September 20, 2023
In the 2003 Victorian era action/adventure film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” Sean Connery’s Allan Quatermain turns to Shane West’s Tom Sawyer in a close call where he rescues him, and says winsomely, “Eyes open, boy. I can’t protect you all the time.”
Tom Sawyer later returns the favor, and they both grin, having escaped death yet again.
In our guitar and music journeys, the stakes are usually not as high as life and death, but the rules are the same: we need to keep our eyes open.
Why? Because learning experiences abound…but only for those who see them.
When People are our Teachers
When someone is starting out with the guitar, everything is new. Even if they’ve had some musical background on another instrument (which I like to call “lateral learning,” for which I might dedicate a future episode of Guitar Serious Fun), there’s going to be new stuff to overcome.
Some of these new things require the “mental skills” side of learning, and others require the “motor skills” side.
But who are our teachers as we learn?
Everyone. Literally.
One of our guest experts inside GuitarSuccess4U (our online game-changing guitar membership for Christian beginning and intermediate guitarists) is a highly skilled musician named Brian Reding.
Brian is a multi-instrumentalist, an engineer, and a producer, which means he has the capacity to track full songs on a high level of production in a unique way.
Brian produced my best album to date, This Side of Heaven.
On this record, Brian played acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar (fretted and upright), keys, Fender Rhodes, drums, aux percussion, world beat percussion, horns, and he sang multiple layers of background vocals, even contributing a vocal percussion beatbox.
He played more instruments than this on the record, but this should give you an idea of what he’s capable of. His execution of notes on these instruments and vocals was of the highest caliber. He’s truly a unique individual. I’ve never met anyone like him.
You’re welcome to listen to my album on any of the streaming platforms, and if you like what you hear, you can buy it while it’s still available in hardcopy form with a 20-page full color booklet.
Reach out to me via my website, www.davidharsh.com and I’ll even sign it for you before I ship it to you.
Nashville Producer Morgan Cryar, to whom I’ve alluded previously, said that when an artist hands him a copy of an album they’ve recorded, they usually include an apology with it.
Not this album. It’s an absolute masterpiece; not because I’m “all that,” but because Brian brought tremendous skill and talent to the project, not just with his motor skills on all these instruments, or even his ears, but also his mind.
With a producer’s mind, he knew what each song needed, so he could literally call upon himself to record all the parts. You might argue that with only one person playing most of the instruments (I played acoustic guitar and piano and sang the lead vocal and some harmonies), it might have the potential to lose some of the freshness that could come with multiple instrumentalists and vocalists.
Not here. Not in this case.
Brian’s caliber of musicianship and production are truly “next level.”
Why do I go to all this trouble to speak so highly of Brian? Because of what I’m going to tell you about him next.
He’s a student of music. He’s always learning. And perhaps that’s why he’s so good at the many things he does.
During our interview in GuitarSuccess4U, which members get access to, Brian made a simple but profound statement.
He said “Everyone can be your teacher.”
Let’s see if this passes muster.
Could an intermediate guitarist teach something to a beginning guitarist? Sure. That’s almost a given.
Could a beginning guitarist teach something to an intermediate guitarist? I would argue “yes.” Here’s why…
That intermediate guitarist may have taken some of the fundamentals for granted. A beginning guitarist is at a stage where nothing is taken for granted, because it’s all new.
And even something as simple as a chord voicing could be fresh knowledge for an intermediate guitarist…if their eyes are open to what the beginning guitarist might show them.
Another scenario: could a non-guitarist (who plays another instrument) teach something to a guitarist of any skill level? Well, yes. That musician may have musical insights that carry elements of artistry, musicianship, or even theory that they could pass along…if that guitarist’s eyes are open.
And these non-guitarists are hiding in plain sight…often on the very same worship platforms on which we serve.
Could I learn from my drummer? Absolutely – tempos, cadences, ritardandos, accents, grooves, and so much more.
Could I learn from my bass player? Yeah buddy – voice leading, inversions, articulations and dynamics, and so on.
Could I learn from my keyboardist or pianist? You’d better believe it – register, voicings, chordal embellishments…just imagine.
