It never ceases to amaze me of how simple really is simple. Countless times i am asked "how do I encourage my congregation to sing?" Often I wonder the same myself. Then i have to default back to the Less is More Concept. Lemme tell you, it saves us every time. '
Just when we think leading is easy, we often complicate it. Most people think if you have a 20+ team on stage, the congregation will sing more. If that's true, why is it that U2 can pack a 60,000 stadium in Japan and all the concert goers sing in English??
We must never mistake what we do either musically or lyrically - keep it simple! This concept not only frees up the congregation to join in, but it also inspires and lifts the worship team above the pressure. So what is an ideal sized-team for your church? Only you can answer that question. However, it's not about what or who you have, but how you use it. You will be amazed; you can put together the same group of 20 people, yet arrange them in such a way that you can simplify all the musical lines like an orchestra. But I still go for a smaller team, at least that's what works for our local church.
Try re-arranging what you do by creating teams, turning the music around on it's head and changing up the instrumentation. Not everyone has to play all the time, every time. When they do, people stop singing because they are enjoying the concert.
Who's our focus? God. How do we engage others through the music to worship God? Keeping it simple.
What are some experiences/stories that have worked for you in encouraging your congregation to sing?
Music and Lyrics (From The Road - Teaching Series) Worship Team Training Copyright 2010, Administered by For His Music
When's the last time you changed your strings? That's right, the
dreaded task you face as a guitar player. Is there a right way or a
wrong way? Here are a few tips to help your next guitar string changing
easy and painless. Check out BDs 9 Step Guitar Stringing Recipe.
Guitar String Changing | Excerpt from “The Art of Building a Frame.” Copyright 2010 Branon
Dempsey Worship Team Training - For His Music Clinics. All Rights
Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” Psalm 96:1
We sing to the Lord a new song because of what He has done in all the earth, in all of creation and mostly because of all for who he is. From a singing standpoint, when we sing new songs and old songs, are we truly singing in the newness of freedom? Do we actually sing freely with no interference or barriers in the voice?
Typically, most singers either use excessive force or little-to-none when they sing. Maybe in your experience, the singers who have the most difficulty are the ones who over-sing. There is a freedom that can be experienced naturally, just as natural as your regular speaking voice. Our facial, throat and breathing muscles function normally as we speak, chew and swallow our food and to breathe with our lungs. Depending on the intensity of our actions, the muscles automatically know and adjust to the right intensity level to produce movement. The larynx (Adam’s apple, voice box) is a major part of the vocal apparatus and functions as both a voluntary and involuntary muscle. The larynx is designed to work freely – involuntary. You speech and pitch is created by the passing air over the vocal cords, producing a vibration.
As you exhale, your lungs work with your vocal cords to produce frequency and pitch. In a very relaxed posture and breath control, the larynx can produce speech and singing freely. In creating resonance, your initial tone from the voice box is amplified through the spaces of your vocal cords as it travels to your mouth. Ultimately, your tone and timbre are produced by the shaping of your mouth (facial muscles) as the pitches finally escape through your lips. This activity is present when naturally speaking and is ideal for singing. In speech, the larynx is at “rest position” because its not having to move up or down. In essence, the goal is to sing as you would speak. When you sing naturally, the right amount of air and vibration of the cords will produce pitch frequencies just as naturally.
Over-singing occurs in a variety of ways; when this happens, the outer muscles take control over the inner throat muscles. As muscles on the outside tighten, it can have a boa constrictor effect, preventing the larynx to move freely. When this happens, the inner muscles tell the brain to use more force, the larynx moves up or down to distribute power as the outer muscles continue to squeeze. As a result, all the muscles in your neck and throat tense up because the inner muscles are no longer able to control the tension. Therefore, the body must make up the difference. You can sense how this is a cyclic effect. In the end, your tone is unbalanced and your voice is exasperated. When your larynx is at rest position, you are able to produce balanced levels of breath control, pitch (top and bottom notes), chest and voice connectedness because your muscles are relaxed and stable.
How to be Free How do we free the larynx and/or voice? It begins with how we speak. When you speak in a soft dynamic, the inner muscles move freely apart from the outer muscles and are not inhibited. Try speaking in a quiet manner and feel the activity of the inner muscles. You will notice that the free and isolated movement comes from the cords alone. Speak the word “you,” and hold the pitch over a few counts (p – dynamic – soft volume). Did you feel any activity from outer muscles (your neck)? Did you feel the vibration of the cords with a bit of resonance from the chest cavity? If you only felt the relaxing sensation of the inner cords, tone and resonance and not the outer muscles, you performed it correctly. At this point, your voice and speech were operating naturally.
Now try signing the same word at a stronger volume (f – dynamic – loud) and this time hold your head up. Sing the note. Did you feel your voice box move up? This will feel like your trying to climb the ceiling to reach the note. Now try the same word and volume, dropping your head – chin down to your upper chest. Sing the note. Did you feel your larynx move downward, like your trying to “dig” for the note? Did you experience a “pressing down” effect on your voice box?
Okay, there are two problems at hand. The first is when we move our head up or down in order to produce high and low notes. This causes the larynx to either jam-up or to press down, which produces top notes to splat or bottom notes to wobble. The second occurs when we move the larynx up or down without any head movement; in other words, the voice box is purely moved by the outer muscles. You can imagine the pressure and strain on the voice when combining both head movement and outer muscle tension. This may lead you to finally conclude why you either feel tired, pain and/or out of breath when you sing. When you overuse the muscles you cannot sing for long periods of time (for some 3-5 minutes is enough!). You cannot easily sing high and low notes and you will not be able to produce an even connectedness between head and chest voice. This can cause unfavorable effects as well as injury to the cords. Again, you will not feel free, comfortable or natural when you sing.
Head and Chest Voice Head and chest voice is produced in two different ways: the chest voice produces notes in the lower registers; the head voice produces notes in the higher registers. The meaning of connecting the head and chest together is to achieve a general balance in singing between registers. This can be attributed to a cello string instrument; all the notes across the registers are equalized and stable. In all instruments and the human voice, there is a certain amount of movement to occur for the notes to speak. Like the strings of a cello, the voice produces pitch and frequency by the applied pressure on the cords. When I say “pressure,” I am speaking in context of natural muscle pressure – not vocal strain or tension. Naturally, high and low notes speak accordingly by their given frequency. Remember high school physics class? The greater the vibration, the higher is the pitch; the less vibration, lower is the pitch. The first half of the problem occurs when we increase too much air (pressure) or add muscle tension in order to reach or dig for notes. The second half of the problem with most singers is to unlearn these bad habits of muscle tension. This anomaly stays undetected due to the lack of understanding in how the voice really works.
