Worship Musician! Magazine - Jan/Feb 2015 by Worship Musician & Christian Musician Magazine

AN INSIDER’S LOOK AT THE LAKEWOOD BAND by Michael Hodge

Product Review

GMF Ai1 Direct Box

Journey’s “The Overhead” Carbon Fiber Composite Travel Guitar

Product Review

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JAN/FEB 2015 Volume 13, Issue 1 01

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What I Think About When I’m Leading Worship (More Than Music) by Rick Muchow

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Sweetwater-exclusive Interviews

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Essential Guides for You and Your Volunteers

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THE

DIGITAL AGE

In January of 2012, the David Crowder Band ended their 12-year run as one of the Christian music industry’s most successful groups. Former DCB guitarists Mark Waldrop and Jack Parker, drummer B-Wack, and bassist Mike D went on to start a new musical venture called The Digital Age. Their debut album, Evening : Morning, was released to rave reviews in 2013. Recently, Sweetwater’s Jeff Barnett caught up with Mark Waldrop. Can you give us a little history and recap what has happened since the last David Crowder Band show? For those who don’t know what the David Crowder Band was, we started as a little worship team from University Baptist Church (UBC) in Waco, TX, a church that David Crowder founded with Chris Seay in the mid-’90s. We toured for about 12 years. Then in 2010, David transitioned from Waco to Atlanta, and the rest of us really wanted to stay in Waco and stay involved with UBC. So The Digital Age is essentially that. We’re still involved with UBC, and we’re still writing the same genre of music: upbeat, programming-heavy “fun worship,” as we call it. The Digital Age has been a band for a little over two years, which is crazy to say because it still seems so new. We released a live EP called Rehearsals in 2012. We were just rehearsing for church, tracked it, and released it as an EP. And in 2013, we put out a record called Evening : Morning and followed that with a fall tour. Evening : Morning doesn’t sound like just another DCB album, though. Can you describe the sound of The Digital Age? When you’re in a band and have an established sound and way of doing things, then you start a new band, you get to pick and choose what you liked about what you’ve been doing. But you also have a really natural moment to question what you want to do differently. With The Digital Age, we’re still writing songs for the same congregation. UBC is about 70% college students, so we tend to sound like what college kids are listening to. We keep a close pulse on that.

The Digital Age’s latest album, Evening : Morning, is available now. To find out more, go to thedigitalagemusic.com!

David led from an acoustic guitar, and he would be a hard person to replace. One of the very first things we all agreed on was that we shouldn’t attempt to replace him. I usually play an electric, so now I’m leading on electric, and that fundamentally changes the sound of things.

You mentioned your studio in Waco. What made you decide to open a studio? When David moved to Atlanta, we effectively lost our recording and rehearsal space. We found this place in downtown Waco that was an old dirty boxing gym, and we built a studio in it. We spent three months renovating it. The boxing ring was where our control room is now. It was designed by B-Wack, and it’s been really great for us.

We’re very programming-heavy, and we use a lot of synths onstage. We’re multitasking a lot more, too. As for what we sound like, that changes from one song to the next. All of us listen to different genres of music, so, “What do we want this to sound like?” is a conversation we have with every song. We don’t like to be the same on every song and on every album, so the sound of The Digital Age from album 1 to album 2 could be completely different.

We practice and rehearse there, and we also have bands come in and we record them. It’s an extension of our ministry. It’s been great for us to be able to help new worship bands.

Walk me through your creative process in the studio. We all have our own mini Pro Tools studios at home, and we track these ideas as they come. Sometimes they’re full songs, sometimes just pieces. When we each have a handful of ideas, we all get together in our studio. All of these ideas start coming together, and we start to figure out how we are playing things as a band. We’ll either sit around the computer and start programming it out or head into the tracking room and start recording live parts. We all write, but we realize not all of us have the same strengths. I think one of our collective strengths is that we keep a really loose attachment to our ideas, and we see that they are all just pieces to a larger puzzle.

