Category Archives: Preparation and Organization

Guest Articles, Motivational, Preparation and Organization, Resources

What Songs are We SINGING?

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What Songs are We Singing?! Thank you Glenna Lasater for your wonderful perspective on this subject!

May I just say that I think that the whole debate between old and new gospel music is silly. We are worship leaders. Our job is to lead God’s people into worship—not just the young people—not just the old people—but the entire church.

Music is a thing that ticks in emotion with the experiences in your memory. Your experience may have happened decades ago, yet it feels like just yesterday when you hear a certain song. You start to sing those lyrics and it transports you back to that moment when you were at the altar of repentance. We want to stir up those memories. We need to remember where God brought us from!

The reason there are fewer songs about the Lord’s return is because there has been less preaching about the Lord’s return. The Word of God inspires musicians to write songs. The new songs are written about what they are hearing preached just as the older songs were written about what they were hearing preached.

It is important that our young people hear the powerful songs about Heaven and the rapture, but that does not mean that there is no value in the worship songs written today. It is not a competition—us against them. We are all God’s people!

I think the ideal worship service would be a blend of both the old and new so that we can reach everybody. So that we can take everybody back to that moment in their lives. We must get out of the way so that God can do a mighty work in HIS church.

The Bible tells us to sing a new song, but it does not tell us to quit singing the old, familiar songs. If you put this conversation into God’s timing, these are all new songs. What all musicians pray for is harmony. How can we have harmony if we are creating discord?

If you do not like the content of the current music, then pray for preaching that takes us to a new depth in our understanding, a deeper love, and an urgency that brings us to a place of repentance.

Forget about genres. We do not want to be segmented into being a worship leader for a certain age group. That divides the church. Instead, look at the lyrics without the music? Do the lyrics speak to you, or make you go “hmmm?” Then, when you sing those lyrics, sing them as though they mean something to you. This will help create new memories, and new experiences for those that hear you.

These songs are creating those memories right as you sing and it is a beautiful thing to be a part of that. Years later, your music will take them back to this very moment immediately.

Ministering in song goes beyond us singing each verse two times and the chorus three times. We have to be in tune with the Spirit of God so that we don’t interrupt the flow. We have to make those opportunities for God to move. 

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Go be a blessing!

Glenna Lasater, West Valley City, Utah

Guest Articles, Instructional, Motivational, Preparation and Organization

BUILDING A COHESIVE WORSHIP BAND

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by Diane Horsley
TBC Music Department
Whether you fall into the category of recent music grad accepting your first church music job, part-time music department volunteer or “there’s no one else to do the music” scenario, there will be a time that you have to put together a worship band. There are definitely challenges when forming and working with a band, but the payoff is more than worth the investment. In this article we will share some ideas that we have found to be successful when trying to build a cohesive band. Most of us working with worship bands realize that the musicians are made up of volunteers. (Thank God for people who are willing to give freely of their time in such a busy and fast paced society.) So one of our first challenges is trying get everyone on the “same page” musically.
  • It’s always a good idea to find out as much as you can about the musical background of each of your musicians. How many years have they been playing?
  • What style are they used to and comfortable with? Are they younger musicians with only a few months experience on their instrument? Knowing everyone’s skill level will give you a sense of where to start and what type of songs you will be able to do.
A successful rehearsal is vital to a successful band. This statement cannot be stressed enough.
  • First, make sure the rehearsal night fits everyone’s schedule. People will have to miss practice from time to time due to real life situations, but make sure that overall they can be available for the time you set. Keep the practice within a reasonable time frame. An hour is the norm and most people can set aside 60 minutes during the week. Running rehearsals too long makes people not want to be involved and so does a leader who is unpleasant and critical. Be Christ-like in rehearsal. Remember God is the reason you are all working toward excellence. Never forget the key word here-volunteers!
  • Second, get the set list, audio and charts to all of them before they get there.  It’s very hard to learn 3 or 4 new songs in an hour if they have never heard them. It will make your job much easier if they are familiar with the material and have had time to practice individually or at least listened enough to be comfortable trying it.
  • Third, make sure you as the band leader know what’s happening in each song as far as the key, tempo, intro’s, breaks, special instrumental parts, and endings. They can’t follow you if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s important that males and females in this role not be timid in leading. Band members will feel unsure if you lack confidence or are unclear in your directions.
  • I have found that doing the easiest song first works well. Tackle the more difficult material in the middle, then end with one that’s more familiar. It’s good for your band to leave with a sense of accomplishment and feeling like they sounded good instead of the “we sounded horrible” vibe.
  • Fourth, know what parts of the songs are going to need “extra” attention and work those parts more. Before you start to practice a song it’s good to give a little overview of its form or layout. Sometimes it’s just a matter of a simple reminder that makes a song go smoother. Always make sure the intro, breaks, specials vamps and endings are solid since that’s when the band is most exposed. If the musicians are having a hard time playing a certain riff or progression up to tempo-slow it down. Repeat it 10 times in a row if necessary then gradually start speeding it up until everyone can handle it. Don’t keep starting over from the top. Work the areas that aren’t “happening” then try it again.
  • Fifth, make sure they can all hear you during practice either with a mic run thru the sound system or a talk back mic. Communication is so important in the rehearsal as well as in the actual service. You will avoid many “train wrecks” musically when you can communicate with all the band members. Lastly, at the end of rehearsal sincerely thank everyone for donating their time and compliment them on things done well. Even if the practice wasn’t stellar, make them feel like they are valued for what they are trying to accomplish. In the end, as long as God’s anointing is on all of you during the service and the congregation was lead into God’ presence for a time of sincere worship-count it as a success!
Motivational, Preparation and Organization

Don’t Be a Clone – Make It Your Own!!!

