Sometimes, it isn't even about the guitar

27 Dez 2023 · Guitar Serious Fun

Transcript included below…

Today, we’re going to talk about how sometimes it isn’t even about the guitar.

I play the guitar. And if you’ve been following Guitar Serious Fun for any length of time, you probably play the guitar…or you hope to.Now, we spend a fair amount of time here talking about the practical and philosophical approaches to developing our skill and artistry on this instrument. Every fourth episode thus far has featured a link to a practical mini-lesson. I hope you’ve discovered and been equipped by some of those.

In some of our episodes, we talk about how to be more effective with our practice and execution of musical skills.

But sometimes what may appear to be a guitar-related challenge or issue isn’t about the guitar at all, or even music for that matter.

Today, for the most part, I plan to share a few personal anecdotes or stories about myself, and to draw carefully from observations I’ve made about some other folks I’ve crossed paths with, but I’ll speak generally and without using any names.

What I’m hoping we can glean from today’s discussion is what can be learned.

Track with me here and I’ll bring you into my thought process. Hopefully, it will yield some insights and encouragement for you.

First, it may be about music (but not guitar).

Sometimes, a guitarist needs to sharpen their rhythm ability. I’ve witnessed this on a few occasions. If rhythm isn’t strong, strumming won’t be strong. Nor will the more intricate fingerstyle articulations.

A guitarist who doesn’t have a solid sense of rhythm won’t be able to “play well with others,” or at least as well as they could. So what to do?Perhaps investing in a metronome or metronome app could help. If possible, practicing or jamming with a drummer who does have a solid sense of rhythm could also help.

Any time I can log with a solid drummer is time I count as a privilege. I’ve gotten solid enough with my strumming that I can usually sense if a drummer is accelerating, but I also try to spend enough time with gifted drummers that they can tell me if I’m accelerating.

Typically, we don’t slow down, but there are always exceptions.

Can you sense a song’s tempo even before you play it, in such a way as to be able to quietly count it out for the benefit of your worship team or band? That’s a valuable skill to develop.

But a metronome can really help. Listening to the song over and over to allow us to better sense where it’s going, can also help.

Second, it may be about stress.

I read recently that the body’s production of the hormone cortisol is directly related to how much stress someone is under. And although stress can be caused by a variety of circumstances, our body’s innate response to this stress is the same.

When we are under stress, our bodies literally think they are being threatened. So, whether you are being threatened by an impending deadline for a project you don’t think you’ll have time to complete, or you’re being threatened by a giant, ferocious beast that’s chasing you, your body doesn’t know the difference.It goes into “fight or flight” mode, produces cortisol, and tries to combat the stress. And the result could be insomnia, anxiety, depression, and the loss of the ability to concentrate.

I may be playing sloppily, or rushing, or playing without emotion, or something else. But if you’re wondering if stress can affect our musical offerings, wonder no more. It absolutely can. So it might not be about the guitar. It might be about stress.

And my approach to diffusing stress is first to pray, but also to do some relaxing activities, get proper rest, and spend time with people who are “life-giving” and not stressful to me.

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

Third, it may be about sleep deprivation.

I briefly mentioned sleeplessness under the stress category. If I haven’t gotten good rest, my lack of ability to play well could be directly related to this.I may be less responsive in an ensemble, and I may practice incorrectly. Just as I discussed in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34, “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?”, there can be wasted time – or worse – if we’re trying to do our music under minimal sleep.

So, good rest is super important. I’ve had various seasons of sleeplessness, and sometimes I take a melatonin 30-60 minutes before bed. I avoid caffeine and too many liquids after dinnertime. I try to avoid screen time at bedtime, or at least use blue light glasses so my eyes and mind aren’t overstimulated by devices just when I’m trying to wind down.

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

But when I can’t sleep (and this sometimes happens for hours at a time), I ask the Lord to guide me in praying for people in my life and in the world.

Fourth, it may be about insecurity.

Some of us can feel insecure around other musicians, especially ones who are more established, more polished, or more resourced with nice gear. But it’s been interesting to me to see that some folks I’ve come across have top-notch gear, or even strong skills, but despite this, they are insecure.

Why would this be?Perhaps they don’t find their identity in Christ, but are striving to find it in their abilities or equipment. This is an easy temptation to fall prey to, because we can see or observe our abilities, and we can physically touch our gear.

Or they may profess Christ, but are still influenced by the desire for human approval. None of us is immune to this.

Christ, until He comes again, is invisible to us, so it’s easy to get swayed by the visible, the temporal, and to lose direction.

Those who focus too much on what other people think of their skills or their equipment are destined to be unmoored, because they won’t have anything or anyone consistent to be anchored to.

I have battled this. Believe me, it’s not a great mindset to have.

Sometimes, our insecurity in our onstage offering comes to the surface because we feel unworthy for the position we’ve been entrusted to fill. Perhaps a worship leader has made himself or herself available, but they don’t feel like their skill set is commensurate with the need.

Here’s the thing: for whatever season this person has been invited to serve, the Lord has them there.

They may be meeting a real need that a more skilled musician hasn’t stepped up to fill. And the congregation would do well to appreciate anyone stepping up to lead them, right?

Every musician has a certain level of experience, and those who are more experienced…wait for it…have more experience. It’s a “Captain Obvious” statement, I know, but how do you get experience doing something? You do it. A lot. And you learn as you do, right?

And for some folks, it’s easy to think about what the congregation or audience thinks of them. I know it’s easy for me to do this.

I’ve had to do some introspection when comes to insecurity, and it usually boils down to being concerned about what people think of me…which is quite secondary to what the Lord thinks of me.So my best course of action is to look at what God’s Word says about my identity in Him, and then to press on, developing my talents for His glory, not for mine.

Fifth, it may be about obedience.

God calls us to obey Him in all aspects of life. And if we’re not walking in obedience, even our music can be affected.

I won’t go deep on this subject, but in our heart of hearts, we know if we’re not obeying what the Lord has commanded or called us to do. We are fallen and sinful, but we are also called to turn from sin, right?

We may be able to play our music while walking in disobedience for a while, but eventually, we’ll run out of strength and focus, because we’ll be trying to do too much on our own.

Again, going back to the Word, and praying for the Holy Spirit’s conviction to stir in us, is essential.Then, taking the opportunity to confess our disobedience to a trusted brother or sister in Christ, followed by repentance, is the clear course of action. Easier said than done? Yes, but only on our own. It’s not an easy thing to invite the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts, and then to confess and repent, but it is a worthy thing, and the Lord has promised to be with us through it all.

Sixth, it may not be about you at all.

If you’ve ever had a rough collaborative effort and you just couldn’t figure out why things were falling apart musically, it’s possible that someone else on your team or in your band was struggling, even if you couldn’t figure out who it was or how they were struggling.

Someone on the team may be unprepared, so the cumulative offering of the band may be of lower quality as a result.

Someone else may be burdened or distracted, so their musical contribution, as well as the energy they bring (or don’t bring) to the creative effort can be diminished.

Any of the aforementioned struggles from today’s discussion could be something someone you’re collaborating with is dealing with, and they may be hiding it well.

You may sense this but not be able to put your finger on it.

That’s ok. Sometimes it just isn’t about us, or what we’re trying to do with our music or our guitars. If we’re able to get to the bottom of why it’s not working, great. But sometimes, we need to chalk it up to it being about someone else and what they are going through, and do our best to either not let it affect us, or if we feel prompted, to ask if there’s anything we can do to encourage them, and maybe even to pray for, or even with them.

So…what is it about?

The bottom line is that it isn’t really about the guitar. It isn’t even about music. It isn’t even about us. It’s actually about the God we serve, and the people we serve in His name.

When this falls into place, we can rest. We can rest in His sufficiency, His approval, and His calling on our lives. And then we can get back to making great music. And having serious fun.

Wrap-Up

Thanks for experiencing today’s episode. This was definitely one of the more challenging and subjective topics I’ve endeavored to tackle, but as I’ve leaned into the Lord, He’s guided me with these words, as He always does.

Sometimes it’s just not about the guitar.

But for those times when it is about the guitar, I’ve got good news for you. We have a tribe of like-minded followers of Christ who are faithfully pursuing their gifts of guitar and music for the glory of God.

And you can discover us at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Will you check it out? Take a moment now, if you have time. Or make a note on your phone to check it out tonight.

But come see what the Lord is doing in this amazing community and experience, and think about whether you might be a good fit for this opportunity. It isn’t for everyone, but it might be for you.

I’ll see you next time.

Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

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3 Essential Transposition Tips
3 Jul· Guitar Serious Fun
Do you know how to transpose chord progressions on the guitar? If you don’t, please spend a few minutes with me.
If you think you’ve got it figured out, you still might learn something new here.
I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. It goes much deeper than I can with my typed words, and you’ll be able to hear the chord progressions too. You can find the video right here:
Here are three tips to make transposition smooth and effective.
1. We need to know all the diatonic chords in our starting key.
Do you know all seven chords in C Major? Wait for it…
2. We need to assign numbers to the chords.
Now, my background began in classical music, so I trained with Roman numerals. But just as effective is the Nashville Number System.
As you’ll see from my chart below with chords in C and A Major, there are specific cases and indicators for degrees that the Roman numerals and Nashville Numbers can guide you along with.
With Roman numerals, capital numbers are Major, and lower-case numbers are minor. With Nashville Numbers, we just use Arabic numerals, and we indicate the qualities of the chords with just a number to imply a Major chord, and a number followed by a lower case “m” to indicate a minor chord.
Using numerals or numbers, we need to be able to identify each chord as a number, but then also to identify each number as a chord. So, for example, in the key of C Major, what is the number for C? What about the number for F? Check the chart above to confirm your answer.
Let’s go the other way. In the key of C Major, what is the name of the minor vi chord? How about the minor ii chord? Again, you can check your work.
So, if I wanted to play the progression I V vi IV (or 1 5 6m 4) in C, what would the chords be? C G Am F. It’s a very popular progression.
Let’s do the reverse process. If I played the progression C Em F G, what would the chordal analysis be in terms of numbers? I iii IV V (or 1 3m 4 5). Another very useful progression. Lastly,
3. We need to know the chords and numbers in our destination key.
If we have a destination key we want to transpose to, it would be helpful for us to know those diatonic chords, and to be able to familiarize ourselves with them in the same fashion as numbers. For our purposes today, I’ve chosen the key of A Major (also reflected in the chart I’ve provided).
Now let’s put this knowledge to practical use.
Let’s go back to our first progression of chords in C with C G Am F and let’s transpose that progression to the key of A. If we know the corresponding numbers and chords in the key of A, we know that the chords for that progression would be…A E F#m D. Transposition accomplished!
Now let’s create a new progression in A with I IV ii V (or 1 4 2m 5). Those chords are A D Bm E. Based on how well we know the chords in C, we use numbers and transposition to crank out C F Dm G. Transposition accomplished again!
The accompanying video will add much more dimension and understanding to what you’re reading here.
Now there are a couple subtle ways to check our work. If we know the distance from A to C, which is up a minor 3rd, we can take each chord in the key of A, and move “vertically” to its corresponding chord in the key of C. (The video has more.)
Another method is to think “horizontally” from the tonic to the other chords within each key. The tonic is the home I chord, so this would be the A Major chord in the key of A, or the C Major chord in the key of C. (The video again has more.)
As you can see, this process is going to help us a lot. It’s just a matter of some simple memory work and repetition.
Want to go deeper? Please watch the video for a more advanced progression with some borrowed chords.
Are you ready for some application to validate these tools? Let me ask some questions, all of which end in a positive answer.
Can we transpose from the key of A back to the key of C? Of course!
Can we take a progression in a less guitar-friendly key that either requires lots of bar chords or a capo, and transpose it to a guitar-friendly key with fewer bar chords and more open chords? Yeah buddy!
Can we transpose from one minor key to another minor key? Yep!
Can we transpose from the Dorian mode with one key center to a Dorian mode with another key center? You betcha!
As you can see, there are all kinds of possibilities when we know how to transpose. If you have a worship song and you want to transpose it, you can use this method. You can write out the transposition with numbers, or verbally call it out on the fly as you play with your band. There are digital tools that can do this for you, but if you want to grow in your ability to transpose, I encourage you to try some of this mentally and manually.
I’ve transposed more charts than I can count. And if you can analyze and learn a song by number, and you’ve got a good grasp of several keys, you can quickly transpose that song into any of those keys.
Transposition facilitates easier fingerings, preferred chord voicings, better vocal ranges, and more. See the relevance?
Want to go deeper? Check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Really serious about next steps? Check out our new free web masterclass at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula.Thanks for checking out today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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10 Strategies for Memorizing Your Songs
5 Jun· Guitar Serious Fun
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here.
You can also watch the video version embedded below (psst - did you know that GuitarSuccess4U has a YouTube Channel? Please subscribe! 😊)
This video will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript included below…
Looking for an intentional process to help you memorize your songs on guitar? You just found it.
Having led worship for almost 3 decades, many of my recent years have been spent leading from memory. This has really helped me have a better connection with the band, the techs and the congregation.
And as a touring performer all over North America for about the same amount of time, all my performance songs have been memorized.
But how do we get to the point where we can confidently play and sing a song from memory? Let’s take a few minutes to unpack 10 helpful strategies.
1. Stare at the chart.
Assuming you have a visual representation of the chart for your song, print it up or have it ready on a tablet. Look closely. What do you notice?
Whether you’re looking at a lead sheet or a chord chart, there are little clues waiting to be discovered. Maybe there are specific rhyme schemes. Maybe each verse starts with a slightly different lyric. Maybe the chord progression is more involved for the verses, but gets simpler for the choruses. Maybe the harmonic rhythm is different between the verse and the chorus.
2. Mark up the chart.
Using a pencil to make the chart our own makes a huge difference, because we can make notes that will remind us of tricky spots the next time we open up the chart.
An extra measure of care is to use different colored highlighters to mark up verses, especially if you have a lead sheet that includes repeats, different endings, and sometimes the incidental D.S. al Coda markings.
If you’re working with a tablet, you can use an app and a stylus to make notes, and you can color-code them as well. But make the chart your own.
3. Get your prep materials all in a row.
If you’re the worship leader, a great way to serve your team is to supply them with the chart that speaks their language (lead sheet, chord chart, or even a Nashville number chart).
But then, a great way to help their ear along is to purchase the audio mp3, rip it into some recording software and then transpose it to the actual key you’ll be singing in, to make it match the printed charts as closely as possible.
The reality is that some members of your band will reference the recording as the main guide for their preparation, so be thorough in this regard. Again, if you’re preparing lead sheets, chord charts, and mp3s, it’s important that they are all congruent with each other.
Side note: there’s a specific CCLI license that’s available to churches who want to distribute audio recordings amongst worship team members in whatever form – CD, or mp3s uploaded to Planning Center, etc. It’s called the CCLI Church Rehearsal License. Click here to be directed to a page that tells you more.
https://us.ccli.com/what-we-provide/rehearsal-license
Now comes the intentional process that gives us momentum towards memorization.
4. Type up the lyrics.
Although we might be able to find lyrics on the web that we could copy and paste, that’s not going to serve us as well as typing them up.
Will it take longer? Yes. But will it reinforce the lyrics in our minds? Also, yes.
5. Save and print the lyric sheets.
I print up the lyrics to songs with one song per side of a piece of paper. And then I keep them handy, folded up in my pocket, when I’m out and about. I can also keep them on my phone as screen shots or PDFs in a folder.
6. Listen actively to the recording.
The more focused and undivided our attention for this, the better. Listen closely, with and without the chart nearby.
Really consider the chord progression. Can you analyze it numerically? Do you know the progressions in Nashville numbers so that you could play part or all of the song in any guitar-friendly key?
7. Play along with the recording.
With your guitar in hand, play along to the best of your ability as you feel the cadences, holds, chokes, and dynamics. Let the guitarist on the recording guide you as you play.
8. Make a recording of yourself playing the song.
There’s something about playing a song and knowing that the “red recording light” is on. This adds a healthy amount of pressure, but wait for it…you can now go back and listen to, or even watch yourself playing the song (if you’ve captured it on video) and get a clear picture of your accuracy, tempos, words, pitch, and you can also see what you look like as you play.
9. Test it out in front of a safe audience.
Try playing the song for a loved one at home. This raises the pressure from just being in your practice space, to where someone else is actively listening on some level. They can give you their undivided attention, or listen while they’re cooking dinner, etc. Lastly…
10. Bring the song to rehearsal - memorized.
Come to worship or band rehearsal ready to play it from memory (but have it nearby on a music stand, just in case.) See how much you can work without the chart.
Remember, “memorized” means acknowledging every measure and being consistent. Your band will be following their charts, so make sure you’re right on track with the charts you’ve given them.
If you’ve never done something like this before, start with just one song and see how it goes. And give yourself enough ramp-up time to truly memorize it. But watch how much more freedom you’ll have as you interact with your team, the congregation, and ultimately the Lord.
I hope today’s discussion was helpful. It’s very possible that it could lead to some serious fun on your guitar journey if you take time to apply what’s been offered here. Will you?
David Harsh is a nationally touring worship leader, songwriter and performing artist. He is passionate about equipping guitarists to discover their potential. Learn more and join now at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Celebrations and the Winds of Change
1 Mai· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript included below…
I’m coming to you today with a bit of an announcement and update, as we continue forward.
When I began creating this blog and podcast two years ago, I wasn’t sure exactly how far I would take it, but I’m very pleased to celebrate the fact that for two solid years, I’ve been able to release an episode every single week, with today being episode 105.I have colleagues who are podcasters who sometimes take a few weeks off, but thanks to the blessing of the opportunity to batch content, as well as the Lord’s provision of a lot of creativity and perspectives on how to encourage you, I can celebrate that I’ve been able to consistently churn out some pretty encouraging and practical stuff, without a single break.
I don’t claim the glory for this – it’s all glory to God. I just want to celebrate. Two years is a significant achievement for content creation on such a consistent basis. I also want to give a shout-out to my podcast guests, who include Dawn Jones, Erin Pakinas, Mo Higgins and Jerry Chambers. Their insights have added much more depth to what I’ve put together, because they’ve provided outside perspectives that have really enhanced this experience.
In 2019, we launched GuitarSuccess4U, our online paid offering, which I’ve mentioned after many of these episodes here at Guitar Serious Fun. And if you haven’t learned about it yet because you’ve only recently subscribed, I do cordially invite you to consider joining us.The website for this experience is GuitarSuccess4U.com. As you’ll discover if you explore the website, we have a lavish, yet accessible offering for beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.
This means that it’s not for everyone…but the people it’s for really resonate with what we’ve put together. And it’s so much more than a guitar learning experience; it’s the opportunity to go deep with our passions for the Lord and music and how they intersect.
In the process of building out GuitarSuccess4U, my wife and I studied under Stu McLaren through a training experience called Tribe. They’ve since changed their name to The Membership Experience. Based out of Ontario, Canada, they’ve offered some solid counsel that has launched us forward into our teaching process of taking my 30 years of experience and imparting it through the portal and community that GuitarSuccess4U provides.
One thing Stu is famous for saying is “Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t.”
Which brings me to the change that’s coming here at Guitar Serious Fun. We’ve had a steady increase in followers and readers, but as we’ve checked our analytics over the past two years for how many folks have read the blog or listened to the podcast, the increase has not been as “up and to the right” as we would have liked.I love to create long form content, but in the case of this podcast, it’s a lot like a journal. As one of our Guitar Successors shared with me, some of what I’ve put together here has likely been for…me. And it’s been a great way to process my thoughts and journey.
It has also, of course, been for you – my listeners or readers. Now, I know from our list of subscribers that a significant portion of those who follow Guitar Serious Fun are already members of GuitarSuccess4U. Which is awesome.
Perhaps you are not yet a member but are considering GuitarSuccess4U, and I sincerely hope you do. I challenge you to find as meaningful and affordable of an experience as what we offer.
So, this podcast and blog, Guitar Serious Fun, has been exactly that.
But the avenues that seem to be gaining more traction and momentum for our ministry in this season are our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel and our GuitarSuccess4U Instagram account.
You can find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@guitarsuccess4u.
You can also find us on Instagram at instagram.com/guitarsuccess4u.
We are posting almost daily on both YouTube and Instagram, and some of our shorts, vids and reels are getting some pretty good reach. As of today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun, we have almost 900 followers on YouTube and almost 600 followers on Instagram. Contrast this to just over 60 followers here.Now again, hear me when I say how grateful I am for your willingness to experience what I’ve put together. Your investment of time and attention is a huge blessing to me. But it is indeed time for a change.
So, the change that’s going to happen is this: at this point, I will be doing less of these episodes.
Not that it’s “not working” – but it’s working less than I’d like, and as you know, we’ve all only got so much time to allocate to creating content, especially free content. I love to create content. It’s something that gives me a lot of joy, and I have a working list and folder of concepts that are steadily making their way into the light. People are loving a lot of what I’m putting together, and I’ve never experienced writer’s block, which I guess is something that many people have struggled with.So I have no complaints. Instead, a lot of gratitude!
My wife and I serve under a 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry, appropriately called “David Harsh Ministries,” and our Board of Directors has graciously counseled us to take the new approach of a monthly episode of Guitar Serious Fun, so for the foreseeable future, that’s what we’ll do.The episodes that will be forthcoming will be audio versions of mini topical guitar lessons. So, you can look forward to practical, encouraging episodes that will all link to a video version of what you’ll hear, sometimes accompanied by some charts and tables.
Speaking transparently, my intention is not to turn the Substack for Guitar Serious Fun into a paid experience, at least not at this stage, but instead to help you gain more awareness of how we can serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U.
So…what do I need from you?
Well, I think the best thing you can do is comment after today’s episode. Share your thoughts. Let me know which episode or episodes of Guitar Serious Fun resonated with you and provided encouragement or wisdom.And then, consider providing some topics we could expand upon for future episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, future videos on YouTube, or future reels on Instagram.Will you do this? Will you grab 5 minutes to share some feedback with us?
Believe me, some entire episodes of Guitar Serious Fun have come to life as the result of a single question.
I want to thank you for your time today and for however long you’ve been experiencing these episodes. I do look forward to our monthly connection here.
And I again hope to serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U, where I’m serving our members with most of my time and energy, as we desire to impact the Kingdom of God through a legacy of learning, as our members fulfill their callings in worship leading, songwriting, and the enjoyment of music at whatever level this season calls for.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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10 Myths About Alternate Tunings
24 Apr· Guitar Serious Fun
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/10AlternateTuningMyths. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript and table included below…
Have you always wanted to play in alternate tunings, but felt a little intimidated by the process? Not anymore.
Let’s dispel 10 myths together and find some hidden treasures when it comes to alternate tunings.
The 6 machine heads on our guitars are like a 6-digit combination lock, and the alternate tunings we can access with them can be incredibly enjoyable. Here are 10 myths I’m going to dispel about alternate tunings. You ready?
Myth #1 – “Alternate tunings are too difficult to get into.”
By definition, an alternate tuning is any tuning that’s different from standard tuning, so even Drop-D can fall into this category. This is the best place to start. All you do is start with a standard-tuned guitar and then tune one string down – your 6th string, until the 12th fret harmonic matches the open 4th string D (watch the video to see how.)
Myth #2 – “Alternate tunings can be achieved with a partial capo.”
If were to take a standard tuned guitar and place a partial capo on strings 5, 4, and 3 on the second fret, and play those notes open, they would sound an Esus4.
If I tune another guitar to DADGAD and place the capo on the second fret, I’ll have access to the same open notes that sound an Esus4. And although some of the chords might sound similar on both guitars (see the video), that’s where the similarity between the partial capo and the alternate tuning end.
Look at this closed voicing A Major scale on a standard-tuned guitar with a partial capo, and contrast it to a DADGAD capo 2 guitar.
Myth #3 – “You can figure out the tuning of a guitar from an audio recording.”
Sometimes. Not always. I wrote a song in DADGAD and recorded it on an album with my capo on the 3rd fret. Later, a friend liked the song so much that he taught it to himself from the recording, and played it in standard tuning, but with a lot more fretted notes.
Myth #4 – “The tuning dictates the key.”
Not necessarily. I actually learned a beautiful fingerstyle song by Pierre Bensusan in DADGAD while studying with him in France called “L’Alchimiste,” and that song was in DADGAD but in the keys of C and F Major…without a capo. Pretty wild.
Myth #5 – “Alternate tunings require a dedicated guitar.”
I think it depend on how quickly you can re-tune. I caught Michael Hedges in concert a couple times and he had two 6-string guitars for the whole show – one he played onstage, while his technician re-tuned the other one offstage.
He must have played in upwards of two dozen tunings with just those two guitars. At my concerts and when I lead worship, I use at most, three guitars. I try to keep my guitars in neighboring tunings as well, and to plan my sets accordingly.
Myth #6 – “Each tuning takes a long time to learn to play in.”
Actually, once you’ve re-tuned, you can be creating great music in minutes. There’s something sweet about exploring a new tuning for the first time, and finding chord voicings that are just not possible in standard tuning or even partial capo positions.
Myth #7 – “Once you re-tune, you have to re-learn the instrument.”
As I mentioned, you don’t have to re-learn everything in a new tuning. Some strings, if they remain in their original pitches, can allow for some of the same figures we know, like three-string chord voicings or melodic fragments.
Some tunings are nice for specific textures, drones, or certain keys. But a new tuning doesn’t necessitate re-learning the entire guitar from square one.
