Guitar Serious Fun

David Harsh
  • 5.0 (4)
  • MUSIC

Playing the guitar is a wonderful way to express how the Lord is moving in our lives. Whether we play for worship, songwriting, or just the enjoyment of music, there is much to talk about when it comes to enriching and enhancing our guitar journeys. Whether philosophical or practical, this is a place where we'll discuss ideas, stories and insights that can equip and inspire you. Welcome to Guitar Serious Fun. guitarseriousfun.substack.com

  1. 10/09/2024

    Demystifying Sus Chords (And Why They Sound So Good)

    Enjoy the chart below, with transcript… Have you ever seen the abbreviation “Sus” in a chart and thought, “What does that actually mean?”  Today we’re going to talk about…suspensions with music on the guitar. I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. This way, you’ll see and hear everything demonstrated. You can find the video right here: If you’ve ever seen a suspenseful movie, or if you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of having an account suspended, or your driver’s license suspended, you have experienced suspense.But what do all of these scenarios have in common? They are all temporary. A suspenseful movie can’t be suspenseful the entire time – it just wouldn’t work. A suspended account is usually restored to good standing when the balance is paid, and a suspended driver’s license can eventually be reinstated. So, I’m not talking about something being permanently taken away – I’m talking about something being temporarily suspended, and eventually – wait for it – resolved. So, let’s take a moment to discuss what suspensions can look and sound like on the guitar, and why they’re important. So, when we see the term “sus” in a chart, that’s short for a SUSpended chord.  First of all, the most common chord we’ll find suspensions for is going to be on the Dominant, the V chord in a Major key. And second of all, the most common type of suspension or “sus” chord we’re going to experience is the “sus4.” We could go in all sorts of additional directions, but for now, let’s keep things pretty simple. So, let’s say we’re in the key of G Major, a very guitar-friendly key. The Dominant or V chord in G is D.  But today, we’re not just going to play it as a D Major chord, we’re going to play it as a Dsus4 chord. Now, my background in music began with a classical degree, which included several years of collegiate music theory, so I’m going to offer you an additional level of musicality here. It involves a three-word process.  That process is: “Preparation,” “Suspension,” and “Resolution.”Because, if we think about it, it’s nice to be able to prepare ourselves for suspense, so we can anticipate it just a bit. The plot thickens in a movie. We get a warning notice that our account is about to be suspended. The cop car behind us fires up the lights on his roof to let us know we’re about to be pulled over, which could lead to a suspended license.So “Preparation” is the first step. The second step is the actual “Suspension.”  This is where things are in a temporary state of suspense that is typically not restful. The suspenseful scene happens in the movie, putting us on the edge of our seats. Our account is suspended, so we can’t have access to it. Our license is suspended so it’s temporarily taken away. So, with this suspension, there’s a bit of tension. There’s tension, but in this musical scenario, this is a good sort of tension. But as I mentioned, we aren’t going to stay in suspense indefinitely. Eventually, we get to the third step, “Resolution,” where the Suspension ends.  The suspense in the movie plot winds down, if only temporarily, as it comes to a resting point in the story. The account is restored. The license is reinstated. So, again, think through those three words as we continue - “Preparation,” “Suspension,” and “Resolution.”So here we are in the key of G Major. The I chord in G Major is…G Major, right? The IV chord is C Major, and the V chord is D Major.  Now, to bring this right to your fingers in an easy manner, I’ll actually use some “color” chords, so the chords will actually be easier to play, and they also won’t be pure Major chords, but they’ll still totally work for this exercise. The most important note in this suspension exercise is the high G note on the 3rd fret of the 1st string.  I want you to watch this note carefully, because it’s going to remain for three chords, but it will have a different identity in each. I’ll analyze the first chord as a G5 chord with no 3rd.  So, in the G chord, this high G is the root, right? But then, when we move to a C2 chord for the IV chord, we still keep that G up on the 3rd fret of the 1st string, and now it’s the 5th of that chord. It’s at this stage that we start to feel the “Preparation.” In other words, we’re ramping up to the Suspension. Next up is the V chord, D, but we’re going to keep the high G note on that 3rd string, thereby rendering this chord a Dsus4. Why is it a Dsus4? Because the high G is now the 4th degree of the D chord. Now, typically a D Major Chord won’t have a G in it, but rather an F#, right? But here, with this chord, the Vsus4 is providing the Suspension we’re after. Right now, it’s not a Major chord. So now we’ve been put in suspense. It’s not a restful chord. It’s a chord where we’re temporarily “on edge” just a bit. But what follows a Suspension, ideally? You know it – Resolution. All we need to do is take that high G note that we’ve had with us all along, and let it resolve down to the F#, thereby establishing the D Major chord, on its way back to…the G chord. See how the Vsus4 chord moves to a Major V chord, and finally back to the I chord?It’s actually quite pleasing to the ear. (Catch the video for the demonstration of this.) Is there more? Always. Can we create a Sus2 chord? Yep. Can we create suspensions with 7 chords? Yeah buddy.  Can we play suspensions as bar chords? Of course. Can we play a suspension without preparing or resolving it? We’re technically not playing them functionally as suspensions, but…sure. Can suspensions resolve to minor chords? Yes, but that tends to sound a little more “Foreign” in some cases (catch the video for my music reference.)As you can see, we can go much further. But it all starts here with this simple process of KNOWING what a suspension is, and then experimenting with the intentional approach of Preparing, Suspending and Resolving. Want to go deeper and transform your guitar journey? Check out what we offer at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time. Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    10 min