You still lead worship at UBC? We’re still very involved at UBC. When we were in the construction phase on our studio, we took a break from leading and just went to church without leading worship for the first time in a decade. Those three months were amazing; it was something we took for granted, and we didn’t realize how important it was. Now, we’re one of several worship bands at UBC. Our goal is to play there around once a month, depending on our tour schedule. What gear do you use in your studio? We are running Pro Tools HDX in our main control room. We use a lot of API preamps and the PreSonus ADL600. We use an LA2A compressor and a lot of gear that B-Wack made himself. Our main vocal mic is the Blue Bottle — so much character and so easy to change sound. For guitars, we use a mix of Shure SM57, Sennheiser e906, and Royer R121 mics. For bass, we use the Shure SM7B microphone. On drums, we mostly use the same Sennheiser Evolution series dynamic mics that we use live. We use a Yamaha SubKick on kick drum, and a Sennheiser MD421 on snare. We’re really into soft synths. We use Native Instruments Komplete. We also use Native Instruments Maschine heavily for programming. We lean a lot on Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere for pads. We use Reason a lot for piano sounds and sequencing. We also have a lot of vintage synths. How do you translate an album like Evening : Morning to something that works live? A lot of it is decisions made in production. We use a lot of loops live, but one of our rules is that we never put anything in the loops that can be played live — no vocals or guitar parts. That makes it more challenging in a live setting. So when we record, we have to be very intentional with things like guitar parts and not put anything on the record that we can’t re-create live. What software do you use onstage? Ableton Live. On Mike D’s keyboard rig, he runs Live and Reason. He has a slew of Korg Nanokeys in addition to an M-Audio MIDI controller, and some of the keys are assigned to things such as mutes and changing different values instead of triggering notes. We also run some vocals through Live for effects. What kinds of technical challenges do you see worship leaders facing today? For us, the coolest thing you can do is create your own loops. I think when a lot of people see something that is loop heavy, they think that it doesn’t fit into the way they do music. Or they think they can’t do the songs because they don’t have the technical know-how to pull it off. It’s possible to do it. You can get a copy of Ableton Live and a MIDI controller for next to nothing and make incredible sounds with it. It’s been really cool for us to travel around and see these churches start to learn and incorporate the technical stuff into the church services. We love it when churches take one of our songs, create their own loops for it, and make it their own.

blisskatherine.com

You guys have had a very long relationship with Sweetwater. Why is that? Relationship says it all. We love that if we have questions about gear, we can call and ask. We love that if there is something that piques your interest, we’ll get a phone call to tell us about it. The prices are always competitive, and as far as customer service goes, it’s always great. If anything is ever wrong, it’s always taken care of quickly. We travel a lot. If something isn’t working, getting a replacement quickly and easily is really important. It’s great to be able to get things fixed or questions answered without hassle. We really love the personalized nature of what Sweetwater does. You’re always great about asking what we need the gear to do. Even with a band like us, it’s so good to have somebody showing us how the gear we use can help us be better at doing what we do.

Photos by: Bliss Katherine

You can find out more about The Digital Age at thedigitalagemusic.com.

Freelance live sound engineer

Daniel Ellis

FOH engineer for The Digital Age How long have you been working with The Digital Age? The first tour I did with them was as the David Crowder Band, during the Remedy Club tour in 2007. I was with DCB for five years. Then, when they started The Digital Age, I mixed their very first show and I did their first tour, as well. What gear do you use with them onstage? We use mostly Sennheiser mics, on just about everything. Mostly the Evolution series. One thing I don’t think I’ve seen anybody else do is that we use a Sennheiser MD441 on B-Wack’s snare. It works great and gives us a fatter sound than other mics I’ve tried. On vocals, Mark and Jack both use a TC-Helicon VoiceLive Touch to add reverb and delay to their voices before they ever get to me. That’s cool; it makes my job easier. At front of house, I run a Behringer X32. We use the S16 digital snake system, as well. That console is amazing. It’s so small and light — I can set it up by myself if I need to. When we started the tour, I was thinking, “There has got to be a reason this thing is so inexpensive, and I’m going to find out why.” I still don’t know why. It’s a great console. I love it. The guys use Sennheiser 300 series in-ear monitors, and they mix them themselves using Behringer’s X32-Q app for iPhone. That’s been amazing. It’s so much easier to not have to worry about doing FOH and monitors at the same time, and we don’t have to have a monitor engineer. Are there any unique challenges working with The Digital Age? Since they run all those effects on the stage, what I get is a wet vocal. When we started out, sometimes it was way too wet, and we didn’t really have enough clarity in the FOH mix in the vocals. So we had to work on getting those reverb levels down and make sure that they trusted me to add more reverb at the console if it was needed. You and The Digital Age have been very loyal Sweetwater customers for years. Why is that? Because of the relationship. Because of you! Seriously, it’s because of you. We don’t just call a 1-800 number and get some random guy; we get the same guy. And the candy. You send candy with everything we buy. I never share it.

