Music Monday: Shades of Green

Today I’m featuring possibly one of (if not the) greatest guitarists alive today: Phil Keaggy. Never heard of him? I’m not surprised, especially if you’re not a Christian, or don’t move in Christian music circles. I’m not going into his whole bio (that’s what Wikipedia‘s for, after all), but suffice to say, he was already a stellar guitarist and turning heads back in the early 70s when he became a Christian. When he gave his life to the Lord, he gave his music too, and what a gift to the church he is! Phil has been releasing albums and touring churches for the past 40+ years. His skill on both acoustic and electric guitar has garnered him wide praise–including a Grammy nomination at one point. He’s also a fine singer/songwriter, whose voice has been compared to Paul McCartney.

In fact, that’s how I first encountered Mr. Keaggy. It was my first year at Hull University, and I was just starting to get involved in the University Christian fellowship. Some of my new friends noted the absence of much Christian music in my tape and CD collection (this was 1988, so we had CDs–I’m not that old!). Plenty of Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, and The Beatles. But not much of a more spiritually edifying nature. I would shrug my shoulders and tell people I haven’t found musicians of the same caliber in Christian music, and my local Christian book shop didn’t have a wide range of Christian music to choose from.

Fast foward to March 24, 1989–my birthday. My friend Julie gave me a gift. A tape. “Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child.” It looked something like this:

I heard the McCartney influence right away, and even some Beatle-style harmonies. The songs were good too, and the musicianship was exceptional. I was impressed. It wasn’t until a few years later that I really started paying attention to Keaggy, both as a songwriter and a musician. The more I listened, the more of a fan I became.

That’s as much as I’ll say for now, since I’m sure I’ll be featuring more Keaggy music in future Music Mondays. This Monday’s Keaggy track is from a set of CDs he released back in 1999 called “Music To Paint By.” All the tracks are instrumental, and this particular one has been a concert favorite of Phil’s for the past 17 years.

My guitar skills are not nearly good enough to offer any performance tips. I’m trying to improve my manual dexterity, but my coordination has always tended toward the klutzy side, so it’s an uphill battle. This much I can tell you: the piece is in the key of G major, though largely around a C major chord. Phil uses a drop-D tuning (i.e., the lowest E is tuned down to a D), and then the whole guitar is tuned down a whole step (a full tone). If this wasn’t enough, he also uses TWO capos. One capo covers the first five strings on the fifth fret, and the second covers all but the fifth and sixth strings of the seventh fret, with, I believe, a notch cut out for the second string.

Here’s a video of Phil playing “Shades of Green” in concert. Some things to notice aside from the two capos. First, when he does solo acoustic performances, Phil loves to layer sounds using digital looping (his favorite piece of equipment is his “JamMan” which Chet Atkins introduced him to). This allows him to lay down chord progressions over which he can solo, or add percussion, counter melodies, even vocal harmonies. Second, you’ll notice that Phil is missing a finger on his right hand (i.e., his picking hand). He lost that finger in an accident when he was four, so he has never known what it’s like to play with a full set of fingers. Guitar Tip: If you want to be as good as Phil Keaggy, lose a finger on your right hand. Just kidding. No, really, don’t.

PS: Keep an eye on Phil’s concert schedule. If he’s playing at a venue near you, do yourself a favor and go see him. You won’t be disappointed.