So in an effort to try and engage in active worship at home in addition to playing some of my favorite songs, I recently bought an acoustic guitar. Here it is:
A Yamaha F325. An inexpensive guitar good for someone like me who’s just starting out (someone with no calluses either…ouch). Yamaha’s a trusted brand in my family since my dad’s also got a Yamaha steel-string himself that still plays well (if you have good calluses that is, whew) despite being purchased way back in the 80s. This guitar came bundled with a strap, tuner, picks, DVD, bag, and extra strings. The picks and tuner are very handy additions and the extra strings will come in handy later on. The DVD was extremely helpful especially for beginners and even though I’m not completely new to music in general, the DVD was sure a big help to me. The bag and strap will do for now, but I’m a bit concerned they may break later, but no worries for the time being. I’m also expecting a $10 gift card, which I’ll likely use to get a capo or a stand or something.
So why a guitar now? Well one, I play bass for the worship team so that was a bit of a springboard. But the main reason is because I felt I needed to take a more active approach to worship. And just listening to praise songs on Pandora isn’t going to cut it (I’ve been listening to country mostly on Pandora anyways haha). Plus it’s a fun new hobby and the guitar is a good stand-alone instrument for playing favorite songs. Before I played bass often at home, but I can’t now because I don’t have a practice bass or amp anymore. Plus unless you’re practicing new techniques or if you are a hardcore jazz musician (which I am not…not yet…haha), a bass is more enjoyable when played with others, especially in a worship setting.
So yeah, I’ve been practicing quite a bit since I brought the new 6-string home. Some of the things I did right off the bat was some finger-pick practicing using E and Am chords that I learned from an Esteban DVD way back. I bought an Esteban DVD years ago to try and learn on my dad’s guitar. But the strings on my dad’s Yamaha were so mercilessly tough that just trying to get a slight ring from them required immense pressure and pain from your fingers. I ended up giving up, but this new guitar doesn’t require as much pressure, so I should be able to get back to things I tried to learn from the Esteban DVD way back when. I also learned some new chords, tips, and practice techniques from the DVD that came with the new guitar, but the main thing I need to practice is changing chords in addition to building calluses.
Two songs I started out with. The first one is “Wonderful God.” I played the song’s bass solo last week on Sunday during one of the few instances where I actually used a pick on a bass (I normally use just fingers). But it’s a very simple song and that solo was one of the motivating factors for me to start practicing the song on the guitar. Just for fun, I recreated the bass solo on the guitar during the verses while strumming chords during the chorus. Not a bad way to enjoy practicing while practicing chord changing.
The second song I started out with is “Round Here” by the Counting Crows. More specifically, their acoustic version off their “Across a Wire: Live in New York City” album. I remember hearing this song way back when my dad bought this CD. The acoustic version of “Round Here” consists of fairly simple finger-picking during the verses while strumming the chorus and bridge. I haven’t figured the bridge out yet, but the finger-picking in this song is quite enjoyable, hence the reason I enjoy playing it.
So that’s pretty much it. Pray that I get better each day so I can sing praises to God fully with the guitar. I still play bass in the worship team and I’m hoping I can take a shot at learning banjo using an old banjo that Pastor John has sitting in a corner unused for who knows how long. Yes, I still like country music and I’m a big fan of Keith Urban who’s a big banjo user himself.
God Bless ^^.