  2. 09/04/2024

    Do Guitar Chord Fingerings Matter?

    Enjoy charts and tables below, with transcript… If you play an A Major chord like most people, you’re missing out. I’ll show you why, and what to do about it. I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available so you can watch me demonstrate these concepts. You can find the video right here: Chords exist in context. Am I right? We typically won’t play a song that consists of a single chord, because that would be…boring. So, if we want to play chords well in context, this begs the question – do guitar chord fingerings really matter? Let’s find out. I’m going to list three Major keys that are pretty common with guitar players: the keys of A, E and D Major. Which chord do all of these keys have in common? The A Major chord. In the key of A, the A chord is the Tonic, the I chord. In the key of E, the A chord is the Subdominant, the Major IV chord. And in the key of D, the A chord is the Dominant, the Major V chord. It’s a pretty widely-used chord. And yet… a lot of guitar players are really making more work for themselves with the fingering they use.  Now, when we fret a note, it’s best to press down as close to the fret as we can, for a clean articulation. Unfortunately, some of the guitar educational materials I’ve come across teach the A chord with fingers 1, 2, and 3 in a row. Even if we slightly adjust to fingers 2, 3, and 4, the situation is not improved by much, because there’s not quite enough room for our adjacent fingers to be well-situated on the second fret in these configurations. So, what do we do?  For almost 30 years, I have taken the approach I’m about to show you, and it is truly a game-changer. And it’s actually really simple. Check it out. I use fingers 2, 1 and then 3. A better way to get situated is to place 2 and 3 on the 2nd fret, like you’re voicing an open A7 chord and then drop in the 1st finger, wedging it right between those other two fingers. Again, not all three notes will be right up next to the fret, but this is still a vast improvement to what we had before. Remember, even if a finger is not right next to the fret, it can still sound clean; it just needs to press harder, the further it is away from the fret.  So now that you’ve been exposed to this new fingering for the open A Major chord, what can I do to validate its usefulness? That’s right – I’m going to place it in context. Remember how we talked about the keys of A, E and D? Let’s say I wanted to move from A to E and back, whether that’s in the key of A or the key of E. Both scenarios apply here. Watch what happens if I use the “old” way of fretting the A chord.  If I start with the less optimal fingering, I have to lift all three fingers to move to the E chord.  Then when I go back, I again have to lift all three fingers. Doable, but not ideal. (The accompanying video demonstrates this clearly.) What if I tried our new and improved fingering? The first finger stays on the 3rd string and provides an anchor point because although it slides down a single fret, it doesn’t have to be lifted from the string. Way better. (Watch the video for the economy of movement.) Ok, how about the transition from A to D and back? Even though I do have something of an anchor note on the 2nd string with my 3rd finger, the other two fingers have to re-locate entirely both ways.It works, but is there a better way? Yep. Our new way. Try it, and then watch with delight as only one finger needs to lift up to relocate as the other two fingers provide anchor points both directions. So, not only is it a cleaner articulation to play A Major this way, we have a much cleaner transition to and from a couple very closely-related chords.  So yes, I believe guitar chord fingerings do matter. This may be significant to you, or it may not. But if we’re going to play this chord a few thousand times in our lifetime, wouldn’t it be better to play it more effectively? And wouldn’t it be nice to gain even more visual independence from this chord in context? Hopefully this gave you a window into my approach to teaching the guitar, and how I like to zoom in for more precision and artistry, which enhances our musicianship and just helps us PLAY better. Side note: here at GuitarSerious Fun, I published an article/video called “Do Guitar Chord Voicings Matter?” I encourage you to check that out as well. You can find us on social media with GuitarSuccess4U on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. But if you want the real experience, join GuitarSuccess4U. We have a 30-day money-back guarantee. See you there! Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    7 min