From left to right: BWack, Mike D, Mark Waldrop, and Jack Parker

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Song lyrics, audio samples and transposable chord sheets, lead sheets and vocal sheets. Choose the version that best suits your needs.

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Movie/Video Licensing and Resources

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Editor’s Corner

Hey, There’s an App for That!

JAN/FEB 2015

I will be embarking on one of the most ambitious years in 2015 that I can remember. I am going to be promoting two guitar shows, publishing three bi-monthly magazines and coproducing four training conferences. Wow! That seems like a lot to type out even as I write this. I wish there was an app for that! 8

vol. 13, issue 1

Features Product Review By Bruce Adolph Journey’s “The Overhead” Carbon Fiber Composite Travel Guitar

Well, I may not have an app for myself, but we do have an app we are developing for you. It is actually so interactive and chock full of capabilities that we are dubbing it a “Super App”. Not only will it be a surprisingly handy tool to have if you are a registrant at any of our four conferences (Bradenton, FL - Buffalo, 10 From the Drummer’s NY – Fullerton, CA – Issaquah, WA) but we are developing it to Perspective be your “go to” app as a worship team member or as the worBy Carl Albrecht ship leader of your local congregation anywhere in the world. Expanding Your Drum Palette Right out of the gate, you will have access to our CMSstream. com videos of workshops filmed at our Christian Musician Summit conferences. We are continuously adding to this library of 12 Keyboard videos. You will also have a slew of issues of both Worship MusiBy Ed Kerr cian! and Christian Musician instructional magazines. To expand A Rubric for Keys & Teams this content rich pipeline, we are adding the weekly CCLI lists of the most used worship songs, as well as timely new music 15 Bass releases each week. Additionally, this app will supply you with a By Gary Lunn free flowing stream of pertinent information, specials offers and Bass Individuality some stress releasing moments of fun. Our “Super App” gives you something very useful in your smart phone or tablet device.

16 Vocals

By Sheri Gould And best of all… it’s free! You can go get it now at the iTunes store for iOS devices or at Google Play for Android devices… Train Them Young use this link to find it www.smarturl.it/christianmusician, or search for Christian Musician Summit. 18 Equipping the Church By Chuck Page

Not only does this year seem promising (and active) for me but Is Cloud Computing Right it will be exciting to see what the Lord has for us as we pursue for your Church? these goals. I want to thank you - our readers - for your support. I want to encourage you to come to a CMS conference if you can, keep subscribing to the magazines and get the free app 26 Songchart and keep in touch with us as walk with confidence into 2015. “Covered”

By Israel Houghton

I have a personal philosophy that half of life is simply showing up and seeing what the Lord has for you. Come show up with 30 Record Reviews us… it will be an adventure for sure and hey, now there is an By Gerod Bass app for that! In His Grip,

Bruce & Judy

42 The Band By Tom Lane Band of Priests 44 Camera By Craig Kelly Advice for the Beginner Camera Operator 45 Ministry + Artistry = Profitability? Creating your MAP™ By Scott A. Shuford Social Media Tip: Choosing Helpful Keywords 48 Product Review By Bruce Adolph Shaw Guitars TSH Electric 49 Product Review By Brian Felix GMF Ai1 Direct Box 50 Worship Team Training By Branon Dempsey Do You Hear What I Hear? 54 A Few Moments With... Brad Blythe Living like Priests

• Martin Smith • Bluetree • Planetshakers • Worship Central • Newsboys

34 FOH Engineer By John Mills Practical Mic Techniques - Drums

4227 S. Meridian. Suite C PMB #275 Puyallup, Washington 98373-5963 Phone: 253.445.1973 Fax: 253.655.5001 Email: bruce@christianmusician.com Website: www.worshipmusicianmagazine.com Publisher/Editor: Bruce Adolph Vice President: Judy Adolph Customer Service: Brian Felix brianfelix@christianmusician.com Design Layout & Production: Matt Kees Director of Advertising: Steve Sattler steve@creativesalesresource.com 626-836-3106 Worship Musician! is published bi-monthly by The Adolph Agency, Inc.

