GUITAR
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH PLAYING ? | Chris Rocha and Jonathan Diaz
As we go through different phases as guitar players , we realize that there are so many more options than just “ the part ”. I ’ ve found myself in situations where I get excited during a song , and I find the space to insert a superfast impressive guitar lick and have gone for it instead of just playing what ’ s supposed to be played there . Most of time I ’ ve immediately regretted it . I believe that finding the balance of what ’ s best for the song and what ’ s most entertaining for the guitar player comes along further into your journey . Some of us mature and get there faster than others . In this article Jonathan Diaz and I talk about this journey we all have to embark on .
I ’ m sure as guitarists serving at church , we often get told to play exactly what our parts demand , but I ’ m also sure that as guitarists we often want to do a little more ( or a lot more ). What is the right balance of properly playing the part and getting a little more creative than what we can play ? Let ’ s start off by defining what is “ too much ”.
THE FIRST PARAMETER OF EVALUATION SHOULD BE — HOW MUCH IS NECESSARY ? This answer varies depending on how many people we have active during our worship set , what kind of music we are playing during the set , and how much the worship leader ( or whoever is in charge ) lets you play different parts .
For example , if we have the standard Drum , Bass , Keys , Guitar , and tracks , and we have about 25-30 minutes of worship , then we typically don ’ t have too much freedom of expression . If we have a longer setlist and not every song has a track with the same kind of band ( drums , bass , keys , and one guitar ) then we have the freedom and at times the obligation to play a little more to fill up the space . Everyone has a different situation and need at their church so the best thing we can do is evaluate our situation and be wise with our playing . Never be afraid to ask whoever is in charge the simple question , “ How much is too much ?”. Communication is always key . Now that we ’ ve evaluated and established our parameters to work with , we can not only play the part but compliment the songs properly .
THE SECOND POINT IS TO LEARN THE SONG INSIDE AND OUT . The best way to make the wisest conscious decisions on when to play more and when to stay in your lane is to know the songs so well that you don ’ t have to think about what comes next . The way we navigate through a song should be the same way we don ’ t think about our route home after work , it should be a habit .
Once we know the changes , the melody , the important hits and even memorize the other musician ’ s parts than we can be more aware of the space we have and the space we don ’ t have . One thing I like to do to help me stay more aware is singing alone with the song . I don ’ t have to memorize the lyrics , but as long as I can hum along to the melody , I can make better decisions on what and when I can play out a little more . Since music is made of melody , harmony and rhythm , the guitar can take any of these roles . Because of this , at times we can have a tendency to overlap and since guitar likes to be very melodic at times ( especially in modern worship ), we also have a tendency to clash with the main melody . When I sing along with a song , I become more aware and in tune with the music being played and make better and wiser choices that can end up complementing a song rather than competing with the band .
LASTLY , WE CAN PLAY TO THE DYNAMICS . Now that we have established the proper parameters and have become more aware of the song and not competing with anyone else in the band , we have to now add the dynamic value . Music in its purist form is multidimensional . There is a width , a length , a depth , a high , a low , and so on . A great way to help the songs dynamics is to play inversions . The CAGED system has been a recent topic of conversation over the last few weeks on our online guitar course (
www . ChrisRochaGuitar . com ), and many of our students learned how to navigate the fretboard without feeling intimidated . One thing we spoke about is how using different inversions of the same chord can lead to a feeling of uplifting and raise dynamics and the songs intensity . Playing the same chords on higher parts of the neck as the song intensifies helps to add an uplifting feeling and helps drive the song and adds momentum . Using the CAGED system is an excellent way to practice and find where on the neck to play .
Using this advice and these methods we will not only control our overplaying but compliment a song instead of competing with the band for first place .
Chris Rocha Chris Rocha is an American Christian producer , guitarist , business owner and pioneer in the Spanish Christian music industry . He is a two time Dove Award winner , has worked on two Grammy award winning records and has produced or recorded guitars on 5 Grammy nominated albums .
Jonathan Diaz Jonathan is a guitarist who is not only involved with his local church , but is also the director of School of Rock Cocowalk and instructor of CR Online !