Let me tell you about the moment that changed my entire relationship with music.
I was attending a church organ demonstration. The guide asked: “Would anyone like to try playing the organ?”
That moment hit me like a freight train.
I’d spent decades playing electric guitar. Rock, metal, blues, everything modern guitarists do. I could play techniques with precision, nail solos, impress audiences. I was even able to play some cool baroque pieces when I found their tabs.
But I couldn’t read music. I couldn’t access original baroque scores. I was locked out of an entire universe of musical wisdom.
That woman had a key I didn’t possess. And watching her unlock that music – effortlessly, joyfully – made me realize what I’d been missing.
Summary
The original article ‘From Cathedral to Crossroads’ explores how musical purpose evolved from sacred obligation through personal expression, and why serious musicians often return to study sacred traditions – but through choice rather than obligation. In this newsletter, we’ll focus on my personal spiral journey – how decades of modern playing led me back to sacred study, and what that integration revealed.
1. The Three Phases of My Musical Evolution
Looking back, I can see my journey in three distinct phases. Not linear progression – more like a spiral ascending through similar territory at different levels of understanding. Each time you return to familiar ground, you’re viewing it from a higher vantage point, enriched by everything you’ve learned along the way.
Phase 1: Divine Impression (Teenage Years) – Ground Level
My father played grand piano and served as church organist. I’d listen to him practice and improvise, feel the power of that organ sound filling the church, experience the emotional weight of baroque compositions played with mastery.
But I filed that away as beautiful but distant. Not my path. Something to admire from outside, not participate in. Out of reach – obviously.
🎯 Starting Point for Beginners
Think about your own musical journey in phases. What first drew you to guitar? What kept you playing through the years? What pulls you now? Write down three distinct phases – even if they seem disconnected. Understanding your own path helps you recognize where you are and where you might be heading next.
Phase 2: Desire and Expression (Decades of Electric Guitar) – Taking-Off
I picked up electric guitar and dove deep. Rock. Metal. Blues. Pop. All the contemporary styles that spoke to me and my generation.
Why? For all the usual reasons – artistic expression, social connection, yes, romantic interests. The full spectrum of earthly motivations that drive modern musicians.
I became proficient. Built a musical life around contemporary styles. Nothing wrong with any of that. It was real musical development serving authentic motivations.
But something was missing.
Not in an obvious way. I wasn’t unhappy with my playing. The feeling was more subtle – like knowing there’s another room in your house you’ve never entered.
Phase 3: Sacred Integration (Current Journey) – Flying High
After decades of electric guitar as my primary instrument, I found myself drawn back to where I started. Not replacing electric playing, but adding something alongside it.
I began studying classical guitar 15-30 minutes most mornings. For one year. Playing baroque pieces from original scores. Analyzing melodic and harmonic principles that baroque masters refined centuries ago.
Because after decades of modern playing, I wanted to understand the structural beauty, the mathematical precision, the meditative depth of music that connects to centuries of melodic tradition.
The spiral completed. Divine impression → Personal desire → Sacred study through choice.
2. The Catalyst That Broke Everything Open
Why did watching that woman play baroque music affect me so deeply?
Because she had access to something I couldn’t reach. She could have a musical conversation with composers dead for 300 years. She could read their language directly from the page. She could participate in a tradition spanning centuries.
🧠 Starting Point for Thinkers
Consider what skills or knowledge you’ve avoided because they seemed disconnected from your current playing. Reading music? Music theory? Classical study? Often what we avoid represents exactly the integration we need. The discomfort of learning something “irrelevant” to our current style might be pointing toward the next phase of our development. What have you been avoiding that keeps pulling at your attention?
was locked out of that conversation. Limited to secondhand interpretations, guitar tabs, modern arrangements that stripped away the original context.
That moment crystallized a truth I’d been avoiding for decades: I was executing tools whose origins and purposes I didn’t understand. Playing a language without knowing its grammar, history, or deeper structure.
