I Think, Therefore I Sound Awesome

How do you begin a song? Perhaps like this: "Oh, this one again. I know this. Off we go!"

I have recently joined a local concert band as a drummer, and have had to dust of some rusty brain cells to try and remember how to sight-read drum notation. But I can't just launch into the song. I've got to look at the music first, recognise the patterns that the arranger has written so I know what to play, make sure I know where in the stave the snare is, or the bass, looking at any dynamic and tempo markers so I know how to approach the song, and of course, watching the conductor so I know when to start and how fast. All of this happens long before I whack a skin.

Whether you're rehearsing or leading worship in a Sunday, time spent just asking a few simple questions before putting hands to keys or mic to mouth can make the world of difference to how that song comes off.

• What are the lyrics of the song saying?
• How does that affect the mood of the song?
• How fast should the song be?
• What should the feel of the song be?
• Where does each instrument come in?
• How loud should we start?
• What key is the song in?
• Do I know all the chords/can I substitute other chords?
• Does everyone know the song?
• Is anyone playing the same part (e.g. guitars) and should perhaps try something different?
• Who are we following for this song?

Of course, many of these questions by nature should be asked together as a team. This ensures that everyone is on exactly the same page, and has the same point of departure for a song.

Many teams try and rely on 'how we did this last time'. Even if last time was great, the more time that goes by between your 'great performance' and your present one will have an increasingly negative effect on the quality. People forget things at different rates, but everyone forgets (or fools themselves into remembering the way they wanted it to be).

So think before you play. Let your brain take a mental breath every time you approach a song, no matter how long you've been doing it. It will make the difference between okay and excellent.

Making the Most of Rehearsals

Hey guys. It's been a while since the last post (no, not that last post - musical joke). I'm going to try and give some hints and ideas to make rehearsal times more productive.

Rehearsals are usually that limited time before the service, sometimes during the preceding week, sometimes right before the service, where the goal is to be 'ready' for the service. But what does it mean to be ready?

Being ready can really be broken down into two facets: being musically ready and being spiritually ready. Musical readiness is fairly simple. You will want to know how the songs go and what your part is, so that you can effectively lead the congregation. Spiritual readiness is more complex, but includes having the right attitude, the right focus of heart, the right love for those we serve and those we serve with, and a desire for God's glory.

This seems an awful lot to accomplish in an hour or hour and-a-half, but it is possible. Rehearsal time is more about quality than it is about quantity. Here are some bullet-points to help you have quality rehearsals.

Be Committed. No rehearsal is going to be worth it if everyone is not committed to being there, spending the time in hard work. Encourage your team to be regular and punctual.

Bible. It's always a good habit to let God have first word when Christians meet together, for whatever reason. Perhaps just a verse from the passage that the pastor is preaching on during the service, or maybe a text that one of the songs is based on. It's a great way to disarm all those other ideas and attitudes we come to rehearsal with.

Pray. This ministry only happens with God's help, so we should spend time before we begin and after we have finished. We should never forget that we are not just gathering to rehearse for a gig where we play the dots on the page and then we're done. Rather, we are Christians gathering to prepare our service to God. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 18, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

Fellowship. Build Christian relationships, so that you may minister more effectively. If music is all you have in common, it will quickly become the focus of your time together. If Jesus is what you have in common, the same follows.

Reflect. Talk and think about the songs you are rehearsing. What are they saying? What Bible texts are reflected in the lyrics? How does the song challenge your relationship with Jesus? Are you able to mean what you sing?

Prepare. Come to the rehearsal having warmed-up (this may mean arriving earlier). Having the song titles before the rehearsal enables the team to anticipate the rehearsal and be more engaging. Personally prepare your heart by praying before the rehearsal. If you are leading the rehearsal, come with a rough idea of how you want each song to run -starts, finishes, instruments, dynamics, etc. This gives a skeleton which can be finalised during the rehearsal. It avoids the, "How should we do this?" question that often wastes time.

Set-up. If you need to set up your gear (drummers, guitarists - you know what I mean), do it before the rehearsal. Same goes for sound system. "Go ahead and I'll catch up when I'm ready" is bad ministry.

Starts and finishes. The most important thing in leading songs is showing the congregation where to come in, and where they should stop singing. For this reason, if you can get your starts and finishes tight as a cyclist's shorts the middle of the songs often take care of themselves. By all means practice songs all the way through, but then spend time just doing the intro and outro of each song to get it spot-on.

Melody. Make absolutely sure that the singers know how the song goes. Singers who are confident with the melody will make them better leaders, and the band will be able to play to their lead and be more effective in supporting their lead. If they need tightening up, get your pianist to play the just melody slowly while the singers sing it. This will help them to hear exactly how it goes, and they will be able to hear immediately if they depart from it.

Music. Have the packs of the correct music ready, in the right key, ready to go straight into the hands of the musos and singers at the start of the rehearsal. The rehearsal time will be wasted scratching around in files and trying to decide on the best key for a song.

Sound Operator. Have your sound operator present at your rehearsals. This gives him time to set up the sound ready for the service in an unpressured environment, and avoids wasting rehearsal time with the leader running to the back to adjust your drummer's monitor mix after each song. Ensure that you include them in your times of fellowship and prayer so that you can all minister as a team.

Service Leader. If you have someone leading the service from the pulpit, encourage them to join the rehearsal. This will help them and the music team connect with each other, and lead the service better together. The service leader will know the songs and how they go, and the music team will get to know the guy whose directions they need to follow. It always helps a service to be more focussed if everyone involved has met together.

Lots of stuff, but if you get this right you will have more productive rehearsals.