How to begin?

[laundromatt]

hi everyone,

first off, i'm really excited that a forum like this even exists for people like us. i'm happy i found it.

i'm a long time acoustic player and have led worship off and on for the last 6 years. i recently moved churches, and my new church is going to need someone to play electric in a few months. i'm in the market for a used MIM telecaster to get started.

despite all the years i spent hanging out with the electric guitar guys on my teams, i don't know that much about playing them. what is the best way to get started? do you have any tips/advice about how to go from acoustic to electric? i can play the standard acoustic chords with the best of 'em, but i have no idea what to do with an electric guitar.

any thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks~

[blacklinefish]

I tend to not play open chords with electric. I like the feeling that I am fretting each note and can damp it quickly and evenly. Also, if you don't have good string balance, the open strings might ring too strong.

With electric, I play only 3 and 4 string chords. I might finger a full barre chord, but I don't play all 5 or 6 strings of it. If there is a bass player, then I would stick to the top strings for my chords. This is also helpful if there is a keyboard player with a heavy left hand. If there is no bass player, then I like to add bass lines to my chord changes.

--gh

[JohnSS]

If you are playing electric, what are the other instruments? Is it a full rhythm section (bass & drums) or is it singers w/some acoustic guitars, maybe some percussion and keys, or something in between? I might suggest getting an amp w/DSP effects so that if you find yourself needing to blend the Tele sound with chorus, delay, etc. it would be readily available. Depending on how big the church is anything from a 30-100 watt amp might cover your bases. The Line 6 Spider III is a good modelling amp. If you're on a budget, the Behringer V-amp and GMX are pretty good too (I know that there are a lot of tube die-hards here who will argue with me, but as someone who uses both, I'm thinking in terms of bang for the buck and practicality for your P&W needs.)

[playanotherchord]

get a line6 POD and run yourself through the sound system. the sound guys will love you for it.

second, learn a couple of scales.. the pentatonic is a good place to start, and from there pick up the major and minor scales. something i do is play around with 'shapes'.. i mostly play off the 'D' chord shape, and move it up and down the neck depending on the chord or the key. put some delay on, or chorus, to add texture. i stay away from strumming chords, unless it's like a power chord kinda song.

[Platefire]

Hay! Welcome in Jesus name. I'm kind of you in reverse(except a lot older). I've played electric for years and been getting into the acousitc praise thing for the last few years. I love doing both. One thing I like about acoustic--even when you haven't got other musicians to play with you----you can be a one man praise machine and play with great intensity and quite as a mouse. If you know your song, got your chops together---when the holy spirit starts getting in it---it can be a mighty as a thousand musicians. I've always heard one man and God is a majority.

On electric your response/sound of your amp is a very important link of the system. Your choice of a MIM Tele is a good choice. For playing lead the amp needs to be very touch responsive---I use tube amps for this plus I build tube amps for a hobby. Solid state amps/modeling amps are good too but are but are usually modeled to copy a good tube amp and do a great job of coming very close. A good well tuned tube amp rightly sized for your needs will kind of "breath" with your playing so if you get light, clean and soft it can do that or if you get dynamic the amp responds with more of a "growl". To do that you just have to chose an amp and strart working with it and learn how to work the response/tone with your playing. Just for example to practice the dynamics of guitar/tube orpeation at bedroom levels a Fender Champ does a great job and can be use also for smaller church building and larger if miked. With a Champ with the volume cranked up you can have a lot of control of response at your figertips by using the guitar volume control as when you back off it cleans up and when you turn it up it overdrives. The response of a 5 watt champ in a bedroom can be very similar to a 100watt Marshall in a stadium, of course knowing a Marshall going to have more bottom end thump but response is similar. So the rest is in your hands and the fingerboard and time/effort into practicing. A great teacher helps, learn to read, use a light enough gauge strings that your fingers can bend those strings(you can move up to heavier gauges latter), work on your finger vibroto technique, if it's God's will to use you in this and you dedicate you talent to the LORD he will hook you up with the right teachers, equipment and ability----just PRAY/PLAY.

