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  • Todayā€™s episode is unlike any other Iā€™ve offered, because itā€™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, todayā€™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 thatā€™s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what I say and sing, I think youā€™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 weā€™ll talk about the art of improvisation, developing a useable vocabulary, and discovering what it means to be a good ā€œconversationalist,ā€ especially when it comes to the context of music.

    So buckle up.

    And please stay in touch, and if you havenā€™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 youā€™re a guitarist and you havenā€™t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today Iā€™m going to provide a strategy that just might sharpen your approach to playing any song you work on

    Todayā€™s episode will be one of the shortest youā€™ll experience here, because I want to get right to the point.

    And Iā€™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 donā€™t, itā€™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 doesnā€™t make things any easier; in fact, itā€™s considerably more dangerous. Just imagine it, right?Well, letā€™s take a piece of music for a moment ā€“ it could be a fingerstyle guitar solo in an alternate tuning with lots of ties across the bar lineā€¦or it could be a pretty standard worship song in 4/4 time with ā€œVerse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorusā€ song form.Really, the type of song does not matter for my point of illustration. And the level of difficulty doesnā€™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 Iā€™m not at all against playing from the beginning.But if itā€™s the rule, not the exception, I have another suggestionā€¦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.Youā€™ll know, because youā€™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 youā€™re in a worship team rehearsal, guide your band to a spot you can all find (e.g. pick-up to measure 9.) If youā€™re on your own, youā€™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 effectivelyā€¦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 todayā€™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.

    Itā€™s been interesting to watch and see who responds more to what on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, based on the audience.

    But if youā€™re looking for the real meat, the real feast, treat yourself to GuitarSuccess4U, a members-only experience for Christian guitarists who know thereā€™s more to the guitar and music.If todayā€™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 ā€œGuitar Successors.ā€Weā€™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 ā€œformulaā€ after that. So, the URL would be GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula. I canā€™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 Iā€™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
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  • Transcript included belowā€¦

    Today Iā€™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.

    Iā€™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, Jackieā€™s career was supported by spectators and people who watched him play baseball. Audience members are needed, right?

    But for many of us, itā€™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 memberā€¦or something on a larger scale, like on a worship team, or in a concert setting.

    Thatā€™s really where Iā€™m going with todayā€™s episode ā€“ Iā€™m not asking my readers to do something nearly impossible. I just want to encourage them to make music, and to do whatā€™s needed to get there. So, letā€™s keep it real again today as I share some thoughts.

    Sitting in the Audience

    If youā€™ve ever attended a concert or listened to someone play any instrument, especially the guitar, you know what itā€™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 listenersā€¦or content readers, like you with the blog youā€™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 theyā€™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.

    Iā€™ve offered guitar instruction long enough to cross paths with guitar students who are more like audience members.

    If thatā€™s their preferred means of enjoying music, thatā€™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 arenā€™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 weā€™re all comes down to it, they donā€™t really lean into the process of developing their skills.

    They donā€™t really practice much at all.

    Theyā€™d rather talk about it. Theyā€™d rather watch someone else do what they want to do, and theyā€™d rather not be held accountable.

    Thatā€™s a harder place to be, because it doesnā€™t actually lead to results.

    Watching other people get results can be fulfilling in a way, because we can live vicariously through them. Iā€™ve heard some people say, ā€œI donā€™t have a lot of talent, so I like to cheer on others who have more talent than I do.ā€

    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 Americaā€™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 thatā€™s the primary posture of an audience member ā€“ to receive whatā€™s being shared.

    Iā€™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 isnā€™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. Iā€™m always coming up with content and musical ideas that I take great joy in sharing. And for some folks, thatā€™s contagious and inspiring for them to do as well.But for othersā€¦not so much.Why?

    The Obstacles We EncounterReasons for not developing our guitar skills might include the followingā€¦

    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 ā€“ The 10 Fears We Face as Guitarists ā€“ Part 1 and Part 2.

    3. Procrastination.

    We can live in the weird space that says, ā€œIā€™ll get to that tomorrow.ā€ But tomorrow can get pushed out further and further. Procrastination does not pay off, usually.

    4. Laziness.

    Can guitar players be lazy? Sure. Iā€™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 Iā€™ve achieved the level of skill Iā€™ve developed on the guitar, I usually respond with ā€œGood, diligent practice and consistent hard work over time.ā€

    Some folks are looking for an easy way to learn. But thatā€™s not how itā€™s done.

    The opportunity to grow is there, but, as Thomas Edison is credited with saying,

    ā€œRecognizing opportunity is so difficult for most people because it goes around disguised in overalls, looking like hard work!ā€

    Now, there are different seasons of playing the guitar, as I unpack in Guitar Serious Fun Episodes 17 and 18, ā€œGuitar Through the Seasonsā€ ā€“ 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 playingā€¦even when itā€™s not practical or easy.

    Wounds from a Friend

    If todayā€™s episode has been a little less uplifting and a bit more of a coaching posture, thatā€™s not by accident.Iā€™m a leader, but one of the main reasons Iā€™ve become the leader I am is because Iā€™ve literally had people in my world growing up who have said, ā€œThereā€™s leadership potential in you, David. Donā€™t sit back.ā€

    Even if I wasnā€™t thankful in the moment for these exhortations, Iā€™m thankful now.

    Proverbs 27:6 states,

    ā€œWounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.ā€

    Iā€™m here to gently wound you in a way that might inspire you to take action.

    How? Well, Iā€™ve got a few ideas.

    Action Steps

    1. Set some reasonable goals.

    Goals give us a framework, and some tangible thresholds weā€™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 weā€™re working on, and this can provide gentle accountability.

    3. Celebrate victories.

    When we achieve a goal, we need to celebrate what weā€™ve done (more importantly what the Lord has done through us.) And if weā€™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 ā€œwins,ā€ and every time we gather on Zoom, I ask if any of my members have ā€œwinsā€ 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:

    ā€œTechnique is a means to an end. Make sure the music you want play is that end.ā€

    Mic drop, right?Iā€™m all about techniques that lead me in the direction where I want to be playing music.

    6. Donā€™t go alone.

    One African proverb Iā€™ve always appreciated says:

    ā€œIf you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.ā€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 youā€™re open to setting aside some intentional time to discover what weā€™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 ā€“ itā€™s not for those who want to sit on the sidelines ā€“ itā€™s for those who want to get in the game.

    These action steps could be game-changers for you, and Iā€™d love for us both to find out.

    But if all that todayā€™s episode does is serve as a catalyst for you to pick up your guitar, then thatā€™s a win for both of us.So, go grab your guitar and play it. Because thatā€™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. Iā€™m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you in the future, even if we ā€“ spoiler alert ā€“ 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, weā€™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 ā€“ any episode could be passed along to someone else, but only if you forward it!Iā€™d love to be able to reach more people in this way.Iā€™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 Iā€™m sharing here.

    Abbreviated transcript and table included belowā€¦

    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 youā€™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 ā€œhead tie,ā€ which implies that itā€™s being tied to the guitar near the headstock.

    But when we put a capo on our guitar, what is happening, exactly?

    Weā€™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 letā€™s not confuse shapes with chords.

    Because unless weā€™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 youā€™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, theyā€™re going to be playing or singing in a specific key.

    And if you are the guitarist whoā€™s leading that band, itā€™s super important to know which key youā€™re all in.

    Here are some helpful tips so you can be sure of whatā€™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 youā€™re welcome to reference the diagram Iā€™m including with this article.

    Thereā€™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.

    Letā€™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 ā€œopenā€ notes at our new ā€œnutā€ 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?

    Letā€™s try the opposite approach with placing the capo for keys we want to play in.