  3. 08/07/2024

    When You Fail Onstage

    Have you ever made a mistake onstage while playing your guitar? What’s the best thing to do in the moment, and afterwards?  I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. It takes our discussion to the next level. You can find the video right here: It’s happened to all of us. We’re playing our guitar in a worship or performance setting, and somehow, we play something differently from how we’ve rehearsed it. And by differently, I mean wrong. It’s clearly not what we planned to play. So, what do we do? I’ll offer several options for what we can do, and then I’ll let you decide which option is the best course of action. I can’t promise not to “lead the witness,” but I think it’s important to see what the options are. These are six options I can choose when I make a mistake. #1. Visibly express my disappointment. Body language is the most powerful form of communication. So, if I make a mistake and then I…shake my head, frown, smile awkwardly, roll my eyes, or simply look surprised, I’ve just nonverbally communicated to the people I’m serving that I’ve made a mistake. #2. Ignore the mistake and never speak of it. This is the extreme opposite. If I know I’ve made a mistake but I not only ignore it, I actually never take time to think through what happened, this doesn’t allow me to benefit from the experience.  And if I try to convince myself that I haven’t actually made a mistake, I just might be avoiding reality. #3. Visibly show no response, but internally combust. Some of us wear our emotions on our sleeves, but others keep them all inside. If I’m visibly displaying that I’m doing fine, but inwardly, I’m having a conniption because of a mistake I just made, it just might not be the healthiest choice for my emotional or mental state. #4. Keep thinking about the mistake even while playing the song. Once a mistake has happened, there can be a temptation to look back at the spot in the chart, or think back to the spot in the song, even as we’re trying to complete the song. But to use an analogy, if I drive over a bump in the road and I look back at that bump while I keep driving forward, I may encounter even bigger “bumps” ahead, if you know what I mean. #5. Move on, but beat myself up for weeks or months afterwards. If I make a mistake, but finish the service or the concert on a strong note, that can be good. But what if I focus on my mistake, hold it over my head, maybe even apologizing profusely when I talk to my collaborators, the congregation, or members of the audience afterwards? What if, for weeks or months at a time, I belabor the mistake and keep reminding myself of what happened, speaking self-critically the whole time? Profitable? I don’t think so. Lastly… #6. Recover gracefully…but evaluate objectively later. This last option, if you haven’t already decided for yourself, is my preferred approach, because it’s only by learning from our mistakes that we can truly grow. Some would say that mistakes are easier to learn from than successes. If we know something worked, but we don’t know exactly why, it can be more difficult to learn from the experience. However, if we make a mistake, we can examine it from a few different angles objectively, and decide how to better prepare for a similar experience in the future. This will help us avoid making (or at least reduce the possibility of making) the same mistake.  Having an intentional time set aside, sometimes with fellow team members on what might be called “Honest Monday,” can be a good opportunity. The key is not to be too hard on ourselves. If we skirt the edge of 100% negative self-talk, it can be pretty damaging. It can even make it hard for us to keep the joy of music alive. If we can separate ourselves from our musical offerings and be objective enough to say “That was a mistake, and here’s how I plan to avoid it in the future,” this simple approach can be tremendously effective. The more specific we can be about our recovery strategy, the better.  If it’s a chord transition, we can work those chords. If it’s a tuning issue, we can practice tuning every time we get ready to play (and this is a great habit for any guitarist.)  If it’s a tempo issue, we can practice with a steady drummer or percussionist who keeps us honest, or at least practice with a metronome. And the next level is to play the song (with the challenge spot) for an “audience.”  By the way, have you heard my definition of an audience?  Here it is.  An audience is: one or more people who are listening, giving their undivided (or even divided) attention, thereby compelling us to finish the song we’re playing.This puts us under a healthy amount of pressure, much more so than practicing on our own. If you’re having a hard time convincing someone to listen to you play, become your own audience. Put your smartphone on a tripod, spin it to “selfie” video mode, and hit “record.” The pressure will go up, and the added blessing is that you can go back and watch yourself play. Hopefully, these insights have given you some tangible strategies, as well as some behaviors to avoid, the next time you make a mistake with your guitar onstage.  Mistakes are inevitable. But every mistake can be an opportunity to learn and to grow. My hope is that you’ll take those opportunities. Keep showing up, and I’ll see you next time. Interested in going deeper? Please check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    7 min