Singing in a “connected” manner between head and chest voice involves singing from your most comfortable low registers of your chest through your mid to upper high notes in your head all at speech level position. When you sing naturally in your upper register, both air and pressure from the cords will increase gradually for higher notes. Lower notes will require less air, but more space to achieve rich and clear low notes. As you free your voice, your register and dynamic range will maximize because the outer muscles are out of the way, leaving room for the inner muscles to function naturally. Never should you force your voice to do anything, as you may experience strain and tension.
Once you unravel the bad habits, you will notice that your voice and muscles will actually work “less” when you allow the larynx to operate freely. When you maintain a comfortable and relaxed vocal posture, you will be able to sing both high and low notes over longer periods of time with much ease. When you sing with your larynx at speech level (rest position) your voice is using the right muscles just as they were intended.
The Break When you learn to sing through both low and high ranges comfortably, you may encounter areas of your voice where tone, resonance and muscle activity is limited in making transitions between registers. When smoothness of the voice between notes is disrupted, this is referred to as the “break.” Most often, the break is a discouragement to most singers and threatens them to discover uncharted territory in the musical space. The break occurs when the outer muscles finally initiate pressure on the inner muscles as you move between registers. This would be the famous 12 year old childlike “crack” in the voice. The outer muscles pull down and tighten (the boa constrictor effect) around the voice box. When this happens, the pitch will try to slide down the throat. As a normal synapse of the body, the outer muscles apply more pressure to prevent tone slippage. Your vocal cords will stretch in this process in order to meet the note’s requirement – next your muscles jam-up. Mechanically speaking, the cords have to naturally stretch to achieve higher notes, but how the muscles influence the cords to stretch is the key – not by the force of outer muscles.
There is a way to smoothly cross the break and to sing higher notes more comfortably. The art in achieving the smoothness of higher notes is found in using the right amount of air and pitch balance – not volume. When volume is forced on the voice box, it is translated into tension. Again, higher notes speak by themselves without human force. There are many arguments between using a lot of air or to use the least amount of air in order to sing higher notes. I have found that there is a balance between the two. When you force too much air on the cords, the outer muscles will takeover the larynx because the inner muscles cannot withstand the pressure alone – this is a normal response and recovery of the body.However, when you lessen the amount of air and use just enough to let the note speak, you allow the larynx muscles to stretch by themselves – freeing you from the blistering break and the outer muscles.
The Resolution When you free your voice or sing naturally at “rest position,” you will find that producing notes will be easier because there is less effort involved. Your outer muscles will not takeover the larynx and your breath control will be in balance with your cords. As a byproduct, your words when sung or spoken will be clear and your tone will be transparent. Because your larynx is relaxed, you will be able to sing in all ranges with pure balance and smooth execution at every dynamic level. While you have time after this reading, sing to the Lord a new song; and when you sing – sing it naturally and free! (be sure to download the attached PDF which contains illustrations and music examples).
Excerpt from “The Art of Building a Frame.” Copyright 2008 Branon Dempsey – Worship Team Training - For His Music Clinics. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. www.worshipteamtraining.com
3.17.10 Post: Diane "Thank you so much for this article. My husband is a worship leader and I sing and play the drums. This article I will print off and give it to our Pastor who I know will be happy to include it during our next worship workshop. We have 4 teams and it will be invaluable for them . May God bless you and may you continue to share what He has put in your heart. Thank you for sharing with us."
3.18.10 Post: Abishai "The article is good and it will help a lot of people like me who is in the music industry and I don't have music materials. It is a very Great Gift to me. May God bless you and continue inspiring us especially myself."
3.18.10 Post: Garth "Thanks for taking the time to publish this, Branon. This will be very useful for the newer members of our worship team."
There
you have it. Your nice six string polished up. Music is ready. Strap
that guitar on cause you have 1 minute before the downbeat of service.
You pick at one string just to make sure your getting signal coming
through your monitor or effects. The inevitable happens. You're out of
tune! You don't have time to look down at your tuning pedal, or to grab
for the nearest digital tuner. Relying on electronic tuners is a great
thing, but for times when you're in a pinch, it can be a handicap.
Wouldn't guitar life be easier if you can tune by ear? What's that? You
don't have a good ear or know how to tune? Well, let this article calm
your nerves and make guitar playing more enjoyable.
The History of Pitch and Tuning Let's
talk about the strings themselves. From the 6th Century, a
mathematician named Pythagoras heard the hammering of an anvil. He
discovered that each pitch from the strikes of different hammers
produced simple ratios of each other. Pythagoras was able to divide the
pitches accordingly: 1 whole ratio, 1/2, 1/4 and so forth. He later
applied this theory to the length of two strings and discovered that a
musical tone can be governed by a number as it also creates an
interval. When playing two strings of the same length together, they
produce the same pitch. As you shorten or lengthen one string, leaving
the other untouched, they produce two different pitches. He understood
that tuning and pitch relation from note to note produced consonant
(pure) sounds and dissonant (impure) sounds. This is how the 8 note
scalar system was invented.
How
do you tune from the same note to the same note? This is exactly how we
tune by ear. Pick your guitar up and let's play name that tone. We are
going to learn the flutter effect. When two strings are perfectly in
tune (by the halo wearing electronic tuner), you should hear a stereo
effect between pitches. Try this on your own. Tune your low E (6th
string) and the A (5th string) perfectly.
Tuning Test: Let's
do a tuning test: On the 5th string (A), press your finger down on the
7th fret. Play your open E and fretted A together. You will hear the
same note sounding in two octaves, just like Pythagoras did in his day.
Again, you should hear a nice and clean stereo effect. There should not
be a flutter or wobbling sound-wave between the strings. Now on that
5th string, locate the tuning key, yes, the guitar tuning keys on the
headstock of your guitar. Pluck the 5th and 6th strings together and
let them ring. By a grasshopper's hair, slowly turn the tuning key
down. At this point you will hear a differential pitch relation between
the strings. If you listen closely, you will hear a slight or
noticeable flutter between the notes. This wobbling sound indicates
that the pitches are impure (dissonant). The two strings will
definitely sound out of tune. Often, you can get the same result by
placing two sopranos singing side-by-side. Just kidding.
Ear Training by Piano: Using
a piano to learn how to tune by ear will help you better hear and
understand perfect pitches (provided that your piano is in tune). You
will hear with your ear and match the note on your guitar. Hearing a
pitch (or melody) and matching it's quality is often referred to as Ear
Training. Try this on your own sitting at or near a piano with your
strapped on guitar. You may also try this with a buddy. Ear training is
also a great tool for singers as well in learning how to vocalize the
notes on a piano. You it's true, each of us need to learn how to stay
in tune!