What about a non-musician? Could he or she teach something to a guitarist? Well, think about what happens when we share our music with an audience, or a congregation.
Would there be elements about how that presentation is received that could illuminate our process?
What if we play a song that we think will come across as clear and powerful, but the listeners in the audience are confused because the message is unclear and the song needs a few re-writes to coalesce into a more refined form?
One of the great sayings I’ve held onto over the years is that “Great songs aren’t written; they’re re-written.” I’ve been on the receiving and the giving end of this wisdom many, many times.
An audience (no matter the size) may contain music lovers who aren’t necessarily musicians. But they listen.
They have souls. They can process a message and see if it can impact them.
And if a song has too many words, or has improper “emPHAsis” on the wrong “sylLAbles” (listen to the podcast version for what I mean), the audience, if asked, could teach the artist/guitarist how something could be refined in their presentation.
Maybe the guitarist is playing too fast. Maybe he or she is out of tune, out of rhythm, or out of pace with what the song or the ensemble requires.
There are many, many things a non-musician can discern from a song or a performance, even if they can’t define them in musical terms.
Even body language.
What if the performer frowns onstage or looks serious as they play, but they don’t realize it? Is that a musical thing? Nope. But does it affect the performance? It sure could.
But the guitarist is only going to be made aware of this if their eyes are open to the visual and verbal responses of the audience.
I’ve had close friends who have offered me the right kinds of “wounds” like the ones from Proverbs 27:6. They’ve told me things about my performance that I’ve needed to refine for the sake of the audience.
And because I’ve listened and applied what they’ve shared with me, my show and my songs have improved considerably.
Now, let’s say a guitarist is playing on a worship team, leading songs that are sung by a congregation. Could that guitarist learn from the congregation?
100%.
Let’s say that the worship guitarist chooses a song that’s brand new to the congregation, even though this guitarist knows the song well.
If their eyes are open, they can become aware that the congregation isn’t singing along because they don’t know the song.
Could the guitarist “pivot” and walk everyone through the chorus a couple of times, so as to teach them and equip them to sing the song?
Absolutely. But only if their eyes (and ears) are open.
What if the song is not placed comfortably in a singable range? Could the congregation directly or indirectly teach the worship leader that it needs to be adjusted?
Could the song itself need to be scrutinized so as to be categorized as a “listening” worship song rather than a “sung” worship song based on how intuitive and accessible it is? It’s worth considering.
This kind of helpful feedback can refine us as worship guitarists in amazing ways…if our eyes are open.
When Teachers are our Teachers
Yes, I know teachers are people too. The distinction I’m drawing here is that there are some who have positioned themselves as teachers of guitar and music, as opposed to folks who have not.
And some of these teachers can teach incredibly well.
So, it’s a given that a good guitar teacher can teach us things about the guitar and music.
However, there’s a flipside: and you may or may not appreciate it. If you’ve listened to Guitar Serious Fun Episode 29: Breaking the Curse of Knowledge, you know who I’m talking about.
I’m talking about teachers who simply lack the ability to teach, regardless of their skill level.
If someone is virtuosic as a guitar player, it is not a guarantee that they can relay guitar knowledge to their student.
But the beautiful reality, as I stated in that episode, is that the student can still “self-teach.”
This does take an extra measure of skill and time, but if you do it enough, you start to develop the knack for observation and then the ability to take apart and translate what you observe.
I go into this in greater detail in the aforementioned episode about the Curse of Knowledge.
The reality is, though, a student can only self-teach if their eyes are open.
The Unexpected Teacher
Remember, we can learn from others about how to do things…but we can also learn from others about how not to do things.
One of the teachers at our daughters’ school uses the phrase “The School of Soft Knocks” to describe the process of learning from others´ mistakes.
Now is learning from others’ mistakes less costly? Yes. Absolutely. Any sort of loss that has been sustained by another person can be avoided by us. If our eyes are open, right? You’re getting it.
We can even watch someone doing something in our direct field or circle of influence and internally say “I really don’t see the benefit of doing that.”
