acoustic guitar.”
I tried not to give it too much thought, because my focus was to share my music and bring my best.
Interestingly enough, they had retrofitted the water park with a huge stage that was literally on top of a waterfall.
The edge of the stage was lined with a couple dozen huge speakers that made the platform into a rectangular “turret,” and the performers presented their songs from behind the speakers, so that everyone in the water park could hear them.
As I looked at the stage from below, it became clear to me why they had lined it with all those huge speakers. The water rushing from below the stage, forming the huge waterfall, was really loud.
They needed some serious sound reinforcement to overcome the sound of the waterfall.
As I stepped out onto the stage, I looked across the large pond I was above, and saw a crowd of a few hundred people on the lawn, ready to listen to each of the contestants.
I tried my best to be winsome and to incorporate my signature humorous remarks, stories, and anecdotes between the songs I shared…but everything I said seemed to fall flat. I couldn’t hear any laughter or vocal response from the audience.
I played well, but I felt very lonely up there, because the relationship with the audience seemed like a one-way street with no audible response from the crowd.
I stepped down from the stage, and went to sit with my mother, who had experienced my performance.“That was incredible,” she said. “You played so well, and the crowd loved it.”“Really?” I said, with surprise in my voice. “It sure didn’t seem like it.”
After talking with her for a few minutes, I realized that the people in the audience had had a very different experience from the performers.
The audience could hear everything that was shared from the stage.
But because there was so much sound near the stage from the waterfall, the performers couldn’t hear the audience.
So, I didn’t know that they were responding enthusiastically to my words and music.
My mom shared with me that the audience actually roared with laughter at my humor.
But I couldn’t hear them over the roar of the waterfall. And although I had good enough stage presence to press on, this really tested me.
Several times after hearing no laughter when I shared things that people had laughed heartily at during past concerts, I felt tempted to say, “Wow…tough crowd,” but fortunately, I didn’t say anything. I just kept singing and playing, as if the audience was enjoying what I was sharing.
I played a great set, and I even surprised myself by winning the contest.
When I spoke with one of the judges afterwards, she shared with me that all the performers had been evaluated on multiple aspects, including: musical presentation, lyrical depth, and of course, performance.
Interestingly, the fellow band member who had been a little snarky with me before the contest didn’t have anything to say to me after my victory had been announced.
And as a result of winning, I was awarded a prime slot on the Grandstand stage at the upcoming Spokane Interstate Fair…and this time, I brought a drummer and bass player with me.
My takeaway from this? I need to be sure not to let the sound of the audience (or lack thereof) affect what I’m doing as I offer my gifts.
The Lord was the true audience at this event, and as long as I was leaning into my giftings and playing for Him, my focus was in the right place.
There have been performances before and since that event, where I’ve had a very reserved or quiet audience that barely clapped, in contrast to audiences who have whooped, whistled and cheered. When the audience gets quiet, what can we do? Focus on the Lord. That will allow us to enjoy what we’re doing, and ultimately, to allow the audience to do the same.
This Side of the Video Camera
Something made it inevitable. At a certain point in my ministry, I was going to be on camera. This would take the form of YouTube, Facebook Live, a digital streaming concert, and eventually Instagram.
What do all of these platforms have in common? I’m playing to, and speaking to a camera that literally has a one-way signal. I’m sharing my heart, my gifts, my songs, through the lens of a video camera or smartphone that really only delivers feedback in these various platforms after the fact.
It may come back in the form of likes, shares, views, or comments. And there may be many of each of those. Or there may only be a few.
Responses from the more vocal people can give me a sense of how I’m connecting with the digital audience. In the case of a digital streaming concert, of which I’ve filmed two, I’ve been compensated – by donation – by those who want to watch the show.
These folks have contributed financially to my ministry based on what they were able to give, and how they felt led to donate.
That is a form of affirmation.
Some videos out there (not mine yet) have gone viral, which can generate a lot of publicity or interest for the performing artist. But is a viral video the only metric of success? I would say “no.”
Think about some of the viral videos that are out there on some of these platforms, and how some of them lack substance or meaning of an eternal significance. And yet, they go viral because they’re eye-catching or amusing.
That’s fine – the artists who go viral have my respect, because many of them are working hard, and they’re cluing into the algorithm and what allows their content to reach more people.
But I’ve also met some world class musicians with whom I’ve collaborated, who either have no social media presence, or they’re choosing to focus their efforts elsewhere.
Does the fact that they are not dominating these social media platforms mean that they are somehow less effective with their gifts? I would again say, “no.”
In God’s economy, of which I know only a little, there are things that may seem insignificant to the world, but which are very important to God.
And someone who is quietly and faithfully obeying and following the Lord with their gifts may not be held in high regard by the world.
But God see them and will reward their faithful obedience.
On the flipside, someone who is adored by the world, garnering household name recognition and performing in sold-out arenas, may or may not be doing work that is pleasing to God.
So, when I’m on this side of the video camera, and I have very little sense of what the audience is thinking or doing, I have to check my motives, and open my hands to what the Lord might do through, and in spite of, the digital venue in which I am sharing my music.
With only one or two likes or comments, or worse, some “dislikes” or negative comments, I can be tempted to think that what I’m doing is of little significance. But to whom is it insignificant? Is there more to the story?
At the end of time, will I be found faithful for having sung and played from my heart, to the best of my ability, for the Lord of Creation…and will He smile at what I’ve done?
That is my hope. I do want to gain traction and momentum, to play on real and virtual stages with the music He has entrusted to me, but I also want to please my Lord more than my audience.
Can that be done? I would say, with prayer and faithfulness, “Yes.”
Well, here at Guitar Serious Fun, we enjoyed another story time designed to shed light on the idea that the people who experience our music could be a tough crowd…or an appreciative audience.
The first story had to do with how the audience member looked. That man at the prayer breakfast did not look happy as I led worship…but he was actually very deeply blessed by what I shared.
The second story had to do with how the audience sounded. It seemed that the crowd below the waterfall in the Battle of the Bands contest was rather indifferent to what I was offering…but they were actually roaring with laughter and applauding enthusiastically.
And the third story had to do with how I wasn’t even able to see or hear the audience. Performing into a video camera can feel exhausting, because there’s no immediate feedback.
But after doing this for a while, I try to picture an audience on the other side of the lens, taking in what I share, and appreciating it.
Ultimately, though, it’s the Lord who is the Audience of One. You’ve heard that expression before, right?
It’s a true test, though, to play for an Audience of One, because our flesh longs for an audience of many, and we often find ourselves craving appreciation and words of affirmation. We can also feel discouraged by words of criticism.
The Lord does want us to sing a new song, to play skillfully and to shout for joy (Psalm 33:3) – His love for us is not conditional based on our musical execution…but we are called to play well. So, let’s do that. Let’s play well, let’s learn all we can with the time and resources we have available, and let’s steward our gifts faithfully for the Audience of One.
When the tough crowds come – and they will – let’s always remind ourselves that our Heavenly Father is indeed an appreciative Audience of One who knows our hearts better than anyone.
And if you’re looking for ways to learn and develop your gifts, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for experiencing this episode. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/timesigs. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Are you the kind of guitar player who can sense when the time signature changes in a song? Do you know specifically what’s happening in that moment? If you’re not sure, grab a few minutes with me to widen your gaze a bit.
It’s happened to a lot of us. We’re getting to know a song, and partway through, our ears perk up as we hear the time signature change. What, specifically is going on?
I’d like to suggest a strategy for figuring this out. And it involves raising our game with musical literacy.
As you may know, the time signature for a piece of music consists of two numbers which, for teaching purposes I’ll call the numerator and the denominator. The numerator indicates the number of beats. The denominator provides a clue as to what the signature note value is that gets a beat.
Let’s apply this to the common time signature of 4/4.
The numerator indicates that there are 4 beats in a measure. Here’s what I do to find the signature note value. I take the denominator and place a “1” over it. So, if I put 1 over 4, I have 1/4, or “one quarter,” which gives me the note value that gets the signature beat – a quarter note. So…in 4/4 time, there are 4 beats in a measure, with a quarter note getting a beat.
It follows then that in 2/4 time, there would be 2 beats in a measure, still with a quarter note getting a beat. And even in 3/4 time, we’ll have 3 beats in a measure, but the quarter note will still provide the signature beat.
With this cursory discussion of these time signatures firmly in our grasp, let’s press on to see how they can alternate.
To honor the copyrights of my fellow songwriters, I’ve created two fun musical examples of my own that will illustrate what happens when the time signature momentarily changes.
These examples have vocal melodies (which will make this process even clearer), they’re in G Major (arguably the friendliest key for guitar), and they each start in 4/4 Time.
My first example intersperses 4/4 and 2/4 time. For the 2/4 bar, I just strum down twice, once on each beat (feel free to play along with the video.)
Notice that we are moving from 4/4 to 2/4 time – and back – a total of four times, if we observe the repeat.
It’s clear that the time signature changes work in this example, because the vocal melody feels natural over them. Each phrase has some time to “breathe” when we come back to 4/4 time.
If we just had 4/4 time for every measure, we’d have to quickly regroup after each phrase with very little time to breathe, and I’d argue that it wouldn’t sound as musical.
I’m going to provide an example of what these words and chords might look like if they were found on a chord chart, as opposed to a lead sheet.
What do you notice? The time signature changes are still there, but they’re invisible.
Some chord charts I’ve created may include slashes to show extra beats at the end of each phrase, but in my experience, most chord charts don’t include this extra bit of treatment.
That’s why a lead sheet can be more advantageous than a chord chart, and of course, a recording helps a lot. But a lead sheet also promotes more musical literacy, right?
Let’s look at my second example, where we have a brief departure to (and from) 3/4 time (feel free to play along with the video.)
Again, I’ll provide a chord chart to show you that it can be captured this way, but also to illustrate the fact that the time signature change is once again invisible.
So how do we detect time signature changes mid-song? I’m glad you asked. These are my suggestions.
To get better at detecting time signatures mid-song, I encourage you to:
· Observe the vocal melody (sing it if you can)
· Identify the strumming pattern (or create one)
· Watch for when chord changes happen (they can indicate downbeats)
· Listen to the audio recording, especially the drummer
· Tap your foot and count the beats in each measure as you listen
· Reference a lead sheet (instead of a chord chart), and
· Follow your intuition
A word of wisdom here: let your melody guide you. Sometimes, the melody takes on a bit of a life of its own, and this may necessitate a time signature change. And there are all kinds of possibilities beyond the three time signatures we’ve worked with here.
As you can imagine, This same process applies to writing your own music. If you want to create time signature changes mid-song, you totally can. And there are all kinds of possibilities beyond the three time signatures we’ve worked with here.
We go much deeper on this subject inside the Literacy Stage of my online monthly membership called GuitarSuccess4U. In this stage of our Success Path, we take three solid months to get into intervals, scales, inversions, suspensions, lead sheets, music symbols, and of course, time signatures with many different combinations.
I also have a guest expert interview with a phenomenal drummer who responds to a couple dozen musical examples of varying time signatures, and we make a lot of music and have a whole lot of fun applying what I teach in the membership.
If you’re curious about my approach to digging deep into the guitar, check out GuitarSuccess4U.com so you can learn more about this new approach to unlocking this amazing instrument.
There are so many more tools and techniques waiting for you, along with a community of like-minded guitarists. This could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, and I encourage you not to wait.
So, as we wrap up, it’s important to recognize the fact that mid-song time signature changes are quite common. Will we recognize them? Will we take them on with grace, style, and precision? Will we equip our collaborators to do the same?
I’m hoping at this point that you can see the relevance for becoming more aware of this important aspect of the songs we play.
Knowledge is power, but knowledge alone is not enough…we have to do something with it.
So please, go do something with this knowledge you’ve acquired today! And please stay in touch!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
When was the last time you saw a movie where there was an underdog who, against all odds, prevailed in the face of difficulty, and overcame incredible obstacles?
Maybe the underdog was a single person, or perhaps it was a small group of warriors, athletes, or even a high school debate team.
I’ll bet you’ve seen several movies like that…perhaps even recently.
Part of what makes a good movie good is the point in the plot when the victory happens – especially when we weren’t sure if the hero could pull it off.
We cheer for underdogs, and we enjoy stories about them, because we watch them get refined, strengthened, and transformed as they face their challenges head on.
Imagine if there was a movie about a person (or a team) who won their battles without even having to try. What would that look like if that was the whole point of the movie?
The battalion of warriors goes out to battle and their opponents surrender even before the fight.
The football team walks into the stadium for the first game of the season, all geared up, and the referee calls the game off, declaring them the state champions even before the season begins.
The debate team shows up at their first tournament and they are automatically awarded the national first place trophy even without competing.
Roll the credits.
Huh?
I don’t think so. A challenge needs to be thrown down. The hero or heroes must overcome that challenge.
I think a noble victory takes effort. It takes sweat, focus, and dedication. It’s a worthy endeavor. And it brings great satisfaction.
Anyone who promises an easy victory is probably not being fully transparent, and at the very least, they are not allowing the opportunity for good, hard work.
When it comes to music, I’ve seen a lot of examples where there have been opportunities for growth…through challenges, especially when interfacing with other, more talented musicians. Here are some of my thoughts and stories about this.
Worship Team Standards
When auditioning people for worship team, I’ve always held the standards pretty high, because I want skilled players – not just warm bodies – leading God’s people in praise.
Notice that I didn’t say “perfect players.” Some of the people I have brought onto the team have played rather simply, but they’ve played well.
I’d rather have a simple drummer who can keep a solid beat, than someone who adds all sorts of creative rhythmic flourishes but loses track of the tempo and confuses the band. The ideal balance is when someone is an intuitive and tasteful musician.
In the process of auditioning and recruiting people, I’ve come across some who are more skilled than I am. And do you know what I do when that happens?I rejoice. I do a little “happy dance.” Because I can learn from them.
We can always learn from other musicians at whatever level of skill they are, of course (more on that in a future episode). But I find that I can learn even more from musicians who are more skilled than I am. Some of these musicians are more skilled guitarists. Others are more skilled vocalists. Some are involved in production.
Others play instruments I don’t even know how to play (exempli gratia: bass guitar). But they may have additional musical chops beyond their instrument, like intuitive listening skills, a strong sense of the groove, phrasing, or dynamics.
Some worship leaders out there are no doubt intimidated by musicians who are more skilled than they are, and though these worship leaders may bring these highly skilled musicians on board, there can be a level of jealousy simmering just below the surface.
I say that the more skilled musicians in my life, the better – this will enhance everything I do when I play alongside them.
I’m the better for it. I’m “called up” to a higher standard of musicianship, and I am thankful. Let me introduce you to some of the musicians I feel “called up” to serve alongside.
The Golden Sax
A good friend of mine named Jeff is a multi-instrumentalist, with the alto saxophone as his principal instrument. He’s also a performer, worship leader, and a band instructor.
Jeff has a solid background in music and has a deep understanding of jazz and other styles, and has been a regular contributor to the worship leadership and culture at his church.
Whenever I come through his city on tour, I always invite him to play in my shows, and he is always eager to join me. He’s a world-class musician, and his incredible musicianship is matched only by his humility.
Side note – it’s always refreshing to jam with someone who is more humble than they are skilled. The opposite is true – I’ve met people who are quite arrogant who aren’t actually that talented…including people who have a fraction of Jeff’s ability.
Jeff could be arrogant and it could still be understandable, because he’s that good – but he has always proven himself to be super chill and humble.
Jeff is a true gentleman and a scholar.
Most recently, when coming through his town on my way to see my extended family, Jeff and I put together a rather impromptu hangout time in his music class.
He had his instrumentalists play for a bit, working on woodwind rudiments and sight reading.
Then he invited me to play. I jammed some technical guitar songs for the class and spoke from my musical background and love of music.
Then came the magic. Jeff and I collaborated, with me on acoustic guitar, and him on sax, with my eldest daughter singing harmonies.
We broke into some covers, and we played stuff that we had never collaborated on before. I literally told Jeff the key we would be in, and then I played the song.
I didn’t even tell him the name of the song – I just strummed, smiled and sang as he listened, then entered the musical conversation, seamlessly contributing melodic lines with artistry I have rarely observed in any other musician. Jeff’s musical ear allowed him to present some tremendously tasteful, improvised solo lines, and our informal jam session for the class came off like a polished, well-rehearsed performance.
When the class realized that Jeff and I had had zero prep, and everything we offered was presented in the moment, they grinned with delight.
I am much less of an improviser than Jeff is. His musicianship is on a whole new level above mine. So, every collaboration experience is a chance for me to be sharpened. I have a front row seat to his musical choices, and those choices inspire me to make even better ones.
And it’s also just plain serious fun.
I will say that once I’ve spent time collaborating with Jeff, I’m much more open to making spontaneous musically creative choices. It’s really good medicine to jam with him, because he’s so much more talented than I am, especially in the areas of artistry and improvisation.
With Jeff, I am “called up” to a new level of musicianship.
Aux in a Box
I first met Jeremy when he volunteered for our worship team at church, and I soon discovered that this young twenty-something of a percussionist was so much more than he appeared to be.
He was a wunderkind.
He played the cajon – the percussion “box” in a way that rivaled some drum kit grooves, and he did it with such confidence and such a solid pocket that any temptation I had to rush the tempo got checked right away.
Sure, I can play enough of a groove on the cajon to keep a beat, but he made the percussion groove an experience.
Jeremy eventually became one of our guest experts at GuitarSuccess4U where we put together a series of grooves, as he responded to a variety of strumming patterns I had crafted on the guitar.
And strumming patterns can evoke totally different responses from the rhythm section, based on their accents, textures, and tempos. Jeremy’s solid approach to the box makes my guitar playing better.
He’s also a guitarist, plays the ukulele, and has taken up the hammered dulcimer with tremendous grace and style. So, his knowledge of these other instruments has really informed how he accompanies me as a percussionist.
In addition to playing multiple instruments, Jeremy is an avid music listener who loves to attend live concerts and observe other musicians. He has a vast playlist, and has frequently shared with me his experiences as an audience member at shows.
The fact that he spends a lot of time listening is a really good indicator of his musicianship. Listening is an essential part of our work, and I talk a lot about this in GuitarSuccess4U as well.
Jeremy’s skill set is worthy of respect, and he, too, is very humble, even when he gently reminds me from time to time that my tempos have unintentionally increased.Any time I collaborate with Jeremy, my rhythmic awareness is heightened, and when people watch us onstage, they sense a real synergy between us.The visual communication Jeremy and I share onstage is second to none. I can look at him with a certain look, and he knows just what I’ll be doing next, and certain songs have certain looks as well. Our verbal communication onstage is almost unnecessary because he is so aware with his eyes and ears of what I’m doing, and as we jam, I become more aware of what he’s doing…all to the improvement of the collective offering.
I’ve had people thank me for bringing Jeremy into the mix, and I, too, am thankful, because I am “called up” to raise my game when we play.
Sweet Songbird
My eldest daughter, Madeline, whom I call Maddy, has a lovely voice, with tremendous intuition for vocal harmonies. I’ve recently been taking her on the road with me for some shows, and any time I do, I don’t regret it.
In fact, people give me the impression that they’re even gladder that she’s there – and if it were just me, they’d be (slightly) less glad.
On a ministry weekend recently, a pastor introduced us at the worship service by saying, “We’re so grateful this morning to welcome guest musician Maddy Harsh…and she brought her dad.” This was followed by lots of chuckles from the congregation, and I laughed out loud as well.
When it comes to vocal harmonies, I’m not well-versed in how to artistically make them happen.
I can listen to a harmony and tell you when it’s not working, but when asked to sing a vocal harmony, I really have to work at it, so much so that if I have the luxury of time, I’ll notate my harmonies and practice them.
One time, as a contributor to a morning of worship where we took turns leading, I was asked on the spot by the worship leader to sing some harmonies below a female vocalist on a song that had some non-diatonic chords.
I felt a bit like a deer in headlights, because the worship leader basically said, “Hey, can you just add some vocal harmonies on this?” To me, it felt like he just trusted me to go for it, but I was not in my deep water at all. It was a good exercise for me, because I had to just “lean in.”
My harmonies came together, but it was a bit bumpy as I worked them out.Maddy has done so much singing – and listening – that she’s quite aware of what’s needed in terms of the vocal line. Sometimes it’s parallel motion, sometimes it’s oblique motion, and sometimes it’s just a pedal tone that lingers until it needs to resolve.Each situation demands a different approach, and Maddy is very aware of which approach tends to work better. She also has excellent intonation. And when our vocals line up in a song, it can be quite powerful.
Most recently, on a tour, I played a ballad for which she offered harmonies, and people didn’t even want to clap after the song was over. They wanted the moment to linger. Eventually they did clap, but the appreciation of what we did together was very evident.
Maddy loves to sing. She also loves to listen to music.
She listens when we’re driving, or when she’s working around the house, or folding laundry. She never misses an opportunity to just listen to music. It is a heart language, especially for her, and there’s a wide variety of artists she enjoys listening to.
We are influenced by the types of music we take in, so Maddy’s vocal styles can range from pop, to jazz, to medieval and renaissance music. My stuff is more along the lines of folk/pop and contemporary worship, so she comes alongside my style beautifully.
When I sing with Maddy, I feel empowered to bring my best vocal delivery, because I know she’ll be right on point with her singing. And as we sing together, I feel “called up.”
Productive Artistry
In terms of musicianship, there is perhaps no greater venue for the intentional capturing of music than the recording studio.
And having released four albums to date, I’ve become aware of a variety of approaches from producers I’ve worked with. But one producer came across my path several years ago who broke the mold for me.
Brian is a multi-instrumentalist with a degree in jazz composition, and in his words, he has “an absolute blasty” capturing music in the recording studio.
So, when I had him over to my house for dinner and shared a few of my songs with him, he agreed to produce my album This Side of Heaven.
Little did I know I was embarking on a tour de force of musical artistry, the likes of which I had never heard.
We captured 11 songs, most of which were guitar-driven, and I watched and listened as my musical ideas took on a whole new level of production with Brian’s incredible accents and undercurrents.
I’m a live performer. That’s mostly what I do. But to hear what Brian did in the studio with my songs was astounding.
I captured a full-length expert interview with Brian in GuitarSuccess4U for my members to enjoy, and one of the many things we talked about was his desire in production to “re-engage the ear of the listener.”In Brian’s words, after the listener has heard the verse, pre-chorus and chorus, they’ve pretty much experienced all the material for the song (with the exception of the bridge).
So, the next time the verse, or even the chorus comes around, there’s often a musical accent or audio “brush stroke” that Brian adds to help bring something new and fresh to the ears of the listener.
This reengages their ears. They hear things in a fresh way. Even on multiple listens.I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, whether consciously or subconsciously.
I could go back and focus on the songs for just this simple aspect, saying “Ooh – there’s an electric guitar riff that noodles during the second verse that wasn’t there for the first verse,” etc., but I’d rather just put it in “receive” mode and let my ears enjoy what Brian has put together.Did I mention that with the exception of me playing the guitar and a little piano and providing the lead vocal, Brian played absolutely everything else on the record? I’m talking drums, bass, electric guitars, keys, Fender Rhodes, world music percussion, horns, backup vocal harmonies, and more.
This takes a level of musical competence that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Usually, the producer will bring in other musicians to play these instruments. Not Brian. He plays them all, and he plays them very, very well.
Embarking on a professional album with Brian was a labor of love that took several months and lots of focused effort, as well as expense. But it was worth it – it’s my best album to date.
When they present a copy of their album to someone, some musicians offer an apology with their album – see Guitar Serious Fun Episode 14 - “From Paying to Play to Playing for Pay.”
I do not apologize. Because I’m completely thrilled with the product.
Recording This Side of Heaven was not just a positive experience – it was a learning experience on multiple fronts: my tempos got better, my guitar articulations became cleaner, my performance into the mic increased in its authenticity, and more.
I came out on the other side with a collection of songs that had truly been enhanced by the process.
Brian’s production approach was super chill and put me at ease, while at the same time allowing me to be “called up” to a much higher standard than I realized I was even capable of.Common DenominatorsAs I look back at these four musicians – Jeff the saxophonist, Jeremy the aux percussionist, Maddy the vocalist and Brian the producer, I see several things about each of them that they have in common.First, they all love the Lord, which affects how and why they do what they do.
Second, they’re humble and teachable.
Third, they’re totally committed to ongoing growth as musicians.
And fourth – and this is not really of consequence, but it’s worth mentioning – all of these musicians are younger than I am. A couple of them are much younger.
Age is not necessarily an indicator of ability, nor does someone have to be older than you to be a positive artistic influence on you.
All four of these musicians have super strong musical chops in certain areas where I don’t have as much strength. I know my areas of strength – and they include composition, creativity, onstage confidence, and a winsome way with an audience.
It’s important to know your areas of strength, but also areas where you know you can grow.
And then, you can collaborate or interface with musicians who can help you in those areas.
The Temptation to Compromise
Most of my discussion today has centered around being “called up,” because there’s something tremendously exhilarating about being sharpened.
And way back in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 3 - “Yeah Buddy,” we definitely focused on this.
But I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the temptation each of us may have to “settle down” into what’s super comfortable for us, and to avoid the risks that come with hard work and a challenge.
But I don’t think this is the best course of action, at least over the long term. Sure, we can play what we know at times, and rest in that. But to put ourselves in a passive posture does not lead to the musical growth that I believe leads to fulfillment as musicians and even worshipers.
If we’re being honest, we can just default to “phoning it in” and playing from the same collection of songs we’ve always played from. We can tread water. To me, it doesn’t demonstrate the level of stewardship that the Lord invites us to embark on.
Think of the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Two of the servants doubled the talents they were entrusted with.
But what did the third servant do? He buried his talent.
Basically, he kept it at the same value – and in some ways it lost value, because it didn’t gain any interest.
If I’m a songwriter, and I just keep playing the same chords and strumming patterns, never adding more to my palette of colors, I’m maintaining the status quo.
