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Welcome to my blog and Happy 2020 to you! I may be older than you, but I remember watching the movie 2001: A space odyssey in the theater and thought, "it's a long way until that date." Here we are, almost 20 years past that time. Amazing how time flies! My topic today isn't about time, but involves spending time with your instrument. I'd like to especially focus on guitar today since that is my specialty, but any instrumentalist could apply the concepts that I'm going to recommend here. Before I start, I would like to acknowledge the fine artists at Unsplash.com who upload high-quality photos that I and others use. They all do a wonderful job! For those of you who I'm speaking to today, you may fall into one of the following categories: Novice Amateur Professional Somewhere in between All of these categories have something in common - It's a journey. It's a journey because we all are on a journey in life. Some people have been on the journey longer than others, but we all have different experiences and personalities that color our perceptions of music as much as anything else. You're probably like me when you hear a song you heard at some point in life, perhaps when you were very young. All of a sudden, memories flood back as if you were there again. That's why music is such an individual and subjective experience for each of us. Let's take a look at the first category I mentioned. For the novice guitar player, you may be satisfied where you are with your playing. Since most people would like to improve, I'll offer a few tips to help. Spend some time experimenting with your guitar. Knowing the open chords C, D, and G are good, but you want to try other things too. Try doing some open tuning with your guitar. Open tuning is when you tune it to a full open chord when you play it. Common open tunings are D, G, and E. Other tunings are also popular including open A. Here's an article with videos to show how to do this from Guitarworld.com if you're unsure. One added suggestion they mention is to use an electronic tuner to ensure you can re-tune your instrument to a standard tuning when finished. For the amateur, perhaps you've tried some of these tunings and found them useful or even challenging. Experimenting with different methods on your instrument is very helpful to make you a well-rounded musician. You also want to try them out to see where they 'fit' in your repertoire. The professional musicians who read this are probably thinking: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, tell me something I don't know." If that's you, please remember that everyone is on a journey and that these tips may be useful for you as a reminder of how far you've come. Another suggestion I have for all of these categories is to play with as many different instrumentalists you can and in as many genres of music that you're willing to. I say willing because there are some musical varieties that are unappealing to each individual. That's something you need to decide for yourself. There's something very cool about doing music with other instrumentalists. And for guitar, saxophone is one of the best! Here's one of the best uses of saxophone with guitar that I've found with Gerry Rafferty on an old song called "Baker Street." Listen to songs through the years where the saxophone doubles as a guitar. Candy Dulfer is an alto sax player who has guitarists in her band. They've found a way to blend the two together that works very well. In the case of larger brass sections, the band Chicago has taken arrangements to another level where multiple instrumentalists are concerned. What I'm really suggesting is to experiment! There's nothing wrong with something not working out as you thought it would. After all, you didn't learn to walk on the first try! Give yourself some grace and remember, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again! I've outlined a few things you can do to enhance your playing of guitar and would love to hear if you've tried or will try some of these. You can post a comment below or send an email to the address listed at the bottom of the page. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! #LearningGuitar #Improving #Instrumentalist

Hello and welcome to my blog! I know you have many choices of things to read so I'm grateful that you've chosen to read today's article. Today I received an email that had some encouraging and disturbing news at the same time that I was unaware of. Evidently, prominent 'Christian' leaders and Worship leaders have recently been posting their disavowal of their beliefs online. This is disturbing but not without precedent. I will explain as we unpack this together. My initial discussion point - What is a Christian Music Artist?, is what I'd like to discuss first. Before I start, please forgive me if what you read here seems strange, foreign, or even contrary to you. I'm going to try to explain in a nutshell what I've believed now for more than 40 years, which is no easy task. I am human as we all are and in my journey of faith, I've learned a lot. I'll do my best to dispel some misconceptions that many people have about Christianity and