    Now, letā€™s say I want to play in Eb Major with a piano player, by leveraging the capo. For a moment, letā€™s temporarily call that the key of D#. Itā€™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, youā€™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, weā€™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 ā€œnutā€ 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? Donā€™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.

    Letā€™s just make a new ā€œnutā€ with the capo! Letā€™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, letā€™s fret the G shape thatā€™s got that 7th fret B as the root, and place our capo down a minor 3rd ā€“ a distance of 3 frets, on the 4th fret.

    With the capo on the 4th fret, using G shapes, weā€™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. Itā€™s a minor 3rd above the open A note at the nut.

    Letā€™s make a new ā€œnutā€ with our capo for the key of F. Where is F on the 5th string? Itā€™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 weā€™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, weā€™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 belowā€¦

    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 itā€™s slowing them both down as they elude their pursuers.

    In a moment of frustration, Bond asks, ā€œWhy didnā€™t you learn the violin?ā€

    There are some big instruments out there, and the cello is one of them. Another is the electronic keyboard.

    Iā€™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 arenā€™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? Ahā€¦what a delightfully portable instrument. Iā€™ve taken my guitar to many places, and some of them have turned out to be just a little bit unique.

    Todayā€™s episode is mostly intended to be informative and hopefully interesting, with some stories from my travels. Iā€™ll share just a handful of places Iā€™ve played my guitar that are out of the ordinary. Iā€™ve got 12 locations to share with you. Here we go.

    Iā€™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, Iā€™d sit or recline in the bow of the boat, working on my chord fingerings and scales. Iā€™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 wasnā€™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 donā€™t typically see a guitar in a raft on a lake, but there it was.

    Ok, now that Iā€™ve talked about watercraft, letā€™s come back onto land.

    4. A Dock

    Iā€™ve had the opportunity to spend time with friends at a lake, and to be able to enjoy music while ā€œsittinā€™ on the dock of the bay.ā€ Yeah, you know what I mean.

    Thereā€™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 weā€™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 ā€œWindowā€ in the tuning of ECEGCD ā€“ with a lot of very fast sixteenth notes. I took it slow and learned to play it. It was a good use of the timeā€¦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 ā€œtouch styleā€ techniques and a tongue-in-cheek theme. I knew theyā€™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 andā€¦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 beā€¦

    9. The Airport

    After arriving at the airport and making my way through security out to the gate, Iā€™ve often found myself with a good solid hour or more to kill.

    I can save my reading for the plane. What I canā€™t do on the plane is play my guitar. So, Iā€™ll often uncase my guitar, sit down on the floor, and quietly play something. Iā€™m usually competing with a lot of intercom announcements and the hustle and bustle of travelers, so itā€™s typically not a distraction to anyone.

    But if Iā€™m thinking that my playing might be distracting, Iā€™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.

    Itā€™s a great way to make use of the time, watching the planes land and take offā€¦and occasionally, it leads to a conversation starter with a fellow musician, or someone who just enjoys music.

    10. ā€œCrisscross Applesauceā€ 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, Iā€™d sometimes bring my guitar into the bathroom and sit an armā€™s length away from whoever was having a bathā€¦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 hereā€™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 itā€™s not too cold) can actually be a really powerful experience, because itā€™s like a concrete cathedral. The music just doesnā€™t sound the same as it would in a carpeted room.

    So, whether Iā€™ve been at a hotel far from home or needing a study break at college, Iā€™ve found opportunities to take my guitar into the stairwell and let it sing.

    Last but not leastā€¦

    12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional

    Iā€™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 youā€™ve sung in choirs, you know that there are typically four basic vocal parts ā€“ soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

    I was the bass section leader. And every Tuesday, weā€™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 ā€œplunkingā€ notes.

    But this time, there was a large group of guest high schoolers on campus for an all-day workshop, so we didnā€™t have a place to practice.

    But we still needed to have our sectional. And we didnā€™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 ā€œplunkingā€ notes on my guitar as they sang, overlooking Bellingham Bay.

    It was a unique experience and setting, and we got a lot done.

    But thereā€™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 letā€™s back up even further. Playing notes on the guitar is a rather unique approach.

    For classical guitarists, itā€™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 Bayā€™s Modern Guitar Method, to the tune of about 400 pages. And this particular method didnā€™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. ā€œCrisscross Applesauceā€ next to the Bathtub

    11. Stairwells andā€¦

    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.

    Itā€™s almost like striking up a conversation as we feel prompted.

    So, the appearance of the guitar could be practicalā€¦or it could be artistic. Or it could be both.But the important thing is that the guitar did indeed appear.

    Iā€™ve met folks who own guitars, but their guitars donā€™t make much of an appearance very oftenā€¦to their chagrin. They feel this disappointment, knowing that at one time, they wanted to learn to play, but didnā€™t set aside time or space.

    And at the same time, they feel this longing to discover the joy of music, because theyā€™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 restā€¦it is never too late to learn to play something on the guitar.

    Do you feel like youā€™re on your own, and donā€™t have opportunities to learn and grow, aside from the big world-wide web and the vast sea of information thatā€™s out there? To coin a phrase, you are not alone.

    But hereā€™s how I can help you, if you see the need for some help. I founded an online experience in 2019 thatā€™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.

    Weā€™ve got members in this community who are making tremendous progress, not just practically, but musically and artistically, because theyā€™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? Thereā€™s a 30-day money back guarantee, so thereā€™s no risk. Iā€™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.

    Iā€™ll leave this with you, but donā€™t hesitate to reach out if you want to learn more.

    One other thought regarding todayā€™s episode: have there been unlikely places where youā€™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 Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™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 youā€™re new to Guitar Serious Fun.

    I started playing the guitar in 1994 while simultaneously earning a Bachelorā€™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 Bayā€™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, Iā€™ve toured all over North America leading worship and performing concerts.

    Amidst all of this, thereā€™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 Iā€™ll pause to say that although views can be measured in metrics, there isnā€™t a standard in place to vet quality content (beyond it being appropriate vs. inappropriate or ā€œlikes.ā€)

    Thereā€™s grown to be such an influx of content that thereā€™s no way to keep up with the content creators and monitor whether theyā€™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 YouTubeā€¦

    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, Iā€™m of the latter disposition. Although Iā€™ve uploaded content on one channel off and on since 2008, Iā€™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 donā€™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 Iā€™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, Iā€™d rather not go that route.

    Instead, Iā€™m passionately leaning into an online offering I launched in 2019 called GuitarSuccess4U, which you may have heard of. If you havenā€™t, take just a moment to check out our website at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com, and pause this recording. Iā€™ll wait.

    If youā€™ve had the chance to see what we offer, awesome. We hope youā€™ll check out the reviews, frequently asked questions, member testimonials, and some of the sample lessons.

    If you havenā€™t, hereā€™s the basic skinny on what it is: a self-paced online experience for beginning and intermediate Christian guitar players who know thereā€™s more to the guitarā€¦and who want to access fresh, proven, curated content thatā€™s organized really well.

    In addition to that, though, we have multiple expert interviews and bonuses that canā€™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 thereā€™s a lot of unconstructive criticism. Not in our community.

    And again, YouTube is a powerful tool with great potential, so Iā€™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 Websterā€™s Dictionary ā€“ about three inches thick, hardbound, 8 Ā½ x 11ā€. This was a decent-sized dictionary, and I was grateful to receive this gift. Iā€™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 wouldnā€™t make sense, because there are a lot of words Iā€™ll never use, but more importantly, it would take an exorbitant amount of time.

    The main way Iā€™ve used this dictionary (other than as a weight or a doorstop) is to reference words alphabetically for definitions and spellings.