  4. 07/03/2024

    3 Essential Transposition Tips

    Do you know how to transpose chord progressions on the guitar? If you don’t, please spend a few minutes with me. If you think you’ve got it figured out, you still might learn something new here. I encourage you to catch the video version of this article while it’s available. It goes much deeper than I can with my typed words, and you’ll be able to hear the chord progressions too. You can find the video right here: Here are three tips to make transposition smooth and effective. 1.       We need to know all the diatonic chords in our starting key.  Do you know all seven chords in C Major? Wait for it… 2.       We need to assign numbers to the chords. Now, my background began in classical music, so I trained with Roman numerals.  But just as effective is the Nashville Number System. As you’ll see from my chart below with chords in C and A Major, there are specific cases and indicators for degrees that the Roman numerals and Nashville Numbers can guide you along with. With Roman numerals, capital numbers are Major, and lower-case numbers are minor. With Nashville Numbers, we just use Arabic numerals, and we indicate the qualities of the chords with just a number to imply a Major chord, and a number followed by a lower case “m” to indicate a minor chord. Using numerals or numbers, we need to be able to identify each chord as a number, but then also to identify each number as a chord.  So, for example, in the key of C Major, what is the number for C? What about the number for F? Check the chart above to confirm your answer. Let’s go the other way. In the key of C Major, what is the name of the minor vi chord? How about the minor ii chord? Again, you can check your work. So, if I wanted to play the progression I V vi IV (or 1 5 6m 4) in C, what would the chords be? C G Am F. It’s a very popular progression.  Let’s do the reverse process. If I played the progression C Em F G, what would the chordal analysis be in terms of numbers? I iii IV V (or 1 3m 4 5). Another very useful progression. Lastly, 3.       We need to know the chords and numbers in our destination key. If we have a destination key we want to transpose to, it would be helpful for us to know those diatonic chords, and to be able to familiarize ourselves with them in the same fashion as numbers. For our purposes today, I’ve chosen the key of A Major (also reflected in the chart I’ve provided). Now let’s put this knowledge to practical use. Let’s go back to our first progression of chords in C with C G Am F and let’s transpose that progression to the key of A. If we know the corresponding numbers and chords in the key of A, we know that the chords for that progression would be…A E F#m D.  Transposition accomplished! Now let’s create a new progression in A with I IV ii V (or 1 4 2m 5). Those chords are A D Bm E. Based on how well we know the chords in C, we use numbers and transposition to crank out C F Dm G. Transposition accomplished again!  The accompanying video will add much more dimension and understanding to what you’re reading here. Now there are a couple subtle ways to check our work. If we know the distance from A to C, which is up a minor 3rd, we can take each chord in the key of A, and move “vertically” to its corresponding chord in the key of C. (The video has more.) Another method is to think “horizontally” from the tonic to the other chords within each key. The tonic is the home I chord, so this would be the A Major chord in the key of A, or the C Major chord in the key of C. (The video again has more.) As you can see, this process is going to help us a lot. It’s just a matter of some simple memory work and repetition. Want to go deeper? Please watch the video for a more advanced progression with some borrowed chords. Are you ready for some application to validate these tools? Let me ask some questions, all of which end in a positive answer.  Can we transpose from the key of A back to the key of C? Of course! Can we take a progression in a less guitar-friendly key that either requires lots of bar chords or a capo, and transpose it to a guitar-friendly key with fewer bar chords and more open chords? Yeah buddy!  Can we transpose from one minor key to another minor key? Yep! Can we transpose from the Dorian mode with one key center to a Dorian mode with another key center? You betcha! As you can see, there are all kinds of possibilities when we know how to transpose.  If you have a worship song and you want to transpose it, you can use this method. You can write out the transposition with numbers, or verbally call it out on the fly as you play with your band. There are digital tools that can do this for you, but if you want to grow in your ability to transpose, I encourage you to try some of this mentally and manually. I’ve transposed more charts than I can count. And if you can analyze and learn a song by number, and you’ve got a good grasp of several keys, you can quickly transpose that song into any of those keys. Transposition facilitates easier fingerings, preferred chord voicings, better vocal ranges, and more. See the relevance? Want to go deeper? Check out www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Really serious about next steps? Check out our new free web masterclass at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/formula.Thanks for checking out today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun! Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    11 min

