Practical help for band rehearsals – part 6 – Just a lot of smashing

Practical help for band rehearsals – part 6 – Just a lot of smashing
Practice is personal. Rehearsal is relational.
Rehearsal is a time when we as a team come in as pieces of colored glass and tile. Some gorgeous, some plain. And we piece together a mosaic of musical expression to honor God. The more each piece knows his unique place in the picture, the more he can prepare to fit beforehand. Chipping away. Shaping. Polishing. As each piece does this, the work of rehearsal becomes about connecting to create a larger work of beauty.
But currently our rehearsals are just a lot of smashing…
The acoustic guitarist thinks it’s 1996 and strums every beat of every song.
The keyboardist doesn’t notice she’s running over the bass player with her Mac truck of a left hand.
The drummer is inserting Neil Peart fills in a Kari Jobe ballad.
One of your singers acts like she’s trying out for The Voice. The others are hunchback chart-gazers.
The electric guitarist (who did prepare) is tweaked and starts fantasizing an epic rockstar guitar-throwdown with Mesa Boogie feedback underscoring his indignant walkout.
And the leader lays down her polishing cloth and picks up a hammer and chisel.
If your rehearsals are already utopian love-ins, then you don’t need this series. But for many, this is our current reality. So here are some concepts we mosaic-makers need to teach our teams:
My time is your time. Your time is my time (from the California , to the New York Isla–sorry, ADD & Woody Guthrie, bad mix). Showing up late affects everyone. Failing to prepare affects everyone. Everyone affects everyone, to some extent.
Run to healthy conflict. Jason Hatley talks about this in his Worship Leader Insights Podcast (#5).  No time to unpack this here. Your assignment: listen to that podcast and read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.* Great book.
Get Centered. I loved art classes in high school. Except pottery. I could never get the clay centered on the wheel. Ever seen someone trying to work an unbalanced blob of wet earth spinning at 100 revolutions per minute? Humorous (for the class, not me). So take time to help the team center on the glory of God. Just remember, rehearsal isn’t a bible study, prayer meeting or a helicopter-parent support group. (See the previous post in this series.)
Learn the song cold before you come. It’s almost embarrassing that we need to say this. But many on our teams (and even us ‘leaders’) assume they’ll pick it up at rehearsal. So practice isn’t just personal – it’s a way to serve the team. And a way to glorify God. (a shining segue to the next point…)
More prep  = more potential to worship. I can’t abandon myself in worship if I’m still spooning with the music stand.
The last thing I want to say in this series is this: have fun. If rehearsals really are relational, it helps to like each other. So…
Have fun at rehearsal. Jam on an 80s tune for about 5 minutes at the beginning. You might have a vocalist get persnickety if she doesn’t know the words, but it’ll loosen up your band. (I found out in a previous ministry that a high-maintenance singer loved John Denver. Guess what we jammed on? Almost heaven…West Virginia…Blue Ridge Mountains…Shenandoah River…c’mon sing along! And she did.)
Have fun outside of rehearsal. When rehearsal’s over, send the singers home and really bust loose with a jam that goes far too late. Go putt-putting. Go the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame (if you live near Cleveland. If you live in Sacramento, maybe not). It’s amazing what shared experiences will do for a group.
It’s easy to get discouraged or impatient. But don’t. Keep working on your mosaic. It will come together–piece by intentional piece.
________
Let me know how it’s going for you, or throw out some suggestions that I missed.

Practice is personal. Rehearsal is relational.

Rehearsal is a time when we as a team come in as pieces of colored glass and tile. Some gorgeous, some plain. And we piece together a mosaic of musical expression to honor God. The more each piece knows his unique place in the picture, the more he can prepare to fit beforehand. Chipping away. Shaping. Polishing. As each piece does this, the work of rehearsal becomes about connecting to create a larger work of beauty.

But currently our rehearsals are just a lot of smashing…

  • The acoustic guitarist thinks it’s 1996 and strums every beat of every song.
  • The keyboardist doesn’t notice she’s running over the bass player with her Mac truck of a left hand.
  • The drummer is inserting Neil Peart fills in a Kari Jobe ballad.
  • One of your singers acts like she’s trying out for The Voice. The others are hunchback chart-gazers.
  • The electric guitarist (who did prepare) is tweaked and starts fantasizing an epic rockstar guitar-throwdown with Mesa Boogie feedback underscoring his indignant walkout.
  • And the leader lays down her polishing cloth and picks up a hammer and chisel.

If your rehearsals are already utopian love-ins, then you don’t need this series. But for many, this is our current reality. So here are some concepts we mosaic-makers need to teach our teams:

  • My time is your time. Your time is my time (from the California , to the New York Isla–sorry, ADD & Woody Guthrie, bad mix). Showing up late affects everyone. Failing to prepare affects everyone. Everyone affects everyone, to some extent.
  • Run to healthy conflict. Jason Hatley talks about this in his Worship Leader Insights Podcast (#5).  No time to unpack this here. Your assignment: listen to that podcast and read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.* Great book.
  • Get Centered. I loved art classes in high school. Except pottery. I could never get the clay centered on the wheel. Ever seen someone trying to work an unbalanced blob of wet earth spinning at 100 revolutions per minute? Humorous (for the class, not me). So take time to help the team center on the glory of God. Just remember, rehearsal isn’t a bible study, prayer meeting or a helicopter-parent support group. (See the previous post in this series.)
  • Learn the song cold before you come. It’s almost embarrassing that we need to say this. But many on our teams (and even us ‘leaders’) assume they’ll pick it up at rehearsal. So practice isn’t just personal – it’s a way to serve the team. And a way to glorify God. (a shining segue to the next point…)
  • More prep  = more potential to worship. I can’t abandon myself in worship if I’m still spooning with the music stand.
  • The last thing I want to say in this series is this: have fun. If rehearsals really are relational, it helps to like each other. So…
  • Have fun at rehearsal. Jam on an 80s tune for about 5 minutes at the beginning. You might have a vocalist get persnickety if she doesn’t know the words, but it’ll loosen up your band. (I found out in a previous ministry that a high-maintenance singer loved John Denver. Guess what we jammed on? Almost heaven…West Virginia…Blue Ridge Mountains…Shenandoah River…c’mon sing along! And she did.)
  • Have fun outside of rehearsal. When rehearsal’s over, send the singers home and really bust loose with a jam that goes far too late. Go putt-putting. Go the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame (if you live near Cleveland. If you live in Sacramento, maybe not). It’s amazing what shared experiences will do for a group.

It’s easy to get discouraged or impatient. But don’t. Keep working on your mosaic. It will come together–piece by intentional piece.

Let me know how it’s going for you, or throw out some suggestions that I missed.

Guest post by Jon Nicol – a worship pastor, guitarist, songwriter and all-around-lover of helping people use their gifts and abilities to worship Jesus. This series first appeared at WorshipMinistry.com and Jon’s site worshipteamcoach.com. Thanks for permission to reproduce.

 

Other posts you might like:

Practical help for band rehearsals – part 1 and part 2 and part 3 and part 4 and part 5

 

How to run a worship jam session

Jamming your way to a better worship band

 

Tips for working with a band – video clip

Rehearsing tips for worship musicians – video clip