    And thatā€™s the normal function of a dictionary, right? Itā€™s rare that someone would underline a huge portion of words in a dictionary like John Cusackā€™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 letā€™s draw a parallel just for a moment between a Websterā€™s Unabridged Dictionary and YouTube.

    Both are vast, and both are searchable. If youā€™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 itā€™s also ā€œfreeā€ā€¦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 ā€“ Iā€™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? Itā€™s the word ā€œtime.ā€ 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: ā€œNo amount of money ever bought a second of time.ā€Time is a non-renewable resource. And although we canā€™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 Iā€™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 ā€œpainful.ā€

    I totally got it ā€“ 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 didnā€™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 guyā€™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 youā€™ve probably heard. I mentioned it briefly earlier in this episode. The word is ā€œcurated.ā€ In laymanā€™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. Itā€™s not a random, haphazard group of things. Itā€™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. Itā€™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, Iā€™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 Iā€™ve learned has been by accident or through the ā€œschool of hard knocks.ā€

    So, Iā€™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 thereā€™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 thereā€™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 ā€œGuitarists ā€“ pick one thing and do it well.ā€ (Itā€™s also embedded below.)

    I believe we spend time with people we want to be like.

    So, if youā€™re a worship guitarist or a songwriter, you may not be in search of blisteringly fast distorted metal licks or blues groovesā€¦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 ā€œMusic is a language, guitar is a dialect, and Iā€™m here to help you expand your vocabulary.ā€I also continue to revisit the idea that ā€œI donā€™t just want to help you become a better guitar player; I want to help you become a better musician.ā€ Thereā€™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, thereā€™s certainly no lack of information, right?

    And sure, you can search for topics on YouTube, but itā€™s a vast sea of information, and if I can be so bold, not all of it is presented clearly.

    Now, I donā€™t have anything against YouTube. As I mentioned, Iā€™m working to have a presence there so as to provide some value and inspiration for guitarists Iā€™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 ā€œWhere do I start?ā€

    More isnā€™t necessarily better. Thereā€™s a term Iā€™ve come across since we were trained to build GuitarSuccess4U, and itā€™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 thatā€™s whatā€™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, Iā€™m not claiming GuitarSuccess4U as the only source of guitar education; that would be presumptuous. Instead, Iā€™m stating that everything Iā€™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 ā€œcruciblesā€ for content.Iā€™ve literally sharpened thousands of guitarists with the tools that have found their way into the curated collection at GuitarSuccess4U.

    More Isnā€™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 Powellā€™s Books in Portland that had multiple floors. And it certainly wasnā€™t Amazon.com. It was a single room. But it was truly a curated collection. And people bought books there. A lot. And hereā€™s the most important part: they were blessed by the books.

    People who engage with content that transforms them are the kind of people Iā€™m seeking to serve and bless. Iā€™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 ā€œa complete guitar player.ā€Roger, a band member who plays multiple styles, joined us and realized how many gaps he needed to fill in, and now heā€™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. Iā€™ll wrap up with this thought:

    Weā€™re not trying to foster an insulated community where people feel coddled. Weā€™ve actually got some upcoming Zoom discussions related to being able to laugh at our mistakes and receive constructive criticism.

    But thereā€™s a difference between people wanting to help each other out, and comments from trolls.

    Iā€™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 someoneā€™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 ā€œreal-timeā€ encouragement again?Wouldnā€™t you feel spurred on to love and good works, as the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to do in Hebrews 10:24?

    I donā€™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 ā€“ thatā€™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 youā€™ve found channels on YouTube to follow, thatā€™s great! If youā€™re learning stuff on YouTube, thatā€™s great, too!

    If you want to subscribe to our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel, great! By the way, that channel is YouTube.com/@guitarsuccess4u.

    But hereā€™s the next level. If youā€™ve decided itā€™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 donā€™t wait to take this opportunity.

    I invite you to join GuitarSuccess4U by heading over to GuitarSuccess4U.comā€¦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 Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™re going to talk about what itā€™s like to be a clumsy guitarist, and seven intentional strategies for how to avoid being a clumsy guitarist.

    When Iā€™m puttering around at home, I dress pretty casually. One item of clothing that I tend to favor is khaki cargo shorts. Theyā€™re comfy.

    But sometimes, especially when Iā€™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 ā€œthwapā€ that happens when I bend the corner of a license plate.

    I know what youā€™re thinking ā€“ maybe wear a different kind of shorts than cargo shorts.

    But that could be treating the symptom.

    Hereā€™s another idea I need to consider: slow down, be more deliberate, and beā€¦less clumsy.

    I think this approach applies to a lot of different aspects of life, includingā€¦you guessed itā€¦our guitar playing.

    Picture me practicing some guitar exercises or a song, whether Iā€™m in cargo shorts or jeans or whatever. What if I make my way hastily through said exercises or song?

    Iā€™ll get hung up on things, Iā€™ll miss things, or totally play something wrong.

    Is that ok? Yes, I suppose. Because I donā€™t want to be so perfectionistic that the joy of music goes away.

    However, and I think youā€™ll catch this ā€“ 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, ā€œCan Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?ā€ I took some time to talk about the importance of mental focus. Iā€™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, Iā€™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 ā€œ10 Tips for Making Sure Your Guitar is Properly Set Up.ā€Iā€™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 ā€“ ā€œHow to Choose a Tuner.ā€

    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 itā€™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 Iā€™m sharing the space physically (or sonically) with someone else, Iā€™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 ā€œ10 Tips for Making Your Solo Practice Space Great.ā€

    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 ā€œdo not disturbā€ sign for their practice space. On one side, it says: ā€œHold that thought. Iā€™m practicing the guitar. Please give me a few more minutes. Thanks.ā€ On the other side, it says ā€œGet in here ā€“ youā€™ve got to hear what Iā€™m discovering on the guitar ā€“ wooo!ā€

    As you might imagine, having uninterrupted time at my instrument can promote better concentration.

    Now, we donā€™t live in a vacuum, and thereā€™s ā€œlifeā€ 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 thatā€™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 Iā€™m done.

    Whatā€™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, Iā€™ll get clumsy.

    4. Invite distractions on purpose.

    The only caveat Iā€™d offer to having a distraction-free environment is that if Iā€™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 Iā€™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 videoā€¦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 youā€™ve heard this expression (or lived it) you know that some things can fall off the wagon if weā€™re too hasty. So, one thing I recommend is to slow down and take things deliberately.

    In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 26, ā€œDonā€™t Get Caught in a Speed Trap,ā€ I speak plainly about how I am prone to rushing the tempos for the songs I play.

    Sometimes this is because Iā€™m overexcited in a performance or recording setting, or because I donā€™t have a strong conviction about how to keep a rushing drummer in check.

    But sometimes, itā€™s because Iā€™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? Iā€™ll give you a second to guess.

    Itā€™s because Iā€™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 Iā€™m in a hurry, Iā€™ll make some (or a lot of) mistakes.

    And then when it comes time to play the song ā€œfor realā€ (which, in my opinion, is a bit of a misnomer since we should always be playing with intention), Iā€™ll likely ā€œre-stateā€ the mistakes Iā€™ve made in practice.

    As several wise music teachers have quipped, ā€œPractice makes permanent.ā€ In other words, whatever is practiced becomes more permanent.

    It takes quite a bit of re-training to ā€œundoā€ 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, Iā€™m actually enjoying listening to Pierreā€™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 itā€™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.Iā€™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 Iā€™ve just discussed, the latter is superior.

    If I had a nickel for every volunteer worship guitarist Iā€™ve heard play in a clumsy fashion, Iā€™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 Iā€™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, itā€™s a much more skillful offering than a bunch of chords that just donā€™t sound quite right.

    And even though some listeners are musicians, many are notā€¦and yet, most can discern the difference between clean and clumsy.

