September 27, 2023
Today we’re going to discuss the idea that we can always be teaching the guitar.
Now, if you haven’t experienced last week’s episode, you may want to check it out, because it does illuminate the flipside of what we’re talking about today and sets us up really well for our discussion.
It’s Guitar Serious Fun Episode 73: Why We can Always be Learning the Guitar.
I bought my first guitar in 1994. And even that first week, I had the opportunity to show someone else what I had learned, with some of the early notes and chords I was forming.
I had no idea that the Lord would one day use my life as a vessel for communicating guitar and music concepts to people all over North America and beyond.
I praise Him for that, because that has led to a legacy of sharing knowledge that will likely outlast my lifetime.
But at one point, I had to embrace the idea that I was a guitar teacher, at whatever level I was playing this amazing instrument.
My daughters have both attended a Classical Christian School for many years, and if you’ve experienced the wisdom of Erin Pakinas, one of the teachers at the school, who has graciously appeared as a guest on the podcast for Guitar Serious Fun, you have heard some whispers about the school culture.
Erin was our guest in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 61: Embracing “Good” Difficult with Guitar and More, and spoiler alert: she’s going to be back in several weeks for a couple more episodes.
Our headmaster’s office at the school has had a simple, but profound quote on the wall for many years. And it shakes me to the core every time I see it. The plaque says:
“You are always teaching.”
Mic drop, right?
What’s implied by this message, of course, is that any teacher anywhere, does not simply begin to teach when he or she steps up in front of any number of students.
They are teaching at recess, at school events, at informal gatherings, at school service projects, on field trips, during awards ceremonies, when students run into them at the grocery store, at home with their families, and during summer vacation.
None of these venues I’ve just listed is a classroom. And yet the teachers are always teaching.
But are the teachers the only ones who are teaching?
No. We are all teachers, and we are always teaching.
Picture this: a student does something to offend another student, by action or omission. They disregard having committed the offense, and they move on.
What have they just taught everyone who has witnessed this, including the impressionable younger students? That unkind behavior is not worth repenting of.
Fortunately, I have not seen this very often at all at the school.
By contrast, let’s say the student offends the other student and is quick to reconcile. What have they taught everyone in earshot, but also everyone who will hear of the experience in the near future?
They have taught that it is a Biblical principle (See Matthew 18) that we should seek to restore broken fellowship as soon as possible, because it honors the Lord.
Note for just a moment that these examples from a school environment are not music-related. Are they nevertheless still important teaching opportunities? Absolutely.
The Performing Teaching Guitarist
Let’s turn our attention to a venue where a musician is sharing his or her music with someone else.
Let’s say he or she is playing the guitar well, with a humble, yet confident posture. Their body language is clear, and they are honoring the Lord and their hearers by all that they are doing. They are offering their first fruits, and the best offerings they can summon.
What are they teaching?
I think you know, but I’ll lay out a few observations. They are teaching that putting on humility and playing skillfully (both of which are Biblical attributes) are important to their craft, artistry and ministry.
They are teaching their listeners that playing well and relating to an audience are high values. They are teaching them that the discipline of practice and clean execution require dedication, but they also yield satisfying results on both sides.
The opposite scenario presents the opposite form of teaching (and without going into the inverse of a presentation like this, I can say that I have witnessed this as well.)
I will say that although everyone has a different skill level, it can be apparent when a guitarist chooses to stumble through a couple dozen chords sloppily, when he or she could really focus on just a half a dozen chords and play them well. Quality over quantity, right?
Spoiler alert: inside GuitarSuccess4U, members discover a unique tool early on called the Chord Kite Diagram that helps guitarists of multiple levels zoom in and get chordal and transitional precision in their playing on an unprecedented level.
The Worship Leading Teaching Guitarist
When it comes to a worship offering, I was clearly reminded at a worship conference of an important fact. And this statement did not come from the teaching faculty, which were outstanding, by the way.
It came from one of the students who was in a few of my guitar classes. His name was Adam, and he said, “We as worship leaders are also teachers.”
Another mic drop, right?
Does this mean that the teaching on the platform is not just limited to the person preaching the Word?
It sure does. Because if someone steps up to lead the congregation in worship, they are teaching the congregation what is involved with bringing praise to the Lord.
They can literally “teach” a song, but more importantly, their whole process is evidence of how important the act of worship is to them.
If they are “phoning it in,” or playing with less precision than they are capable of, or if they are not communicating well with the team members, or they are not walking in step with pastoral leadership as they offer their gifts, or…or…or…they are not teaching well.
On a practical level, this may seem like a “Captain Obvious” statement, but when I am a lead vocalist playing a rhythm guitar, and I’m standing in front of a boom microphone, I show the congregation (and the technicians) that we are all singing when I am at the mic…and when I’m not at the mic, we are not singing.
Does that make sense?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a worship leader hang out right at their mic, or even fade upstage just a foot or so, during an instrumental intro, outro, or a long section without lyrics, thereby creating a “false positive” message to the congregation and technicians that we “might” be singing.
So, here’s what I recommend: fade to the side. Just a foot or two.
When you come back to the mic, you’ve rebooted the situation and taught everyone that we’re singing again. Everyone. The congregation. The band. The technicians, especially the projectionist.
I won’t go into detail for slide shows and whether to leverage the power of the blank slide, but if there’s one thing that can be confusing, its having lyrics up on the screen when we’re not supposed to be singing them, or when they’ve “expired.”
