How Aware Are You As A Guitarist?

May 31, 2023

Today, we’re going to talk about cultivating our awareness as guitarists, and why that matters.

This was a pretty tricky episode to put together, because it’s a little subjective in parts…but I’m actually quite pleased with where it went.  See if you can track with me, and consider leaving a comment after you’ve experienced my thoughts.

Have you ever walked through a crowded area and crossed paths with someone who wasn’t really looking where they were going?  I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve actually also been the guilty party. 

It’s easy enough to look back at where we’ve been walking from, but not watch where we’re headed…and that can result in at least a comedy of errors, or perhaps a messier situation.

If someone isn’t watching where they’re going, they’re going to struggle.

We as guitarists have the potential to play well, to communicate well, and to enjoy the process…especially if we can reduce or eliminate some of these struggles.

I’ve got a handful of illustrations that are designed to help us understand the importance of awareness, all with a view to helping us be more aware of what we are doing, but especially of what is going on around us.

The Beginning of Batman

In the 2005 Christopher Nolan movie Batman Begins, Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne trains with mentor Ducard as he develops his skills. 

One of their exercises is a sparring sword match on an icy pond.  Just when Bruce thinks he has overcome Ducard and says “Yield,” Ducard looks up at him and says, “You haven’t beaten me.  You’ve given up sure footing for a killing stroke.”  Then, suddenly, Ducard taps his sword against the ice, and Bruce falls through it into the water.

The recurring phrase that is uttered throughout this movie is “Always mind your surroundings.”  Having a heightened awareness of our surroundings helps us “do battle” better, and to be victorious.  We can overcome obstacles and challenges, but we have to be…aware.

Nertz

One of my early memories of courting my wife was playing the card game “Nertz” with her family.  I did not play well. 

I discovered quickly that to have my eyes mostly on my own cards was not going to be sufficient.  I had to be aware of the piles in the middle of the table, but also every other player’s rows of cards in front of them. 

This would allow me to know what was coming up next, so I could get rid of my cards.  But this was not a relaxed, calm game…it was a race against the other players.  You snooze, you lose, right?  The more players, the faster you had to act if you saw an opportunity.

This game continues to be a family favorite.  I’m including a photo of the table where my kids and their cousins are having a rousing game of Nertz on one of the Puget Sound ferries.

Even playing this game with just my wife has been challenging.  I’ve even found myself the recipient of friendly advice for what to play next.  This proves that she is completely aware of her situation, but also of mine, which informs her situation.

I don’t love the game, but I love what it teaches: “Be hyper-aware of your needs, the needs of others, and how to meet those needs, even in a competitive environment.”

The most skilled Nertz player knows what’s going on in their hands, but also in the hands of their fellow players. 

Even helping each other can lead to our own success, but we have to be…aware.

Situational Awareness

I was a guest musician at a Christian school recently where they had brought in some law enforcement officers to train the students and faculty in the unlikely event of an active intruder.

Everyone was encouraged to memorize the address of where they were, so that in the event that they needed to call 911 for help, and they only had a moment to talk, they could at least state the address.  It’s important to know where we are.  And it’s important to know what to do if something changes the situation.

And some of this is made possible by…preparation.  Being prepared helps us to focus and act intentionally when something unexpected happens.

But when it all comes down to the moment, our safety, and even our lives could depend to some extent on how tuned in we are to all that’s happening in the situation.  Sometimes a crisis brings adrenaline, and those who are the calmest are the ones who can function the best.

Making it through a crisis can be done, but we have to be…aware.

Social Awareness

We’re all learning how to be better conversationalists, and we grow in this area each time we talk with another person.  But some folks have more to learn.  They tend to be what I’d call “socially unaware” or perhaps “less” aware. 

This is demonstrated when they do most of the talking, or don’t sense when the person they’re talking to wants the conversation to wind down.  They simply don’t respond to social cues, because they’re just not aware.

This can happen at any age.  But when someone is aware of the climate of the conversation, it blesses everyone.  They know how to contribute, how to ask good questions, and how to add value to what is being discussed…primarily because they know how to listen.