For piano tuning use the following as a guide: Guitar E - 6th string = Piano E 2 (octave 2 in bass) Guitar A - 5th string = Piano A 3 Guitar D - 4th string = Piano D 3 Guitar G - 3rd string = Piano G 3 Guitar B - 2nd string = Piano B 4 Guitar E - 1st string = Piano E 4
This
Ear Training guide will help train your ear and your brain in how to
distinguish pitch qualities. As you learn to tune each string on the
guitar, you can incorporate this technique to improve your ear. You
will get better each time you tune your guitar. The bottom line is to
practice. Oh yeah, make sure all your effects, like distortion is off
to clearly hear the pure tones. That goes for you too capo players.
Remember, you are training your ear to hear pitches accurately, this
will take time to develop.
Before
we continue, make sure that the intonation of your guitar is correct
and the neck is properly adjusted. This tuning technique will not work
very well if your guitar is in bad shape. If you are not sure, have a
friend or guitar shop look over your instrument. If you are saying, "no
problem, my guitar stayed in the closet and hasn't been touched in
years" - you're in trouble.
The 5th Fret Method and Flutter Test: Let's now learn how to tune by ear. This is very quick and the most easiest of tuning methods.
1. Tune your 6th string (low E - the big one) to an electric tuner or piano for an exact pitch reference.
2.
Fret your 6th string on the 5th fret. This fret is where they put that
big dot in the center of the guitar neck. When played you should hear
an A, which is the 5th string (open A). Tune your 5th string A to the
fretted 6th string A. Make sense? Slowly turn your tuning key of the
5th string up or down to match the note. Now you got it.
3.
At this point, you want to listen to the pitch quality of both strings.
Mentioned earlier, remember the flutter or wobble effect? Here is where
you will employ the listening technique in hearing the two pitches of A
on both 6th and 5th strings. You can pluck and listen to each string
independently to determine if the string your tuning is sharp or flat.
Next, pluck both strings together and listen for the flutter.
4.
Listen to the flutter between the strings. Try to determine if the
fluter rate is slow or fast. This may take a while to hear if it is
your first time. If both strings are out of tune from each other, you
will hear the flutter. A slow flutter is produced when the two pitches
are closer in tune; a fast flutter is when the pitches are farther
apart. As you adjust the tuning on the string to be tuned, the flutter
will slow down and eventually stop.
5.
As you play both strings together, you will have a stereo effect of the
two strings exactly tune. The sound should be one, smooth connected
tone. Now you're in tune!
As you move from string to string, use the same flutter test per tuning.
6.
On your 5th string (A), fret that string on the 5th fret as well. When
plucked, you should hear the 4th string (D). Now your D string is the
next to be tuned. In checking the flutter, lower the D string pitch
hear the speed of the wobble. In getting back to tuning the D string,
make sure you tune upward as it is easier to hear the intonation.
7.
On the 4th string (D), repeat the same process. Fret the 4th string on
the 5th fret and hear the open G (3rd string). Tune your G to the D
(4th string). Use the flutter test.
8.
Before we move on watch out! The third string will have a different
fret that we move towards (the 4th). Why? Because all the guitar
strings (notes) except the 3rd (G), are separated by a 4th interval.
The G string to B string is separated by a 3rd interval.
Fret
the 3rd string (G) on the, watch this: 4th fret. Now you will hear the
open B (2nd string). Tune your B string to the G. Flutter test it.
9.
Oh my, you're almost there. Fret your B string on the 5th fret and you
will hear the open E - bottom string that will match your top string
(the 6th string - E). Flutter test it.
Make
sure as you tune, not to fret each string with a death grip. Pressing
the string to hard into the neck will cause it to detune. This will
surprisingly hamper your new tuning technique.
Oh
my! You're set. You've learned how to tune. The challenge after this
point is staying in tune. When you get more comfortable in hearing and
identifying pitches, you can try learning other tuning techniques such
as Harmonic and Octave Tunings. Remember, Ear Training takes a long
time to develop effectively and with much practice. In some cases, it
could cost you as little as $800 for a semester at your nearest city's
music college. In this article, you get it for free. Now that you're
all tuned up, go and create some music!
Han's Solo Staying true to the art of soloing (video examples)
Racing
towards the center of the Death Star, Hans Solo is desperate to save
Luke Sywalker by taking out the enemy's precious weapon against the
Republic. He shoots - he scores. The target is pounded by lasers and
destroyed. By a thread, he and Luke escape from the massive explosion.
Victory is theirs.
Now
leading worship and playing in a worship band has nothing to do with
Star Wars unless your name is Yoda. But like all Jedi masters, they
know exactly when, where and how to apply their musical wizardry. So
the question for us: when it comes to soloing, how do we stay true to
it's role, art and application?
It's
all about purpose and role. Most every time, when I pick up an
instrument, my initial thought is "why?" In other words, I search for
the reasons of why I am going to play the instrument at all. Is there
another acoustic player? Is there another keyboard player? How many
singers are present and what are they singing? These are important
questions to consider because they help determine our purpose and our
process. As I find my musical position in the group, the next important
thing I find is to consider my place. Am I going to bang through all
the chords and notes and blow everyone out of the water? I could, but I
probably would never be asked back or worse, be escorted off the stage
by the sound engineer. Here are a few of my processes in determining
what I play/sing and how I would approach a solo.
Listen.
Seek out the musical landscape. Listen to what's going on in the
environment. If any band has a word here, it would probably be that
there is much happening in the musical space. Yes, the musical space;
it is not about filling the room, but creating room. The drummer is
doing his thing, also the guitar player, keyboard, bass and so forth.
Use your ear and find out who is really occupying the musical real
estate. Another way to think about the direction of the music is
visualize who is driving the car. Next, I begin to determine how I will
adjust. Notice how I did not say - how the band will adjust to me. Your
best move is to go with the flow of traffic. Adding a few notes here
and there is keeping with the speed limit. You don't have to move much
because the band is already in motion. It is true, if you do too much,
you will indeed rock the boat - and I don't mean like Townsend or
Hendrix. Adding just enough to keep the momentum going is all that's
needed. Here is where we find our purpose - supporting each member in
the band. You know have a good idea of what instruments are present,
who's driving the car and where you are heading musically.
Once
I establish my purpose, now I decide on how I will play the role of my
instrument. Will I be loud and proud, nimble and quick or patient and
persevering (this last one is tough!). Patience is the underlying
virtue that produces the peaceable fruit. Patience also requires you to
say "no" or "wait" to yourself. In a team setting my concern is do I
want to be a sour note, or a sweet sound in the ears of others and God?
We all hear music differently. We all interpret music differently.
