The Best Guitar Tuning for Worship Leaders // Worship Leader Wednesday
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- čas přidán 4. 06. 2024
- In this video, Bradford describes the best alt guitar tuning for worship leaders.
Tuning down 1/2 step has some great advantages when playing in keys like B
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Great tip! As a bonus, I think guitars tuned down a half step have an extra resonance and warmth that is just so wonderful. I keep the acoustic on my wall in my living room in Eb and it's so rich.
As an aside, I'd be curious about a conversation (maybe with Brian?) about singable keys for the congregation. In my opinion, too many worship artists and leaders are singing way too high and discouraging congregational engagement. Yes, it sounds incredible on an album and carries more energy in a live setting, but most people aren't reaching all these B and Db songs all the major songwriters are producing. It doesn't work with all song ranges, but for instance: Graves into Gardens I can reach in A if I'm warm, G is reachable for me but I lose people especially in the bridge, while dropping it to E does lose a bit of energy, it's a much more comfortable key and I find people more encouraged to sing, which is the whole point of why I'm up on stage. I'd be super curious to hear your thoughts sometime! Maybe I need to superchat your next livestream :)
They've talked about that before. Really there are two approaches people use. You can either make the lead singer comfortable, or make the congregation comfortable. Worship Tutorials seems to prefer going with the lead singer. If you're looking for someone who prefers the other approach, Don Moen talks about it pretty well. Basically try to keep the males in a range of C3-C4 and the females from C4-C5. If the song has a bigger range keep things between A2-D4 for males and A3-D5 for females. But some songs have really big ranges that still go past these guidelines. Do you just never do those songs, or do you sing them anyway?
I think there is room for both approaches but I usually lean towards going with the lead singer as well. As you pointed out, some songs lose a lot of energy if you change the key too much. Some also become way harder for your instrumentalists. If I am going to do songs in a high key I also try to make sure I can sing the majority of the notes an octave down as well.
The fact is you will never please everyone. As someone with a higher voice, I've been in services where singing the melody has been incredibly hard because it was too low. Thankfully I know how to harmonize well, but I guarantee there are people in every congregation who can't sing low and can't harmonize on the spot. If you do everything in a low key, you are leaving the same people out of every song you do. The same is true if every song is really high. So I'd encourage you to do a mix. Do some songs where you're intentionally singing lower, and some where you care about the energy of the song. There are people in your church who worship better with both approaches and neither should be left behind.
Thanks guys!
Brian here - we have made content on this before, at least a few videos.
We do lean toward putting songs in keys that are the most comfortable for the person leading it. I hear a lot of people talk about ‘congregational’ keys, but personally I’m not sure what that would actually be.
Many male-led songs that would be considered high and hard to sing by other men are often pretty comfortable for women to sing. And the opposite can be true (songs that are low, or even really high, for a female lead are comfortable for men).
I do agree there are ranges that are easier for most ‘normal’ male/female voices, but congregations are made up of both men and women. And everyone in the room has a different range that they may find comfortable.
But ultimately, if the person leading the song doesn’t deliver a pretty compelling lead vocal, I’ve found that congregations don’t engage much. This is typically true of ‘modern contemporary’ style churches. For better or worse, and whether this means we’ve totally gone performance-based or not, I’ve just found it to be a reality.
I grew up singing hymns in church led by choir director. Everyone in the congregation read the hymnal and picked their part and tried to follow the music. It was pretty fun, honestly. And for well known songs, everyone belted it out. But that doesn’t happen much outside of traditional environments anymore.
@@AdamOusleyYeah. I did “This Is A Move” in F and while it was very singable for everyone, it felt lifeless. A couple weeks later I led that song again in G for Celebrate Recovery and the energy difference was astounding.
Another factor is the vocal ability of the lead singer - I for one could cover most of the songs in original keys, but I harness my technique to make lower keys still feel impactful, thereby opening space (as far as possible) for the congregation to sing in the ranges quoted above.
(“It’s not about me…”)
I struggled with this a ton in my first few years of leading. I think the range of the melody is the most important factor in determining our perceived notion of whether people are singing or not.
Take a song like Here I Am To Worship. The range of notes is very small so if you pick a key like E, it’s easier for more people to sing melody the entire time, and therefore it is perceived as more people singing because the voices are able to project louder.
Another song this happens on is Open The Eyes of My Heart. If you pick E again, it just seems like more people can hit those notes and the room fills up with voices.
Newer songs seem to have a bigger range which makes it so at some point everyone has to sing down an octave or up (if they can), and then they don’t seem like as many people are singing-even though they are-it’s just quieter because of the range.
