Reviews

Source: Delirious.org.uk
Author: Dave Wood
Date: 27 Oct 2005

The Musicademy Intermediate Worship Guitar Course
Box Set DVD (Vol 1-3)
Release Date: October 2005

Musicademy, a company who run tuition courses in playing guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals and drums, have just launched a 'Worship Guitar Course' on DVD. The course comes as a box set of 3 DVDs, with each DVD approximately 2 hours long. Each disc is packed full of lessons, tips and interviews with well known worship leaders from all over the world.

The pre-release copy I was sent was the 'Intermediate' course, but a 'Beginners' course will also be available shortly. From the DVD menu you can choose to 'Play all' (lessons, quick tips and interviews), or just watch the 'Lessons only' or 'Interviews only'. There is also a 'Chapter Selection' option and a menu full of 'Backing tracks & drum loops'.

The lessons themselves are given directly to camera by Andy Chamberlain, a young, confident sounding instructor with a smooth style. He manages to deliver his expert advice in a way that is neither patronising nor overly complicated. Andy provides hours of hints, tips and practical advice which every rookie guitarist wishing to get involved in Worship Guitar playing will find invaluable. As Andy explains in the introduction, the intention is to "help you enhance what you're doing as a worship leader in a church setting".

Each DVD is broken up into a series of practical lessons, from the basics such as tuning and holding a 'pick', to chords, strumming and keys. Each lesson shows Andy demonstrating a specific skill with his guitar, whilst on-screen graphics show which string to play and clearly show exactly how to achieve the desired effect. The lessons allow a guitarist to build up a collection of guitar skills as they progress through the DVDs.

The lessons are interspersed with short interviews with a series of well known worship leaders, including a very scary looking David Crowder and a much more relaxed Matt Redman lounging around on his sofa at home. Tim Hughes and Chris Tomlin also appear to impart their wisdom and experience. Each worship leader is open and honest in their answers to questions such as 'How do you choose songs for a worship set?' and topics like 'Moving from acoustic guitar to electric guitar'. Then there are the more probing questions including 'Is there a place for soloing in worship?' and 'What do you look for in a good worship leader?'

The backing tracks that are available from the DVD menu include 5 different drum grooves for you to play along to, plus complete backing tracks of drum and guitar riffs. Of particular interest to Delirious? fans is the 12 minute lesson recorded with Stu G at the end of the DVD. Andy joins Stu at the band's Furious? Records HQ, and with a guitar in his hands Stu explains how he plays the song 'Majesty' in very simple terms. He takes the song note by note, with camera close-ups of his fingers on the strings, demonstrating each part of the song slowly and carefully. It is a fascinating insight into how the Delirious? guitarist performs, with expert analysis from Andy along the way. With Stu breaking the song down into small chunks, he makes it seem incredibly easy to play.

A similar lesson on Disc 2 shows Stu G demonstrating the song 'I've Found Jesus', and on Disc 3 he explains 'History Maker'. The Worship Guitar Course is also endorsed by Delirious? front man Martin Smith, who says "This DVD is the first of its kind and is a great insight into some of the guitar tricks that people use when leading worship. It also features the one and only Stu G!"

If you've ever wanted to learn to play a guitar and have a particular interest in playing in a worship band then this series of DVDs is perfect for you. The format allows you to learn each lesson at your own speed, and covers everything from the basics to the more complicated aspects of guitar playing. Highly recommended for the budding Redmans or Garrards of the future.