Myth #8 – “Alternate tunings require special string gauges.”
If we keep the same strings proprietary to their standard locations on the guitar, I recommend medium gauge – 13 to 56, from high to low, because a set of these strings splits the difference between the heavy gauge strings and light gauge strings.
Myth #9 – “Your tunings drastically affect your collaborators’ choices.”
As long as you’re in concert pitch and playing chords or melodies, this really doesn’t affect your collaborators in a major way.
You might have a little fun mystifying your bass player who thinks they know which notes you’re playing, especially on your low strings, but no, tunings don’t affect other musicians, at least not logistically. They may actually inspire your collaborators artistically, which could be really cool. Lastly…
Myth #10 – “There are only a limited number of alternate tunings out there.”
Think about my analogy of a combination lock for a moment. There are lots of possibilities, especially if there are six digits on your lock. If we were to compute each string as having a combined range of an octave (in other words, each string could theoretically be tuned down a Perfect 5th and up a Major 3rd), how many alternate tuning possibilities could there be on a 6-string guitar? Answer: 2,985,984 tunings!
A six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings, so I encourage you to step out and take the risk.
Who knows? You might write an arrangement or a brand-new song in a new tuning…today. Maybe you’ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love, in an alternate tuning, perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your voice, your band, or both. I hope you do.
As we wrap up, without going too deep into a discussion about gear, I will say that there are automated tuners, tuning levers and pegs that can be added to a guitar to customize the precision and speed with which someone can re-tune their guitar. Guitarist Adrian Legg is a prime example of someone who has leveraged these kinds of tools.
But a six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings, so I encourage you to step out and take the risk. Who knows? You might write an arrangement or a brand new song in a new tuning…today. Maybe you’ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love, in an alternate tuning, perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your song, your band, or both. I hope you do.
And if you’re looking for more insights into discovering some hidden treasures that the guitar and music have to offer, I would be honored to be your guide in a one-of-a-kind online experience called GuitarSuccess4U. I’ve never seen anything like what we have, therefore, I had to create it. We have a 6-stage Success Path, proven strategies for multi-modal learning, a collection of hand-picked guest experts, and a community of like-minded Christian guitarists who just might be on a similar journey to you.
Will you discover what we’ve worked so diligently to create? Please take a moment to visit GuitarSuccess4U.com and see what we’re up to. It could change your guitar world, and transform your musical world.
I hope to see you inside GuitarSuccess4U. Keep showing up, have serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Loving Your Listener - Playing Well
17 Apr· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript below…
Today we’re going to talk about what it means to love our listener as we play the guitar.
At the school where our children attend, one of the values that is consistently brought forward when writing papers is the idea of “Loving your reader.”This means writing clearly, and writing well. In fact, they even give out penmanship awards for the younger students to affirm their work in this area.
I’d say that as guitarists, loving our listener is tremendously important, whether the listener is enjoying our guitar live in person, over a live stream, or on some sort of audio or video recording.
Today, during this brief discussion, I’ll offer five ways to love your listener. There will always be more, and your suggestions are welcome in the comments, but let’s start with these five.
1. Tune your guitar.
I offer this suggestion because a significant portion of the song offerings I’ve heard over time have been played well, but on guitars that are slightly out of tune.
This actually undermines the entire offering.
There are a variety of ways to tune, from using a tuner, to a tuning fork, to referencing a piano, to using the highly advanced method of equal temperament with harmonics and beats.
But even a simple smartphone app can act as a bridge from being out of tune to being in tune. People may not know which string is out of tune, but they’ll know intuitively if a guitar is not in tune.
Your listener likes to listen to guitars that are in tune.
2. Want to play well.
What does this mean? I basically desire to inspire you to play your guitar well. Some folks I’ve heard are basically “phoning it in.”
They grab their guitar, start strumming, and are generally ok with what comes out.
But here’s the thing: they may be playing some unnecessary strings with their chords (E.G. the low open E under a D chord.)
Or they may be strumming too aggressively for the interpretation of the song.
Or they may be ignoring the opportunity for dynamic variation. So, I encourage you to play cleanly, accurately, and artistically.
3. Desire variety within limitations.
Within the scope of artistic interpretation, we can vary our chords, strumming patterns, and picking patterns, even within the song. Some folks default to just a handful of strumming patterns for their entire worship repertoire, rather than thinking through what the song might need.
And color chords or different voicings can add so much. Think about what the limitations are of the song, and work within those, but bring variety and elegance, based on what you can offer in this season. This applies to worship leading, but also songwriting.
4. Wave the flag of quality over quantity.
In GuitarSuccess4U, I teach my highly unique “Chord Kite Diagram” strategy, where my members are able to zoom in on just four chords and their combined transitions, for clean movements between them.
This translates to a much more pleasing offering. Contrast playing four chords well, with someone who can play 40 chords…sloppily. I think you know what would show love to your listener here: quality over quantity, especially with music. Lastly…
5. Don’t be a perfectionist.
Perfectionism can be the enemy of progress. If we refuse to offer our gifts until they’re “perfect,” we could be missing out on all sorts of opportunities. But if we stay “human” in our delivery, considering these other ways of bringing quality and elegance, we’ll provide something very enjoyable.
People enjoy hearing music from people. Not machines, not A.I., not something mechanical, but real people playing real music.
Tom Jackson, a gifted performance coach with whom I have studied, once said that “Going from bad to good is easy; going from good to great is really tedious.”
Basically, to really buckle down and work towards a quality delivery with your guitar playing won’t necessarily take hours, days, weeks, or even months. It may take years or even decades.
But the good news is that we’re in this for the long game. We’re going to play our guitars for many, many, many, many years, Lord willing.
So, will all this hard work be worth it? Yes.
Don’t let the long game discourage you. Think about how well you want to play, and do what you can today to love your listener. And enjoy the process.
And then, more opportunities will open up for you to play your guitar, and you’ll get better, and better…and better.
And then more doors will open.
Proverbs 22:29 says: “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.”
And Psalm 33:3 says: “Sing to the Lord a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
And yes, there will be joy.
I hope these thoughts gave you some ideas for how to enhance your playing. If you’re ready for the next level and a clear, battle-tested success path that leads to loving your listener even more, as you discover the guitar and the joy of music in a Christ-honoring community, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Trust me – there’s more wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration waiting for you here than you can imagine.
Keep playing your guitar, keep having serious fun, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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The Daily Death of the Worship Guitarist
10 Apr· Guitar Serious Fun
Today, we’re going to talk about five ways to “die to self” as worship guitarists, and the beautiful blessings that can result when we do.
My wife and I are blessed to have two amazing daughters. But with the privilege of having kids comes the need for sacrifice. In saying “yes” to having kids, we inevitably say “no” to some other things, at least for a season.
Can we both just head out on a road trip for a week? Not without making arrangements to have the kids looked after. Can we both work on ministry tasks straight through dinner and late into the night?
Well, with our family culture, we don’t usually do that, because we value the privilege of sharing a meal to debrief the day, and we also spend a few minutes with our kids at bedtime praying together.
These sorts of intentional sacrifices involve a certain amount of what could be called “dying to self.”
And because of our examples, our kids discover what that’s about as well as they wait for the fun activities while prioritizing academics and chores. We also eat nutritious food for our meals, and sometimes follow with dessert. We don’t typically eat dessert as a meal, right?
So much of what I’m about to share with you today boils down to refining and sharpening our characters. The symptom is how and when we play our guitars. The real issue is the flesh, whether we want to talk about it or not.
So, let’s courageously talk today about some ways we can intentionally “die to self” for the glory of God and the benefit of others, as well as the maturity of our souls as worship guitarists.
1. Delayed Gratification
Delayed gratification is a huge missing component of our culture in today’s world. We want fast food. We want overnight shipping. We want instant results.
Food that is cooked fast might taste decent, but it’s often less nutritious.
Overnight shipping has ruined us in some ways. I’m old enough to remember sending a check in the mail to order something, and reading the fine print on the order form that said “Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery.”
If our Amazon Prime order were to take even a week to arrive, we’d probably get a little antsy and frustrated, right?
You’re probably sensing where I’m going when it comes to music and guitar. Many of us really want instant (or close to instant) results with the songs we want to play.
I had one student come to my teaching studio who had never played the guitar before. He said that the first song he wanted to learn was “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, and he wanted to learn it in its entirety during our first lesson.
I cautioned him and encouraged him to be a bit more realistic at the beginning…and after that conversation, I never saw him again.
Some guitarists want to learn songs or develop skills, but they don’t want it to take a lot of time. They long for shortcuts and hacks that reduce practice time to a fraction of what it might normally take.
And unfortunately, some guitar products or sales people promise all sorts of instant results in the short term. This might provide some momentum, but long-term, it’s been my experience that these students will lose momentum when the more intermediate music comes along…because it will take more effort and more time to get results.
Now, there’s something to be said for practicing smarter, with greater focus, and at an optimal time of day after having good rest and with good hydration. To that end, practice sessions can be shorter, and results can come more quickly.
But the reality is that quality practice will still take some amount of time. To expect to learn a significantly difficult guitar song in a matter of, say, 15 minutes total, is not a way to set ourselves up for being able to play the song well.
So, we can “die to self” as we flex our “delayed gratification” muscles and wait patiently as we practice diligently.
2. Hard Work
I remember cramming for tests in college. But it’s my conviction that effective practice cannot be crammed, for the very reason that we won’t have the songs under our fingers long-term, even if we can summon parts of them right away.
And complete songs are much more of value than fragments of songs. Have you ever heard someone start a song, and then trail off as the song just kind of falls apart? We all have.
So, as we wrap up this section, let’s remember that diligent, consistent practice is a way for us to “die to self.”
My father taught me the value of hard work throughout my entire childhood, and it has served me well, and also the people I’ve served and served with.
Many blessings, including good musical execution, are waiting on the other side of good old-fashioned hard work.
3. Setting Aside Personal Preferences
I have some very specific musical tastes. And believe it or not, as a worship leader, some of the songs I’ve led over the course of my career have not been my absolute favorites.
A person I served with on staff at a church was absolutely baffled to learn that I wouldn’t always choose songs that were personal favorites of mine.
But here’s why – and you may already know this. The songs aren’t just for my worship journey. There are many people in the congregation I'm ministering to who might have a deep appreciation for some of those songs that aren’t my personal preference.
The only hard line I need to draw is that the songs I lead must be Biblical. To lead songs that don’t reconcile with Scripture is to lead people astray. And so, I’m always vigilant about the message of the songs I sing (and even write.)
So, if a worship guitarist is on a team (whether in a leadership or support position), and a song they are playing on is not a personal favorite, can they “die to self” and still diligently prepare and lead that song well? That’s my hope as I share these words.
4. Being a Good Listener
In our membership in GuitarSuccess4U, I’m privileged to host multiple guest expert interviews with some of the most gifted musicians I’ve ever collaborated with.And they offer some real pearls of wisdom in these interviews.
One expert, a multi-instrumentalist and producer named Brian Reding, stated that a musician who has less experience will often play more during a song. In some ways, it’s a sign of insecurity or immaturity. To draw a parallel, it’s a lot like the person you might meet at a social gathering who mostly wants to talk about themselves and not really ask anyone else about their interests.
Imagine a less mature guitarist who has come to worship rehearsal. His or her mindset might be, “Well, I’m here. I’ve brought my guitar. I may as well play the whole time.”But here’s the problem: there’s only so much sonic space in the musical texture, and the guitar is just one part of that texture, as are the other instruments and voices. If the guitarist is playing all the time, it could actually muddy the texture and make it hard for other instruments to artistically express themselves.
Brian’s wisdom about less experienced musicians wanting to play a lot is very telling. The flipside is that more experienced musicians will actually do something I love to observe: they will look for places not to play.
Now, that might seem counterintuitive, but following my analogy, if music is like a conversation, we would do well to exchange information. How do we do this? By listening.I love watching a highly gifted musician play on a team for a song, especially for the first time.
They’re often waiting to start playing until they’ve listened a bit to what’s going on around them. Then they play, and perhaps they might momentarily tacet (which is a musical expression for not playing), before coming back in.
And when they do come back in, guess what? It means more. Picture a bass player or a drummer laying out for the penultimate chorus. When he or she rejoins the band for the final chorus, it can feel just right. And people who don’t understand music will still appreciate it.
I love the conversation of music, and I love collaborating with musical “conversationalists,” because they know when to “speak” and when to “listen.” And then the “conversation” is much more meaningful. It’s very honoring when someone asks me about my world, rather than just constantly talking about theirs.
So, if you’re a musician, much as it may be tempting to play the whole time, consider this challenge: “Don’t just do something; sit there.”
So, we can “die to self” as musical collaborators as we look for places not to play, and listen well so as to contribute more gracefully to the musical conversation.
5. Putting on Love
This last action is inspired by Colossians 3:14. If we put on love, we’ll do all of these things well, and for the right reasons.
If we don’t, we’ll do these things with some resentment or bitterness. Any amount of annoyance that creeps into these actions will actually invalidate them before the Lord.
Imagine if I verbally expressed gratitude, but wasn’t grateful. Imagine if I stated that I wanted to serve, but served only with an agenda and frustration at having to do so.
If we put on love, we are submitting to the Lord and making intentional efforts to ensure that our motivations are pure. We “die to self” as we put on love in all these endeavors.
Wrap-Up: The Flesh Must Die
When you saw the title of this article, I wonder if it made you just a little bit curious. That was my intent.
It can be easy to maintain the status quo of what we’ve always done as worship guitarists, but sometimes we need a message to shake us up and grab our attention. That’s been the intent of this collection of thoughts.
Remember, the flesh wants what it wants, but without inviting the Lord to guide and strengthen us, it will try to get its way. So, our fleshly tendencies need to…die.
As we wrap up, I’ll re-cap the five ways we can die to self as worship guitarists:
1. Delayed Gratification
2. Hard Work
3. Setting Aside Personal Preferences
4. Being a Good Listener
5. Putting on Love
I hope at least one of these has given you pause, and challenged you to make some slight changes to your trajectory as a worship guitarist.
One more verse – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a).
If we truly acknowledge the meaning of this verse – that our sinful self has been put to death and that Christ lives in us, we can walk in His strength, for His glory, in all that we do…including through our musical offerings.Let’s do that. And let’s watch what happens when we do.
Now, if you’re looking for more opportunities to be challenged and encouraged, I want to encourage you to check this out. Encouragement is a high value to me and to my members in GuitarSuccess4U. So much so, that the second lesson of every month is actually an “Encouragement Lesson.”Add to this that our Zoom calls are opportunities for real-time encouragement as a community.Interested? Want to learn more? Check out GuitarSuccess4U.com. This could be the game changer you’ve been waiting for. It certainly has been for many of the guitarists I’m serving in this one-of-a-kind community.
Thanks for experiencing Guitar Serious Fun. I hope this has inspired and challenged you. I also hope you’ll like and share this episode with someone. When you do, I encourage you to share it in a way that helps the recipient understand that you want them to be sharpened by it as you have been.
Keep having serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Not on Sunday - with Jerry Chambers
3 Apr· Guitar Serious Fun
Today, alongside our special guest, Jerry Chambers, we’re going to talk about what to say “no” to on a Sunday morning so we can say “yes” to the most important things.
If you recall Episode 89 of Guitar Serious Fun called “Leading Worship Whether You’re Up or Down,” and you were blessed by it, I think you’ll be doubly blessed today, because Jerry Chambers is back one more time for a follow-up episode.
If you haven’t had a chance to experience our episode “Leading Whether You’re Up or Down”, please take some time when you can to spin through it – I think you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll get a better sense of our guest’s approach to worship leading.
Once again, here’s a little bit about our special guest today. A third-generation worship leader, Jerry Chambers has a passionate heart for knowing God and worshipping Him with others, as well as helping new churches with all-things worship and tech. He holds a Masters of Church Music degree from Southwestern Seminary, and has served at churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Germany and Washington.
Jerry and his wife, Judy, have two daughters and two sons who have huge hearts for serving and living alongside the needy at home and around the world. I met Jerry in 2017 when we were both presenters at the Worship Catalyst Experience at the Northwest Ministry Conference in Redmond, Washington, and I was blessed to be able to sit in on a little bit of what Jerry was sharing with the attendees. We’ve stayed in touch over the past few years, and in an effort to bring in some more outside wisdom to our listeners here at Guitar Serious Fun, I approached Jerry, and he graciously accepted.
Many of our listeners who are pursuing serious fun on the guitar are involved with music at church, and that’s definitely something I’ve been a part of for almost three decades, whether on staff, volunteering, or serving as a guest worship leader. So, in an effort to round out the content experience here at Guitar Serious Fun, I’ve invited Jerry back to share some more of his thoughts.
One of the key phrases that Jerry shared with the attendees at the conference we were both teaching at was “Not on Sunday.” And I can’t even begin to tell you how much this has helped me to keep my priorities aligned as I’ve served in worship endeavors in various settings. In fact, when Jerry and I have connected over the past few years, I still drop the hashtag “Not on Sunday” to him, and he smiles, mostly because he knows it’s coming.
