Lyrically, it has a pretty tough message: “Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering…” This truly is Job’s story. I sing it so nonchalantly sometimes, but it really is a tremendous declaration of faith, of God’s sovereignty.

Besides the meaning and the theology in the lyrics, it’s just got great melodies and a simple but strong chord progression. Bravo Matt Redman!

Enjoy this song. I certainly do.

Here’s a video that someone shared with me that is just incredible.  It literally made the hairs on my arm stand up as I watched it.  The message of the song become so clear.  This video was done by a church that I have never visited and includes people I have never met…but one day we will all meet and together we will sing “Blessed By Your Name”!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this video.

Members can login and go to the “Worship Songs” link to learn how to play this song…it is available now.

If you would like to learn how to play this song as well as a bunch of other great worship songs as well as get my complete guitar learning course you can get started today for $1!  Just go to Play Worship Worship here and start your worship guitar lessons.

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“Mighty To Save” is pretty straight forward to play. There aren’t that many chords, but the progression works well. The only section that is a little tricky is the bridge. Each time the song goes to the F#, it is only briefly, just enough time for an upstroke strum. It’s really more of an accent chords. But because it’s a barre chord, it can be a challenge for some to get to and out of it quickly. Oh, and if you can swing it, it sounds better if you pick the chords in the verse.

If you haven’t heard this song here is a video I found of “Hillsong” playing the song live.

Members can login and watch the lesson right now. Just click “Worship Songs” in the menu bar and you will see it right there at the top.

Enjoy this song, and hit me up if you have any questions!

Peace,

Aaron

P.S. As always if you are a beginner and would like to learn guitar Play Worship Guitar is perfect for you.  Plus I’ll also teach you a bunch of worship songs like this one…my teaching style is very simple to follow and step-by-step.  Check out my worship guitar lessons here.

This week I am showing you how to play one of my favorite worship songs.  I play this at my church all the time and I feel it’s just a really powerful and well written song.   It has a really cool arrangement, interesting chord progressions, and an awesome melody.  Not to mention I think the lyrics are excellently written as well.

So I decided to let everyone take a look at this lesson.  I hope you enjoy it!

Also, for members, I have a huge surprise coming in the next several days…we are almost done putting the finishing touches on it but keep an eye out because it will be ready for you soon. Also, I’ll have the chord chart available soon for members also (should be in the next day or two).

If you aren’t a Play Worship Guitar member yet then then why not get started, you get instant access to my step-by-step guitar learning course and more Christian guitar lessons like this one.

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

On many occasions I co-led worship with Steve on campus or around our small college town and have always had great respect for Steve and everything he has done over the years. I remember when he got the gig of leading the Passion Tour in our senior year of college (or maybe the year after…) and how exciting it was. Well, fast forward 10 years or so and Steve and his band are doing great, playing all over the world, and writing great worship songs.

And the best part about it, all the success hasn’t changed Steve one bit. He’s still the genuine, awesome, hilarious, and Christ-centered guy he was back when we were leading worship together in a small house with no air conditioning and 100 people jammed in it like sardines.

Here’s an interview with Steve that I think is worth watching…and if you hadn’t heard of him or his music before now you have

This week I’m going to be doing a lot of filming and I’ll be teaching you guys at least one of Steve’s more popular songs so be on the lookout for that in the next couple weeks.

If you aren’t a member or don’t know how to play guitar then let’s get started! You can click this link to get access to my guitar learning course and learn a bunch of cool worship songs. I’m currently getting ready to film a lot of new songs that I’m currently loving playing at my church so join today and get some guitar skills under your belt so learning the songs comes easy…here’s that link:

Click Here To Join

Hey Everyone,

I played this song at my church this past week and it is really just a great worship song. It has become one of my absolute favorite worship songs to date because of it’s simplicity yet it’s profoundness.

The song is called “Center” by Charlie Hall and if you haven’t heard it before check out this clip of his band performing it live. The way I show you how to play it may be a little different than the way he is playing it here because I simplified it just a bit to make it easier for you to pickup quickly. When I play this song I use what is called a “3 string capo” or “cut” capo but in this lesson I don’t use it so you can learn it with me.

I also added the song “Oh Happy Day” just to add a little more up tempo song into your collection

Check out the video here then login and go to the worship songs page and you can learn how to play it!

If you aren’t a member yet just either click here or go to the “Membership Sign-Up” button up at the top of the page and you can get started.

And if you don’t know how to play guitar don’t worry…my whole course is designed for beginners and teaches you how to play guitar from the absolute beginner stage.

Hey everyone,

I just added 10 worship song lessons in the member’s area for you.  You have all been so patient and understanding while we work on updating the site.  The good news is that we just got our new computer up and running so I can start filming and editing new lessons now.

On that note, some of these lessons were filmed awhile ago so you may notice some wild hair in a few of the videos.  Hope you enjoy

Now that I have the new computer (I’m a Mac guy for those who are wondering) I will be re-filming a lot of the lessons including some of these since we now have the processing power to be able to really make the two camera, split screen shots work properly.

So while I get setup to start making new great worship song guitar lessons, keep practicing and have fun learning these new worship songs.

I found this live video that I think is really cool.  The artist painting in the background is awesome and it is really powerful at the end when the image becomes clear.  You will see what I mean when you watch the video…

Oh and by the way, I teach you this song in the “Worship Songs” section.