Therefore, we will sound differently. I want to make sure that what I
am hearing and playing is going to be in sync with others. This all has
to do with our overall playing and soloing. My role as a musician
and/or singer is to help support the musical activity that is taking
place. Like Scripture says, I am to esteem others better than myself -
not steam roll over them. Ultimately, my notes need to be in line with
what's happening around me. Is the band playing hard, fast, slow or
soft? My adjustment and support will help make all the difference as
well as compliment. Here's another kicker-question. Does the song even
need a solo? Here's a good word I love: just because you can doesn't
mean you should. No matter how great of gear we own, or how well we can
play, it does not merit for us to flaunt it musically.
Great
solos come from great skills in listening. Learn to also match the
music and the moment. Matching the music requires a skill that
incorporates notes that are already heard in the tune. Like a great
conversation, using familiarity draws people's interest. We connect
better to words and language that is common. In attempting a solo, we
need to stay within the same musical language: key, tempo, progression,
dynamic and texture. Think about what an Eddie Van Halen "Panama" solo
would sound like to the tune of "Lord I Give You My Heart." Ok the solo
may be great by itself, but was it really great in the context and mood
of the song? Also, think about the number of notes that are used. If I
am playing a fast tune, then I would use fast notes to match the
conversation. Maybe employing slow and long notes would help widen the
spaces. Complying or contrasting the speed and length of notes is
another method to help shape the musical context.
Here
is another, yet the bigger side of the role - my heart. Jesus said that
what proceeds from the mouth is really from the heart of a man. Is this
any different from the music in which we play and sing? Is my heart
really into what I am playing? Is my heart in tune with the words of
the song?
Carl Albrecht wrote a great article regarding this
issue entitled "Now this time with feeling." He wrote these words, "I
approach each event like it deserves the honor that God has assigned to
it" (Musician Magazine of July/August 2008). Carl continued to say that
he did not want to just "go" through the musical motions, but he wanted
every note to count every time - unto the Lord. When our hearts are not
in sync with the Lord and with others as a team, the music we play will
not translate effectively. In fact, we read in Amos 2 that we can
simply become noise. It's one thing to be a great player and to know
all the notes. It's another to be a great listener to God and know what
He is saying. He speaks to us even when we play or sing. How often do
you pay close attention to the lyrics? Especially in worship. Is your
heart in connection with the words as you worship through what you are
playing or singing? Provided that the music has Biblical errancy, our
hearts will respond if we are listening. From a heart of praise, we
exude the music from our souls. This is what David meant in Psalm 33.3.
Instrument
solos I feel are right to do in a service, provided that they have
context. Like anything else, a solo must have its place. Recently, I
had a worship leader ask me if it's proper to even implement a guitar
solo in worship. As he explained the background of his church and music
style, I became aware that this congregation did not embrace change.
Has he ever been to our churches? He was afraid of the disapproval and
what the older generations would say. More importantly, he was curious
to learn a positive and effective way of introducing a solo. Man, I
thought, this guy is asking the right question. I shared with this
worship leader that every good work of art must have its context.
Proverbs tells us that without vision, the people perish. The
congregation has a better chance engaging when they understand what's
happening.
Communicating
purpose alleviates confusion. Instead of dropping a solo bomb, there
are other ways to help the congregation engage. Here are a few
suggestions of words to say when introducing a instrumental solo in
worship. Speak this timely before the solo section arrives, in any of
these manners: "Let us now praise God through our instruments." "The
Bible says in Psalm 145 to praise Him with stringed instruments." "The
Psalms declares for us to play skillfully to the Lord." "In honor of
our Lord, let us worship him with sweet melodies." After a single
statement is made, then proceed right into the solo. Keep the solo at a
reasonable length. Churches who enjoy allot of music, may not mind a
1-2 or more minute solo. Other churches may simply want a taste of 4-8
bars.
What
to play? I typically, pull out memorable sections of the song that
people know. This is not a new concept. Using a line from the opening
verse and chorus sections are great. They help maintain the continuity
of the song and keep you from rabbit trailing (or rabbit hunting). To
make the solos more interesting, after you choose your section, pick
out the best 5-6 notes that really stand out. Solo on those memorable
notes that frame out the section. Try repeating the notes, playing them
in different order and doubling or elongating the rhythms. You will
find that you have more varieties and colors to explore that are
already built into the song. Soloing and improvisation is not throwing
any old kind of notes that you can spew. Look at great musicians and
observe how they approach and stay true to the music: Charlie Parker
(sax), Thelonious Monk (piano), Miles Davis (trumpet), Steve Gadd and
Tony Williams (drums), Ron Carter and Abe Laboriel (bass) and guitar
work by Buddy Guy, Larry Carlton and Joe Bonamasa.
Now
keep in mind, the videos ahead are for examples of approach, context
and support from the band. These clips are to give a bit of flesh to
the bone. You will notice that the band and soloist use great
coordination of control, eye and ear contact.
Watch this example of soloing by Abe Laboriel, check out how the band compliments and follows his moves:
Try
this video link by Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and Darryl Jones. You may
or may not be a jazz fan but this video is packed with great solos and
compliments.
Even in drumming, watch how these three drummers (Pridgen, Laboriel and Bozzio) follow each other while keeping the groove.
Steve Lukather on guitar:
Joe Bonamassa on guitar:
Seriously, learn the pentatonic scale for soloing (rock styles) try this video from Berklee Music:
If you are beginning to play guitar and need a great basic rock lesson, try this shot from Jack Black:
Again,
these videos are full examples of soloing and how the band compliments
the artist. Overall, do not overstay its welcome by preaching a sermon
instrumentally. When taking a solo have the other instruments back down
dynamically. Jazz musicians know that you should never step on the toes
of the soloists. They know that their job is simply to support the
music. Get to the point, make it worshipful and dynamically pleasing.
My rule of thumb: the fewer notes the better - less is more. By the
way, it was Aaron Copland and Les Paul who agreed in upon a philosophy
that said: it's not the notes that you play, but the notes that you do
not play.
In conclusion, make sure that whatever music you
choose is going to edify the Body. LIke the old song "I Love You Lord,"
we are to be a sweet sound - pleasing to His ears. Let's also be a
sweet sound to the congregation. Decide on the right solo for the right
time for the right song. Choose the right notes to play that will make
the difference. Speak a word of encouragement to the congregation to
provide a backdrop of your art. In taking time to care about solos and
introducing them, you will win-over your congregation as you honor the
Lord. Treat your solo with the wisdom of a Jedi master and let the
force of God flow through you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To learn more about Carl Albrecht and his services for drums, please visit: www.CarlAlbrecht.com
Skills and Tools (What To Do's - Cont.) Now
let's talk about skill. As said before, it is always better to not
have a drummer than to have one who is uncontrollable. No matter how
small your band, your sense of timing, dynamic, clarity and
cohesiveness always wins in the end. Your singers will always find a
space to sing in the music as well as your congregation. When a small
band plays well, even without a drummer, the music will sound even,
clear and consistent. As a result for recruiting new members, you will
attract other musicians who will be more inclined to play. Like
anything else, if you find something distracting, you will avoid it;
this goes for other musicians who may be interested in joining your
band. If you do not have a drummer, the most percussive yet musical
instrument you can ever add to the contemporary band would be the
acoustic guitar. As long as that player has a good sense of timing and
rhythm, you can make up for a lot of what you're missing. Remember
what Scripture says, (Forgive the pun!) love covers a multitude of
sins. If this situation is you, then make sure that your acoustic
guitar player and/or pianist practices constantly with a metronome.