If I’m a worship leader and I don’t have any desire to develop my skills beyond a certain point, or to venture outside my community to be enhanced educationally, spiritually, or relationally by other worship leaders or guitarists, I can become stagnant. This is “settling down,” and becoming complacent.
It’s not something I believe pleases the Lord.
Heavenly Work
When our lives come to an end, if we have a saving knowledge of what Christ has done and have accepted this tremendous gift, we’ll enter into His eternal kingdom in Heaven.
Now some followers of Christ have a misguided perception that work will cease at that point, and that Heaven will be a place of, well, leisure.
But work was part of God’s design even before the fall of Adam and Eve. It’s my understanding that there will be good, worthy work in Heaven, and that we’ll be able to lean into it, for the glory of God.
What kind of work will it be? Only our Heavenly Father knows, but He has always been faithful to guide us through His Word and His will, towards what is best for us.
And my hope is that music will be a part of our work. The music of Heaven will exceed all our earthly comprehension. Even the best music here will pale in comparison.
Gratitude for a Challenge
I can think of several instances where someone on my worship team stepped on board, and after a couple years of playing with me, they had a much better grasp of music on multiple fronts.
The conversations I’ve had with them have gone something like this.
I’ve asked them how worship team is going, and they’ve said, “Man, I had no idea all these musical concepts existed. You’ve opened up an entire world of music to me and I’m a much better musician for it.”I’ve responded, “Has it been challenging at times?To which they have said something like, “Yes, but it’s been totally worth it. I love the results we’re getting on the other side of all this hard work. I’m not bored. I feel like I’m a part of something bigger than me, and it’s very fulfilling.”Serious fun, right? Man, I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to see someone raise their game for the glory of God and lean into it.
At the end of the day, I’d rather have my head hit the pillow with me being poured out from a good challenge, than to lie down bored, and inwardly knowing that I didn’t really pursue my potential.
Wouldn’t you?
Today, we talked about the opportunity to be “called up” and the temptation to “settle down” on our musical journey. Each of us has different levels of ability, and our skills can be developed for different seasons…but as long as our mindset is towards growth, we can claim those “wins” as we move forward.
And if you’re interested in opportunities to be “called up” and challenged with new insights, ideas, and approaches to better understanding the guitar and music for God’s glory, please seriously consider joining GuitarSuccess4U.
There’s more on our website, including an informative overview video, some testimonial videos, sample lessons, and a list of frequently asked questions. Just head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for enjoying today’s episode. I’ll see you next time.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I can’t complain. But sometimes I do.
Philippians chapter 2, verse 14 starts off with the command to “Do everything without complaining or arguing.”
That’s a tall order to try to attempt without the Lord’s guidance and strength.
But if He commands it, that means that with His help, it’s possible.
As a guitar player, there are many things I could complain about, whether the next concept I can’t grasp yet, or the next skill I can’t yet execute.
I could complain about how my guitar feels or sounds, or I could even complain about one of my short or long-term music endeavors and how it isn’t going as well as I’d like.
Give me opportunities to find something to complain about, and I will find them.
But that’s only because my sinful tendencies are to look for them.
What about shifting my mindset to things I’m grateful for when it comes to my guitar journey? What can I be looking for in this season of thanksgiving, but also year-round?
Here are some of my thoughts – and just a heads up – they’re ones that Captain Obvious probably could have pointed out to me. In other words, they’re really pretty straightforward.
1. I have all 10 digits.
With respect to those who don’t, I’m blessed to have full functionality of my fingers and thumbs.
I know that there’s no promise of this, and someone on the receiving end of these words I’m sharing might agree with that statement…from experience.
I occasionally hear stories about people who have had an unfortunate accident where they have lost the capacity to use all their fingers, or even their hands.
It could be a life-changing event that happens in a single moment, or perhaps it could happen over time.
Twice in the past couple of days, I’ve heard about people in my circles who would love to have the full use of their hands, but who are physiologically limited in some way, due to a medical condition.
This doesn’t have to be the end of the story for a guitarist. Sure, it can be much more challenging to play the instrument without all 10 digits.
However, there are two iterations of a customized capo out there that have made it possible to enjoy playing chords with less than four fingers.
They are the Third Hand Capo and the SpiderCapo. These two capos have spinning discs or tumblers that can create up to 63 combinations per fret…and that’s even before embarking on alternate tunings.
They create the illusion of an alternate tuning, but don’t require totally new shapes – just partial ones. Even without a capo like this, there are still single finger partial chords out there.
But these capos provide unique voicings that are reminiscent of alternate tunings.
Speaking of, some of the open tunings I’ve experimented with, like DADGAD, can be leveraged with a lot of open drone strings and fewer fretting fingers, and still facilitate some very beautiful chords.So, for those who are missing one or more fingers, guitar can still be within reach in a new way.
Phil Keaggy is a master musician who has built a career around pivoting from an injury to his guitar picking hand. The job of his now missing medio finger has been replaced by his anular finger, and the anular’s functionality has been replaced by the chico finger.
In layman’s terms, his ring finger and his pinky have become the new middle and ring fingers, respectively.
Who uses the chico / pinky finger a lot anyway, right?
Even with tools like this, some people don’t have the physical strength to apply their fingers to the frets of a guitar.
With this in mind, for those of us who have all our digits, if we’re not sure what to be thankful for, I’d say that gratitude for that basic blessing can be a really good place to start.
2. I can hear out of both of my ears.
It has been said by several musicians I’ve met, that listening is just as important, if not more important, than playing music.To know how to contribute to the sonic signature of an ensemble, we need to listen well.
And to be able to simply enjoy music, we must be able to hear. The loss of hearing in one or both of our ears can change our ability to enjoy music.
I know several people who can only hear out of one ear, and fortunately, they are still able to enjoy music.
But there are people who cannot hear out of either of their ears, despite the fact that they would love to be able to enjoy listening to music. Some were born without their hearing, and some have lost it, either immediately or gradually.
To lose my sense of hearing would make me deeply sad, because of how important music is to me.
In fact, in a game of “Would You Rather,” when asked the question, “Would you rather lose your sense of hearing or your sight?” my obvious response was “My sight.”Right? With my sight gone, I would still be able to hear music, and in some ways might still be able to enjoy playing music. Sure, some of the significant position changes up the neck require a visual connection to the fretboard, but over time, it’s possible to become more and more visually independent from the guitar.
And losing one’s sight is a sure way to accelerate that visual independence.
As a matter of fact, I will occasionally temporarily wear a blindfold on my eyes to discover how well I can rely on the tactile approach to playing, while leaning heavily on my ears to guide me.
It’s a good exercise. I highly recommend trying it. If you don’t have a blindfold or bandanna handy, just lower the lights. But of course, be sure to remember how to get back to the lights switch, so you don’t trip in the dark.
So as a guitarist, I can be grateful that both of my ears can hear.
3. I can enjoy playing and sharing music.
It’s easy to take this for granted, but as a guitarist, I can enjoy picking up my guitar, playing songs that I know or am learning, and then sharing those songs with others.
I can share songs by collaborating with other like-minded musicians who want to work with me to make something more together.
I can share songs with a listening audience, whether in a living room or a grandstand, or anything in between. I can even record songs with my guitar in the studio, or more simply, on my phone, so as to be able to transcend miles and years.
The ability to enjoy playing music and sharing it is something that cannot be overstated. How many guitarists used to be able to play, and can play no longer?
They’re out there. Some played too hard and developed Repetitive Strain Injury or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
I’ve worked hard to discipline my hands with stretches and strength-building exercises, all of which I teach inside GuitarSuccess4U, because an ounce of prevention is worth what? A pound of cure.
Some guitarists have developed arthritis.
It’s a sobering fact that one day, every guitarist will play his or her final notes on the guitar. When that will be, we don’t know.
It could be today. It could be eighty years from now.
I know that my earthly hands won’t last forever, and that one day I will not be able to play my guitar. But today, I can.
And for that, I am grateful.
Every day is a gift, and the ability to play and share music is a gift.
What this Gratitude Does
As a guitarist, I’m all about embarking on musical challenges that help me grow. Some of those challenges are within my reach, and result in what I’d call “quick wins.”Other challenges, though, take months or years, and I find myself slogging through some really technical guitar work that will hopefully lead to artistry and proficiency.
But that takes time.
And in our culture, some people (ok, sometimes I) want faster results. And when I don’t get those results, I come to a fork in the road.
I can complain and be annoyed, or…I can be grateful.
Which do you think leads to higher morale, better focus, and a more effective process?
I think you know. Gratitude. It helps me play better, it gives me more focus, and it allows me to stick with it for longer.We all need breaks. We all need the opportunity to regroup.
But gratitude gives me a better practicing posture.
I’d also say that when it comes to performing, some of the people I share my music with absolutely love it.
Some. Not all.
There will always be a small percentage of people in the audience who will either look like they don’t love what I’m doing, or they’ll offer me their divided attention because, for example, they’d rather look at their phone while I’m pouring my heart out.
Who knows what people are going through? But what do you think I aim to do under these circumstances?I try to give thanks. I try to focus on why the Lord has me there, sharing that music. He may have someone in that audience who is brokenhearted and really needs to be encouraged.
Bringing a message of encouragement through music for that one person may be the main reason the Lord has me there.Or, maybe I’m just supposed to play for Him, to be content in who He is to me, and who I am to Him.
There may be hundreds of people at one of my performances, but in God’s economy, those numbers may not line up with my expectations. Is that ok? Gratitude makes it so.
He may have something totally different planned for how He wants to use me and my music in that place.
So, with open, grateful hands, I give thanks.
I give thanks for the opportunity to share my music with anyone. Because really, no one has to listen to me play, right?
In our home, we have a little framed quote on our counter that says “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” Did you catch that?
Maybe it’s enough to simply play my guitar and enjoy that.
That’s some good perspective, isn’t it?
I’d also say that it’s much more attainable to experience serious fun if we are grateful.
Further Thoughts on Gratitude
Gratitude is not a seasonal thing. It can be, but the best practice as a follower of Christ is to be grateful as often as possible.
Rehearsing the Lord’s faithfulness is such a great way to give us encouragement, to strengthen our hearts. Christ was an excellent example of this. Even before he fed the 5,000, with just five loaves and two fish, Jesus had a posture of gratitude. According to the New International Version of Matthew 14, verse 19, Jesus gave thanks.
In Luke 22, Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples, spending time with them for the last supper he would partake of before he was to be crucified.
Even under those circumstances, what did he do before he served his disciples from the cup, and again before he broke the bread and gave it to them? He gave thanks. Twice.
If gratitude is good enough for the Son of God, I would do well to follow his example.
Another passage from Philippians – chapter 4, verses 6 and 7 reminds us, even in a season of struggle, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”I need that verse. I need it very close to me, because my tendency is to worry, and to not be grateful.
And I need to look at that verse with fresh eyes, because it is in danger of becoming so familiar that I don’t really take it to heart. I need to give thanks even as I present my requests to God.
But do you know what?
We can be grateful in all seasons, even the hard ones. What happens when something we treasure is taken away? Will we, like Job, still praise the name of the Lord? That’s a true test of our gratitude.
It takes a spiritually mature response to say, “This is not what I would have wanted, but if the Lord wills it, I will still find something about it to be grateful for.”
Can we still praise God when things are not going the way we want them to? When we’re struggling in times of need or illness?
Worshiping and thanking the Lord in those seasons is a sweet kind of praise that pleases Him, perhaps even more than the praise that comes in seasons of prosperity and health.
Here’s a visual picture for you.
Imagine if I was driving along, and I tried to press the accelerator (the gas pedal) in my car, while simultaneously applying the brake.
That’s not effective. If the accelerator is gratitude, and the brake is complaining, they really cannot occupy the same space.
Following this logic, I can’t complain and be grateful at the same time…at least not about the same thing.
And even if I’m grateful about one thing and simultaneously taking time to complain about something else, I’m not giving the full measure of attention to either posture.
It’s so much better to relinquish the tendency to complain, and to embrace gratitude.
Who likes to be around a complainer? Usually, other complainers. Misery loves company, right?
Who likes to be around a grateful person? Almost everybody…perhaps not a complainer, because, well, they can’t be as miserable as they want to be.
But if I’m given a choice, I like to spend time with grateful people. They help me to be even more grateful.
So, in this season of thanksgiving, and always, let’s be grateful for however many fingers we have, however well we can hear, and however much we’re able to enjoy playing and sharing music.
We have no guarantee of tomorrow (really, we have no guarantee of our next breath.)Our health and the functionality of our bodies, while it is present, is something to be tremendously grateful for. When I see my guitar abilities through that lens, I’m humbled and I claim a fresh perspective.
The people we can share our music with won’t always be here with us on earth either.
There are people I’ve cared deeply about, with whom I’ve shared my music in collaboration, and people I’ve served by singing and playing for them, who are now at home with the Lord.
Now is the time. It’s the time to give thanks, to sing and play songs about how grateful we are, to worship the Lord through it all, and to let gratitude permeate every note we play.
Hopefully, today’s discussion yielded some insights into tools that are out there, like the Third Hand Capo and the SpiderCapo.
Maybe it inspired you to tune your guitar creatively.
Maybe it gave you some practical guitar strategies, like wearing a blindfold or lowering the lights temporarily while you practice.
Maybe it provided some thoughts on how to take better care of your hands.
But most of all, I’m hoping that this episode provided some good perspective, through helpful reminders of how blessed we all are, and how grateful we can be.
What are you grateful for, especially with regard to your musical journey? I’d love to know.
Feel free to leave a comment below. And please consider sharing these thoughts with others by telling them about this episode.
Lastly, if you’re looking for a grateful group of like-minded Christian guitarists, I encourage you to look into joining GuitarSuccess4U. This is a community I lead, as I pour my knowledge and heart into their guitar journeys.
And for that I’m deeply grateful.
Do you know what else I’m grateful for, right now? Your willingness to take time to receive and reflect upon these words I’ve put together. I’m so glad you chose to listen today. Thank you. I’ll see you next time.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Ok, so I’m about to embark on a subject that may be a little controversial, because I’ll be making some claims that are not necessarily flattering about other musicians.
It’s not my intent to be hurtful in my remarks, but rather objective, with a view to enhancing the learning experience from both sides. If you know me, you know that I consider criticism, especially constructive criticism, to be a gateway to musical maturity…but we have to walk through that criticism and consider it carefully so that we can get to the rich music that’s waiting on the other side of that gateway.
When it comes to learning the guitar (or any other skill), not every guitar teacher out there currently has the heart of a teacher. And not every guitar student currently has the heart of a learner.
As we continue forward, please consider my use of the word “currently” as an acknowledgement that we are all works in progress, and although some of us may not change our trajectories in the direction of improving our approach, many of us may do so.
I’ve been on the receiving end of the teaching approaches of some phenomenal guitarists, for which I’ve paid top dollar, and sometimes traveled a great distance.
As grateful as I have been to learn from these teachers, I won’t specify the names of these guitarists, because it doesn’t really matter who they are – I’m more focused on what we can learn from their approaches.
Many of these guitarists are astounding musicians, and often very gifted performers who can connect with an audience in an incredible way.
But for some of them, their ability to teach, to break down concepts into accessible, progressive steps, can be quite limited.
I’ve also taught students who were either impatient, wanted a shortcut or an easy fix, or they didn’t see the validity in taking a “step by step” approach.
Exempli gratia – I had a prospective student who had never played the guitar tell me that the first thing he wanted to learn was “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix – exactly the way Jimi played it.
However, after I took a few minutes to encourage this prospective student to consider developing some basic guitar chops first, to build up to learning a challenging song like this, the conversation ended, and I never saw him again.
Let’s face it: some people can’t currently effectively teach what they do. And other people aren’t currently teachable. These are facts.
Now, once again, I’ve used the word “currently” to qualify these descriptions of teachers and students. And that’s because I have great hope that people can change for the better…if they desire to do so.
Someone who doesn’t currently have the heart of a teacher could invite the Lord to change their heart. The same goes for a student who is not currently teachable. They could pray for the Lord to renew their mind so that they can have a healthy hunger for musical knowledge.
Now, in my opinion, it’s ok if someone does not have the heart of a teacher, and it’s also ok if someone is not teachable.
If just one of these scenarios is in play, great things can still happen. If both are in play, progress is much more difficult.
Track with me here as I try to quantify something that’s hard to quantify.
I’m including some diagrams I’ve created, because I’m very visual as a teacher and as a learner.
If the knowledge distance between a teacher and a student is defined as a connection of 100%, for the teaching to have application, there needs to be effort on both sides to bridge the knowledge gap.
If neither the teacher nor the student has the desire to bridge that gap, then it can be very difficult to experience progress and growth, and at the very least, it can be frustrating and exhausting.
In an ideal scenario, both the teacher and the student have the heart to connect and to allow the learning process to happen, unhindered. We could say that each can reach to the other with 50% of the effort, to create the cumulative 100% of the effort that’s needed.
This, to me, is an excellent formula for an effective teaching and learning environment.
And frankly, if we have a teacher with a huge heart for teaching and a student who is a passionate, teachable learner, we might have 75% of both sides reaching toward each other, exceeding the 100% and creating an exceptional environment.
However, not all scenarios are exceptional, or even ideal, so it’s important to recognize what causes the obstacles and hindrances on both sides, and what sort of solutions can be put into place to break past those obstacles.
The Teacher
Let’s talk about the teacher’s side of the learning experience first. If the teacher has a solid musical background, he or she has probably developed their skills to quite a formidable level. And this can be a good thing.
But let’s not assume that their skill set equals teaching ability.
There exists a curse among some highly talented and experienced musicians who endeavor to teach, and it’s aptly called “The Curse of Knowledge,” which is part of the title of this episode.
How can knowledge be a curse?
Well, under these circumstances, if a highly experienced teacher is addressing a less experienced student, that teacher may really struggle to remember what it was like to go back to the early stages of his or her musical development…and therefore, he or she can’t effectively break down the step-by-step process to help that student make measurable progress.
The teacher is trapped in their current state of musicianship, and cannot systematically retrace their steps. This is the Curse of Knowledge.
Let me share a few examples of teachers whom I believe to have had the Curse of Knowledge.
I attended a masterclass with one of the most gifted guitarists I’ve ever known, and this individual, though a tremendous musician with incredible showmanship, did not seem able (or willing) to break down the guitar concepts that were offered.
When I asked a very specific question of this teacher related to a practice regimen and what sort of step-by-step process could help us improve as we play, this guitarist simply said, “Well, I just do this,” and a blisteringly fast guitar lick emerged under their fingers, and we were on to the next question.
Everyone in the room was wide-eyed, both in awe and in confusion. No one seemed to have any grasp of what was being communicated…and perhaps inspiration was all that was really needed for many of them at that stage.
But for those who wanted to learn the specifics of what was being demonstrated, they were at a loss, because there was no structured, logical approach to breaking any of the guitar concepts down or connecting ideas together, in spite of all the questions from myself and others.
Music doesn’t always need to be logical, of course, but we can save ourselves a lot of time and frustration if we incorporate some sort of framework at certain stages.
So, whether he or she consciously knows it or not, a guitar teacher (or any kind of teacher) who can command an instrument and demonstrate a skill, but who cannot take the skill apart so as to teach it…is under the Curse of Knowledge.
I attended another guitar education experience as a student, where criticism from a virtuosic teacher was offered to the students, but accompanied by very few tangible solutions with concrete steps for improvement.
“Don’t do that” was basically all that was said. Constructive criticism is definitely an important aspect of teaching, but I always believe it should be provided hand-in-hand with specific suggestions for an alternative approach, with a view to progress.
Here in this environment, the Curse of Knowledge was once again looming, because it was clear that the highly gifted guitarist was not in a posture to be able to graciously provide the teaching that the students desperately needed to improve.
As a linear teacher and learner, I always appreciate the opportunity to guide a student, or sometimes a group, along the continuum from knowing less, to knowing more.
But when I attended a recent workshop with a virtuosic guitarist who was more of a performer than a teacher, it became clear that certain topics needed to be at least addressed, if not unpacked, in preparation for the topics being discussed. There were prerequisites that needed to be considered.
It’s hard in a workshop environment, because people may be coming from multiple skill levels and backgrounds in music, but this teacher, kind and gracious though he was, assumed a level of musical understanding that wasn’t there for a large portion of the class.
So, while a few students tracked with him through a more advanced discussion, many were confused and didn’t have any sort of foothold as the teacher moved swiftly through some pretty difficult concepts.
Again, some of the students were inspired, but many really only needed a quick review of the “prerequisites” and they would have found their way, at least through some of what was being discussed.
Instead, the Curse of Knowledge kept the teacher moving quickly, as many of the students were left scratching their heads.
The Student
Let’s now turn our attention to the student. He or she may be a beginner, an intermediate, or even a “lateral learner,” who may be new to the guitar, but not new to music.
The level of skill or knowledge for this student is not of consequence. What’s important is their posture.
Do they want to learn? Do they see others as teachers, even their peers? Can they learn from anyone, or do they assume that they have the answers?I’m sure you’ve heard the tongue-in-cheek expression, “Hire a teenager while they still know everything.”
Well, it’s not just teenagers who are prone to this skewed mentality. The reality is that none of us know everything, even if we are under the impression that we know a lot.
Even if you were to present me with the most skilled guitarist on the planet, there would still be things they would not know.
In my opinion, teachability is either present or it’s not.
And if a student is not teachable, they are under the Curse of Knowledge; there’s an artificial ceiling they have built above them that they will not be able to break through.
I’ve met many guitar players who fit this description.
The Teaching and Learning Environment
Now, we have to consider the environment in which teaching is offered.
I’ve taught (and learned) in an environment where there has been one teacher and as many as 100 guitar students in a single room.
This is more of a one-hour masterclass environment, where the best approach to relaying information is to “aim for the middle” and hope that everyone will walk out with at least one new idea to take action with.
By contrast, a one-on-one guitar lesson presents a significantly different dynamic, because obviously there are fewer variables, but also, the pace can be much slower.
Even in spite of these varying scenarios, the Curse of Knowledge can still hover over the teacher or the student. It’s unfortunate, because important, useful, and actionable information can still get lost in the mix.
What to do?
The Student Bridges the Gap
I do have a strategy for the student when the teacher does not seem to be able to break the Curse. And here it is: it is…to self-teach.
That’s a simple way of saying that with the right mindset and an eye and ear for detail, a guitar student can closely observe what is being demonstrated by his or her teacher, and break it down into smaller steps…even if the teacher does not.
I’ve done this more times than I can count. Usually, it involves capturing what is being demonstrated on video, so I can go back for multiple viewings, sometimes slowing down the recording to observe the subtleties.
But even without a video recording device in my hands, or without access to a video version of the concept on the web, I have still found myself leaning forward, focusing, and quietly describing to myself what I observe, sometimes quickly writing things down.
Let’s go back to our quantifying approach for a moment.
If a teacher is not in a posture of reaching 50% or 75% of the way towards a student, but rather is more like 25% of the way, it’s up to the student to reach 75% of the way towards the teacher, in the hopes of gleaning some of what the teacher wants to convey.
For the student in this scenario, having a level of musical literacy can be tremendously helpful.
I’ve been able to develop my ear training to a level where I can hear chords or even melodies, even without a video reference, and to be able to transcribe what I hear so that I can replicate it later on my guitar.
So, even if I’m not at a point of being able to physically duplicate what’s being demonstrated by a guitar teacher in the moment, I have developed two vital skills.
The first is ear training, which allows me to hear and recognize what’s happening.
The second skill is called melodic dictation, where I’m able to transcribe what’s happening, into the language of music, whether chord names, chord shapes or even more specifically, notation and tablature.
Once I have the music captured on paper, or in the notation and tablature software on my computer, I can systematically go over it later and gradually put it together.
This process has literally made the difference between being able to learn and play something or not.
Ear training and melodic dictation are life-long skills to be cultivated and developed over the course of our entire guitar journey.
If we carry these strategies into the digital sphere, software has been developed to transcribe what is being spoken or sung, and what is being played as well.
A word of caution, here, though…the guitar has multiple instances of duplicated exact pitches, so it’s still up to the guitarist to figure out which scale, chord, or capo position is being used.
And sometimes, we can err on the side of using technology as a crutch, rather than to use the challenge as an opportunity to strengthen our abilities.
As you can see, there are many practical approaches the student can take to lean into what is being taught, even if it isn’t being broken down in a teaching fashion.
Even if the teacher is only coming 25% of the way, the student can reach 75% of the way to make the connection complete.
The Teacher Bridges the Gap
Let’s look at this from the teacher’s perspective when a student is not demonstrating the heart of a learner.
Perhaps the student has observed a guitarist onstage, or on the web, playing something very technical, but they “make it look so easy,” and this student mistakenly believes that it must come easily to him or her, in just a few short practice sessions.
Unless these ideas are tempered with a dose of reality, these unrealistic expectations will probably end in frustration on the part of the student and the teacher, or worse, the student choosing to quit learning the guitar. No one wants that.
Let’s say the student is emotionally immature or has a shorter attention span at this stage, and is only able to reach 25% of the way towards the teacher.
Perhaps he or she needs the teacher to really break down the concepts into manageable chunks, even single phrases or chords. This can be done, if the teacher is willing to reach 75% of the way towards the student.
Here’s something important to remember, especially when things take longer than expected: slow progress is better than no progress.
I’d much rather see a new guitarist take a year to develop solid fundamentals, than to watch them hurry through the process and not grasp the tools mentally or physically.
Music is the long game, and later in our journey, we will still be relying on fundamentals.
If those fundamentals aren’t solid, our playing will be imprecise, and everyone will know it, whether consciously or not.
The worst scenario is if the teacher does not have the capacity to break their subjects down to an accessible process, while the student simultaneously wants results with little or no dedication or practice.
These are the circumstances under which a learning experience of this nature is simply not sustainable.
So, let’s find a more fulfilling scenario, shall we?
The Key to Breaking the Curse of Knowledge
In order to play the “long game” well, I believe we must allow the Lord to cultivate in us two essential virtues: humility and patience.
