GUITAR
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAYING JUST ENOUGH | Chris Rocha
One of the most satisfying compliments I get is when someone tells me that I play just enough , that I don ’ t play too much and clutter the song . Knowing exactly how much spice to put on a song is a sign of maturity for a musician . For some reason this is not as common as you would think . It sometimes takes a long time for someone to understand the fragile balance of playing / recording just the right amount of licks or lines to a song .
I believe every musician goes through phases . There ’ s the beginner phase where they are happy with just learning the notes and chords to a song and adapting the right effect to it . But then there ’ s the phase where a musician gets where they can execute more intricate solos and lines to songs . This is where things can get out of hand very fast . Most musicians once they get to this phase want people to know exactly how talented they are .
I remember attending this conference once at an amazing church . Things were put together so well , and you can tell that they went out of their way to be very effective on what they were doing . The church had about 20,000 members and they were so professional with presenting the conference . As soon as I walked in I ran into a friend that was a great guitar player , he attended this conference as well . Right when the band started going into their praise and worship set I started worshipping but for some reason it was a little difficult because I kept hearing this guitar that was all over the place . He was over playing and it was getting in the way with the whole worship experience . I immediately felt my phone buzz as I got a text . When I went to read it , I saw that it was from my guitar player friend and all it said was this , “ Busy much ” ( laughing ). Apparently , he came to the same conclusion as me , but didn ’ t want to hold that thought to himself .
Here are a couple of things that you can work on to help you find that fragile balance of how much to play .
EVALUATE AND UNDERSTAND THAT IT ’ S ABOUT THE SONG , NOT YOUR INSTRUMENT .
Sometimes us guitar players get in our own world and disconnect ourselves from what ’ s really important . For those of us that play Christian worship music we need to realize that what we do is very important . When we ’ re playing in a church service there are broken people that need to hear from God and need to connect with him . Your guitar playing is either helping that person do that or getting in the way of that . There are very important things happening while we worship , God is moving … and God is healing … so let ’ s do our best to assist him and play with excellence .
KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS AND STRENGTHS .
So many times I ’ ve heard guitarist try so hard to play something extravagant and flashy but bomb and wind up playing something that sounds awkward . I love those moments where I can improvise and solo . It ’ s fun , but also nerve wrecking . I right away start analyzing what I can play cleanly . Sometimes I ’ m warmed up and feel very confident in soloing so I can play licks that are a little harder but there are also times where I ’ m not as prepared and I play a little safer . Keep it melodic and keep it clean . That ’ s always gonna get you a great result .
Once you fine tune the balance of how much to play you will definitely get the attention from the right people . Producers , artists , band directors and colleagues will be your greatest supporters and offer you opportunities .
Now go play well !
Chris Rocha Lives in Houston , TX , and is the guitarist and producer for Miel San Marcos