Also, if you have a drum machine or keyboard in which you can create a
click track, use this device at rehearsals. For the first time, it may
seem awkward and uncomfortable, but you will be amazed in a few weeks;
with practice and patience your timing will improve beyond belief.
Even using a drum machine in worship sets is not a bad idea. In fact,
more drum machines and drum loops are more popular than ever before.
Here's
a cool plug: go to PraiseCharts, they now have drum loops that are
musically synced to music charts. You can purchase a sheet of music
with a corresponding click track/drum loop (on wav or midi file via
laptop) and can play along with the printed sheet of music or chord
chart. This link provides a full description, instructions and all the
how-to's. Even if you have never heard of this technology before,
PraiseCharts has the solutions for your needs. Check out the cool here:
ClickTracks and RhythmTracks at praisecharts.com
In
working with drum machines/loops/clicks, it will take a responsibility
and discipline on your part. You will have to make sure that you can
efficiently control the drum machine/loop for starting and stopping on
time without interrupting the flow of the songs. Usually, a keyboard
player can operate a drum machine without problems. My suggestion, is
to try the drum machine/loop/click track at rehearsal rather than on a
Sunday. Make sure as you work with a drum machine that you make it
conducive as possible with your instrumentalists and singers before you
try it out with the congregation. A couple of months would be a good
time-window for practice sake. However, if it does not sound good and
the problems keep getting worse, scrap this idea and go back to what
you're doing originally. Your comfort and pace is more important for
your congregation. Remember, you want to help the congregation get
where they need to go with as much ease as possible.
Now
let's jump to the scenario when drumming skills are the issue. As much
as it can depend on the drummer alone, I strongly encourage private
lessons, practice time and working with a metronome (click track).
Your drummer can work in a vacuum, if they are not working on other
skills for growth. I have heard many o’ drummer say, “my practice
and/or instruction time is at band rehearsal.” This is not being real.
The rehearsal time with your church band is for your church band
(worship team), not for the drummer's "pracitce time." When you come
together for rehearsal, you are rehearsing the whole entire sound of
the band and the songs. Rehearsing the overall big picture is much
stronger and more important in the preparation for your singers and
congregation. Individual practice time is done at home. I have also
heard, like you, “I don't have the time to practice at home.” I don't
mean to sound harsh here, but if you cannot find the time to practice
at home, you are not best serving your band and church.
All
of us are busy. Finding time to practice, even if it's 10 minutes a
day, is doing everything in your power to better equip your team. In
example, if you are on a volunteer sports team, you're always
practicing your skill and position at other times, rather than on the
team's practice day. You show up and know your part. God honors our
self-discipline, commitment and dedication in our team settings.
It
is important for all drummers to learn how to play different volume
levels and tempos It takes a lot of control for any musician to
practice soft volumes at slow tempos; this well defines a musician at
having superior control over his or her instrument. With this in mind,
the drummer needs to use the right tools for the right musical
settings. Drum grooves are not always 4 on the floor rock beats. The
drummer's job is to maintain pulse and timing for the rhythm section.
This could be as simple as a single high hat groove, a little kick for
punch and a bit of snare for accents. Timing is everything. The best
bands are the ones who can play clean and in time, every time. Again,
the bigger picture is involved where the band supports the singers.
Any time in which the band's volume overrides the singer, the
congregation will have a more difficult time a catching the lyrics. In
my past experience, I have worked with outstanding drummers that are
professionals, to weekend warriors and to novices who just put a drum
stick in their hands for the first time.
All
in all, you want to have drummers play with their strengths. Let's say
your drummer has a strong right-hand, but a very weak left hand, then
your answer is to have the drummer play the high hat and kick drum,
with limited snare. Another scenario could be that your drummer has
both strong right and left hands, but their feet coordination tell a
different story. In this case, have the drummer play with both hands
and limited foot action on the bass. Another example, let's say both
feet and hands work well together, but they're only used to play one
tempo…ah here is a struck a nerve. What do you do? Who says you have
to have drums play on every song? In my experience of working with
inexperienced drummers, I’ve had them play shaker or some other hand
percussion parts just to hold down the time. We would resort to other
percussion instruments on similar slow or medium songs. As we would do
faster songs, the drummer would switch back to his kit. As they
continued to practice at home, the alternation of percussion and drums
worked to our advantage for style, color and sound variations. I have
found that it's better to look for the positive opportunities in being
creative instead of deeming that things can’t be done.
Last
point, here is the issue of the availability of your drummer. As said
before, the band is a team effort. If your drummer has (or any other
band member) has commitment issues, this needs to be addressed first
outside of rehearsal. The team is for the greater good, not for the
silo of one. The drummer's part is essential to the worship band.
However, negative attitudes and personalities are not healthy to the
team (no one is critical). Okay, we have squashed that issue. If I left
out something – let me know. Moving on. Let's say your drummer, being a
committed team player, travels often and is not able to play every
week. In today's world, and the busyness of people, this is common.
As seen before, pick songs were drums are not much of a requirement,
use a drum machine or train a singer to play hand percussion like
shaker or something similar. You are only able to do what you can
accomplish reasonably by manpower. When drums are not an option, there
is nothing wrong with completely redoing a worship set to make it more
acoustic driven. Be creative and vary up the worship band sound
occasionally. Don't get locked in to the idea that you cannot
accomplish a full sound without a drummer. There is plenty of enjoyment
that music diversity can bring. Be as open-minded as possible and try
new things; it will bring refreshment to you as an artist and more
importantly, to your congregation. Always remember who the worship is
for: our Lord.
Our
God desires for us to give him our best. In situations when we are
without, work the best with what you have. There are far too many
other issues to address regarding drums and the band. Again, I will
post other articles that will speak more on drums and the entire rhythm
section. Are there other topics you would like to read? Shoot us a
comment in the box below!
What To Do's For Small Bands and Worship Leaders In
larger churches, there’s always band related needs, but for the smaller
church, those same needs are multiplied. In the smaller size church,
the drummer is probably one of the most largest challenges for music
ministries. Some of those challenges are seen in the limitation of
players, skills and availabilities, and maybe all the above. Let's
look over a few points in helping the needs of your music ministry.
