About

Ben Howington

Hi, I’m Ben Howington. I live in North Carolina. I have four kids and a wife that makes me a better person.

I learned to play guitar when I was a teenager in the early 90′s. Back then, there was no internet for me to get into trouble on after school. So instead, I locked myself in my room for hours everyday teaching myself to play the guitar.

I guess I hope there are some kids out there that can use the stuff on this site and spend their free time after school learning to play guitar, instead of wasting it on other stuff (like homework).

Mormon Guitar

Mormon Guitar is all about teaching. I don’t want to just play cool arrangements of hymns for you to listen to. I want you to learn how to play them too.

At the beginning of each month, a new hymn is picked. Sometimes it’s by my kids or family, but sometimes I let you pick. Not picking the hymns myself makes it a lot easier to dive into each one looking for some hidden meaning or insight.

I then arrange the hymn, transcribe it, videotape myself playing it , videotape myself teaching you how to play it, and finally I create interactive TAB that lets you practice the song at your own pace.

New arrangements are posted at the beginning of each month. And everything on this site is free.

Concerts, Firesides, Youth Conferences, etc.

Yes, I do them. And yes, they’re a lot of fun.

For anything church sponsored, there is no charge. All I ask is that you cover travel expenses (I live in North Carolina). It also needs to be at least at the stake level. Most of the events I do are multi-stake. The more people there, the more fun these things are for everyone.

Here’s a breakdown on what I’ve found works best for each:

Youth Conferences:

45 minute keynote or seminar(s) in the Chapel in the afternoon.
Topic: The power of music and how to identify and incorporate more good music in your life.
I talk to the youth about my teenage years and my relationship to music back then, how it impacted me, ways they can easily tell if they should be listening to a song or not. It mainly focuses on how music is truly a spiritual language and why it is so important to seek out good music. I also play several hymns/primary songs on the acoustic guitar throughout to illustrate my points.

60 minute concert in the Cultural Hall that evening, usually before a dance.
That night, I then play all the songs that might not have been Chapel appropriate. I basically play as much fun and uplifting music as I can in 60 minutes. It features upbeat hymns and primary songs on the acoustic and electric guitar. It’s main point is to show the youth that the hymns are a lot cooler than they think.

Musical Firesides:

60 minutes in the Chapel.
Topic: The power of music and how to identify and incorporate more good music in your life.
I talk about how music has impacted my life, how to identify and listen to more good music, how music truly is a spiritual language and why it is so important to seek out good music. I play several hymns/primary songs on the acoustic guitar throughout to illustrate my points.

Concerts:

90 minutes in the Cultural Hall or an auditorium.
At these concerts I like to play as much fun and uplifting music as I can, but still including some popular slow and emotional hymns as well. Songs are played on both the acoustic and electric guitar. The main point is to show that there is so much more to the hymns than we realize and a lot cooler than you think.

House Concerts:

House Concerts are always fun because they are smaller in size and more intimate. Most people hosting house concerts don’t charge admission and instead ask for a donation from people attending to cover the costs of the artist. These are usually done anonymously or included in an envelope with a note. It also takes the pressure off of everyone because they can donate as little or as much as they want. People usually donate $10-$20 per person attending, but honestly, it’s completely up to them. Even if times are hard and they don’t have anything to donate, just being there to listen and show support is enough.

I also leave it up to the host to decide who to invite, so it can stay a private event and not be overrun by strangers in their home. But it’s totally up to the host. Some house concerts even host a pot luck dinner before the performance that typically last around 2 hours. I love house concerts because I get to personally meet everyone and make new friends. Some of the most magical experiences I’ve had have been at house concerts.

If you’re interested in hosting a house concert, contact me at benhowington@gmail.com.

Help Support Mormon Guitar

Mormon Guitar is my hobby, not my job. I don’t make money directly from this website. I pay for all of the copyright licenses, software licenses and server costs out of my own pocket and spend a whole lot of time creating these resources. It’s very important to me that Mormon Guitar remain a free resource for people wanting to learn the guitar. I don’t ever want money to be the barrier for a teenager somewhere wanting to learn how to play.

Do I need your money? No, but I won’t stop you if you want the blessings :) If you’d like to donate, just click on the PayPal donate button at the bottom of the page. All money will go directly into the site – which could include server costs, software licenses, copyright licensing or even just freeing my time from other things that pay the bills so I can work on it more.

Here are some ways to support Mormon Guitar: