Top 10 Do’s & Don’ts – Congregations

By Tim Bowdler | May 18, 2010

Advice for church congregations in relation to worship music It’s ok, we didn’t forget you. Yes, a key part of the worship is the congregation – the group of worshippers. The worship leader is there up the front taking the congregation to a place of worship, but it’s not much use if the people in […]

How to introduce a new song

By Andy@Musicademy | May 14, 2010

Tips for introducing a new worship song to your congregation There a number of ways to introduce new songs to a congregation. Graham Kendrick teaches his songs line by line, Stuart Townend tends to teach songs in sections as the lyrics change but the melody remains the same and Matt Redman often injects the new […]

Become an intern at a women’s refuge in England

By Marie@Musicademy | May 6, 2010

We’ve got to know the people in a community project local to us called the Catholic Worker Farm. They live in a big old house in Maple Cross, Hertfordshire (about 20 miles from central London) together with homeless female asylum seekers. They also grow organic vegetables. The team are wonderful people – we have so enjoyed getting to […]

Free Worship Resources Index – Posts on Worship

By Marie@Musicademy | April 29, 2010

You’ll find plenty of free resources by instrument in the indexes listed to the right here, however, this is a list of useful free stuff for worship teams, worship leaders as well as other miscellaneous articles on the topic of worship. Advice for worship training and musicianship Developing a sense of timing in your worship team […]

Ask the Expert – Master song list for use in small churches

By Andy@Musicademy | April 20, 2010

Vicky MacArthur, who goes to a small village church in Oxfordshire, is hoping to start a monthly service called ‘hands free’ with a small band and informal style. She emailed saying “It would be great to have a list or suggestions for some of the simple songs that you use with your congregation.  We are just […]

Ask the Expert – How to find a musician co-writer

By Andy@Musicademy | April 9, 2010

Mike Williams writes: When I was younger I advertised with a local radio station for someone to collaborate with, writing music for songs I had written.  I had the tunes in my head but couldn’t write the music.  No response at all. Now, at least, I can write guitar chords to some of my songs, […]

What to say when leading worship – part 3

By Guest Blogger | April 8, 2010

I’m aware that for many people reading the question posed in the title of this post, their immediate and firm answer is, “Nothing!” I, too, have been the victim (and the perpetrator) of comments during corporate worship that are more distracting than helpful. That’s why I want to list ten practical aspects today that hopefully […]

Top 10 Do’s & Don’ts – a guide for ‘insensitive’ musicians

By Tim Bowdler | April 5, 2010

Bassists, guitarists, drummers, violinists, cellists, pianists, keyboard players, saxophonists: all of you – it’s time to sit up and pay attention. Yes, although you think you have the monopoly on wisdom in your band/ensemble here’s a harsh reality that you need to understand. You don’t. All musicians, regardless of their Christianity and their right-mindedness and […]

What to say when leading worship – part 2

By Guest Blogger | April 1, 2010

In my last post I described eight worship leader stereotypes who aren’t quite sure what to say when they’re standing in front of a group of people. Today I wanted to give four reasons why we should say anything. 1. Magnify When we’re leading corporate worship, our first responsibility is to magnify the greatness of God in […]

Advice on leading small group worship

By Andy@Musicademy | March 26, 2010

Following on from our blog post on small group worship last week (Small Group worship – a lifeless fire about to go out), here’s some practical tips on leading in a small group setting. The wonderful thing about worshipping in small groups is that there is so much more opportunity for everyone to contribute or […]