For
you drummers out there, please don't take this article personally.
Please save your drumsticks for playing, not for causing damage to me
or those around you! These tips are only clues to help worship leaders
and bandleaders as they face the challenge of drums in their
ministries.
Let's first start with the limitation of players.
You may be in the church where there may only be one or two drummers
(lucky if you find them!). You may not have a drummer at all. In all
cases, when you were working with a small band, it may be beneficial of
not having a drummer. It's better to have a solid and reliable drummer.
If you are without a dependable drummer, it may be better to do without
for the sake of your small band. Here's why: the fewer instruments you
have, the drums will only stand out that much more. In other words, if
all you have is a piano, a guitar and a drummer, it's going to take
more dynamic range for the other two instruments to balance out the
drums. Unless you're working with electronic drum kit. No matter,
balance issues will always be a main challenge. If this is a similar
scenario that you are facing, then your sound engineer would be
grinning at this point. Anyway, when you're working with a three or
four member band, keep in mind, at your church your players may not be
pros. This means that you will have reasonable challenges, but you will
reap the benefits if you have great solutions.
As for drums,
the main purpose of the band is to support the singers, the end result
to lead the congregation in worship and in song. I have seen and heard
many church bands that spend way too much time on the drums, when they
lack the other instrumental support to the music/singers as a whole.
The drummer's job is like the band, to provide a clear sense of timing
and pulse. Important drumming concerns can be volume, overplaying
issues, uneven tempo control, inefficient drum inventory, stick
choices, miking issues or simple drum tuning. Here is a parenthetical
thought, for bands with small room situations: the drums should never
be miked as it will perpetuate all other volume levels. You will also
need to consider what kind room you're in. Bad acoustics such as tiled
floor, shotgun alley or obtuse wide sanctuaries and hard corners will
add more ambiance to the room than what you're able to control.
The
best situation is to have carpeted floors, a drum shield and if
possible, a back sound-absorbent wall and acoustic tiling. Other lesser
inexpensive ideas, can be found in using cloth material, moving
blankets and rugs to make a conducive sound baffle. For eons, recording
studios have used (and still use) moving blankets in combination with
particle board baffles to help barricade unwanted ambeince. Other
techniques have also been used to help deaden the sound. I have seen
other churches use decorative banners to hang on walls or from the
ceiling. These ideas make great inexpensive solutions for controlling
room acoustics. When you hear people in the church talk about how they
do not like the drums, this is mainly what they were referring to - the
room noise. The better you can control the noise, the better your
congregation will be able to adapt to drums. They will be able to hear
the drums as a pleasing sound. Additionally, if your drummer posses the
ability to control their playing volume, this overall will solve
majority of issues. For the band or worship leader, you need to help
guide your drummer to deliver what you want. Drummers as well as
musicians are not mind readers. You need to learn the language, speak
on their level and communicate what sound you desire. Too many worship
leaders and drummers get frustrated with each other, simply on the
basis of poor communication and lack of team work.
We will
continue our discussion of "To Drum or Not To Drum - Part II" in the
next article posting. Until then, shoot us a question regarding drums,
drummers or other drumming issues you would like addressed. See you at
the next post.
12.2.09 Post: Graham Thanks. There is much very useful information on your blog for me.
Personal Monitoring Systems As
mentioned earlier, (IEM’s) In Ear Monitor systems are a saving grace to
many in music-audio. They help control the audio monitor levels per
individual. Try looking at Aviom
products. Each instrument/singer has their own separate audio monitor
module as they listen with a pair of headphones or iPod ear pieces.
They can separately adjust the overall monitor mix to their liking.
This ability gives them the option to pull up or down certain channels
as well as their own. The nice part, all the stage volume is gone and
everyone can hear themselves without sacrificing the main mix. The IEM
signals are routed back to the main board. Guitar players can still use
their amps as they are routed through the IEM in their personal
channel. Check out Aviom for a more detailed description of their IEM
system. Other sound proofing applications are found in drum shields and acoustic tiling.
Better IEMs Looking for a more interactive monitoring/media/digital/all-in-one stand, while providing more bang for your buck? Try SamePage.
This is one of our newest sponsor companies or Worship Team Training.
Without buying a lincoln-log-set of components, SamePage has a new
device that is synced to a personal laptop and networked between other
touch-screen displays. From one screen, you can have your own visual
monitor mix and digital sheet music display. You can upload, view, save
and edit PDF music charts. SamePage,
a service and product that was developed for worship leaders by worship
leaders, is the world’s only fully integrated software and hardware
solution that provides a paperless music management and display. The
system allows worship leaders to access their music database, build
playlists, view music electronically and download online content right
from the stage. SamePage eliminates finding, sorting, organizing, and
managing music for each musician and singer by consolidating everything
into one system. All stations are linked together allowing the leader
to keep the team on the Same Page.
Visit SamePage
and use our promo code in learning how to get your personalized digital
touch screen music stand only from Worship Team Training (Code: 4BA400).
Getting Back to Basics Is
there a way to balance a band without a sound system, IEM and even an
engineer? Yes. How? By the band learning how to control their
instrument and learn how listen to each other as a unit. Now you're
talking about the hard work. Good old elbow grease of teamwork will
never be obsolete. Back 20-30+ years ago in garages across America,
bands had only 1-2 amps and acoustics. Each player adjusted their
volume just enough to hear the entire band and singer. They practiced
in this manner. They learned how to balance their sound. They rehearsed
the sound of their songs rather than just the songs themselves. The
result was a clean and polished compliment to their music. As time,
technology and styles of music progressed, the volume levels increased.
When sophisticated sound systems arrived, the volume wars spiked. This
eventually crept into the Church, and is now where we find ourselves
today. The whole genesis of a sound system is not to amplify the band.
The real purpose is to make what happens on stage audible.
The
time you spend working the sound of your band will have a beneficial
result. Never underestimate the power of time well spent. Your band is
priceless. Your team will grow musically as well as the quality of your
sound. Plus, you help your engineer and audio team to do what they do
best - actually mix the music. Instead of pulling down volumes or
muting channels, their time can be better spent in adding EQ’s, effects
and shaping the range of the sound. All of these details are necessary
for the congregation to participate in praise. The worship is well
facilitated by a conducive environment. When was the last time that you
actually focused in worship without being distracted by noise (both by
technology and emotions)?
If you are looking for more
solutions to better balance your band find the enclosed links in this
article. Are you looking for an objective point-of-view to help the
balance and control of your band? Sign-up for a free consultation with
Worship Team Training. Contact us today to learn more about how we can
help you and your worship team achieve a better sound in having you own
personal worship team workshop/clinic. Visit Worship Team Training to Inquire.