    You get it ā€“ play skillfully as the Psalmist exhorts us to do in Psalm 33:3.

    In GuitarSuccess4U, which youā€™ve heard me allude to a few times in todayā€™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 Iā€™ve never seen anywhere else. Therefore, I had to create it.

    It details multiple ā€œcommunication pathwaysā€ 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 ā€œReduce it to the Ridiculous.ā€You can listen to Dawn and me unpack the logic behind this in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 46, ā€œReduce it to the Ridiculousā€ ā€“ 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), itā€™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, ā€œHmmmmā€¦I guess thatā€™s good enoughā€?

    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.

    Iā€™ve had people say as much after one of my shows. Theyā€™ve said, ā€œYou really care about what you do, donā€™t you?ā€ 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, letā€™s be the rare clean-playing guitarist, and communicate to our listeners that we care.

    7. Get rest; donā€™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 weā€™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 Iā€™m driving a car or cooking a meal, Iā€™m less of a safe driver and less of a deliberate cook, if Iā€™m weary and overwhelmed.

    Iā€™ll make silly mistakes, which at the very least can involve horns honking at me on the road, or missed ingredients in the dinner.

    Thereā€™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, ā€œRest is best.ā€ 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

    Iā€™ll touch on our seven tips today again for review as we endeavor to avoid being the clumsy guitarist.

    * First, set yourself up for smooth sailing with a guitar thatā€™s set up well and can be tuned to precision.

    * Second, make a bit of space for your practicing.

    * Third, give yourself the gift of solitude so you can be uninterrupted if that serves your season of guitar playing.

    * Fourth, invite distractions on purpose, if it helps you get stronger with your songs.

    * Fifth, remember that haste makes waste.

    * Sixth, recall that clean playing is rarer than you think (so letā€™s stay rare with our playing.) Andā€¦

    * Seventh, get rest; donā€™t be stressed.

    As Iā€™ve implied in my discussion here, the perfect scenario for guitar development wonā€™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 youā€™re aware and tuned in to todayā€™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 youā€™ve experienced all 93 episodes up to this point, then awesome! But itā€™s likely that youā€™ve joined us somewhere along the way and havenā€™t had the pleasure of experiencing my thoughts (and the thoughts of some of my guests) in some of our previous episodes.

    If thatā€™s the case, please take the opportunity. Weā€™ve got quite the compendium of concise, well-organized topics here at Guitar Serious Fun.

    But if youā€™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) Itā€™s highly affordable and 2) you get to set the pace.Itā€™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 todayā€™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.Iā€™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 Iā€™m sharing here.

    Abbreviated transcript included belowā€¦

    Did you know that as a guitarist onstage, youā€™re always communicating something, whether youā€™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 youā€™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, Iā€™ve picked up a few strategies that have really enhanced my process and blessed the people Iā€™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. Iā€™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. Itā€™s super clear.

    Some worship guitarists would rather not do this ā€“ they donā€™t want to verbally start the song. A subtler approach could be to tell the drummer to ā€œclick inā€ with his or her sticks, or start the click, by cueing them with a code word. Like, ā€œexalt,ā€ for example.

    We could say, ā€œLetā€™s lift our voices together as we exalt our Lord in song.ā€ 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 ā€œcheck inā€ and see if theyā€™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. Letā€™s assume that youā€™re leading worship as you sing and play rhythm guitar. Do you need to be at the mic when youā€™re not singing?

    My answer to that is: ā€œno.ā€ Track with me here. If thereā€™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. Theyā€™re sending a ā€œfalse positiveā€ 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 itā€™s time to sing again, thereby ā€œrebootingā€ 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 youā€™ve witnessed what I have ā€“ people from the congregation inadvertently singing ā€œsolosā€ 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 ā€œslowing down,ā€ 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 isnā€™t certain if the chorus youā€™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. Theyā€™ll know the song is about to end.

    6. Confirm the length of the closing song (even before it begins.) Sometimes, we need to ā€œcall an audibleā€ 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 youā€™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 ā€œno hurryā€ ā€“ and therefore the unabridged version.

    Second, hands on my guitar indicates that time is short and we are ā€œin a hurryā€ ā€“ and therefore the need for the abridged version.

    Closing Thoughts

    I hope these tips have been helpful today. There are more, and Iā€™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. Donā€™t feel like you need to tackle ā€œallā€ of them at once.

    Thanks for your time today. Keep showing up, and Iā€™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, weā€™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 youā€™re going to experience if youā€™re willing to listen to the audio version of todayā€™s episode, Iā€™ve had the privilege of teaching guitar workshops at the Christian Musician Summit here in the Pacific Northwest for fifteen years.

    Each time Iā€™ve been invited to teach, Iā€™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.Iā€™m always growing as a guitarist and as a musician, and my desire to expand my vocabulary is constant.

    So, at this yearā€™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 didnā€™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 youā€™ll sense almost immediately about Dave is that heā€™s super chill, very encouraging, extremely knowledgeable, generous with his ideas, and really, just a brother in the Lord that youā€™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.

    Hereā€™s where I link to my YouTube video that captured the visual aspect of the experience.

    Now that youā€™ve heard a bit of the audio from the workshop, I want to encourage you to listen to the podcast version of todayā€™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.

    Weā€™ve had Jesse Ferguson talking about in ear monitors and how to leverage them.

    Weā€™ve had Jeff Sandberg, a world-class saxophonist, talking about improvisation.

    Weā€™ve had Brian Reding, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, talking about the art of listening.

    Weā€™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.

    Weā€™ve had Jeremy Calvin, a wunderkind aux percussionist talking about creativity for solid rhythm grooves with percussion and guitar.

    Weā€™ve had Adam Bollen, a super intuitive bass player talking about arranging, rehearsing, and pedal effects.

    Weā€™ve had Ron Mallory, a highly published arranger and keyboard player, talking about relevant music theory and transposition.

    Weā€™ve had Dr. Gordon Myco, a chiropractor and health coach, talking about health, posture, diet, and longevity for our musical journeys.

    Weā€™ve had the Master Luthiers of Mike Lullā€™s Guitar Works talking about the craft of building, repairing and caring for guitars.

    And weā€™ve got more coming up.

    Does this pique your interest at all? Leave a comment if it does. And if youā€™re rarinā€™ to go and want to find your people, meet guest experts, and most of all, fulfill your potential as a Christian Guitarist, donā€™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 todayā€™s episode, and Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Here at Guitar Serious Fun, we intentionally work to have a good balance between practical and philosophical concepts. Todayā€™s discussion is more on the practical side, but thereā€™s also a philosophy behind it.

    Three Pictures of Rhythm

    I want you to envision three separate images, and Iā€™ll provide photos of them in the blog version of todayā€™s episode. They are 1) a suspension bridge, 2) a pearl necklace, and 3) a ā€œconnect-the-dotsā€ diagram.

    First: a suspension bridge:

    Youā€™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 doesnā€™t typically have a single tower. It shares the ā€œweightā€ between at least two towers. And between those towers is a bit of ā€œrestā€ 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. Thereā€™s a slight gap between each of the pearls. And itā€™s not one long ā€œtube-shapedā€ pearl; itā€™s a collection of pearls.

    The last image for your consideration is a ā€œconnect-the-dotsā€ 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 Iā€™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 ā€œconnect-the-dotsā€ 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. Weā€™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 musicā€¦yet. But music is, of course, an avenue where rhythm can be explored. Sure, rhythm doesnā€™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? Youā€™ve probably got it figured out, based on the title of todayā€™s episode. Hereā€™s where I plan to land this:

    Practicing can be in a sort of rhythm as well, especially if itā€™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 weā€™re not ā€œpracticingā€

    If youā€™re listening to the podcast version of todayā€™s episode, Iā€™ve put the word ā€œpracticingā€ 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, Iā€™ll state that the best form of practice happens when we are indeed playing the guitar. Thatā€™s a pretty straightforward fact.I canā€™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 wonā€™t be the same.)

