Quiet on the Third

Musings on church music

[crossroadsband]

Take the time to make chord sheets

The only thing that’s worse than spending half an hour or more during the week typing up a chord chart, is attempting to read miniscule hymn words while hoping the chords you’re playing are correct. This is because a lot of hymn sheet music looks like this:

Not ideal if you’re trying to sing and play guitar.

Or sometimes you get the words for the 1st verse next to the music but verses 2-9 are on a separate page so you have to keep glancing at the music and back to the words. This seems easy enough when you’re practising at home but on the Sunday, I always regret not making something a bit easier to read.

It’s worth taking the time to prepare something that’s easy to read all the way through. This might also include simplifying the chord changes if need be. As most hymn music was not written with the guitar in mind, there usually tends to be far too many chord changes (almost 1 per beat), which makes it near impossible to sustain any kind of rhythm. Taking out a few of these unnecessary chords, will make hymns much more pleasant to play.

Finally, it’s not just for us singer/guitarists that the chord sheet might come in handy. Why not print off a few extra copies so that other band members can sing along for the whole song, rather than just the 1st verse.

-P

[crossroadsband]

Invite people to sing

It's probably fair to say that we don't have a church full of enthusiastic singers. As a result, our band tends to be loud and as full bodied as possible, in order to avoid any awkward silences. 

I've previously thought that most people won't be comfortable to sing loudly if they can clearly hear their own voice. Especially if you're standing next to someone who isn't singing and there's acres of space between you and the next singer. I still think this is true, but I have noticed something interesting recently:

Sometimes, if you strip back the instruments in a verse of a song, maybe to just guitar or piano, or perhaps even acapella, people seem to sing louder. It's almost the same effect as when a performing singer points the mic to the crowd (I said "almost"!). If the band is always filling in the sound, all the time, maybe some people get a bit complacent with not singing. But if you invite people to sing by cutting back the arrangement from time to time, then I think people realise this and sing louder.

-P

[crossroadsband]

Counting in

Counting in loudly and confidently (and at the appropriate tempo) is another seemingly obvious thing that I don’t do well. Of course it goes without saying that counting in properly is essential if you want everyone to start the song at the same time. But during the meeting it seems to become a much harder task.

There have been moments when I’ve gone blank and forgotten the tempo of a song and just started playing it myself, letting others join in after a few bars, instead of risking a dodgy count-in. And there have been times when I’ve counted in but not loudly enough for the drummer to hear… you can imagine the rest.

I don’t think we should be too afraid of blurting out a harsh sounding “1,2,3,4" when the church are standing there waiting to sing. Better to do that and be in time than a timid count-in that no one can hear. It’s also probably worth trying to surrender the counting in duties to the drummer if they feel more confident with the tempo…

-P

[crossroadsband]

Play a little riff

Historically I've been daunted by the idea of learning melody lines and runs. This is because it's very easy for something to go very bad. Especially when I'm playing it. But it's worth persevering for the colour it brings to the music. It's also going to make us better guitarists.

Here's an idea. When you have the luxury of two guitarists: instead of both of you learning the chords for the songs during the week and then potentially treading on each other's toes on Sunday; one of you should figure out riffs or melodies or arpeggios or something. Something different. This should preferably be the person who's not also singing. Also, I don't think you need to have nailed everything to play something nice -- even a two note repeated figure a coupla octaves up is better than both of you blasting away at the rythmn.

-N

[crossroadsband]

Eye Contact

Making eye contact with the other band members is helpful for maintaining a tight musical ship. It’s actually quite surprising what you can convey just by looking at someone in the middle of a song. I’m not talking about emotionally connecting with band members through music or anything like that, just that you’re more likely to minimise big mistakes and timing issues if you look at one another from time to time.

The drummer usually appreciates a nod when he’s meant to cut out in the final verse. If the bass player is looking at the drummer, they’re more likely to be in sync. It’s also much easier to ensure that chorus repeats, or quiet third verses are not forgotten if band members are looking at one another.

I find that all this comes naturally during practice but when I’m playing the songs “for real” during the meeting, it’s a different story and I find myself staring straight at the sheet music, hoping not to make a mistake. I’m not sure how to avoid this. Maybe it’s making a deliberate effort to look up in between verses. Or maybe it comes with practicing more and being comfortable with a song without needing to burn a hole in the music.

-P

[crossroadsband]

Getting people to help you

I find as a music leader it's simple to do things myself. Getting the gear down, plugging all the instruments in, setting up the music stands etc, sorting the sheet music out. Oddly, while I'm doing this though, the other musicians are standing around chatting or playing their instruments.

I somehow feel like because I'm running the rehearsal I'm responsible for all this stuff. But I shouldn't be. The whole team should be involved in setting up and packing down. But as long as I keep on doing this stuff I think they assume the same thing that I did – that's it's my job and not theirs.

Lately I've started actively asking people to do things that I normally have done myself: Mark, can you test the mikes for me?, John can you set up the stands?, Tim can you give everyone a copy of the music? Dennis can you take this stuff upstairs after the meeting's finished? It works fine. Things get done more quickly and everyone's involved.

I do think it's worth going a bit further though and communicating regularly what needs to happen so musicians come ready to help. If they're too busy to help because they're practicing their part – that's a whole nuther issue for another post …

-N

[crossroadsband]

Positive Practice

Something I’ve realised only in the last few months is that the bandleader can set the tone for the practice session. For better or for worse. It sounds obvious when I say it out loud, but there have been many times when I’ve turned up to music practice feeling uninspired, stressed, tired, flat. Soon enough, most of the band will end up feeling uninspired, stressed, or tired, and the music will sound just as flat as the people attempting to make it.

Turning up to practice calm, positive, and even joyful (why not?), will have a flow on effect that could ultimately be the difference between good and great music (or OK and good music) (or bad and good music…etc). 

And if you’re thinking of the longterm situation for the church band, a fun and relaxed practice session will get people coming back and help to avoid burnouts and discouragement.

-P

[crossroadsband]

This is a blog about leading church music; improving, reflecting, and enjoying.

I hope it will serve as a kind of shared diary. Somewhere to keep the thoughts that usually escape in the middle of a Sunday night.

-P