And it’s no coincidence that these are gifts the Lord offers us in our faith journeys.
Watch for these two words in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3, verse 12: “Therefore, as God’s
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
All of these virtues are worth considering, but if we look at humility and patience especially, we can see how their presence or absence can make or break the teaching and learning process.
Humility as a Cure
Let’s say a teacher is not humble, and basically expects the student to learn what’s being taught, even if a different style or pace within the teacher’s wheelhouse could be offered.
The prideful posture of this teacher will inhibit the learning process, leading to the student feeling alone and confused.
But if the teacher is humble, he or she can graciously set a tone of “we’re both learning as we work together,” and there can be great freedom in the learning space.
It may take a few different approaches, but if the teacher is open to how the Lord might use their teaching to serve the student, the teacher can be much more effective.
If a student is not humble, he or she basically self-sabotages their learning momentum, because as a student, they aren’t being teachable. They expect the teacher to make things easy, or they expect results to come with less effort. Thomas Edison said it best: “There is no substitute for hard work.” And I would say that humility fosters an excellent posture for hard work. Watch as the humble student sits under the teacher’s leadership and submits to what may initially seem tedious or irrelevant, but turns out to be a progressive, effective approach.
And then the victories come, one by one.
Patience as a Cure
Let’s say a teacher is not patient, and he or she cannot tolerate a student who does not grasp or demonstrate a concept immediately.
How sustainable is that scenario?
Unless the student has nerves of steel and is determined to persevere regardless, I don’t see that lasting more than a few months.
Contrast this to a teacher who is patient, yet still expects a dedicated effort from the student. The teacher sees the student’s potential, and therefore the student rises to that standard.
What if a student is not patient?
Sometimes, the student wants to go faster than the pace the teacher is setting, often with detrimental consequences.
Some guitar skills are like a gourmet recipe – they need to be flavored and seasoned slowly. Rushing those skills (regardless of the fleeting promise of “instant results”), typically causes imprecise playing.
There are always exceptions, but if the teacher senses that the student is eager to move forward before they have a skill locked in, the teacher may need to ask the student to be patient…because future skill development may rely on those early skills.
Another analogy…building a house on a cement foundation that has not solidified could be disastrous for the structure of the house.
But if the student is patient, all sorts of possibilities open up. I once created a song that I knew was beyond my skill set when I composed it. Nevertheless, I was able to capture it on paper. Do you know how long it took me to learn to play that song? Seven years.
Did that require patience? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.
So, with a healthy measure of humility and patience on the part of the teacher and the student, we can be restored to the ideal scenario for learning, with each party reaching out 50% of the way, to bridge the gap.
Conclusion
So, just to re-cap, the Curse of Knowledge is something that no one is immune to.
I haven’t always had the heart of a teacher, nor have I always been as teachable as I am now. But through humility and patience, with the Lord giving me strength, I’ve been able to break the Curse of Knowledge.
This has allowed me to be an accomplished teacher and an eager learner.
If neither the student nor the teacher are humble nor patient, then it’s a recipe for all sorts of dysfunction, and both may walk away from the experience scratching their heads, wondering why it went so badly.
Little did they know they were both under the Curse of Knowledge.
But if both the teacher and the student are humble and patient, watch how amazing the experience can be.
In time, both the teacher and the student will see tremendous results in themselves and each other. No “Curse” to be found here.
Instead, what do we have? Serious fun. Mic drop!
So, as you play your guitar and embark on learning new skills (and there will always be new skills to learn), I invite you to remain humble and patient.
And if you’re looking for an environment where your guitar learning can be enhanced and supported in a steady way with the long game in view, I encourage you to seriously consider GuitarSuccess4U.
I eagerly await the opportunity to serve you there.
And please don’t forget to share this episode with someone else if it has been helpful to you.
I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/borrowchords. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Let’s first discuss how to access, and then how to use relative and parallel minor keys.
The relative minor key
The word “relative” implies that something is “related,” right? So, if our starting point is the key of C Major, with the chords: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, and Bdim, we can access the relative minor key by going up to the chord on the 6th degree, or down to that same chord.
What is the minor vi chord in C Major? It’s A minor. So, if we know the chords in C Major, we also know the chords in A minor, because that’s the relative minor key, and it shares the very same chords.
So, if I start on the minor vi chord, A minor, and make that my new minor i chord, I now have the chords: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, and G.
These are the same 7 chords, but I started on a different degree, and as I did this, I achieved the chords in the relative minor key.
I’m including two diagrams to show you what’s happening. First, check out the diagram that shows how to move from C Major to A minor.
The blue lines in this diagram indicate the continuous chords in the key of C Major. But as my green swoopy arrow shows, I can jump up from C to the minor vi chord for A minor.
My orange swoopy arrow shows the other way to access the minor vi chord, by going down from C to the same minor vi chord. Then, as the table just below that line of chords shows, I can extract the chords in A minor, highlighted by a red line.
So that’s how we can access the relative minor key, which also shares the same key signature as its relative Major key, in this case, zero sharps or flats.
The parallel minor key
Let’s switch gears now as we talk about how to access the parallel minor key.
When I think of the word “parallel,” I think of 2 lines that never intersect. In other words, these 2 parallel keys can start on the same note, but they are not related.
Let’s put this into practical use. Again, if we reference the key of C Major, we again have the chords: C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, and Bdim.
If I want to access the parallel minor key of C Major, what would that be? Don’t think too hard. It’s just C minor!
And although they start on the same C note, those chords are completely different.
They are: Cm, Ddim, Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, and Bb. Not a single one of those chords is the same as the chords in the parallel Major key of C Major.
Have a look at my second diagram that shows us how to move from C Major to C minor. As you can see from this table, there are zero flats in the key of C Major, but there are three flats in the key of C minor.
Now, playing in three flats is not as easy, because really, we only have access to moveable or bar chords here.
But there’s a work-around, and I think you may know what that is. It involves placing the capo on the 3rd fret, and then just playing the same shapes we just played in A minor.
The shapes are: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, and G.
Note that even though these shapes correspond to the key of A minor, the chords with the capo on the 3rd fret are in C minor.
Borrowing chords from the parallel minor
So now we have access, not only to the relative minor, but also the parallel minor. But why is all of this helpful?
Well, if I’m playing in C Major, I can easily modulate to and from A minor.
If I’m playing in C Major and I want to borrow a chord or two from the parallel C minor, this is not only possible, it’s very musical.
I can borrow the Major bIII chord, Eb.
I can borrow the minor iv chord, Fm.
I can also borrow the minor v chord, Gm.
I can even borrow the Major bVI – Ab, and the Major bVII chord – Bb.
Now, none of these chords I can borrow are in C Major. They’re all in C minor. But since I’ve been able to access the parallel minor key, I can borrow from it and really create some fresh sounds.
There are real world examples of these kinds of progressions all over the place in worship music, pop music, and more. And if you’re curious, you can also play in a minor key and borrow chords from its parallel Major key.
See the potential, not just in these keys, but in every key?
There’s so much more to this, but don’t worry…I’m about to tell you about a place where you can discover all of this on a much deeper, but very accessible level, that’s also a whole lot of fun.
Let me ask you a question. Do you have someone who speaks truth and wisdom into your guitar journey on a regular basis? If you do have someone, like a guitar teacher, that’s great! Stay with that teacher.
But if you don’t, I’d love for you to consider me as a potential guide who could encourage and equip you to become the guitarist you were made to be, on your schedule, from the comfort of your home.
Can you picture yourself using the guitar to fulfill your dreams?
You may just want to enjoy the instrument as a hobby. Or maybe you want to contribute something original for people to be impacted by.
What is going to provide the bridge between your dreams and reality?
I’ve developed a plan that can lead you to your definition of success on the guitar.
Come see what it’s all about at GuitarSuccess4U, a one-of-a-kind online monthly membership.
Head on over to www.GuitarSuccess4U.com to learn more, or to begin your journey with us.
I hope to be able to serve you in what could be a totally new approach for you as a guitarist.
Thanks for taking time with me today to explore another topic that can lead to serious fun. I hope this was helpful, and I look forward to next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
A lock and a key. This pairing has protected precious contents for ages. It has also kept things or people in captivity. When something is locked, it’s sealed up, or perhaps held prisoner. And typically, only a person with a key and the will and knowledge to use it, can gain access. My first guitar came in a hard case that included a lock and a key. But a TSA agent at the airport reminded me that they would need to be able to manually check the contents of the case each time I flew, so locking it was ill-advised. Plus, someone could just take the guitar and the case and deal with the lock later.
I went on a tour once and brought all my gear in a U-Haul trailer that I pulled behind my SUV…and I locked the back of the trailer with a padlock that had a detachable lock housing with a long shackle.
Everything was fine until I put the padlock housing onto the shackle upside down, which meant that I couldn’t get the key into the lock. A pastor had to bring some bolt cutters to me so I could liberate my gear and do my show.
Locks and keys. They’re everywhere. Even in our digital age with chips that we swipe in front of sensors, we’ll still come across an actual physical key that fits into a lock, allowing us access to the contents kept secure behind it.
As I weave these words together, I’ve just been inspired by a “lock and key” story that I think you’ll appreciate, and you’ll almost immediately connect the dots to a guitar victory.
I’ve been visiting my folks at their new house, and they have an antique wooden buffet that has lockable drawers and cabinets…but they’ve never locked them. They haven’t had a reason to.
They do, however, have several keys that are about the same size as the locks, but the keys are not identical, so we haven’t known which keys fit where. With a piece of furniture this old, it’s got a bit of personality.
Well, just a day or two ago, the youngest grandkid got ahold of one of the keys, and voila – the buffet was all sealed up like Fort Knox.
So later that day, my mother came to get something she had put inside the buffet…and all the doors and drawers were locked. Over the next couple of days, she tried using all the keys she had to unlock the doors and drawers…without success.
None of the keys seemed to work.
When I came to visit, she shared her conundrum with me. She didn’t want to force the drawers open; this would cause damage to an antique piece of furniture. And…we weren’t quite ready to track down a lock pick set.
I sat down next to the buffet with the available keys and tried one of the drawers. What I realized was that because the locks were so old, the deadbolts wouldn’t completely retract.
So, once I knew I had the right key, I gently opened the lock as far as I could, and then wiggled the drawer, watching it slowly come open.
Delighted, my mom suggested that I observe the behavior of the deadbolt in the open drawer as I turned the key. This was an excellent strategy. Our suspicion was confirmed; the deadbolts wouldn’t go flush with the drawer edges.
We were able to replicate the process with all the other drawers and doors, without even needing to try to jimmy them open with a putty knife or a razor.
Just to recap – my mom had this challenge that she couldn’t figure out on her own. I came into the picture and provided some fresh insights. These brought progress, and inspired an idea from her. Then, between the two of us, we figured out how to unlock the buffet and solve the problem.
Let’s now talk about how this mental process can apply to our guitar skills. Inevitably, we each encounter challenges and obstacles on our guitar journeys that may seem insurmountable (or at least highly confusing) at first.
And sometimes, it can be very time-consuming to troubleshoot or tackle these guitar challenges. When greeted with a “locked door,” some guitarists with less determination might just give up…maybe not on the guitar, but on an aspect of it.
I’ve heard people talk about bar chords this way – they just don’t feel like they have what it takes to play them. But with some of the strategies I’ve offered some of my students, I’ve seen them overcome this obstacle, even if it has taken months.
I had one fellow guitarist who had learned bar chords, who realized how simple the process was to take a bar chord whose name he knew, and bring it up a half step to the next chord. I showed him how he could play a barred C chord on the 8th fret, and move it up a half step to the 9th fret to where he could access a C sharp chord.
He was thrilled by this simple breakthrough, which, as you may know, led to understanding and accessing more chords, and then to the potential of mapping out the entire fretboard, which is something I’ve also created an intentional strategy for.
Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh set of eyes from someone who wants to help. The insights from a more experienced musician can change the game and unlock the doors.
I was able to help my mother with her challenge. But did you also notice that it wasn’t just I who brought the solution? It was a team effort. Proverbs 15:22 says “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed.”
We are always learning (or at least we always can be.) And as we learn skills or encounter songs we want to play, there will be challenges that crop up that could lead to us retreating and abandoning the song…or overcoming the challenges and learning the song.
It can go either way, and my hope is that it will go the latter way, with a victory rather than a defeat.
It all depends on how we work with what we have to unlock the sealed doors before us, and whether we’re open to the counsel of someone who could help us.
I’ve been on the learning end of guitar for nearly three decades, and the teaching end for a little over two decades.
And I have stories upon stories of examples where I was at an apparent dead end with no solution in sight…until someone else spoke into my world and provided a solution. Many of these solutions have been so simple that they’ve even seemed a little comical.
These challenges I’ve encountered have been related to technique aspects like guitar chords, strumming, fingerstyle, playing with precision, capo usage and even alternate tunings.
Others have involved the more technical side of things, whether music editing or transcribing software, onstage equipment use, signal chain configuration, gear maintenance and repair, and more.
Still others have had more to do with songwriting, arranging, stage presence, recording in the studio, or booking my touring calendar.
I simply cannot know everything there is to know about each of these guitar touchpoints. So I’ve gotten counsel from people who know more than me. I’ve sought out a lot of wisdom from a lot of people.
And the application of this wisdom has made me the guitarist and musician I am today.Some of this advice has been free. And free advice can be a blessing. I will also say, though, that I’m willing to pay for value, and also to honor those who ask to be paid for their wisdom.
As a professional musician and teacher, I love to pour my knowledge into the minds of eager learners who are willing to set aside time and money to learn from me. And they get an incredible value from the experience.
I’ve gone to college to study music, pursued some of the most gifted guitarists in the world to study with, and I’ve spent thousands of hours developing my knowledge and craft, so I’ve got a pretty deep well of insights to share…plus I’ve brought in some incredible experts who can teach guitar-related concepts well beyond what I know. I do this all through my online experience at GuitarSuccess4U.
With all the tools offered inside this membership, you’ll find an array of keys that you’ll be able to use to unlock the doors as you proceed further into your guitar fortress.
Not everything will come easily to us as guitar players and musicians. It’s not promised to us.
But I will say that what we’re doing is worthy, and that there are others who share our values…and when we spend time with those kinds of people, we gain a level of confidence that just doesn’t happen when we work on our own.
So please do check out GuitarSuccess4U to get a glimpse of all that’s waiting for you inside the portal.
I hope you’ll see what it’s all about. The experience is incredibly affordable for the value, but more importantly, it grants you access to wisdom from me and my curated collection of experts, plus a Christ-honoring community of other like-minded members.
And with this many voices in the conversation, you’ll get some incredible insights, not to mention very tangible tools and a huge dose of encouragement. And then you’ll watch in surprise and delight, as the doors unlock before you.
Thanks for taking time today to hear my thoughts on the topic of how fresh insights can unlock things for us as guitarists and musicians.
Let’s work together to find out how to unlock those doors and get the precious victories that are waiting for us on the other side.
Keep playing, keep learning, and keep having serious fun as you play your guitar for the Lord. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I remember the first time I did a ride-along with a police officer buddy of mine. It was later in the evening as I rode in the passenger seat for a few hours. We drove through town, making sure the city streets and the neighborhoods were quiet and safe.
My friend had briefed and prepped me for what to do should things get exciting. But we mostly did traffic stops.
One particular speed trap he had discovered was exceptionally strategic – he backed up a steep driveway that merged onto a curved road. The police car we were in was obscured from the road by a hedge, so it was virtually undetectable.
Anyone driving past wouldn’t see us until it was too late. So, we pulled over several drivers. And the recurring theme (as I’m sure you’d expect) was that they didn’t realize how fast they were going over the speed limit.
Most of the drivers were issued a warning, but as you can imagine, people who go over the speed limit will occasionally be recipients of a ticket. I, myself have been given a couple speeding tickets over the years.
Full disclosure – I haven’t just been guilty of going too fast behind the wheel…I’ve also been guilty of playing songs too fast on my guitar.
I’ve blazed past the prescribed tempo, and not only has it affected my fellow collaborators – it has affected the people I either sing to, or lead in singing. And if I’m willing to look closely at these experiences from an objective perspective, my haste with the tempos has compromised the quality of the songs.
Now, some songs have a very wide tempo range, meaning that they can be played within several metronome settings and sound just fine. Others, if they pass a certain tempo mark, can sound frantic, make the lyrics hard to sing, and lead to imprecise playing.
In my experience, we as guitarists tend to err on the side of playing faster, rather than slower, but both are possible.
What causes a variation in tempo? Any number of things, including nerves, a lack of familiarity with the chart, fatigue, and even what I’d call musical peer pressure, where instrumentalists are fighting with each other over what the tempo is.
We can rush the tempo because we’re on edge. We can drag the tempo because we’re trying too hard not to rush the tempo. Any number of factors can lead to a hot mess of a song if we’re not careful.
Are there some strategies to help keep us on track? Yes there are. And I’m about to share several with you.Purchase A Metronome
The first tip I recommend is to invest in a metronome. There are smartphone apps, of course, but I really like the feel of an actual metronome in my hands.
I recommend the Seiko SQ50-V Quartz Metronome for its durability. This thing has literally taken a lick and kept on ticking. I’ve had my current one for over a decade, and I’ve dropped it hundreds of times. It still works.
Whatever song I’m learning on whichever instrument, having a metronome nearby has been essential for me.
I remember in college watching one of the conductors of our orchestra reference his metronome for starting tempos nearly every time we began a rehearsal or a song.
This guy was a world-class musician, composer, and conductor. And a metronome was one of the main tools in his toolkit. If it was good enough for him, I’d say it’s good enough for me.
Becoming familiar with the settings on a metronome, with the Italian tempos, can be super helpful.
Which settings are allegro? Which are moderato? What does a metronome feel like in 4/4 time as opposed to compound duple (better known as 6/8 time), when the beat is a dotted quarter note, with two pulses per measure?
Can we subdivide and play with twice as many metronome clicks for better precision? Absolutely. This is a strategy I’ve employed for dozens of songs in the recording studio, when the red recording light is on and cash is leaving my wallet by the hour.
Whereas we can get away with quite a lot on stage, nothing escapes the microphone in the recording studio. And although we can do lots of editing to correct things, it’s more efficient and less expensive to get a really good take. So, we really want to record well.
And how do we get to where we can record well? My next tip will not surprise you.
Practice Your Songs
Practicing will only enhance our steadiness as musicians. And if we practice with a metronome, well, we become more and more aligned with the prescribed tempo, whether we’re playing someone else’s song, or one we ourselves have written.
How much do we need to practice? Well, how important is it to us to play well?
I’d say that a quick cursory pass through a song isn’t going to cut it.
If I’m on a worship team and my first time playing through a song (or at least my first time in a while) is to open my guitar case at rehearsal and do a quick run-thru of a verse while other team members are arriving, am I offering my first fruits? Nope.
The diligence that I believe is needed is solo practice during the week leading up to the rehearsal. Linda Collins, an expert in our GuitarSuccess4U experience, has over 30 years of worship leading experience.
When I invited her to help me define the two different settings for preparation for worship music, we landed on 1) the guitarist’s solo practice session, and then 2) the worship team rehearsal. When I asked her how much time she thought was warranted for the guitarist to learn his or her part on their own, versus trying to figure it out during rehearsal, she said this:
“Well, I would say it depends on whether you consider yourself a leader or a follower…and for acoustic guitar players, I hope you consider yourself a leader in the band. And it takes much more time to internalize a song, to learn the whole arc of the song, to just get so comfortable with it, you can get out of the music a little bit. And so, I would say, you know, maybe three half-hour sessions, at least on a new song.”
That is some sage advice, right?
Incidentally, if you don’t have the song learned yet, I don’t recommend introducing the metronome until you do.
Leverage a Click Track
Some worship teams rely heavily on In-Ear Monitors, for which a click track is often provided, keeping everyone aligned with a prescribed tempo as it clicks inside each person’s audio mix. I personally don’t prefer this approach, but I know many musicians who do.
The upside of In-Ear Monitors is that with a click, the band can have greater precision and unity. The downside is that In-Ear Monitors have the potential to create a bit of a sonic barrier between the onstage musician and the people in the congregation/audience.
I feel very far away from the people I’m ministering to when I wear those things.
Even with a mic that captures the sound of the audience, I’ve been less in favor of In-Ears, unless absolutely necessary. I used them every week for an entire year before deciding they were just not for me.
Be as Specific as Possible with Tempos When Recording
In the recording studio, tempos are paramount. Once you’ve decided on a tempo for a song, you’ve created a grid over which all the other instruments will be laid out. For my most recent album, I made the mistake of not really planning the tempos well. So, when I went into the studio and made scratch recordings for all 11 songs, when I listened back, only one of the songs seemed to be at an appropriate tempo. The rest were just a few notches too fast. My producer graciously agreed to re-record the other 10 scratch tracks with me to get them right.
And it was totally worth it.
As a worship leader, I’ve had many debrief meetings with my leadership teams about how the past Sunday went. Have you heard the term “Honest Monday” or “Honest Tuesday?” Yep. It’s a chance to get everything out on the table in an informal team meeting, with a view to improving our processes.
But at these meetings, most of the people on the team saw things from the administrative realm or the pastoral realm, so only a couple of us were really focused on the music aspect.
Talking about the morning worship experience is good…watching recorded video is better. It’s super helpful to see how we come across visually. But it can also be super humbling, right?
Are we looking down at our music stands because we don’t know our music well? Do we look like we want to be there?
In terms of the audio aspect, is our pitch good? Are the instruments in tune? Are they balanced in volume? Lastly, and related to this discussion, are our tempos on point?
If you’re not in a position to access video recordings of you and your team, I recommend investing in an audio recording device. A portable digital recorder can allow you to capture your rehearsal, or even your morning of worship, or an evening performance, and then to listen back. Even a smartphone voice memo will suffice.
I’ve even been known to use a loop station pedal and play a portion of a song into it, so I could listen back, not just for my tempo, but my musicianship.
Again, a video (or audio) recording of a live worship set can be very revealing and humbling, but if we are desiring to harness and shape our tempos to achieve a greater level of precision, this could be a huge step in the right direction.
I’ll add that playing songs slowly can actually be really, really tough. Some of the most difficult songs I’ve learned to play are at extremely slow tempos. Feeling those beats and holding the tempo steady can be a serious challenge, but it can be overcome.
Tape a Large Note to the Floor
At one point in my touring, I became keenly aware that I was getting overexcited with my tempos, especially in front of young, wiggly audiences at camps, Christian school assemblies, and Vacation Bible School concerts. I was off to the races and couldn’t seem to slow down. So, I took the simple measure of writing the word “TEMPO” in all caps on a large piece of paper, and I taped it to the floor right in front of me on the stage.
This was far from any sort of technical piece of hardware or software. But each time I caught that piece of paper out of the corner of my eye, I took it as a gentle reminder not to let my tempos get too fast.
And it worked.
Pray
I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility to say that most people don’t pray about their tempos. It may fall under the umbrella of, “Lord, please guide us to a skillful offering for Your glory,” but if tempos are a sticking point, why not commit them to the Lord?
He can quiet our hearts. He can remind us of the rhythmic meter of a song we’ve begun to internalize. And He can unite the band around us. He’s the Creator of the Universe, and I believe He is the true Master of Rhythm.
Think of the rhythm of the spinning of the planets, the turning of the seasons, the beating of our hearts, and the flapping of the wings of a hummingbird. Does the Lord know what it takes to have skillful tempos? I really think He does.
Other Tips
Perhaps we collaborate a lot with our music, and a drummer is one of our collaborators. If the drummer starts a song too fast or accelerates, I will visibly lean back and raise my eyebrows, so that he or she knows we need to slow down a bit.
If I’m strumming too fast, sometimes the drummer will lock in his or her beat and gently help guide me back to tempo.
Remember, tempos played well lead to better musicianship.
Another of our guest experts in GuitarSuccess4U, a seasoned drummer named Jason Edwards, talks about what he has to do when a guitarist is not steady with his or her tempos. Here are a couple of Jason’s thoughts:
“Occasionally if I’m on a gig with a rhythm guitarist that doesn’t have a real good sense of that pulse, then I will kind of have to babysit them a little bit and maybe keep time on the high hat during an intro that you really don't want the drums kind of smackin’ the cymbals and stuff in the background like that. So, yeah, that would be definitely the number one thing is just a good, good foundation sense of the pulse.”
Collaborating with Jason has shown me that my precision leads to greater freedom for both of us, as has been the case with many musicians I’ve collaborated with.
If absolutely necessary (and I’ve seen this done onstage more than a few times), the band leader can stop the song and without making a big deal about it, say something like, “I think we’re going to start this one again.”
Better to stop and start over than to play an entire song through that’s not on track.
Rehearsing as a group is a great way to take a pulse. Even during a song, I’ll ask into my mic, “How’s my tempo?” My band mates will likely look at me with one of two expressions: concern or contentment. And then I can adjust my trajectory if needed.
Remember, this isn’t about perfectionism. It’s about skillful execution. And Psalm 33:3 reminds us to “play skillfully and shout for joy.” Let’s discover or rediscover what it feels like to play skillfully, especially when it comes to our tempos.
Well, I think today’s discussion has given us some excellent things to think about so that the tempo police won’t pull us over in any of their speed traps. And if they do, we’ll probably only get a warning, right?
There are a lot of implications to playing with a solid tempo, and I hope that by experiencing these thoughts today, they’ve given you a better sense for how your musicianship can be enhanced in this way.
Tempos played well lead to a higher level of musicianship for us as guitarists, but also any musicians we collaborate with. And this leads to serious fun.
If you can think of other tempo suggestions, please feel free to provide a comment here. And don’t forget to give this podcast an excellent rating so more people can experience it. Please also consider sharing it with others who might appreciate it.
Thanks for experiencing this episode, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
As someone who has served for multiple years on staff in a worship setting for churches, I’ve interfaced with a lot of technically-minded people. At one of those churches, I overheard a conversation between a couple sound technicians, and I heard one of them drop the term “future proof.”
