I’d like to do things a little differently with today’s post; not only are we going to have some fun with the bible, but you might just learn a little something about how to play my favorite instrument: the
(Note: There is a guitar literally three feet away from me right now and this is still the best one I can draw. Good job, me.)
Praising God is easy since there’s literally infinity million things to praise Him for, but why speak praise in a normal boring voice when you can sing it from your heart like a real champ? Worship (not to be confused with warship) just doesn’t feel like worship without music.
“God is spirit, and his worhipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” - John 4:24
I know what you’re thinking; “I can’t sing, my voice sounds like a garbage truck, or a garbage disposal, or just garbage.” WRONG. God isn’t a critic, you crazy kids. And anyway, if you’re really that uncomfortable with the way you sound, then maybe you should give the old six-string a try. (No banjos or ukuleles please.)
How To Play Guitar (Kind Of)
Chords: Now then, the only tricky part is learning how to play. Personally I’ve been playing for about five years, and every once in a while I find that learning a new worship song can be pretty simple. It’s all about finding a song with easy chords. Sometimes it’s like
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| Easy Chord |
but then other times it’s like,
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| Not Easy Chord |
which is hard, and makes me feel like
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| Not Happy |
Strumming Pattern: So once you get your chords down, you gotta figure out the rhythm of the song so you can strum it. Calm down, Captain Capo, we’re not talking about any complicated solos here. Keep it basic, plain and simple up and down strumming to the beat of the song. You know what, to be honest, you can just kind of do whatever you want with strumming. Nobody will notice if you mess up. You can’t do it wrong. Seriously, go nuts.
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| Not that nuts. |
Reading Music: I don’t know how to read music, and frankly it’s both unnecessary for learning guitar and dumb. What weirdo came up that idea, for reals? How am I supposed to know about treble clefs and arpeggios, and what the heck are “beamed sixteenth notes” anyway?!
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| Thinks he's so cool... |
So there you have it, a very basic guitar lesson. If you ACTUALLY want to learn how to play, I don’t recommend using this “guide.” But hey, even though learning an instrument can be kinda frustrating, when you’re doing it for God it suddenly becomes a whole lot easier, or at least more fun. Besides, most Christian songs are only like 3 chords.
P.S. I don’t really have much more to say about this. If you love artists like Phil Wiggums, Chris Tomblinde, and David Crowberg (I spelled their names wrong on purpose because I think it’s funny and that’s how I roll) and find yourself singing along to some of their tunes, give guitar a try. You’d be surprised how passionate you might find yourself when you’re playing songs about God. I have a feeling He really likes music.
“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Ephesians 5:19-20
-sam
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