  5. 06/05/2024

    10 Strategies for Memorizing Your Songs

    Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to here. You can also watch the video version embedded below (psst - did you know that GuitarSuccess4U has a YouTube Channel? Please subscribe! 😊) This video will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here. Abbreviated transcript included below… Looking for an intentional process to help you memorize your songs on guitar? You just found it. Having led worship for almost 3 decades, many of my recent years have been spent leading from memory. This has really helped me have a better connection with the band, the techs and the congregation. And as a touring performer all over North America for about the same amount of time, all my performance songs have been memorized. But how do we get to the point where we can confidently play and sing a song from memory? Let’s take a few minutes to unpack 10 helpful strategies. 1. Stare at the chart. Assuming you have a visual representation of the chart for your song, print it up or have it ready on a tablet. Look closely. What do you notice?  Whether you’re looking at a lead sheet or a chord chart, there are little clues waiting to be discovered. Maybe there are specific rhyme schemes. Maybe each verse starts with a slightly different lyric. Maybe the chord progression is more involved for the verses, but gets simpler for the choruses. Maybe the harmonic rhythm is different between the verse and the chorus.  2. Mark up the chart. Using a pencil to make the chart our own makes a huge difference, because we can make notes that will remind us of tricky spots the next time we open up the chart. An extra measure of care is to use different colored highlighters to mark up verses, especially if you have a lead sheet that includes repeats, different endings, and sometimes the incidental D.S. al Coda markings.  If you’re working with a tablet, you can use an app and a stylus to make notes, and you can color-code them as well.  But make the chart your own. 3. Get your prep materials all in a row. If you’re the worship leader, a great way to serve your team is to supply them with the chart that speaks their language (lead sheet, chord chart, or even a Nashville number chart).  But then, a great way to help their ear along is to purchase the audio mp3, rip it into some recording software and then transpose it to the actual key you’ll be singing in, to make it match the printed charts as closely as possible.  The reality is that some members of your band will reference the recording as the main guide for their preparation, so be thorough in this regard. Again, if you’re preparing lead sheets, chord charts, and mp3s, it’s important that they are all congruent with each other.  Side note: there’s a specific CCLI license that’s available to churches who want to distribute audio recordings amongst worship team members in whatever form – CD, or mp3s uploaded to Planning Center, etc. It’s called the CCLI Church Rehearsal License.  Click here to be directed to a page that tells you more. https://us.ccli.com/what-we-provide/rehearsal-license Now comes the intentional process that gives us momentum towards memorization. 4. Type up the lyrics. Although we might be able to find lyrics on the web that we could copy and paste, that’s not going to serve us as well as typing them up. Will it take longer? Yes. But will it reinforce the lyrics in our minds? Also, yes.  5. Save and print the lyric sheets. I print up the lyrics to songs with one song per side of a piece of paper. And then I keep them handy, folded up in my pocket, when I’m out and about. I can also keep them on my phone as screen shots or PDFs in a folder.  6. Listen actively to the recording. The more focused and undivided our attention for this, the better. Listen closely, with and without the chart nearby. Really consider the chord progression. Can you analyze it numerically? Do you know the progressions in Nashville numbers so that you could play part or all of the song in any guitar-friendly key? 7. Play along with the recording. With your guitar in hand, play along to the best of your ability as you feel the cadences, holds, chokes, and dynamics.  Let the guitarist on the recording guide you as you play. 8. Make a recording of yourself playing the song. There’s something about playing a song and knowing that the “red recording light” is on. This adds a healthy amount of pressure, but wait for it…you can now go back and listen to, or even watch yourself playing the song (if you’ve captured it on video) and get a clear picture of your accuracy, tempos, words, pitch, and you can also see what you look like as you play. 9. Test it out in front of a safe audience. Try playing the song for a loved one at home. This raises the pressure from just being in your practice space, to where someone else is actively listening on some level. They can give you their undivided attention, or listen while they’re cooking dinner, etc.  Lastly… 10. Bring the song to rehearsal - memorized.  Come to worship or band rehearsal ready to play it from memory (but have it nearby on a music stand, just in case.) See how much you can work without the chart.  Remember, “memorized” means acknowledging every measure and being consistent. Your band will be following their charts, so make sure you’re right on track with the charts you’ve given them. If you’ve never done something like this before, start with just one song and see how it goes. And give yourself enough ramp-up time to truly memorize it. But watch how much more freedom you’ll have as you interact with your team, the congregation, and ultimately the Lord. I hope today’s discussion was helpful. It’s very possible that it could lead to some serious fun on your guitar journey if you take time to apply what’s been offered here. Will you?  David Harsh is a nationally touring worship leader, songwriter and performing artist. He is passionate about equipping guitarists to discover their potential. Learn more and join now at www.GuitarSuccess4U.com. Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    9 min