It gave me pause, because I can’t quite think of any piece of technology I’ve encountered that qualifies as future-proof, in other words, once you’ve bought it, you never have to buy a next generation version of it.
My line of thinking was verified in a subsequent conversation with a couple established staff technicians at a church I served at, when I asked them if “future proof” was such a thing.
All they could think of in terms of equipment that could stand the test of time (and I mean decades) was electrical conduit, which is used to protect and route electrical wiring in a building or structure.
It’s true – we are witnesses to the perpetual updating of equipment, for which some versions come out annually.
Exhibit A: the smartphone. Sure, sometimes it’s more to the monetary advantage of the manufacturer, and there may be some hints of planned obsolescence, but there are pieces of technology that are worth updating.
Even the laptop I’m stringing these words together on has been slow to respond recently. It could probably be replaced in a year or so.
Remember GPS units for cars? I had a friend who was an early adopter of technology, and he bought the first GPS unit he could get his hands on. But he promptly returned it to the store he bought it from, because it had led him up the wrong way of a freeway exit ramp.
Apparently, that technology had not been refined yet, so it certainly wasn’t even close to “future proof.”
In terms of recording equipment, I invite you to roll the clock back with me even further. How have we seen recording technology advance through the years? Well, there have been many iterations, but there was one recording device I was quite familiar with.
Just to provide a little context, I remember a music store I went to in the mid-90s.
On the wall, just inside the front door, there was a huge sepia-toned photograph of a legendary acoustic multi-instrumentalist by the name of John McCutcheon, who in addition to playing the guitar, is known for his skills on the hammered dulcimer, which I also play.
In this photograph, John was teaching a hammered dulcimer workshop to at least a half a dozen eager learners, all huddled around him. I suspect the photo was taken in the 1970s, because each student was holding a portable battery-powered…wait for it…cassette recorder.
That was their portable device for capturing his wisdom and musical sonorities. No video, despite the fact that video would have changed the game in terms of comprehension and retention of what he was demonstrating.
An audio recording of a music instructional experience can be helpful (and incidentally, I provide audio as just one of several learning mediums in our online membership at GuitarSuccess4U), but it’s only a part of the picture (so I also provide video, transcripts, and PDFs. This multi-faceted collection of file options has been called multi-modal learning.)As of this episode of Guitar Serious Fun, there exists a portable device that exceeds the cassette recorder in just about every way: the smartphone, which I mentioned earlier. It can capture amounts of full-color video, as well as audio, and doesn’t have to be rewound.
Do you remember when the world had to rewind audio or video tapes?
With the speed of the innovation and invention these days, who knows what will follow in terms of future technological advancements in the audio recording arena?
Now, this photo of John McCutcheon and his students was at the top of the stairs of a basement music store in Fremont, Seattle, called Dusty strings, where I bought my first acoustic guitar, a Simon Patrick Luthier (6) WC. I still have that guitar, and I still love playing it. (Side note – Dusty Strings actually made my D550 hammered dulcimer, which is another element of my sonic sandbox.)
Now, that handmade Simon/Patrick guitar I bought in the mid-90s sounds even sweeter today than when I bought it. Something about the woods maturing over time, right? An acoustic guitar, especially, can mellow and mature like a fine wine.
I’ve had the privilege of playing some older guitars, and as long as they’ve been taken care of, they can sound remarkably rich and deep in their tone. Guitar music has been with us for quite some time now, through various generations of styles and genres. I believe that it will endure.
So perhaps the guitar is “future proof” on some level.
But when we speak of styles and genres, it’s important to take into consideration how the guitar is played. Music components can be universal. Rhythm, notes, rests…these are all things that exist across all genres in some capacity, because they are part of the vocabulary.
A C Major chord is an element of music that’s much less subjective – it’s basically like a chemical formula – we have varying quantities of the notes C, E, and G which make up the chord, much like Hydrogen and Oxygen, in their proper proportions, can make up a molecule of water.
And a molecule of water can exist in a drop of water, or a bucket of water, and even the various states of matter from solid (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (steam).
The chemical composition of water does not change throughout these states. Nor does the formula of a C Major chord, regardless of voicing or inversion, unless it gets embellished with additional tones.
Sure, there are certain chords that are more conducive to certain genres of music.
For example, a dominant 7th and its variations with additional chord components can be especially effective for blues guitar. Will the blues be with us well into the future? I’m thinking they will. The blues have proven their staying power.
In terms of grooves, though, it’s important to weigh how the subtleties of our strumming patterns sound. Some guitarists I’ve met are very deliberate about how they strum, especially in terms of rhythms, accents, and the like.
I’ve also heard it said by some guitarists that they just strum intuitively, without giving intentional thought to how the patterns edify (or don’t edify) the song they’re supporting.
We could go into further discussion on this, but instead, I’ll draw a quick parallel with the analogy of fonts. Really? Really.
Although I’m not trained in graphics design, I’ve appreciated graphics designers and the way they leverage fonts in their work.
Some of the more “straight ahead” fonts out there have been with us for quite some time. However (and this is a little subjective,) some more distinct fonts have a very short shelf life.
Depending on how pronounced their shapes are, there are some fonts that were super common even a year ago that can actually look a bit dated today. Some fonts may be anchored to a certain time period or era.
Think about it. If you see a certain font in an advertisement, an invitation, or a book cover, it can actually evoke a past season of life. It’s possible that the use of what I’d call a “retro” font can be intentional, but if it’s done haphazardly, it can feel anachronistic and out of place.
Here’s where I’m going with this. Strumming patterns can be like fonts. Some strumming patterns are more cutting edge – they may remain for a while, or they may fade in their artistry. Other strumming patterns might, in my opinion, be relegated to old school church camp songs from the 60s, 70s or 80s. I tend to favor the strumming patterns that tend to be more middle-of-the-road, which have endured for decades, as professional recordings have proven. They’re not super revolutionary or edgy, but they also have a longer shelf life and can appeal to different generations.
And yes, the types of chords that are paired with a strumming pattern can influence their sound.
So, to bring this in for a landing, most tech gear is not “future proof.” It will likely be surpassed by subsequent generations of that gear.
Sometimes vast improvement are made, but more commonly, there are a few subtle updates, and the consumer gets to decide if it’s worth it to get a whole new device.
In terms of guitar grooves and longevity, some strumming patterns, like fonts, will be a flash in the pan with edginess that appeals to listeners today and supports the chart-toppers that are currently in rotation.
Other strumming patterns will be a bit more nostalgic and potentially less useful. I prefer to lean into the longer-lasting, more even-keeled strumming patterns that I use on a regular basis, and I prefer to teach those to my eager students in GuitarSuccess4U.
But even strumming patterns are likely to age and fade with time, and are therefore not likely to be “future proof.”
By contrast, the guitar is a bit of an anomaly. It spans genres, endures through generations, and can be wielded by seasoned musicians and neophytes to bring forth the music that’s within them. It could be argued that the guitar is “future proof” in some ways.
But when it comes to the future, what are we to really focus on? I believe we must frequently look beyond our lifetime for what truly matters and what will last into eternity.
My prayer is that you are making music unto the Lord as you play your guitar. This instrument you play may be a new guitar, of which you are the first musician to play it. Or, it could be an heirloom passed down to you.
Either way, it could outlast your lifetime and be passed into the hands of a future guitarist. Depending on how well taken care of it is, it could last generations.
The style of playing you enjoy on this guitar will likely be different from those before or after you, but it will be your style of playing. And that’s a beautiful thing.
But at the end of time, Jesus’ words are clear when he says in Matthew 24:25, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
I appreciate the opportunity to use current technology at a level that honors the Lord, but it too will pass away. I try to be diligent and intentional not to get so caught up in longing for the next level of technology that I can’t effectively use what I have now.
Longing for the next guitar or the next piece of technological equipment can lead to a lack of contentment, or worse, to coming close to idolatry. And like we talked about in Episode 11, “Guitar Player, Guitar Owner, or Both?”, we have the capacity with our guitars to impact people’s lives for eternity. This truly is a way of storing up treasures in heaven (as Jesus talks about in Matthew 6:19.)
So, if you don’t have a guitar yet, I encourage you to start shopping, and find a good one. It doesn’t have to be the latest and greatest, but it does need to be one that suits you well.
We talk about what’s involved with shopping for a guitar in one of our guest expert interviews in GuitarSuccess4U with the Master Luthiers at Mike Lull’s Guitar Works.
If you do have a guitar, think of it as something to be taken care of, that may outlast your life. But like we talked about in Episode 15, don’t forget to “Put Some Dents in Your Guitar.” It’s all about a balance.
I hope this discussion has inspired you to think a bit more about the long term, and what will last.
Whether our equipment or our music has longevity, let’s live worthy lives on earth, with heaven in mind, and make God-glorifying music on our guitars, having serious fun all the way through our journeys as musicians.
If you’re enjoying these episodes, please comment – I am grateful for each of my listeners and readers, and I always like to hear how you receive these thoughts.
I also encourage you to offer a five-star rating if you’re listening on iTunes, because this could lead to more people discovering what I’m diligently putting together here. And who knows whose lives may be significantly or even eternally impacted by these thoughts?
Thanks for experiencing this episode, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Pro tip: please watch the short, fun video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/6things. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here, and I think you’ll smile a lot more. 😊
Did you know your guitar is calling out to you?
Think about it. You have a relationship with this instrument. You may be on excellent terms, or perhaps you haven’t connected in a while. But I’m here to tell you, if you take time to listen for your guitar’s voice, you two will have a much stronger bond.
Here are six things your guitar is trying to tell you…
1. “Keep me safe.”
My dad always taught me to “buy good equipment, and take good care of it.” This certainly applies to our guitars.
If I leave my guitar in an empty car for a few hours, I not only risk it being “borrowed” for the rest of my life, if the weather is warm, my guitar could get hot and the glue could melt, essentially turning my guitar into…firewood.
I know people who have done both of these things, and the results were “just shy of helpful.” In the early lessons of GuitarSuccess4U, I talk at length about 10 ways to keep your guitar safe.
2. “Keep me close.”
This may seem like a “Captain Obvious” thing, but if my guitar isn’t nearby, I probably won’t play it. Years ago, the great fingerstyle champion John Standefer told me to keep my guitar on a stand where I can hear it calling out to me. That is some sage advice.
In the years when my kids were really young and I wasn’t sure if they’d be careful enough around my guitar, I would just hang it from a guitar wall mount.
But I have chosen not to seal it in a case and keep it in a closet, because I just know that if it is “out of sight,” it will be “out of mind.” And if it tries to call out to me, I won’t be able to hear it.
3. “Keep me healthy.”
The subject of guitar care is something I haven’t spent a ton of time focusing on, but I sure learned a lot about it when I had the privilege of interviewing a Master Luthier at Mike Lull’s Guitar Works.
He talked about making sure our guitar is set up properly. He emphasized the importance of keeping the fingerboard clean so that the oils from our hands don’t cause the finish to break down. He also talked about making time for regular checkups, just to make sure all the parts (mechanical and even electronic) are functioning properly.
By the way, that interview with the Master Luthier? It’s a part of a special collection of exclusive bonus expert interviews that unlock over time as members move through the GuitarSuccess4U experience. It’s pretty cool.
4. “Keep me in tune.”
Several great guitar players over the years have said something along the lines of “We tune because we care.”
We do care, right? Not only does tuning our guitar keep it calibrated, tuning makes it sound better.
If we care about our guitar, and especially our listeners, we’ll prioritize taking time to tune.
I can’t tell you how common it is for me to come across guitar players who play on a regular basis, but who don’t tune before they play.
Several years ago, at a huge conference, I opened for a duo of guitarists who were hurrying to get onstage after my set. As we passed each other backstage, I literally heard them say, “Well, we don’t need to play in tune.”
Well, they went onstage and performed for about an hour…out of tune, and it was not as enjoyable as it could have been. I think they needed to play in tune.
Here’s a quote that really illustrates this well. Some people have attributed it to Abraham Lincoln. It says, “If I had five minutes to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first three, sharpening my axe.” Let’s keep our axe sharp! Our guitar is much happier when it’s in tune, and that’s a blessing to us and our listeners.
One of the instant bonuses you get when you join GuitarSuccess4U is a video lesson I call “How to Choose a Tuner.” During this video, I unpack 7 different tuners and tuning processes, including a tuning fork. Learning to tune well will help your instrument sound the very best it can.
5. “Keep my strings fresh.”
Whether we play a little or a lot, unless our guitar is kept sealed in a case (see #2), our strings need replacing every month or two, depending on how many hours we log. I compose in a lot of tunings, which means I need to restring more often.
I actually had a student years ago who brought a guitar to me that had not been restrung in probably a couple decades. I could tell because the steel strings on his guitar were completely black.
So, guess what we did right then and there, during his lesson? We restrung that puppy, and the difference was like night and day.
Even if our strings are just 6 months old, it can be harder to keep them in tune because they’re not as fresh.
Another of the instant bonuses that you get when you join GuitarSuccess4U is a detailed video called “How I Restring My Guitar,” which has all kinds of unique, helpful tips. Lastly…
6. “Play me.”
I know this probably goes without saying, but we enjoy our guitar most when we play it. Looking at it is fine, if it’s on display, but playing it allows us to get to know it better and better as we develop our skills, and most of all, we get to enjoy making music.
I’ve heard of guitar owners who hang their guitar in front of a stereo speaker, because apparently the sound waves accelerate the maturing of the instrument. That’s fine, but how about PLAYING the thing? Trust me – you’ll be glad you did, and your guitar will be glad too!
So once again, these are 6 things your guitar is trying to tell you: 1) “Keep me safe,” 2) “Keep me close,” 3) “Keep me healthy,” 4) “Keep me in tune,” 5) “Keep my strings fresh,” and 6) “Play me.”
So, take care of your guitar, and it will take care of you!
Want to know more about how to get the most out of your guitar? As you have probably gathered, I host an amazing monthly membership called GuitarSuccess4U, where members from many different walks of life enjoy weekly, premium, curated content.
We have lots of helpful tools and techniques to help you cut through the confusion and find your path to success.
We also have a wonderful community. And it’s so encouraging to have people walking alongside us as we learn. We have songwriters, worship leaders, hobbyists, stay at home moms, retirees, and more. Come experience what you’ve been missing as a guitar player.
Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to learn more, or to start your journey with us. I can’t wait to serve you!
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
As I’ve talked about in the two part collection of Episode 17 and Episode 18 of Guitar Serious Fun, there are many different seasons of our guitar playing.
In the early seasons of my guitar playing, whenever I got up onstage to play, whether as a performer or a worship leader, I experienced varying levels of nervousness. And I was easily distracted or thrown off when something unexpected happened. Public speaking has been considered one of the biggest sources of fear in Americans.
But what about public singing, public guitar playing, or both? I consider those to be on another level of intensity above public speaking. And there are a ton of different types of distractions that can crop up. Some of them can be on the negative side of distractions.
Kids in the front row might wiggle and fidget. Someone walking down one of the rows in the venue might drop and spill a beverage. Or my gear may go haywire. My guitar cable might short out. There might be feedback in the monitor. I might break a guitar string mid-song. These have all happened on my guitar journey at least once.
In terms of the congregation, someone might be bold enough to visibly state their preference that the volume could be decreased. One time, a man stood up and put his fingers in his ears, staring at me until I “got the message.”
But I’ve also witnessed positive distractions when people I hadn’t seen in ages came in during my opening song, and they smiled and waved at me. I’ve even had people walk up to me in a coffeehouse setting and reach out to shake my hand – in the middle of my concert. I’ve shaken their hand, even though it didn’t occur to them that I’d still be there to do that after my set.
Other times, I’ve looked out and caught someone singing who normally didn’t sing along in worship. That’s a distraction that has pleasantly surprised me.
As a guest at churches, I’ve watched the worship service order get changed before my very eyes as some very enthusiastic and supportive people from the church family have stepped up onto the platform for an unplanned presentation or announcement…at least unplanned by the pastor.
You know, some congregants like to surprise their pastor with something special around a birthday or wedding anniversary, or something. In these kinds of scenarios, we just need to ride the wave.
Playing for younger kids, like schools or camps, sometimes presents an environment where the children may feel compelled to share their thoughts verbally with me, especially as I’m playing my music.
In these situations, sometimes there’s a parent or counselor nearby who can help quiet them down, but not always.
I’ve played some family-friendly events where young kids have just gotten up and danced right in front of me for most of my concert.
These kinds of distractions don’t really rattle me these days, at least not nearly as much as they have in the past.
But in my early guitar months and years, I had a much harder time being flexible.
I had a plan, and deviating from that plan almost always meant an increase in my stress level, and perhaps me playing the wrong notes and chords, stumbling over my words, or stopping altogether.
And I made a big deal about those struggles.
One time as a guest musician at a church, I broke a string just as I was getting started with a song, and I cried out, “Oh no,” and stopped.
My expression of disappointment was so dramatic and pronounced, that some people later told me that they thought at first that it was a planned part of the presentation!
Do you think my stumbling and losing my bearings, or even stopping was distracting? Yes, it most certainly was. As I mentioned in Episode 7 of Guitar Serious Fun, what the congregation or audience doesn’t know, won’t hurt them.
People don’t need to know that we are distracted. But what about us? We know. What do we do when we get distracted mid-song? My suggestion is simple: keep on playing…if you can.
Even with a broken guitar string, I’ve been able to bring songs to a conclusion, much like pulling a car over to the side of the road when I’ve gotten a flat tire.
Even with spur-of-the-moment changes to the service, or unplanned participants in the concert, we can still prevail if we just…stay…calm…and keep going.
Some of these distractions are self-induced. I’m talking about musical mistakes or memory lapses, which have certainly happened to me. I can think of several songs over the years for which I have “composed” new lyrics on the fly, simply because the original lyrics just left my mind, often right when I needed them.
But because I’ve maintained my mental composure through these various distractions, again, what the audience or congregation hasn’t known, hasn’t hurt them.
We really can continue forward with a song, and even with temporarily revised words, and even amidst some of the most annoying and unexpected distractions, most people tend not to notice.
What’s the mental process behind this? Well, some of it involves mentally acknowledging that the distraction is there. This is something I learned from an incredible book called The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green.
In his book, Barry talks about how, when confronted with a distraction, rather than trying to ignore it, we should mentally acknowledge that it is there, and continue forward with our music.
This is easier said than done, but it is possible, especially with practice. Every time we are presented with a distraction, we can grow stronger in this area. Barry talks about how if we try to ignore the distraction, we can actually cause more disruption to our process.
Don’t ignore the distraction. Silently acknowledge the distraction, and keep playing.
Distractions may seem like exceptions, but as guitarists who either play on stage or hope to, we need to be ready for anything. And I mean anything. And oh, have I got stories.
America’s Got Talent
My first story comes from my audition for America’s Got Talent. Several of my friends had told me they thought I should audition, and my wife found out they were coming to town. She and I agreed that if I didn’t at least try out, I’d always wonder.
So, we drove for a couple hours to a huge convention center where several thousand other contestants had gathered. I got my numbered sticker, and we carried our gear slowly through a serpentine line that seemed like it would never end.
After about 4 hours, we finally made it to the waiting area outside the room where I and about 20 other people had about 30 seconds each to share whatever we did that was unique to us. My wife patiently waited as I went into a windowless room to audition.
The two judges sat on one side of the room at a table with laptops. The contestants stood along the wall and each waited their turn. I was all prepped with two guitars – one for my hands, and the other for my feet. My foot guitar was lashed to a cradle in front of a custom stool so I could play both guitars at the same time.
Everyone else who presented before me sang an acapella section from a pop song. When it got to be my turn, I sat down on the stool, began playing and singing the chorus to my original song “Four Limbs,” and I let my hands and feet fly across the frets. Everything was feeling and sounding great.
And then it happened.
One of my fellow contestants unwittingly leaned against the light switch on the wall.
And the entire room went black. Remember, this was a windowless room.
Just shy of helpful, right? I remember thinking, “Oh no…what do I do?” But the only thing I didn’t do was stop. I just kept playing. And after maybe 10 seconds (which felt like much longer), this person realized what they had done, and they turned the light switch back on.
I hadn’t missed a single note. I knew my song so well, from all those years of practicing and performing it, that I played it perfectly. I recall mentally acknowledging the distraction (thank you, Barry Green), and just thinking, “Well, there’s not much I can do about this except to keep playing.”
Now, the judges didn’t make any comments either way, even though I wished they had said, “Man, that’s incredible – and you stayed on track, even in the dark!”
But I was pleased, because a) I didn’t buckle under pressure and b) even if I didn’t get called to the next level, I was confident that I had offered my very best.
And I didn’t get called to the next level, which, I’m not tremendously disappointed about. Going through the levels of AGT may have introduced complexity to my life that I just didn’t need.
But if I had stopped and lost my cool, I would have disrupted the song. Instead, I offered what ended up being a rather smooth audition, in spite of the challenges.
Camp Concert for the Staffers
Another story comes from a camp I played at several years ago. I was hired to do a concert for the staff, and they were a very enthusiastic, gracious audience. These were high-energy counselors who had just gone through their week of training in anticipation of a summer of God-glorifying fun with campers from all over.
And I was a special treat brought in to minister to this staff.
So, I brought a great concert set that included some innovative techniques and tools. One tool I frequently like to pair with my guitar is a loop station. If you’re not familiar with it, a loop station is basically a digital guitar pedal that allows you to record live sound. It carries with it the option of being able to stack and record sounds in as many layers as you can think of. The loop station I was using for this concert had two pedals – one for recording and completing the loop, and the other for stopping and/or erasing the loop.
Well, part way through the looping of a song I wrote called “Receive Me,” the unexpected happened…I broke a string. Yes, this has happened a lot in my past, and I’ve gotten better about changing out my strings more frequently before shows.
But in this instance, just after I had created an intricate, sonically interesting loop, the string went “thwap,” and I was presented with the opportunity for adapting, pivoting, and maintaining my composure.
I took that opportunity. Instead of erasing the loop I had just made, I let it cycle as I grabbed my spare set of strings and string winder (both of which I like to keep onstage for such an occasion), and I began re-stringing mid-song. Now before you get too excited and think, “This guy has nerves of steel,” I have to be fully transparent with you and let you know that I put the wrong string on first. Partway through, I realized my error, and corrected the mistake by putting on the appropriate string.
This process of re-stringing added about two minutes to the song, while the staff smiled and a few people chuckled, shaking their heads.
But once the (correct) string was on, I stood back up and finished the song, which was received with some very loud applause.
Had I stopped and freaked out, well, nothing good would have happened, and it would have been a poor example to those counselors, who were preparing to model godly character to countless campers throughout that summer. Instead, I showed them true perseverance, to the glory of God.
Church Prelude Music
I have a pair of events which I’ll combine for this next story. They involved instrumental prelude music on the hammered dulcimer. I know this is Guitar Serious Fun, but as you might imagine, I’ve played a lot of instrumental prelude music on the acoustic guitar as well.
As I played some very technical instrumental hammered dulcimer music before two different worship services, two godly men felt like they needed to connect with me in those very moments.
The first incident happened at a normal worship service where I was playing for about 10 minutes to help usher in the worshipers.
One man who has always appreciated what I do felt compelled to come up onstage and put his arm around me, offering his verbal appreciation…while I was playing. I literally couldn’t see him coming, because my back was to him.
I didn’t have words. In an attempt to respond, I just nodded, as my eyes got really big. He returned to his seat, completely oblivious to the fact that he had stepped right into my musical circle and added a level of distraction that could have derailed me. But I didn’t let it. I just kept playing.
Another service was a Christmas Eve service, and I again was playing about 10 minutes of instrumental Christmas music. This time, my unexpected collaborator was my pastor.
He (and I) see great value in praying before the service. However, for some reason, we were not able to sync up to do this in the moments beforehand, and as people started coming in, I needed to be at my musical station to welcome them.
That did not deter my pastor from coming up to me and praying with me. To his credit, he did give me a verbal heads up. He said, “Hey, bro, I’d love to pray with you as people are coming in. You don’t have to say anything – I’ll just pray out loud. Sound good?”I remember nodding as I mentally processed what was going on.
But then, he put his arm around me with a brotherly side-hug and began praying. And his love for the Lord was evident, not just in his words, but in his enthusiastic shaking of me as he expressed his gratitude for the Lord coming to earth to redeem and restore us.
I was grateful too. But I was also trying to play some very technical music, of which he was not really aware. He loves music, but doesn’t really play. So he didn’t realize the effect his shaking had on my ability to concentrate. We were praying, and I was playing…but I didn’t stop.
And that was the right choice, because the Christmas Eve mood was not disrupted. My mind was racing, but my hands were not. All the practicing I had done for each of those moments paid off, along with my focus and my willingness to keep on playing.
And if you’re wondering, I was a solo instrumentalist, so I didn’t have the option of letting the band carry things forward – it was all on me.
And also, as you may be wondering, I did take the time to regroup later and kindly express to each of these men my preference that they connect with me before or after I play, not during. As non-musicians, when they realized that it had impacted me a bit, it made sense to them.
My Sister’s Dog
One more story. And really, this is the story that inspired the creation of this episode. I was enjoying family time with my wife and kids, as well as my sister and her family and my parents, at their home.
I had brought my guitar, and everyone gathered to enjoy listening to me sing and play. My father, for whom I have deep love and admiration, enjoys music immensely, even though he doesn’t understand it. For more about his experience with music that I have played for him, I invite you to listen to Episode 9 of Guitar Serious Fun as I ask the question, “Do we need to understand music to enjoy it?”
As we were hanging out, I was sitting “crisscross applesauce” on the floor with my guitar. My father had requested that I sing “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.
If you know this song, you know it’s a powerful ballad about the importance of being present in the lives of our kids, because they grow up so fast. So, as I began to sing, everyone was listening to these words.
And then something happened. My sister’s dog, who is a good sized black lab, came right up to me and began to lick my face. Her big tongue was all over my cheeks, nose, mouth, and everything.