also about being a Worship leader knowing that I'm as imperfect as anybody on this side of heaven. Now that that's out of the way, let's discuss this more at length. For us to understand what a Christian Music Artist is, we first need to understand what a Christian is. Christians believe that Jesus Christ died for the sins of everyone on a cross, was raised by God on the third day, and is the savior that man needs to save us from ourselves. The fundamentals of these beliefs have been recorded by the disciples - Matthew, Mark, and John as well as the Apostle and Doctor, Luke. These are called the four gospels and are contained in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. Christians believe these books were inspired by God's Holy Spirit and were recorded for our teaching, instructing, educating, and correcting during our daily lives as written in 2nd Timothy 3:16. - See https://www.bible.com/bible/111/2ti.3.16. The Apostles and believers were first called 'Christians' or little Christs in the book of Acts, Chapter 11, verse 26: "and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." There are so many more facts about the Christian faith that I could write but don't have the space here to do it. I encourage you to find the facts out for yourself by praying, seeking, and reading God's inspired Word. Don't just take my word for it! The next part of the title Christian Music Artist, is music. Most of us can agree what music is. From a young age, we've all been exposed to it. Dictionary.com defines music as: "an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color." https://www.dictionary.com/browse/music The last part of the title is Artist. What is an artist? Again, the Dictionary.com definition kind of helps: "a person who works in one of the performing arts, as an actor, musician, or singer; a public performer." https://www.dictionary.com/browse/artist?s=t Let's put it all together then - Christian Music Artist = A little Christ who expresses ideas and emotions through rhythm, melody, and harmony and may do it as a profession. That's it! There's no fanfare, no big splashy sign on someone who does this. What it comes down to is a person who has chosen to follow Christ and express their music as an artist does. Some do it professionally and others do it for the love of their craft without monetary compensation. The definition of a Christian Music Artist is why I felt compelled to build this website. Many people need to know they're loved and have hope that life can and will be better. That's the faith I have everyday. And my life is a testimony to what God alone can do to make it better. He's awesome! What I first mentioned at the beginning of this post is that there are 'Christian' leaders who for whatever reason have decided to deny what they believe is true. That in itself is sad. And it has eternal consequences. But beyond that, I would simply ask you to not be swayed by those who so easily have given up on what they believe. Close to 2,000 years ago, the writer of Hebrews spoke of this very dilemma in Hebrews 6, verses 4-6: 4 "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." I believe what this comes down to is simply: Who do you put your faith in? Putting your faith in a person other than Jesus will never satisfy. Putting your faith in something will also never satisfy. But, putting your faith in Jesus Christ will satisfy like nothing else! Have you ever been so thirsty that water tastes like the most refreshing thing you could have ever found? Well, that's the same with Jesus. He alone satisfies! And the reason why I'm a Christian Music Artist is because I was created by Him to worship and glorify God. Not myself. Anyone who does more than that or willingly allows that to happen doesn't know what it means to truly worship God. They worship the creation instead of the Creator. As you go through your day and your week, remember that you are loved beyond words by a compassionate God who created you and adores you! And, He's always thinking about you... always! #love #God #worship

Today I'd like to discuss the multi-faceted aspects of creativity. You see, we just returned from an overseas trip to jolly olde England. It was phenomenal for our first trip across the 'pond'. Planning with prayer definitely provided the framework we needed to see as much as we could in the limited time we had. One of my wife's favorite activities was seeing Windsor Castle, the weekend home of Queen Elizabeth II. Granted, none of us have ever lived as Kings or Queens, but the amount of creativity architects and artisans put into the castles and fortresses during the middle ages is astounding! We really miss so much beauty in life when we don't take the time to stop and smell the roses or to enjoy the handiwork of God. What can you do today to stop and enjoy the creativity that God has sprinkled throughout all creation? In fact, King David inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote of God's creativity thousands of years ago in Psalms 19:1-6: For the director of music. A psalm of David. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3  They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4  Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5  It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6  It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. Talk about inspiring! If like me and friends of mine you've spent time in nature just to relax and reflect, you understand what David was saying in this song. You also know how important it is to get some quiet time alone. You see, I believe creativity needs reflection before being put into action. Without quieting our minds and hearts, the noise of the world really crowds out our ability to create. Here are a few more examples of creativity that we saw in London and Windsor. I hope this has encouraged and inspired you today. Now the question is: What can you do or participate in today to enjoy some creative time? As the saying in Latin says: Carpe Diem Blessings to you! #Travel #inspiration #Creativity #God

Merry Christmas to you! Yes, it's that time of year again when we spend time with loved ones doing things like: eating, shopping, and listening to music! It's also a wonderful time to spend with family and friends looking for a special tree to display or some new ornaments to hang on it. This is also one of my favorite times of the year for music. So many grand pieces of music have been written for this season over the centuries. You may like Classical Music as I do. The Bach Christmas Oratorio and Handel's Messiah are two that come to mind. Or, you may like some of the older Christmas hymns. Hark the herald Angels sing, Joy to the World, and It came upon a midnight clear are a few that my family has sung for years. You may also enjoy newer versions of traditional songs by Artists like Harry Connick Jr, Mariah Carey or Trans-Siberian Orchestra. (You may even listen to some singalong tunes with Mitch Miller in the closet where no one can hear you!) Whatever you enjoy, I've recorded some new music and released it onto this website. It's a combination of two old classics - Away in a manger and Silent Night. I've also re-released some older Christmas music that I did a few years ago. It was fun to do and hard work at the same time. I started working on the new track in the Spring of this year and finished it late in October. Until I started to do home recording, I never really knew how much time and energy it took to make a decent track. Feel free to share this with your friends or family and download it if you'd like to. It's my gift to you. It's the least I can do since the Savior who gave me new life, Jesus is His name, freely gave it for me and for you. Blessings this season and always, Matt Goolsby #Christmas #Music #Holidays

We're moving into the Holiday Season for 2019 and I must admit: I'm not ready - Yikes! If you're honest with yourself, you may not be ready either. In fact, the first Christmas commercial I've seen was displayed yesterday - November 3rd. We've barely gotten past Halloween and now we're assaulted with gift buying and Black Friday. Sheesh! Can we slow this down and celebrate Thanksgiving first? For those of you over the age of 50, you understand what I mean. There was a time when Thanksgiving was a major holiday. Halloween was relegated to a more sedate celebration with candy and treats. There were no such events as: Trunk and Treats, Harvest Festivals, and City sponsored 'block treating'. Now, I'm not criticizing these events, I'm only pointing out that times have changed. What used to be a small, fun celebration in neighborhoods has been marketed into a multi-billion dollar holiday that only runs second to Christmas in sales. For those of you under the age of 50, I hope that you had fun with your family. It's good to spend time together and that in itself makes it good. My message here this week is to point out that we all need to slow down a bit and enjoy where we are. Let's celebrate Thanksgiving and the wonderful traditions it brings. One of the best ways to celebrate Thanksgiving is to ask yourself what giving thanks means. Let's take a look at what we can give thanks for: For those of us who live in what are termed 'developed' countries, our life expectancy is upwards of 80 years. In less 'developed' countries, the life expectancy is as low as 43 and up to 57 years. Most of us who have been or are in the workforce have made more money in 1 year than many people who live in some countries will make in a lifetime. In fact, many 'developing' nations' workforces make $1 to $2 a day. Many countries have oppressive and corrupt governments that treat their people as commodities to be used and thrown away. In spite of our current political climate, most of us live in a free country that has a constitutional republic. The majority of us in the United States don't have to worry about what we're going to eat or drink. There is food aplenty here. But, for those who live in 'developing' countries, they often go without food or clean water on a daily basis. (Some of this data was taken from: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/population-human-wellbeing.htm) With all of that said, we all have much to be thankful for. My challenge for you is to find something to be thankful for and think about that for the entire month. That way, you'll have a thankfulness footprint in your heart and mind that won't easily go away. I also want you to know that I give thanks for you! I give thanks that you've come to this website and spent some time reading my writings and hopefully getting some encouragement and inspiration. I'd also like to mention that I've arranged and recorded some new music to be released soon. But, not until we all give thanks! #Holidays #Thanksgiving #blessings