  6. 05/01/2024

    Celebrations and the Winds of Change

    Transcript included below… I’m coming to you today with a bit of an announcement and update, as we continue forward. When I began creating this blog and podcast two years ago, I wasn’t sure exactly how far I would take it, but I’m very pleased to celebrate the fact that for two solid years, I’ve been able to release an episode every single week, with today being episode 105.I have colleagues who are podcasters who sometimes take a few weeks off, but thanks to the blessing of the opportunity to batch content, as well as the Lord’s provision of a lot of creativity and perspectives on how to encourage you, I can celebrate that I’ve been able to consistently churn out some pretty encouraging and practical stuff, without a single break. I don’t claim the glory for this – it’s all glory to God.  I just want to celebrate.  Two years is a significant achievement for content creation on such a consistent basis.  I also want to give a shout-out to my podcast guests, who include Dawn Jones, Erin Pakinas, Mo Higgins and Jerry Chambers.  Their insights have added much more depth to what I’ve put together, because they’ve provided outside perspectives that have really enhanced this experience. In 2019, we launched GuitarSuccess4U, our online paid offering, which I’ve mentioned after many of these episodes here at Guitar Serious Fun.  And if you haven’t learned about it yet because you’ve only recently subscribed, I do cordially invite you to consider joining us.The website for this experience is GuitarSuccess4U.com.  As you’ll discover if you explore the website, we have a lavish, yet accessible offering for beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists.  This means that it’s not for everyone…but the people it’s for really resonate with what we’ve put together.  And it’s so much more than a guitar learning experience; it’s the opportunity to go deep with our passions for the Lord and music and how they intersect. In the process of building out GuitarSuccess4U, my wife and I studied under Stu McLaren through a training experience called Tribe.  They’ve since changed their name to The Membership Experience.  Based out of Ontario, Canada, they’ve offered some solid counsel that has launched us forward into our teaching process of taking my 30 years of experience and imparting it through the portal and community that GuitarSuccess4U provides. One thing Stu is famous for saying is “Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t.”  Which brings me to the change that’s coming here at Guitar Serious Fun.  We’ve had a steady increase in followers and readers, but as we’ve checked our analytics over the past two years for how many folks have read the blog or listened to the podcast, the increase has not been as “up and to the right” as we would have liked.I love to create long form content, but in the case of this podcast, it’s a lot like a journal.  As one of our Guitar Successors shared with me, some of what I’ve put together here has likely been for…me.  And it’s been a great way to process my thoughts and journey. It has also, of course, been for you – my listeners or readers. Now, I know from our list of subscribers that a significant portion of those who follow Guitar Serious Fun are already members of GuitarSuccess4U.  Which is awesome.  Perhaps you are not yet a member but are considering GuitarSuccess4U, and I sincerely hope you do.  I challenge you to find as meaningful and affordable of an experience as what we offer. So, this podcast and blog, Guitar Serious Fun, has been exactly that. But the avenues that seem to be gaining more traction and momentum for our ministry in this season are our GuitarSuccess4U YouTube channel and our GuitarSuccess4U Instagram account.  You can find us on YouTube at youtube.com/@guitarsuccess4u. You can also find us on Instagram at instagram.com/guitarsuccess4u. We are posting almost daily on both YouTube and Instagram, and some of our shorts, vids and reels are getting some pretty good reach.  As of today’s episode of Guitar Serious Fun, we have almost 900 followers on YouTube and almost 600 followers on Instagram.  Contrast this to just over 60 followers here.Now again, hear me when I say how grateful I am for your willingness to experience what I’ve put together.  Your investment of time and attention is a huge blessing to me.  But it is indeed time for a change.  So, the change that’s going to happen is this: at this point, I will be doing less of these episodes.  Not that it’s “not working” – but it’s working less than I’d like, and as you know, we’ve all only got so much time to allocate to creating content, especially free content.  I love to create content.  It’s something that gives me a lot of joy, and I have a working list and folder of concepts that are steadily making their way into the light.  People are loving a lot of what I’m putting together, and I’ve never experienced writer’s block, which I guess is something that many people have struggled with.So I have no complaints.  Instead, a lot of gratitude! My wife and I serve under a 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry, appropriately called “David Harsh Ministries,” and our Board of Directors has graciously counseled us to take the new approach of a monthly episode of Guitar Serious Fun, so for the foreseeable future, that’s what we’ll do.The episodes that will be forthcoming will be audio versions of mini topical guitar lessons.  So, you can look forward to practical, encouraging episodes that will all link to a video version of what you’ll hear, sometimes accompanied by some charts and tables. Speaking transparently, my intention is not to turn the Substack for Guitar Serious Fun into a paid experience, at least not at this stage, but instead to help you gain more awareness of how we can serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U.  So…what do I need from you?  Well, I think the best thing you can do is comment after today’s episode.  Share your thoughts.  Let me know which episode or episodes of Guitar Serious Fun resonated with you and provided encouragement or wisdom.And then, consider providing some topics we could expand upon for future episodes of Guitar Serious Fun, future videos on YouTube, or future reels on Instagram.Will you do this?  Will you grab 5 minutes to share some feedback with us?  Believe me, some entire episodes of Guitar Serious Fun have come to life as the result of a single question. I want to thank you for your time today and for however long you’ve been experiencing these episodes.  I do look forward to our monthly connection here. And I again hope to serve you inside GuitarSuccess4U, where I’m serving our members with most of my time and energy, as we desire to impact the Kingdom of God through a legacy of learning, as our members fulfill their callings in worship leading, songwriting, and the enjoyment of music at whatever level this season calls for. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time! Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    8 min

