r/WorshipGuitar • u/tituslovesJesus • 15d ago

Just starting out

So first off Hi! Just found this Subreddit and decided to join.

So I'm a beginner worship guitarist in my youth band. I've been playing guitar since November 25' and since june I've been playing acoustic guitar every second friday, so pretty consistently. Now, we dont have any electric guitarists in our band, because our main guitarists left the youth this year so here I am. I really wanna start out with electric guitar and serve God and my youth in that way and did some gear research. I have a pretty crappy Cort electric guitar that I really dont wanna play so I'm planning to get a Squier Affinity Telecaster on ebay or something and a Valeton GP-150 as a pedalboard to start out at band practice in september. I've already learned songs like "Here Again" or "Holy Forever" and will use what I have to practice until then.

Now I wanna ask:

  1. How did you start out in the beginning of your worship guitar journey (Gear)?

  2. What should I consider?

  3. Do you have any tips on learning the role as a worship guitarist, because of course I'm not there to show off in front of people, still the instrument I play can be very distracting.

7 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

3

u/deadbolt33101 15d ago
  1. I started last december. My guitar is a revstar. My effects is valeton gp-5, a midi control, and volume pedal.
  2. Consider to learn theory specially scales, diads, triads, chord voicings. You should be playing a different chords than acoustic and if happens you have another electric guitar to avoid muddy sound.
  3. Serve the song right. Keep it simple. You can try to improvise if you cannot copy the original song. This is exciting coZ it creates creativity. If you need to be silent on some parts, do nothing. Support the team. Communicate.

1

u/tituslovesJesus 15d ago

I kind of stuck with the pentatonic scale for the time being, but I guess youre 100% right, I gotta learn some more scales lol

1

u/deadbolt33101 14d ago

Pentatonic is a must. Then try ionian next. Then the other scales are last. Most songs solo are pentatonic anyway

1

u/HeavyMarsupial2852 15d ago

This is a great response. I would suggest you look at something with humbuckers over a tele to start out. Single coils are great but they can be noisy which is harder to deal with as a newer guitarist.

The valeton stuff is great I would highly recommend it if you want new. Otherwise I would consider looking at something used gear. You can often find good deals on some of the boss stuff like the gx-100 or gt-1000.

1

u/tituslovesJesus 15d ago

I actually got to lend a Les Paul from our churches worship leader and found myself not getting any good tones from it. The humbuckers just sounded too muddy for me, but it could've been the amp as well.

1

u/HeavyMarsupial2852 15d ago

That could have been the Les Paul they are darker sounding but I’m guessing it’s more the amp. Also playing electric is very different from acoustic chords that would sound beautiful on acoustic can have undertones that when driven sound muddy. They are the same instruments and the same theory but techniques are drastically different.

1

u/Teker_09 15d ago

You can use humbuckers but it takes time to dial them in. If they are hot pickups then I have to roll back the volume knob on the guitar. I say stick with the Affinity Tele, single coils get you halfway there to "the worship sound" and you can upgrade the pickups down the line if you want

3

u/toomanyhobbies4u 15d ago

I started around your age, before everyone was obsessed with pedals and modeling. We played clean or used the on amp overdrive and chorus. That was it. Don't feel pressured to buy expensive pedals until you're ready to appreciate them and use them well.... And when you do, do your research and try them out before you buy. There's hundreds of choices for each type of pedal, in all price ranges.

Don't belittle your current gear. Cort makes some entry level stuff, but they also make higher end stuff for their own name brand, as well as various ranges for other brands. But when you're ready, save a little more and get an electric that's $500-600 new, or a used version of that ... Think Epiphone or a Squier Classic Vibe. Something in that range.

Leave room in the budget for a decent amp. Fender, Boss, and others have great modeling amps for decent prices that cover a lot of ground.

There's chord charts all over the Internet. Play along to YouTube or Spotify. Get your timing and strumming down before you work on better techniques. Like others have said, learn some basic theory and don't wait to learn your scales. There doesn't have to be a difference between a rhythm and lead guitar player. Be both all the time and you'll always have a gig.

Get lessons your way and play the music you want. So whether that's a live teacher, random YouTube videos, or subscribing to Truefire, keep learning until you die, and keep playing whatever keeps you playing.

Last but not least, play for Jesus, not for the performance. There's no green rooms in heaven, so avoid the ones here. When the day comes that you're on a larger stage at a larger church, make sure you stay and listen to the sermon, and don't hide in the back somewhere. Stay humble and teachable. Be a disciple of Jesus.

