Travelling light – the portable guitarist

By Andy@Musicademy | March 19, 2018

I’ve recently been working on downsizing my electric guitar rig. I want top quality gear but I’ve always found those classic amps that give great tone are just too big, heavy and loud for use in most churches. I’ve had Fender Twins, Vox AC30’s and Marshall Stacks and can’t even turn the volume above 1 […]

Recommended songs for beginning worship guitar players

By Andy@Musicademy | January 18, 2018

We had an email recently from someone relatively new to guitar playing who wanted to know which of the songs we have available as backing tracks and chord charts are accessible for a newish guitar player. We’ve pulled together a list of simple songs which have video lessons available too. You can access all the […]

5 tips for better guitar soloing

By Guest Blogger | August 10, 2017

Every single guitar player likes to play solos and they do most of the time. Even if you are a rhythm guitarist in a band, the chances are that you are mostly soloing while you practice. Solos are a great way to play the guitar. They sound amazing, they are like the songs within the […]

Introducing the new “Plus” series for Acoustic Guitar and Bass

By admin | June 8, 2017

Three brand new courses for Guitar and Bass Our new Beginner and Intermediate ‘Plus’ courses are designed for guitar and bass players who are beyond the Beginner level but not quite ready for our Intermediate courses or beyond Intermediate but not yet ready for Advanced. How do they work? The courses explore skills and ideas […]

New electric, acoustic and bass ‘Song Based’ lessons launched today

By admin | March 22, 2017

Over the years our Song Learner and Worship Collection Lessons have been really popular, especially for people who have gone through our curriculum-focused worship courses first and want to explore more songs and techniques such as those used on professional recordings. So we’re delighted to announce a new look category called “Song Based Lessons” that […]

5 ways to work on your timing as a worship musician

By Andy@Musicademy | January 11, 2017

I have a friend who is a professional drummer. He’s one those musicians who you never really know how good he is because everything he plays in a worship setting is simple, understated and doesn’t draw much attention to itself. Yet in the studio he is a first call drummer for a number of well […]

Developing a sense of timing in your worship team

By Andy@Musicademy | October 17, 2016

Someone once told me that music with dodgy tuning is folk and music with dodgy timing is jazz… So does that mean lots of worship bands are actually playing sophisticated jazz-folk? All jokes aside, so many worship teams could improve their sound immensely if they just focused on improving their sense of timing. Most musicians […]

Same old chords new shapes

By Andy@Musicademy | October 5, 2016

Recently a guitar student asked me to teach them a cover version of Katy Perry’s California Gurls by YouTube boywonder Alex Goot. This kid is one of the many internet viral sensations building a readymade fan base poised for when they come to release their own music by covering other people’s songs and filming themselves […]

Power Chords – a cheats’ guide to playing difficult chords

By Andy@Musicademy | September 13, 2016

As a worship guitarist, have you ever been faced with a chord that seems impossible to play? Imagine the situation – you’re comfortably strumming along with a typical song that goes G, C, Em, D, and then out of nowhere pops an Eb minor add 13 sus 26 half demolished. What do you do? One […]