36 Percussion By Mark Shelton Tambourine Primer Part 1: Headed Hints 38 Cut-Capo By Mitch Bohannon A Fresh Look at the Short-Cut Capo 40 Guitar Grab Bag By Jeffrey B. Scott Working Modeling Magic

Interview 20 An Insider’s Look at the Lakewood Band by Michael Hodge

Featured Story 46 What I Think About When I’m Leading Worship (More Than Music) by Rick Muchow

WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM JAN/FEB 2015

Product Review

By Bruce Adolph

Journey’s “The Overhead” Carbon Fiber Composite Travel Guitar OK, so Journey Instruments (a Christian based guitar company) have taken two of my favorite things and put them together. Kind of like when I make Pad Thai burritos out of my Thai food left overs. They have taken a composite graphite guitar and made it into a “real world” travel guitar. I like both carbon fiber guitars and travel guitars so they have my interest right out of the gate. Some people just call small parlor sized guitars travel guitars but that is not what the true sense of the word means in context with what this Journey guitar can do. The patented neck of the guitar pops off. What? It simply pops off (and quite easily too I might add). Don’t worry though, it pops back on just as easy and is almost back in tune!. You have a large easy to hold knob on the back of the guitar you turn and then a push-in button where the fretboard meets the body. It is a two-step process. I like to see how the fretboard simply snaps back into place; it is well designed. Good job Journey Instruments! To hit the road you simply place it in this very nice 22” x 19” x 11” TSA approved gig/ travel bag, fold the strings in their holder (yes, the strings stay attached to both the body and the neck), zip it up and off you go!

your hands or your memory banks that hold your guitar playing skills. When you play on a short scale neck by the time you reach the 7th fret you might as well be playing mandolin (no disrespect to my mando playing friends but you know what I am meaning here). The other benefit of travel guitars is that they are meant to “travel”, which means you can take them on business trips and still write songs and practice while on the road. You can use them for youth camps, small group settings, camping trips, family vacations and pretty much anywhere you want to go and have a nice sounding guitar to play when you get there. This means you can leave your expensive acoustic guitar at home where it is safe and go and bond with your travel companion guitar.

The benefits of carbon graphite guitars is the obvious “lighter than wood and stronger than steel” attribute of the material itself. Plus with such strength in the materials the neck doesn’t move/twist/bend like wood can so you actually stay in tune better than the conventional wood based guitars. Carbon fiber composite material provides durability and can function in any climate without cracking, warping or This is a perfect size for the overhead of changing tone. any plane. It should even fit in most “puddlejumper” smaller airplanes with smaller overThe Overhead has a clear resonant head compartments. It also has a padded tone with surprising volume and bass. pouch for your computer. There is a lot of I decided to really strum this guitar hard fun to be had when your guitar and laptop can travel easily together on your back (the to see what would happen and it pertravel bag has back-pack straps too) and formed great. So, whether soft fingerstyle even more fun going through TSA security at or strumming with a pick like- a-mad-man, the airport when you see the person looking this guitar performed just fine. at the X-ray television monitor trying to figure The relatively small body size is able out why a whole guitar is squeezed into this to carry a full sound through (a bit louder bag. than I would of expected actually). They The ben- use a Manzer wedge which increases the efits of a air volume while keeping the top of the true travel guitar close to the body for comfort. The guitar are headstock is a little shorter looking than that you you may be used to but it grows on you get to prac- and it’s outfitted with Grover mini 18:1 tuntice on a ers. Above the nut your strings go through full scale a second nut (not over, but through) with length neck holes in it for each string. This is why when of 24.5”. If you take the guitar apart the strings stay you have organized and don’t just unravel everytried small where. guitars with The first time you personally pop the a shorter s c a l e neck off I have to admit it feels a bit length you strange. Then it pops back on so easily know that and stays in tune that soon you will be it is not the popping the neck off of it just to impress same for your friends and family.

