The Music Exchange

I’ve been dwelling on one of the questions posed to the panel at the last London Music Ministry Conference. The question was (as far as I remember) about the fact that we hadn’t used the organ or the grand piano during the day, and what the future holds for those two instruments.

It got me thinking. Nearly all contemporary bands are now guitar-led rather than piano-led, while an electric keyboard is used (if used at all) simply to provide a background wash of sound, or as a link in between songs. The organ, piano and guitar have the distinction of being the only instruments in their family (respectively wind, percussion and string) that can provide chords easily enough to accompany congregational singing.

Now, I like the piano, and I like the organ, and I also like the guitar, but which is better? There’s only one way to find out… Fight!

At 760 lbs, I reckon that a six foot Steinway grand piano is a shoo-in for a straight punch-up, and it would certainly bring a stop to the proceedings if you introduced the Albert Hall organ to the fight (very sorry — I couldn’t resist the organ joke there) but I probably need to be a bit fairer in the criteria, so let’s start a bit more peacefully by giving the poor old guitar a chance.

Guitars are more portable than pianos and organs — you can play them anywhere you like. I’ve never seen anyone playing a piano round a camp fire. This also means that if the church goes on a weekend away, the music will most probably be accompanied by a guitar. I’ve tried taking keyboards, but even when they’re plugged into a good keyboard amp they still sound tinny. This also means that you’re more in control of your instrument when asked to play at (e.g.) weddings. I’ve had some shocking moments on organs that squeak in all the wrong places. I remember once having to jam a £10 note in between some of the keys of a strange organ to stop them sounding continually.

Guitars don’t take up much room. Last night yet another person asked me if I knew of anyone who could house a grand piano for free. These days, every square inch of living space counts. Guitars are cheaper to buy. Guitars are cheaper (and easier) to tune. Guitarists are more easily able to face the congregation and communicate with them.

It’s easier to learn the guitar to a standard whereby you can play simple chord-based songs. This has meant that more of our songs are written by guitarists these days, hence perpetuating the need for guitars to play them.

Every key

How about the piano and organ? They can provide a tune much easier than a guitar (though, to be honest, because most songs are written by guitarists these days, there seems to be less demand for good tunes!) This means that the piano or organ can give a clearer intro to a song (instead of just a four/eight-bar set of chords). Usually a guitarist also needs to be a vocalist to cover the tune once (or if) the congregation comes in.

They don’t need amplification. If a piano or organ is there already, all you need to do is lift the lid or turn the key and off you go. They can play in every key. Perhaps this is unkind on guitarists, but it seems that unless you spend over £2,000, whether using a capo or not, F major is always out of tune!

It’s much easier to play older hymns on the piano or organ. Ever been to a carol service led by guitars? The piano and organ have a greater range of sounds, dynamics and styles.

You get less grief from the older generation if you play the piano or the organ (though if you’re a guitarist who knows you’re just about to get grief, you can just put your very portable guitar in its case and run away).

And there I’m about done. As you can see, it’s pretty clear that the guitar is flavour of the day. Andy Cowan, who works with me as a guitarist, added insult to injury when he said he’s able to play the bass line on the piano with the neck of his guitar while he’s strumming chords and singing at the same time.

Retrain?

What’s the conclusion? A tough one, I think. It seems that, though the vast majority of contemporary songs are written (and more easily playable) by guitarists, most music groups are still piano-led, so we pianists either need to retrain ourselves, or else we need guitarists if we want to use contemporary songs. On the other hand, guitarists either need to realise their responsibility to learn how to play older material, or they need us pianists/organists.

Who won the fight? Just wait till I drop the piano on Andy’s toe.

Battle in the bands?

Every key

Retrain?

Richard Simpkin

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