If you think it’s easy to sing while a dog is licking your mouth with her big tongue, well, you might want to reconsider that thought.
In that moment, everyone just sat there. My hands were busily occupied fretting and picking the strings of my guitar as I kept singing the song. I didn’t resist or turn my head, but I did hope that someone would grab the dog’s collar and move her back.
But no one did.
Everyone, including the kids, thought that someone else would pull the dog back.
So, she just kept on licking, and I just kept on playing and trying to sing.
My smile grew as I realized that I was sort of stuck. But my practicing and concentration kicked in, and I stayed the course.
I did not stop playing the guitar. I suppose I could have. I could have paused, moved the dog away, and regrouped, but for some reason I just kept on going, and I finished the song, not missing a single note or word.
And there was applause and laughter, and for me, a sigh of relief.
Wisdom from an Expert
Ron Mallory, an incredibly gifted multi-instrumentalist and highly published composer and arranger, is also a friend and colleague of mine. His level of musicianship is astounding. I interviewed him as one of our guest experts in our online membership at GuitarSuccess4U.
One of the most profound and simple statements he made to me was this:
“In music, as in life, when you make a mistake, keep on going.”
I think that sums it up well. Keep on going. Don’t stop playing your guitar unless you have to. Most of the time, staying the course will result in a smoother presentation. The audience or the congregation will appreciate the opportunity to stay in the moment with you.
Keep Playing Through the Seasons
As I began this episode, I came back around to this idea that there are different seasons of guitar. Even if we’ve gotten to the point to where we are pretty confident in our ability to finish a song, even amidst distractions, there may come seasons where we take an extended break from playing.
An intentional break can be a good thing. But just stopping playing the guitar for months or years at a time for no real reason, is not as good. I know people who have just stopped playing, even though they have had the time and the bandwidth to play.
The tyranny of the urgent may intrude. They may just forget their love for the guitar and music. Or they may not know how to start up again.
I spoke with one guitarist who had a really nice instrument, and I asked him how it was going with that guitar. “Well,” he said, with a bit of annoyance in his voice, “I’m enjoying looking at it.” He had not played it in a few years, to his dismay.
I want to encourage all of us to cultivate a long-game mindset for playing our guitars…so I invite you to play that thing, even just once or twice a week for fun.
It doesn’t have to be a long, focused time of intense practice – it can just be bringing the guitar out at the end of a long day as you unwind with some songs you know.
Believe it or not, time can fly by, and our many tasks, even the legitimate and important ones, can be a source of distraction from our musical pursuits at times.
If we aren’t careful, that distraction can be a form of subtraction, taking away opportunities for us to fulfill our potential. What will we do to stay on course?
Will we prioritize our music so that our songs can take flight, even at lower altitudes in seasons when our lives are full?
Today was a great opportunity to reflect on the simple choice we have when something unexpected happens as we play our guitars for others.
As a guitarist and a musician, there are many ways in which you can grow in your skills, including the ability to navigate distractions.
Seasoned performers and worship leaders didn’t get to be seasoned without a little, well, seasoning.
It’s the challenges, whether technical, mechanical, or relational, that make us stronger on the stage or platform.
Sometimes, things go exactly according to plan. But when we encounter unforeseen distractions, events, or mishaps, we can do our best to meet them with grace and patience, trusting that the Lord will meet us where we are.
Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
What is our need in the moment when things go topsy-turvy? Perhaps to stay focused and to complete the task.
Having a plan is important, but having the ability to adapt is equally important. I’d say that serious fun is a true component of staying focused as well.
So keep playing your guitar. And always be open to how the Lord might shape you through unexpected challenges.
If this episode was encouraging to you, please share it with someone else. I’m excited to have more people experience what I’ve worked hard to put together here at Guitar Serious Fun.
And if you’re looking for the next level of musicianship for your guitar playing, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com. Thanks for checking out this episode, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
As guitarists who love the Lord, we are always learning, or at least we always can be. The reality is that even after a full life of exploring music, when we play our final notes on the guitar, there will still be a lot about music that we have not yet learned.
And that’s perfectly fine – music is a gift from the Lord, and it’s my belief that the music that awaits us in heaven will be far greater than the music of earth.
We can enjoy music deeply while we live our lives – and every time we discover something new, we can praise God for the discovery.
But there will always be more to discover. So logically, it would follow, that for every guitarist on the planet, there exists something that they do not yet know about the guitar or music. And yet…I’ve come across some people who seem to want to portray that they have more knowledge than they actually do. Why is this? I believe it’s because they want to save face, to avoid having to admit that they don’t know the answer.
This is not just something that has to do with music – it can apply to any area of life. So here are some stories to help illustrate my point.
The Man at the AirportSeveral years ago, I did a tour around several cities in the great state of Wisconsin. I flew into the Minneapolis / St. Paul airport, but my flight arrived quite late at night when hardly anyone was there.
I needed to claim my reserved rental car, but the rental car agencies were not open 24 hours, so time was not on my side.
I made my way to baggage claim, and then to the light rail so I could head directly to the rental car area.
But I was a bit turned around and wasn’t sure which way to go. The rail went two directions, but only one way went to the rental cars…so I had a 50/50 shot. I didn’t want to guess.
As I got to the platform, I saw that there was just one man sitting there. He was not an employee of the airport; he was traveling, like me. So, I asked him, “Excuse me sir, do you know which way the rental cars are?”
He hesitated for only a moment, and then pointed down the tracks in one direction.
“That way,” he said.
The slight hesitation on the part of this guy was very telling, indicated mostly by his body language and facial expression. The reality was that this guy did not know. I went with my gut and went the opposite direction from what he had told me.
Looking at the clock on the wall as I boarded the train, I thought, “Even if I’m going the right way, this is going to be close.” And it was.
Fortunately, I went the right way. I hastily walked up to the rental car desk where the agent was already preparing to power down his station.
His eyes widened as he looked at me. “Are you here to rent from us?” he asked.
“I sure am,” I replied.
“Sir,” he said, “if you had arrived just five minutes later, you’d be sleeping in one of those chairs over there. We’re technically closed, and I was literally about to head home for the night. But I can still find your reservation and get you on the road.”
Fortunately, this story ends well. I got the keys, got the car, and was able to drive the two hours to my destination. It was a very late night, but it would have been more of a late morning if I had gone the direction the fellow traveler had advised.
As I drove those dark Minnesota and Wisconsin roads, my mind kept going back to the man on the train platform.
It would have served me much better if he had said three simple words: “I don’t know.” It was a good thing that he had not spoken with conviction when misdirecting me, and it was also a good thing that I was tuned into the subtle hesitancy he demonstrated.
I’m glad I went with my gut. But why had he openly indicated something that he was not sure about? I believe it was to save face. He didn’t want to admit that he didn’t know.
A Study in Physics
Here’s another anecdote…one that might actually make you chuckle, especially if you’re listening to these words. If you’re reading them, the punch line will jump right off the screen at you early on.
There was a riddle/joke that I decided to spring on a buddy of mine. I asked him if he knew what the abbreviation “PSI” stood for. Having been a scuba diver for many years, I was well aware of what it meant – it’s a physics pressure abbreviation which is Pounds per Square Inch.
That’s how my buddy correctly answered. But then came the follow-up question, designed to bring the humor.
“Ok,” I said, but then what’s “PE-PSI?” Now I’ve sprung this on many different people over the years, and the most common answer I’ve received has been “I don’t know.” But my buddy, without hesitating, simply said, “Oh that’s easy. Potential Energy of Pounds Per Square Inch.” Now, I’m not well-versed in physics, but I’m pretty sure that potential energy has to do with how much energy a piece of matter has that it can exert.
And pounds per square inch, as I’ve mentioned, is a measurement of pressure. I don’t think there’s such a thing as Potential Energy of Pounds Per Square Inch. Even though it sounds like it could be legit, there’s no such thing. I’ve even looked it up, without success.
My buddy had stated his answer very matter-of-factly, like, “Of course this is what it is.” But when I told him the real answer for what PE-PSI meant, his jaw dropped. Did you catch it? It’s PEPSI. Like the carbonated beverage. No science, no logic. Just a simple jokey riddle.
But my buddy had such unflinching confidence in his answer that anyone within earshot might have shrugged and thought, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
But why didn’t my friend just say, “I don’t know?” I believe it’s because he didn’t want me to know that he did not know.
Who Knows Modes?
One more example – and this one directly relates to music and the guitar. At a guitar expo, I was exhibiting at a booth for GuitarSuccess4U, which you’ve probably heard me talk about in previous episodes of Guitar Serious Fun.
One kind gentleman came up to me and started talking about scales, theory, and modes, which interested me. But the more we spoke, the more I realized that he didn’t have a solid grasp of what he was talking about. Now, one of my favorite modes, built on the 5th degree of the diatonic Major scale, is called the Mixolydian Mode. (Incidentally, it can also be created by lowering the 7th degree of the Major scale by a half step.) This fellow guitarist kept referring to it as the Mixilodian Mode. He said it a couple of times. Even as he spoke I became aware that he wasn’t clear on what the mode was, how it was constructed and leveraged, and certainly not how it was pronounced.
It didn’t feel like the right environment to gently correct his pronunciation or his theory knowledge, so I just patiently listened. But once again, it was clear to me that he was trying to save face, because there was something he did not know.
Ok. Let’s zoom out for a second and look at all three of these scenarios: the man on the light rail platform at the airport, my buddy with the Pepsi riddle, and this fellow guitarist at the expo.
All three of them had the opportunity in the conversation to either say, “I don’t know,” or “I wish I could help you,” or “I’m not sure – what do you think?”
And yet, they each maintained their stance, and as a result, created some limitations for themselves.
I’m sure in my many years of teaching guitar, that I’ve been guilty of trying to keep up with the pace of a conversation by smiling and nodding about something with which I am less familiar.But to my recollection, my most common response to a question for which I do not know the answer has been these seven words:
I don’t know…but let’s find out.
Perhaps it’s a guy thing. We want to lead, we have a reputation or a stature we’re trying to maintain, so we feel a need to come across as knowledgeable. But it’s not only guys I’ve seen speak in this way.
As I stated at the beginning of this episode, we are always learning, and we don’t know everything. So, my suggestion is that we don’t posture ourselves like we do.
It’s so much more attractive, and more honoring to the Lord, for us to put on virtues like Paul writes about in his letter to the church at Colossae. In Colossians 3:12, Paul writes, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Each of those qualities, especially humility, gives us permission not to know something, and, wait for it…ultimately to continue to learn things we haven’t yet learned.
The downsides of putting up a false front like we know things are many: we can come across as arrogant and self-contradictory, we can create an artificial ceiling above us for learning and progress, and we can even mislead others with incorrect information.
But if we are willing to acknowledge that we don’t know something about music (or anything for that matter), we place ourselves in a state of healthy vulnerability. To admit to someone that we don’t know something, in my opinion, allows others to see our human, authentic side.
We can humbly say the three words, “I don’t know.”
And then we can take intentional action with the remaining four words: “But let’s find out.”
It is important for us to be sure to take time to seek and find out the answer, and then to pass it along to the people asking the question. Follow-through is another trait that can be a huge blessing to others.
Let’s always be learning, always be open to new musical ideas, and let’s have serious fun as we do it. Sound good?
I hope today’s stories and perspectives gave you a better sense of how you might respond when someone asks you a question you’re not sure of the answer for.
And if you have questions about the guitar, it’s very likely that many of the answers to those questions are waiting for you in the lessons, expert interviews, and the community inside GuitarSuccess4U.
If this sounds interesting to you, please hop on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com.
One of the things I really enjoy about GuitarSuccess4U is the community, especially when we gather for our weekly Zoom calls. It’s a great opportunity for encouragement, and the sharing of wisdom.
Sometimes, someone will ask a question during one of the calls, and I may provide an answer, or, I may open up a discussion to see who else wants to provide an answer, especially if it’s something I don’t know as much about. See what I did there?
As we wrap up, I want to thank you for your attention to this important topic. I do invite you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.
Meanwhile, keep showing up, stay humble and teachable, and keep asking good questions. And when you’re not sure of the answer to someone else’s question, you can say, once more with feeling – “I don’t know…but let’s find out.”
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
In the years before I settled down and had a family, I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I jumped out of an airplane (with a parachute on, of course,) went whitewater rafting, scuba diving, bungee jumping, and I even swung on vines in the jungle. And once in a while, I’d go bridge jumping. One thing I’ll say that was very important to me, and I think should be important to anyone who goes bridge jumping…is the extra measure of caution involving the testing out of how deep the water is at the landing point below the bridge. Even bringing a mask and snorkel can be helpful, especially if you can’t quite tell how deep the water is from above it. No one jumping off a 40-foot bridge or higher wants to land unexpectedly in shallow water. That would be what I’d call “just shy of helpful.” With that friendly tip out of the way, I have a recollection of several bridge jumping adventures from my past. But one seems clearer than the others, and it’s because of someone else who briefly showed up to jump with me.
I was in the Arboretum near the University of Washington in Seattle, and some friends of mine and I had discovered an on-ramp that had no beginning. In other words, it merged onto the freeway from back in the woods, but it was an unfinished, abandoned section of road.
It had been constructed with a view to expanding the freeways in the area, so it had a nice big overpass with huge support beams above the water. The drop was about 40 feet, so there was a significant amount of “hang time” for anyone who jumped.
But not many people jumped. It was a bit intimidating to look down from a bridge and commit yourself to that huge of a drop.
I recall getting myself psyched up to make the jump a couple times, but those around me, while they had come for the sole purpose of bridge jumping, were much more tentative.
A lot of the time was spent just standing on the bridge, walking away from the edge, and then coming back to look over the edge again, as if to say, “Yep, it’s still there.”Standing still, looking over the edge, I had this flurry of butterflies in my stomach that wouldn’t go away. For part of the time, I just stood there, waiting for something. I didn’t even know what I was waiting for. I was just “sittin’ on go.”
But then, out of nowhere, a middle-aged guy in his late 50s showed up in a t-shirt and shorts.
He looked out of place, almost like he had been out on a walk and taken a wrong turn. But to get onto this unfinished overpass, there was an upward climb of about 7 feet, so I knew he was at least there to check out the bridge.“Wow, that’s a long ways down,” he said. “Yep,” I said. There wasn’t much else to add to the conversation. Everyone else who was standing around nodded in agreement. For a moment, the group of would-be jumpers just stood there in an awkward silence.
But then we all watched in disbelief as this older guy stepped up onto the edge of the bridge and jumped. But he didn’t just jump. This guy did a gainer. In other words, he faced forward and did a complete backwards somersault, landing in the water feet first.
This diving maneuver, known also as a reverse rotation, is incredibly difficult to do, because you have very little momentum with which to move in the opposite direction. You also need some really strong core muscles. And it’s quite dangerous from 40 feet up.
And yet this guy landed it with the precision of an Olympic athlete. And perhaps that’s what he had been. But none of us will ever know, because after he surfaced, as we cheered, he swam away and we never saw him again.
What happened in that moment in each of our souls? A stirring of confidence that wasn’t there before.
I’m not saying that each of us was ready to just jump up and do a bunch of gainers after that on the spot. But I will say that our inhibitions were lowered a bit, and while we still maintained a level of caution, every one of us proceeded to jump off that bridge.
It was like we had been given permission to enjoy the experience. This “gainer guy,” as I’ll call him, had acted as a catalyst to empower us to be brave enough to do what we came to do.
Let’s talk about our guitar journeys for a moment as I draw the parallel you’re probably already sensing that I’m going to draw.
Some of us may be lacking bravery of a sort, as we play our guitars. We may be unsure of ourselves on some level. And if we stay solo, playing our guitars mostly on our own, that’s not likely to change.
Perhaps we are playing our guitars with a certain level of confidence, but we know there’s another level that we haven’t embarked on because we can’t seem to make the time or take the next step of faith.
We need a “gainer guy” to come along and play his guitar in a way that helps us see that the next level is possible.
Who is your “gainer guy?” Is there someone in your world that you can spend time with, who shows you that guitar can be more? Are there chords or songs out there that you know are possible, but you can’t quite connect the dots from where you are, to where you want to be in order to play them?Perhaps you could find value in a community of like-minded guitarists. That’s what I’m working diligently to cultivate in my online membership called GuitarSuccess4U. In this experience, Christian guitar players from around the U.S. are discovering their potential.
We have beginning and intermediate guitarists who play on worship teams, write songs, collaborate musically with their kids, or just enjoy the instrument as a hobby. We have people well into their 70s, enjoying what the Lord has for them on the guitar in this season of their life.And with all the wonderful accessible and in-depth materials I’ve put together, they know what to work on. But the community aspect with our weekly Zoom calls takes things to a whole new level as people talk about their victories and work to overcome their struggles.
What kinds of struggles are we equipped to meet in GuitarSuccess4U?
One example is worship leading from the guitar. I’ve led worship from the guitar for two and a half decades, spending thousands of hours doing that in a variety of settings around North America, from volunteer to full-time professional settings.
A second example is songwriting on the guitar. I’ve written dozens of songs, nearly all on the guitar, and even garnered first place in a national Christian songwriting competition.
What about performing with the guitar? I’ve toured for nearly three decades as a solo performer, but also with a band…as an opener, a headliner, and for multiple demographics from preschoolers to senior saints, from living rooms to grandstands.
And lastly, what about recording with the guitar? Stage and studio are two totally different environments to prepare for. I’ve recorded and recouped four professional albums of original songs, mostly composed on the guitar.
And although I cannot claim to know everything there is to know about these four areas, I do have a lot to share, and I share it with eager, teachable learners in GuitarSuccess4U.
So, if you lack confidence in one of these areas, or you’re “sittin’ on go” and know that there’s so much more for you to discover, consider taking the leap to be a part of what we’re doing.Someone’s struggle one month could be transformed into a victory the next month. But this will likely be the result of encouragement, fellowship, and where needed, accountability.
And all of those opportunities are waiting for you in this community, and they could lead to you taking leaps you were reluctant to take before.
One thing I haven’t yet mentioned is what happened after each time I jumped off that bridge. I came back up out of the water filled with a surge of adrenaline.
I felt a sense of victory and accomplishment, which prompted some loud whooping as I quickly swam to the shore and returned to the top of the bridge for another jump.
When we experience a “win,” it’s so great to be able to share that win with others, and to inspire them.
And other peoples’ “wins” can be inspiring to us. Imagine what kinds of wins might be possible for you, on the guitar, and the adrenaline and serious fun that could come as a result.
So consider joining us at GuitarSuccess4U so that you can take your playing to the next level, and discover your potential on the guitar for the glory of God. The website where it all happens is GuitarSuccess4U.com.
I hope you’ll take action today, whether to join us, or to join our mailing list, because action is the key to progress. I could be your “gainer guy,” the one who tells you that it is possible to take the next step.
We were not meant to let our talents rest unused. We are called, for such a time as this, to develop our skills, at whatever level the Lord has invited us to use them. And if you’re using your gifts on the guitar now, there may still be a “next level” you could aspire to, and be inspired to reach toward.So, if you’re “sittin’ on go” with guitar, sit no more. Stand up with me, and take the leap. And watch what the Lord does with your gifts. You just might be someone He uses to inspire others to use their gifts on a new level.
Well, I hope this episode gave you some inspiration. Even as I look back at my bridge jumping adventures, I’m reminded of those butterflies in my stomach as I stood on the edge, looking down at the water.
If you have something like that going on with you, perhaps you might take a step towards conquering your fear today. If that’s the case, I’m here for you. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here: https://www.guitarsuccess4u.com/caged. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Today I’m providing another short practical guitar lesson that gives you a window into my creative and fun teaching style inside GuitarSuccess4U. This time, we’ll be exploring the CAGED System.
Many of us have heard of the CAGED System, and some of us use it quite a bit. You may be leveraging the it without even knowing it. But if you haven’t seriously explored the CAGED System yet, you are in for a treat. It could literally change your life as a guitarist.
The CAGED System is like a beast that’s trapped inside our strings and frets, longing to be unleashed. Let’s set it free.
Taking it Apart
We can begin by focusing on five open Major chords that you’ve probably learned, or are learning. They are the chords C, A, G, E, and D. Think about those five letters. What do they spell? CAGED.
Musical literacy can only help us, so one of the tools I use to help shed light on this process is the piano. If you look at the diagram I’m providing of the five CAGEDnotes in treble clef, you’ll see that they can be laid out in a descending fashion to spell out the CAGED System. Note that of the seven natural notes, two are missing: B and F. This means that as we descend with piano notes, we’ll need to skip over B and F. You can watch me do this in the companion video.
These specific descending distances are a minor 3rd (from C to A), then a Major 2nd (from A to G), another minor 3rd (from G to E), and finally, a Major 2nd (from E to D). So, with the CAGED sequence, we alternate between a minor 3rd and a Major 2nd (also known as a whole step), twice.
Putting it Together
Let’s take this discovery and apply it to the guitar. As you’ll see in the video, I’ve marked my guitar frets with colors, to help shed more light. But I’m also providing a diagram here to help you see the frets, distances, and my color-coding system. These colors inform the shapes I’ll be using.
On my guitar, I’m using red, orange, yellow, green and blue lines at frets 0, 3, 5, 8, and 10 (the cycle repeats at 12.) You can even spot the whole steps and the minor 3rds if you look for them on the diagram, because the distance of a minor 3rd involves moving up by 3 frets, and the distance of a Major 2nd (or whole step) involves moving up by 2 frets.
As you’ll see in the video, I use a Glider Capo to ascend from the nut (a “non-capoed guitar”), to each of these indicated frets. As I do so, I play the following shapes: C (at capo 0), A (at capo 3), G (at capo 5), E (at capo 8), and D (at capo 10). That completes the CAGED System with open Major chord shapes in five capo positions.
Don’t miss this – I’m taking the notes in the descending treble clef diagram, and using them to help me move the capo up the guitar neck by the same very specific distances.
Using these five shapes and these five capo positions, I’m now able to play a C Major chord in five different locations.
Are some light bulbs appearing over your head? If they are, it’s because we have unleashed the CAGED Beast! It is good to be us!
Relevance of the CAGED System
I’m all about relevance, so let’s talk about several reasons why this information is helpful.
First, you can play in any Major key in five different capo positions. Let that sink in.
Second, if you collaborate with a fellow rhythm guitar player, you could each be in a different capo position and still play in the same key.
It’s even possible for all five of these capo positions and chord shape configurations to be combined by five different guitar players, allowing for lots of different voicings, registers, and sonorities.
Lastly, the CAGED System leads to unlocking the entire fretboard, with or without the capo.
You’re probably getting the sense that there’s a lot more to this. That’s true, but what’s also true is the fact that we’ve taken some solid steps forward today with our exploration of the CAGED System, so let’s celebrate that win.
Now, what if I told you that there are four other CAGED variations that all work together to unlock the entire fretboard?What if I also told you that a comprehensive approach, with color-coded worksheets could be at your fingertips?
This is a method for exploring the CAGED System in a way that I’ve never seen done in such an accessible, in-depth way.
If you’re interested in learning more about how this can all become a part of your musical journey, please head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to learn more. I hope you’ll check it out. Thanks for unleashing the CAGED Beast with me today. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Recently, one of our kitchen drawers came off the rails. To be more specific, one of the rails fell down inside the cupboard, and was no longer supporting the drawer. It was fixable. But not the way it used to be fixed.
I had to get new versions of the mount drawer slides and sockets, because the original ones that came with our house weren’t made any longer. This meant doing some extra leg work to find them, but more importantly, taking new measurements to install them.
The original hardware was just not going to work anymore, so the drawer (and the cupboard where the drawer fit) had to be outfitted with a whole new setup.
But once the new hardware was properly installed, the drawer worked again, even better than it did before.
Think about your guitar journey for a moment, especially when it comes to learning a new way to do something. How do you respond when the process you’ve employed for so long no longer seems like the optimal way to get it done?
Do you get frustrated, overwhelmed, or annoyed? Or do you get excited about the possibility of something that could impact your playing for the better?
Exempli gratia – let’s say you play an open G Major chord and you want to transition to and from an open C Major chord. Simple enough? Perhaps.
But not so fast. Let’s make sure we’re specifically talking about the same thing. Please see the photos and diagrams I’m including.
We can start with an open G Major chord with our 3rd finger on the low G (string 6, fret 3) and move to a standard, pure C Major chord – and back – with tremendous ease.
We can also start with an open G Major chord with our 2nd finger on the low G, and move to what some call an open C2 chord, where we only need to move two of our fingers across the strings together.
This is all good.
But what if we want to move from one of these G chords to one of the other C chords? I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it done over and over and over. But consider how much extra effort has to be expended to make this transition.
There is literally nothing in common in terms of fingering between the G Major chord (that has the 2nd finger on the 6th string) and the pure C Major chord.
And there’s only one note in common between the G Major chord (that has the 3rd finger on the 6th string) and the C2 chord; it’s the high G on the 1st string, played by the 4th finger (incidentally, I haven’t seen this transition nearly as often.)Now remember, it’s ok to work hard. I certainly don’t want to be lazy about the process of developing our guitar chops. But I do see great merit in working smarter.
Perhaps you play these chords according to the green arrows on my diagram. But if you follow the red arrows as you play, maybe consider finding a new way. Try it my suggested way.
A word of warning, though – if you’ve been doing it the other way for decades, it could take several weeks – or longer – to reprogram your fingers.
But it’s good for us to try new fingerings like this, because this process does three things:
1) It expands our creative options
2) It allows for smoother articulations, leading to better musicianship, and
3) It keeps our minds young as we become more versatile
It may not be fun the whole time, but it will most certainly lead to…you guessed it…serious fun.
Today we talked about two different voicings for two common open Major chords, and more importantly, a more elegant way of moving between them.
But we also talked about the mindset necessary for opening ourselves up to new ways of doing things with the guitar.
Finding new approaches to our guitar playing and our musical knowledge will yield tremendous benefits for us as guitarists over the long game. And that is indeed a game worth playing.
