50 tips – Acoustic Guitar

 

1. Consistent locked in strumming patterns are everything.
   A lot of acoustic players either just have one or two patterns they try to shoehorn into everything or if they do pick up on the groove their pattern changes randomly. Acoustic guitar is a rhythm instrument so the strumming pattern has to be rhythmically consistent otherwise the rest of the band have no space to fit into the groove.
2. Strumming patterns can imitate a drum groove.
   If you haven’t got a drummer you can imitate the kick and snare by splitting up your strumming pattern using the high and low strings. Low strings imitate the kick so hit those on beats 1 and 3 and the high sounds the snare so play those for what you strum on beats 2 and 4.
3. Create open ringing sounds with cheat chords.
   If the worship music you play needs big open and janglesome sounds then don’t bother with bar chords. Utilize as many open strings as possible and learn some nice substitute chords that work well over basic chords. Our Intermediate acoustic guitar course has over 60 new chord shapes you can easily learn and work into your playing.
4. If more than one guitar, lock together or play in different registers.
   Two acoustic guitars playing almost the same thing is like a blurry facsimile. To either try to play exactly the same rhythm or complimentary rhythms that leave a bit of space for each other. Also learn at least 2 capo positions for every key so that your chord voicings will be different.

Previous posts from the 50+ Tips series

Worship bass

Worship drums

Communication skills for worship teams

Playing together as a team

Stage placement

Rehearsals

Other posts on guitar