    And I canā€™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.

    Howeverā€¦when we donā€™t have our guitars, we can still be ā€œpracticing.ā€ How often have you sat back down to practice and sensed that you were ā€œfurther alongā€ 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 youā€™re doing some mundane task thatā€™s not at all related.

    Each time we take a break from our practice, probably for the day, we enter this ā€œmini-seasonā€ of rest, which allows for the connective time between the practice sessions.

    Based on our images from the beginning of todayā€™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 ā€“ 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 canā€™t categorize it in terms of psychology or even physiology; I just know if Iā€™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 youā€™re learning on the guitar (a song, a scale, a chord, etc.) you will find this process essential to your success.

    But hereā€™s the key ā€“ 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 ā€œgardenā€ 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 Iā€™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 wouldnā€™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.

    Itā€™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 Iā€™ve never forgotten it. Iā€™m actually including it in some of the teaching Iā€™ll be offering in an upcoming online guitar web masterclass, which youā€™ll hear about in the near future.The phrase is: consistency trumps intensity.

    Iā€™ll unpack this briefly from the perspective of an athlete.

    An athlete typically works out several times a week on an ongoing basis. You wonā€™t see an athlete work out 10 hours straight for 7 days and then ā€œcall it goodā€ for a yearā€™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 ā€œpit stopā€ 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 ā€œwinā€ of a conference experience is just that ā€“ the experience. Itā€™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 ā€œmountaintopā€ 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. Hmmmā€¦I just donā€™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 ā€œwinā€ 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 ā€œweek in, week outā€ worship leading, songwriting, or performing schedule which is hopefully undergirded by some element of consistent practice.

    Iā€™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 ā€œchip awayā€ at them consistently, weā€™ll surprise ourselves.

    Weā€™ll find ourselves saying something like, ā€œHey ā€“ yesterday, I couldnā€™t play this, but today, I can.ā€ And by the way, it wasnā€™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 Iā€™m awake. I wouldnā€™t be allowing myself the mental or the physical opportunity toā€¦you know it: rest.

    Wrap-upAs we close things out today, Iā€™ll leave you with this thought. Life is not perfect, and we donā€™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, weā€™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. Itā€™s won in the ā€œday in, day outā€ routine. Itā€™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 canā€™t say enough about what an amazing experience this is, and I hope youā€™ll come find out for yourself.Thanks for listening today, and Iā€™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
  • Iā€™m thrilled to welcome a new guest to Guitar Serious Fun today. His name is Jerry Chambers.

    Heā€™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.

    Weā€™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 thatā€™s definitely something Iā€™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, weā€™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. Thereā€™s no transcript for this episode.

    But thatā€™s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what Jerry has to say, youā€™ll be deeply encouraged.

    So please stay in touch, and if you havenā€™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 youā€™re a guitarist and you havenā€™t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™re going to talk about how sometimes it isnā€™t even about the guitar.

    I play the guitar. And if youā€™ve been following Guitar Serious Fun for any length of time, you probably play the guitarā€¦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 youā€™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 isnā€™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 Iā€™ve made about some other folks Iā€™ve crossed paths with, but Iā€™ll speak generally and without using any names.

    What Iā€™m hoping we can glean from todayā€™s discussion is what can be learned.

    Track with me here and Iā€™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. Iā€™ve witnessed this on a few occasions. If rhythm isnā€™t strong, strumming wonā€™t be strong. Nor will the more intricate fingerstyle articulations.

    A guitarist who doesnā€™t have a solid sense of rhythm wonā€™t be able to ā€œplay well with others,ā€ 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. Iā€™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 Iā€™m accelerating.

    Typically, we donā€™t slow down, but there are always exceptions.

    Can you sense a songā€™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? Thatā€™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 itā€™s going, can also help.

    Second, it may be about stress.

    I read recently that the bodyā€™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 bodyā€™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 donā€™t think youā€™ll have time to complete, or youā€™re being threatened by a giant, ferocious beast thatā€™s chasing you, your body doesnā€™t know the difference.It goes into ā€œfight or flightā€ 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 youā€™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 ā€œlife-givingā€ and not stressful to me.

    Some people play music to relax. Thatā€™s fine! But if youā€™re feeling stressed, make sure that the music youā€™re playing is relaxing to you.

    Third, it may be about sleep deprivation.

    I briefly mentioned sleeplessness under the stress category. If I havenā€™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, ā€œCan Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?ā€, there can be wasted time ā€“ or worse ā€“ if weā€™re trying to do our music under minimal sleep.

    So, good rest is super important. Iā€™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 arenā€™t overstimulated by devices just when Iā€™m trying to wind down.

    And I pray before I go to sleep every nightā€¦casting my cares on the Lord, who does not sleep (Psalm 121:3-4.)

    But when I canā€™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 itā€™s been interesting to me to see that some folks Iā€™ve come across have top-notch gear, or even strong skills, but despite this, they are insecure.

    Why would this be?Perhaps they donā€™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 itā€™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 wonā€™t have anything or anyone consistent to be anchored to.

    I have battled this. Believe me, itā€™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 weā€™ve been entrusted to fill. Perhaps a worship leader has made himself or herself available, but they donā€™t feel like their skill set is commensurate with the need.

    Hereā€™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 hasnā€™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 experiencedā€¦wait for itā€¦have more experience. Itā€™s a ā€œCaptain Obviousā€ 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, itā€™s easy to think about what the congregation or audience thinks of them. I know itā€™s easy for me to do this.

    Iā€™ve had to do some introspection when comes to insecurity, and it usually boils down to being concerned about what people think of meā€¦which is quite secondary to what the Lord thinks of me.So my best course of action is to look at what Godā€™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 weā€™re not walking in obedience, even our music can be affected.

    I wonā€™t go deep on this subject, but in our heart of hearts, we know if weā€™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, weā€™ll run out of strength and focus, because weā€™ll be trying to do too much on our own.

    Again, going back to the Word, and praying for the Holy Spiritā€™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. Itā€™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 youā€™ve ever had a rough collaborative effort and you just couldnā€™t figure out why things were falling apart musically, itā€™s possible that someone else on your team or in your band was struggling, even if you couldnā€™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 donā€™t bring) to the creative effort can be diminished.

    Any of the aforementioned struggles from todayā€™s discussion could be something someone youā€™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.

    Thatā€™s ok. Sometimes it just isnā€™t about us, or what weā€™re trying to do with our music or our guitars. If weā€™re able to get to the bottom of why itā€™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 thereā€™s anything we can do to encourage them, and maybe even to pray for, or even with them.

    Soā€¦what is it about?

    The bottom line is that it isnā€™t really about the guitar. It isnā€™t even about music. It isnā€™t even about us. Itā€™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 todayā€™s episode. This was definitely one of the more challenging and subjective topics Iā€™ve endeavored to tackle, but as Iā€™ve leaned into the Lord, Heā€™s guided me with these words, as He always does.

    Sometimes itā€™s just not about the guitar.

    But for those times when it is about the guitar, Iā€™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 isnā€™t for everyone, but it might be for you.

    Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™re going to talk about how to address our audiences well as we play.

    Even as we start this discussion, Iā€™ll give you a heads up about which direction Iā€™m going ā€“ just in case youā€™re wondering which type of guitarist Iā€™m referring to.

    Iā€™m talking about two types of guitarists today. First, Iā€™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 musicā€¦and then, Iā€™ll be talking about a performing guitarist who shares his or her gifts in a message-driven Christian concert setting where people listen.

