For a long time now at Music Academy we've wanted to produce some DVDs specifically for
acoustic guitarists playing in a worship environment who want to take their skills up to the next
level. So with that in mind we put together a course of lessons that will be really beneficial
to acoustic guitarists so lots of things that they typically want to learn and also addressing
some of the issues that they typically face. So first off we look at the whole thing to
do is strumming patterns. Now many acoustic guitarists typically take two or three common
patterns that they try and shoehorn into just about every song so either their strumming
sounds just the same and it gets a bit boring or it doesn't really settle into the right
groove for the song. So we actually look at breaking down strumming patterns into their
eighth and sixteenth note quantities and show you how your strumming pattern should
interact with the groove with the rest of the band and teach you how to build that up
and where you can put in extra strums where you can pull back to get the right groove
at the right time with or without a band. You tend to find that the groove is defined
by what goes on on beat three. We then move into the whole area of strumming technique
so things about the way that you actually strum, how you hold the plectrum, how you
can vary your dynamics, how you can make things sound more intense or more intimate and more
beautiful. There's some ideas of the way that you can use your pick and your fingers to
achieve different sounds.
The next topic that seems really common amongst guitarists is using different chords or cheat
or substitute chords to make your playing sound more beautiful. So we put together a
whole bunch of cheat or substitute chord shapes that you can use over regular chords in the
typical open keys. So things like G, C, D, E and A that work really nicely together that
move smoothly from one chord to the next. We're just changing the odd finger and these
chords are things that you'll find really invaluable in lots of different settings.
We even show you some tricks in playing in typically hard keys like keys of B and open
without using a capo or a capo and without having to use bar chords. If you're actually
struggling with bar chords and you're actually shy away from an acoustic guitar playing we
show you some different techniques to use E and A shaped bar chords to always make sure
you get the right chord at the right time on the neck without too much pain. Very importantly
we actually show you how to put together all those cheat chords in different keys and use
those to transpose using the Nashville numbering system and give you plenty of opportunities
to practice that.
fret number three, D shapes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There's also a whole range of licks and
tricks and interesting little movements and riffs to make your playing sound more interesting
that has been taken from some of the great acoustic guitar players we know. We also wanted
to give you plenty of opportunity to develop your finger picking technique. So again there's
loads of ideas, different picking techniques, different picking patterns both in 8th note
rhythms and 16th note rhythms that will really help you expand your vocabulary of playing.
We also wanted to pack in as much as possible so we even got lots of little hints and tips
for acoustic guitarists including how to play on a high strung guitar, using a baritone
instrument and even an acoustic guitarist bias guide.
So one of the first things to consider is actually the size of the guitar. As per the
usual Music Academy format we've also got lots of comments and hints and tips from well
known worship leaders and musicians about the role of an acoustic guitarist and your
instrument in the context of playing within a worship team.
And lastly we wanted to issue you a bit of a challenge but at the same time give you
a really useful lesson that you can use in lots of contexts. So we take something called
Traverse Picking whereby we show you how to alternate your thumb on the different bass
notes to create some really interesting picking patterns that can be used for different styles
but also can be used for playing hymns on the guitar and make the whole finger picking
experience sound really full and really vibrant.
So if you're an existing acoustic guitar player with some good knowledge, some basic chords
and some strumming patterns and can competently work your way through some songs we think
these DVDs will really help take your experience and your technique and your way you can worship
and express yourself on your acoustic guitar up to the next level.