[LesPaulGuy]

Welcome aboard! The MIM or the MIJ Teles would be a great place to start without spending much money, that's for sure. I've seen American-made ones out there for $500 and up, so it depends on your budget. Just make sure the instrument is a reasonable weight, as I've seen some real "logs" out there that can be torturous. Keep using as heavy a string as you can, because I'm sure you'll be wailing away on it like an acoustic at first. The heavier strings have better tone and stay in tune better anyway.

May God richly bless your efforts!

[daddyopapa]

Originally Posted by laundromatt

hi everyone,

first off, i'm really excited that a forum like this even exists for people like us. i'm happy i found it.

i'm a long time acoustic player and have led worship off and on for the last 6 years. i recently moved churches, and my new church is going to need someone to play electric in a few months. i'm in the market for a used MIM telecaster to get started.

despite all the years i spent hanging out with the electric guitar guys on my teams, i don't know that much about playing them. what is the best way to get started? do you have any tips/advice about how to go from acoustic to electric? i can play the standard acoustic chords with the best of 'em, but i have no idea what to do with an electric guitar.

any thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks~

Welcome

I find that less is more with an electric. I assume that your church is fairly conventional in that the music is an aid to worship. So your electric guitar work should be to propel the rhythm and add tasteful yet understated melodic fills. But ultimately, you're there to accompany the vocalists as they lead in worship. Chord fragments and melodic chord excerpts with a clean, ringing tone work well. Try not to play much in the first position so you're not competing with the acoustic guitar player's sonic turf. I think studying the playing of Curtis Mayfield when he was with the Impressions, and Steve Cropper are good places to start. Some churches are geared more to a younger crowd and have songs that call for a more crunchy power chord approach. I'd do this when the song calls for a building of excitement leading up to the final verse, for example. Gear wise, stage and house volume is probably the biggest issue facing worship teams. So I find solid state rigs such as Cube 60s or Line6 XT pros through P/As work well. You'll find tube amps difficult to control without attenuators and shields. A strat is a good choice and very versatile.

YMMV.

I hope his helps. God bless.

[Preacher]

Great advise on less is more, too many times it takes a "seasoned" player to understand that...
We have a young guitar player (15) and he is good. His father is our P&W leader. For the last 7 years I have played and sang on the praise team and now that we have grown, they have come on board. So I told him if he wanted me to step down I would to make way for the young blood. He told me I needed to stay put, yes he is a good player but he doesn't know HOW to play yet.
So he sticks this young talented kid with his acoustic guitar, (No EQ, no vloume, all controled from the BOH) and tells me to play my eletrics. Now I have a Tele, '51 and a LP which I usually rotate (although the '51 is getting more and more playing time) and I do the runs and the pentonic fills on our worship songs playing lead most of the time.
So I asked our leader why he did not want his son to play his eletric, and he said, "I will show you". So at practice the other day, he told his son to play lead on this song and I would play rythem with the neck pup on the '51. Well he played lead through the whole song... no breaks, no pauses just endless riffs and bends through the WHOLE song.
His dad looked at me and said, "OK lets go back to what we had before", he and I made eye contact and exchanged a "that's why" look and went back to what we do.

With eletric, fill the gaps, add, don't take away and if you have nothing to say, then don't play...

[hotraman]

great posts, everyone!
I would agree, its nice to be able to mix telecasters with P & W.

[LesPaulGuy]

"... a strat is a good choice and very versatile"

I hate to be sacrilegious on a Tele website, but I'd have to agree with the choice of a Strat - if you were to pick one guitar. After using my Tele for many months, then my LP Special a time or two, I thought I'd bring the Strat out for some duty. I was quickly reminded of the versatility they have, and the tone(s) seemed to mix in perfectly with the acoustic guitar and electric piano. Since I know the set list ahead of time I can pick the best weeks to use the Tele, but I can use the Strat for any number of styles. I guess the secret is having a good sounding overdrive unit with variable settings - one for the crunch, and another setting for the "wall o' Marshalls" stuff.

Bottom line is the player. I once worked with a now-famous guitarist in a repair shop in LA during the early '70's. He was a guitar tech during the day, while his (then-unknown) band was rehearsing evenings. He was constantly asked to replace "this & that," or use "vintage" cloth wire, or old cap's, or install hot output pickups, vintage knobs - those type of things. (Yes, that stuff happened even back then). He was a session player in NY before getting the call to join this band, and one day he told me "I've recorded more hit records using a $99 guitar than most of these guys (customers) would ever dream of. It's the player that counts."