    Then Iā€™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? Letā€™s go.

    There are all kinds of purposes for guitar playing beyond these two, but to keep our discussion focused, Iā€™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 youā€™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.

    Iā€™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 ā€“ 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, ā€œHey, you have a guitar. You could lead us in worship.ā€To experience the full story, I invite you to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 6: ā€œNot Ready but Available.ā€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 Iā€™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, Iā€™ve been a worship leader for four songs on a Sundayā€¦other times Iā€™ve led a couple songs to kick off a conference. In other settings, Iā€™ve been a worship leader for multiple sessions at a retreat.

    Whatever the case, Iā€™ve been entrusted with playing my guitar in such a way as to lead others in singing to the Lord.

    First of all, Iā€™ll ask an important question. Who is the audience in a worship environment?

    Well, if you said, ā€œThe Lord,ā€ youā€™d be right. And the Lord asks that we ā€œplay skillfully and shout for joyā€ (Psalm 33:3) and bring contrition in our posture. Psalm 51:17 says ā€œA broken and contrite heart You, o God, will not despise.ā€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? Thatā€™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 ā€œAudience of One.ā€

    Now, ā€œaudienceā€ 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 ā€œThe Peripheral Worship Leader.ā€

    The word ā€œperipheralā€ 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 weā€™re in the center of the platform or not. Itā€™s all about posture.

    We can also be invisible. By this, I mean we donā€™t confidently (and yet humbly) show the congregation that we are leading them. If we ā€œblend inā€ with the rest of the team and people donā€™t understand whoā€™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 arenā€™t sensitive to the context. Or, he or she could be so meek that no one knows what to do next because thereā€™s no real leadership element in place.

    Letā€™s be real: the people who have come to worship are not there to experience a concert. Thatā€™s something weā€™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 somethingā€™s not right.

    And again, people need to know whoā€™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 whoā€™s leading us.

    Itā€™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 Iā€™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 donā€™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 hereā€™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 Iā€™m playing precisely, but my body language communicates that Iā€™m carrying a lot of stress, thatā€™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 ā€œtalentā€ 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, letā€™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 ā€“ 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 ā€œtestimonialā€ songs.

    Now, this is a broad stroke, but go here with me. Worship songs are typically simpler in song form, and more ā€œsingable,ā€ 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 doesnā€™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, theyā€™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.

    Theyā€™re too prominent and dare I say, showy in the wrong context.

    They draw the focus away from what weā€™re doing in a worship environment, but theyā€™re very much welcome in a performance environment.

    In fact, I rely heavily on innovation and the ā€œunpredictableā€ factor when it comes to playing for particular audiences, like people whoā€™ve never heard me before.

    Some venues Iā€™ve served have been what I call ā€œType Bā€ audiences, where people are already present at an established gathering (like a church, school, retreat or conference). ā€œType Bā€ audiences may or may not know who I am and what Iā€™m bringing to the event, even if Iā€™ve resourced them with a promotional video that highlights what I do.

    Conversely, ā€œType Aā€ audiences are the ones who come to experience my ministry because theyā€™ve followed me for a while and have gotten to know my music.

    A ā€œType Bā€ audience can be transformed quickly into a ā€œType Aā€ 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 ā€œlock-inā€ for a junior high retreat, and the sound guy pretty much greeted me just as he was leaving. He said, ā€œHey, Iā€™ve got a boom mic and a guitar channel all set up for you in there. Have fun.ā€I gently stopped him right there and said, ā€œWhoa, whoa, whoa. Iā€™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, Iā€™ll lose them in the first 5-10 minutes.ā€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 ā€œpageā€ Iā€™ve taken out of Tom Jacksonā€™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, ā€œWhy donā€™t you just use the headset mic the whole time?ā€I answered, ā€œBecause 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.ā€

    He didnā€™t really get it, but he supported me in it because he had plenty of channels, and thatā€™s what really matters.

    I had one sound tech encourage me to use an almost invisible flesh-colored mic as I led worship. But hereā€™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 wonā€™t get that visual cue. Iā€™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 donā€™t try to be funny when I lead worship.

    So, itā€™s important to ā€œread the room,ā€ and to ā€œknow your audience.ā€

    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 ā€œI guess weā€™d better pray nowā€ 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, itā€™s all about being ā€œin the moment.ā€ If I have an audience ranging from five years old to 75, and Iā€™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 funā€¦Iā€™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 donā€™t respond) to what Iā€™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 plannedā€¦but the audience doesnā€™t need to know that. Theyā€™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 youā€™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 youā€™ve got questions, please offer them in the comments. If you want to up-level your guitar playing, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com where Iā€™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 Iā€™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, Iā€™m coming to you totally unscripted. Read on (or listen) and youā€™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 ā€œVisions of rapture now burst on my sight.ā€

    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 musicā€¦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 memorizedā€¦ 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, ā€œWhat does this say on my computer screen What number is that?ā€

    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 couldnā€™t have planned this, but we also have a surprise guest who will join us part way through the episode. Youā€™ll have to listen to todayā€™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 Arenā€™t Needed.

    Todayā€™s episode is a sequel to that episode and includes a discussion for what itā€™s like when our guitar gifts are needed.

    Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. Thereā€™s no transcript for this episode.

    But thatā€™s ok, because our guests are both super engaging and enthusiastic, and listening to them will be inspiring and uplifting in many ways. Iā€™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 Christā€™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, ā€œEmbracing ā€˜Goodā€™ Difficult with Guitar and More.ā€

    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 havenā€™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 youā€™re a guitarist and you havenā€™t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™re going to talk about how someone can still enjoy playing the guitar even if they have arthritis.

    Now, I myself donā€™t have arthritis (yet), and fortunately, Iā€™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, Iā€™ve had a few people ask me about what to do if a guitarist has arthritis.I donā€™t want to claim to be able to dispense medical wisdom, because I donā€™t have the background; nevertheless, I have a few things I could offer as suggestions. Remember, everyoneā€™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 Iā€™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 youā€™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: ā€œCan Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?ā€, as well as Guitar Serious Fun Episode 77: ā€œRhythms of Rest for Guitar.ā€

    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 Iā€™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 Iā€™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 itā€™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, ā€œTake better care of your body than you do your guitarā€¦because you can always get a new guitar.ā€ 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 donā€™t want to strain the muscles and joints.

    Breaks are super helpful, as we also talked about in ā€œRhythms of Rest for Guitar.ā€

    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 donā€™t yet require them, but I am familiar with wrist guards that keep a personā€™s wrist in neutral position as they sleep, so that they donā€™t hyperextend them unwittingly.

    But again, Iā€™m not even confident to speak intelligently on the physiological definition of ā€œhyperextension,ā€ so Iā€™ll step back from over-speaking here. Just think, ā€œWrist guards may eventually be worth considering.ā€

    Now letā€™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. Itā€™s Guitar Serious Fun Episode 47, by the same title: ā€œPray Before You Playā€. I encourage you to spin through that. Is praying practical? Absolutely. Even offer a simple prayer like, ā€œLord, youā€™ve made my hands. Iā€™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 itā€™s a way I canā€™t yet see.ā€

    4. If youā€™re an acoustic guitarist, make sure your action is low enough.

    Iā€™ve been an acoustic guitarist my whole career. And Iā€™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 havenā€™t been set up yet.

