Counting down now to the first session on Saturday 10 Oct.
We're nearly done putting the notes together and we will be meeting with our tutors this Friday for a briefing.
I hope you are as excited as we are!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Done Deal
After 2 hours of trying out guitars and gruelling negotiations, our students scored a great deal on a package consisting of a guitar, chromatic tuner, capo, gig bag and guitar stand. Great job, Darren.
One of our students also walked out of Just Music with well-discounted set of Roland electronic drums.
Peter rounded off the session by asking the owner of Just Music to come to church! That's gutsy and inspiring stuff!
After an exhausting afternoon, there was no better way to finish off the day than with a refreshing pint or two of Fat Yak at Steve's. Awesome stuff!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Meet Our Instructor
Our instructor for this course is Darren Woon.
In July of this year, you may have heard me preach a message on the "Transforming Grace of Worship" where I told the story of a dweeby teenager (sorry Darren) who encountered God in worship and was transformed.
I'm a great admirer of Darren; for some years, I had the honour of sharing the platform with him on the worship team. We both share a passion for worship and music; moreso he than me because he actually has great musical skill! It is one thing to be excellent at your craft, but it is another to use it in passionate pursuit of God's glory. So, God is his greatest fan; and I rank not too far behind.
I remember the times when Darren used to write worship songs and we would hang in his makeshift studio recording them. He would put in the click tracks, guitar and bass parts, and I would lend the vocals. Ah, those were the days.
When I was asked to put on a class to train guitarists, I knew of no better person than Darren. I believe that he is an anointed and patient teacher, and above all, he will inspire you to greater heights in your craft.
So soak it in guys! We are in for a fantastic ride!
Lester
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Choosing an Acoustic Guitar
For those of you that need to purchase a guitar, here are a few things to consider.
Basically, it all comes down to how much you want to spend and you need to think about this before you come shopping on Saturday. If you are serious about learning the instrument, I highly recommend investing in a good guitar.
TYPE OF GUITAR: Steel String or Classical? We'll be focusing on the Acoustic (steel string) guitar during this course. This is what is commonly used within the church for praise and worship.
TOP: Cheaper guitars come with a laminate top (or sound board). This involves gluing several layers of thin wood together. Guitars of higher quality use a "solid top" which means that the sound board is constructed from a solid piece of wood. Solid top guitars offer superior sound quality and the notes ring out louder and sustain longer. I highly recommend a solid top.
PICKUP: A guitar with a pickup allows you to connect your guitar to an amplifier or PA system. This will not be required for playing in cell group, but you'll need it if you want to play in the main service worship team.
CUTAWAY: A guitar with a cutaway allows access to the higher frets. It looks like part of the body has been "cut away". I personally don't feel it is necessary for an acoustic guitar, but many people prefer it for the novelty and looks.
WOOD: The type of wood the guitar is made from plays a big part in how it sounds (and looks). A Spruce top is arguably the most popular and gives a bright and snappy sound and responds well to strumming. A cedar top gives a warmer and more mellow sound, and is more suited for light finger-style. I would recommend Spruce.
ACTION: The "action" is the distance the strings are from the frets. The closer this distance is, the easier it is to play the guitar. This can be adjusted to a certain degree but the construction/design of the guitar determines how well it can be adjusted.
BODY SHAPE: There are several body shapes available. I will discuss this in more detail on Saturday.
Don't worry if any of these points confuse you. I'll be there on saturday to help you out! Just remember to come with an idea of how much you want to spend.
Cheers,
Darren
Basically, it all comes down to how much you want to spend and you need to think about this before you come shopping on Saturday. If you are serious about learning the instrument, I highly recommend investing in a good guitar.
TYPE OF GUITAR: Steel String or Classical? We'll be focusing on the Acoustic (steel string) guitar during this course. This is what is commonly used within the church for praise and worship.
TOP: Cheaper guitars come with a laminate top (or sound board). This involves gluing several layers of thin wood together. Guitars of higher quality use a "solid top" which means that the sound board is constructed from a solid piece of wood. Solid top guitars offer superior sound quality and the notes ring out louder and sustain longer. I highly recommend a solid top.
PICKUP: A guitar with a pickup allows you to connect your guitar to an amplifier or PA system. This will not be required for playing in cell group, but you'll need it if you want to play in the main service worship team.
CUTAWAY: A guitar with a cutaway allows access to the higher frets. It looks like part of the body has been "cut away". I personally don't feel it is necessary for an acoustic guitar, but many people prefer it for the novelty and looks.
WOOD: The type of wood the guitar is made from plays a big part in how it sounds (and looks). A Spruce top is arguably the most popular and gives a bright and snappy sound and responds well to strumming. A cedar top gives a warmer and more mellow sound, and is more suited for light finger-style. I would recommend Spruce.
ACTION: The "action" is the distance the strings are from the frets. The closer this distance is, the easier it is to play the guitar. This can be adjusted to a certain degree but the construction/design of the guitar determines how well it can be adjusted.
BODY SHAPE: There are several body shapes available. I will discuss this in more detail on Saturday.
Don't worry if any of these points confuse you. I'll be there on saturday to help you out! Just remember to come with an idea of how much you want to spend.
Cheers,
Darren
We Are Going Shopping
As promised, we are going shopping this coming Saturday 19 September 2009 at Just Music. Please meet at the Just Music carpark, 552 Stirling Highway, Cottesloe at 2 pm.
If we have enough people, we might be able to get some discounts on bulk purchases.
If you would like to attend, please email us to confirm that you are coming at fgaguitarfundamentals@gmail.com. See you on Saturday!
If we have enough people, we might be able to get some discounts on bulk purchases.
If you would like to attend, please email us to confirm that you are coming at fgaguitarfundamentals@gmail.com. See you on Saturday!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Welcome to Guitar Fundamentals
Welcome to the Guitar Fundamentals blog. Our team of instructors and tutors are very excited that so many people have signed up to be part of this course.
This is the first time in the history of Living Stones Ministry that we have taught a course like this one, both in scope, content and delivery method. So we hope that you will enjoy the journey with us.
The purpose of this course is to equip students with the basics of playing the guitar. It is hoped that at the end of this course, and with a lot of practise, students will be able to play almost any song.
The larger objective is to raise up guitarists at the cell group level. In that regard, the context of the teaching will be Christian worship songs. We will be teaching you to play current worship songs and giving you chords for a whole of other worship songs which will hopefully help more advanced students progress further in their learning.
Finally, we hope to inspire gifts and talents in you which may have remained latent until now. We trust that not only will you find pleasure in playing the guitar, but it will be a powerful tool in your hands for personal worship and to bring others into the presence of God.
Counting down to the first session....
Lester
This is the first time in the history of Living Stones Ministry that we have taught a course like this one, both in scope, content and delivery method. So we hope that you will enjoy the journey with us.
The purpose of this course is to equip students with the basics of playing the guitar. It is hoped that at the end of this course, and with a lot of practise, students will be able to play almost any song.
The larger objective is to raise up guitarists at the cell group level. In that regard, the context of the teaching will be Christian worship songs. We will be teaching you to play current worship songs and giving you chords for a whole of other worship songs which will hopefully help more advanced students progress further in their learning.
Finally, we hope to inspire gifts and talents in you which may have remained latent until now. We trust that not only will you find pleasure in playing the guitar, but it will be a powerful tool in your hands for personal worship and to bring others into the presence of God.
Counting down to the first session....
Lester
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