Bassists, guitarists, drummers, violinists, cellists, pianists, keyboard players, saxophonists: all of you – it\u2019s time to sit up and pay attention.<\/p>\n
Yes, although you think you have the monopoly on wisdom in your band\/ensemble here\u2019s a harsh reality that you need to understand. You don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
All musicians, regardless of their Christianity and their right-mindedness and generous hearts, have a little bit of pride lurking down deep in the soul. Why? Well, it\u2019s because they all have one thing in common: they\u2019re human.<\/p>\n
So leave your prejudices at the door thank you very much, and enjoy just a few pearls of wisdom to help your on your way. Singers, you can go. We\u2019ll deal with you later.<\/p>\n
1 Do\u2026 pay attention and look up<\/strong> 2 Don\u2019t\u2026 just turn up and play<\/strong> 3 Do\u2026 take the practise seriously<\/strong> 5 Do\u2026 listen to the other parts 6 Don\u2019t\u2026. veer away\/forget what you\u2019ve rehearsed<\/strong> 7 Do\u2026 note down the running order<\/strong> 8 Don\u2019t\u2026 overplay\/underplay 9 Do\u2026 learn your parts beforehand<\/strong> 10 Don\u2019t\u2026 be rude to sound people<\/strong> <\/p>\n Other posts you might like:<\/strong><\/p>\n Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – acoustic guitarists<\/a><\/p>\n Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – sound men\/women<\/a><\/p>\n Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – backing vocalists<\/a><\/p>\n Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – drummers<\/p>\n Top 10 Do’s and Don’ts – worship leaders<\/a><\/p>\n The 10 commandments of electric guitar<\/a><\/p>\n Playing together as a team<\/a><\/p>\n Communication skills for worship teams<\/a><\/p>\n
\nYou\u2019re ploughing away – grinding out your riffs, licks, rhythms and something occurs to you\u2026 this song seems to be going on all awful long time.
\nHELLO\u2026
\nYou look up and suddenly you\u2019re aware that the whole band is looking squarely at you. The worship leader is grimacing because, in short, he or she wants you to stop.
\nLike now.
\nBand dynamics rely on communication and there is a tendency with musicians to concentrate solely on what they are doing. With this head-down approach you\u2019ll miss cues instructing you to play tenderly, forcefully, quietly\u2026 and so on. If you miss your cues you\u2019ll look like an idiot, and it\u2019s important, for your very being, that those idiot quotients are kept to a minimum.<\/p>\n
\nChurches rely on people to muck in. Sure everyone plays their own individual parts based on their talents but sometimes a little extra care and legwork by can grease the wheels for everyone. If you\u2019ve got a bit of time help the drummer carry his stuff or maybe shift a few amps around. If the soundman is rushed off his feet, give him a hand lugging some speakers or put up a few microphone stands. There might be a few chairs to put out or an overhead projector to assemble. At the end of the service have a look around and offer to clear away some stuff. Clearly, you have your job but your musical skill isn\u2019t the only element to your worship. God likes this approach: it\u2019s selfless and kind.<\/p>\n
\nNo you don\u2019t want to look like the Grim Reaper during the rehearsal but you don\u2019t want to start behaving like Patch Adams either. There are phases during the practice \u2013 particularly when the worship leader is concentrating on one musician\u2019s part \u2013 where it\u2019s tempting to start messing about. Usually some smart arse starts playing a Livin\u2019 on a Prayer and like sheep we all join in to underscore this moment of mirth. Don\u2019t do this. It\u2019s dull and boring and crass. Be patient, feel free to have a chat but keep the banter to a minimum. A worship leader doesn\u2019t need to keep you in line like a schoolteacher.
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\n4 Don\u2019t\u2026 forget your kit<\/strong>
\nDrummers, in particular, have a lot to remember but forgetting to bring sticks does crop up from time to time because it\u2019s just so obvious. One Musicademy drummer confessed to turning up without sticks \u2013 a sizeable oversight \u2013 and could not find any kind of suitable replacement. A frenzied, yet thorough search in the church\u2019s kitchen yielded two hand mops and this miscreant was forced to play the entire set with said cleaning instruments.