There are just songs that seem to “work” so I try to pick at least one of those in a set of 3-4 so there’s at least one song where everyone is “belting.”
I like tuning a full step down on acoustic. We sing a lot of stuff in the key of F and Bb so that whole step makes it’s so easy. Great video and a great tip.
same. i tune a step down for both acoustic and electric.
If you tune a full step down, do you use heavy strings? I'm interested in this.
@@mattandsharoncook6545 I actually don’t. I use the lights like I always do. That way I could tune back up if I wanted.
@@mattandsharoncook6545 i like heavy gauge anyway, so i’m bias, but i tune a step down and use 13-56 with both acoustic and electric, with wound third for acoustic and unwound third for electric.
i love tuning down. personally, i tune a whole step down for both acoustic and electric. extremely versatile for songs in Bb and F and sets me in a different sonic space from other guitars without competing with the bass register. for acoustic sessions, it adds a huge bottom end that’s just amazing when there’s no bass. also, i love heavy strings (13-56) on all guitars, and i find the balance of heavy strings with step-down tuning is perfect.
I started doing this about 3 years ago. It actually somehow opened up my thinking on different ways to voice familiar songs.
I wholeheartedly agree! I’m a worship pastor that has kept all of his acoustics a half a step down for years! 10 outta 10 recommend!!
Totally agree, though I think D standard is a little better because you can still have the benefit of the sharp/flat keys (capo 1), and you get to play open E chord shapes for songs in D. Another reason I like this is because the fretboard dots to me are still helpful when I'm in D standard, whereas if I'm a half step down, the dots are 1 fret off everything. Thank you for this helpful video.
I have been doing this for about a year now. So great! I never take the cable off, it allows my guitar to be in tune all the time. Also, I prefer the lower action without risk of buzzing. Tuning down a half step also gives the strings a nice, flexible feel with 12s. I often play key of C shapes for the key of D capo'd on the third fret.
Best part about it in my opinion is that it is now easier to play in those keys that the wacky piano players like, such as Ab (just play in A) and Eb (just play E). Great video!
None of my keys or piano people like those. They complain everytime they come up. Fortunately keyboards now have a transpose, so they can play in G for just about it anything.
Love tuning down a half step!
I'm a big fan of D standard for similar reasons. A lot of the music in our church happens to be in D and there's nothing quite like those open E chords. Nice brief video!
Absolutely! Sometimes takes some adjustments or heavier strings to help with tuning/intonation but that’s gotta sound huuuuge!
To be sure: what do you mean by D standard tuning? Tune it two steps down?
@@djdoublek83 it would just be 1 full step, 2 half steps
I was just gonna say i love playing E shapes for the key of D on acoustic and it makes it G shapes for F which isn’t as necessary imo but is a nice little bonus
Very useful thanks!
💯 have been doing this for years!!
Years ago I taught myself to read chords played as inversions with the capo on the 5th fret (so, C plays as a root G shape, etc). This allows me to easily transpose a song down up to 2 1/2 steps without having to rewrite the music. This comes in super handy, and also many songs just lay more nicely played as the inverted chords or allow me to include more open strings. Sometimes I even consider the key the pianist will have to play when transposing, and sometimes I just make them suffer 😉
That's my favorite capo in the world. I'm going to start trying that half step down.
Brah! it’s good seeing you playing acoustic
It’s a rare site 😎
I actually just started tuning a half step down for recreational reasons; a lot of bands I like tune to Eb standard or drop-Db. You say it's the "best" tuning for worship leaders, but really the only benefit you showed was for the key of B (since F# and Db are rare keys). I agree with the comments; a whole step would cover far more. Plus, bands like Sevendust showed me how good detuned acoustics sound.
I'd also like to say it is a breath of fresh air to see a video like this. I feel like this channel has become more about gear and tone patches than about actual 'worship tutorials'. I remember this channel's humble beginnings... don't forget that, you guys.
Interesting, i was already considering doing some of that for Christmas time. Ill have to give it shot.
Let me know what you think!
I first tried that about 10 years ago on a Christmas service doing some Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas songs. More recently (about a year ago) I had that tuning also..but now I’m back to dadgad
Been tuning 1/2 step down since I started being a Worship Leader. However, we're all tuned down and the reasoning for me is that it just helps to make things a little easier to sing, especially if I just had a weekend of gigs and am working on like 4 hours of sleep! 🤣
I like to run drop c# or drop d on most Sundays as an eg player. Try it, you can really creative whilst still serving the song
D standard, ive also used C standard (when im leading by myself)- with heavy guage stringd - beautiful
Yes! Gotta do the heavier gauge but it sounds awesome!
open D is really my fav.