Hello out there and welcome to a new installment of 'Musings from a Musician'. This has been a fun and warm summer this year with lots of activities. That means something for everyone. Growing up in SoCal (Southern California), I spent a lot of time at the beach. In fact, one summer I was there every day! My friend and I took his 1970 Volkswagon Beetle to Zuma Beach where we surfed on boards and our bodies all summer long. It was awesome and I thank God I have those memories. There are no doubt as many remembrances of summer as there are people since we're all so uniquely designed. What gets you 'amped' up to enjoy the summer? It is a exciting sporting event? An active swimming pool? Or a quiet place to read? Whatever gets you going during the summer is probably not too different from your friends, family or neighbors. What gets me going during the summer is good music. Many other folks get excited by it too. Music is a universal language. Every culture has its own type of music it enjoys. The Caribbean people love the laid back rhythms of Reggae. The people of Hawaii love the Hawaiian lap steel guitar and Ukulele while the people of Mexico love Polkas with Mariachi bands. I've been to all of these places so I know firsthand. Music speaks to us all. Each of us has a place in our heart where we treasure the memories that meant something to us. We often associate a song with a special moment or a place. I can still remember the exact place I was when I was eleven years old and heard a song by a famous group of the day. There's just something in our subconscious that's meant to remember and treasure those times. Would you like to create a way to move somebody in your own special way? I'm really talking about the kind of art that moves people in a positive way that creates great memories. If so, take a look at my friend Randy Stoltz's new website: Randy Stoltz Art And by the way, enjoy your summer! #Travel #community #Creativity

Upon writing this post, we've recently finished playing at a Summer festival close to my home called Red, White, and Boom. It was a lot of fun with friends, family and visitors. We rocked it as much as we could for an outside venue. Our sound man did an excellent job considering how hot it was and how long of a day he had. This blog is going to discuss one of the things we worked on before performing at the festival: the fine art of singing. First, let me admit that my primary instrument is a guitar, not my voice. Having said that, it seems that the need for backup harmonies and lead vocals has grown in my life in the past 15 years. That means I've had to work patiently and deliberately to get my vocals in a performance-ready state. Since I did go to music school and had two excellent vocal instructors, it wasn't as hard for me to get it back in shape. But, and this is important, the singing that I did in music school and what I do now are drastically different. Also, music changes with the times so I had to be flexible and adaptable to new challenges. I will be the first to admit that my voice is pleasant, but not necessarily a standout. It's enough for me to be able to use it for the venues that I need to and also glorify my wonderful savior, Jesus! I have learned a few tricks and tips to sing better and will share a few of them in this article. Tip number 1: Find a vocal coach, mentor or fellow singer who can help you. I can't stress this enough. We all have 'blind spots' that make it easy to think how good we sound despite what's coming out. Or maybe it's how bad we 'think' we sound. Many people like we've seen on 'American Idol' or 'The Voice' have assumed they have what it takes to be an instant celebrity until they suddenly flame-out in front of the judges. A vocal coach or mentor can help be honest with you and give constructive criticism. It's not easy, but it helps! Or would you rather get in front of a group of people to try to sing and find out that you weren't trained and prepared? Yikes! Tip number 2: Work on your voice! Nothing in life comes without practice. You can't expect to be good at anything without working at it. I'll give you a couple of names that you can look at on YouTube of vocal instructors who are reputable AND honest. The first is Ken Tamblin, a lead singer and vocal instructor: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6x5NRBmotXDEvLDDFWlLvA Ken has some good, free instruction about singing without tension and also how to use your diaphragm as the 'engine' of your vocal strength. The second is Anna from the United Kingdom, a former cruise ship singer turned vocal coach/instructor: https://www.youtube.com/user/verbalessons/featured Anna has some excellent warm-up exercises you can use before a rehearsal or performance. You can even learn from her warm-ups how to specifically sing better by gender. I use both of these channels for warm-ups and tips as I need them. Tip number 3: Record yourself! Yes, record yourself! Unless you'd like to sound like one of these people: You may not have been able to make it through all of these, so I rest my case. Now that you have a few tips to work with, get out there and sing your heart out. Just make sure you like what you're hearing! #Practice #Vocals #Music