If you want to discover some new ways of playing the guitar that just might be even more efficient and accessible than what you’re already doing, I invite you to head on over to our website at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Who knows what kinds of game changers could be waiting for you inside the membership?
The Chord Kite Diagram, for one, is the next level of what I’ve been sharing with you today…and I’ve never seen it anywhere else.
Come to think of it, there are multiple tools and techniques I offer that I haven’t seen anywhere else.
I’ll leave it to you to see if GuitarSuccess4U might be a good fit.
Meanwhile, keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Today, I want to welcome you back as we continue with part 2 of 2 of “Guitar Through the Seasons.” If you haven’t had a chance to experience part 1, I do encourage you to do that, because we’ll be building our discussion on what we talked about last week. Let’s get started.
The Guitar Journey is not Perfect
Up until this point, we’ve talked about seasons of practicing, collaborating, worshiping, creating, performing, recording, and teaching. All of those seasons can happen simultaneously in someone’s life, but they may not happen at the same level.
For example, practicing, though an essential part of our development, may be limited if we are in a season of, say, having young children at home.
I remember giving my kids their baths when they were in the first year or two of elementary school, and sitting crisscross applesauce on the bathroom floor next to the tub, strumming my guitar.
They were within arm’s reach, so I could get them anything they needed…but my guitar practicing was limited to what I could do in that setting.
Unless I got up early to practice before everyone was awake, or stayed up late after everyone was asleep (and I did both of those things for a few years,) my practicing was only going to be while I was hanging out with the kids. And therefore, it was brief, and not very in-depth.
And that was fine. At least my hands were on the instrument, and I was making progress, no matter how small.
Plus, my kids felt like a priority, which they most certainly are. And if my guitar was the soundtrack to bath time, my kids usually enjoyed splashing about to my guitar grooves.
For some guitar players, consistency may mean practicing each weekday morning for 15 minutes before the day kicks into gear.
Some may take a short lunch break at work, grab their guitar, step outside, and play for a few minutes in the sunshine.
Others may work swing shift, get home around midnight, and before tumbling into bed, they play some guitar to unwind.
Still others may find themselves in a full season of life, playing only on the weekends.
Practice is decided by the one who practices, but results are waiting for those who take the time to invest in cultivating their skills.
As for collaborating, my hope is that you have some people in your circles with whom you might enjoy making music, whether worship music, covers, or whatever you might want to play.
I was invited to a picnic with some friends, and the hostess encouraged me to bring my guitar. I brought two.
So, at this picnic, another person and I played songs we knew, we covered some Beatles songs, and we led the group in some praise songs. Having a couple guitars available really added to the gathering.
While visiting my sister a few months ago, she took me to an open mic. I ended up playing a few songs, singing with her, and jamming with a cajon player who was there whom I had never even met.
People peeked out of storefronts to enjoy what we were sharing. This is the stuff of informal collaboration.
As for more intentionally planned collaboration, we can serve on a worship team. Seasons of worshiping at church can happen as some of us rotate into the worship team schedule, whether we’re leading or supporting.
Being a part of a worship team is a great way to stay plugged in spiritually and offering our gifts musically.
I mentioned in last week’s episode that creativity can be scheduled. One book I’ve read that I consistently recommend is “The Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp. This book helps provide a model where creativity happens around a more structured framework, leading to more consistent results.
There are various seasons of creativity. Sometimes we experience monsoons of ideas…other times we go through seasons of drought. So, I keep an idea book, as well as some digital files of titles or descriptions, to get me started.
I do feel, though, that inspiration can happen in some of the most unlikely circumstances, even in seasons of loss. When a loved one passes away, our hearts need some form of expression.
In an interview I hosted for GuitarSuccess4U, I got to speak with pastor and blogger Sean Higgins about Music as the Adornment of Time. Sean spoke about how “Laments in song have that shape and form that really direct us on how to even have sorrowful experiences as well as to connect with others who might also be grieving.”
It’s my conviction that some songs have to be written when a loss happens. Perhaps it’s so that we can express our feelings in music and words.
It may also be because the Lord plans to use our tears and mourning to bring comfort to others in their season of grief…by having them experience the songs we write.
When my younger sister passed away at the tender age of 15, I was devastated. But on the fourth anniversary of her death, as I prayerfully turned to my guitar, a song for her emerged. This song, which I call “Amy’s Song,” has gone on to comfort more people that I may ever know.
If you experience a loss, be open to the idea that the Lord may have a season ahead for you that involves capturing your heart’s cry in a song.
I have a friend who is a very gifted songwriter. When I last connected with him, his marriage had ended about a year before.
I asked him if he had been doing any writing. “Not since the divorce,” he said. But it occurred to me that perhaps writing might have been a cathartic outlet for some of his sorrow…if only to write songs for his own self-expression.
I believe that songs can communicate what spoken words cannot. And maybe a season of grief can be a season of creating as well.
In terms of performing, my calendar year is pretty predictable in terms of the types of bookings that appear.
Springtime includes school chapels, and concerts well before or well after Resurrection Sunday, because of all the programming for that special weekend.
Summer continues forward with festivals, camps, Vacation Bible School concerts, and more public performances.
Fall is when school is back in session, so I’m making appearances in school chapels and assemblies again, as well as family-friendly concerts and harvest festivals.
Winter includes the Advent season, for which I have developed a highly dynamic Christmas set that points to Christ.
And then, around the first part of the year, I take a little time to get snowed in with my family and to reflect on the past year, as well as to think and pray about what the Lord might be preparing me for in the next season of my performing.
As for recording, it’s been interesting to see how the Lord has orchestrated the timings of each of my albums. My first album was completed in a few days, just as I was finishing Bible School.
My second album was a labor of love that took the better part of 18 months off and on as I worked to fund the project and bring in multiple musicians.
My third album took place just two years after I had gotten married, and was again a huge labor of love.
Then, my wife and I had kids. One the year following, and another four years later. My fourth album took place a year after the birth of our second child.
So, if you’re checking the math, you’ll observe that it made sense to me to record albums before or after big life events, like a wedding or the birth of a child. Before or after. Not during.
I know there are people out there who do great artistic work during an intense season of life, like childbearing.
In fact, I’m always fascinated when I watch the credits roll at the end of a Pixar movie, with the huge list of the names of all the production babies – children born to anyone involved with the making of that Pixar film.
Life happens. Kids are born, big events take place. But it’s been my preference that focusing on my loved ones and our needs during those special seasons of life has taken priority over embarking on a recording project.
And of course, marriage and fatherhood have been tremendously inspiring seasons of my life, resulting in several songs, including “When the Rain Pours Down” – a song of marital commitment, “Second Glance” – a reminder to slow down and look at the details around me, “One More Stroller Ride” – the opportunity to treasure moments, and “Flash Forward” – a song about the swiftness of time and a glimpse of the future.
Teaching is something that can move concurrently with performing, recording, and worship leading. Imparting knowledge can be offered on a schedule, or in the case of my guitar membership, on your schedule.
I have students who are learning from me…wait for it…while I am asleep. And knowing that makes me smile.
What About Your Journey?
These various ways of pursuing and enjoying the guitar may or may not apply to you.
You may be practicing like crazy, or you may be currently working to weave a modest amount of practicing into a very full schedule.
You may feel creative, with a view to crafting original music. Or, you may prefer to enjoy the creativity of others and be uplifted by what they have created on the guitar.
You may have the desire to get out and see part of the country in a touring capacity, sharing your music in concerts for people you’ve never met. Or, you may be a homebody who simply enjoys strumming in your living room.
Perhaps you have dreams of recording original music, or, perhaps your enjoyment of the recordings of others is where you find fulfillment in that aspect.
When it comes to teaching, it’s possible that you may put on the shoes of a teacher and run a long race, becoming a guide to others.
Or, you may just lace up those shoes for a short jog around the block as you teach part of a song to a young guitar learner.
But for those who desire to teach, it can be very exhilarating to see someone humbly receive what you’re offering, and then to apply it to their journey.
When to Play the Guitar in Life
We may have strong hands, or our hands may be growing weak. We may be in excellent health and shape, or we may be recovering from an illness or injury that prevents us from playing.
We may have precious young ones at home who need our attention and care for most of the day, or we may be empty nesters with more discretionary time for our musical pursuits.
But if our love for music is strong, and our faithfulness to the Lord is undergirding our musical pursuits, we will find a way.
The Lord will grant us the time we need to develop our gifts for His glory. He has an amazing supernatural way of somehow multiplying our time, even in ways that we cannot comprehend or describe.
As I mentioned at the beginning of these reflections, my hope is that our guitars will consistently make music, regardless of which season we may find ourselves in.
Please observe my wording, though. I said consistently. Not constantly…consistently. And consistency has a different rhythm of frequency for each guitarist. Some practice daily, some practice weekly. But consistency is key.
Deep, rich music can emerge from our guitars, no matter what’s happening. So, let’s be in the moment, let’s set aside a reasonable amount of time to enjoy the gift of music on our guitars, and let’s have some serious fun through the various seasons of our guitar journeys.
Last week and today were some great opportunities to reflect on “Guitar Through the Seasons.”
Each person’s journey is unique to them, but we can all invest consistent time and focus to bring songs to life on our strings and frets, in whatever season of life we find ourselves. I hope today’s episode has brought some closure to our discussion, and encouraged you to make some music on your guitar.
P.S. Perhaps this is a season for you to grow in the learning aspect of your guitar playing. We may have something special for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Consider taking a closer look!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Welcome to a two-part discussion as we talk about a rather unique topic: guitar through the seasons of life.
This is a good, rich discussion that I believe warrants breaking up my thoughts into two separate episodes, so although you’ll experience some closure at the end of today, I will leave you wanting just a bit more, for which I’ll supply the rest of the story next week. Let’s get started.
The guitar has been a companion of mine through a lot of ups and downs over the past almost three decades.
We can enjoy our guitars on multiple levels, from practicing, to worshiping, to creating, to collaborating, to performing, to recording, to teaching, or even just playing for fun.
We can make music at different times of day or night, different days of the week, different seasons of the year, and even different seasons of life.
But my hope is that music will consistently emerge from our guitars, no matter what’s happening.
I invite you to join me as I reflect on some different seasons of my guitar playing, and perhaps you’ll see reflections of your guitar journey as well.
Seasons of Practicing
I purchased my first instrument, a Simon & Patrick Luthier dreadnought guitar, when I was almost 20 years old. It was a reasonably-priced guitar, handmade in Québec, Canada, and had a satin finished solid cedar top, and wild cherry back and sides. I played this guitar in the music store for several hours, and loved the warm sound. So, I bought it, even though I had come into the shop looking for a totally different brand.
This guitar became my college dorm buddy, as I spent hundreds of hours woodshedding on it through all 7 grades of Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method. Not everyone goes through method books, but I appreciated the opportunity to work progressively through increasing levels of difficulty as I taught my fingers where to go.
I took some lessons as well, and those provided excellent accountability. I sought inspiration from several world-renowned acoustic guitarists and traveled great distances to learn from them in a symposium or masterclass setting.
The first two years of my guitar playing offered a season of development and learning through practicing, which continues to this day. But application and implementation were soon to follow.
Seasons of Collaborating
At a certain point early on, it was clear that other musicians were interested in combining their gifts with mine. Most of these musicians were more experienced than I, and I relished the opportunity to be “called up” to a new level of skill.
I remember being on a ferry going across the Puget Sound, and quietly playing my guitar in one of the booths. A wandering minstrel mandolin player appeared out of nowhere, sat down, and we jammed for a few minutes.
In addition to spontaneous opportunities like this, I went on to play guitar with pianists, drummers, full bands, and I’ve supported vocalists, hammered dulcimer players, oboists, clarinetists, cellists, and more with my guitar.
I believe music becomes significantly more multi-dimensional when we collaborate with others.
The more I collaborated, the better I got as a guitarist and musician, because other peoples’ skill levels challenged me to raise my game, and even those who were less skilled still gave me the opportunity to adapt and make good music with them.
Seasons of Worshiping
In Episode 6 of Guitar Serious Fun, which was called “Not Ready but Available,” I recounted the story of how I was gently encouraged to lead worship with my guitar at a family camp just weeks after I had begun playing.
I mentioned during that episode that although I was reluctant, I chose to walk forward obediently with my gifts.
The Lord invites some of us to lead worship with the guitar, and if we are invited, it’s wise to accept that invitation, because it’s a high calling and a great need.
Regardless of the size of the gathering of those who are assembling to worship, we are stewarding a tremendous responsibility: to help make a space where people can engage with the Lord of the Universe.
So, as I began to accept more invitations to play my guitar in a worship setting, I watched the Lord entrust me with higher levels of responsibility.
I was tasked with leading in a few different church paid positions from my guitar for over a decade, as I coordinated the efforts of worship teams varying in size. I also had the privilege of discipling some of my teammates.
And worship leading, whether paid or volunteer, has remained a part of my offerings. Worship is something that is not just a season of life – it’s a part of life.
And it’s my conviction that although worship doesn’t have to involve music, heaven will include worship through music in some way, and I am really excited to one day discover what that will be like. In a way, our musical worship here on earth can help prepare us for what awaits us in heaven.
Seasons of Creating
Creativity can be a scheduled thing, or it can be spontaneous. Like it or not, though, creativity on the guitar can only happen if we have some knowledge of how to play. If we know three chords, we can still create dozens of songs.
But the more musical ingredients we discover, the more flavorful our recipes can be. So, our creativity is related to what we know. It’s not necessarily a question of quantity, but it is a question of being ready when inspiration happens.
Fortunately, in my development of guitar skills, I had embarked on a decent number of chords and keys, but also the command of strumming and some decent fingerstyle. So, two years after I had purchased my guitar, I wrote my first song.
I remember pressing “record” and “play” on a cassette recorder (yes, that’s what was readily available to me at the time.) I spoke into this recorder, saying “I think I may actually be able to write music on the guitar.”
Then, I played my first song, which I titled “He Knows,” into this recorder. It was a song about how the Lord knows everything about us, including our sorrows, and we are invited to bring our burdens to Him.
And so, my season of creativity had begun.
Drawing from what I knew about music and the guitar, I began to write more songs about my faith. Looking back, I’d say that some of my early lyrics were a bit clunky, and some of the chord structures were perhaps a little unremarkable, but it was a place to start.
And we have to start somewhere. It was made clear to me through my songwriting pursuits that great songs are not written; they are re-written. So, I would write a song, and then revise it until I had it where it needed to be.
Over time, my songs got richer and more intentionally crafted. A song I wrote for my father, called “I’ll Tell You Now,” went through 13 revisions until I had it just right. Part of the process of finalizing that song took place when I woke up at 3 a.m. with the third verse in my head.
My songwriting continues to this day. Most often, the Lord teaches me something in my faith journey, I reflect on it, and a song begins to come to life in my soul. Soon, I have very little choice but to capture it with guitar chords and vocal melodies.
Some of my songs are upbeat, others are more somber. But they all reflect my love for the Lord.
Seasons of Performing
Just two years after my first song came to life, I had enough of a catalog of songs to begin sharing a full concert set.
I had sung with a few friends at open mics while they played their guitars, and so I had a small amount of onstage experience (though I had simultaneously been earning a degree in vocal performance, so I had performed in a few operas and recitals as well.)
My mom became my most supportive fan in those early years of my musical creativity. So, she arranged a gathering at one of her friends’ houses, and before I knew it, I was performing my first concert. There were only a dozen people there, but that was a legitimate audience, and I played for about an hour.
And so began my season of performing. Fast-forward to present day, having shared concerts in 17 states and two provinces, as well as some spontaneous appearances in England, Scotland, and Austria during Bible School, I’ve been able to share my guitar music in live venues from coffeehouses to grandstand auditoriums. As of this episode, I still tour.
Performing is a great opportunity to test out original music, because if the audience responds well, you know you’ve got songs that can stand on their own.
Seasons of Recording
The performing season transitioned naturally into capturing my songs in the recording studio. People at live concerts had been asking me, “Where can I get your album?”
My first recording experience took place in a reel-to-reel analog studio in rural England, in Lancaster, outside Manchester, while I was at Bible School. I had been offered a limited amount of studio time, so I basically just captured an album consisting of acoustic guitar, lead vocals, and harmonies. This was a good learning experience (as all recording experiences are.)
I had the album mastered, and then I found a graphics designer to help with the visuals. Graphics design is an important aspect of album production, because it can be someone’s first impression of your work. I had 1000 CDs pressed.
To recoup the cost of the album, I had a checklist of things that needed to happen, per a wonderful book that had been published in its 5th edition right when I needed it. It was called “How to Make and Sell Your Own Recording” by Diane Sward Rapaport.
Following Rapaport’s framework, I figured out when my anticipated “street date” would be, and worked backwards with a promotional campaign to my fans.
The first album release was a humble one, but I got better and better at figuring out how to get my fans on board, and for my third album, I actually had over 500 pre-orders come in, even before the album was available.
Throughout the various seasons of recording, I’ve discovered that an enormous amount of time can be saved by having professionals play on your albums.
It’s also super important to have a producer who is a realistic visionary, who can bring your musical dreams to reality and still stay grounded throughout the process.
Although it’s been some years since my fourth and most successful album, my hope is to record again. Songs still continue to appear under my fingers as I play the guitar.
Seasons of Teaching
I’m super grateful for all that I’ve learned on the guitar, and in the process of putting it to practical use, I’ve discovered that applied knowledge can be very fulfilling.
So, there was a season I embarked on just six years into my guitar journey that has continued to this day – and that is the season of teaching. At a certain point, the response was overwhelming – 50 students a week, with a waiting list.
Being on the receiving end as a student has strongly shaped the way I teach.
I love to be able to pass along guitar knowledge, and to watch the lightbulbs appear over my students’ heads as they “get it.” I also love to hear stories of how they are applying my teaching.
The model that the Lord has brought me to in recent years is an online membership called GuitarSuccess4U, where I impart my knowledge through a one-of-a-kind experience.
You’re more than welcome to see what we’ve got going on over there, by checking out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
I won’t go into detail about the membership at this point, especially since the website speaks for itself.
But I will say that it represents the most accessible, most in-depth guitar learning approach I’ve ever offered to students, and it’s the result of nearly three decades of proven guitar tools I’ve developed.
And students can learn at their own pace. Can you tell how excited I am about it?
So, seasons of teaching can happen throughout our journey, but especially after one has learned things, including the hard lessons that are waiting out on tours and in the recording studio.
Now, at this point, I’m going to pause my train of thought, and we’ll regroup next week for a continuation of this dialogue.
I look forward to going deeper in this discussion in our next episode, with part 2 of 2. I’ll see you then.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
What in the wide world of sports is a skipping scale?
A skipping scale is actually something I invented out of necessity. And you know what they say about necessity, right? Today, I’ll show you how I came up with the skipping scale, and how it can be applied in multiple scenarios for learning chords in Major and minor keys, and even modes.
Now, chords can really show their beauty in context. The word “context” gets its root meaning from “together” and “weave.” So, in a way, “context” means “woven together.”
When I was a kid, one of the hobbies I really enjoyed was a craft called latch hook. If you’re familiar with it, you know that you typically buy a kit, and it comes with a printed canvas grid and a bunch of colored yarn that you attach to that grid, with a latch hook. Once you start to place the yarn pieces in their appropriate contexts on the grid, the picture starts to appear in full color. What makes a latch hook rug interesting is that it has so many colors. If the rug was all just one color, that would be far less interesting.
Following this analogy, it makes sense to learn, and to use more than one chord. And that’s where I’m going with all of this. I wanted to find a way to learn and play all the chords in a given key, on the guitar, in their lowest and fullest voicings. So, I created the skipping scale.
With this new approach, instead of playing a simple ascending C Major scale, I actually decided to stop at the open 4th string D, and use it as my pivot point down to the low open 6th string E, on its way back up to C. Instead of moving from D up to E, I decided to skip from D down to E. This way, I was able to play the lowest version of all 7 notes, in position and in register. So here is the ascending C Major skipping scale.
Why have I created this? It’s because I want to latch the lowest, fullest chords in the key of C, onto each of these low degrees, using open chords whenever possible. Those 7 chords, many of which you may be QUITE familiar with, are: C Major, D minor, E minor, F Major, G Major, A minor, B diminished, and we can come back around to C Major. One thing I like to do is play the harmonized scale, emphasizing the root of each of the chords, so I can really hear the skipping scale clearly.
Now if this is review for you, that’s great! It just reinforces the fact that you know all the diatonic chords in this key. If some of this is new for you, that’s great too, because you are now making inroads into claiming all of these chords.
Now, with an infomercial voice, I’d like to go on to say: “But wait…there’s more.” We can, of course, play this as a descending skipping scale.
We can then of course, harmonize the descending version with the same chords, in reverse order.
Can this be applied anywhere else? Absolutely. We can use the skipping scale in multiple key signatures, which include minor keys, and even modes. Want to make this process even more interesting? We can latch 7th chords, or even color chords, onto these scale degrees. The sky is the limit.
But it all starts here, with a simple skipping scale. Once we know the scale, we can go on to tackle all the chords in each key, in their lowest and fullest voicings.
As you can see, there’s great potential here. We can make great music with a whole lot more colors. And once we know what all the colors are, we can weave a beautiful tapestry…right?
P.S. Come weave with us and discover your artistry at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Ok, let’s be real. When you saw the title of this episode, did it make you just a little bit curious? If you know me, you know that I like to be a good steward of my music equipment.
My dad has always taught me to buy good tools, and to take good care of them. So why would I encourage you to do something like put dents in your guitar?
I’ll explain.
Let’s roll the clock back to almost 30 years ago, to when I bought my first guitar. It was a new, handmade Simon & Patrick Luthier dreadnought guitar that was of good quality and looked flawless. And it was my very first guitar, so I handled it very carefully.
Until I didn’t.
I had just finished playing it one afternoon, and as I moved across the room with it in my hand, I bumped into a chair with it, and put a small dent in the side of it. The dent was so small, that it was hardly noticeable.
But there weren’t any other blemishes on it, so I could see the dent clearly. I felt a tiny bit of sadness come over me as I realized what I had done.
I reached out to a fellow guitarist who had been playing for a lot longer than I, and said, “I just put a small dent in my guitar. What do I do?”
His response was rather unexpected. With a matter-of-fact tone, he said, “Put a few more dents in it.”
It took me a minute before I realized what he was implying. He was basically saying, “Play the thing. Enjoy the instrument. Take it places. Run the risk of it getting a little worn by your travels and your music. But play it.”
Growing up, I remember watching the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and being mesmerized by the red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that belonged to the dad of Ferris’ friend, Cameron. Talk about a car meant for the open road. But as Cameron spoke about his dad’s stewardship of the car, he said, “he never drives it – he just rubs it with a diaper.”
Think about that. A car with such beauty and power – kept in a garage…going nowhere.
This could be the fate of our guitar, if we don’t take stock of why we have it.
Now, I know that some who might be on the receiving end of these words may have a guitar that is valued at five-figures or higher. To me, that’s more of a collector’s item, and it’s possible that it doesn’t get played as much as other guitars in a collection.
That’s fine – I’m not talking about the heirloom guitar. I’m talking about the instrument that you’ve purchased or been given, for the purpose of…playing.
If we play our guitars, and I really hope we do, they’ll inevitably experience some wear-and-tear over the years.
Speaking transparently, I’ve done some damage to my first guitar a couple different times that needed to be cosmetically repaired by my friends at Mike Lull’s Guitar Works.
But over time, most of the dents that have appeared on my guitar has just become a part of its personality. That very first dent now blends in with the others.
One thing’s for certain – if I wanted to be 100% sure that my guitar wouldn’t get damaged, I never would have taken it anywhere. I may have rubbed it with a diaper – or probably a polishing cloth. But for the most part, I would have just left it in its case.
But then, the instrument wouldn’t have made the music I’ve enjoyed playing on it all these years. It wouldn’t have been played onstage for countless listeners, or as an instrument of worship, or even in the recording studio.
If we put dents in our guitars, some of those can certainly be repaired. And some need to be.
But a worse fate is if we cause zero damage or wear to our guitars because we don’t play them at all.
So, the next time you’re reluctant to take your guitar out of its comfort zone, be it out of the guitar case, off the stand, or even out of the house, think about that red Ferrari in the garage.
The emblem on a Ferrari isn’t a calm horse quietly grazing in the pasture – it’s a wild stallion rearing with a passion to gallop across the landscape.
Your guitar, if I may be so bold, wants to be played. A lot. It wants to resonate with the songs that come from your soul, and out through your fingers as they dance along the strings and frets.
So, play that thing, have some serious fun as you do, bring glory to the Lord, and if some dents come along as you share your music with the world, so be it.
Far better reach the end of your musical journey and to have a guitar with some dents in it, than to have an untouched instrument in mint condition has never really had the opportunity to sing.
I hope your paradigm of caring for your guitar has been shaken up a bit by what I’ve shared today.
If you can think of a fellow guitar player who might be a little scared of putting dents in their guitar, I invite you to share this episode of Guitar Serious Fun with them. Comments are welcome. I’m excited to see what kind of pot I may have stirred here.
Don’t misunderstand me, though – I want us to take good care of all our stuff, but I also want us to make great music. It’s all about a balance.
P.S. The next level of your guitar playing could be waiting at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
I remember my first full-length concert. I had been playing the guitar for four years…long enough to develop some solid guitar chops, and to write some of my first songs.
The concert was hosted by some of my parents’ friends, in their living room. Everyone sat in a circle with me, as I played my guitar, introducing each song before I played it. I performed for about an hour to an audience of a dozen people.
It was clear that everyone really enjoyed what I shared. I was a little nervous, because I was playing and singing, sharing my original music, and although I had had some performance experience as a vocalist, I had not played my guitar for a full-length set in any kind of public setting.
Although this was a private concert, I’d still call it a public offering, because I wasn’t just playing the guitar for myself or my parents; there were people at this concert who had been invited from various circles of friends, so I rose to the challenge to perform for this audience.
