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Category Archives: 50+ Practical Tips

Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – Percussionists

By Tim Bowdler | March 15, 2010

Picture the scene. The worship leader wants to create a bit of a different vibe to the Sunday worship time. So in a moment of intense clarity he thinks, “I know, I’ll get the drummer to play percussion instead this week. It’ll be  great. After all drums and percussion are really the same instrument right?” Wrong wrong …WRONG!

Although of course both are rhythm instruments, they do need some pretty different techniques to play them properly so right off the bat, tip 1 is don’t assume that because someone can play one thing, they can automatically play the other. Second, the percussionist can be dangerous in a worship band: often the worship leader is not quite sure what to do with the percussionist and he or she just says ‘Oh well, you just follow along and look out for the changes’.
This is bad.
A good worship leader understands what a percussionist can bring to the party: if the percussionist’s instruments are well-chosen and played at the right moments they can add some real colour and interest to the whole groove. Conversely, a bad percussionist/conga player is like a grenade in a nuclear arsenal.
A percussionist usually has a very light brief and is often effectively asked to just jam along with no real sense of how their contribution will make any different to the overall sound. So if you are one of these wonderful creatures that is finding life in the worship band an unhappy one, here’s a few tips to hopefully help the whole perscussion integration gel a bit more

1 Do… learn to pop and ‘heel and toe’
Every instrument requires basic technique: a guitarist must learn a few strumming patterns, a drummer must learn his or her rudiments and a pianist must start out with a few chord shapes and simple music theory to get them on his or her way. For some reason the vast majority of conga players still haven’t learned the basic ‘heel and toe’ technique. This is when you effectively rock you hand on the skin of the drum to deliver two very distinct sounds. Then there’s the ‘pop’. This sound punctuates, and is extremely effective. If you don’t know how to do this, log on to YouTube and search for a demonstration of a traditional ‘Clave’ rhythm. This should be the building block for your conga playing. Read More »

Also posted in Drums Stuff | Tagged Church stuff, congas, percussion, Worship | Comments closed

Tips for working with a band

By Marie Page | March 12, 2010

Marie Page gives some quick tips for worship leaders in terms of administrative and practical preparation and keeping your band happy. Also ideas for working with inexperienced musicians and musically challenged congregations.

Also posted in Video Shorts, Worship | Tagged amateur musicians, working with a band, worship leading | Leave a comment

Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – Acoustic Guitarists

By Tim Bowdler | March 1, 2010

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The standard line-up in a worship band usually comprises worship leader/acoustic guitarist, lead guitarist, drums, bass, keyboards and a couple of backing singers. It’s rare for a band to have a lone acoustic guitarist.

As a result nobody is really quite sure what to do with an acoustic guitarist who isn’t the worship leader so, usually, they are left own devices and nobody’s really thinking about the parts they play. Therefore the demands on acoustic guitarists are not too great. If they stick to the chord chart and play in time everyone’s happy: they are usually on auto-pilot anyway.

That’s pretty counter-productive. The reality is most worship songs are written on acoustic guitars so there is a fair amount of responsibility that goes with this role. The acoustic guitarist should help to shape the songs the worship leader has chosen to sing. The acoustic guitarist – and a particularly accomplished one – can help to take the worship to another level and that’ll yield vibrant, spirit-filled services.

So, if you are one of those ‘anonymous’ acoustic guitarists here’s a few pointers to help you play a key role in the worship band. Read More »

Also posted in Guitar Stuff | Tagged acoustic guitar, guitar, guitarists, Worship | 1 Comment

Top 10 Do’s & Don’ts – Lead Guitarists

By Tim Bowdler | February 16, 2010

Guitarists perform a fine balancing act in worship groups. They are there to embellish and add the icing on the metaphorical worship cake. If they bring too much icing with their grab-bag of tricks they can destroy something beautiful within seconds.

Lead guitarists should be encouraged, though. Guitarists who choose an electric invariably see it as more than a passing hobby so the ones who really get into it often spend more time honing their skills and expanding their knowledge than is immediately noticed. That desire to hone their craft needs to be appreciated and embraced by worship leaders, congregations and churches as a whole. Yes it can seem a bit all consuming, self involved and even an identity to the outside world but if harnessed well and appreciatated, a good, team playing guitarist with a sensitive ear and a servant heart is pure gold. A guitarist without these traits is like a pew with a nail in it. Painful, and there to stay.

So, for the unloved lead guitarist who desperately needs a claw hammer, help is at hand.

1 Do… keep your volume levels in check
There are two schools of thought here – one that comes from you and the other that comes from everyone else. Your school of thought is: ‘I can’t hear myself’. Everyone else’s is: ‘The guitarist is too loud’.
Guitarists, who are offering their time to play at church want to worship like everyone else but volume, and the amount of it, can be a bone of contention. The trouble is as we all know, to get a great sound from your beloved tube amp, it needs to be cranked up a bit, but most amps are designed to be used at a volume WAY above church levels so, get a small amp and point it towards the instruments that produce volume and need to hear you. I.e. the drums – I.e. not the backing vocalists. Also try to get 6-10 feet away from your amp and angle the speaker towards your face. it’ll sound a lot louder then. And do use your guitar volume control or even a volume pedal to match the intensity of the song and the volume of the singing. Maybe set it on 8 for the rhythm parts and 10 for the out there stuff. Lastly don’t use too much pre amp distortion. You won’t be able to hear yourself and that classic ‘wasp in a jam jar’ tone will get lost in the mix. Cleaner tones, without masses of reverb or out of time delay, cut through more and generally the congregation can cope with them better than the uber metal sound. Don’t worry, you won’t  have to go super clean and join the Gaither band. Even classic rock and metal tracks had less distortion than you think.  Read More »

Also posted in Guitar Stuff, MusiComedy, Pick of the Best | Tagged electric guitar, guitar, lead guitar, Worship, worship guitar | 5 Comments

Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – Worship Leaders

By Tim Bowdler | January 31, 2010

The life of a worship leader is a happy one. These people get all the fame, the royalties, the best-looking girls (or boys), they get to travel around the world and sing their carefully crafted compositions to lots of loyal followers. They are perfect in every way…

No. The truth is they get irritable, they have bad breath and sometimes they do write some quite awful, cringe-inducing songs that sound like palid impressions of (most) Coldplay tunes. They are impatient, egotistical, insecure and most of the time they can’t play their instruments properly. They are normal… like us.

So, in a bid to help these poor, wounded souls along the way, here’s our Top Ten Worship Leader Do’s and Don’ts. If you are a worship leader this collection of gems won’t make you a nicer person, but hopefully it’ll make you even better at helping your congregation praise and worship Jesus with gusto and integrity.

1 . Do… make yourself clear.
We have said this time and time again, but agree a set of (obvious) signals. By osmosis the worship-leading ‘trade’ appears have adopted an almost masonic, yet well-known set of ticks and tricks. A leg-cock tends generally means a chorus is about to happen, a cocked leg with a shaky foot means a bridge is imminent and an obvious guitar chop means it’s time to end. The ending is important and you have to pre-agree the format. Are you going to end with a slowing ‘rout’ or a definitive final note at the end of a bar? Communicate what method you plan to execute during the rehearsal. Of course, there should be room for improv solos and numerous repeats within the body of the song but do make it clear to the individual musician what you want from them without them having to perform some kind of David Blaine-esque mind-reading technique.

2.  Don’t… keep playing your own songs Read More »

Also posted in MusiComedy, Pick of the Best, Worship | Tagged advice, dos and don'ts, top 10, worship leader, worship leading | 4 Comments
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