Until next time, blessings to you and your team, bd
This
past week's worship was great! We slimmed down the entire band to only
three instruments. We had bass and drums; I switched between leading
from guitar and piano. There is something unique about the power of
three. Many worship bands desire to have 5,6,10 instruments - a huge
wall of sound. In some applications, this is very effective. Although,
the number of instruments and voices really need to match the intent of
the service. In our case, this weekend, was an intimate one. We began
with 3 fast to medium tempo songs, leading by guitar. A song I had
written called “Rise,” and two familiars “I Am Free,” and “Everlasting
God,” began our time. The energy was carried between the drums and
bass. I attempted to play through the middle by adding muted rhythms,
while holding time with the hi-hat. Without the extra instruments, you
can pick out every note as the bassist walked up and down the frets. As
we led into the chorus, the bass and kick drove the groove in 4’s (I Am
Free). The congregation was singing loudly. It was quite awesome to
hear all the voices. The drummer had more liberty in playing other
percussive effects to fill in some of the gaps. When the bass player
thumbed out some ghost notes, you could hear every vibe. The acoustic
guitar sparkled as each string was plucked.
As
we moved to the middle and closing sets, I transitioned to piano. Next,
we played “Draw Me Close,” with a Nora Jones type feel. The tempo was
about 80, with a very light triplet feel. Very jazzy and laid back. I
would walk chords chromatically down between passages. The bass would
follow. In certain spots on the four chord, we managed a beautiful
minor 7. In other areas, we proceeded with a few flat 5’s. The bass
player would glance over at me to continue the conversation. The
drummer would interpret soft triplets played on the ride with a pair of
brushes. Can’t you just hear it now? It was sweet.
Later
in the service we switched gears to the “Wonderful Cross,” in a Michael
W. Smith - version. It was almost like playing “Every Where I Go I See
You.” The groove was set by the drummer, accentuating a melodic pattern
on the toms. The bass player droned out the D note. I was on piano,
also pedaling D with contrasting 2 and 4 chords on top. As we
approached the chorus, we crescendoed into the standard progression.
People rose to their feet in great congregational song.
The
singing was very loud in an anthem of praise. I had chills that ran up
and down my spine and arms. I almost did not have enough strength to
continue to play - the feeling was overwhelming. The best thing?
Freedom. We could hear every note sung and feel every note played. The
air and space was ours to color and paint soulful textures in praise to
God. People were engaged as they focused on the words and the sweet
vibe of the rhythms. At some points, It felt like time stood still. In
these moments, God is here. He is in that small voice. He is in the
simplicity of our song. He is in the basic root of our music. Big bands
are great. However, it is refreshing when you allow the power of three
to come together and create a beautiful mosaic. You have more room to
create and more space to let things just sit. Be encouraged if your
band is this size from week to week. If you are a big band, be
different one Sunday and paint another kind of picture. All in all,
there is great power in your singers and band, according to how they
are placed. Always gear your services to the right time, right purpose
and right moment.
3.17.10 Post: Drua This is so encouraging. Thank you so much.
Part One “It’s
too loud, can you turn it down?” “The drums are too loud!” “I Can’t
hear the singers?” “Tommy, please turn your guitar amp down while on
stage!!” Do you hear
these or similar comments weekly? If so, then you’re in the same room
as the rest of us. Volume wars are not just between the sound engineers
and the musicians, they are also between the worship team and the
congregation.
Last
week, I conducted a small poll on the Worship Team Training site
regarding Decibel Levels. 70% of churches rated their volume at 90-95db
range. 20% of other houses of worship rated theirs as being 95-100db
range, while only 10% remained at 85db’s.
A
new book I’m reading is on the spectrum of audio signals for live and
studio applications. There were several issues that address volume
concerns. One of them was a study conducted over a few years involving
studio/album recordings. Sound engineers determined that master volume
levels were drastically lower 5 and 10 years ago. Master volume
settings for CD recordings were at 0.0. Now, 5 years later, we are
pushing anywhere between 2.0 and 5.0 db levels above the historical
norm. Now keep in mind, we are not talking about live sound (yet). We are
discussing what happens in the studio and in the headphones. In the
studio world, bands and artists push the envelope to have the
loudest album. Think about your favorite MP3’s.
Try
this exercise.
Listen to any 2008 recording, then pop in something from 2003. You will
notice a huge volume drop between the two recordings. You’ll need to
boost the volume up a few notches on the 2003 recording just to equal
it’s predecessor. Here’s the point. As our ears become more accustom to
louder music each year, we turn everything else up to keep our hearing
relative. Just think about all the volume levels around you:
neighborhoods, traffic, malls, offices and other public places. I’m
pretty sure that the music in your church is at least as loud as these
outdoor noises. In fact, I bet your sound is 5-10 db's higher than it
was 10 years ago. For some, this may be a very shy estimate.
The
rate of volume changes due to adding instruments, amplification and
technology on the stage (and toys behind the board). We have more gear than what we really need. Ok instrumentalists,
guitar players and drummers, raise your hands if you like it loud? Uh,
huh... Singers, how many of you like it loud? I thought so. The band
wins; go figure. Instrumentalist prefer louder volumes every-time.
However, we failed to ask this question to one of the most important groups:
the congregation. I know I
enjoy a good loud thump of the bass and kick of the drums under the roar of
guitars. Some may enjoy having the earth moved under the feet. To others, this could be an annoyance and could result in
people leaving worship services. Then we have the worship leader asking why.
Who is the priority? Are we to satisfy our own artistic needs, or do we
facilitate the needs of others for worship? Most of all, are we
honoring the Lord through serving each other? There is a huge
difference between a Friday night gig and a Sunday morning worship
service.
War of the Band About
six
weeks ago, I was confronted by a worship leader. He told me that he
had trouble asking his lead guitar player to turn it down. The guitar
player was truly gifted, attended all rehearsals, but showed little
respect to the band and the worship leader. As the story goes, the
guitarist was
persistent in turning up his stage amp, despite being asked repeatedly
to turn it down. The worship leader made several attempts to
work with the guitarist as well as to visit with him personally. Upon
one evening at practice, the guitarist was asked to turn it down again.
In response, the player got up, packed his things and stormed off.
The
worship
leader asked me what to do. My response: let him go. The last
thing that you, your team and congregation needs is conflict from a
prima-donna. I shared my personal concern with him. There are too many
players/singers that believe they come first before God and/or other
people in a worship-music setting. The truth is, God is not dependent
on our ability to praise Him. In
fact, God’s praise worthiness precedes Himself. It is by grace from
Holy God
that we are called into relationship with Him. As a band, it is a
privilege to
worship Him through our instruments and voices. Isaiah put it this way:
“All of us have become like one
who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all
shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away,”
(Isa. 64:6).
