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Music In The Bible

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Music In The Old Testament

hymnbookThe first musician in the Bible, Jubal, is mentioned as “the father of all who play the harp and flute” in Genesis 4:21. In Exodus, Miriam played timbrels and danced.

Perhaps the Biblical figure who most remember for his musical abilities is David. David charmed others with his harp playing wrote songs and made music. His music caused the evil spirit to depart from King Saul.

Psalm 22 begins with “For the director of music. To the tune of, The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm

of David.” The Psalms speak often of praising the Lord with song. Nowhere is it more evident that music was used for worship than in Psalm 150:
“Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with crashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!”
Many other times in the Old Testament, music was mentioned. Sometimes the musicians went before the Army of Israel in battles, like the battle at Jericho. King Solomon was credited with writing more than 1,000 songs. Solomon also had many musicians in his court. In II Kings, Elisha’s minstrel played and then Elisha gave prophecies.
  1. Singing caused evil spirits to leave Saul.
  2. Singing and music gives God praise.
  3. Singing and musicians are used in battles.
  4. Songs are used to teach, as in the song of Moses.
  5. Music is used to express great joy, as in Miriam’s song of deliverance.
One of my favorite Old Testament references of music is in 2 Chronicles 20. Israel was divided at this time and King Jehoshaphat was one of the few kings that worship the true living God. They were surrounded by a massive army looking to destroy them. Jehoshaphat sought the Lord and was assured victory.

18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”

Notice how they worshipped the Lord before the battle and even sent the singers and musicians out ahead of the army. They were indeed victorious and did not even have to fight in that battle!

Music In The New Testament

  1. Jesus sang hymns with His disciples.
  2. Paul and Silas sang hymns in prison.
  3. Spiritual songs are used for admonishment and teaching
  4. We are told to sing.
  5. There is singing and worship in heaven for eternity!

In the New Testament, hymns were a source of comfort and strength as early Christians faced their challenges. Jesus sang hymns with his disciples. One of the most mentioned times is after the Last Supper. “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mark 14:26.)

In Acts 16: 25 Paul and Silas used hymns to comfort them when there were in prison.–“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

The Bible further talks about the role of music in Colossians: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16).

In Revelations, the Bible talks about music during the end times. “And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.” (Revelations: 14: 2-3).

The role of music in worship continues today. Most church services start with worship. This is because music is an international language we share and it helps us focus on God. Like the musicians and heroes of the Bible, modern day Christians use music to exalt the name of God.

How To Teach A Worship Guitar Class

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How to Teach a Guitar Class Using Worship Guitar Class

DVD’s or Videos

The DVD’s or videos are appropriate for age 9 through adults. It seems to work better to have the kids separate from the adults. I would recommend 9 – 12 in a class, then 13 – adult in another. Teenagers and adults are a terrific combination. I find that the teenagers practice more because they want to play better than their parents and the parents also practice more because they don’t want their kids to play better.

Choirs are a great place for guitar classes. Bethel Lutheran is one of the churches I taught worship guitar classes. Here’s what the Music Director has said about their experience…
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“Jean Welles led our Pastor and several members of our choir in a summer guitar class at our church. Through the use of praise songs, our class was able to learn enough to lead the congregation by the end of the summer. Since that time, the guitar group has continued to accompany praise songs and hymns at various church services throughout the year.
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The class was fun, and it was so rewarding to see how they have continued to play together even over a year later.

This has added to the worship life and music at our church, and given those playing a sense of giving and sharing which has enriched their lives. Jean’s classes were always fun, supportive, and Christ centered so that each class became a worship experience as well as a learning one. Jean has been a blessing to us.”
– Terry Cupples, Music Director, Bethel Lutheran Church

What follows is how I teach and conduct my classes. You are most welcome to use any of the ideas here. Much of this can apply to any class. Perhaps you are already teaching this way too.

First Lesson

The classes are fun, because the students become family. It is very common that people don’t want to leave after a class. Many times students have stayed an additional hour just to continue sharing and fellowshipping.

On the first class, while I’m tuning the guitars, I ask everyone to introduce themselves and tell us just a little bit about themselves… where do they fellowship, what work do they do, do they have a family.

The next step is crucial. WE PRAY. I pray for the class the first week or two, and then ask a different student each week to pray. We thank God for being with us and pray that He will help us focus on Him. We pray that He will help all the students learn the guitar easily and that He would help me teach.

I have often been utterly amazed at how quickly the students learn… but it’s because we never start a class without prayer. I talk about that in the videos too. Every time a student sits down to practice they should pray for God’s help… always.

Now the video can start. The first lesson starts with a brief introduction about what they will learn and how God is so worthy of worship. Then I talk about the parts of the guitar and how to hold it and tune it.

The first chords are A and E7. After the chords are introduced, this is a good place to turn the video off and have the students actually play the two chords. I would suggest four strums on each chord and changing them back and forth a half dozen times.

Watch how the students are sitting and help them hold the chords with the techniques taught on the DVD or video. After they have changed the chords a bit, play the rest of the    lesson one from the video.

Now have the students play the song ‘He’s got the whole world’ together, very slowly. (The DVD’s have a practice session and you might want to have them practice in the class with this portion of the DVD.)