This first concert was a free event. I wasn’t in a position to charge admission or even receive donations; I was just getting started and learning the ropes of a live event.
Fast forward a couple decades, and I’ve had the privilege of sharing music on stages in front of audiences of several thousand people. And for many of these events, there has been financial compensation.
Even as I am putting this episode together, I’m in dialogue with some venues who are super excited to book me, and willing to honor my talent value, either with an honorarium, a freewill offering, or both.
I won’t go into detail about what I currently charge to serve at a venue, but I will say that I am now playing for pay in most of my endeavors. One pair of resources I was blessed to discover early on was The Booking Workshop and Successful Booking by Dawn Jones.
In this curriculum, Dawn puts together a spreadsheet that outlines the criteria for what to charge at which stage of your journey.
Spoiler alert: I’m looking forward to hosting Dawn on a couple future episodes of Guitar Serious Fun.
You may or may not aspire to playing your guitar for pay. Perhaps you play for the joy of music, and you want to share what you’ve created with whomever will listen. That’s a great way to offer your gifts.
Alternatively, you may be thinking about what it might take to bring in some income as you play your guitar.
Some musicians I’ve known have full-time jobs that are not related to music, but they perform for pay and use that income to maintain or purchase music equipment.
Others book their own appearances like I do, and that makes up a significant portion of their household income. Still others are on a roster for a booking agency which takes a commission based on the events the agency books them for.
I’m looking at today’s discussion from the perspective of someone who now gets paid to play, but at one point did not.
So, when it comes to people who play their guitars onstage, what separates the seasoned musicians from the newbies? I can think of three things in particular: experience, skill and uniqueness.
Let’s look at the paradigm of an up-and-coming guitarist. This individual has honed their craft, learned some songs (their own, or perhaps some covers), has some onstage gear, and is willing to get out and share their gifts.
Where do they begin? Well, I would literally say “anywhere someone is willing to listen.” There are so many venues that appreciate good music, from farmers markets to coffeehouses. This first collection of venues is not likely to offer much in terms of pay, because the performer is probably not well-known, and the venue’s budget is limited.
Is it worth playing some of these venues in the early years of musical development? Absolutely. Even if the venue can’t pay at all, they are providing a place to share, and hopefully, an audience of some kind.
And even if the audience is divided in their attention, meaning, they’re chatting at their tables, they do still hear what’s being played from the stage.
From a practical standpoint, these venues are where you pay to play. Even if they offer you a small stipend, which is generous, based on lack of experience, you are still paying with your preparation, time, and energy. The real reward for you here consists of the onstage performance opportunity, as well as some exposure.
Sure, you can leverage a mailing list, social media, and other organic channels for drumming up excitement. Those are all good things. At the end of the day, though, these kinds of venues are where you start, and hopefully not where you stay.
In my experience, playing my guitar in my man cave practice studio is a totally different level of pressure from playing through a PA in a live venue, even if people aren’t paying much attention. The pressure goes up, because the expectation is that we play complete songs with a level of skill and commitment. And when the pressure is on, we get refined as guitarists and performers.
The more performance experience we get, the more comfortable we become as we relate to an audience. The more relaxed we are, the more freedom there is in the room. And incidentally, this can lead to more consistent tempos as well.
Lastly, the more established our presence is onstage, the more artistic we can be as we play.
Once this tier of venues has become quite familiar, it’s time to start listening for people in your circles who say things like, “My church youth group would really like what you do,” or “There’s a Women’s Bible Study that has a summer picnic coming up and they always feature a musical guest,” or “What would you charge to lead worship for our Family Camp?”
Did you catch that last one? “What would you charge to lead worship?” It’s not common with minimal experience to be able to state an honorarium early on, but if someone opens a dialogue and there is money involved, you need to start thinking about your talent value.
Reconcile what you think would make it worth your time to prepare, to travel, and to spend the necessary time to bring a quality offering…and then pitch them a monetary amount.
Remember, you’re taking time away from your schedule, and maybe even your family, so there is a cost. So, think about what you might charge. They might counter with a lower offer, but unless it’s like a $10 Starbucks gift card, I say take the gig.
Remember, even if you’re not being paid to play like you’d eventually like to be, the main share of your payment comes in the form of experience and exposure.
And if you are a good steward with your gifts for each venue that comes along, those who host you will bring you back, and they may even tell others about you.
We do need to be realistic about our expectations in the early stages of our development, though, because in those early years, we have neither experience nor skill on a level commensurate with pay.
As you grow in your ability and experience, you’ll get to the point where you can distinguish a “tire-kicker” from someone who truly values what you share and wishes they could pay more. This comes with time, as you develop your ability to sense who you’re interacting with and their motives.
And yes, even in Christian circles, there can be examples of people who are reluctant to pay for value, who would do well to consider their conduct in light of scripture. In Luke 10:7, Jesus says, “The worker deserves his wages.”
If you’re in that much need of income from a gig, you can accept it for a reduced fee, but perhaps after the event, I recommend gently letting the decision maker at the venue know that the next time you do a ministry endeavor with them, you’ll need them to come closer to accommodating your talent value. This, of course, needs to be something you feel out, based on how pleased they seem with what you did.
It wouldn’t hurt to have some kind of web presence, perhaps with samples of your playing (audio or video) so you can direct potential ministry hosts to it. You’ll want to have something that’s available 24/7 as a marketing tool. People are very digitally-minded these days; they will probably ask you for a link they can visit.
One other thing about that – if you post examples of your music online, make sure you feel good about the quality. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, right?
I met a producer from Nashville several years ago named Morgan Cryar who said that most of the time when an artist hands him a copy of their album, they include an apology with it.
Let’s not put things out there that we feel like apologizing for. Take the extra step to go with quality over quantity.
A press kit can also be super helpful, with testimonials from specific people who have appreciated your ministry. That’s an episode topic of its own, that I may embark on in the future here at Guitar Serious Fun.
But have some tools that can provide a hosting venue with what they need to know about you, especially if you’re booking your own shows.
I’ve never been signed to a label; that’s just a personal choice of mine. I’ve appreciated the freedom that comes with being independent as an artist, but the price is less exposure, because labels can provide more power to help get their artists in front of people; this benefits the label as well.
I have known of artists who were signed to a label, and one of the main tasks they embarked on was to tour as an opening act for a more established artist.
Opening on a tour can be rough, though, because much of the audience isn’t really there to see you. A portion of the audience may not even arrive in time to hear you. And you need to play in venues where the headliner plays.
If you’ve got a great performance set, you may win the hearts of some of those audience members. But an opening act on a tour is most likely paying to play. The funds that come from their efforts, whether CD or merch sales, are often used to help pay for their expenses on that tour.
There are those who would rather pay to play and get in front of tens or hundreds of thousands of strangers and garner some following, than play for pay, but only play for hundreds.
I’m of the latter disposition; I love those organic, grassroots venues that are small but captive audiences. I like to be able to see the whites of their eyes and watch their emotional responses, rather than look out at a huge mass of people in a stadium. I’ve played for both, and I know what is best for my approach.
Something else to consider as you become the musician you believe the Lord is calling you to be: do something that no one else does, at least not in quite the same way. Don’t try to be totally wacky, but do carve yourself a niche so that you are known for something unique.
My tagline for my concert ministry is “Family friendly, message-driven musical creativity.” When I take the stage, people know that they are in for an exciting time with multiple instruments, looping technology, storytelling, audience participation, and even perhaps a song where I play two guitars at once – one with my feet.
It’s an all-ages show that has been shaped an added to over time. Some things work, some things are less effective. I’ve made changes based on how people respond, and I cater my set to the demographic I plan to serve at the venue.
Tom Jackson is an incredible performance coach from Nashville. I had the privilege of having him coach me onstage for one of my songs, and I’ve taught at the Christian Musician Summit when he’s been on the faculty.
He emphasizes that it is crucial for performers to develop their live show, because if they don’t, they’ll need to learn these six words well: “Would you like fries with that?”
Basically, what Tom is saying is that as a performer, there have to be things about your performance that allow you to engage with the audience, thereby helping you to stand out in the huge sea of performers out there.
Now, just to be clear, I’m not talking about trying to impress people. As I’ve stated previously in Episode 11 of Guitar Serious Fun which is titled “Guitar Player, Guitar Owner, or Both,” we, as followers of Christ are not in the business of impressing others. That’s not something that should be in our repertoire.
But we can honor the Lord by being creative, having been made in His image. I can still do a super fun, innovative, and highly musical show, and give God the glory. I work hard to be musically engaging, both in the sound and the look of the performance.
There are a lot of variables when it comes to putting together a show, because we have to know our audience and what their needs are. We may be playing background music for a formal Christmas party. We may be closing out a high-energy week of Vacation Bible School with an all-ages concert. We may be leading worship for a couples’ retreat. Each of those audiences has very different needs.
Side note: worship leading and performing are two totally different postures – that’s a potential future episode that could also be a worthy discussion.
There are also some venues where the currency of the realm is renown. It’s a bit of a catch-22; you need a following to increase exposure, but you need exposure to gain a following.
Some artists are less skilled, but they have enough chops and enough of a presence or a brand that people flock to hear them do their thing, so they draw the crowds. That’s great – let them do what they do.
Some artists are incredibly talented, but they haven’t taken time to create the administrative framework necessary to get their dreams off the ground. They may be “sittin’ on go” for a long time, which could result in them remaining relatively undiscovered and not making the progress they want to make towards fulfilling their dreams.
As for you, perhaps the best next step is to develop a clear vision for what success means to you in terms of the types of venues where you want to serve. You need to sample the menu of venues a bit, of course, but you’ll eventually find your ideal people.
Once you know what you want to play and who you want to play for, lean into that calling. Take action, even in small steps.
Always remember that you are playing for people. Keep it relational. Honor those who have entrusted you with a platform. Treat everyone, including the tech crew, with great respect.
Perhaps even embark on the lost art of the handwritten thank you note. For over 20 years, I have mailed a handwritten thank you note (or several) to the people who have made each of my appearances possible.
But enjoy the process. Stay focused, and over time, with prayer and dedication, you’ll develop momentum, perhaps a following, and eventually be paid for your work. That transition from paying to play, to playing for pay may take some time, so be patient, but diligent.
As with many Kingdom-related endeavors, this may not be easy, but it will be worthy. Remember, even if you aren’t being paid to play yet, you’re still doing good Kingdom work if you’re pointing to the Lord with your gifts.
Let’s work hard to see a harvest, but also remember that treasures in heaven are what we’re really storing up. So, play your guitar, have serious fun, and be ready for where the Lord might lead you as you seek His will.
P.S. If you’re looking for some guitar tools in the early or intermediate stages of your playing, GuitarSuccess4U could have just what you need, in a flexible and fun learning environment. Check out GuitarSuccess4U.com to learn more about whether this unique experience might be a good fit for you.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
A few years ago, I helped a friend with a house project that involved taking a fair amount of junk to the dump.
As we pulled up to get rid of the stuff we brought, a man pulled up in a large pickup truck next to us. I did a double take as I realized that the bed of his pickup was chock-full of huge trophies. There must have been at least three dozen of them piled high in the back of his pickup, and these trophies were between two and three feet tall.
I couldn’t resist asking him why he was throwing all those trophies away.
“Excuse me,” I said. “Can I ask what all those trophies are for, and why you’re throwing them all away?”
“Oh,” he said, with a mixture of disappointment and relief in his voice, “these are motocross trophies I’ve won in races over the years, but they really don’t mean much to me now. I wanted to make space at my house for some other things, so these needed to go.”
His words definitely gave me pause. Those trophies represented a significant time commitment, and a level of achievement in a field that can be pretty competitive. And yet, with the passage of time, from his perspective, those trophies didn’t mean much anymore.
I’m sure this guy will have plenty of motocross stories to tell his kids and grandkids, but the time he spent practicing as he rode his dirt bike, to say nothing of the cost of equipment and fuel, was no longer to be memorialized in these awards; they were disappearing quickly into the trash heap.
I’m sad to report that some guitar players have a similar story. They may not take their guitars to the dump, but the reality is that their music and talents get set aside indefinitely.
I’ve met people for whom music was once a major focus, or at least a serious hobby, but they have fallen away from the ardent pursuit of their musical dreams. Their instruments have either been stashed away in an attic, or sold, or donated. For some, music is no longer a priority. It has tragically faded away in the busyness of life.
Of course, there are always different seasons, but as guitarists seeking the Lord’s will, my hope is that Christ-honoring music might be something that could last most of our lifetimes. For some, the music that could be does not come to be, as the years slip by.
What about you and me? What about the music we’re playing, or long to play? Will our work be temporary and give way to other things? Or, will the structures we’re building endure the test of time, or even last beyond our lifetimes?
The guitar structures we can build will only last if we are purposeful, intentional, and eternally-minded.
I believe that if we submit our work to the Lord and invite Him to guide our steps, He will give us purpose and opportunities to play our guitars in a seriously fun way that can transcend our lifetimes. For musicians who play the guitar, this is legacy defined.
Let’s look at three hypothetical scenarios.
First, perhaps we find ourselves playing songs in a worship setting, inviting people to engage with the Lord of the universe as we declare His praises. Is this something eternally significant? Absolutely.
Second, what if we write songs on the guitar that carry a message of hope, that challenges people to a deeper walk with Christ? Will these structures last? I really think so.
Lastly, what if we are a part of a paradigm where important guitar knowledge is passed along? This is knowledge that has been developed over time, to help equip other guitar players to overcome hurdles and challenges on their way to their definition of success.
That, in fact, is one of the main purposes I now find myself leaning into, full-tilt, as I equip beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists to discover their potential. This is an excellent example of Kingdom-minded guitar structures that can be built for His glory.
Did you catch that? The glory of these lasting structures belongs to the Lord, not us. We carry the legacy, we are entrusted with being music-makers, but the Great Composer is the one who receives the glory for anything that comes from our efforts.
Some of the things we will enjoy in life will be very temporary: random experiences might include a meal, a movie, or a camping trip (where I was actually inspired to string these very words together.) And these experiences may provide wonderful memories we can hold onto for quite a while.
But for structures to last, they need to be fortified with a greater sense of purpose as we look beyond ourselves to the lives of others, including those who have not yet been born. I don’t believe that we can make a positive spiritual impact on someone’s life with eternal significance by accident. We have to lean into it with great intention.
I remember performing a concert of my original music at a camp once where I played the guitar and sang my heart out for Jesus. I later received a note in the mail from a camper who had been at that concert that included the sentence, “You make me want to be a better Christian.”
Well, I can’t take credit for that spiritual impact on this young person’s life, but I can say that it took place while I was obediently embarking on building lasting structures for the Kingdom of God. My prayer is that that young person is now living a life to the fullest for Christ.
I was deeply encouraged to receive that note in the mail, but my part was to step forward and lean into something that I knew would have a lasting value. So, I did.
What about you and your guitar? Have you taken stock of your short or long-term goals for how you want to use the time that remains? Are you playing seriously fun music with an eternally-significant message or tone, and will others hear it and be spiritually impacted by it?
Remember, you don’t have to record a professional album to reach others in a meaningful way; you could just bring your guitar to an informal gathering and play a handful of songs in someone’s living room or backyard and still make an impact.
When our lives on this earth wind down (and they will,) what will we look back on that we have invested in with our musical gifts and talents? Will we see structures we’ve put in place that have equipped, inspired, and impacted others for the glory of God? I pray that it will be so.
Thanks for taking the opportunity to pause and think about how our guitar playing can have an eternal impact on the lives of others. It’s not something that happens by accident; we need to lean into it with purpose and dedication, and then to let the Lord do His mighty work with our humble offerings, for His glory.
So please, keep showing up, keep playing your guitar for the glory of God.
And if you can think of someone in your life who might appreciate the message of today’s episode, please share it with them.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the video version of this post that I link to. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
How do we effectively navigate our way around the entire guitar fretboard? Let me share an analogy with you.
In the mid-1980s, when I was about 10 years old, I discovered computer adventure games. Remember the 5¼” floppy disk? That was my ticket to becoming a digital hero for the first time. Whether I was saving a princess in a distant land or finding lost treasure in underground caverns, I found it super helpful to draw complete maps of these games so I could know where the obstacles and traps were, and so I could retrace my steps. These maps saved me a ton of time, and I won all those games because I had the maps.
My approach to the guitar fretboard is a lot like that. Can I give you a window into how I’ve mapped it out? Game on.
So, my background in piano has taught me that in the 12-tone scale, there are 7 white notes and 5 black notes, for a total of 12 notes. The guitar notes repeat every 12 frets, so if we just take, for example, the 6th string, we can map it out and see that there are black and white notes that match up to the piano. If we know the musical alphabet, which ends on G, we can even locate those notes on the map.
Watch as I play the white notes from E to E on the piano in a scale known by many as the Phrygian Mode.
The notes are E, F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. I’ve started on the low E, and ended UP an octave on the high E. Now I’ll find those same notes on the 6th string of my guitar.
Now, not including that high E, I’ve played 7 unique white notes, here on frets Zero, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 10.
Now I’ll play the BLACK notes on the piano. These are the sharps or the flats. They can be found as a group of 3, or a group of 2, for a total of 5 notes, which completes our 12- tone scale.
Now I’ll play those 5 black notes on the 6th string of my guitar. The group of 3 black notes is on frets 2, 4, and 6. Then there’s the group of two black notes on frets 9 and 11.
I now have a clear view of all 12 notes of the 12-tone scale on the 6th string. And this mapping process will save me a ton of time. This is a victory. A win!
If you’re a gamer, you know the term “gamespace.” It’s the virtual space within which a video game takes place. This fretboard is our gamespace. And a map is essential, because it guides us as we create music, not by accident, but on purpose!
Having an understanding of how the notes are all laid out like this for all 6 strings can empower us with scales, arpeggios, chords, capo positions, and so much more.
So take this approach and get to know the notes. Each note of the 12-tone scale appears only once on each string from open to the 11th fret. Try finding the appearance of a single note, like the note C – on the 8th fret of the 6th string. Try going up and down on a single string, naming all the notes as you play. This strategy leads to musical fluency in a way that could unlock the guitar for you.
P.S. Ready to uplevel your playing? Lots more is waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thank you for reading Guitar Serious Fun!
Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcription included below…
How many guitars does a guitar player need? The answer is – just one more.
Now, with respect to all the manufacturers out there, who make their living by making the wonderful instruments that we enjoy playing, I think it’s important to start with a fundamental question.
Will another guitar make me a better guitar player?
Well, if the guitar we’re currently playing has intonation problems, high action, machine heads that won’t keep strings in tune, and it’s not worth the repair costs to bring it back to life, then I’d say absolutely. Under these circumstances, we need another guitar, and it needs to be an instrument that’s in better shape.
Just like a guitar in poor condition can lead to discouragement, a guitar of decent quality leads to high morale when we play. I think we can all agree on that.
But what if our guitar is already in excellent shape? Will another guitar make us a better musician?
I’m not so sure. Perhaps if we play acoustic and we want to buy an electric, that could be a good addition to our sonic sandbox.
Or maybe the resonance of one of our guitars isn’t as pleasing to the ear as what we know will come from a new guitar by a different luthier, perhaps a guitar made of different woods.
One way to think of a new guitar is as a reward for having set and accomplished a particular musical goal. That can provide a good incentive for adding another instrument to the mix.
But where I sometimes see fellow guitarists going off course with their subconscious process is to invest in more guitars, rather than to invest in cultivating their skills.
Now, there are people out there I’d classify as collectors, who are excited to purchase auctioned guitars of legends who have retired or passed away. Think about your favorite guitar player from years gone by. Wouldn’t it be cool to have his or her guitar hanging in your living room? Perhaps it would be encased in bullet-proof glass with motion sensors and alarm triggers around it.
These kinds of investors may amass collections of guitars, but some of these folks don’t really play the guitar. And that’s ok. These are what I’d call guitar owners.
But if you’re on the receiving end of what I’m sharing with you today, chances are good that you want to grow as a guitar player. Am I right?
With this in mind, I would say, for your consideration, that purchasing another guitar won’t bring as much progress to your playing as…wait for it…practice.
Really? Practice? Well, there are different kinds of practice – there is pointless busywork with drudgery that seems to make the secondhand on your wall clock tick backwards.
But then there is effective, enjoyable practice. I’m talking about practicing a skill that you know you can put to use in the near or immediate future with real music. Even the difficult musical skills we develop can be within reach as we dig in and have…you guessed it…serious fun. And that’s what I’m in the business of helping beginning and intermediate guitarists experience, through my online membership at GuitarSuccess4U. This is where I see people making the progress they want to make, according to their definition of success.
As followers of Christ, we are not in the business of impressing others. That’s not something that should be in our repertoire. But what about honoring God?
Playing skillfully – there’s an important thought to consider. Psalm 33:3 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
So skillful playing can be an offering to the Lord, with joy. This can bless others, and bring glory to God in the process. I like to enjoy playing well…do you?
Developing our skills can lead to all kinds of wonderful opportunities. Proverbs 22:29 reminds us that “those who are skilled in their work will serve before kings.”
In GuitarSuccess4U, I interview a variety of very gifted musicians and experts in their fields. One phenomenal bass player named Adam said this:
“It’s ok to be content with your gear, and not with your skills.”
Right? Buying more gear isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I buy gear. I have lots of gear. To date, I have four acoustic guitars that I use on a regular basis, sometimes with different tunings.
But when someone has guitars numbering in the double digits, I have to wonder – are they spending resources on developing their skills, or amassing a collection?
Will that collection always be with us? It could be around for many years of our lives. It could remain in the family as a part of an inheritance. “Those were Dad’s treasured guitars.” That’s definitely a kind of legacy.
A collection of guitars could also get borrowed…for life. I know a few guitarists who’ve had their entire guitar collection stolen.
I’ve had music gear insurance for a decade and a half…fortunately without incident. But Matthew 6:19 cautions us not to “store up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Can my collection of guitars be taken away? Yes.
Can my ability to play the guitar be taken away? Yes, but the impact I have made on people’s lives with my guitar playing, cannot. If I develop my skills and make seriously fun music, leading, arranging, or writing songs with my guitar, something happens that has the potential to outlive me. And that’s the kind of legacy I want.
Developing our skills happens over time, and can take hard work. It’s certainly hard work to make the money necessary to purchase equipment. But clicking a mouse to buy a guitar online, or carrying a guitar out of the showroom to the checkout counter is a whole lot easier than diligently pouring thousands of hours into developing our skills on that guitar.
So, do you want to be a guitar player, a guitar owner, or both? I’m thinking both is a pretty good option.
As Adam said, “It’s ok to be content with your gear, and not with your skills.” I entreat you to find contentment, to play your guitar today, and to let your collection, however big, to rest for a while, at least until you’ve crossed some skill frontiers that give you the seriously fun momentum you’re longing for.
And then yes, if you really want to, you can buy another guitar.
P.S. Ready to take the guitar(s) you own and develop some skills? Momentum is waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcription included below…
It’s a critical point in every story, and it happens throughout all genres of film and literature. After we are introduced to the hero, the hero meets…the villain.
Sometimes, it’s a violent, startling encounter where the villain bursts onto the scene. Other times, it’s a rather civilized exchange, where the hero and the villain have a brief conversation. Perhaps the villain temptingly says, “Join me,” the hero refuses…and they each acknowledge that they are diametrically opposed, so they come to terms with the fact that each wants a different outcome.
This could be in a legendary medieval epic, a detective story, a science fiction saga, or a superhero comic book. Name a good genre of story, and there is usually a hero and a villain.
Once we know who the villain is, we can root for the hero and watch as he or she goes against all odds to defeat the villain.
It can be a long battle over the course of many pages or many episodes, but with determination and sometimes help, that hero can overcome the villain.
In the story of our guitar journeys, we are the heroes. As protagonists, we are on a quest to be victorious, and to defeat the antagonist. And I believe there’s one main villain in our stories who is lurking in the mundane moments of our everyday guitar adventures.
You might not guess the name of this villain. I’ll tell you.
The villain is: “plateau playing.”
Sound unremarkable? I sure think so. “Plateau playing”…what kind of a villain is that? You may have been hoping for a much more sinister name. But the very “bland” nature of this villain allows it to be cloaked in familiarity, and to do its evil work.
Let me define “plateau playing,” so you can get to know this dark and destructive character a bit. “Plateau playing” is a manner of playing our guitar over time without any urgency to improve or develop our skills beyond where they are.
This applies to any skill level for any guitar player.
Take a beginner, for example. Perhaps he or she has learned the open chords G, C, D and E minor, or some variation. They’ve discovered the capo, and how it can be placed up and down the neck to allow for access to multiple keys, using these four shapes.
That’s a great discovery, but that’s where they stop. Perhaps for years. They settle for those four chord shapes, use their capo, and whether they play worship, pop, or original music, those basic tools make up the nuts and bolts of what they do, and they really don’t see any reason to go much further beyond that.
I went to a Christian concert one time and sat in an audience of about 3000 people. Onstage, the main artist wielding the guitar did exactly as I have just described – those four chord shapes and a capo, for 90% of the performance.
That’s “plateau playing” for beginning guitarists.
What about someone who’s further along? Take a guitarist who uses the same basic collection of chords and strumming patterns, and doesn’t see any real need to branch out. They’re comfortable, but are we called to be comfortable? What if this more established guitarist worked on enhancing their theory knowledge with a view to greater musicianship through color chords, borrowed chords, some fresh new grooves, or even some fingerstyle guitar? What if they expanded their memorized repertoire? They could. But no, they remain in a holding pattern, clinging to what they know.
That’s “plateau playing” for intermediate guitarists.
Are we called to stay in a holding pattern over the course of the life of our guitar playing? I really don’t think so. Perhaps for some of us, our time is limited, but even a short practice time each day could yield some new tools, techniques, and a higher level of musicianship and artistry…for each of us, regardless of our level of experience.
Let’s look at the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25. I’m concerned with one servant in particular – the one who buried his talent in the ground.