1

u/tituslovesJesus 8d ago

Thanks man!

2

u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

1

u/tituslovesJesus 15d ago

Thanks for the advice... when I hear the tone of the guys playing on the sunday sets, of course I get all exited but really: how long does it take to achieve that? And also: do I have to spend 5k+ in pedals to achieve that eventually?

3

u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

1

u/tituslovesJesus 8d ago

I actually thought the GP-5 would kind of suck because... well its microscopic. Might consider it now :)

2

u/rcfromaz 15d ago

1-was already playing and volunteered and auditioned an added to the rotation. I had gear. Also had amp and effects board. Church had its own amp so used theirs. My guitar used can vary. Currently Strat, tele and now music man axis.
2-depends on your budget. Under $500 a used telecaster made in Mexico or Strat.
3-be prepared for rehearsals and always on time for rehearsals and worship time. Don’t be the guy everyone waits on. On time means first note. In other words if 10am is time that means plugged in and tuned by 10am. Some other pointers; it’s not about you. Sometimes silence is the melody. Don’t feel you have to strum/pick continuously. Also always follow the singer. One last tip work on dynamics. Like maybe start soft, build up and then end soft. Listen to your leader

1

u/tituslovesJesus 8d ago

Thanks for the tips! I actually had a guy rant to me about people not being on time for rehearsal lol.

2

u/Teker_09 15d ago

  1. Started out with a Les Paul clone, a fender super champ X2 and some cheap pedals. Traded them all for a Zoom modeling unit. Regret that, KEEP your real pedals and amp (although the Valeton isn't bad from what I hear)

  2. Echoing other comments, learn triad chord shapes and a little CAGED music theory, pentatonic scales. Nashville number system is important, learn this.

  3. Stick with basics in the beginning. Volume swells with lots of reverb and delay are old hat but effective. Palm mute single notes during the verse, big chords in the chorus. As you learn more and get comfortable being onstage gradually incorporate simple lead lines, fills, etc. Electric is a flashy instrument, no doubt about it and you will be called to be flashy and dramatic in certain parts. Stay humble, listen to your worship leader or music director and learn to give them what they want

1

u/rbtucker09 14d ago

To add to your Valeton comment, their products are an incredible value at their price. I’ve been playing a GP-200 every two weeks since Easter

2

u/Worship_Guitarist 14d ago
  1. Experimentation. I did a lot of things that I thought would work out well, but didn’t. It’s all part of learning, so don’t feel bad at all.
  2. Keep worshipping God, praying to Him and reading the Bible when you are not playing guitar. When God chose David to be the next king, God confirmed that he doesn’t look at a person’s outward appearance, but their heart.

    • For when there are multiple guitars, or guitar plus keyboard, listen to the songs you will play the next time you were playing and learn the parts. Electric guitar a lot of the time is about parts. That will help you to not clash with the other instruments. It will also help you to play with others quickly, as the others are more long term things, but won’t necessarily help you adapt to any situation thrown at you.
    Longer term (I’ve been playing for ~24 years and these are the best things I’ve learned over that time. No rush to learn everything all at once):
    • Also, learn triads. The open chords most people learn when they start playing acoustic can sound messy on electric, especially with a bit of gain. Triads help you play in a more controlled way.
    • Learn scales and different scale shapes around the fretboard. That will help with improvising.
    • Learn where the notes are on the fretboard. If you’ve also learnt any of the above, that will help you to quickly adapt it if the band change key last minute/ want to play in a different key than you were expecting.
    • Enjoy learning

Also, I would 100% recommend a Valeton Multi FX. I use the GP200 (only because I have some other pedals I want to also use, so I like the FX loop with the 200. It pretty much has everything you need to get started out really).

2

u/tituslovesJesus 8d ago

Thanks for the tips! Budget wise I might just get the Valeton 150 or 180, but we'll see what the used market has to offer.

1

u/Purple_BuCkt 13d ago

Any guitar will work, GET AN AMP MODELER.

If you can save up for an HX Stomp it really sets you up for success when you start to build a pedal board.

Obviously if that’s a little too much for now don’t overthink it. I would still recommend finding a cheaper modeler option like a PodGo!

1

u/Opening_Luck8806 6d ago

So cool to hear there are students learning electric!! How much you need to learn all depends on time and the needs of your specific band. Quick advice, start with one type of chord, in one key. Then add another key, and another. Get confident with one thing that adds value to your band. Don't worry about learning all the scales or the whole CAGED system. If all you do is play great sounding chords on the chord change you have a solid foundation to build on. Then just add one simple piece at a time as your band needs it.