Not a member yet?

Just click here and you can get started! You’ll learn guitar from start to finish and also learn some great worship songs like the one in the video above. Go here and join us.

Also, feel free to leave any comments.

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Instead of learning boring scales and music theory, I put the learning to the test immediately after learning. First I would pick out one of my favorite praise and worship guitar songs and then learn the chords—and only those chords—from the song. Now, I was on my own as far as strumming patterns went, which is where an instructor would have been very helpful. But I managed to band out a few strumming patterns, and immediately start playing songs that I was familiar with from church.

Again, worship guitar lessons implies there is someone actually teaching, which I heartily recommend. If you can find a good online program, that seems like the best way to go. A) it’s much cheaper than a live person, B) you can pause and rewind the lesson as many times as you need to, and C) you can do your lesson anytime day or night, on your schedule.

Online worship guitar lessons are great too because it’s nice to be able to go at your own speed and practice at a pace that feels comfortable to you. Well, Godspeed with your learning!

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In my previous post I answered the first two of the four following questions about how to write a songs. Where do you start? What do you write about? What strumming patterns will drive the song forward and keep it both interesting and dynamic? How do you pick melodies that are catchy and memorable?

Here are my responses to the third and forth question:

4. What strumming patterns will drive the song forward and keep it both interesting and dynamic?

Sometimes your lyrical content will dictate the sort of strumming pattern the song is calling for. And sometimes the opposite is true. Either way, the same principle generally applies: The strumming pattern should communicate the same message that the lyrics and melodies are communicating. For example, a fast-paced strum pattern will often fit well with a high-energy declarative type of song, while a slow single strum will bring the energy down and invite the listener to focus on the lyrics.

An important thing to remember when it comes to strumming patterns and riffs is both repetition and variety. Let me explain. Without a certain amount of repetition, a song will not feel cohesive and will not be memorable. On the other hand, if there is too much repetition, the song will may be boring and monotonous. Finding that balance will serve you well.

5. How do you pick melodies that are catchy and memorable?

Much like the chord progression or riff that you come up with, the melody line will be one that jumps out at you. Try several different melodies for the same section, the same chord progression, and don’t settle on one until you love it. Nothing kills a song more quickly than a boring melody.

Listen to some of your favorite artists and pay attention to their melody patterns.

Descending and ascending melodies are often catchy.

Also, the lyrics should feel like they fit inside of your melody. They shouldn’t be forced into a certain pattern that they don’t fit it. Don’t be afraid to modify lyrics so that the cadence locks in with the melody.

Most of all, have fun. Write music that you like and lyrics that interest you. If you do that, chances are many others will identify will your music as well.

If you feel like you’re lacking some skills, take Christian guitar lessons to help move you to the next level. Learn more Christian guitar chords, or take some of your favorite worship guitar songs and use them as a template to work from.

Godspeed!

So, I’d like to break down how to write a song by answering these four questions.

1. Where do you start?

Most songs I’ve written, whether worship guitar songs or secular, have started by stumbling onto a riff or chord progression while sitting and playing my guitar. As I’m playing different things, something will jump out and catch my interest. At that point I’ll play it several times and sing different melodies over the top of it, using any lyrics that come to mind.

2. What do you write about?

Well, what would you like to write about? What is pressing on your mind right now? What has affected you on an emotional level recently? What do you wish your favorite artists would right about? What themes in Christian guitar songs have inspired you recently? Write about that! That’s the great thing; you have the freedom to write about whatever YOU want to write about.

Some songwriters will write out lyrics, like a poem, before even considering what music will accompany it. I am rarely able to do that myself, though. I always write the music first, see how the music makes me feel and then I write lyrics that match that feeling. Have you chosen minor chords that are making you feel melancholic or sad? Then write lyrics that tell a story that will match the feeling you listener has when experiencing your music. Sometimes your strum pattern will direct you to what your lyrical content should be.

Most importantly, I think, with lyric writing is honesty. Write what is true and authentic. Don’t write what you think others want to hear; write what is true about what you thing or what you feel.

Also, the more specific you write, the more universally others will identify with the content. A common mistake inexperienced writers make is writing broadly and non-particularly hoping to capture a wide variety of people. This kind of writing doesn’t tap into the emotions of most people, whereas pinpointing a distinct experience or scenario has a way of gripping the listener.

3. What chord progression or riff should be the basis of the song?

In the question, “Where do you start?” I talked about jamming until you found a riff or Christian guitar chord progression that struck you as interesting. Sometimes this will be the driving force of the song. Sometimes you will continue to improve it until it sounds nothing like it did to begin with. One way or another, that’s only one section of the song. Generally a song will need at least two main sections (verse and chorus), and many songs will have a third (bridge) as well as an intro. It will be up to you how many sections your song has, but it is safe to stick with a song structure that listeners are familiar with hearing.

While developing multiple sections for a given song, it’s important that they are different enough but have similar enough qualities that allow them to seamlessly flow together. There may be times where you purposefully don’t want the sections to flow together for effect. Unless that’s the case, it’s wise to give them a cohesive feel.

One way to give the sections a cohesive feel is to use the same, or many of the same, chords but in a different order. Or you could even use the same chords in the same order but switch up the strumming pattern of riff.

I hope that is helpful so far. I’ll send you the responses to the other to questions in part two which will be published soon. You can learn more about how to write a worship song here >>