We had a really interesting couple of emails from Jonathan Warburton and would love to start a discussion about the content.

What are you views on orchestral instruments in worship bands?
Also how trained do you have to be to effectively be a strong player in a worship team?

I’m a professional trombonist. I rarely get chance to play much worship music because of my commitment to the BBC and other bands/shows I’m involved in. Here’s the reason I ask and a scenario:

Last week I was in a big band of good church musicians playing music by Glenn Miller and other big band arrangers. However it was clear that the band couldn’t cope with the music at all. The bass parts had no chords as the parts were written out. The drummer couldn’t read the drum parts. The pianist couldn’t play the more difficult chords (extensions, half diminshed chords etc) as for the instrumentalists - most struggled to read the rhythms accurately.

This is in no way a criticism but whilst I know they’d have made an excellent worship team, as a big band playing big band arrangements they just didn’t have the skills to do a good performance.

So I suppose I’m asking is worship and performing secular music linked by the skills and experience of musicianship?

Would you encourage a worship musician to gain skills in secular music?

I think the thing that concerns me a little is can we look at worship from a musical perspective? I have to ask myself sometimes,  “Do I like the song for it’s musical or theological content, does it draw me in to worship?”

In all honesty worship has a way of getting me to praise God no matter how naff I’m feeling however I also have a professional performing side to me. I’m lucky to be involved with Stuart Townend and Dave Fellingham and others……but interestingly so many of the well recognised worship leaders have little (so I’m lead to believe) musical training.

So I ask myself does anointing trump training?  hmm…..
I just don’t know….I suspect it does…..but the jury in my mind is out. Read More »