My Guitar & Worship

Worship was the impetus for me to pick up the guitar and learnt how to strum those chords playing my first song a few months later! I was 15 years old. I wanted to learn the piano when i was a kid but somehow that didn’t work (read: couldn’t afford it!). so, when i found this old thrown-away Tokai guitar at Grandma’s storeroom, I knew there’s a GOD who answers my prayers. I remember Pitt Fan fixing those new strings on this worn-out almost fretless guitar! From then on, there was no turning back. Even as my musical taste (& appreciation) grew – whether it’s U2, to Michael Hedges, Radiohead, bits & pieces of classical and jazz as well, not forgetting the the more Christian flavored stuff Jars of Clay, Delirous?, Six Pence none the Richer, etc. 15 years later … I use the guitar primarily for worship and expressing my heart to GOD. It’s still my favorite and most heartfelt way of using the instrument.
When I saw how Bob Fitts lead in worship with his guitar, the passion to do it just “caught” me. And the rest is history! I never forget the ARISE & SHINE worship conference we had in Malaysia years ago, and how I managed to spend a little time with him just to talk. It was what flowed from his heart that really touched me!

Paul Baloche describes his writing as “journaling the process of my walk with the Lord”. And I think he’s another guitar-playing worship leader & songwriter that has impacted me. I love his songs and how often he uses the guitar to bring out the joy and/or intimacy in worship. (So happy he put some chord charts in his website and apparently he’s got a cool instructional video as well!) Some how his style and substance manages to lift me up when I’m becoming mediocre in my worship, must get a CD for BLC members to catch some of his passion!

Monday’s often turn out to be a great time of surfing and downloading stuff … though I missed the piano-keyboard boat. But, I think Ed Kerr has done me a wonderful service by making some of his tips and thoughts on arrangements available free on the next. Can’t play like a pianist, but it doesn’t mean I can’t learn how to think like one! I married a piano player – May Chin and now Gareth is flexing his muscles with percussive moves! We were created to Worship You – Father-Son-Spirit