3. The Year That Transformed My Playing
One year of commitment. 15-30 minutes every morning. Classical guitar study focusing on baroque pieces.
The goal? Read music from original scores. Access the melodic wisdom directly. Understand the principles rather than just executing patterns borrowed from them.
The result? Beyond anything I imagined.
After one year, I can play classical guitar pieces from Bach, Handel, and other baroque masters. Reading from scores. Not fast, and rhythmically quite freely interpreted, I must confess. But the dream realized – direct access to music I’d admired from outside for decades.
More importantly, this study transformed my electric guitar playing in ways I didn’t anticipate.
I now understand sequences not as memorized patterns but as compositional techniques with specific purposes. I grasp arpeggios as harmonic outlines rather than just patterns. I recognize harmonic thinking that baroque masters refined over centuries.
My rock solos got better because I studied 300-year-old classical music.
Not because I’m playing baroque licks in rock contexts. Because I understand the underlying principles that make melodic choices work. The “why” beneath the “what.”
4. Spiral vs. Circle – Why This Journey Matters
A circle returns you to the starting point – same place, same understanding, no growth.
A spiral returns you to similar territory but elevated – same general location, completely different level of consciousness – flying high.
I’m back to baroque music. But I’m not the teenage kid passively listening anymore, admiring from outside without comprehension. I’m a mature guitarist consciously choosing to engage with historical tradition specifically because I’ve experienced the alternatives.
The medieval monk had no choice. He served God because that was the only acceptable musical purpose.
I choose baroque study because I’ve experienced many other things – personal expression, social connection, technical mastery – and I’m adding this dimension because I want to.
That’s not regression. That’s integration at a higher level.
Electric guitar remains my primary instrument. I still play rock, metal, blues, everything contemporary. But now patterns have meaning beyond memorized shapes. My improvisations connect to centuries of melodic wisdom unconsciously.
Same instrument. Same fingers. Completely different depth of relationship with music.
5. Your Spiral Awaits
If you’re serious about guitar, you’re probably already journeying through these phases – whether you recognize it consciously or not.
The question is whether you’ll do it consciously – recognizing the spiral, making deliberate choices about engagement, understanding you’re part of a tradition spanning centuries.
Or whether you’ll do it unconsciously – vaguely feeling something’s missing, plateauing without understanding why, copying techniques without comprehending their origins.
I spent decades on the unconscious path. Then that woman played organ music from a baroque score and broke me open to conscious engagement.
You don’t need a dramatic catalyst moment like mine. You just need to recognize the spiral exists and decide to walk – or fly – it intentionally. In other words: stop wandering and start climbing.
Your entry point doesn’t determine your destination. Your willingness to spiral upward does.
The path I’ve described – adding baroque study to contemporary playing – is just one way to engage with historical tradition. You might explore modal music from other cultures. Study jazz standards and their harmonic sophistication. Analyze classical compositions. Learn music theory deeply.
The specific path matters less than the willingness to connect your current playing to the vast tradition that created the tools you use daily.
Understanding different types of musical memory is why systematic approaches to melodic development focus on building blocks that develop true inner hearing, not just pattern memorization. This kind of structured thinking separates effective practice from random pattern collection – whether you’re studying baroque pieces or modern rock solos.
Next time, we’ll explore how ALL paths are valid and how your specific starting motivation can connect to centuries of melodic wisdom without abandoning what makes your playing authentic. You’ll discover why the entry point matters far less than most guitarists think, and how tradition is accessible regardless of whether you started playing to glorify God, impress others, or simply because you love music.
☝️ This week, reflect on your own phases. Can you identify distinct periods in your musical journey? Where are you now, and where might the spiral lead you next? Understanding your trajectory helps you move forward intentionally rather than accidentally.
If this newsletter resonated with your sense that there’s more depth available in your playing, consider sharing it with a guitarist exploring their own spiral path between contemporary expression and historical wisdom.
Dan Keller
