ACOUSTIC
GUITAR
BY KENDALL COMBES
(from
Spin 13, Spring 2000)
First,
have some good gear. My first suggestion would be a good
tuner that works so that when you step on it, it mutes itself
to the PA system, so the audience can't hear you tune. "Boss"
has just come out with one, a "stomp box". That
would be a great plus to any guitar, acoustic or electric,
on the worship team.
You've got to know your instrument. Know your chords very
well so when you're onstage trying to be sensitive to the
Holy Spirit in how to play in the particular moment, you
don't have to be fumbling around on the technical aspects
of the music. I also think that when you're worshiping "in
your closet" or "worshiping against the wall"
when it's no one but you and God, those are times when you
might feel the freedom to step out and experiment with your
instrument to help lead worship, "play it safer"
not taking big risks to that you won't make a mistake or
be a distraction to the people. Play more conservatively
onstage when it comes to technique and chording, to minimize
the risk of making an audible mistake. Your private worship/practice
time is to experiment and try new things.
Play within your skill level onstage. Experiment and try
to expand when you're by yourself. You want to be prepared
for what you're playing onstage. A leader is prepared. When
you're in your room and it's just you worshiping, you're
looking to the Holy Spirit to be your leader, and you are
the follower at that time. We should always look to Him
to be our leader, but when you step out on the platform
and become the onstage leader for the other worshipers in
the room, then you want to be prepared for that.
BY
DAVID ODOM
(from Spin 14, Summer 2000)
Things that have helped me improve a lot in the last year
are practicing with the SPIN CD's, practicing scales, and
just actually spending tons of time practicing. It seems
so basic, but so many people neglect it. Thirty minutes
or more a day seems a minimum to me for really improving.
When you practice, run through the scales and arpeggios,
the 1-3-5 tonic, like C-E-G-C. Another thing I've been concentrating
on is playing on rhythm. Instead of letting my strumming
get sloppy, I've really concentrated on wo things about
playing on rhythm: 1)repetitive rhythm, so it's not "all
over the place", but also 2) relaxed rhythm, so my
hands don't get too tired during long sets. To work on getting
those two aspects of rhythm playing down, I would play with
CD's, while concentrating on those two things: being repetitive
and relaxed when playing on rhythm.
BY DAVID ODOM
(from Spin 15, Fall 2000)
Lately I've been concentrating on trying to practice SMARTER!
To me that means not giving into the temptation to just
play stuff that I already know. It's a whole lot more fun
to play the stuff you already know well. I've been trying
to accomplish more in my practice times by myself by working
on things I don't know well yet. Set your goals to a higher
standard like this in your practice times and you'll achieve
more. For example, tell yourself "this week, I'm going
to master this particular thing before I allow myself a
fun practice session of playing stuff I already know".
Challenging myself like this has really helped me improve
by a lot. Challenge yourself to get better, go deeper with
your instrument, even though it's not the most fun thing
to do in practice.
When strumming, think about playing rhythmically and relaxed,
as I said in my tip from last quarter. Rhythm for keeping
time, and relaxed so your hands don't get too tired during
a long set (because if your hands are exhausted, it gets
harder and harder to keep perfect time!). You can't be too
tense in your wrist. It's gotta be somewhat relaxed to keep
your hand from getting too tired. Practicing guitar with
a metronome, drum machine, or CD always helps for your rhythm,
which is very important. To me, the more I THINK about trying
to play BOTH rhythmically AND relaxed at the same time as
I'm playing, the harder it is! So, I just do a quick mental
reminder of it before I start to play. Then I just sit back
and relax and play along with something to make me keep
on time like a CD, over and over. If you do this, your brain
and your hands are going to work together to make what you're
hearing sound right.
BY BRUCE O'LEARY
(from Spin 16, Winter 2000)
When I was first learning to play guitar, what really helped
me develop a feel for my instrument was to simply have it
with me around the house a lot. I would always have the
guitar in my hands if I was just watching TV or didn't have
anything else to do around the house. In front of the TV,
I would try to play the music along with the commercials
and shows. Trying to figure out all those TV tunes helped
develop my ear. When playing in groups, I was able to pick
out songs faster by having that experience. You've also
got to discipline yourself to have consistent practice.
Thirty minutes to an hour a day is really necessary and
minimum if you're a beginner wanting to be ready for stage
playing as soon as possible. Don't just put in the time,
but make it challenging, structured time. Designate a little
time to keeping fresh on stuff you've already learned, but
spend most of your time pushing yourself to learn things
that are harder and unfamiliar to you. You must do these
things in your disciplined practice time if you want to
improve.
BY DAVID ODOM
(from Spin 17, Spring 2001)
To improve on the guitar, you have to practice. No matter
how talented you are, you have to practice at least an hour
a day. You will be 500 times better in about 6 months. Your
rhythm will be sharp and your confidence will be up. Another
tip on playing would be just using the right pics. I find
that when I use the soft pics my strings break. The medium
size pics usually stand strong and lay loose on the strings.
The acoustic guitar is a beautiful instrument, so treat
it that way. Keep it clean and restring it once every two
weeks at least. Remember this is an instrument to glorify
God. To be an effective acoustic player you must practice
all the time. My favorite way to practice is to play along
with the SPIN tracks that you just received in this package.
Don't give up, stay strong and the Lord will reward you.