    Mike Lullā€™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 ā€œGuitar Repair and Careā€ 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, Mikeā€™s son and the President of Mike Lullā€™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 itā€™s not sustainable, and itā€™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 ā€œThis is much easier to play on. I think I really need to get my guitar set up properly.ā€

    So in GuitarSuccess4U, one of the 5 instant bonuses my members get access to is a short video I put together called ā€œ10 Tips for Proper Guitar Setup.ā€ Getting your guitar set up properly, especially by Mike Lullā€™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 couldnā€™t access before could become more accessible.Mike Lullā€™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, itā€™s good enough for me. Look them up at MikeLull.com. Follow the menu to ā€œrepairsā€ where youā€™ll discover that they currently offer a free instrument assessment.

    And please tell them David Harsh at GuitarSuccess4U sent you. I donā€™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 ā€“ 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.

    Iā€™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 havenā€™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, Iā€™m not a classical guitarist, so I donā€™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.

    Iā€™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 Iā€™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 Iā€™ve played a friendā€™s electric, Iā€™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 friendā€™s house or even in a guitar store showroom. Your hands will tell you whatā€™s workingā€¦but remember, as Iā€™ve mentioned, some of the guitars in that showroom ā€“ even the electric guitars ā€“ 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 Iā€™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 ā€œfretability.ā€ Is that a word? Nope, but you get it. Some tunings Iā€™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 youā€™re going to collaborate with someone else, itā€™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 theyā€™ve got guitar or bass background, theyā€™ll be confused to see you in unconventional locations playing ā€œnewā€ 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 ā€œCadillacā€ of partial capos, because it allows for all possible options. The current model of the SpiderCapo that I have is not super rugged. It doesnā€™t feel like itā€™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 ā€œflip capo.ā€ 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 whatā€™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, Iā€™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 ā€œwinā€ 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 arenā€™t fretting. Theyā€™re placing the bottleneck or slide just against the strings, not even pressing down much, and theyā€™re still making music.

    11. Take a break from the guitar.

    I donā€™t encourage someone to quit playing their guitar simply because they have arthritis. Hopefully, todayā€™s discussion has shown my hope, to the contrary, that they stick with it.

    But if someoneā€™s hands are weak or tired, it might be nice for them to enjoy a short season of music on another instrument thatā€™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.

    Lastlyā€¦

    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 weā€™ve made significant progress, we can still experience moments of discouragement for one reason or another.

    For this reason, I highly recommend GuitarSuccess4U. Itā€™s a tribe of like-minded guitarists who are all accessing the same premium, curated collection of tools.

    Itā€™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, thereā€™s a level of empathy and understanding that isnā€™t found in other places.

    Members experience accountability, encouragement, and an incredibly in-depth, yet accessible approach to the instrument.

    Proverbs 15:22 says, ā€œPlans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors, they succeed.ā€

    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 havenā€™t already ā€“ 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 todayā€™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 todayā€™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 todayā€™s episode. As you may recall from Guitar Serious Fun Episode 22: ā€œI Donā€™t Knowā€¦But Letā€™s Find Out,ā€ I will intentionally avoid speaking about something Iā€™m not familiar with, or pretend to know something I donā€™t. Thatā€™s just not how I roll.But if the topic is in my wheelhouse, Iā€™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. Weā€™ve got more great stuff coming up.

    Thanks for experiencing my thoughts. Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™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, Iā€™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 isnā€™t a huge amount of focus placed on competing against other swimmers, no matter how many lanes are full.

    Iā€™d like to draw a parallel, right off the bat. Just like our discussion in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 66, ā€œThe Guitarist We Should All Surpassā€, 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.

    Itā€™s a little intense.

    And as a parent, my responsibility is to volunteer in some capacity. Sometimes, Iā€™ve been an announcer, literally saying, ā€œThis is the first call for such and such event. Swimmers to your marks. Mister or Madam Referee.ā€

    Other times, Iā€™m holding a button in one hand and a stopwatch in the other as I time the swimmers from start to finish. Inevitably, when Iā€™m timing the heats, Iā€™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. Weā€™ll call him Henry.

    Henry said, ā€œDo I have to do this? ā€˜Cause jumpinā€™ in the water freaks me out!ā€At first, I didnā€™t know what to say, but then the words came to me. ā€œHenry, you know how to swim, right?ā€He sheepishly nodded. It was clear that swimming wasnā€™t the challenge ā€“ it was the loud, high-pressure environment of the meet that seemed to overwhelm him.

    ā€œWell, Henry,ā€ I said, ā€œeverybodyā€™s just here to get better at swimming. You want to get better at swimming, right?ā€Again, a small, meek nod.

    I said, ā€œHenry, youā€™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.ā€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 victoryā€¦one that he wouldnā€™t have felt if he hadnā€™t jumped in and swam. And Iā€™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 ā€œcheering sectionā€ for little Henry.

    Taking Heart

    The word ā€œcourageā€ has to do with ā€œtaking heart.ā€ We are courageous from our hearts. But sometimes we need to be ā€œencouragedā€ by someone else.Henry didnā€™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 Iā€™m about to lead worship, there are times when I need to be encouraged to step forward in obedience. When Iā€™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 Iā€™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.

    Thereā€™s also something to be said for fellow musicians who ā€œget it,ā€ and if youā€™re a musician, this needs no further explanation.

    If youā€™re an aspiring musician, and youā€™re thinking about learning to play the guitar, youā€™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 donā€™t need any encouragement to do their music. Perhaps those kinds of people exist, but I havenā€™t met them.

    However, Iā€™ve found a loophole. Progress with music can still provide encouragement, and perhaps thatā€™s where they receive their form of encouragement to keep going.

    But having a ā€œcheering sectionā€ in your corner can really help you with morale, perspective, and even the ā€œjoyā€ factor as you continue forward on your musical journey.

    So, I believe every guitarist needs a cheering section.

    Donā€™t Give Up

    If youā€™ve ever heard the song ā€œDonā€™t Give Upā€ ā€“ 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, theyā€™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 donā€™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 ā€“ ā€œWhy Some People Quit Guitar (and How to Avoid Giving Up)ā€. There are eight tips I offer in that episode, and the 7th one is to connect with a tribe of guitar players.

    Iā€™ll share the African Proverb with you again ā€“ ā€œIf you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.ā€ Right?

    We need others.

    Kate Bush was a ā€œcheering sectionā€ in that song for Peter Gabriel. We need that ā€œcheering sectionā€ 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 ā€œcheering section,ā€ things could take longer or maybe not even happen.Iā€™ve shared with you about songs Iā€™ve created that have taken upwards of seven years to learn, because theyā€™ve been so complex and technically demanding. Do you think I needed a ā€œcheering sectionā€ along the way?

    When weā€™re dealing with people we serve or serve with, who donā€™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 ā€“ ā€œThe Underappreciated Guitaristā€), we need a cheering section to offer us some affirmation.

    When itā€™s been a while since weā€™ve felt real momentum on our musical journeys, we need a cheering section.

    When we donā€™t feel like practicing but we know itā€™s going to be good for us, we need a cheering section.

    Next Steps

    Letā€™s say you have people in your life who truly encourage you on a regular basis. Thatā€™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 donā€™t recall encountering folks who say, ā€œHey, I could really use some encouragement with my guitar playing. Could you say something to me that might encourage me?ā€ And yetā€¦if encouragement is offered, itā€™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 peopleā€¦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 ā€“ ā€œWhen Someone Criticizes Your Guitar Playing,ā€ but letā€™s be sure to be kind whenever we can. Those who are receptive to constructive criticism will go far.

    But sometimes, ā€œA word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silverā€ (Proverbs 25:11).

    And like my mama taught me, ā€œIf you donā€™t have something nice to say, maybe donā€™t say anything at all,ā€ right?

    If youā€™re spiritually and emotionally sensitive enough, youā€™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 ā€œhelpā€ 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 havenā€™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.

    Thatā€™s a recipe for sweet fellowship and encouragement.