This topic of “Not on Sunday” is a bit more on the administrative end of things, but I think it’s absolutely essential to our process. The administrative details are meant to “undergird” the artistic and theological aspects, so that we can be even more effective in ministry. And “Sunday” is when a lot of us worship, but I think the same thing applies to a Saturday worship service or even a mid-week worship service. The key is to be deliberate and intentional about tasks, perspectives, and conversations on those days of worship.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what Jerry has to say, you’ll be deeply encouraged.
So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode, maybe leave us a 5-star review on your preferred podcast platform, and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Do Guitar Chord Voicings Really Matter?
27 Mär· Guitar Serious Fun
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/Voicings. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript and some tables included below…
What is something we all do with music, whether we are musicians or not? We listen to it.
How music sounds is pretty important. And yet for some of us guitarists, we can tend to play by shape, and perhaps sometimes take for granted some of the chords we learned early on, or assume that they’re as good as they can be.
I’ve got something that could shed quite a bit of light on your guitar voicing process.
This is a G Major chord.
It contains all the elements of a G chord, the Root – G, the Major 3rd – B, and the 5th, D. But let’s not confuse the formula of a chord with the voicing of a chord.
Ready for a random analogy? My family likes to eat free range eggs. They’re healthier, for a start. This is because they’re from chickens that have more room to roam, rather than being confined to a small space.
Music notes also need more room, especially if they are lower in register. With this in mind, what do you observe about this G chord I’ve just shown you? Well, the lowest three notes are all crammed together. As a matter of fact, on a standard tuned guitar, it’s the lowest Major triad possible. And to me, it sounds pretty muddy.
YOU might prefer to play G Major like this.
The same problem exists, though, because those bottom three notes are still very close together. It’s still pretty muddy because of that low triad.
Because I’m limited by space here, I again encourage you to watch the video where I unpack open chord voicings for several other chords, and even show you what they look like on the piano.
If you watch the video, you’ll discover that at the bottom of each of the voicings, we have Root, 5th, Root, and then we have the 3rd, rather than Root, 3rd, 5th, etc.
Those chickens, er, notes, have room to roam.So how can we give our muddy G Major chord a more open voicing? Would you believe me if I told you it only takes two fingers?Here’s the voicing I recommend:
The notes are G, I mute and skip the 5th string, then D, G, B and G. The voicing at the bottom of the chord is now Root, 5th, Root, and then we continue with the 3rd and the Root, much like the other open chord voicings I show you on the video that accompanies this article.
Want to know how to play it on the guitar? Gently curl your fretting hand pinky (your 4th finger) in toward your hand without bending any of the other fingers. Then, lay your hand across the guitar so you only fret the 3rd fret of strings 6 and 1. Let your 3rd finger mute the 5th string. And soon you’ll have it.
Are there additional benefits to this voicing and fingering? Yes. We have much more economy of movement from this new G chord to a C chord.
Still not convinced? When the 1st and 2nd fingers are freed up with this new paradigm, they can play part of a C Major chord on top of this G chord. It’s called a C over G chord, which works great for folk or fingerstyle guitar.
(The accompanying video has a cool demonstration of what’s possible with this chord.)
I hope this has given you a sense that even something as basic as an open G Major chord can be retooled just a bit to be made much more artistic. It sounds clearer, more elegant, and more pleasing to the ear.
See? We can always go back to the basics. Even those of us who have been playing for decades. So, yes, guitar voicings really do matter. Now, I’m not asking you to completely unlearn and relearn this chord. You can still use the other G chord shapes if you prefer. But finding different voicings for the same chord gives us more options, which leads to greater artistry.
And if anything I just said makes you grin and nod, you’re going to want to check out GuitarSuccess4U, where we go much deeper with concepts like today’s topic, but also color chords, fretboard knowledge, fingerstyle, flatpicking, strumming, capo strategies, scales and modes, and more. And it’s all neatly arranged in a battle-tested format to help you get the most out of the tools, and more importantly, we talk about WHY they are important.
And you get to do all of this in a community of like-minded followers of Christ. Hop on board and see what you’re missing. Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com. I hope to see you inside the membership. Thanks for experiencing today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun, and I’ll see you next time!
P.S. Still reading? I couldn’t believe my eyes, but I posted a mini-version of today’s episode in my Instagram feed and got over 3500% more views and likes than any of my other stuff. I can’t put my finger on why. Can you?
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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The Art of Improvisation
20 Mär· Guitar Serious Fun
Today’s episode is unlike any other I’ve offered, because it’s completely improvised.
The only other episode that comes close to this is Episode 85: The Sightless Guitarist, because I literally could not see as I recorded that podcast.
Speaking of podcast, today’s episode is only an audio version, and I encourage you to enjoy it with your ears. There is no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what I say and sing, I think you’ll be deeply encouraged and maybe a little inspired, especially as you observe me stepping outside my comfort zone to deliver these thoughts to you.
Today we’ll talk about the art of improvisation, developing a useable vocabulary, and discovering what it means to be a good “conversationalist,” especially when it comes to the context of music.
So buckle up.
And please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do.
I also invite you to like this episode, maybe leave us a 5-star review on your preferred podcast platform, and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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The Smokejumper Strategy for Guitar
13 Mär· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript included below…
Today I’m going to provide a strategy that just might sharpen your approach to playing any song you work on
Today’s episode will be one of the shortest you’ll experience here, because I want to get right to the point.
And I’m going to use an analogy, like I enjoy doing from time to time.Several years ago, I was performing at a big festival, and one of the ladies who was serving the food to the musicians told me about her career. It was an unexpected revelation. She was a smokejumper.
Now, if you know what a smokejumper is, great! If you don’t, it’s basically a firefighter who drops into a forest fire by way of a parachute. I would think that starting at the edge of the fire would be sufficient, but smokejumpers have been able to strategically drop in and drastically reduce the fire damage more quickly, because they target specific spots.It doesn’t make things any easier; in fact, it’s considerably more dangerous. Just imagine it, right?Well, let’s take a piece of music for a moment – it could be a fingerstyle guitar solo in an alternate tuning with lots of ties across the bar line…or it could be a pretty standard worship song in 4/4 time with “Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus” song form.Really, the type of song does not matter for my point of illustration. And the level of difficulty doesn’t matter, either.
What does matter is the strategic approach to tackling the song.
How many of us have heard someone play a song (especially a difficult one) from the beginning, and listened as the song gradually fell apart?Lots of us.
Why would this be, you ask? Perhaps because the person who had practiced it employed the approach, when running into challenges, of going back to the beginning and starting over.
Now I’m not at all against playing from the beginning.But if it’s the rule, not the exception, I have another suggestion…and hear it is. You ready?Find the challenge spot and work on that.
Literally jump into the middle of the piece and work the section that needs the most help.This might feel natural, because it might be right at the chorus.Or maybe it will be in the middle of a measure. Or the latter half of a beat.You’ll know, because you’ll be able to target the point in the music that needs work, and you can approach it from the nearest point of entry.
If you’re in a worship team rehearsal, guide your band to a spot you can all find (e.g. pick-up to measure 9.) If you’re on your own, you’ll have a little more flexibility and can find a spot at a gentler pace.
But do me (and yourself) this favor: avoid the temptation to go back to the beginning over and over.It will save time, it will allow you to get to know the piece better overall, and it will enable you to solidify the more difficult sections more quickly.
In short, it will help you put out the fire effectively…like a smokejumper.
Make sense?
Conclusion and Next Steps
And that just about wraps things up for today. Yep, I wanted to keep things succinct for today’s episode, because sometimes, all it takes is a simple thought to get you on your way.
And if you want more simple thoughts, find us on social media on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook where GuitarSuccess4U has a presence in each. Some of our content appears in all three areas, and it includes short-form content like reels or shorts that are less than 60 seconds long.
Little nuggets of wisdom, encouragement and practical thoughts.
It’s been interesting to watch and see who responds more to what on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, based on the audience.
But if you’re looking for the real meat, the real feast, treat yourself to GuitarSuccess4U, a members-only experience for Christian guitarists who know there’s more to the guitar and music.If today’s analogy and thoughts gave you something to run with, just imagine what a proven 6-stage Success Path and 8 bonus guest expert interviews could do, to say nothing of the Christ-honoring community of what I call my “Guitar Successors.”We’d love to welcome you in.
Learn more and join now at GuitarSuccess4U.com.
And if you want to experience our new free guitar web masterclass, just include a forward slash and the word “formula” after that. So, the URL would be GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula. I can’t wait to see what the Lord does for you with this new Smokejumper Strategy, and I hope to serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U!Thanks for experiencing these thoughts, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Are You a Guitar Spectator or a Guitar Player?
6 Mär· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript included below…
Today I’m going to provide some gentle nudging to help get some guitar players off the bench and onto the field, and perhaps that might include you.
I’m not a follower of baseball, but I definitely remember some noteworthy quotes from famous players. Jackie Robinson, is one of those. He is known for this quote:
"Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion, you're wasting your life."
Now, Jackie’s career was supported by spectators and people who watched him play baseball. Audience members are needed, right?
But for many of us, it’s super important to take the leap and play our instruments for other people.
This can be as simple as taking the guitar out of its case and playing it for a friend or family member…or something on a larger scale, like on a worship team, or in a concert setting.
That’s really where I’m going with today’s episode – I’m not asking my readers to do something nearly impossible. I just want to encourage them to make music, and to do what’s needed to get there. So, let’s keep it real again today as I share some thoughts.
Sitting in the Audience
If you’ve ever attended a concert or listened to someone play any instrument, especially the guitar, you know what it’s like to receive a musical offering, to be uplifted, inspired, or even transported in a way.
Music is powerful.
So, we can be music listeners…or content readers, like you with the blog you’re reading right now. For that, I thank you!
Sitting in an audience can be a passive posture, or we can actively listen, but like it or not, audience members are not typically contributing musically in that moment (unless they’re singing or clapping along.)That performance or musical offering may inspire audience members who are also musicians to go back and practice, and to make music.But some musicians do not take action.
I’ve offered guitar instruction long enough to cross paths with guitar students who are more like audience members.
If that’s their preferred means of enjoying music, that’s great! But if these guitar students are claiming to be guitar players, there can sometimes be a disconnect. Because by and large, some folks aren’t actually playing their guitars.
Not really.
Some of them profess to be guitar players. They sign up for a learning experience, some of them invest good money in tools, instruments, and education, but we’re all comes down to it, they don’t really lean into the process of developing their skills.
They don’t really practice much at all.
They’d rather talk about it. They’d rather watch someone else do what they want to do, and they’d rather not be held accountable.
That’s a harder place to be, because it doesn’t actually lead to results.
Watching other people get results can be fulfilling in a way, because we can live vicariously through them. I’ve heard some people say, “I don’t have a lot of talent, so I like to cheer on others who have more talent than I do.”
So, perhaps they get enough satisfaction from watching someone else get results as they play.
There are a lot of audience members out there watching shows like America’s got Talent, or American Idol. These kinds of experiences can be very engaging and inspiring for an audience, especially people who are not investing time in developing their own gifts.
But that’s the primary posture of an audience member – to receive what’s being shared.
I’ve seen cooking shows that lay out the entire process for how to make a recipe.
But if my hunch is correct, the vast majority of the viewers are just enjoying watching the cook bring their recipe to life, without any real plan for duplicating the process themselves.Now, of course, some may! And I know people personally who find recipes out there on the web in video form and they follow those recipes and make food for their families. But isn’t it easier to just be a consumer, an audience member, or a spectator?It sure is.
I have been an audience member or a spectator, but only temporarily.I am an active guitar player, whether a creative songwriter, performer, worship guitarist, or even a teacher. I place myself in an active posture in each of these roles as I share, sing, lead, create and teach.
I am a copious producer. I’m always coming up with content and musical ideas that I take great joy in sharing. And for some folks, that’s contagious and inspiring for them to do as well.But for others…not so much.Why?
The Obstacles We EncounterReasons for not developing our guitar skills might include the following…
1. Life is too full.
Yes, I agree. Sometimes with work, family, kids, and other responsibilities, it can be hard to make time. But we make time for things that are important to us, right? Even just a few minutes a day can transform our skill level over time on the guitar.
2. Fear.
Believe it or not, fear can paralyze us and keep us from reaching for our goals. For more about this, check out Episodes 50 and 51 of Guitar Serious Fun – The 10 Fears We Face as Guitarists – Part 1 and Part 2.
3. Procrastination.
We can live in the weird space that says, “I’ll get to that tomorrow.” But tomorrow can get pushed out further and further. Procrastination does not pay off, usually.
4. Laziness.
Can guitar players be lazy? Sure. I’ve met them. And you probably have as well.
Hard work is not glamorous, but man, can it help us get the results we want.
When people ask me how I’ve achieved the level of skill I’ve developed on the guitar, I usually respond with “Good, diligent practice and consistent hard work over time.”
Some folks are looking for an easy way to learn. But that’s not how it’s done.
The opportunity to grow is there, but, as Thomas Edison is credited with saying,
“Recognizing opportunity is so difficult for most people because it goes around disguised in overalls, looking like hard work!”
Now, there are different seasons of playing the guitar, as I unpack in Guitar Serious Fun Episodes 17 and 18, “Guitar Through the Seasons” – Part 1 and Part 2.
So, if someone is walking through a season where it just does not make practical sense to play, I understand. Every person has their reasons.
But let me encourage you to find the joy of music in your guitar playing…even when it’s not practical or easy.
Wounds from a Friend
If today’s episode has been a little less uplifting and a bit more of a coaching posture, that’s not by accident.I’m a leader, but one of the main reasons I’ve become the leader I am is because I’ve literally had people in my world growing up who have said, “There’s leadership potential in you, David. Don’t sit back.”
Even if I wasn’t thankful in the moment for these exhortations, I’m thankful now.
Proverbs 27:6 states,
“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
I’m here to gently wound you in a way that might inspire you to take action.
How? Well, I’ve got a few ideas.
Action Steps
1. Set some reasonable goals.
Goals give us a framework, and some tangible thresholds we’re hoping to cross.
2. Share those goals.
Sharing a goal gives it a super-charged amount of momentum, because others are now aware of what we’re working on, and this can provide gentle accountability.
3. Celebrate victories.
When we achieve a goal, we need to celebrate what we’ve done (more importantly what the Lord has done through us.) And if we’ve got other like-minded folks in our lives who can cheer us on, all the better.
Inside GuitarSuccess4U, we call these kinds of victories “wins,” and every time we gather on Zoom, I ask if any of my members have “wins” to share, and usually, many do.
4. Remember the long game.
Those who want to get real results play the long game. They know that this guitar thing will take time.
5. Make real music.
Stephen Humphries, a national Hammered Dulcimer champion I had the privilege of studying with, once said this to me:
“Technique is a means to an end. Make sure the music you want play is that end.”
Mic drop, right?I’m all about techniques that lead me in the direction where I want to be playing music.
6. Don’t go alone.
One African proverb I’ve always appreciated says:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”Journeying with like-minded folks will take you much further, even if it takes a bit longer.
On that subject, if you want a way to find measurable progress on the guitar, please consider GuitarSuccess4U.
And if you’re open to setting aside some intentional time to discover what we’re all about and how we can help you, I highly recommend our new free guitar web masterclass, called The Guitar Success Formula.I recommend watching it from a browser on a desktop or laptop, rather than a smartphone. The URL for that is GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula.
But be warned – it’s not for those who want to sit on the sidelines – it’s for those who want to get in the game.
These action steps could be game-changers for you, and I’d love for us both to find out.
But if all that today’s episode does is serve as a catalyst for you to pick up your guitar, then that’s a win for both of us.So, go grab your guitar and play it. Because that’s what guitar players do.
And maybe set your sights on playing it for someone else, because music is best when shared. Any music you play for anyone represents you setting aside the posture of a guitar spectator and instead becoming a guitar player.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun. We are fast approaching 100 episodes, which is exciting. I’m looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you in the future, even if we – spoiler alert – decrease episode frequency and length as I lean into other content platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
Once we cross the three-digit mark for this blog, we’ll be near to 2 solid years of Guitar Serious Fun which will provide a curated collection of thoughts, both practical and inspiring.And these episodes take quite a bit of time to put together. They are a labor of love.
So just know that although I love sharing my thoughts here, it may make more sense for me to lean more deeply into other forms of content, based on time, which as you know, is a non-renewable resource.
So, if you like these thoughts, please share them with others – any episode could be passed along to someone else, but only if you forward it!I’d love to be able to reach more people in this way.I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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How to Unlock Your Fretboard With Your Capo
28 Feb· Guitar Serious Fun
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/CapoReality. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript and table included below…
