Well Rev, roots to the beat is all Praise needs. Each song normally takes 6 of the 7 chords and they come quickly so the root is about all that is needed. If there is a void then the ole 5 will do. R--5-- . Your runs and fills will just step on toes. There will be places between verses where you can add a chromatic or diatonic run, but, less is usually more. Just make sure no one else has laid claim to that portion of the song before you start your run.
All my Praise sheet music has been transposed over to Nashville numbers. aka 1, 2, 3's. You know where the 1 or root can be found, the rest is.....
All 2's are from the root up two frets same string.
All 3's are from the root up a string and back a fret.
All 4's are from the root up a string same fret.
All 5's are from the root up a string and over two frets, or right below the 1 on the next string down.
All 6's are from the root up two strings and back a fret, right over the 3.
All 7's are from the root up two strings and over one fret.
All 8's are from the root up two strings and over two frets. Right over the 5. Which makes the ole R-5-8-5 a piece of cake.
Major scale box showing scale degree numbers
and the root note on the 4th string.
...Index...Ring....Middle..Little gets the one finger per fret system going.
G|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E|-------|---1---|-------|---2---|4th string
Yes you will need to get that into muscle memory. See a number and your fingers are moving to that number. Chas Williams has a book on Nashville numbers that is second to none.
The Nashville Number System – by Chas Williams
The rest of the band will be using fake chord sheet music which will show the lyrics and which chord name is active with the lyrics. I found Nashville numbers to my liking. Takes about three minutes to transpose fake chord over to Nashville numbers. Use a black marks-a-lot and write through the chord name with the right Nashville number.
Good luck.