    And if that wasnā€™t enough, the second lesson of every month inside GuitarSuccess4U is what I call an ā€œEncouragement Lesson,ā€ where I take time to offer an encouraging thought, scripture, story or anecdote thatā€™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 ā€œbaked intoā€ the experience? I have not. Therefore, I had to create it.

    So in terms of next steps, if you havenā€™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, Iā€™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 maybeā€¦just maybeā€¦heā€™ll grow up with a faint memory of me cheering him on, so much so that he might soon become a ā€œcheering sectionā€ for someone else, not just on his swim team, but in other avenues of life.

    Can you sense the ā€œlegacyā€ factor of what Iā€™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 youā€™re looking for the next level, please consider joining GuitarSuccess4U.

    Thanks for listening, and Iā€™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 Iā€™m sharing here.

    Transcript and diagrams included belowā€¦

    Welcome to the next level of our discussion of modes. If you have some familiarity with modes on the guitar with individual notes and youā€™re ready to learn how to leverage modes with chords, youā€™re in the right place.

    Now, if youā€™re not quite ready for this step because you need a little bit of an introduction to modes themselves, Iā€™ve got good news for you. Iā€™ve created a mini-lesson that sets up todayā€™s lesson perfectly. I encourage you to experience that one first from Guitar Serious Fun Episode 76, ā€œThe Road to Modes ā€“ Part 1: Notes.ā€

    On the other hand, if youā€™re ready to tackle modes with chords, then letā€™s jump in with todayā€™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, letā€™s use the very guitar-friendly key of G Major.

    The seven notes weā€™ll use to tackle everything we need today are: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#.

    One of the useful tools Iā€™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, ā€œThe Art of the Skipping Scale,ā€ 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, Iā€™d play the notes G, A, B, C, D, then Iā€™d SKIP down to open E, F#, and finish on G. Whatā€™s another name for the G Major scale? Thatā€™s right ā€“ the G Ionian mode.

    All the other modes can be achieved in this manner. Iā€™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 ā€“ and with seven notes, how many chords will we use? Wait for it ā€“ 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 ā€“ but not impossible ā€“ is the diminished viiĀ° 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.)

    Iā€™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. Iā€™ve captured in blue the chords that depart from the Major key, and Iā€™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.

    Letā€™s say Iā€™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, viiĀ° 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 moreā€¦modal!

    What about a minor-quality mode like A Dorian? Normally, A minor has zero sharps, so if I played i, III, iv, Iā€™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 beautifulā€¦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 weā€™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
  • Iā€™m thrilled to welcome a special guest back to Guitar Serious Fun.

    Todayā€™s episode includes a discussion for what itā€™s like when our guitar gifts arenā€™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. Thereā€™s no transcript for this episode.

    But thatā€™s ok, because our guest is super engaging and enthusiastic, and listening to her will be inspiring and uplifting in many ways. Iā€™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 Christā€™s glory as they do their good work.Together with our pastorā€™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, ā€œEmbracing ā€˜Goodā€™ Difficult with Guitar and More.ā€

    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 havenā€™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 youā€™re a guitarist and you havenā€™t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Iā€™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 belowā€¦

    Today, weā€™re going to talk about some intentional strategies for making your gear last, especially your music gear.

    Speaking of gear, Iā€™m pretty excited today, because the podcast version of todayā€™s episode marks the debut of the use of my new Blue Yeti microphone. Iā€™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 todayā€™s episode, I offer an A/B comparison between it and the Sony PCM-D50 Professional Portable Stereo Digital Audio Recorder, which Iā€™ve used for all our previous podcast episodes up until now

    Hereā€™s my new little recording setup with the Yeti.

    Iā€™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. Iā€™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, letā€™s talk about your gear today, whether itā€™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 itā€™s this: buy good gear, and take good care of it.

    Heā€™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, ā€œIs the Guitar Future-Proof?ā€ 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 thereā€™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 Iā€™ve seen people handle their equipment in a less than gentle manner.

    Exempli gratia: coiling cables. Iā€™ve seen folks wrap them around their elbow like an extension cordā€¦wait for it ā€“ 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 donā€™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, ā€œDonā€™t mind if I do,ā€ and he began banging it against the top of the metal music stand.I stopped him and said, ā€œI mind if you do. Thatā€™s a very precise instrument for tuning. Can I show you how to use it?ā€

    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 droppedā€¦I just want to be ready for the rigors of the road.

    When I fly, I put ā€œfragileā€ 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 ā€“ inside capped percussion tubes called Boomwhackers. They serve as protective enclosures, but theyā€™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 theyā€™d been ā€œridden hard and hung up wet.ā€ I donā€™t know much about saddles, but if they are mostly made of leather, and theyā€™re ā€œhung up wetā€ 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 donā€™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 Lullā€™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 ā€œhang it up dryā€ so that itā€™s more responsive and has more longevity.

    6. Keep it maintained.

    Some gear, especially instruments, does better if itā€™s been taken to the shop occasionally. I again mention Mike Lullā€™s Guitar Works ā€“ the only shop Iā€™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 Lullā€™s Guitar Works. I donā€™t do anything to repair my guitars, and I donā€™t even feel comfortable adjusting the truss rod. That may sound crazy, but thatā€™s just where Iā€™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, Iā€™d rather not be the one to adjust and repair it. Thatā€™s just my preference.

    I love to pay people to do what they do best. Iā€™ve had people ask me to work with them on capturing their music for an audio recording. Thatā€™s just not what I do. Iā€™m not a studio engineer or a producer.

    Instead of building out a studio of recording gear, Iā€™ve instead chosen to focus on my song craft, my stage presentation, and the content creation, like what youā€™re experiencing right now.

    To try to be ā€œjack of all trades / master of noneā€ does not appeal to me, so again, Iā€™ll delegate to someone who can capably adjust and repair my gear. When it comes to Mike Lullā€™s Guitar Works, I really donā€™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, Iā€™d probably damage my cables if I tried.

    If you have someone you trust to do adjustments and repairs (even if thatā€™s yourself), great. But if you donā€™t trust yourself, like I donā€™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 instrumentā€™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 onā€¦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 Poloniusā€™ soliloquy from Hamlet in Act 1, Scene 3, where he says, ā€œNeither a borrower nor a lender be.ā€ Now, this involves money, but Iā€™d say that these words of caution could inform whether we choose to loan our instruments or equipment out.

    I donā€™t want to get too caught up in protecting my equipment that I donā€™t have a gracious, generous spirit, but I will say that Iā€™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 ā€œreading face downā€ on a table or something.

    Iā€™ve had other pieces of equipment borrowed and returned in less-than-optimal condition. Iā€™m not trying to hold onto the past too tightly, but I do think we can learn from these kinds of experiences. I also wouldnā€™t feel comfortable loaning out my best guitar to someone. Iā€™m all right having them play it as I supervise, but Iā€™m not ok with it leaving my sight for any amount of time. Itā€™s just too dear to me. Lastlyā€¦

    10. Keep your gear safe.

    ā€œSafeā€ 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 ā€œsafe.ā€ I would not, for two reasons which you may be realizing even as I speak to you.

    First, if someone wants to, they could ā€œborrowā€ your guitar out of your car without returning it for the rest of your life. In plain language, Iā€™m talking about theft. I know people this has happened to.

    The other reason why I donā€™t recommend leaving a guitar in your trunk is this: if it gets warm outside, so will your guitar, and if itā€™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 ā€œ10 Ways to Keep Your Guitar Safe,ā€ 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 todayā€™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 youā€™d add to this list, please offer your suggestion in the comments. Iā€™m honored to share my insights with you here, and as youā€™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. Itā€™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 todayā€™s episode. Iā€™ll see you next time!

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