We can listen, we can respond, and we can build up others as we talk, but we have to be…aware.

Defensive Driving

If you’ve been driving for any length of time, you know that not every driver out there is aware of what they’re doing.  They may be preoccupied by the fact that they’re lost or turned around, or they may even be hindering their own progress by looking at their cell phone.

In the past month, I cannot tell you the number of drivers I’ve seen on the road who have been texting while they drive.  I couldn’t count how many I saw.  That’s obviously a subject for another time, but I wish those folks would wait to send a text until after they get where they’re going, so as to avoid a possible collision.

It’s up to us to be defensive drivers.  I recall years ago a bumper sticker that said “Visualize world peace.”  This was eventually met with a similar bumper sticker with a bit of a snarky tone that said “Visualize using your turn signal.”

Not everyone signals before they turn.  We, as the other drivers, need to be on the lookout for their “less than awesome” driving, especially as a matter of safety.  We need to know where we’re driving, we need to be watchful for how others are driving, and we need to notice traffic signs, lights, and all the rest.

Our safety in the context of the road and the other drivers depends on what we do moment by moment.  We really have to be…aware.

Sensitive to the Spirit

I always appreciate spending time with followers of Christ who are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. 

Sometimes, in a conversation, someone I’m talking to will feel led to pray about whatever we’re talking about…right then and there.  That shows a level of sensitivity that I believe honors the Lord, because it invites Him into the conversation and also brings His authority and guidance.

If we have a plan to do anything in life at all, and we feel a prompting from the Holy Spirit to change what we’re doing, we need to respond to that. 

Perhaps the Holy Spirit is prompting us to give something to someone, to have a conversation with someone, to pray with someone.  Any and all possible things can happen if we are stirred, convicted, or prompted by the Holy Spirit.  But we have to be…aware.

Putting it into Context with Guitar

Yes, I believe there is direct application in multiple contexts where we play our guitars, specifically on the worship platform or the stage from where we are ministering with our music.

Let’s say we play guitar in a band, specifically on a worship team.  What do we need to be aware of?  I’d say everything. 

First, like Bruce Wayne or Batman, we need to mind our surroundings.  We need to know what’s going on in the space in which we’re playing, as we listen to the other musicians, the sound of the room, the response of the congregation, the vocalists, and their various musical decisions.

As a part of minding our surroundings, we need to know where we are in the music.  If we don’t know that, we can get lost.  I recall leading worship as a guest at a church, and as we rehearsed the set, the bass player started playing lots of notes that didn’t make sense.  I paused the song and gently asked him if he knew what was happening.

He humorously responded “Where did I go?”  We got back on track, and the rehearsal resumed.  But for a moment, that musician didn’t know where he was.  I needed to know the music well enough to be aware of this, so I could guide him back.

Second, like the Nertz card players, we need to know what’s in our hands, and also in the hands of our fellow “players.”  We need to know what the band is doing, so we can be more musical.  In other words, if the band is doing something dynamically contrasting, or there’s a specific groove, we need to be able to support that.  Knowing our music well also helps with this. 

We can help the other players, especially if we know what their role is, and where they are in the song, or even in their musical development.  We’re a team, and we can be there for each other. 

Part of being a good “player” is to know what pastoral leadership is doing.  Sometimes, pastors think like musicians.  Sometimes.  But this is not common. 

I’ve had pastors encourage me (in the moment) to “play a few bars of something while I pray.”  They don’t know what they want, but they ask for it.  We need to know how to accommodate their requests, and often with very little notice.

We might want to come back around and ask them to set us up for success with a little more planning…but some pastors just don’t work like that, so flexibility is essential. 

When we know what the pastor is doing, especially if it’s a departure from the plan, we can make adjustments, but we have to be “in the moment” and totally aware to be able to do this.

On the same subject of being a good player, we need to know what the techs are doing. 