Been doing this for years and sometimes the band gives me a hard time about it - thanks for making a nice authoritative video I can throw at them. Perfect!
Haha happy to help 🫡
D standard is goated 🐐
Bar chords on acoustic are the best!
My God that McPherson 😮 She’s so beautiful 🥺
Yes she is 😍
I tune my acoustic a whole step down for the same reasons, but also one other reason - tuning down makes the strings looser. The lower tension makes it easier on the fingers :)
An original 80s Transtrem equipped electric would be so good for worship
I'll see your Eb tuning and raise you a Shubb 4-fret banjo capo on the low four strings of the 2nd fret, i.e. F#BEAbe. First reason, if you use standard G, C, D, Em chord progression, the Em is now a sparkly 244200... without a Hendrix chord fingering. Next is turning ordinary power chords into 'airy' versions that don't have the awkward interval on the G string that standard tuning does which also works great for arpeggios as well. You can cowboy chord when you need to since the top 'b' and 'e' strings are commonly fretted for instance, the G and D chord shapes.
Good video
Thanks for watching!
@worshiptutorials
You bet..
I play solo music, stuff that i create on my electric guitar, and i use the digiteac trio+ as my band. Nothing like worship music, but it's christian based. I use words from the bible, but it is all instrumental.
You guys should do a video on the digiteac trio+.
God bless. 👍
Which Guitar is this .?
So it’s all about where the capo is positioned
And the tuning down, yes :)
Depending on the song, to lead worship in the key of B is pretty high. My normal range prefers to sing in the key of Bb. For me, tuning a half step down might not be that practical but I do like being able to sing songs a little lower so that it's comfortable for me vocally and I am still playing my normal standard tuning chords. The other possibility is to play songs in the key of F with E shapes, which may or may not require barre chords depending on the voicing that you are going for. Whenever I encounter songs in F, I usually play D shapes with a capo on the 3rd fret. Capo 4 is my limit because then the guitar begins to lose its fulness like he said and it begins to sound more like a mandolin at least tonally. I haven't really tried to tune down a whole step but if I did then I would be able to play C chord shapes in the key of Bb which is interesting to try to experiment.
Hmmm…I get it, but if the key driver there is an easier way to play in B, why would you not just keep it standard, put the capo on 2 and play in A shapes? You get a lot of great open voicings in A. Then you don’t have to relearn 1/2 step up when playing higher on the fret board.
Not the key driver but just one of a few. Some also find playing A shapes not as enjoyable either tho. No need to relearn anything tho. Just play the chords as you normally would :)
The key of A is the worst key ever to play in
I don’t know…I like it. Maybe I’m weird.
acoustic! More acoustic content please
Yess! I strongly agree!
The archives are deeeeep with acoustic content!
@@worshiptutorials Okay, im diving
I see a lot of covers, wich is great! But im looking for more general tone and playing tips and tricks for leading worship
First!
Not fair bro... like insider trading...
What do you mean different voicings?
Chord shapes
@@ben-jammin2284 oooh. Thanks bro!
Second!
I already do this with a set when all in B, except after a couple of songs my hand cramps up. Need to play more. 😄
third!
This was a great lesson, Bradford. I may consider using a pitch detune effect instead of retuning the guitar to get the same result that you're going for.
Well you can but that’s not as effective IMO. Plus you have to carry the pedal haha But if it works for you!
@@worshiptutorials That's totally fair. I'm carrying the QC anyway to make a pad sound and process the acoustic signal so it's a no brainer for me
I pretty much leave my acoustics in D standard (a full step down). It’s a much richer sound. Easier to play. My acoustics are actually setup for that. I think if I tuned them up my action would be to high.
Or..capo 2 and play A shapes for B and E shapes for F#:)
Sure. But that’s obvious and not really what we are trying to suggest. You do you tho!
“Bar chords on acoustic don’t sound right to me” jack johnson is crying after that sentence
In our scenario*** 😅😂
I don’t wanna sound like JJ on a Sunday haha
Whole step down is 👨🏾🍳💋🤌🏾
Drop E thall
every other musician in the band will hate you for it.
… why?
@@worshiptutorials well, maybe just me. I learn by ear, and the worship team i play in give me the songs the night before i have to play them. so i look them up on youtube, write out the chords in say B, youtube key, but the worship leader wants to do it in G#. sorry, just wish people would make it a touch easier on the rest of the band. i play in cover bands and can recall off the top of my head around 150 songs, but worship teams seem to be more stressful. but, makes you for a better musician in the end. Anyway, just my struggle maybe.
Or….get a baritone guitar
It’s to expensive