Welcome to the June edition of my blog, Guitar Artistry. For this entry I'd like to start off by saying that I had a very well written email from an editor who works in New Zealand on the site: https://www.jenreviews.com/, talking about an article that he'd recently worked on. The article had several famous 'shredders' and other legends mentioned. He especially had been doing research on Yngwie Malmsteen, one of many Rock Guitar Legends. A couple honorable mentions not listed in the article would be: Steve Vai and Richie Blackmore. As with any good writer, he was doing his research. Now, I don't know too much about Yngwie, but I do know about 'shredding' the strings. Typically the term shredding has come from players who are lightning fast and hopefully musical at the same time. The reason I say hopefully is that sometimes faster is not better. For example: Al Diemola is an excellent guitar player, but if you listen to his early recording days, all you would take away is that he plays fast and 'shreds' not in a good way. In all fairness, shredding can be exciting to the player, but may not be as pleasing to the listener. The article that the editor sent me a link to is titled: "How to play like famous guitarists". What starting player doesn't want to do that? It's a well written discussion of many famous guitarists who you may or may not have heard of. This begs the question: How do I start? Well, that's where this blog is going to journey. Ever since I started playing guitar, I've always been fascinated by the coolness of an electric setup. It started when I first listened to SoCal surf music by the Ventures and got more robust when I heard that beautiful 'Strat' sound in James Bond movies. I wanted to be able to do what the guys I listened to did, but where to start? Here's where the good news-bad news reality comes in. First the good news: If you like to learn and you have your heart set on learning the instrument, then you've already got what it takes to get going. The next ingredient you need is a desire to work at it no matter what and some simple, yet challenging math ability. Yes, math ability! No one ever learned an instrument without analyzing how it works and how best to make it work. The third thing you need to learn this beautiful stringed-wonder is a good guitar teacher (Hopefully private), and time to practice. Now for the bad news: It's going to take time, perhaps a long time, to play well. You can learn how to play somewhat fair in a matter of months or even weeks if you practice enough. But, and here's the big but, you need to PRACTICE! Forgive me for shouting, but there's no easy way around it. All of those legendary singers, keyboard players, brass players, and yes guitarists, have spent countless hours working on and improving their craft. That means time, sweat, and sometimes tears. But, it will be worth it when you finally get to do that gig you always wanted to, play for your relatives or friends at a party, or just entertain your significant other. You now have a reality check for learning guitar. Guess what - I've played guitar longer than a lot of people have been alive, and I'm never really satisfied with it. I always feel like I can do better. That's what drives me and it can you too! If this sounds interesting to you, let me know in the comments section below. And remember to tune that guitar before you play it! #Practice #Music #guitar

I've been reading a lot of books and articles this year on the topics that interest me. I must admit, I love westerns. There's something about the lone gun riding on the range who runs into trouble at every corner of the wilderness he goes to. It can also be a frontier woman who's tired of the big city life and just wants a piece of land or a store filled with wares to sell to passers by. Many of these stories give the reader a sense of self-sacrifice, struggle, and finally victory. They also present some sort of nemesis or antagonist to the protagonist of the story. Often times we can identify with the main character of a story since we go through daily struggles ourselves. This begs the question: What's your inspiration? Are you the type of person who sees a challenge and makes a goal to overcome it? Or, are you one who enjoys watching someone else achieve a goal? Maybe you're one who wants to help a friend overcome a challenge? Whatever your role, you and I both know how challenging life can be. We often must overcome family issues, financial pressures, work difficulties or health challenges. Any of these can be debilitating in and of themselves. But, challenges and struggles can be a blessing in disguise! Let me explain. When you first learned to walk or helped your child to learn, did you or they get it right the first