musicademy outstanding practical worship tuition

Musicademy

The world’s best instructional resources for the worshipper

Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
  • Store
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • LOG IN
  • MY ACCOUNT
  • Learn more about our products . . .

    • Guitar (Worship)
    • Guitar (Rock & Pop)
    • Bass
    • Keyboards
    • Drums
    • Singing
    • Worship Backing Tracks

    Questions? Check the FAQ

  • And other bits...

    • Local Courses
    • Licensing
    • Musicademy Live
  • Newsletter signup

    Sign up for all the latest and greatest news.




  • BLOG

    • 03/07/09 How many cymbals for Sunday?
    • 01/07/09 Pedals for Bass
    • 29/06/09 How to write a really good worship song
    • 26/06/09 BBC Radio 1 DJ talks up church
    • 23/06/09 Newsletter - 23 June 2009
  • Exclusive freebies

    New? Sign up for access to our free downloads, keep track of your purchases and to manage your newsletter subscriptions.


    Already a member? Sign in to visit visit the members area.

  • Latest Free Videos

    Using orchestral instruments in worship

    Rehearsal tips and ideas for worship musicians


    View all

Pedals for Acoustic Guitars

By Andy | June 22, 2009

guitar-pedals

I’ve done a few articles about recommended pedals to get started with on electric guitar in a contemporary worship band setting and in response a number of people have asked for something similar for acoustic guitar and bass, so here are some thoughts. Similar principles apply to both instruments so I’ll list the acoustic pedal ideas in this post and the bass ones in the next.

When you get this kind of “what pedals for acoustic or bass” question the immediate response from many pro musicians is – don’t! Both these instruments are designed to be used with a natural tone and a lot of the time putting an electric guitar pedal though them is somewhat akin to too much icing on a cake. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a worship service where the acoustic guitarist has used their favourite digital chorus pedal for the whole set, but it just gets fatiguing on the ears after a very short time! So in short everything that changes your natural tone needs to be used in short bursts at choice moments.

So if you want start with a couple of boxes it’s probably worth considering some pedals that enhance your natural tone rather than trying to change it. Firstly buy a great tuner, it’ll be the pedal you use the most and there’s nothing worse than a slightly out of tune guitar. Try getting one that mutes the output when you step on it. Also don’t be tempted to go for a cheapie. I’ve tried loads of cheap tuners over the years and the frustration that comes with it not be able to clearly pick up the right string sound is simply not worth the few quid you save on purchase price. There are loads available so do some research but here are some choices to get you going. Read More »

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • StumbleUpon
Posted in Guitar Stuff | Tagged acoustic guitar pedals, guitar tuner, tuner pedals | 16 Comments

Free Video Clip - Working with two keyboards in a worship band

By Marie Page | June 19, 2009

Here is a clip from a live Musicademy seminar where Tim Martin gives advice on working with two keyboards in a worship band.

Tim is the presenter of Musicademy’s Worship Keyboard DVDs.

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • StumbleUpon
Posted in Free Worship Resources, Keyboards Stuff, Video Shorts | Tagged keyboard effects, keyboard sounds, praise keyboard, worship keyboard | 1 Comment

From train wreck to nervous wreck

By Tim Bowdler | June 18, 2009

train-wreck-nerves

Nerves, fear, trepidation, lack of confidence are all feelings that can cripple a musician and stop him or her playing for, and worshipping God.

Around ten years ago, I suffered from acute nerves when playing drums in front of an audience/congregation. At one point it became so bad that I would simply turn down any invites to play at worship events because the fear became almost uncontrollable.

I still suffer nerves, but not in the same way – most musicians will tell you that nerves, in their mildest form, can help. An element of trepidation before a ‘performance’ means you care enough not to make a hash of it.

I completely identify with those who suffer stage fright. It became part of my life as musician until I learned to manage my fears. Those who quote the scripture ‘Perfect love casts out all fear’ to a nervous musician might feel they are helping. I appreciate the sentiment, but it comes across as throw-away and glib. Platitudes such as this generally underscore feelings of inadequacy moments before ‘battle’ is due to commence.

The reality is you have to build confidence as a musician and this takes time. I started getting nerves after an incident of monumental ineptitude – I can laugh about it now, but only just… Read More »

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • StumbleUpon
Posted in Drums Stuff, Worship | Tagged dealing with nerves, performance nerves | 3 Comments

Independent review of Vocaleze throat spray - does it really work?