In our case, it's the player, but having a heart for God essential to that ....

[proffett]

A strat IS a good choice, for its versatility, but more important is what is comfortable to the player. If a tele feels more natural (as it does to me) then a tele is what you should stick with... the sound of the instrument can be adjusted to fit the need, but if it is uncomfortable to play, that can't be covered up. I have owned a wide variety of guitars, and with technology today, you can make just about any guitar sound like another, even make an electric sound acoustic.
If you have already played this MIM tele you are looking at, and like it more than anything else you've tried, then go with it. If not, get out and audition as many guitars as you can. Get the one that feels the most natural to you. You'll know instantly which one that is when you pick it up.
As far as playing styles, that will come with time. Just because you have an electric guitar in your hands doesnt mean you have to play screaming lead lines and solos. Chording is important there too. You'll hear what sounds good, and what doesnt, and adjust your playing accordingly. Playing with the team will help define your style, just like it probably did with the acoustic.
Practice to tapes/CD's of different varieties of music.
Practice off-hours with other members of the team.
Don't try to bite off too much at once... less IS more in most cases.
And most of all, relax, have fun and worship your heart out!

God Bless

D

[scooteraz]

Originally Posted by Preacher

Great advise on less is more, too many times it takes a "seasoned" player to understand that...
We have a young guitar player (15) and he is good. His father is our P&W leader. For the last 7 years I have played and sang on the praise team and now that we have grown, they have come on board. So I told him if he wanted me to step down I would to make way for the young blood. He told me I needed to stay put, yes he is a good player but he doesn't know HOW to play yet.
So he sticks this young talented kid with his acoustic guitar, (No EQ, no vloume, all controled from the BOH) and tells me to play my eletrics. Now I have a Tele, '51 and a LP which I usually rotate (although the '51 is getting more and more playing time) and I do the runs and the pentonic fills on our worship songs playing lead most of the time.
So I asked our leader why he did not want his son to play his eletric, and he said, "I will show you". So at practice the other day, he told his son to play lead on this song and I would play rythem with the neck pup on the '51. Well he played lead through the whole song... no breaks, no pauses just endless riffs and bends through the WHOLE song.
His dad looked at me and said, "OK lets go back to what we had before", he and I made eye contact and exchanged a "that's why" look and went back to what we do.

With eletric, fill the gaps, add, don't take away and if you have nothing to say, then don't play...

I think the toughest thing I had to learn was to play little enough. Everyone wants to be heard and have a part. But it still feels better when the leader says "Hey can we have a little more of that thing you are doing?" rather than "Hey, would you mind not stepping on the singers so much?" Having had both comments thown my way.... I think I can say I speak from experience.

[proffett]

When I went to my first worship practice at my new church, I was a bit hesitant, because I signed up to play bass, but since they already have 2 bassists in rotation, the worship leader stuck me in with my Strat DI'd into the board through my Bass processor... he is an old-time Nashville singer/songwriter with some huge credits, and I was pretty nervous... but he loved the 'wall of guitar' sound (his words) and the other electric player and I traded lead parts and rhythm throughout the set. It actually went pretty well, and it didnt seem to be too poorly received by the congregation at all three services. We kept it fairly subtle, and worked together between services to coordinate our parts, even as far as coming up with a harmony part for "Come Thou Fount".
More advice: pay attention to what the other members are doing, and try to coordinate with them. Get some sort of processor, or an amp with on board effects and a DI, some effects can be very useful for worship, be it chorus, flange, distortion, what have you. I've used my wah pedal to good effect too.
Of course, again, here, less may be more too.. it usually is.
But a little echo or dely on some songs makes a world of difference in the overall sound. (IE: "He Reigns" -Newsboys)

But I can't stress enough... Practice. Relax. Practice relaxing. Your confidence level will contribute a great deal to your overal playing. And stage presence is important to worship, too. If you're staring at your feet or your hands, standing like a statue, you're not giving off an 'aura' of worship, and people can be affected by that.
-Personal experience here, too.. but I'm working on it. I used to try to say "But I'm worshipping on the inside." It never flew. As a team member we are all leaders, and we need to be "encouraging and envoking" or something like that... but its true. If we're not into it,. how can the congregation get into it?

OK, I'm done. Sorry.