If you play the guitar, you probably use a capo sometimes. But is your capo holding you hostage? Do you sometimes get confused about which key you’re actually in when you use it? No more!
We as guitarists make use of a variety of tools, but perhaps one of the most common is the capotasto, better known as the capo. The capo gets its name from a phrase that means “head tie,” which implies that it’s being tied to the guitar near the headstock.
But when we put a capo on our guitar, what is happening, exactly?
We’re shortening the length of the strings. This can allow us to play in some keys with open chord shapes to access actual chords that would normally all be bar chords.
Allow me to demonstrate (see the video for a clearer picture of this.) The key of Ab Major, for example, has zero open chords, so they all need to have 100% fretted notes.
The chords are: Ab Major, Bb minor, C minor, Db Major, Eb Major, F minor, G diminished, and we can come back around to Ab Major.
In the video, I play all of those chords again, but with my capo on fret 1. The chords are the same, but many of them are much easier to play, because I use the shapes: G Major, A minor, B minor, C Major, D Major, E minor, F sharp diminished, and ending on G Major.
But let’s not confuse shapes with chords.
Because unless we’re only collaborating with a drummer or a percussionist, there are harmonic consequences to everything we do with the capo. Do you believe it?
If you’re collaborating with a piano player, a synth player, a bass player, another guitar player, a vocalist, someone who plays strings or woodwinds, or any type of harmonic or melodic instrument or voice, they’re going to be playing or singing in a specific key.
And if you are the guitarist who’s leading that band, it’s super important to know which key you’re all in.
Here are some helpful tips so you can be sure of what’s going on.
Memorize marker points
First, memorize the bottom 3 strings, strings 6, 5 and 4.
I walk you through these markers in the video, but you’re welcome to reference the diagram I’m including with this article.
There’s more, but this can give us plenty to work with here.
Which key are we in?
Our first approach is to place the capo and discover which keys we end up playing in when we play shapes.
Let’s say I place the capo on the 3rd fret. If I strum shapes around the tonal center of E, with the open 6th string for the low root, which key am I in? G.
If I strum A shapes, which key am I in? C.
If I strum D shapes, which key am I in? F.
Why? Because the “open” notes at our new “nut” with the capo are G, C, and F. Right? Did you know all of those? This works best with your guitar and capo in hand.
Which key do we want to play in?
Let’s try the opposite approach with placing the capo for keys we want to play in.
Now, let’s say I want to play in Eb Major with a piano player, by leveraging the capo. For a moment, let’s temporarily call that the key of D#. It’s a theoretical key, I know, but go with me.
If I place the capo on fret 1 and play a D shape, it sounds a D#, better known as Eb. That open 4th string is our low root on Eb.
If you want to think in the key of D, this can work for you, but remember, you’re accountable for actually playing chords in the keys the capo has given you access to.
So if the capo is on fret 1, and we play D, G and A shapes, we’ve actually achieved Eb, Ab and Bb chords. Right?
Starting with chords that have open roots like E, A, and D can be pretty attainable, because the capo at the new “nut” easily tells us what those notes are, without fretting above it.
But what about chords like G and C that do have a fretted root? Don’t worry, I got you.
Play an open G chord for a moment. That root on the 3rd fret is a minor 3rd above the nut.
Let’s just make a new “nut” with the capo! Let’s say we want to play in the key of B. Well, a moment ago, we said that B on the 6th string is on fret 7. So, let’s fret the G shape that’s got that 7th fret B as the root, and place our capo down a minor 3rd – a distance of 3 frets, on the 4th fret.
With the capo on the 4th fret, using G shapes, we’ve accessed the key of B.
One more. Play an open C chord, the root for which is on the 3rd fret of the 5th string. It’s a minor 3rd above the open A note at the nut.
Let’s make a new “nut” with our capo for the key of F. Where is F on the 5th string? It’s all the way up at fret 8, just above the 7th fret E we talked about a moment ago.
So, we can start with a C shape with our root on the 8th fret for F, and go down 3 frets to the 5th fret and place the capo there.
We can now play C shapes, with capo 5, in the key of F.
This process works for any Major key, minor key, or even modes, but we have to know the real key we’re in, and at least some of the chords the capo is helping us play.
Our charts, especially the ones we print up for the band, have to reflect this reality.
Otherwise, we’ll have an alternate reality that leads to confusion, or at the very least, a comedy of errors.
I hope this was helpful, and I look forward to next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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12 Unexpected Places to Play Your Guitar
21 Feb· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript included below…
In the Timothy Dalton James Bond film The Living Daylights, Bond is traveling quickly through Europe with Kara, a cellist who plays a Stradivarius. She absolutely cannot part with her instrument, even though it’s slowing them both down as they elude their pursuers.
In a moment of frustration, Bond asks, “Why didn’t you learn the violin?”
There are some big instruments out there, and the cello is one of them. Another is the electronic keyboard.
I’ve had conversations with people who play 88-key full-sized electronic keyboards. One of their biggest complaints is how heavy their instruments are to transport.
The two aforementioned instruments aren’t even among the biggest instruments out there. Some need to be brought in on wheels like marimbas, tympani or harps. Others are so big that they need to be permanently located in a church or cathedral, like an organ.
But the guitar? Ah…what a delightfully portable instrument. I’ve taken my guitar to many places, and some of them have turned out to be just a little bit unique.
Today’s episode is mostly intended to be informative and hopefully interesting, with some stories from my travels. I’ll share just a handful of places I’ve played my guitar that are out of the ordinary. I’ve got 12 locations to share with you. Here we go.
I’ll start with some watercraft.
1. The bow of a fishing boat
My father and I have enjoyed many deep-sea fishing trips up the coasts of Washington and British Columbia.
One fishing trip was long enough that it made sense for me to bring my guitar for some diligent practice. So, I’d sit or recline in the bow of the boat, working on my chord fingerings and scales. I’m glad I brought it with me, because I made progress.
2. A Ferry Boat
Near where I live, in the Puget Sound, we often take a ferry over to see relatives. After returning from a guitar seminar with Pierre Bensusan in France, I wanted to show my relatives what I had learned, so I took my guitar on the ferry.
While I was on the ferry, I decided to uncase my guitar and play a little. It wasn’t long before a roving mandolin player showed up where I was seated, and we jammed for a moment.
3. A Raft
When I was courting my wife, one day I made a picnic for the two of us, and drove us up to a mountain lake. I had packed an inflatable Zodiac raft, and in addition to the food items, I had brought a guitar. I enjoyed playing some songs for her out on the lake. You don’t typically see a guitar in a raft on a lake, but there it was.
Ok, now that I’ve talked about watercraft, let’s come back onto land.
4. A Dock
I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with friends at a lake, and to be able to enjoy music while “sittin’ on the dock of the bay.” Yeah, you know what I mean.
There’s something restful about sitting and enjoying some guitar, along with the gentle lapping of the waves. Playing the guitar anywhere near water, especially near a bonfire on a beach, can be very soothing.
So now that we’re back on land, here are a few instances of where my guitar was with me in transit with wheels spinning beneath me.
5. A Chevy Van
On a trip to Montana for some river fly fishing (also with my Dad), I brought my guitar. Interstate 90 East was relatively straight most of the way, so I sat in the back seat of the van with my seatbelt on, working through rudiments and exercises on my guitar. Again, I was redeeming the time.
I ended up writing some really good music on that trip. Having the guitar nearby was such a blessing during those long hours of travel. And of course, I took time to connect with my father as well.
6. A Bus
On a mission trip to Mexico, a youth group I was in volunteer leadership for decided not to fly, but instead to take a bus. It took longer, but saved some money. I went as a translator, and I had my guitar for the optional worship leading opportunities in the villages where we visited for Vacation Bible School.
I also got to have the opportunity to play it for the base camp gatherings, sharing songs in front of probably two thousand people who had gathered for the evening sessions. It was really cool.
I remember traveling to Mexico, on the way south via Interstate 5. That highway is also rather straight most of the way. I sat towards the back of the bus with my guitar, learning some very technical fingerstyle guitar music by Alex DeGrassi.
One song in particular was the song “Window” in the tuning of ECEGCD – with a lot of very fast sixteenth notes. I took it slow and learned to play it. It was a good use of the time…even thought I was a little self-conscious with the youth kids listening in. I got over it, and I got better.
7. An Impromptu Tailgate Concert
We had lunch with some friends some time ago, and I had written a blues song that I had to share with them. It had some Stanley Jordan “touch style” techniques and a tongue-in-cheek theme. I knew they’d love it.
I had my guitar with me at the restaurant where we met up, and after we paid the check, I invited them out to the parking lot where our SUV was parked. I opened the back hatch, sat down in the back, and played the song for them as they stood in the falling snow, delighted to experience an impromptu tailgate mini-concert.
8. A Shuttle Stop
Not long ago, I was waiting for a shuttle in a parking lot, because I was going to fly out from Seattle/Tacoma Airport.
The shuttle had a covered area where I sat with my suitcase and…my guitar case. I uncased my guitar while I waited, and played some original songs and worship songs that I was planning to play on my upcoming California tour dates.
Two fellow passengers arrived and sat and listened. I started to think that I was intruding on their silence, but when I went to put my guitar away, they stopped me, expressing how much they were enjoying what I was sharing. So, I kept playing.
And as it would logically follow, another location would be…
9. The Airport
After arriving at the airport and making my way through security out to the gate, I’ve often found myself with a good solid hour or more to kill.
I can save my reading for the plane. What I can’t do on the plane is play my guitar. So, I’ll often uncase my guitar, sit down on the floor, and quietly play something. I’m usually competing with a lot of intercom announcements and the hustle and bustle of travelers, so it’s typically not a distraction to anyone.
But if I’m thinking that my playing might be distracting, I’ll just strum with the fleshy part of my thumb and lean over to hear the strings softly humming. I can also make my pick articulations very soft.
It’s a great way to make use of the time, watching the planes land and take off…and occasionally, it leads to a conversation starter with a fellow musician, or someone who just enjoys music.
10. “Crisscross Applesauce” next to the Bathtub
When I was a young parent, my kids sometimes took baths when they were little, and they of course needed very close supervision, but also the opportunity to splash about before getting scrubbed down.
So, I’d sometimes bring my guitar into the bathroom and sit an arm’s length away from whoever was having a bath…and I would strum some chords while closely observing my kid in the bath.
My strumming provided a bit of a soundtrack to bath time, and when I was needed, I just set my guitar down on the floor mat, and helped bathe my kid. It was a good mix of work and play.
11. Stairwells
Some hotels or school dorms have these concrete stairwells that have lots of echo in them. But here’s the thing; an echo chamber can serve as a beautiful impromptu acoustic space.
Playing a soulful fingerstyle guitar piece in one of these stairwells (as long as it’s not too cold) can actually be a really powerful experience, because it’s like a concrete cathedral. The music just doesn’t sound the same as it would in a carpeted room.
So, whether I’ve been at a hotel far from home or needing a study break at college, I’ve found opportunities to take my guitar into the stairwell and let it sing.
Last but not least…
12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional
I’ve saved this one for last, because it was highly unexpected, but super practical.
There are lots of outdoor spaces where a guitar can find its place, especially if the weather is nice. But in this instance, it was more out of necessity.
I was pursuing a vocal performance degree in college, and part of my contribution to the music department was to sing in the concert choir. If you’ve sung in choirs, you know that there are typically four basic vocal parts – soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
I was the bass section leader. And every Tuesday, we’d have sectionals, where, for the majority of the class time, the four sections would break up and go find another large room in the music department to practice, ideally with a piano for “plunking” notes.
But this time, there was a large group of guest high schoolers on campus for an all-day workshop, so we didn’t have a place to practice.
But we still needed to have our sectional. And we didn’t have a piano or even a keyboard.
But what did we have? My guitar was fortuitously stored in my locker that day, so when I realized what the circumstances were, and what our need was, I grabbed it.
I have this clear memory of me sitting out in the seating area outside the Performing Arts Center, leading the Bass Sectional by “plunking” notes on my guitar as they sang, overlooking Bellingham Bay.
It was a unique experience and setting, and we got a lot done.
But there’s one detail about this that you may or may not have noticed. Do you know what was especially unique about what I was doing?Think for just a moment about what you know about the guitar and where it resides in terms of music notation.
The guitar is a treble clef instrument.
Now, the notes in treble clef for the guitar are notated an octave higher than what they actually sound, so as to avoid too many ledger lines.
But let’s back up even further. Playing notes on the guitar is a rather unique approach.
For classical guitarists, it’s their bread and butter. But I was an acoustic folk guitarist. And most people who play acoustic guitar appreciate the opportunity to have chord shapes and perhaps some tablature to light the way.
The good news was that I had been investing a serious amount of time going through all 7 grades of Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method, to the tune of about 400 pages. And this particular method didn’t use tablature. At all.
In choosing this method, I subjected myself to a learning style that allowed me to become musically literate much earlier on in my guitar development, and therefore, I was ready when the need arose for me to guide that sectional.
The guitar was just loud enough to be played unplugged outside to cue notes and fragments for the basses.
The paradigm had shifted from an indoor rehearsal space with a piano to an outdoor rehearsal space with a guitar, but we redeemed the time, and after that sectional, we had made significant progress.
The added bonus was that I had taken the leap towards sight reading a treble clef instrument in bass clef. Good times.
Ok, just for fun, here are the 12 Unlikely Places to Play a Guitar, once more:
1. The bow of a fishing boat
2. A Ferry Boat
3. A Raft
4. A Dock
5. A Chevy Van
6. A Bus
7. An Impromptu Tailgate Concert
8. A Shuttle Stop
9. The Airport
10. “Crisscross Applesauce” next to the Bathtub
11. Stairwells and…
12. The Outdoor Bass Sectional
The Big Picture
So, why has the guitar surfaced in all of these unique places?
I would say that there are two main reasons. First, music practice is important, and perhaps a necessity, and therefore, the guitar was something that needed to be within reach to facilitate progress.
Second, music is a nearly unstoppable force. I believe music is a gift from the Lord, and therefore, it has inherent mystery woven into it. Why do so many of us enjoy music so much?
Because it touches our souls.
So perhaps grabbing a guitar and playing it, regardless of the location in which we find ourselves, allows us to speak the language of music where it would otherwise be quiet.
It’s almost like striking up a conversation as we feel prompted.
So, the appearance of the guitar could be practical…or it could be artistic. Or it could be both.But the important thing is that the guitar did indeed appear.
I’ve met folks who own guitars, but their guitars don’t make much of an appearance very often…to their chagrin. They feel this disappointment, knowing that at one time, they wanted to learn to play, but didn’t set aside time or space.
And at the same time, they feel this longing to discover the joy of music, because they’ve caught glimpses of it when listening to other people play.
Where are you on your musical journey? Do you have regrets about past seasons of not playing your guitar? Do you feel like it might be too late to start? Let me put that misconception to rest…it is never too late to learn to play something on the guitar.
Do you feel like you’re on your own, and don’t have opportunities to learn and grow, aside from the big world-wide web and the vast sea of information that’s out there? To coin a phrase, you are not alone.
But here’s how I can help you, if you see the need for some help. I founded an online experience in 2019 that’s dedicated to helping beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists discover and cultivate their gifts for the glory of God in a community setting.I could go into greater detail, but that description could be enough to pique your interest. If it does, I encourage you to check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.
We’ve got members in this community who are making tremendous progress, not just practically, but musically and artistically, because they’re leaning into a proven method alongside like-minded followers of Christ who are doing the same thing.
What if you tried out what we offer? There’s a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk. I’d love to welcome you in and see how I can serve you. The added unexpected blessing is that you might also offer insights that could encourage me and the other members.
I’ll leave this with you, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to learn more.
One other thought regarding today’s episode: have there been unlikely places where you’ve played (or watched someone else play) a guitar? Please let me know in the comments.
Thanks for listening, keep having serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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The Pros and Cons of Learning Guitar on YouTube
14 Feb· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript and links included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about the pros and cons of learning to play the guitar by watching YouTube videos.
Even before we begin our discussion today, I think it would be important for you to know just a little bit about me, especially if you’re new to Guitar Serious Fun.
I started playing the guitar in 1994 while simultaneously earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis on vocal performance.
My college education gave me a solid music theory base, and I went through all 7 grades of Mel Bay’s Modern Guitar Method as I applied what I was learning.
I began writing songs in 1996, recording in the studio in 1999, and since then, I’ve toured all over North America leading worship and performing concerts.
Amidst all of this, there’s been a constant thread of teaching music, especially the guitar, and at one time I had a full roster of 50 students with a waiting list.
When YouTube was created in 2005, I was well on my way as a guitar learner and teacher, and this new platform offered some things that had not previously existed.
Someone could capture a video of themselves teaching a guitar concept, for example, and they could upload it for anyone on the planet to watch anytime.
But right there I’ll pause to say that although views can be measured in metrics, there isn’t a standard in place to vet quality content (beyond it being appropriate vs. inappropriate or “likes.”)
There’s grown to be such an influx of content that there’s no way to keep up with the content creators and monitor whether they’re able to unpack and teach a concept well.
So, with a broad stroke, there are two basic types of guitar education content creators on YouTube…
First, creators who are aiming to garner followers and views that will lead to monetization.
Second, creators who have a presence on YouTube but ultimately want to invite their viewers into a paid educational offering that is not necessarily hosted on YouTube.
Speaking transparently, I’m of the latter disposition. Although I’ve uploaded content on one channel off and on since 2008, I’ve been much more consistent with our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel and have seen more viewer response because of this consistency. But my presence with GuitarSuccess4U on YouTube is still modest.
I don’t live on the platform; I post an average of one mini lesson every other week, with shorts multiple times a week.
The mini lessons are usually around 10-minutes long and go deeper than my 60-second shorts.