I recently heard a story of a worship leader who asked the congregation to clap during a song in a worship service, and when the congregation did not enthusiastically respond accordingly, this individual stopped the song midstream, and verbally reprimanded the congregation for not clapping.
If I had observed that, I probably would have seen the congregation’s response, which would have confirmed to me that I personally would not take that approach.
So, we can learn how not to do some things in our area of expertise…you know it – if our eyes are open.
When Equipment is our Teacher
I once had a show where the perfect technical storm happened. My guitar battery died, my guitar cable shorted out, my loop station powered off, and my direct box stopped processing my guitar signal. This happened all at once. Just shy of helpful, right?
Fortunately, I was able to adapt and find alternate pieces of equipment of my own, as well as those of the hosting church. Having backups saved the show.
Another time, my sound board, having been reconfigured by a tech as he helped me put it away at the previous venue, was not functioning the way I needed it to for a weekend of shows.
That prompted me to connect with that sound tech and ask him if he had “zeroed out” some of the knobs, which he had done, just out of habit.
That gear, though not even a person, taught me the value of backup equipment, as well as the knowledge of what the equipment was capable of on some level, so as to be able to troubleshoot.
But my eyes needed to be open to realize what was going on, so that I could learn.
When Experience is our Teacher
Some would say “Experience is the best teacher.” I agree.
I’ve played enough shows and led enough worship services that I can confidently say that there’s not much that can surprise me these days.
And I thank God for that. Because He’s allowed me to have enough of an accumulation of experiences that I typically know what to do, or what to ask for, when that experience happens again.
The bonus blessing is that some of those stories have resulted in some significant victories, and I can share them with you here at Guitar Serious Fun.
But even the failures are incredible opportunities to learn.
But only if we, once more with feeling: keep our eyes open.
An Essential Requirement for Learning Well
We can learn from people we interact with, teachers of all kinds, equipment, and experiences.
These opportunities to learn come to us daily, sometimes hourly. We can always be learning.
But what’s the requirement beyond keeping our eyes open? It’s to be teachable.
I’m going to lay out a hard fact for you: not everyone is teachable.
Do you know how I know this? Because after teaching thousands of guitarists across North America, even, and especially in Christian circles, I’ve come across many folks who create an artificial ceiling for themselves.
They do this by claiming that they’ve “been there, done that,” or that they already know what they need to know.
I’ll let you in on a little secret that may discourage or inspire you: we will never learn everything there is to learn about the guitar or music.
But that’s a beautiful thing, because there’s always more to learn. And if we approach each new day or opportunity with the question, “Lord, what do you want me to learn today,” that ceiling vanishes, and we can fulfill our potential.
Will our potential be the same as someone else’s? Of course not. But we’re not called to pass up others.
As I mentioned in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 66, The Guitarist We Should All Surpass, we’re called to be better than the guitarist we were yesterday, right?
So, if you consider yourself to be teachable, you’re going to love what I’m about to share with you as we wind down today. If you don’t consider yourself to be teachable, this won’t ring true for you. It might in the future, but I’m pretty confident that only folks who are teachable right now will “get it.”
We have an online guitar learning experience unlike any other, that includes battle-tested, premium, curated content, relevant application of concepts, a roster of guest experts with hundreds of years of collective wisdom captured in exclusive interviews, deluxe, full-color worksheets, a Christ-honoring community of like-minded, eager guitar learners, and 5 instant bonuses.
It’s called GuitarSuccess4U. And because I saw a deep need for a learning experience like this and couldn’t find one, I founded it in 2019. It’s for beginning and intermediate teachable Christian guitarists. Again, if you’re not teachable, it won’t make sense to where you’re at in your journey right now.
But if you are teachable, it could change the game for you. I hope you’ll check it out.
Well, I hope today’s episode about “always learning the guitar” was inspiring and encouraging to you. And if you want to share it with someone else, please do.
If you want to experience some of our more than six dozen other episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, please do.
The reality is, though, a student can only self-teach if their eyes are open.
ABOUT ME
David Harsh
Singer, Guitarist, Teacher
© 2023 GuitarSuccess4U a ministry of David Harsh Ministries.