This can be solved by having a blank slide for an instra, and as I’ve mentioned, moving laterally so as to clearly communicate to the congregation that they don’t need to be singing at that moment.
So, after a brief moment without lyrics, the worship leader comes back to the mic, the projectionist cues the next slide, and everyone continues singing, undistracted.
That’s a practical, but super helpful approach to “teaching” the congregation in a worship setting.
What about on a Scriptural level?
Everything we do communicates how we treasure the Word, especially if we quote scripture as we lead the congregation, choose scriptural songs or pray the Word.
So as worship guitarists, we are definitely teaching. Always. On and off the platform.
And when I say “off” the platform, I mean the way we conduct ourselves in rehearsal, but also in life.
People who know me as a worship leader also know me in a men’s Bible study setting, a Life Group setting, and a family setting.
It’s my aim to be the same person in all of those venues.
I haven’t always observed this effort on the part of worship leaders; some transform, whether significantly or slightly, into a worldlier persona when they don’t think others are looking. This is dangerous to our testimony, of course, and teaches that integrity can be compromised.
The “Good for You” Medicine that Doesn’t Taste Great
If we want the medicine that will bolster our ability to teach well, it makes sense to follow these three words.
“Lead by example.”
It’s easy to teach someone else a concept. But it’s not as easy to lead by example in consistently applying that concept.
There have been many guest ministry opportunities the Lord has allowed me to have where I teach a worship workshop to a group of musicians at a hosting church, and then rehearse members of that group in with a song set.
I acknowledge the technicians in my communication and preparation, as well as the rehearsal, run-thru and service.
From start to finish, I employ the concepts that I teach them. And then the musicians and technicians can say, “Hey, this guy uses the stuff he teaches.”
It’s one thing to encourage people to do something. It’s another thing entirely to explain why that action is beneficial, and then to put it into practical use.
Also, in GuitarSuccess4U, every month of lessons concludes with what we call our “Relevance Lesson” for that month. In that lesson, I talk specifically about how I leverage the concepts I’ve taught that month. The key word in each Relevance Lesson is the word “why.”
“Why” is tremendously important. It helps us clarify our efforts in a major way.
How much sense would it make for me to teach my members a bunch of tools, and then say, “Yeah, I really don’t use this stuff, but you might.”
Not much. Life’s too short to learn a bunch of guitar concepts that just aren’t relevant.
And that’s why I make every effort to scrutinize what I’m teaching to make sure it has the broadest application possible…within the niche of guitarists that I serve: beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.
You Could be a Guitar Teacher…Right Now
What about a practical exercise? I encourage you to take a concept you’re familiar with on the guitar or with music, and communicate it to someone else who may be less familiar with that concept.
I’m not talking about a full-tilt hour long guitar lesson. I’m talking about sitting down in a common area like at your kitchen table or on your living room couch with a family member or friend and asking, “Hey, can I show you something on the guitar?”
Then teach them a concept you have learned. It could be a single note on the fretboard. Or a scale. Or a chord. Maybe it’s a strumming pattern.
It’s not critical that they totally absorb and instantly demonstrate back to you what you’ve taught them. It is important that they mentally grasp what you’re showing them.
Now, perhaps you don’t have your guitar nearby. Maybe you could teach someone you know something about music theory fundamentals.
Remember, you can’t spell “fundamental” without spelling the word “fun,” right? Or “mental,” but that’s another story.
Maybe you can explain to them what a quarter note is, and how many quarter notes fit in a whole note in a measure of 4/4 time. Maybe you can help them discern the audible difference between a measure of 4/4 time and a measure of 3/4 time and how they feel totally different.
Maybe you can sing a Major scale for them up and down, and then lower the 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees to make a natural minor scale. No need to have an instrument nearby; just sing the scale and see if they can tell the difference.
Relaying a musical concept to someone else is tremendously powerful because a) it demonstrates that we ourselves understand it, b) it reinforces our knowledge and execution of it, and c) it allows us to think and communicate clearly how it’s accomplished.
Teaching really does help us become better learners and musicians.
The proof will in the pudding. Does your impromptu “student” understand what you’ve communicated? If not, break it down into more digestible pieces until they do.
This is a great way to break “The Curse of Knowledge,” which we talked about in Guitar Serious Fun Episode 29, by the way.
Before you know it, you’ve clearly demonstrated what you now know yourself to be: a teacher.
Wrap-Up
Now, as I’ve mentioned previously, we are always learning, or at least we always can be. And as of today, we have come to grips with the startling truth that we are always teaching, whether by intention or by accident.
This is a sobering fact, because most of us live out our lives in a community setting on some level.
So, I want to encourage you to consider what it is that you are teaching, when you’re playing your guitar, or even when you’re not.
You might be pleasantly surprised to see that the Lord is using you for His glory in some unexpected ways.
Well, today, we talked about why we can always be teaching the guitar.
I hope today’s episode was illuminating for you. And if it was, I encourage you to share it with others. Please consider giving us a 5-star review on your listening platform.
I need to know if this is making a difference, so that I can continue to create this content.
You may also be pleased to know that we also have a presence with GuitarSuccess4U on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, so please check out some of the offerings I’ve placed there.
Thanks for experiencing today’s episode. I’ll see you next time!
"We as worship leaders are also teachers.”
ABOUT ME
David Harsh
Singer, Guitarist, Teacher
© 2023 GuitarSuccess4U a ministry of David Harsh Ministries.