By Steve Weeks | June 17, 2009

As the untrained singer with the Jazz Funk Legends called “Our Dad”, the closest I come to “technique” is to “Think of Tom Jones”!  I love to scream and shout - inducing audience frenzy and a personal state of Voice-Wreck.  Near the end of the set, my range is often reduced to half an octave, and after three nights running I can hardly talk, let alone sing. Maybe that’s why those generous people at Musicademy asked me to road-test VocalEze and ClearVoice; two very similar voice-saving throat spray products - almost identical in both packaging and ingredients.  However, I was a little concerned about this experiment; some medication can be indirectly harmful.  I believe Strepsils can get you in trouble because they anaesthetise your voice. This allows you to continue singing without realising the strain that’s happened - until the next day when you try to speak.stevesinging

Last night my band was privileged to play at the wedding of Quin Delport (WW Message Tribe in the old days, and fronts new power-pop band, “Shackleton”) - a lovely man with a great voice.  There would be lots of musicians and singers in the crowd, so I kind of expected I’d be trying too hard and wreck my voice again. Therefore a great opportunity to take with me a voice-saving vocal spray! Read More »

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • StumbleUpon
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged clearvoice, review, throat spray, vocaleze | 5 Comments

How to write a really mediocre worship song

By Bob Kilpatrick | June 16, 2009

the-shaggs
In most cases, one can use these three qualitative judgments- good, mediocre, bad- in descending order. Good is better than mediocre. Mediocre is better than bad. But, in my humble opinion, it’s different in song-writing; good is best, bad is good and mediocre is bad. As an example of proof I would reference the Shaggs “Philosophy of the World” album. Recorded (I believe) in the late Sixties by three sisters who (from what I have read) were forced into it by their father, this is one of the truly bad records of all time. It sounds like they could see each other but couldn’t hear each other while they played their instruments. And the songs!- Yikes! what terrible songs! Listening to this album is like watching a minor traffic accident unfold in front of you; not too hurtful and immensely enjoyable to have experienced. It is so bad, it ranks right up there just under good.

Mediocrity, on the other hand, is excruciating. It has the desire for excellence without the talent to make it happen. It’s the loser of the playoff game, the billiard ball that almost went into the corner pocket, the salutatorian of the graduating class. Having written hundreds of mediocre songs, I consider myself an expert. Consequently, I have deigned to share with you my tips on how to write a really mediocre song. These are road tested and guaranteed to work. Read More »

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • StumbleUpon
Posted in MusiComedy, Song writing | Tagged worship song writing | 7 Comments
Older posts »
« Newer posts
  • Blog: Featured Product

    Check out the new Worship Backing Band For Musicians

  • Categories

    • Administration
    • Ask An FAQ
    • Ask The Expert
    • Bass stuff
    • Chord of the Month
    • Church stuff
    • Drums Stuff
    • Free Worship Resources
    • Guitar Stuff
    • Keyboards Stuff
    • Musicademy Live
    • MusiComedy
    • Newsletters
    • Orchestral instruments
    • Pick of the Best
    • Recording
    • Reviews
    • Song writing
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Tech stuff
    • Uncategorized
    • Video Shorts
    • Vocals Stuff
    • Worship
    • Worship Theology
  • Recent Comments

    • Paula on Independent review of Vocaleze throat spray - does it really work?
    • Church IT - Supporting ministry with IT » Blog Archive » links for 2009-07-04 on Pedals for Bass
    • Church IT - Supporting ministry with IT » Blog Archive » links for 2009-07-04 on Creating a website and social network for your worship team
    • Alun McCarthy on Pedals for Acoustic Guitars
    • Bill Finch on Pedals for Acoustic Guitars
  • Authors

    • Andy Chamberlain (62)
    • Bob Kilpatrick (3)
    • Cat White (1)
    • David Clifton (1)
    • Guest Blogger (3)
    • Jonny Baker (4)
    • Marie Page (84)
    • Mike Sessler (2)
    • Sam Hargreaves (5)
    • Scott Bartlett (2)
    • Steve Weeks (12)
    • Tim Martin (12)
    • Tim Bowdler (4)
  • Archives

    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008

Copyright © 2008 Musicademy :: Musicademy Directory

  • Home
  • About
  • Store
  • Blog
  • Contact