  7. 04/24/2024

    10 Myths About Alternate Tunings

    Pro tip: please watch the short video version of this post that I link to www.GuitarSuccess4U.com/10AlternateTuningMyths. It will give you a much clearer grasp of what I’m sharing here. Abbreviated transcript and table included below… Have you always wanted to play in alternate tunings, but felt a little intimidated by the process? Not anymore. Let’s dispel 10 myths together and find some hidden treasures when it comes to alternate tunings. The 6 machine heads on our guitars are like a 6-digit combination lock, and the alternate tunings we can access with them can be incredibly enjoyable. Here are 10 myths I’m going to dispel about alternate tunings.  You ready? Myth #1 – “Alternate tunings are too difficult to get into.” By definition, an alternate tuning is any tuning that’s different from standard tuning, so even Drop-D can fall into this category. This is the best place to start. All you do is start with a standard-tuned guitar and then tune one string down – your 6th string, until the 12th fret harmonic matches the open 4th string D (watch the video to see how.) Myth #2 – “Alternate tunings can be achieved with a partial capo.”  If were to take a standard tuned guitar and place a partial capo on strings 5, 4, and 3 on the second fret, and play those notes open, they would sound an Esus4. If I tune another guitar to DADGAD and place the capo on the second fret, I’ll have access to the same open notes that sound an Esus4. And although some of the chords might sound similar on both guitars (see the video), that’s where the similarity between the partial capo and the alternate tuning end. Look at this closed voicing A Major scale on a standard-tuned guitar with a partial capo, and contrast it to a DADGAD capo 2 guitar. Myth #3 – “You can figure out the tuning of a guitar from an audio recording.”  Sometimes. Not always. I wrote a song in DADGAD and recorded it on an album with my capo on the 3rd fret. Later, a friend liked the song so much that he taught it to himself from the recording, and played it in standard tuning, but with a lot more fretted notes.  Myth #4 – “The tuning dictates the key.”  Not necessarily. I actually learned a beautiful fingerstyle song by Pierre Bensusan in DADGAD while studying with him in France called “L’Alchimiste,” and that song was in DADGAD but in the keys of C and F Major…without a capo. Pretty wild. Myth #5 – “Alternate tunings require a dedicated guitar.”  I think it depend on how quickly you can re-tune. I caught Michael Hedges in concert a couple times and he had two 6-string guitars for the whole show – one he played onstage, while his technician re-tuned the other one offstage.  He must have played in upwards of two dozen tunings with just those two guitars. At my concerts and when I lead worship, I use at most, three guitars. I try to keep my guitars in neighboring tunings as well, and to plan my sets accordingly. Myth #6 – “Each tuning takes a long time to learn to play in.”  Actually, once you’ve re-tuned, you can be creating great music in minutes. There’s something sweet about exploring a new tuning for the first time, and finding chord voicings that are just not possible in standard tuning or even partial capo positions. Myth #7 – “Once you re-tune, you have to re-learn the instrument.”  As I mentioned, you don’t have to re-learn everything in a new tuning. Some strings, if they remain in their original pitches, can allow for some of the same figures we know, like three-string chord voicings or melodic fragments.  Some tunings are nice for specific textures, drones, or certain keys. But a new tuning doesn’t necessitate re-learning the entire guitar from square one.  Myth #8 – “Alternate tunings require special string gauges.”  If we keep the same strings proprietary to their standard locations on the guitar, I recommend medium gauge – 13 to 56, from high to low, because a set of these strings splits the difference between the heavy gauge strings and light gauge strings. Myth #9 – “Your tunings drastically affect your collaborators’ choices.” As long as you’re in concert pitch and playing chords or melodies, this really doesn’t affect your collaborators in a major way. You might have a little fun mystifying your bass player who thinks they know which notes you’re playing, especially on your low strings, but no, tunings don’t affect other musicians, at least not logistically. They may actually inspire your collaborators artistically, which could be really cool. Lastly… Myth #10 – “There are only a limited number of alternate tunings out there.”   Think about my analogy of a combination lock for a moment. There are lots of possibilities, especially if there are six digits on your lock. If we were to compute each string as having a combined range of an octave (in other words, each string could theoretically be tuned down a Perfect 5th and up a Major 3rd), how many alternate tuning possibilities could there be on a 6-string guitar?  Answer: 2,985,984 tunings!  A six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings, so I encourage you to step out and take the risk.  Who knows? You might write an arrangement or a brand-new song in a new tuning…today. Maybe you’ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love, in an alternate tuning, perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your voice, your band, or both. I hope you do. As we wrap up, without going too deep into a discussion about gear, I will say that there are automated tuners, tuning levers and pegs that can be added to a guitar to customize the precision and speed with which someone can re-tune their guitar.  Guitarist Adrian Legg is a prime example of someone who has leveraged these kinds of tools.  But a six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings, so I encourage you to step out and take the risk.  Who knows?  You might write an arrangement or a brand new song in a new tuning…today.  Maybe you’ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love, in an alternate tuning, perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your song, your band, or both.  I hope you do. And if you’re looking for more insights into discovering some hidden treasures that the guitar and music have to offer, I would be honored to be your guide in a one-of-a-kind online experience called GuitarSuccess4U.  I’ve never seen anything like what we have, therefore, I had to create it.  We have a 6-stage Success Path, proven strategies for multi-modal learning, a collection of hand-picked guest experts, and a community of like-minded Christian guitarists who just might be on a similar journey to you.  Will you discover what we’ve worked so diligently to create? Please take a moment to visit GuitarSuccess4U.com and see what we’re up to. It could change your guitar world, and transform your musical world. I hope to see you inside GuitarSuccess4U. Keep showing up, have serious fun as you play your guitar, and I’ll see you next time. Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    12 min

  8. 04/17/2024

    Loving Your Listener - Playing Well

    Transcript below… Today we’re going to talk about what it means to love our listener as we play the guitar.  At the school where our children attend, one of the values that is consistently brought forward when writing papers is the idea of “Loving your reader.”This means writing clearly, and writing well.  In fact, they even give out penmanship awards for the younger students to affirm their work in this area. I’d say that as guitarists, loving our listener is tremendously important, whether the listener is enjoying our guitar live in person, over a live stream, or on some sort of audio or video recording.  Today, during this brief discussion, I’ll offer five ways to love your listener.  There will always be more, and your suggestions are welcome in the comments, but let’s start with these five. 1. Tune your guitar. I offer this suggestion because a significant portion of the song offerings I’ve heard over time have been played well, but on guitars that are slightly out of tune.  This actually undermines the entire offering.  There are a variety of ways to tune, from using a tuner, to a tuning fork, to referencing a piano, to using the highly advanced method of equal temperament with harmonics and beats.  But even a simple smartphone app can act as a bridge from being out of tune to being in tune.  People may not know which string is out of tune, but they’ll know intuitively if a guitar is not in tune.  Your listener likes to listen to guitars that are in tune. 2. Want to play well. What does this mean?  I basically desire to inspire you to play your guitar well.  Some folks I’ve heard are basically “phoning it in.”  They grab their guitar, start strumming, and are generally ok with what comes out.  But here’s the thing: they may be playing some unnecessary strings with their chords (E.G. the low open E under a D chord.)  Or they may be strumming too aggressively for the interpretation of the song.  Or they may be ignoring the opportunity for dynamic variation.  So, I encourage you to play cleanly, accurately, and artistically. 3. Desire variety within limitations. Within the scope of artistic interpretation, we can vary our chords, strumming patterns, and picking patterns, even within the song.  Some folks default to just a handful of strumming patterns for their entire worship repertoire, rather than thinking through what the song might need.  And color chords or different voicings can add so much.  Think about what the limitations are of the song, and work within those, but bring variety and elegance, based on what you can offer in this season.  This applies to worship leading, but also songwriting. 4. Wave the flag of quality over quantity. In GuitarSuccess4U, I teach my highly unique “Chord Kite Diagram” strategy, where my members are able to zoom in on just four chords and their combined transitions, for clean movements between them.  This translates to a much more pleasing offering.  Contrast playing four chords well, with someone who can play 40 chords…sloppily.  I think you know what would show love to your listener here: quality over quantity, especially with music.  Lastly… 5. Don’t be a perfectionist. Perfectionism can be the enemy of progress.  If we refuse to offer our gifts until they’re “perfect,” we could be missing out on all sorts of opportunities.  But if we stay “human” in our delivery, considering these other ways of bringing quality and elegance, we’ll provide something very enjoyable. People enjoy hearing music from people.  Not machines, not A.I., not something mechanical, but real people playing real music. Tom Jackson, a gifted performance coach with whom I have studied, once said that “Going from bad to good is easy; going from good to great is really tedious.”  Basically, to really buckle down and work towards a quality delivery with your guitar playing won’t necessarily take hours, days, weeks, or even months.  It may take years or even decades.    But the good news is that we’re in this for the long game.  We’re going to play our guitars for many, many, many, many years, Lord willing. So, will all this hard work be worth it? Yes. Don’t let the long game discourage you.  Think about how well you want to play, and do what you can today to love your listener.  And enjoy the process. And then, more opportunities will open up for you to play your guitar, and you’ll get better, and better…and better. And then more doors will open. Proverbs 22:29 says: “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” And Psalm 33:3 says: “Sing to the Lord a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” And yes, there will be joy. I hope these thoughts gave you some ideas for how to enhance your playing.  If you’re ready for the next level and a clear, battle-tested success path that leads to loving your listener even more, as you discover the guitar and the joy of music in a Christ-honoring community, please check out GuitarSuccess4U.com.  Trust me – there’s more wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration waiting for you here than you can imagine. Keep playing your guitar, keep having serious fun, and I’ll see you next time. Thanks for reading Guitar Serious Fun! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit guitarseriousfun.substack.com

    6 min
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About

Playing the guitar is a wonderful way to express how the Lord is moving in our lives. Whether we play for worship, songwriting, or just the enjoyment of music, there is much to talk about when it comes to enriching and enhancing our guitar journeys. Whether philosophical or practical, this is a place where we'll discuss ideas, stories and insights that can equip and inspire you. Welcome to Guitar Serious Fun. guitarseriousfun.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    David Harsh
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2024
  • Episodes
    108
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © David Harsh
  • Show Website
    Guitar Serious Fun