Posting consistently like this reminds my viewers that I’m here, that I want to provide some value, and my presence helps viewers to learn to know, like and trust me.My goal is not to gain millions of followers and to be monetized. I also have a presence on Instagram, Facebook, and of course, here at Guitar Serious Fun, so it could theoretically be possible to choose just one of those avenues and make it a full-time job.
With respect, I’d rather not go that route.
Instead, I’m passionately leaning into an online offering I launched in 2019 called GuitarSuccess4U, which you may have heard of. If you haven’t, take just a moment to check out our website at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com, and pause this recording. I’ll wait.
If you’ve had the chance to see what we offer, awesome. We hope you’ll check out the reviews, frequently asked questions, member testimonials, and some of the sample lessons.
If you haven’t, here’s the basic skinny on what it is: a self-paced online experience for beginning and intermediate Christian guitar players who know there’s more to the guitar…and who want to access fresh, proven, curated content that’s organized really well.
In addition to that, though, we have multiple expert interviews and bonuses that can’t be found anywhere else.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we have a Christ-honoring community that exceeds the dynamic of a forum or discussion group in its practical and supportive nature.
Some forums or discussion platforms end up being a place where there’s a lot of unconstructive criticism. Not in our community.
And again, YouTube is a powerful tool with great potential, so I’ve decided camp out on this for a few minutes today.
So, let me take you into some of my thoughts as I contrast the pros and cons of YouTube with our GuitarSuccess4U model, and then you can decide what seems best for you in this season.
But first, a story.
The Dictionary
When I was about 10 years old, my paternal grandmother gave me a very thick Webster’s Dictionary – about three inches thick, hardbound, 8 ½ x 11”. This was a decent-sized dictionary, and I was grateful to receive this gift. I’ve flipped through it a lot over the past few decades. But I can confidently say that I have not read through it line by line, cover to cover. That wouldn’t make sense, because there are a lot of words I’ll never use, but more importantly, it would take an exorbitant amount of time.
The main way I’ve used this dictionary (other than as a weight or a doorstop) is to reference words alphabetically for definitions and spellings.
And that’s the normal function of a dictionary, right? It’s rare that someone would underline a huge portion of words in a dictionary like John Cusack’s love interest (Diane) in the movie Say Anything. But perhaps a specific dictionary, like a medical dictionary (in that movie) has this kind of potential.
But let’s draw a parallel just for a moment between a Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary and YouTube.
Both are vast, and both are searchable. If you’re looking for some answers to what you want to learn about, you can likely find a version of it on YouTube.
The concept may be taught well. It may give you some tools to grasp as you get started.
And it’s also “free”…sort of. Remember, YouTube gets paid because of ad traffic, so you will sometimes be paying for what you watch with your time as you wait for an ad to play (or at least the first few seconds.)Now, I have nothing against YouTube ads – I’m building some YouTube ads out right now as I string these words together.
The Only Non-Renewable Resource
Now, did you catch the word I included just a moment ago? It’s the word “time.” In the movie Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark recounts a pearl of wisdom from his father, Howard, to Howard himself many years earlier. It really resonated with me. The wisdom was this: “No amount of money ever bought a second of time.”Time is a non-renewable resource. And although we can’t buy time, we can save time, which may actually translate to saving money as well.
If I spend the better part of an afternoon or evening poking around on YouTube, I may find what I’m looking for. But I may lose a lot of time doing it.
Painful Learning
I talked to one guitarist who learned to play on YouTube, but he described his experience as “painful.”
I totally got it – there was a long slog towards finding what he wanted to learn, and much of it was disjointed and not at all progressive.
This guitarist had been invited into a band rehearsal I was recruited to lead for, for a very specific endeavor that was coming up fast. And as the leader, I had to make observations and intentional choices as I led this group.
With respect, even as I interacted with this individual musically, it became clear that there were some essential music concepts he had not absorbed in his YouTube education that necessitated stopping the rehearsal multiple times, and eventually needing to do something I didn’t foresee happening: I had to seek a replacement for the endeavor we were rehearsing for.
I did this in the kindest manner possible, but it was clear that this guy’s skills were not commensurate with what our band needed to put together for the set for the endeavor that was coming up in a week.
I had to let this guy go.
For the sake of the quality offering as a whole, I had to ask this guy to step down and to continue to develop his skills, hopefully for a future opportunity, while I sought out someone I knew could meet the standard with the time we had left.
A Distilled CollectionLet me drop a word into this discussion that you’ve probably heard. I mentioned it briefly earlier in this episode. The word is “curated.” In layman’s terms, a curated collection is an organized collection of things, whether antiques, art, or in this case, music teaching tools.
If a collection is curated, it has been carefully reviewed for the most effective and valuable criteria. It’s not a random, haphazard group of things. It’s very deliberate.
But to curate something, you need to have time to do so, but also the experience to know what is relevant and of high quality.
Typically, a curated collection is not very large. It’s been distilled and culled to the most essential elements.My approach to building out the GuitarSuccess4U materials in our battle-tested 6-stage Success Path is to do just that. Having led worship, toured, written songs, and recorded multiple albums in the studio for three decades now, I’ve learned quite a bit.
And as I mentioned, I had a guitar studio of 50 students a week upon whom I tested a ton of guitar concepts, to see which ones worked best.And much of what I’ve learned has been by accident or through the “school of hard knocks.”
So, I’ve taken great pains to relieve and prevent the frustration of someone who is wanting to learn to play the guitar or go deeper with what they already know.Someone who accesses our curated collection of materials will learn much more on purpose, and with much less grief and frustration, because everything is clearly laid out.
In terms of guitar study, there are so many different styles out there that the mind positively boggles. Metal, Jazz, Funk and Classical are some of the broad strokes. But then there’s Neo Soul, Gospel, R&B, Punk, and many other styles.
My focus as a folk/pop singer/songwriter and worship leader is: acoustic rhythm guitar, but even within that, there are multiple subsets, including strumming, flatpicking, fingerstyle, and more.
I think there’s wisdom in narrowing our focus to a niche. For a quick summary of my mindset on this, with an analogy about Mashed Potatoes, check out my YouTube Short called “Guitarists – pick one thing and do it well.” (It’s also embedded below.)
I believe we spend time with people we want to be like.
So, if you’re a worship guitarist or a songwriter, you may not be in search of blisteringly fast distorted metal licks or blues grooves…yet. You may actually be looking for chord theory, accompaniment artistry, strumming patterns, fretboard knowledge, and ways to play well with others (all of which we offer).
Words to Live By
I also like to say that “Music is a language, guitar is a dialect, and I’m here to help you expand your vocabulary.”I also continue to revisit the idea that “I don’t just want to help you become a better guitar player; I want to help you become a better musician.” There’s a difference, right?Now, YouTube will have a lot of things for you to discover, but with hundreds of hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, leading to tens of thousands of hours of content that are brand new each hour, there’s certainly no lack of information, right?
And sure, you can search for topics on YouTube, but it’s a vast sea of information, and if I can be so bold, not all of it is presented clearly.
Now, I don’t have anything against YouTube. As I mentioned, I’m working to have a presence there so as to provide some value and inspiration for guitarists I’m hoping will discover what I have to offer them. But it can be a bit intimidating to log onto YouTube, because the looming question is “Where do I start?”
More isn’t necessarily better. There’s a term I’ve come across since we were trained to build GuitarSuccess4U, and it’s called content overwhelm. People experience so much content out there that they sometimes feel overwhelmed.And overwhelm is not a good feeling. By and large, people appreciate being given clear next steps in bite-sized chunks. And that’s what’s informed my teaching style.Sure, YouTube can recommend related content, even within a channel (and I set my videos up in our YouTube channel to do this sometimes.) But given a choice between a few thousand videos on a concept and a dozen videos that are all progressive and battle-tested, which would you choose?Now, I’m not claiming GuitarSuccess4U as the only source of guitar education; that would be presumptuous. Instead, I’m stating that everything I’ve learned on the road, on the worship platform, on the stage, and in the recording studio has informed what and how I teach. My guitar students and my guitar workshops have been excellent “crucibles” for content.I’ve literally sharpened thousands of guitarists with the tools that have found their way into the curated collection at GuitarSuccess4U.
More Isn’t Necessarily Better
Years ago, I performed a concert at a huge camp in California. They had a bookstore. But this bookstore was rather remarkable.
The books that were on those shelves were so theologically solid and inspiring, that my wife and I felt prompted to ask the cashier who the mastermind was behind the book collection.She told us that the book buyer had very deliberately chosen those books. This was someone who was extremely well-read and knew her audience of folks who would be walking through that small bookstore.It was not a huge store like Powell’s Books in Portland that had multiple floors. And it certainly wasn’t Amazon.com. It was a single room. But it was truly a curated collection. And people bought books there. A lot. And here’s the most important part: they were blessed by the books.
People who engage with content that transforms them are the kind of people I’m seeking to serve and bless. I’m not looking for tire-kickers or people who want a quick fix.
My father taught me the value of hard work and worthy efforts. And when I experience stories of success in GuitarSuccess4U, I get really excited.
Some of our Success Stories
Matthew, a hobbyist and worship team member, has experienced tremendous growth with us and has stepped forward to support his worship team on a regular basis with his guitar.Carol, a drummer who was struggling to get traction with guitar (even though she had a solid musical foundation) found us and is now, in her words, on her way to becoming “a complete guitar player.”Roger, a band member who plays multiple styles, joined us and realized how many gaps he needed to fill in, and now he’s feeling empowered as a musician.
Lori, a budding songwriter, came back to the guitar after a 20-year hiatus and began writing about her journey, eventually taking a song she wrote to Nashville to record it in a legitimate studio. Now her worship team is gearing up to share that song at her church.
Cole, a highly-experienced multi-instrumentalist who has played guitar for over four decades, is now able to be an intentional musician with the guitar and to play well with others.
Erin, a beginner, is excited to learn simple songs to be able to play with and for her kids, and perhaps her grandkids one day.
The list goes on, but these successes inspire me and others.
Find Your People
I mentioned the community element of GuitarSuccess4U. I’ll wrap up with this thought:
We’re not trying to foster an insulated community where people feel coddled. We’ve actually got some upcoming Zoom discussions related to being able to laugh at our mistakes and receive constructive criticism.
But there’s a difference between people wanting to help each other out, and comments from trolls.
I’ve seen comments on YouTube and other social media sites about my offerings and the offerings of others that are just plain rude or even nasty. These are things people would never say to someone’s face.
But there those comments are.
But by contrast, what if you logged into a guitar learning experience, received encouragement through the lesson content (which we intentionally weave throughout) and then joined a Zoom call and got “real-time” encouragement again?Wouldn’t you feel spurred on to love and good works, as the writer of Hebrews exhorts us to do in Hebrews 10:24?
I don’t see the YouTube environment as that kind of community (again subscribers to a channel can connect a bit through the comments, but Zooming in real time in a tribe can be much more of a place to bond.)
Someone once told me that the people we spend time with affect us in a major way. Spending time with like-minded followers of Christ who want to be better versions of their musical selves than they were yesterday – that’s a worthy thing.
I hope these thoughts have given you some insights into my perspective for the pros and cons of learning guitar on YouTube.If you’ve found channels on YouTube to follow, that’s great! If you’re learning stuff on YouTube, that’s great, too!
If you want to subscribe to our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel, great! By the way, that channel is YouTube.com/@guitarsuccess4u.
But here’s the next level. If you’ve decided it’s time to be more deliberate in your pursuit of guitar and music for the glory of God, and you want to save some money and especially time, please don’t wait to take this opportunity.
I invite you to join GuitarSuccess4U by heading over to GuitarSuccess4U.com…and then watch what the Lord does with your diligent pursuit of His glory through music.I appreciate your time today. Keep having serious fun as you play your guitar. Thanks for listening and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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7 Ways to Avoid being a Clumsy Guitarist
7 Feb· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to be a clumsy guitarist, and seven intentional strategies for how to avoid being a clumsy guitarist.
When I’m puttering around at home, I dress pretty casually. One item of clothing that I tend to favor is khaki cargo shorts. They’re comfy.
But sometimes, especially when I’m in a hurry, I occasionally catch the corner of the leg pockets of these shorts on some things around the house. Like drawer knobs in the kitchen. Or the corner of a license plate on my car in the garage.
Catching the pocket on a drawer is startling, but not as startling as the loud “thwap” that happens when I bend the corner of a license plate.
I know what you’re thinking – maybe wear a different kind of shorts than cargo shorts.
But that could be treating the symptom.
Here’s another idea I need to consider: slow down, be more deliberate, and be…less clumsy.
I think this approach applies to a lot of different aspects of life, including…you guessed it…our guitar playing.
Picture me practicing some guitar exercises or a song, whether I’m in cargo shorts or jeans or whatever. What if I make my way hastily through said exercises or song?
I’ll get hung up on things, I’ll miss things, or totally play something wrong.
Is that ok? Yes, I suppose. Because I don’t want to be so perfectionistic that the joy of music goes away.
However, and I think you’ll catch this – I can slow down a bit and really take some intentional steps towards setting myself up well for playing more accurately during my practice time.
In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34, “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?” I took some time to talk about the importance of mental focus. I’ll expand a bit on those thoughts and add a few more here today.
1. Set yourself up for smooth sailing.
If my guitar is in good working order, I’ll be in great shape for a solid practice session. In GuitarSuccess4U, one of the five instant bonuses I award to new members is a video called “10 Tips for Making Sure Your Guitar is Properly Set Up.”I’ll probably not play as smoothly if my action is too high. I may get clumsy.
If my guitar is set up properly, it has a much better chance of staying in tune when I tune it. And speaking of tuning, I also offer my new members another bonus – “How to Choose a Tuner.”
In this video we go over the merits of tuners that are attached to the headstock of our guitars, thereby allowing the vibrations of the notes to be picked up and tuned precisely.
We also talk about tuners you can plug into, whether handheld, or mounted on a pedal board.
We even talk about sound wave beats that can be matched with a tuning fork. All kinds of possibilities.
But having my guitar set up and in tune is going to make for a great practice session. Less clumsiness, right?
2. Make a bit of space.
Having a space dedicated to your guitar practice can be a huge blessing, even if it’s just the corner of a bedroom, or a space that serves multiple purposes (like an office or a study.) Being able to close the door of a practice space allows for fewer interruptions, but also the opportunity for me to play something repetitively without feeling self-conscious.
If I’m sharing the space physically (or sonically) with someone else, I’ll feel reluctant about practicing something diligently until I get it right, because the repetition may seem a bit tedious for my listeners.
These practice space tips and others can be found in yet another of the five instant GuitarSuccess4U bonuses: a PDF called “10 Tips for Making Your Solo Practice Space Great.”
I include photos and descriptions for making your practice space a place that you love to spend time in.
3. Give yourself the gift of solitude.
I love to be able to close the door of my practice space, as I mentioned above.
New members of GuitarSuccess4U get a fun door hanger that is basically a snazzy “do not disturb” sign for their practice space. On one side, it says: “Hold that thought. I’m practicing the guitar. Please give me a few more minutes. Thanks.” On the other side, it says “Get in here – you’ve got to hear what I’m discovering on the guitar – wooo!”
As you might imagine, having uninterrupted time at my instrument can promote better concentration.
Now, we don’t live in a vacuum, and there’s “life” happening around us all the time, especially if we have children under our roof, which is a good thing.
But setting aside time and expressing my need to have an uninterrupted practice session can be a huge gift. It helps if this is a time of day that’s consistent, like before breakfast, or after work, or just before bed, etc. That way, my family can give me the allocated time to tackle my practicing, and then I can be free to engage with them after I’m done.
What’s the opposite of solitude? Well, maybe chaos or at least a state of many distractions.
Again, our world has lots going on, but if I allow sounds from a TV or radio to intrude on my concentration, I’ll get clumsy.
4. Invite distractions on purpose.
The only caveat I’d offer to having a distraction-free environment is that if I’m working to take something I already know well musically to the next level, I can actually invite distractions into my process from time to time.
I can practice a song with totally different music playing in the background to provide a bit of mental resistance, much like a weight lifter can add more weight to strengthen their muscles.
I can also have a TV on if I’m working on rudiments, etc.,
If I can persevere (and play well) amidst distractions, I will do better when it comes time to stand up in front of an audience, a congregation or a studio microphone.
I was gearing up for a Christmas tour one year, and we had guests over for Thanksgiving. So, I invited them to listen to me play one of my most technical songs.One of the guests proceeded to turn on her phone and capture me on video…from about four feet away.
It was initially a bit startling and of course, very distracting, but ultimately, it served as a fabulous catalyst and strengthened my preparation on the song, which went much more fluidly on my Christmas tour.
5. Haste Makes Waste.
If you’ve heard this expression (or lived it) you know that some things can fall off the wagon if we’re too hasty. So, one thing I recommend is to slow down and take things deliberately.
In Guitar Serious Fun Episode 26, “Don’t Get Caught in a Speed Trap,” I speak plainly about how I am prone to rushing the tempos for the songs I play.
Sometimes this is because I’m overexcited in a performance or recording setting, or because I don’t have a strong conviction about how to keep a rushing drummer in check.
But sometimes, it’s because I’m in a hurry to get through a guitar song or exercise. Rushing through these types of things, especially early on in the formative season of the song, can never be a good thing.
Why? I’ll give you a second to guess.
It’s because I’ll likely get clumsy.
And what do my hands know? They only know what I tell them. So, if I rush through my practice session because I’m in a hurry, I’ll make some (or a lot of) mistakes.
