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» Do the fundamental things well
» Number 12: The Arrangement
1. Putting each instrument in its place:
» Keyboards
[Rhythm guitars]
» Bass
» Drums
» Melody instruments
» 2. Arranging the structure of the song
Rhythm guitars – the "steroids"
Rhythm guitars on their own
The term “rhythm guitar” describes the way we usually see guitars played at church by rhythmic strumming, as opposed to “lead guitar” playing which is more melody-based.
It depends on the skill of the guitarist, but on its own, a rhythm guitar can sometimes be hard to sing with as a congregation, particularly without adequate amplification. That’s because the harmonies are not as sharply defined as, say, a keyboard part. And some of the usual cues that people expect to mark sections in a song – the end of a chord progression, a particular series of notes, and so on – are hard to hear (or missing altogether) when you only have a guitar. The most important thing is to have a song leader who knows the song well and can lead the congregation.
Adding rhythm guitars to other instruments
When you add a guitar to an existing group of instruments, it’s like adding anabolic steroids. Steroids do two things – they beef you up and they change your texture by making you hairy.
1. Beefing up the sound
Adding a rhythm guitar “beefs up” the sound. It gets thicker. In an arrangement with piano and guitar, this happens because you’re covering a lot of frequencies (low, middle and upper) across a range of instruments. It’s also because you add texture.
2. Changing the texture of the sound
Anabolic steroids change your texture by making you hairy. Texture is the “feel” – how sharp, soft, smooth or rough something is. Rhythm guitars alter the texture of a song because they make quite a different type of sound to a piano or an organ, or a melody instrument. When you play with those textures, adding them to each other, or replacing one for another, it lets you develop the feel of a song, varying from one verse to the next.
What the rhythm guitarist needs to do
• Don’t play all the time! Work with the other instruments to develop the song by varying who plays when.
• If you have a tendency to hide behind the keyboard part, look for opportunities to play without the keyboard.
• Also try to vary your chord inversions and strumming patterns. Don’t get stuck in a rut!
• Also see the section Old hymns…when you want to play them on guitar.