GUITAR
TUNE UP BEFORE YOU LEAD | Mitch Bohannon
The importance of being in tune should go without saying , but how many times have you been listening in a live music setting and had that cringing feeling , knowing that something is out of tune ? When we play stringed instruments , tuning issues can destroy the most prepared moments . We can ’ t really be guitar players if our instruments are not properly tuned .
Poorly made instruments and malfunctioning parts can be the culprit for out-of-tune guitars , but sometimes it is a lack of attention to detail or being flat-out lazy . The first and most obvious solution would be to regularly tune your guitar ! What ’ s your tuner preference ? I ’ ve used pedal tuners , clip-on tuners , and tuner apps . How many tuner apps have you downloaded and deleted ? I ’ ve downloaded my share … I remember one in particular had a great look to it , however , as I was tuning , it would light up telling me I was “ Close Enough ”. I was still laughing as I deleted it ! Afterward , I felt sad thinking that a developer actually settled for mediocre guitar tuning . We don ’ t play for a church ; we play for a King ! Do we really want to present less than the best ?
Good practices : Make sure all tuners used are on the same setting . Most default to 440hz . If one is off , it will cause problems . It ’ s also good practice to either have an onboard tuner or a pedal tuner that is ready mid-performance to make corrections . Side note - please make sure you don ’ t allow the audience to HEAR you tune … MUTE your signal .
I think we all could take a lesson from our guitars and make sure we are in tune , as worship musicians ought to be . Not only do we need to tune our guitars , we need to tune our ears to hear the other instruments and voices on the platform . With tuned-in ears , we ’ ll ensure we are not overplaying . Our instrument ought to serve the song and support the vocals , not get in the way .
We need to make sure our hearts are in tune to God ’ s leading . When our hearts are turned inward , we play selfishly and become a distraction to what God wants to accomplish in worship . Also , we lose out on what God wants to accomplish in and through us !
Our eyes need to be tuned-in so we see the people that we are leading and leading with as God sees them . I read plenty of threads in Facebook discussions that reveal how many of us have our eyes tuned to see the negative , the irritated , and the unengaged when we are standing on the platform .
Finally , our minds need to be in tune to what we ’ re doing and Who we ’ re doing it for . Play with excellence ; memorize your parts ! God gave us the gift of music and the opportunity to play and sing , yet sadly , we often give in return excuses for why we don ’ t rehearse or even listen to the song set posted in Planning Center . We can ’ t have our dial set to “ close enough !” Our minds need to be in tune with the Lord , His word , and the truth within the songs we are leading .
To the worship musician , tuning is imperative . Being completely in tune will help us produce better music ; better by Sunday . Let us give attention to being in tune this week as we prepare to lead the church .
Mitch Bohannon Mitch Bohannon and his wife , Noelle have been married for over 27 years with three adult kids . Mitch developed the Short-Cut capo for Kyser and is a teacher / coach in Louisiana