When the time came for the master to settle accounts with his servants, this servant brought back the very same talent that he had been entrusted with. No increase, just the same talent. Do you remember how the master responded? He was disappointed, upset, and angry. That servant had not stewarded his talent faithfully.
When we bury our musical talent and don’t develop it, we are giving in to the villain of “plateau playing”. But naming our villain can take away some of its power. We have its number. We know what it is.
Now how do we defeat it?
It’s a daily battle, actually.
First, we can pray for the Lord to give us strength to overcome this obstacle.
Second, every time we play the guitar, instead of thinking, “I’ll just play what I know,” we can think, “What’s a better way to grow in this area?” If we’re on a worship team, what if we learned some fresh new chords or voicings for a song we already know? By taking these steps, we can recalibrate our mindset towards being on the lookout for ways to learn and grow.
Third, we can be teachable, seeking out resources and people who can empower us with new insights and strategies. By experiencing what I’m sharing with you right now, you are pursuing counsel and insights to help you grow – so, good for you!
I myself have been a student of the guitar and music for nearly three decades, always learning from others. I’m now making it my main focus to equip other guitar players across the U.S. to discover their potential through an ongoing membership experience called GuitarSuccess4U (for which I’ll include a URL in the postscript of this post).
Fourth and finally, we need strength in numbers. Sometimes the hero defeats the villain single-handedly, but often, as I mentioned, there is a group effort. What if you were in a community of guitarists who shared a common vision, who pooled their collective knowledge, and who could encourage and hold you accountable?
That would put fear in the heart of our villain, to be sure.
So, let’s acknowledge our enemy as “plateau playing,” let’s unite against this common enemy, refusing to give in on any front. As the hero in our story, let’s claim little victories along our quest, having serious fun all along the way.
P.S. Join us to defeat the villain by becoming a member at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free and then share it with a friend!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcription included below…
Music is a fair and glorious gift from God. Do you agree? Whether we’re on the giving end as we play, or the receiving end as we listen, an environment is created where there’s an exchange. Someone plays the music, and someone listens.
Now, as guitarists, we have the opportunity to play music in a variety of settings from practice room, to living room, to worship platform, to stage, to studio.
And depending on how far we want to go with our music, it’s important to ask the question – do we need to understand music to enjoy it?
I think the basic answer to this is a simple no.
There are many people out there who listen to music and have no idea how it’s constructed, what the theoretical elements are, or what the key signature or time signature is. And that’s ok. Think about watching a movie. Unless you’ve gone to film school, or are involved with cinematography or video editing, you’re not aware of things like jump cuts, shot composition, or camera angles. You just enjoy being absorbed in the story of the film as it draws you in.
As one who has led worship in multiple settings, I try hard to craft song sets that move well together, using closely-related keys, appropriate tempos for the context of the service, and above all, singable vocal ranges. I want the congregation (who is predominantly made up of vocalists – as opposed to drummers) to be equipped to sing.
This sometimes means that certain worship songs with large vocal ranges don’t make the cut. Those are worship songs that are best enjoyed as we listen to them, but not as we sing them.
So, when I led worship as a guest at one church several years ago, I employed these intentional strategies. After the service, I was delighted when a sweet couple came up to me with their appreciation for what I had done. They said, “Thank you for singing in our key.”
Now, I had played in multiple keys that morning, but I knew what they meant. I had chosen and transposed songs with ranges that were singable, so that the people could sing. The very words this couple said to me showed me that they didn’t understand what was going on musically, but had enjoyed and been blessed by it, regardless.
Now, because I had an understanding of music, I could enjoy serving them well. So, the flipside is that understanding music can lead to a deeper level of enjoying it.
Another memory I look back fondly on is my father’s 60th birthday. He has always been a fan of the late Harry Chapin, who is best known for the song “Cat’s in the Cradle.” Harry died too young at the age of 38…but not before my father had the opportunity to see him live in concert. That Harry Chapin concert impacted my father deeply, because Harry captivated that audience with just a single guitar, as he sat on a stool, presenting a rich evening filled with stories and songs. My father watched and listened, enthralled, from less than 20 feet away.
Well, for my father’s 60th birthday, I decided to learn 11 of Harry’s songs and to perform them in a house concert for him. In a way, I was sort of reenacting that memorable concert he had enjoyed decades before. I played one song on the banjo, and one on the piano, but the other nine songs were all played on the guitar, including “Cat’s in the Cradle,” which was the final song of the show.
My father was so deeply moved by that concert that he wept.
So, did my father enjoy that music? To say “yes” would be an understatement. He told me that the Harry Chapin house concert I played for him was the best birthday present he had ever received.
Does my father understand music? No, not really. But he loves to listen to it.
And as I learned and memorized those Harry Chapin songs, my level of musical understanding of his progressions and complex song forms led to some seriously fun enjoyment of Harry’s music. I got to know Harry by learning to play and sing his songs in a way that only a listener of his music would not.
As someone who has recorded multiple albums of original music, I know what’s involved with crafting songs, and revising them until they’re just where I need them to be. Writing music is a process, and for some, it involves just experimenting with chords and melodies until they feel right.
We all begin there, and frankly, some of the most impactful songs out there have come from musicians who have only a basic understanding of music, but who surround themselves with others who can help empower them…whether bandmates, fellow songwriters, or producers.
Some fellow guitarists I’ve met would rather leave music mostly as a mystery. They avoid theory because they’re afraid of the idea that unpacking and understanding how the music works will take away some of that mystery.
But if music is a fair and glorious gift from God, don’t you think that there will be transcendent mystery woven into it? I say, when possible, it’s good to develop our understanding of music so that we can make intentional choices…and allow the songs to reach their full potential.
A chef can cook without a recipe, but there are certain ingredients that work better together than others.
A biologist can discover the inner workings of a flower, but can still simply behold the flower’s outer beauty, to say nothing of its beauty on a microscopic level.
So, do we need to understand music to enjoy it? No. But does a greater understanding of music lead to a deeper enjoyment of it? I would say yes. As an appreciator of music as well as a creator of music, this is the serious fun side of discovering all that music has to offer. And the more we discover, the more we can thank God for this fair and glorious gift.
Do you think we need to understand music to enjoy it? I’d love to know.
P.S. More is waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Transcript included below…
What is palm muting, when it comes to guitar? Well, first of all, don’t let the term “muting” confuse you – it’s not like the mute button on your TV remote. We aren’t silencing our strings. We’re just making them ring for a shorter amount of time. Plus, if we’re playing the acoustic guitar, we’re adding a low “thump” that adds a fun additional percussive sound.
Palm muting is actually one of the coolest articulations we can add to our strumming.
I invite you to choose a simple chord for your fretting hand, like E minor. We’ll really only be focusing on the 3 lowest strings for this quick exercise, so once you’ve formed an E minor chord, just leave your fretting hand in position, and focus on your strumming hand. We’re basically going to make contact with the palm of our hand at the same moment that our pick makes contact with the strings.
If you want to see exactly where I have my palm landing, check this out. I’m going to put a little paint on my strings, like this.
And now when I make contact, the paint gets on my hand and shows you which part of my hand is touching the strings.
So now that I’ve got the paint all cleaned up, let’s try some palm muting.
First, some simple quarter notes.
Next, some 8th notes strummed down and up.
Palm muting is possible with up strums, but if this is your first time trying this, maybe save that for later.
Now let’s try some 8th notes strummed down only. This makes me think a little bit of 80s rock.
The next level is to apply palm muting to a strumming pattern. Check out what happens when I play a pattern I like to call the 3+3+2 strum. First, no palm muting.
Now, palm muting added.
Hear those palm muting accents on beats 1, the “&” of beat 2, and beat 4? They really add character, especially when the higher strings are unmuted.
So that’s a quick window into palm muting and how it can add artistry to your palette. Go try these techniques out and listen as your playing develops more depth and artistry!
P.S. Lots more tips, tools and tricks are waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Have you ever broken a guitar string? Has it ever happened in front of a group of people? Breaking a string onstage is what I would call “just shy of helpful.” I restring my guitar regularly, often enough that I can tell which string will likely break first.
But we’ve all been surprised by a string going “snap” at a very inopportune moment.
I watched this happen to someone else when I was a musical guest at a church. Here’s how it went down. There was a solo worship leader who was leading an opening worship set of two songs. I was slated to go up and share an original song after his set.
But just as he was wrapping up the first song, one of his strings broke. It wasn’t too loud, but I heard it. And at that point, only he and I noticed it.
In the interest of keeping the momentum of the morning going, I motioned to him that I could hop up and share my special music song so he could go put a new string on his guitar. That seemed to make sense to him, and as I went up on the platform, I glanced at the sound tech, who adjusted gracefully to mute the worship leader’s guitar and to unmute mine.
The worship leader then disappeared backstage with his guitar as I seamlessly moved into my song, sharing my heart, playing well, and serving that congregation.
Everything was flowing smoothly. Until the worship leader came back out with his guitar, plugged it in, and spoke into the mic.
He said, “Hey, I’m really sorry about that. I’m not sure if any of you noticed, but I broke a guitar string during that first song, so I needed to stop and go put a new string on. I hope you weren’t distracted.”
I smiled and shook my head, thinking, “We weren’t distracted, but we kind of are now.”
It took a moment for us to get back on track as he tried to transition back into worship leading for the next song. I’m pretty sure some of the folks had a hard time recovering from that awkward moment. I know I was caught a little off guard.
Congregations come to church with the hope that they’ll be led in a focused time of dwelling with the Lord. It’s my conviction that what they don’t know won’t hurt them.
I certainly don’t want to throw this worship leader under the bus; we’ve all said things on the platform that we probably could have abbreviated or re-phrased. But my willingness to step in and cover was an excellent opportunity for him to take a cue from me and to continue to guide the people forward throughout the morning.
I remember one time that I had bought a bad batch of guitar strings that were old and oxidized. Against my better judgment, I put those strings on my guitar, and watched in disbelief one morning at my home church during worship as three strings broke at three separate times.
Fortunately, we were able to cover as others spoke, prayed, or there was a time of congregational greeting. I was able to quickly re-string three times during that service, and believe it or not, no one noticed…not even my own mother.
Since then, I keep my guitar strings fresh, and sometimes, if I’m playing in different tunings, I’ll even have a secondary guitar with me on the platform, all ready to go.
But in those times when I’ve broken a string, I really do try to avoid drawing a lot of attention to myself…especially if it’s in a worship environment where my desire is for the Lord to be the focus.
People don’t need to know about these things. There’s little they can do anyway. Think about times when you’ve seen someone step up to a podium, or be handed a microphone, and they say, “I’m really nervous. I don’t like speaking in front of people.”
“Cringe,” right? “Ok. Well, you’re speaking in front of people. And we want to hear what you’re going to say. So please consider focusing on that, instead of why you don’t like speaking to us.”
For the most part, when we’re in front of people, especially with our guitars, they want to hear what we’re going to play and sing for them. So, let’s play.
And when the inevitable string breaks from time to time, let’s just ride loose in the saddle, recover graciously, quietly ask for assistance if needed, and the congregation or audience will go along with us for the ride.
What they don’t know won’t hurt them…but even if they do know about it, as long as we’re not upset about it, they’re likely to be pretty chill about it, too. And then we can get back to the seriously fun music we came to play.
P.S. More is waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
Did you know that our availability can sometimes be even more important than our ability? Here’s a story from very early on in my guitar journey that illustrates this.
I had been playing the guitar for several weeks. Not months…not years…but weeks. My family and I went to our church family camp, and I thought I’d bring my guitar along with me, so I could practice some of those first few chords I was learning.
Well, as I sat outside and tried to play my guitar, a few people from the church spotted me as they walked by. Camp and guitar tend to go pretty well together. Well, word got out, and at one of the evening campfire gatherings, someone said, “David, you have a guitar – could you lead us in some worship songs?”
What? How in the world could that be possible? I barely knew a handful of chords, and although I had sung for several years, I had zero worship leading experience from the guitar.
But someone had tracked down a few song sheets from a camp worship songbook, and they were inviting me to use my musical gifts, then and there.
I had a choice. I could have said, “I’m not ready,” but instead I chose to say, “I’m available.” I stumbled through those songs with the chords I knew, and as the people sang, the guitar became secondary, and a humble but sincere corporate worship offering took place.
What a cool memory. As you can see, the Lord wasn’t as concerned about my ABILITY as He was my availability.
And I’m not alone in this. People throughout the Bible were used by God simply because they were available, often in spite of their lack of ability. And God was actually glorified through that.
David was a young, small boy, but the Lord used him to defeat the greatest warrior of the Philistines, and to become a great king, a man after God’s own heart.
Saul of Tarsus was causing all kinds of destruction as he terrorized the Lord’s people, and yet God transformed him into Paul the Apostle, a powerful instrument for His kingdom as he used Paul to impact countless lives through his ministry and letters.
Let’s look at Moses for a moment. When the Lord first met with Moses, He asked, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replied that he was holding a staff, which the Lord then proceeded to use as an instrument to show His power to Moses. And Moses went on to use that staff as he led the Israelites out of Egypt…including the moment where the Lord commanded Moses to lift up the staff to divide the waters of the Red Sea so that God’s people could pass through it on dry ground.
Moses was available. But not always.
Not long after the Lord has shown Moses that He could transform his staff, the Lord commanded Moses to go and speak to His people, promising that He would help Moses, and teach him what to say.
But how did Moses respond? Considering himself to be a less-than-capable speaker, he said, “Please send someone else.”
Remember that? The Lord’s anger burned against Moses for resisting that calling, and when it came to speaking to His people, the Lord alternatively used Moses’ brother, Aaron, since Moses refused to be available.
This is a bit of a cautionary tale.
What if, when those fellow worshipers at Family Camp had asked me to lead worship with my humble, rudimentary skills, and I had said, “No – I’m really not ready”? Perhaps a time of worship would not have happened.
It’s possible that someone else would have stepped forward, maybe to just lead acappella without an instrument. But I had felt the gentle stirring of the Lord in me to be available, in spite of what I believed to be a lack of ability.
Think about this. I went on to serve for over a decade of professional worship ministry on staff at two churches, leading from the guitar, and sharing my musical gifts all over North America for even longer. If I had turned down that invitation at that early stage, it’s possible I might have gotten used to turning down invitations. And people who wanted to be led in worship might not have had the leader they needed in those moments.
But the good news is that although I wasn’t “ready” by my standards, I was available. Was it easy? No. Was it worthy? Yes. This is the type of serious fun opportunity that appears from time to time on our guitar journeys. We just have to be sensitive enough to be aware of it when it appears.
So, what is that in your hand? A guitar? Will you be available to use it for the Lord’s glory, perhaps even when you don’t feel ready?
P.S. Want to develop your skills so that you can be readier when opportunities come? Check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
When I was a kid, I was on the receiving end of a couple bully encounters on the elementary school playground that I can clearly remember.
One kid walked up to me, put his arm around me and asked me if we could be friends.
“Sure,” I said, innocently. The next thing I knew, he had put his leg out in front of mine, pushed me over it, and I was on the ground, dumbfounded, as he walked away cackling with sinister delight.
I didn’t see that coming.
Another encounter I had with a bully happened repeatedly over time. It involved my football getting launched across the playground by an older kid.
We younger students threw a football around at recess every day, and once in a while, the ball bounced over to where the older kids were playing. The first few times caught me off guard. One of the older kids would take our football and launch it away from us, all the way to the other side of the playground.
I could tell that this guy really enjoyed making us have to run to get our ball. The good news was that I could predict what was going to happen each time my football bounced into enemy territory.
Well, after a while, this got old. Finally, at one point, when our ball bounced over to this older kid and I watched him pick it up, I walked right up to him. Just as he was about to wind up and throw the ball in his usual manner, I reached out and knocked the ball out of his hands.
He didn’t see that coming.
For a moment, he just stared at me. But as I picked up the ball and walked away, he started shouting, waving his arms and kicking his legs, with conduct similar to a toddler throwing a tantrum.
I had taken away his power. And from then on, he knew that I wasn’t going to tolerate what he had been doing.
Ok, let’s switch gears for a moment. Think about your guitar journey, and the various peaks and valleys you’ll inevitably encounter. As you dig into the challenges of music, there will be people who speak encouragement into your life. But there will also be people who want to discourage you. I classify these people, on whatever level, as bullies.
They’re the types of naysayers who may be jealous of your progress, or they may just be looking for a way to make themselves feel better. They’re out there – believe me. I’ve met several of them, and some have been some of the most unlikely sources of negativity.
There’s even a bully you’ve already met. Wait for it – it’s you. You can actually be the naysayer who instigates a fruitless conversation with yourself of negative self-talk. I know, because I’ve done it many times.
But as I mentioned – that conversation is fruitless. There’s really nothing good that can come from statements like “I’ll never get this,” or “What am I doing trying to learn this,” or “This is just too hard for a person like me in my season of life.”
Well…if we say those things, we’ll begin to believe those things.
2 Corinthians 10:5 concludes with the statement that “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
What if, when a negative voice enters your musical conversation, whether from without or within, you took that thought captive and responded with, “I’m called to this, and by His strength, I can do this”?
I always want to be realistic. I’m not expecting to conquer the most technical guitar piece out there in a single afternoon. But I do believe that with serious fun and hard work, we can fulfill the calling the Lord has placed on our lives as guitarists, at whatever level of musicianship He invites us to.
Throughout the process, we need to be vigilant, so that we can see the bully approaching. Then we need to engage. We need to meet that bully face-to-face, responding gently but firmly, without being intimidated by negative, naysaying thoughts. Whatever is offered, we’ll take those thoughts captive and remind ourselves why we play, and for whom we play.
And then, we’ll take the very next serious fun step forward on our guitar journey.
Perhaps this was encouraging to you, or perhaps it was a little bit convicting. Either way, your willingness to consider my words could bless you as you continue forward pursuing serious fun on the guitar. Remember, not everyone out there wants you to succeed on the guitar. But I sure do, and I hope you do too!
P.S. A lot more encouraging thoughts like this are waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcription below…
Pro tip: please watch the video version of this post. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
People have asked me, “What’s the first guitar scale I should learn?”
My opinion? A scale you can remember the names of the notes for, and one that you can play in open position, with the fewest fingers possible.
With this in mind, I want to take you through the open A natural minor scale. So, grab your guitar if it’s close by.
As you may know, the musical alphabet has only 7 letters. They are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Right after G comes – not H, but A. Try saying that with me – A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A.
Our strings are numbered 1 through 6, from the highest pitch to the lowest.
We can also name the strings by open note from lowest to highest, like this: E, A, D, G, B, E, or Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie…right?
Fretting hand fingers are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4.
So, if we’re going to play this open A natural minor scale, we’ll be using 3 open strings, and 2 fingers.
The 3 open strings we’ll use will be strings 5, 4, and 3, which are the A, D, and G strings. And the 2 fingers we’ll use are fingers 2 and 3, which will find their homes on frets of the same number, frets 2 and 3, on these strings. It’s easy to remember, because if we’re playing a note on the 2nd fret, we’ll be using our 2nd finger, and if we’re playing a note on the 3rd fret, we’ll be using our 3rd finger. And in addition to the fretted notes, there will be 3 open notes.
So, let’s try the open A natural minor scale. We start on the 5th string, played open, with the note A. Remember, we’re just saying the alphabet.
Up next is our 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, for B. Then our 3rd finger on the 3rd fret for C.
What’s next? The same configuration on the 4th string, where we have open D, then our 2nd finger on the 2nd fret for E. Then our 3rd finger on the 3rd fret for F.
One more string – the 3rd string played open, with the note G. Then we finish with our 2nd finger on the 2nd fret for A.
I’ll play these notes again, just using my pick to play down strokes, going from the open A on the 5th string, to the fretted A on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string. Here I go. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and A.
Feel free to try it with me. Ready, go. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Now, if you weren’t able to play along with me just now, no worries. Just take it slow, one note at a time, and make sure you can hear each note sounding cleanly. You’ll get it.
So, there you have it, the open A natural minor scale. I invite you to get to know this scale. After you can play it fairly smoothly, try playing it and saying the note names, like I did. Then try playing it from high to low, saying the alphabet backwards, like this: A, G, F, E, D, C, B, A. Then, if you’re feeling creative, try making up a melody inside the scale.
As you can see, there’s all kinds of potential here. This scale is a great starting point that leads to making music, which is what we’re going for, right?
Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time!
P.S. Lots more is waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
One of my absolute favorite two-word phrases is “Yeah buddy!” To me, it’s sort of a triumphant battle cry that says, “I’m all in,” or “Let’s do this,” or “We were victorious.” It’s the kind of thing you say when you’re presented with a seriously fun challenge that you know can be overcome with some hard work. You also might say it when you’ve tackled said challenge, perhaps in a team setting.
Let’s say you’re in a band or on a worship team, and there’s one song in the mix that everyone knows is a juggernaut. It’s one that’s got a tricky key signature, a handful of alternating time signatures, or an unpredictable melody. Nobody’s talking about how difficult this song will be to play, but everyone’s thinking about it. It’s sort of the elephant in the room.
But the leader of the band – which could be you – calls the troops into battle as the song is rehearsed, and with diligence, excellent communication, and solid focus, the band steadily overcomes the obstacles and they lock in the song.
Before long, the song is presented or led in front of an audience or congregation. And perhaps the people experiencing that song from the auditorium don’t really have a sense of how challenging the song has been for the band. Technical songs like this can appear to be effortless, but we know better. If a song is played well, it’s likely that hard work has been a major part of the process of getting it to that level.
And so, the difficult song is played or led, the people sing or applaud, the gathering concludes, and the people leave. Everyone in the band puts away their gear, and the guitarists case their guitars.
That’s the time…for “Yeah buddy!” That’s when we put a stamp of victory on the completed project.
There was a time when I said those two precious words after just about anything – after pouring myself a tasty beverage, getting a package in the mail containing some sweet new gear, or watching a fun movie.
But those are not truly “Yeah buddy” moments, at least not in the fullest sense of the words. The moments I’m talking about are seriously fun moments when our hard work pays off.
Can we say “Yeah buddy” before we even begin working on a challenging song? Sure, we can. Does it also fit well when the song has been conquered? Indeed it does.
We can say it whenever we want…the important thing is to say it, and to fully grasp its significance. But keep it special. Reserve it for those times when a seriously fun musical challenge has been overcome.
Yeah buddy!
P.S. Lots more is waiting for you at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
It’s happened to all of us. We hop on YouTube and watch some virtuoso just dominate on his guitar strings, using creative techniques to play a crazy fun cover, maybe even adding some rhythm on the guitar body as well. We smile, laugh, shake our heads, but then when the video is over, we think, “I should go apologize to my guitar for being so neglectful.”
Yeah, don’t do that.
I have some alternative solutions. First, remember that the guitarist you’ve just watched is walking deeply in their passion, and this “tip of the iceberg” you’ve just witnessed in a 4-minute video represents thousands of hours of dedication, practice, and course-correction.
Second, remember that this guitarist you’ve just watched is on their own journey. They may or may not share your love for the Lord, and they may or may not have the same definition that you do when it comes to success. Either way, your journey is your journey.
Third, if you do love the Lord, remember that to focus too much on skill development, rather than worshipful pursuit of bringing glory to God, can move us dangerously close to idolatry. How good is good enough? How many YouTube views or subscribers are enough? It can be a slippery slope.
There are ways to be inspired, and there are ways to get derailed and discouraged. If the virtuosos out there are inspiring you, keep watching and enjoy the process. But if watching them discourages you because of where you are with your guitar playing, I encourage you to take some time to just enjoy playing your guitar, with the devices off.
You have this guitar for a reason – either you bought it or it was given to you. You’ve been entrusted with stewarding its care. Rather than feel sorry for not stewarding the instrument well, take the opportunity today to embark on a fresh start.
Play a song you know. Play it well. Then look for a song, or even a musical exercise that you don’t know, and do what it takes to play that well, even if it takes a few days…or longer.
Before you know it, you will have increased your knowledge and skill in a measurable way.
As this process is underway, I invite you to thank the Lord for allowing you this opportunity to grow.
Then the focus of your attention won’t be on the guitar virtuoso, or even your guitar. It will be on the Lord, where it belongs.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
Transcript included below…
My name is David Harsh, and I help beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists discover their potential.
Fun facts about me: my wife and I have two daughters, and I love to be creative - whether building structures out of papier-mâché, or playing music.
Here in this blog/podcast, I’m offering encouragement, stories, and tips on how to grow in your musicianship. I’ve been blessed to play and record guitar music for about three decades in a variety of settings from stage to studio.
I’ve also had the privilege of teaching guitarists all over North America through one-on-one lessons, workshops, conferences, and residential guitar seminars.
This is my blog. There are blogs out there about guitar gear, recording, shredding, luthiery, and maintenance. Those are all fantastic topics, but this is a different kind of blog.
Instead of trying to cover topics in each of these arenas, I’ve chosen to write about the journey we all take as musicians who want to play well, for the glory of God. I believe music is a gift to be developed and shared. Many of my posts are meant to simply encourage or challenge you. Some may offer some practical tips for enhancing your musicianship and your guitar playing.
But most are just intended to equip you as you serve the Lord with your musical gifts as a guitarist. I believe that we can worship the Lord with our guitar playing, on and off the platform.
I also believe that although some guitar concepts are easy to learn, sometimes we need to roll our sleeves up and take some consistent time to go a bit deeper. The results I’ve achieved as a guitarist have come with good, hard work.
I believe that some of the best musical experiences can happen on the other side of hard work…and if we’re working in the right way, fun can be had during the entire process.
If we believe that music should always be fun, what happens when it isn’t fun? Do we stop playing?
I would submit to you that guitar can be fun some of the time. But with the right mindset, most of the time, guitar can be serious fun, even when it’s challenging.
That’s why I call this blog Guitar Serious Fun.
Please subscribe to be kept in the loop about the latest blog posts and also my unique online experience called GuitarSuccess4U.
Blessings in Christ,
David Harsh.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com