And then when it comes time to play the song “for real” (which, in my opinion, is a bit of a misnomer since we should always be playing with intention), I’ll likely “re-state” the mistakes I’ve made in practice.
As several wise music teachers have quipped, “Practice makes permanent.” In other words, whatever is practiced becomes more permanent.
It takes quite a bit of re-training to “undo” incorrectly practiced music.
6. Clean playing is rarer than you think.
The idea of playing cleanly on the guitar is, in some ways, a lost art in some circles.I recall being at a Pierre Bensusan guitar seminar in his home studio in rural France (and as I string these words together, I’m actually enjoying listening to Pierre’s solo acoustic album, Intuite.)
When he was instructing me and a small group of students, he made it clear that playing clean should always be the goal.What is playing clean? You probably know. But it’s basically articulating notes and chords in such a way that they ring out clearly.
No string buzz, no unnecessarily muted (or unmuted) notes, and basically a very strong sense of purpose in what we do.
I could probably dedicate an entire episode of Guitar Serious Fun to this discussion topic (and I may), but for now, I recommend being uncompromising in your execution of the notes you play.I’ll ask a rhetorical question: is it better to learn forty chords that I can play fairly well, or just four chords that I can play cleanly?Based on what I’ve just discussed, the latter is superior.
If I had a nickel for every volunteer worship guitarist I’ve heard play in a clumsy fashion, I’d have a lot of nickels.
Usually clumsy playing comes across to me as an attitude of compromise. I know that some guitarists are just getting started and they want to be available to serve, so I’ll tread lightly.
But if these guitarists can clearly articulate a strong G, C, D and E minor chord progression, not just with their individual appearances, but in context and in transition with other chords, it’s a much more skillful offering than a bunch of chords that just don’t sound quite right.
And even though some listeners are musicians, many are not…and yet, most can discern the difference between clean and clumsy.
You get it – play skillfully as the Psalmist exhorts us to do in Psalm 33:3.
In GuitarSuccess4U, which you’ve heard me allude to a few times in today’s episode and which you likely know a bit about (or are even a member of, perhaps), we leverage a tool of my own design called The Chord Kite Diagram, which I’ve never seen anywhere else. Therefore, I had to create it.
It details multiple “communication pathways” so as to allow chords to function very deliberately in context. In creating the Chord Kite Diagram, I use an axiom that is inspired by Dawn Jones called “Reduce it to the Ridiculous.”You can listen to Dawn and me unpack the logic behind this in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 46, “Reduce it to the Ridiculous” – with Dawn Jones.
A quick summary is the idea of zooming in (almost ridiculously) so as to get something done well.If our guitar playing is worthy (and I believe it is), it’s important to zoom in and get things done well.Imagine if I was having a minor surgery and I was conscious and could hear the surgeon talking with his fellow staff as he or she worked on me.
What if I heard the surgeon say, “Hmmmm…I guess that’s good enough”?
Would that promote confidence? Probably not.
Guitar and surgery are not at all on the same playing field, but you can tell if someone cares about what they do.
I’ve had people say as much after one of my shows. They’ve said, “You really care about what you do, don’t you?” Those are kind, affirming words, and they also show that my intentions as a guitarist have had the desired result.
We communicate an unwritten message in the quality of our musical offerings.
A clumsy offering communicates a certain message. So, let’s be the rare clean-playing guitarist, and communicate to our listeners that we care.
7. Get rest; don’t be stressed.
If we are rested, and our stress level is lower, our clumsy factor will decrease significantly.Yes, playing the guitar is an opportunity to de-stress. But if we’re leaning into an intentional practice session (not just strumming a song for the chance to wind down), it would behoove us to be rested and alert.Being stressed is also not going to help us with our concentration.
Whether I’m driving a car or cooking a meal, I’m less of a safe driver and less of a deliberate cook, if I’m weary and overwhelmed.
I’ll make silly mistakes, which at the very least can involve horns honking at me on the road, or missed ingredients in the dinner.
There’s a whole continuum, of course, and some car accidents and burned meals have been the result of a certain level of clumsiness.
So, in the words of Daniel Tiger, who took up the mantle of Mister Rogers, “Rest is best.” And a low-stress environment, as each of us knows in our heart of hearts, is much more conducive to effective practice.
In terms of applying this to our guitar playing, this is probably fairly obvious, but I still like to point out obvious things from time to time.
Wrap-Up
I’ll touch on our seven tips today again for review as we endeavor to avoid being the clumsy guitarist.
* First, set yourself up for smooth sailing with a guitar that’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 let’s stay rare with our playing.) And…
* Seventh, get rest; don’t be stressed.
As I’ve implied in my discussion here, the perfect scenario for guitar development won’t always be there. Many times, we work within a less than ideal scenario, and we just have to roll with how things are. But being extra aware and tuned in is good.
Now, if you’re aware and tuned in to today’s episode, you know that three previous episodes of Guitar Serious Fun have been suggested for your enjoyment.
For the listener, you may need to spool back through. For the reader, I hyperlink to other episodes on Substack, as I always have.
If you’ve experienced all 93 episodes up to this point, then awesome! But it’s likely that you’ve joined us somewhere along the way and haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing my thoughts (and the thoughts of some of my guests) in some of our previous episodes.
If that’s the case, please take the opportunity. We’ve got quite the compendium of concise, well-organized topics here at Guitar Serious Fun.
But if you’re looking for the real feast, well, GuitarSuccess4U awaits you with a curated collection of progressive lessons, quizzes, interviews, exercises, and above all, a supportive Christ-honoring community of like-minded guitarists. The best two parts? 1) It’s highly affordable and 2) you get to set the pace.It’s my privilege to be the founder and guide for this unique tribe. And perhaps you are in a season where you might join us. If so, we eagerly await the opportunity to welcome you in, and soon.If not yet, perhaps share today’s episode, or at least our website, with someone you know who might be a good fit for this amazing online experience.
The website is GuitarSuccess4U.com.
Thanks so much for listening. Keep playing your guitar, and the clumsiness will become less and less as you become more and more the guitarist you were made to be.I’ll see you next time.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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6 Ways to Communicate Well with your Teams from the Guitar
31 Jan· Guitar Serious Fun
Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.guitarsuccess4u.com/Communicate6. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here.
Abbreviated transcript included below…
Did you know that as a guitarist onstage, you’re always communicating something, whether you’re trying to or not? Your presence on the platform, especially as a worship guitarist or band leader, puts you in the middle of a conversation. Will you communicate well? If you listen to what I have to share with you today, I think you’ll gain some solid tips that will make you much more effective.
After leading worship professionally on staff for over a decade, and touring all over North America as a guest worship leader for almost three decades, I’ve picked up a few strategies that have really enhanced my process and blessed the people I’ve been serving with, both musicians and technicians. And most of these involve non-verbal communication.
Here are six ways to communicate well with your teams from your guitar.1. Cue and establish the tempo. Tempo is essential. How do we achieve consensus for how the song begins?
The worship guitarist can count in. I’ve seen several approaches, but if the song is in 4/4 time and the worship leader (who may also be playing the rhythm guitar) wants everyone in on beat one, and chooses to count 1, 2, 3, 4, is there any ambiguity about when the downbeat of the first measure is?
Nope. It’s super clear.
Some worship guitarists would rather not do this – they don’t want to verbally start the song. A subtler approach could be to tell the drummer to “click in” with his or her sticks, or start the click, by cueing them with a code word. Like, “exalt,” for example.
We could say, “Let’s lift our voices together as we exalt our Lord in song.” Cue the click.
2. Keep the tempo. Some of us have people on our teams who like to rush. If the whole team or band has IEMs with a click, this keeps things more manageable, but without that infrastructure, we need to be able to signal our team with our foot, especially if the tempo is accelerating unnecessarily.
We can stomp our foot, or we can lightly tap our foot, but if we have a solid feel and ability for communicating the tempo, our team should be able to visually “check in” and see if they’re on track with us.
Obviously, they need to be able to have line of sight to our foot for this.
3. Move to (and from) the mic. Let’s assume that you’re leading worship as you sing and play rhythm guitar. Do you need to be at the mic when you’re not singing?
My answer to that is: “no.” Track with me here. If there’s a short (or long) intro or instra break, it does not serve the band (or anyone) well for the worship leader to linger at the boom mic. They’re sending a “false positive” message to everyone and creating a subconscious state of insecurity.
The only foolproof strategy is if the worship leader moves to the side, away from the mic at the breaks, and then comes back when it’s time to sing again, thereby “rebooting” the process.
Coming back to the mic tells everyone (including the projectionist) that the next lyrics are to be sung.
Is this overkill? Not if you’ve witnessed what I have – people from the congregation inadvertently singing “solos” and then stopping abruptly, sometimes not without a bit of embarrassment.
4. Move the guitar neck for ritardandos. Ritardando is the Italian musical expression for “slowing down,” usually at the end of a song.
If you want your band to follow you rhythmically through that slow-down, use your guitar neck. You can literally subdivide the measure by moving your neck down and up, and decelerating the tempo.
5. Raise the guitar neck to signal the end of the song. If the band isn’t certain if the chorus you’re on is the final chorus, etc., simply raise the neck of your guitar about 30 degrees as you sing, and the band can see that as a signal to wrap up. They’ll know the song is about to end.
6. Confirm the length of the closing song (even before it begins.) Sometimes, we need to “call an audible” and truncate the song at the end of the service. We can communicate our plans for this with our teams without saying a word.
For this to happen, it helps to have two versions of the song rehearsed and ready in the minds of the band, but even in the slide shows of the projectionist.
These two versions are: the unabridged version, and the abridged version. But how to communicate with the band and the projectionist which way you’re going to go?
Right before the closing song, I can choose one of two postures that will be visible to everyone, even from far away. First, hands at my sides indicates “no hurry” – and therefore the unabridged version.
Second, hands on my guitar indicates that time is short and we are “in a hurry” – and therefore the need for the abridged version.
Closing Thoughts
I hope these tips have been helpful today. There are more, and I’ll share additional thoughts with you on related subjects in the future.
For now, put some of these into practice for your next time of worship or band offerings. Don’t feel like you need to tackle “all” of them at once.
Thanks for your time today. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time!
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Inside the Mind of a Nashville Session Guitarist - with Dave Cleveland
24 Jan· Guitar Serious Fun
Today, together with Nashville session guitarist Dave Cleveland, we’re going to bring you a huge dose of encouragement as it pertains to the journey of a Christian guitarist.
To give you a bit of background on what you’re going to experience if you’re willing to listen to the audio version of today’s episode, I’ve had the privilege of teaching guitar workshops at the Christian Musician Summit here in the Pacific Northwest for fifteen years.
Each time I’ve been invited to teach, I’ve brought topics related to rhythm guitar, fretboard knowledge, chords, the capo and more, all with a view to equipping Christian guitarists to develop their skills for worship leading and songwriting.
My first year at the CMS was 2007, and after road-testing a lot of my teaching concepts for over a decade, I intentionally launched GuitarSuccess4U in 2019.
It was there that I began to draw like-minded people into a community where music is a language, guitar is a dialect, and where we work diligently with joy to expand our vocabulary.I’m always growing as a guitarist and as a musician, and my desire to expand my vocabulary is constant.
So, at this year’s CMS, I was intrigued by a workshop offered by Nashville guitar session player Dave Cleveland.
It was all about capos and alternate tunings, both of which I leverage on a pretty regular basis.
What followed was unexpected: Dave actually invited me to help him teach the class.
With eager onlookers, we delved into multiple capo positions and tunings, leveraged the CAGED System, and called out Nashville Numbers so we could work in tandem.
I like to bring a plan, but in this case, there was very little structure, which actually allowed us to explore musical frontiers I didn’t even know were possible.
Well, I told my tribe of guitarists about this experience and I invited Dave to be on a Zoom call with us to debrief that class, and he accepted. Dave is a gentleman and a scholar, the first-call session guitar player in Nashville, having played on countless commercials, in movies, and on major albums with people like Steven Curtis Chapman, Miley Cyrus, Twila Paris, Lauren Daigle and more.
Over his 32-year career, Dave has recorded over 30,000 songs.
He graciously granted me permission to share some segments from the Zoom call we hosted recently inside the membership.
Typically, I keep these kinds of treats for members only, but I felt like it would be a great way to give you, our listeners here at Guitar Serious Fun, a window into what goes on when we gather for a Zoom call discussion with a guest expert.
What you’ll sense almost immediately about Dave is that he’s super chill, very encouraging, extremely knowledgeable, generous with his ideas, and really, just a brother in the Lord that you’re going to love spending a little time with.
This was a call where I invited my Guitar Successors, as I like to call them, to type their comments and questions into the chat, so we could cover as much ground as possible during our brief time with Dave.
Here’s where I link to my YouTube video that captured the visual aspect of the experience.
Now that you’ve heard a bit of the audio from the workshop, I want to encourage you to listen to the podcast version of today’s episode to enjoy a distilled audio excerpt from the Zoom call where Dave fielded a variety of questions and offered some tremendous encouragement to our community.
Well, I hope you gleaned a few things from our discussion with Dave. I smiled quite a lot as we enjoyed that short and sweet time together.
As you might imagine, I seek out several experts who join us on Zoom over the course of each year, and each expert brings a different bit of wisdom.
We’ve had Jesse Ferguson talking about in ear monitors and how to leverage them.
We’ve had Jeff Sandberg, a world-class saxophonist, talking about improvisation.
We’ve had Brian Reding, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, talking about the art of listening.
We’ve had Jerry Roberts, a slow-handed Eric Clapton-esque electric guitarist talking about weaving electric and acoustic together for worship and designing an app-driven pedal board.
We’ve had Jeremy Calvin, a wunderkind aux percussionist talking about creativity for solid rhythm grooves with percussion and guitar.
We’ve had Adam Bollen, a super intuitive bass player talking about arranging, rehearsing, and pedal effects.
We’ve had Ron Mallory, a highly published arranger and keyboard player, talking about relevant music theory and transposition.
We’ve had Dr. Gordon Myco, a chiropractor and health coach, talking about health, posture, diet, and longevity for our musical journeys.
We’ve had the Master Luthiers of Mike Lull’s Guitar Works talking about the craft of building, repairing and caring for guitars.
And we’ve got more coming up.
Does this pique your interest at all? Leave a comment if it does. And if you’re rarin’ to go and want to find your people, meet guest experts, and most of all, fulfill your potential as a Christian Guitarist, don’t wait any longer.
Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to begin your journey with us and take your guitar playing to the next level. I would be honored to serve you, and our tribe would be honored to welcome you in.
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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The Essential Timeframe between Guitar Practice Sessions
17 Jan· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript and photos included below…
Here at Guitar Serious Fun, we intentionally work to have a good balance between practical and philosophical concepts. Today’s discussion is more on the practical side, but there’s also a philosophy behind it.
Three Pictures of Rhythm
I want you to envision three separate images, and I’ll provide photos of them in the blog version of today’s episode. They are 1) a suspension bridge, 2) a pearl necklace, and 3) a “connect-the-dots” diagram.
First: a suspension bridge:
You’ve probably driven over a suspension bridge at some point in your life. What you might observe as you make your way across the bridge is that it not only takes you from one piece of land to another, but that there are usually at least two points where most of the weight is supported: the towers.
The towers are where the cables are connected, so as to create a parabolic shape, leading from one tower to the next. A suspension bridge doesn’t typically have a single tower. It shares the “weight” between at least two towers. And between those towers is a bit of “rest” or less tension, where not as much weight is carried.
The second image: a pearl necklace.
This is an excellent example of a balance between the connective necklace string and the pearls that are strung on it. There’s a slight gap between each of the pearls. And it’s not one long “tube-shaped” pearl; it’s a collection of pearls.
The last image for your consideration is a “connect-the-dots” diagram.
This is by definition, a collection of dots that are (or will be) connected by lines. Each of the dots is a marker point which can be used, usually in a sequence, to allow for a bigger picture to emerge once the dots are connected.
So, each of these three images I’ve described has anchor points, whether they are the tower of a bridge, the pearl on a necklace, or the dot in a diagram. And each of these images has more than one anchor point, sometimes many.
If you view the trajectory of each of these images, there can be a bit of a rhythm.
The bridge, from one side to the other, has a simple rhythm of: tower, swoop, tower, swoop.
The necklace has a string and a simple rhythm of: pearl, string, pearl, string.
And the “connect-the-dots” diagram has the rhythm of: dot, line, dot line.
Rhythm in Life
Our lives consist of rhythm. We wake up and do our work. We go to sleep. We’re awake, then asleep, then awake, then asleep. We walk, usually right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, etc. Our heartbeat is a rhythm. Our breathing is a rhythm.
Conversations and information exchange can be a sort of rhythm. None of these is even about music…yet. But music is, of course, an avenue where rhythm can be explored. Sure, rhythm doesn’t have to be a part of a song, but it usually is.
For more on this discussion topic, I encourage you to check out Guitar Serious Fun Episode 77: Rhythms of Rest for Guitar.
Where am I going with all of this? You’ve probably got it figured out, based on the title of today’s episode. Here’s where I plan to land this:
Practicing can be in a sort of rhythm as well, especially if it’s done deliberately. To this end, I want you to think about the time between your practice sessions as essential.
What our mind is doing when we’re not “practicing”
If you’re listening to the podcast version of today’s episode, I’ve put the word “practicing” in quotes. Practicing, by definition, is going over musical content with the intent to improve upon it.Can practicing happen when we are not at our instruments? Before I answer this question, I’ll state that the best form of practice happens when we are indeed playing the guitar. That’s a pretty straightforward fact.I can’t form chords and scales without my instrument. (Ok, there may be an app I can tap on a device for, but the strings and the frets won’t be the same.)
And I can’t strum effectively without my guitar. Again, with a pick in my hand, I could strum in the air, or against the front of my shirt. But practicing with our actual guitar is going to be tremendously effective.