It
is truly a unique and humble invitation (not a right) by God to
minister to him through music, while leading others into His worship.
There’s the key - His worship - not our worship. When we combine our
personal agendas/griefs/etc. with the sincere goal of the team, we are
heading for a train wreck. Our real goal: to exhibit Christ-like
leadership in being used by the Spirit to facilitate the worship of
God. In essence, we are to esteem others better than ourselves. The apostle Paul reminds us an important virtue:
"Do
not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of
yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith
God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members,
and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we
who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." - Romans 12:4-5.
The Volume Wars Rage Now
from
the spiritual application we move to how this relates to our
logistics. When our volumes are out of control, it definitely makes the
sound engineer’s job more difficult and frustrating. Like you, I have
seen my fare share of arguments between the stage participants and the
audio team. Guitarists and drummers get upset because they can’t hear
themselves. However, the engineers can't get a decent mix becuase of
the excessive stage volume. Ok, I am going to side with both here.
Guitar players get a
different feel for the sound and vibe as their levels are turned up.
Especially in working with tube amps, when the tubes are working hard,
the tone is dynamically sweeter. When the tubes are idle (or running
low) the guitars have no life and impact in the sound. This explains
the frustration of the guitarist; the engineer has a differing
argument. Can the two
really co-exist? Yes, but getting them on the same planet is another
struggle. Again, the resolve is to make the right choice based on the
priority for the greater good. What is the greater good? The
congregation's ability to respond to God without distractions. There is
a technical solution: IEM’s. We will address this subject in part II of
this article. At all costs, we need to avoid the
volume wars. Foolish arguing has no place in a worship service.
Technical and peronal items need to be handeled in another setting.
However, truth be told, I have witnessed a
non-verbal volume argument during a service. This is a horrible
situation
and has negative effects to the team as well as to the congregation.
The service of worship is
no place to make a point. If so, we have lost our understanding of
worship and our significance in being the people of God.
Here’s
one instance of how volume wars begin. When the guitar amps are
cranked-up on stage, the drummer can’t hear so he plays louder. The
bass can't hear his own playing and he turns up his levels. The keyboardist and acoustic guitar are about to pull
their hair out and they follow. Everyone else and the vocals become
non-existent. At this point, the engineer has lost complete control of the mix. The audio team
can literally mute all the channels on the board and the stage volume
takes over the entire room. Ok,
let’s understand exactly the job of the engineer. He/she is not a
volume control baby sitter. The engineers are just as important as the
band in leading worship. They provide shape and the dynamic contour of the
overall mix. The engineer’s split job is to make sound audible (not
amplified) for the congregation; also, they are to assist the band in
providing good monitor support. Two of my best sound engineers, Brad
Duray (about) and Dan Yeaney (about),
told me that their #1 job as an audio team is to be invisible. In fact,
Dan went on to say, if there were no negative comments made by a
congregation/staff member after a service, then the audio team did
their job (in most normal cases). In this scenario, the band’s job is
to maintain a good level of stage dynamic, while controlling their
instrument and playing volume.
It
is true, that if musician has (or develops) a good ear, they can
successfully manage their individual volume control. Even more so, they
will gain a more polished approach over their instrument and maximize
their playing ability. With this adjustment alone, you have solidified
one section of your mix. In the event that your entire team makes this
adjustment as well, your stage mix will improve by 80%. Result? Two
outstanding rewards: (1.) The engineers can actually mix to enhance
the sound. (2.) The congregation can sense a balance, hear the singers,
and most importantly, they can hear themselves without distractions. Volume needs to be shared
by all. (More in Part II)
2.10.09 Post: Rick Great to have this info. Now to share it with my team!
2.18.09 Post: Jean An
excellent article. However, I'm continually amazed that the church,
and in particular, worship and music leaders, ignore the hearing loss
epidemic in our world today. We were forced to leave our beloved
church because of the high volume of the worship service. The irony?
Our daughter, who is profoundly deaf, suffered pain from the volume.
We were advised to wear ear plugs. And she was ostracized by her youth
pastor because she dared to question the loud music.
Many of you may have a system down as there are 1001 ways to
string a guitar. Here are a few tips I generally follow. Ingredients: Guitar, new strings, pliers, neck rest system
and cleaner-polish.
Steps: 1.Rest Guitar on a neck rest system: to ease stress while working on the fretboard. 2.Don't rip off those strings yet! Try this idea.
Change
one string at a time: leave the remaining strings on until complete. Work
outer-strings first to inner strings: 1, 6 | 2, 5 | 3, 4.
This method
ensures the fret board and truss rod: from bending too much during typical
string changing. Keep the old strings on as you change your baby. The guitar truss rod will not
freak-out.
3.Put on each new string and thread: through the
machine head with one hand, keep tension on the string slack with the other
hand.
Thread the string through. At the top end of the
string, bend it back once. Hold it down to make the string lock over the
existing loop. (this ensures no slippage.)
4. Wind the number of loops per peg-shaft.
D – 4 G - 5
A – 3 B - 6
E – 2 E - 6
5.The string needs to be wound completely down: to the
peg-shaft over the nut, make each loop smooth as it winds.
Be sure to
check/press bridge pins down before you wind the string. Make sure the pins stay down-flush as you wind. (this ensures the string's seating under the bridge - hey that's a song!)
6. As you wind and tighten the machine head: keep
tension down on the slack to ensure a smooth wind around the peg-shaft. Tune-up
to the string's tuning note.
7.After initial tuning of new string: take one hand near
the sound hole and locate the new string. On the top of the fretboard, press
down on the new string with your thumb, hold and stretch.
Work your way up the fretboard as a combination of
thumb and fingers. Carefully pull/stretch the string as you move from frets 12, 7, 5, 3. This
process helps stretch and breaks in the string more evenly.
8.Repeat above steps on other strings: make sure you follow the order of string changing: 1, 6 | 2, 5 | 3, 4.
Pull to stretch the string carefully and evenly. Move your hand along the fretboard from the sound hole up to the headstock. Re-tune the string each time when you finish moving from one end of the fretboard to the other.
Repeat this process of stretching the strings along the frets about 3-4 times. Watch out for that G string because it's the highest tuned note for that particular string it can easily snap. Then you'll be like that Christmas Story boy, everyone says to him: crazy kid, you'll poke your eye out!
9.Wipe-down strings and guitar with Martin Guitar Polish.
Play at 350 degrees as long as you like – caution: fret
board may still be hot!
Thread the string through. 
Be sure to
check/press bridge pins down before you wind the string.
Work your way up the fretboard as a combination of
thumb and fingers.
Pull to stretch the string carefully and evenly.