If time permits, I love having the students play it individually. Everyone sings while one student plays. This also bonds them together. Everyone is a ‘cheerleader’ for the every other member of the class. It doesn’t matter how slowly they play; it is an excellent practice.

Two of the students have started leading worship after three lessons, and many more after just a couple months. Playing solo begins to give them the confidence that they can do it. God didn’t make us shy… given a loving atmosphere and tremendous support anyone can blossom.

OK, that’s lesson one. Sometimes at the end of the lesson I’ll pray for every student by name. That God would bless their desire to worship Him and that He would help them with their worship times and other needs that have come up in the class. The students really appreciate this.

Lesson Two and On

The format for the lessons is the same as lesson one. For the other lessons I will ask if there are any praise reports while I’m tuning. Sometimes people share their concerns, a loved one in the hospital, etc. We immediately stop and pray for them.

Broken down a class could look like this:

1. Tune and share
2. Pray
3. Practice the song from the previous week
4. Learn the new chords, or strumming patterns (DVD or video)
5. Practice the new chords, or strumming patterns
6. See the new song (DVD or video)
7. Practice the new song together (Can be done with the DVD practice section.)
8. Have each person try the song solo, with everyone singing.
9. Pray again, or just give hugs.

As a teacher, one of my main prayers over all my teaching years is just that God would love the students through me. He is love. This is an easy one for Him.

In HIM,

Jean Welles

PS. Books are now available for the Four Volumes. This will reinforce what students see in the videos, plus the copyrights are paid. Scroll down on that page to see the bundled books.

Sore Hands Solutions

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Blessings in His Name!

1. New Guitar Course is Ready!
2. Sore Hand Solutions

*************************************************
NEW GUITAR COURSE IS READY!  by Jean Welles
*************************************************
The New Reading Notes and Music Theory Guitar
Course is now open. You can read about it and see
a video with some of the First Lesson.

Watch – Guitar Music Theory Video.

*************************************************
SORE HAND SOLUTIONS
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Questions from you…

One of our Newsletter Family Members asked
about her hurting left hand. I thought it might
be helpful to talk about this in a Newsletter
since it’s not uncommon.

If your wrist every hurts, then you’re holding
the guitar wrong… if it’s the fingers… that goes
away. The wrist should be ‘slightly’ bent. If it’s
bent too much that puts stress on it.
You can elevate the neck higher so wrist isn’t as bent.

The other common reason for a sore hand is if
you squeeze the chords. It’s much better to ‘hang’
on the neck.

Then you’re using your larger arm muscle instead
of the tiny one on your hand. It takes a lot of ‘weight’
but not squeezing.

Try playing few chords without touching your thumb
to the neck. That will give you an idea of how to play
without squeezing. Then place the thumb on the neck,
but not with heavy pressure

Worship Him with all of you heart, because He
loves you with all of His!

God Bless,
Jean Welles
http://WorshipGuitarClass.com

11664 National Blvd. #275
Los Angeles, CA 90064
800-391-4780

He Is Risen!

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Blessings in His Name!

1. He is Risen!
2.The New Course
3. Helpful Website
4. From You

*************************************************
HE IS RISEN!
*************************************************

I LOVE Resurrection Sunday! What a wonderful hope
we have because Jesus has risen from the dead!

Who else is looking forward to our new bodies? Living
in a place with no more tears, no more pain, no more
ponzi schemes, no more lying, no wars, no hunger,
no injustice… none.

*************************************************
THE NEW COURSE, by Jean Welles
*************************************************

The new Reading Music and Music Theory Course is at:
http://worshipguitarclass.com/guitar-music-theory.html

There is a video there with part of lesson one. You can also
download the music for the first two lessons. It’s a 17 week
course available as streaming videos.

You will learn how to read all the notes on the guitar, how to
transpose songs into any key and also learn how to make
beautiful song arrangements.

*************************************************
HELPFUL WEBSITE
*************************************************

One of my friends showed me a very helpful website,
http://www.blueletterbible.org/

It has lots of Bible Translations, Bible Tools, Videos and
Audios from Bible Teachers on the books of the Bible.
It even has maps. Thought you might enjoy using this
useful website too.

*************************************************
FROM YOU
*************************************************

I’ve been getting very positive feedback from the new Reading
Music & Music Theory Guitar Course.

Hello Dear Sister in Christ,
I want to let you know this course could not be closer to what
I hoped for; the focus being on learning how to read and use music
for guitar. Terrific!

Even though only Christopher (our oldest son) and I are using
the course, I know our whole family will benefit from it eventually,
as we are more able to use what we learn, and hopefully arouse
the interest of some of the others in learning to play
the guitar. We have one precious daughter and four marvelous sons.
God be praised!

God bless you for following His leading in preparing and making
available this wonderful course. I have looked at the first five
lessons briefly in the ebook and am so excited about
learning everything that I can hardly wait!

Feeling better than a child with a new toy,
Christina Witmer

THANKS Christina!

Worship Him with all of your heart because
He loves you with all of HIS!

God Bless,
Jean Welles
http://WorshipGuitarClass.com

Contact

Jean Welles Worship Guitar
11664 National Blvd. #275
Los Angeles, CA 90064

Ph: 800-391-5412, 310-477-6192
Fax: 800-391-5412