What a wondrous world of music is opened when you discover so many rich chords and arrangements for the guitar. Worship music takes on a life of its own, a style so deep and penetrating that worship will never be the same. Every song becomes accessible, from the oldies to the modern hits. Sliding your hands up and down the frets, striking chords as you go puts together a beautiful sound to worship the Lord.
From so many years of personal experience, the majority of worship leaders I have met know very little about Christian Trance Music or their guitar. What we learn when we pick up a guitar is how to strum a single pattern and play a round of four chords continually. If we're feeling incredibly talented, we might change the progression or throw in a few more chords. I cannot condemn. For many years, I too was one of those guitarists. My guitar playing was boring, monotonous, and simply uninspiring.
That is, until the world of E, A, and B chords were opened up to me. Those, in addition to a slew of new minors and bar chords, I have discovered a new land of worship guitar. It almost feels like an entirely different culture. Now there are new sounds, new progressions, and a myriad of new songs that can be played. Suddenly, everything doesn't sound the same.
As a fellow guitar player and one who is quite familiar with the music, I would ask you to take the opportunity to learn as much about guitar as possible. Worship music is an opportunity for us to praise the Lord and honor Him, so does it not make sense to give Him our best? Although worship is certainly not all about performance, learning as much as possible is a calling I believe every worship leader should live up to.
When you find that the guitar exists far beyond the boundaries of C, G, and D, worship music will take on a new light in your life, something that you can hardly wait to get your hands on.
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