Who Cares About the Acoustic Guitar Anyway?
Who cares about acoustic guitar anyway?
I’ve thought it, you’ve thought it. Let’s finally address it! Someone once told me that the acoustic guitar is nothing more than a prop for worship leaders who don’t know what to do with their hands. Sad to say, it often ends up being that way.
In the last six years of being a part of Awaken Generation, I have met too many acoustic guitarists who don’t take pride in their instrument and it really shows in their playing. You know the type. Same strumming pattern for every song. Unthinkingly bashing out chords. And perhaps this is the best one: learning songs in one major key and using the ultimate acoustic guitarist handicap tool - THE CAPO. *shocked pikachu face*
Jokes aside, I truly see so much potential that can be unlocked once one recognises the instrument’s role in a band setting. And let’s be honest - if you’re not going to take your instrument and craft seriously, no one is going to! We talk a lot about excellence here because it is an important value that creatives should live by, perhaps best articulated by this verse:
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…”
Colossians 3:23
So how do you start ‘caring’ about your acoustic guitar playing?
Rhythm
It’s true that the acoustic guitar often plays a rhythmic role in most worship band settings, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Playing a rhythmic part has nothing to do with being relegated to the bleachers - you’re actually the backbone which supports the rest of your bandmates’ parts. For acoustic guitar, this means playing in time and playing the right strumming pattern. I won’t go too much into the first concept since it’s quite a basic requirement of musicianship.
With regards to the latter, let’s memorise this golden rule - one strumming pattern does not rule them all. If acoustic guitarists are not attentive to getting the right pattern, they mostly end up clashing horrendously with the rest of the band. In fact, some songs change up the strumming pattern midway through the song (This is Amazing Grace by Bethel Music), or allot certain accents for the guitarist that forms the main groove (the bridge for Do It Again by Elevation Worship) and it’s important for acoustic guitarists to know their parts.
So there you have it - pay attention to the sixteenths, the accents, and the upstroke and downstroke patterns. Your bandmates will be very grateful if you do!
Tonal Quality
Secondly, I think it’s important to grasp what a sensitive instrument the acoustic guitar is. Too often, acoustic guitarists ‘bash’ through an entire song, strumming way too hard and causing the strings to reverberate beyond the guitar’s ‘threshold’. This results in a very unpleasant tonal quality and out-of-tune playing.
The acoustic guitar is, well, acoustic in nature. Depending on the wood type (and combination of wood types), body shape, string gauge, pick up, and so on and so forth, one can really coax different sounds from one guitar. So beyond technique, it comes down to really knowing your instrument through sensitive playing AND listening. For example, my guitar’s body is made out of Western red cedar and Indian rosewood, which means it’s extremely resonant. If I’m not careful while strumming, the sound can get really ugly and dissonant if I play too hard.
So how about your guitar? How do you get the best sound from it? It’s time to hunker down to play and listen.
Secondary Techniques
This means chord voicings, picking, comping, bending, hammer ons and pull offs, and more! All of these techniques take time to master but will contribute immensely to your repertoire. There are plenty of worship songs that feature prominent and beautiful acoustic guitar parts, such as Called Me Higher by All Sons & Daughters, Where You Are by Leeland, and Ascribe by Cory Asbury, and you can only attempt them after you’ve put time into practicing techniques.
Point being: go beyond the usual strumming of four chords with the dreaded capo. We know that it is a delight to play excellently to the Lord, so why should this be any different for acoustic guitar?
Have fun!
Cheers,
Stacy
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