Dear Faithful Heartwood Beat Subscribers,

Hello again! It’s been too long.

Since I sent my last newsletter, I managed to injure my arms playing too much guitar (and, though I’m embarrassed to admit it, taking workout advice from an over-caffeinated Hulk Hogan look-alike in a YouTube video). The injury put me out of work for three weeks and continues to prevent me from doing much typing or guitar playing, but I’m slowly recovering. Once I fully understand how the injury happened and how it could have been prevented, I’ll dedicate a newsletter to telling my story. Perhaps it will save you some grief down the road.

In honor of my hiatus, I’d like to share some thoughts on one of the most powerful tools you have when you’re accompanying another musician: Silence. This newsletter is geared toward guitarists who play with other musicians, but really, it’s a lesson everyone can benefit from.

First, here’s a little story…

Two weeks ago, I was at a barbecue celebrating the visit of my high school buddy, Justin. After the meal, Justin, a fantastic guitarist and songwriter from California, performed some of his songs, accompanied by another friend on harmonica.

The harmonica player had fantastic chops, but he treated the whole song like an extended harmonica solo. No matter if Justin was singing or even playing a fingerstyle guitar solo, that harmonica player blew right through, confusing and obscuring the song’s melody and Justin’s lead guitar work, and creating a kind of relentless, frantic tension through the whole song.

I guess it’s performances like that one that gave rise to this joke:

Q: What do you call a harmonica player who doesn’t blow all over a singer’s lines?
A: Deceased.

This is a pretty extreme example of overplaying: Thankfully, most guitarists know better than to overwhelm a song with constant soloing. But did you ever consider that strumming through a whole song could be overplaying too?

Think of how a typical contemporary rock, folk, or country song is arranged. The song often starts with just one or a few instruments. Then the vocals come in, singing the first verse. Another instrument kicks in at the chorus, adding a new texture for a fuller sound. Maybe the band backs off a bit in the next verse, and then come back with full force for the second chorus. If it’s a pop song, there’s sometimes a breakdown next, where the drums and bass drop out and give the listener’s ears a chance to relax before building to a huge, glorious final chorus.

Most contemporary musicians follow some variation of this formula: Artists as disparate as Steve Earle (listen to the layering of the dobro and second acoustic guitar in his song “Goodbye”), Nirvana (the kings of quiet verse/loud chorus), and Coldplay (who seem to have made a pact that 75% of their songs must start with sensitive piano playing). Why? It’s because they all understand the emotional power of the crescendo–of getting louder as the song progresses.

You miss out on creating crescendos when you accompany another musician by playing through the whole song. To get louder, you must first be quiet. Sure, you could strum or fingerpick quietly through some parts, and then really whomp on the strings during the choruses, but the most powerful way of injecting majesty into a song is waiting for that perfect moment to add your instrument to the mix.

If this approach to accompanying someone else is new to you, here’s a formula to get you started. Obviously, you’ll need to tweak it to match the structure of your song.

Intro: Don’t play
Verse 1: Don’t play
Chorus: Play full volume
Verse 2: Strum once per chord change
Chorus: Play full volume
Solo: Let loose!
Chorus: Play full volume
Ending: Strum once per chord or don’t play

Take note: Styles that typically DON’T follow this approach include old-time music and punk. There’s still a variety of textures, but usually everyone’s playing from start to finish.

Finally, here’s a trick I learned for jamming on songs I don’t know: Wait until the second verse (after the first chorus) to come in. It’ll make you sound like a pro…

…and you’ll get a preview of how the #@$% song goes.