However…when we don’t have our guitars, we can still be “practicing.” How often have you sat back down to practice and sensed that you were “further along” than you were when you finished your last practice session?Why would that be?Because your mind was still mulling over the concepts. You might visualize them, you might hum them, you might tap your toes, and you might sing through the musical exercise or song you were practicing.
And this might happen while you’re doing some mundane task that’s not at all related.
Each time we take a break from our practice, probably for the day, we enter this “mini-season” of rest, which allows for the connective time between the practice sessions.
Based on our images from the beginning of today’s episode (the anchor points of the bridge towers, the pearls, or the dots) each represent our practice sessions.
But the cabling, the necklace string, or the lines represent an equally important part of the picture – the time of resting our hands and our eyes, but still allowing our minds to process the material.
The Lord does something unique in our minds during this downtime. I can’t categorize it in terms of psychology or even physiology; I just know if I’ve experienced it.
The Lord helps us process what we did, and prepares us to do it again on the next level. If you have any desire to memorize what you’re learning on the guitar (a song, a scale, a chord, etc.) you will find this process essential to your success.
But here’s the key – we need to have consistency between work and rest.
An Analogy from the Garden
In GuitarSuccess4U, our members are welcomed into the experience right away with a video that lays the groundwork for how they can develop an effective practice regimen.
Without giving too much away, in this video I use the analogy of a small raised garden bed for vegetables, where I made space, framed the garden, added soil, planted seeds, and watered regularly, keeping an eye out for weeds and pests.
Each of these components in the “garden” analogy has a crossover to how a guitarist can carve out a practice space, develop a plan, take in wisdom and knowledge, and apply a moderate amount of diligent, consistent practice, watching out for hindrances and distractions.
Gardening, as I’ve discovered, especially when it comes to growing food, has a bit of a sequence and routine to it.
If I were to bring in the soil without having a frame for it, that would be out of sequence.
If I were to throw down seeds and then frame the garden, later adding soil, that wouldn’t be optimal either.
And in terms of a routine, if I decided I wanted to pour a hundred gallons of water onto the garden one day, and not water it again for six months, that would be ineffective.
It’s the consistent watering that leads to the plants germinating and coming up through the soil. And some of the watering needs to happen for several consistent weeks before results can be seen as the plants emerge. The watering is done in moderate, consistent amounts.
Eventually, the plants are large enough to harvest. This is a high point, before we move on to the next season and plant a new crop.
But the key word is consistent, or consistency.
Wisdom from an Athlete
A friend of mine named Jonathan (who stays very fit) once shared this bit of wisdom with me, and I’ve never forgotten it. I’m actually including it in some of the teaching I’ll be offering in an upcoming online guitar web masterclass, which you’ll hear about in the near future.The phrase is: consistency trumps intensity.
I’ll unpack this briefly from the perspective of an athlete.
An athlete typically works out several times a week on an ongoing basis. You won’t see an athlete work out 10 hours straight for 7 days and then “call it good” for a year’s worth of exercise, right?
Consistency trumps intensity. An intense week of exercise can be trumped by multiple weeks and months of consistent exercise, of a much shorter duration.
Some athletes train for an event. Another friend of mine, Chuck, recently ran a marathon. He did a lot of consistent training, whether running, strength training, or even intentional measured food consumption, under the close supervision of a coach.Chuck was tremendously consistent, and we spoke at length about his process. Ultimately, the payoff came when he ran the marathon. His consistency had paid off.
The Pit Stop
We can learn consistently, but sometimes our musical development has a bit of a “pit stop” in the form of a concentrated learning environment over the course of a short amount of time, like a single day or a weekend.
Worship conferences fall into this category. They are a great opportunity to grow in our skills, but to me, the main “win” of a conference experience is just that – the experience. It’s the opportunity to be inspired, encouraged, and perhaps offered a handful of insights that can be put to use.
A conference can be a “mountaintop” experience.
A conference also allows for the opportunity to connect with others who are on a similar trajectory. Tips, tools and insights can be absorbed on a moderate level at a conference.
But that conference is rarely more than a few days. Imagine if someone wanted to host a regional worship conference every day for a couple years. Hmmm…I just don’t see that being sustainable for the hosts, or the attendees.Most people need to get back to work and to their own routines, and many folks travel a significant distance to be at these worship conferences. I recall one man traveling from the other side of the planet to be at a worship conference I taught at.
So the “win” of the conference is that it inspires us and serves as a catalyst for each one of us as we go back to our routines and our “week in, week out” worship leading, songwriting, or performing schedule which is hopefully undergirded by some element of consistent practice.
I’ve hosted multiple annual Guitar Symposia over the years. Those have been very uplifting to worship leaders and Christian songwriters who want to grow with their guitar skills.
I hosted our first GuitarSuccess4U Live event last year, and people drove and flew in for it. Our time together was such a blessing, and although I offered some teaching on requested topics, the vast majority of the time was spent with informal jamming, fellowship, and feasting together.
And when everyone rejoined the Zoom calls as we got back into our routine inside the membership, we were more closely connected.
So, I totally support the conference or retreat experience.
Now in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 17 and Episode 18, I offered a 2-part discussion of Guitar Through the Seasons. In these episodes, I did allude to the fact that there are seasons where we need to set down our guitars and play them for less time.
But in a normal schedule, my hope is that you would take a little time each day, ideally in the same location and at the same time of day, to provide that consistency that will lead to traction.
Certain concepts like a strumming pattern can be imitated and picked up almost immediately. Other concepts like some moveable chords, scales, fingerstyle patterns or entire songs may take weeks or months, but if we “chip away” at them consistently, we’ll surprise ourselves.
We’ll find ourselves saying something like, “Hey – yesterday, I couldn’t play this, but today, I can.” And by the way, it wasn’t a one-day transformation; much like when I planted the garden, the seed germinated below ground and then came up through the soil.It became visible one day, but only as a result of consistent care and watering.
Did the plant spring up instantly? Of course not.
Did it respond to the consistent care I gave it? Yes.
Did I leave the plant alone for the rest of the day and give it some space after I watered it? Yes.
To keep watering it hourly would be similar to practicing every hour I’m awake. I wouldn’t be allowing myself the mental or the physical opportunity to…you know it: rest.
Wrap-upAs we close things out today, I’ll leave you with this thought. Life is not perfect, and we don’t live in a vacuum. But if we can tether our practice to our existing day-to-day routine, and allow for rest between the practice sessions, we’ll work with our minds and bodies, and not against them.
When we need a longer break, like weeks or even months, we can do that.
When we are excited to attend a concentrated experience like a conference, we can do that. But the battle is not won on the mountaintop, at the conference. It’s won in the “day in, day out” routine. It’s not super glamorous, but it is worthy, and it does lead to the results we seek.
So, keep practicing, get the rest you need, and watch what the Lord does in your guitar playing and musicianship.
And if you want to see what other people are doing as they sharpen their skills for the Lord and share their combined wisdom, experience and encouragement, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com. I can’t say enough about what an amazing experience this is, and I hope you’ll come find out for yourself.Thanks for listening today, and I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Leading Worship Whether You're Up or Down - with Jerry Chambers
10 Jan· Guitar Serious Fun
I’m thrilled to welcome a new guest to Guitar Serious Fun today. His name is Jerry Chambers.
He’s a third-generation worship leader and has a passionate heart for knowing God and worshipping Him with others, as well as helping new churches with all-things worship and tech.
He holds a Masters of Church Music degree from Southwestern Seminary, and has served at churches in Oklahoma, Texas, Germany and Washington.
Jerry and his wife, Judy, have two daughters and two sons who have huge hearts for serving and living alongside the needy at home and around the world.
I met Jerry in 2017 when we were both presenters at the Worship Catalyst Experience at the Northwest Ministry Conference in Redmond, Washington, and I was blessed to be able to sit in on a little bit of what Jerry was sharing with the attendees.
We’ve stayed in touch over the past few years, and in an effort to bring in some more outside wisdom to our listeners here at Guitar Serious Fun, I approached Jerry, and he graciously accepted.
Many of our listeners who are pursuing serious fun on the guitar are involved with music at church, and that’s definitely something I’ve been a part of for almost three decades, whether on staff, volunteering, or serving as a guest worship leader.
So in an effort to round out the content experience here at Guitar Serious Fun, we’re going to have an intentional discussion about those times when we experience disappointment and discouragement, and what to do next.
Because this is an interview, you will only find the discussion in the podcast audio. There’s no transcript for this episode.
But that’s ok, because I believe that when you listen to what Jerry has to say, you’ll be deeply encouraged.
So please stay in touch, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do. I also invite you to like this episode, maybe leave us a 5-star review on your preferred podcast platform, and to share any of these episodes with others, so that more people can experience what we are working hard to make available to you.Lastly, if you’re a guitarist and you haven’t yet found your tribe for ongoing education and inspiration, please check out our one-of-a-kind experience at GuitarSuccess4U.com. I’ll see you next time.
Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com
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Sometimes, it isn't even about the guitar
27 Dez 2023· Guitar Serious Fun
Transcript included below…
Today, we’re going to talk about how sometimes it isn’t even about the guitar.
I play the guitar. And if you’ve been following Guitar Serious Fun for any length of time, you probably play the guitar…or you hope to.Now, we spend a fair amount of time here talking about the practical and philosophical approaches to developing our skill and artistry on this instrument. Every fourth episode thus far has featured a link to a practical mini-lesson. I hope you’ve discovered and been equipped by some of those.
In some of our episodes, we talk about how to be more effective with our practice and execution of musical skills.
But sometimes what may appear to be a guitar-related challenge or issue isn’t about the guitar at all, or even music for that matter.
Today, for the most part, I plan to share a few personal anecdotes or stories about myself, and to draw carefully from observations I’ve made about some other folks I’ve crossed paths with, but I’ll speak generally and without using any names.
What I’m hoping we can glean from today’s discussion is what can be learned.
Track with me here and I’ll bring you into my thought process. Hopefully, it will yield some insights and encouragement for you.
First, it may be about music (but not guitar).
Sometimes, a guitarist needs to sharpen their rhythm ability. I’ve witnessed this on a few occasions. If rhythm isn’t strong, strumming won’t be strong. Nor will the more intricate fingerstyle articulations.
A guitarist who doesn’t have a solid sense of rhythm won’t be able to “play well with others,” or at least as well as they could. So what to do?Perhaps investing in a metronome or metronome app could help. If possible, practicing or jamming with a drummer who does have a solid sense of rhythm could also help.
Any time I can log with a solid drummer is time I count as a privilege. I’ve gotten solid enough with my strumming that I can usually sense if a drummer is accelerating, but I also try to spend enough time with gifted drummers that they can tell me if I’m accelerating.
Typically, we don’t slow down, but there are always exceptions.
Can you sense a song’s tempo even before you play it, in such a way as to be able to quietly count it out for the benefit of your worship team or band? That’s a valuable skill to develop.
But a metronome can really help. Listening to the song over and over to allow us to better sense where it’s going, can also help.
Second, it may be about stress.
I read recently that the body’s production of the hormone cortisol is directly related to how much stress someone is under. And although stress can be caused by a variety of circumstances, our body’s innate response to this stress is the same.
When we are under stress, our bodies literally think they are being threatened. So, whether you are being threatened by an impending deadline for a project you don’t think you’ll have time to complete, or you’re being threatened by a giant, ferocious beast that’s chasing you, your body doesn’t know the difference.It goes into “fight or flight” mode, produces cortisol, and tries to combat the stress. And the result could be insomnia, anxiety, depression, and the loss of the ability to concentrate.
I may be playing sloppily, or rushing, or playing without emotion, or something else. But if you’re wondering if stress can affect our musical offerings, wonder no more. It absolutely can. So it might not be about the guitar. It might be about stress.
And my approach to diffusing stress is first to pray, but also to do some relaxing activities, get proper rest, and spend time with people who are “life-giving” and not stressful to me.
Some people play music to relax. That’s fine! But if you’re feeling stressed, make sure that the music you’re playing is relaxing to you.
Third, it may be about sleep deprivation.
I briefly mentioned sleeplessness under the stress category. If I haven’t gotten good rest, my lack of ability to play well could be directly related to this.I may be less responsive in an ensemble, and I may practice incorrectly. Just as I discussed in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 34, “Can Practicing the Guitar Be Harmful?”, there can be wasted time – or worse – if we’re trying to do our music under minimal sleep.
So, good rest is super important. I’ve had various seasons of sleeplessness, and sometimes I take a melatonin 30-60 minutes before bed. I avoid caffeine and too many liquids after dinnertime. I try to avoid screen time at bedtime, or at least use blue light glasses so my eyes and mind aren’t overstimulated by devices just when I’m trying to wind down.
And I pray before I go to sleep every night…casting my cares on the Lord, who does not sleep (Psalm 121:3-4.)
But when I can’t sleep (and this sometimes happens for hours at a time), I ask the Lord to guide me in praying for people in my life and in the world.
Fourth, it may be about insecurity.
Some of us can feel insecure around other musicians, especially ones who are more established, more polished, or more resourced with nice gear. But it’s been interesting to me to see that some folks I’ve come across have top-notch gear, or even strong skills, but despite this, they are insecure.
Why would this be?Perhaps they don’t find their identity in Christ, but are striving to find it in their abilities or equipment. This is an easy temptation to fall prey to, because we can see or observe our abilities, and we can physically touch our gear.
Or they may profess Christ, but are still influenced by the desire for human approval. None of us is immune to this.
Christ, until He comes again, is invisible to us, so it’s easy to get swayed by the visible, the temporal, and to lose direction.
Those who focus too much on what other people think of their skills or their equipment are destined to be unmoored, because they won’t have anything or anyone consistent to be anchored to.
I have battled this. Believe me, it’s not a great mindset to have.
Sometimes, our insecurity in our onstage offering comes to the surface because we feel unworthy for the position we’ve been entrusted to fill. Perhaps a worship leader has made himself or herself available, but they don’t feel like their skill set is commensurate with the need.
Here’s the thing: for whatever season this person has been invited to serve, the Lord has them there.
They may be meeting a real need that a more skilled musician hasn’t stepped up to fill. And the congregation would do well to appreciate anyone stepping up to lead them, right?
Every musician has a certain level of experience, and those who are more experienced…wait for it…have more experience. It’s a “Captain Obvious” statement, I know, but how do you get experience doing something? You do it. A lot. And you learn as you do, right?
And for some folks, it’s easy to think about what the congregation or audience thinks of them. I know it’s easy for me to do this.
I’ve had to do some introspection when comes to insecurity, and it usually boils down to being concerned about what people think of me…which is quite secondary to what the Lord thinks of me.So my best course of action is to look at what God’s Word says about my identity in Him, and then to press on, developing my talents for His glory, not for mine.
Fifth, it may be about obedience.
God calls us to obey Him in all aspects of life. And if we’re not walking in obedience, even our music can be affected.
I won’t go deep on this subject, but in our heart of hearts, we know if we’re not obeying what the Lord has commanded or called us to do. We are fallen and sinful, but we are also called to turn from sin, right?
We may be able to play our music while walking in disobedience for a while, but eventually, we’ll run out of strength and focus, because we’ll be trying to do too much on our own.
Again, going back to the Word, and praying for the Holy Spirit’s conviction to stir in us, is essential.Then, taking the opportunity to confess our disobedience to a trusted brother or sister in Christ, followed by repentance, is the clear course of action. Easier said than done? Yes, but only on our own. It’s not an easy thing to invite the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts, and then to confess and repent, but it is a worthy thing, and the Lord has promised to be with us through it all.
Sixth, it may not be about you at all.
If you’ve ever had a rough collaborative effort and you just couldn’t figure out why things were falling apart musically, it’s possible that someone else on your team or in your band was struggling, even if you couldn’t figure out who it was or how they were struggling.
Someone on the team may be unprepared, so the cumulative offering of the band may be of lower quality as a result.
Someone else may be burdened or distracted, so their musical contribution, as well as the energy they bring (or don’t bring) to the creative effort can be diminished.
Any of the aforementioned struggles from today’s discussion could be something someone you’re collaborating with is dealing with, and they may be hiding it well.
You may sense this but not be able to put your finger on it.
That’s ok. Sometimes it just isn’t about us, or what we’re trying to do with our music or our guitars. If we’re able to get to the bottom of why it’s not working, great. But sometimes, we need to chalk it up to it being about someone else and what they are going through, and do our best to either not let it affect us, or if we feel prompted, to ask if there’s anything we can do to encourage them, and maybe even to pray for, or even with them.
So…what is it about?
The bottom line is that it isn’t really about the guitar. It isn’t even about music. It isn’t even about us. It’s actually about the God we serve, and the people we serve in His name.
When this falls into place, we can rest. We can rest in His sufficiency, His approval, and His calling on our lives. And then we can get back to making great music. And having serious fun.
Wrap-Up
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode. This was definitely one of the more challenging and subjective topics I’ve endeavored to tackle, but as I’ve leaned into the Lord, He’s guided me with these words, as He always does.
Sometimes it’s just not about the guitar.
But for those times when it is about the guitar, I’ve got good news for you. We have a tribe of like-minded followers of Christ who are faithfully pursuing their gifts of guitar and music for the glory of God.
And you can discover us at GuitarSuccess4U.com. Will you check it out? Take a moment now, if you have time. Or make a note on your phone to check it out tonight.
But come see what the Lord is doing in this amazing community and experience, and think about whether you might be a good fit for this opportunity. It isn’t for everyone, but it might be for you.
I’ll see you next time.
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