time? Did you sprint when you first got on your feet? No, of course not! You struggled up, walked a few steps and then maybe fell flat on your face. Or your child did. However, you or they got back up and tried again, And again, and again. Until it finally happened, walking! Just like learning to walk, life is full of difficult challenges. My wife and I volunteer to drive a hospital van once a week locally to pick-up people for their medical appointments. Many of these folks have had very difficult circumstances happen to them in their lives. They ARE an inspiration to us though! They haven't given up despite the difficulties they've had. There's a certain level of motivation that these people give me to keep going. Sometimes doing something new or challenging requires a little blood, sweat and tears. But, the end result is worth it. This blog entry is meant to inspire you to look into your heart introspectively and find what inspires you. Here are a few of my inspirations: Runners - Seriously, someone who runs and endures through a marathon is inspiring and crazy at the same time! Missionaries - Anyone who's willing to give up their comfortable life and go work in a foreign country is someone who inspires me! Teachers - Probably the most maligned group of people in the U.S., who have one of the most difficult jobs, deserve our gratitude and respect, period. Street Pastors - This group is probably not a very large community, but they dedicate their lives to seeing the homeless, drug-addicted, and desperate find meaning and hope! These people are some of the group that inspire me to do my best. What inspires you? Why don't you share it with me... I'd love to hear it! #community #inspiration #Creativity

Have you ever heard the term, 'Hitting the wall'? If you've ever done sports, especially running, you know what this term means. If you haven't, then let me explain. In my younger days I ran 10K races and relay marathons. When training for these events, I had to eat a healthy diet, train by running at least 25 miles a week, and get enough rest to ensure my mind and body were ready for the endurance I was going to put it through. As if that weren't enough, I was working a full-time job and carrying on the typical responsibilities of a grown adult. Do you know what happens to your body when you run long distances? It basically operates like a car. The fuel that's been stored in your body through the food you've eaten is burned at a very rapid rate. That's why most athletes stay away from heavy meals before an event. They usually focus on small amounts of protein and heavier amounts of carbohydrates. When running, carbs are your friend. At some point during an endurance race or journey as I like to call it, your body does this strange thing. Or maybe it isn't so strange. Like a car that's gotten low on fuel, it begins to consume the fumes left. In other words, instead of burning the highly concentrated fuel that you had, it now has to consume whatever is left. That's pretty much the protein left which is muscle. This is called: 'Hitting the wall'. It's very unpleasant. The same thing happens with creativity or the creative process. We can be humming right along and suddenly or not so suddenly hit the proverbial wall. That's happened to me recently. How do we get past this wall? Well, similar to running races, we have a couple of choices. Give up and go back to the status quo Forge ahead and push through this temporary roadblock When you're running and hit the wall, your body is telling you, 'Stop, stop, stop. I said STOP!' If you listen to only that response, guess what? You will stop! But, if you've trained and learned to go beyond the pain, you will keep on knowing the goal is in sight. It's the same thing with creative roadblocks. Authors call it 'Writer's block.' I just call it a temporary road-stop during the journey of life. Here are a few things you can do when you find yourself 'stuck'. Take a nice trip. There's nothing better than getting away to give one clarity. Plus you can take some great photos of a place you haven't been to before. Rest and recuperate. Sometimes our minds and bodies are just burned out from doing too much. Like sleeping at night, our mind, body, soul, and spirit need some rejuvenation. Think holistically, not just one dimensionally. Put everything away for awhile that's not of importance. The book of Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." The time may not be best to pursue your creative pursuit. Perhaps another season would be better. Pray for help. God is always listening. In fact, He wants us to ask for help. The bible says in James 1:5, "If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking." There are other coping mechanisms for this struggle, but these are the best and the ones that I personally use. Sometimes life can just throw all sorts of stuff at us. It can come from many different directions and can be frustrating as well as cumbersome. Let's throw off those things that are just 'noise' or minor 'annoyance' and get back to enjoying our creative experience. If this has helped you in any way, I would love to hear about it at the email address below. #Creativity #God #artistry