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Clone_Small It amuses, yet annoys me when I hear people say “but that’s not the way they did it on the recording!”  Think about it–especially us gals—have you ever had the occasion to buy a dress that you just loved and anxiously anticipated wearing to church, camp meeting, or a special service only to arrive and find out that another gal is wearing an IDENTICAL dress.  How embarrassing this can be!

Not only do we not like to dress identical to others (believe it or not—most identical twins don’t even enjoy dressing exactly alike) most likely we wouldn’t do an EXACT copy of someone else’s home décor or purchase the exact sofa or bedroom ensemble. I enjoy looking at clothing and home décor and getting ideas—but when it comes right down to it—I just use these for a guide and NEVER make an exact replica.  This is called DESIGNING or an ORIGINAL DESIGN!

The same applies to music arrangements—listen to the recording and use it as a guide—but you don’t HAVE to practice or perform it EXACTLY the same way it is on the recording.  This does not give you an excuse to dumb down your arrangement to the point that you just SETTLE FOR LESS instead of challenging yourself to stretch your talent and creativity to see your true capabilities!  

Use the intros, licks and chords if you like but if you need to change the key in order to keep your sopranos from sounding like Minnie Mouse, by all means do it.  If that sends the parts too high or too low for your altos and tenors, switch them up.  If a bridge just doesn’t “fit” your group or church, eliminate or replace it with something else.  Make your own medleys! This is known as ARRANGING! 

Quite frankly, a person who moans “but that’s not the way
” usually simply just lacks the creativity and ability to arrange!  If you need help getting started, just ASK!  Most of the time you’ll find other musicians willing and able to help you get started!  Try arranging—don’t be a clone!

Motivational, Preparation and Organization

What’s in Your Freezer???

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Ok!  So you don’t see what that has to do with music at all!  Well, allow me to explain!!!

The past several years, my husband, Mark has had a box garden—4 boxes in our backyard in which he grows lettuce, peppers, onions, green beans, cucumbers for pickles.  Believe it or not, these small little boxes produce so much that we’ve been able to fill our freezer and pantry!

We were able to chop up and freeze enough peppers to see us through fall and winter and still have plenty left.  We also chopped onions and put them in small freezer bags ready for use at a moment’s notice.  Even though we didn’t grow celery, I thought it might be handy to have frozen celery at my fingertips whenever I make a casserole.  So whenever I need pepper, onions or celery, I just reach into my freezer and these ingredients are available at a moment’s notice.

Was all that chopping and bagging fun?  Not really.  When we were getting the onions ready, the tears just ran down my face as I breathed in the fumes.  When we were chopping the peppers—especially the hotter ones, every time I took a breath it felt like my nostrils were on fire.  No–not fun at all!!!

But now that I have these little freezer bags filled with these essential ingredients, it is certainly a blessings to be able to just reach into the freezer and grab a bag without having to worry about prepping while I’m preparing my meal.

How Is That Related to Music??

Now relating to music—consider the time you spend “prepping” as the time you are learning scales, learning to read notes, new chords, chord progressions and fills.  Yes, it’s not that much fun and the tears may flow and your brain may feel like it’s on fire.  Oh but when you have taken the time to “pre-prep” it is such a blessing to be able to reach into the “freezer” or “pantry” of your brain and pull out those chords and progressions—all ready to use—instead of having to stop and do your “prep” work when you want to play the song!!!

Just a thought!!!!  Come on—get busy and start your “prep” work now!!!!  You’ll be glad you did!

Motivational, Preparation and Organization

Avoid the Summertime Blahs!

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Summer Sun
Summer is coming quickly—that busy time of year that is filled with vacations, camp meetings and summer youth camps.

So what are you doing this summer? 

Whatever you do, don’t let yourself or your music team dry up or regress this season! Here are several ways you can stay fresh during the summer months
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Your music team
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  • Refresh  choruses your praise/musicians team learned over the past year but didn’t quite “jell.”
  • Review songs you want to incorporate into music program in coming months.  By listening and learning just one or two songs during the summer months, you’ll be prepared to start your fall music program with a whole lot less stress!
  • Find out when your musicians and praise singers have scheduled their summer vacations.
  • Plan to use less experienced singers and musicians to fill in.  With enough time and preparation, even mediocre musicians can play for a few worship services.  Begin training as soon as possible!
  • Provide lead sheets to all of your fill-in musicians.
  • Encourage fill-in musicians to play in children’s church or Sunday School to get more experience.
  • Sing “re-runs” or repertoire with which they are already familiar.  However you MUST go over parts again to refresh them.
  • Cut back on your choir practice schedule to every other week or once a month.  Don’t cut choir completely out!  It is hard to re-motivate the choir into activity again! Use smaller groups such as duets, trios, ensembles, and chorales to fill in your music schedule.

Your Personal Musicianship….

If you only play with chords or by ear, teach yourself to read notes! Learn to sing intervals and identify them by ear. (See Major Scales and Intervals file.)Focus on learning several new chords (diminished 7th, augmented, etc.) and learn to use them in new progressions.