Musicians are a funny breed. All very similar yet entirely different. As a worship pastor, I am always trying duplicate and replicate the worship songs we lead while still maintaining our own unique voice. And this applies to vocalists, drummers, and guitarists.
I’m a self taught guitarist. I took a couple of lessons in Jr. High but I was more interested in playing rock songs instead of ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy!’ So I dropped out.
Music, for me, is a feeling and an emotion. I resonate with it and it moves me. There are times when I can sit down, listen to a song, and immediately start picking out each part. I can read music if I have to, but I’d rather just hear it and play it.
But not everyone is like that. Most folks need specific notes, tabs, or resources to learn their music. As the leader of a worship ministry, I am always trying to resources my band. And this costs money.
This isn’t a problem if you’ve got the extra cash to spend, but most of us are on tight budgets and this means we must get creative.
Enter: One of my favorite guitar resources — GuitarPraise.Blogspot.com
I happened to stumble upon this little gem a few years ago when searching for tabs of the latest guitar driven worship tunes.
It’s a great resource full of tabs and YouTube videos of acoustic parts, lead riffs, bass parts, and arrangements. They have songs from Hillsong, Hillsong United, Fee, Chris Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster, and more. And while they don’t have every song listed, they have a great catalog to choose from.
This is a big time saver. If you are short on time, head on over to Guitar Praise, find your song and your good to go. You can send the links and video’s to your team via email, Facebook, or Twitter and give them a bit more direction and help.
I use them quite frequently and I know my band members appreciate it. It gives them a starting point and specific instructions and they don’t have to guess.
So if you’re looking to take your guitarists to a whole new level, give Guitar Praise a shot.
How are you resourcing your team?
Dave says
Awesome. Thanks for the tip, Rob.