\nIf you wish to make your life easier do a mental checklist when you are packing your stuff. Tuners, sustain pedals, capos, plectrums, reeds, metronomes, drum stools regularly feature in the \u2018remember when I forgot my\u2019 anecdote but if you are a saxophonist and you forget to pack your instrument then it\u2019s time to tattoo a picture of it on your forehead and write \u2018look in the mirror\u2019 on the back of your hand.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Lead guitarists that don\u2019t listen to acoustic guitarists, acoustic guitarists that don\u2019t listen lead guitarists, drummers who don\u2019t listen to bass players, bass players who don\u2019t listen to drummers\u2026
\nThe list of \u2018sinners\u2019 that don\u2019t use the curly things on the side of their heads is seemingly endless. Listening to music, listening to what other people are playing is true musicianship and it\u2019s worshipful too. You can pick up on phrases and lines that the drummer is using, or even the other way around \u2013 it all adds to a feeling that you are part of a tight, respectful team and that there are no egos in the way to derail what you are trying to do, which is to lead people to a place of worship. Being in a band is about teamwork and if you are not aware of what the others are doing and how they are doing it, it\u2019ll be fragmented and it\u2019ll sound fragmented.<\/p>\n
\nTry to stick to what you\u2019ve rehearsed \u2013 that\u2019s the whole point of a rehearsal. Sometimes musicians go off-piste in the service and you\u2019re never quite sure whether they are going to get back on it. Of course, worship leaders leave room for something spontaneous to happen but that\u2019s different from completely changing the basic form of what you have practised. Some of us are absent-minded but try to concentrate and if you know you are prone to this write down pointers as to what you should be doing.<\/p>\n
\nThere is a story of a well-known drummer who was reminded of the true meaning of fallibility when he was asked to click in a tune at a major Christian worship event. In a venue packed with thousands, the sticksman counted himself in and began playing a standard 4×4 measure at quite a frenetic pace. This lasted for around 16 bars. Expecting the band to join in he looked up. There was a nod of the head from the worship leader and eventually he stopped. He didn\u2019t write the songlist down and had clicked in completely the wrong tune. You might like to describe this as a trainwreck, of which it was. He was then informed about the song he SHOULD have played and was invited to start again \u2013 at the right tempo.
\nThis cautionary tale is there to implore you to adopt this very simple practice. Just write the list down in the correct order and stick to it. If the worship leader chooses to mess with it, that\u2019s his\/her lookout.
\nAlso make sure you keep your music in order to ensure seamless song changes \u2013 it really does help to keep the congregation stay in an attitude of worship.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>There is a side of us that wants to show off, and there\u2019s another side that wants to climb into our shells. Both extremes come from a place of insecurity \u2013 one where we desperately want attention, the other where we don\u2019t want any. Without getting too Freudian about this or feeling to need consider the relationship you\u2019ve had with your parents, simply ask yourself the question: am I worshipping God? Fear of man makes you underplay and fear of man makes you overplay. Be sensitive to God\u2019s spirit, and stick to what the worship leader is asking you to do.<\/p>\n
\nYou might have to badger the worship leader prior to the Sunday service to give you a list and if he or she is notoriously Space Cadet\u00a0 \u2013 and some are \u2013 you will be at their mercy. Still, if you are fortunate enough to get a song list early make sure you are familiar with the tunes and the arrangements. Note down the structure and write down how many verse\/chorus repeats there are. This may well change on the day but at least you will have a sense of what is about to happen and there\u2019ll be fewer surprises. Tempos are a big problem for drummers and worship leaders often like to play at completely different speeds to those on the recorded songs because they want to put their own \u2018stamp\u2019 on it. That\u2019s fine but take a metronome to ensure you get consistent tempos. Turning up and saying \u2018I\u2019ve no idea how this song goes\u2019 and expecting to get a decent handle on it within a couple of minutes never really works.<\/p>\n
\nThis seems to be a vocation for a lot of musicians who, quite frankly, should know an awful lot better. Stupid, up-themselves musicians look down on sound men\/women who get little recognition for their efforts, are often engaged in back-breaking activities and are invariably blamed for dreadful sound and ineffective foldback. Poor sound quality is rife in churches, but usually it\u2019s because the acoustics are terrible and congregations cannot afford to purchase expensive sound equipment. For sound people in these situations it\u2019s often a thankless task. If your foldback mix isn\u2019t quite right, wait your turn and try to be as clear as you can. Whatever you do, don\u2019t start huffing and puffing and whispering under your breath if the sound isn\u2019t how you\u2019d like. Keep calm and try to communicate politely what you need. If this doesn\u2019t happen then, y\u2019know, sometimes you just gotta suck it up, and get on with it.<\/p>\n