Sometimes, despite the best of intentions and efforts, a song form won’t get communicated to the projectionist, and what is up on the screen for the congregation to sing is not what is on our music stand (or in our rehearsed set.)  If this is the case, no matter how we’ve planned to sing the song, what trumps this is what we are “technically” telling the congregation is happening.

Third, in terms of situational awareness, beyond the obvious need to know what to do should there be an emergency in the church (e.g. knowing the address, etc.), we also need to know if, on a much lesser level of seriousness, the service is going long.

What do we need to do at this point?  Does it fall to us to cut or abbreviate the final song?  In an upcoming episode down the road, I’ll unpack the value of communicating well with our teams, but I’ll give you just a taste.

I have been known to craft and rehearse two versions of a closing song – one unabridged, and the other abridged.  These versions have corresponding slide shows.  And I cue these visually, without a word.  If my hands are at their sides, my body language is communicating that I’m in no hurry – therefore, the unabridged version will be used.

If my hands are in “play” mode on the guitar – fretting hand on the neck, strumming hand at the strings – then I’m “raring to go” with the need to opt for the abridged version.  Everyone – musicians, technicians, and especially the projectionist way up in the booth, gets the signal, and the length of the service is preserved, or at least kept close to “on track.”

Fourth, in terms of social awareness, we need to know our part in the musical conversation.  The best thing we can develop is our ability to listen, because then we can contribute intelligently to what is being discussed. 

(I’m being metaphorical in my language – I’m talking about the notes we play.) 

If a piano player is playing a high riff with lots of 16^th notes, there’s no need for us to re-state that on the guitar.  We can play more sparsely in a lower register. 

We can also parallel the drum beat.  Whatever the song requires.  But we need to be “socially” aware so as to contribute well to the musical conversation.

Fifth, like a defensive driver, we need to be on the lookout for when fellow bandmates change tempo, or even accidentally play wrong notes.  Is it up to us to steer them back on course?  Maybe.  Or maybe we need to come alongside them. 

If a car in front of me stops unexpectedly, I need to change my course and stop as well, or we’ll collide.  So, if the drummer changes the tempo or does something unexpected, I, like a good driver, may need to imitate what he’s doing, for sake of preserving the flow of the song.

Sixth, and perhaps most important, I believe we need to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in our musical offerings. 

More times than I can count, I’ve been a part of a worship experience where someone was prompted to sing a song again, or add a verse or chorus, or add another song, or linger on a song.  Different church denominations approach this differently – some are more structured in their framework, others are more open to what might happen.

But any time I’ve been prompted by the Holy Spirit in a worship setting and responded to that prompting, I’ve been grateful for what the Lord has done.  And in performances, sometimes I’ve felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to sing a particular song at a concert that I wasn’t planning to sing.

I’ll ask a rhetorical question – can the Holy Spirit guide us as we plan the worship sets or the concert sets?  Absolutely.  The Lord is a God of planning as well, so even if the Holy Spirit isn’t prompting us in the moment on the platform, He may have already prompted us to put together the very song set we are playing.

Unlimited Potential

As we wrap up today, let me offer this closing thought.  As worshipers, musicians and guitarists, we have tremendous potential as we use our gifts. 

But if we aren’t aware, like each of these vignettes I’ve talked about today, we just might miss out on those opportunities to grow, to make an impact, or to be a blessing.

So how aware are you as a guitarist?  Have you learned some things today?  If you have, I’d love to know.  

And please also check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.

Lastly, as a friendly reminder, four weeks ago in Episode 53 of Guitar Serious Fun, I made a humble request.  And I’ll ask once again.  Would you give us some feedback on how we’re doing with this blog/podcast, and whether we should keep it going?

The survey should only take about 5 to 10 minutes and it can be found at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/SeriousFunSurvey. 

I know I asked three or four things of you today, but I’m in an asking mood.  Again, please comment, give us a high rating, check out GuitarSuccess4U, and take the Guitar Serious Fun survey.  Any or all of these could bless me, but ultimately, future guitar players who could be sharpened by what I’m offering here…and could also bless you as a guitarist.