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

The Scoopaway cutaway looks odd at first but once you start riffing in the higher register or playing some chords you see that it works fine. The fretwork and overall playability get high marks too. The Overhead also includes a tone-enhancing premium-grade bone nut (a nice 1 3/4” wide comfortable width nut so no cramming your fingers here) and a bone saddle, along with ebony bridge pins. The soundboard is made from a Unidirection Carbon Fiber with a high gloss finish. The back and sides are Carbon Fiber Twill with a gloss finish too. Throw in the custom-designed travel guitar backpack and a proprietary under-bridge transducer pickup system and you have the Overhead… a very good travel guitar that will last you for a very long time. Journey Instruments also makes wood travel guitars too. What Journey is really about is offering you a travel experience with not only a very playable quick-assembly guitar that breaks down into an easy travel space but also the well designed bag that completes the entire benefit of a travel guitar in the first place. In their words they say, “We don’t sell just guitars, we bring guitarists the most freeing guitar travel experience in the market”. That just about says it all… more info at www.journeyinstruments.com The Overhead’s street price is $1095 with the travel bag and available only through authorized dealers.

From the Drummer’s Perspective

By Carl Albrecht

Expanding Your Drum Palette Listen, Listen, Listen! That’s how drummers and all musicians keep growing in their skill. Keep your ears and mind open as you journey through this musical wonderland we live in. Only listening to or playing one style of music is like a chef who can only grill hamburgers. You might cook up a great sandwich, but pretty soon your customers will get bored with your menu and look for another chef. And it is extremely unhealthy. Of course everyone has preferred flavors when it comes to food and music. It’s not a problem to have things you like. Just don’t discount other things as useless or bad because it doesn’t move you. I have hit on this topic before, but as I travel to different churches and seminars I still see a lot of drummers still stuck in they’re own world. Let me help you climb out of your rut. What I’m noticing in these times is that younger people are listening to a huge range of musical styles. They seem to enjoy checking out everything from bluegrass to rap. I think it’s the way the new generation is exposed to music via the Internet. Older folks are usually stuck in the rut of only having a few musical preferences. Mostly because as they were growing up there was not the variety of listening there is now. None of this is an issue if you’re just a fan of music. The general public just loves music for how it relates to them. But if you’re a player/ performer that’s a very limiting habit. A working musician has got to keep an open mind and grow in their craft. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the mindset that you can only play one way even if you have your personal favorite grooves. Some players do this, but most professionals have a huge range of musicality. I’m actually on tour right now riding in a van with a bunch of other players. Everyone is hooking up their iPods to the audio system and we’re each taking turns at playing projects we like. It’s so amazing how much variety there is in everyone’s playlists. Oldies; folk music; 80’s hits; jazz; “Americana”; Irish folk rock; and more. Honestly, there aren’t any youngsters in the van, so we’re not hearing any Taylor Swift or even new Hillsongs United. Although, I do listen to some of that music at other times. There is some discussion about why we like certain things. What is it about certain music that draws us in? I think it’s a certain brain development phenomenon that makes us latch on to the music of our youth. But as a professional I have to keep stretching the boundaries of my talent so I force myself to go beyond my normal collection of favorites to hear what others are inspired by. And fortunately, I get it… I like what I’m hearing in the variety of musical styles. And I love the creativity.

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

I guess the one drawback to having a large musical smorgasbord is that I don’t have a favorite flavor at this point in my life. Well, at least not one. There are my personal favorites across the huge landscape of music; which are not at all like other people’s favorites. *Notice, I’m not naming any names. People often ask me what is my favorite music or even a drum groove feel. I just shrug my shoulders and say it changes depending on the mood I’m in. Of course when I’m playing with a band my goal is to honor the music and the players and play as authentically as I can. **A good chef knows how to make the food taste just right! J And so I’m happy to dish up whatever people need for the moment. So to specifically focus on the Christian and worship music world how does a drummer expand his or her musical palette? Very simply I have to say broaden your horizons. Even though I play a lot with the Paul Baloche band I’m also working with other artists. This forces me to listen to other bands and styles just to keep my ears open to the new sounds. Paul is an avid listener! He’s always checking out new and old music, and purposely pays attention to what other people are enjoying. This has challenged me to do the same sort of thing to stay current as a recording drummer and producer. It sometimes is a bit overwhelming, but I just do what I can. I’ve been doing this for many years, but that’s not a trophy I worship and use for an excuse to stop growing. God is always worthy of our best efforts and that’s part of our life of worship. I want to be faithful and honor the Lord with what He’s given me.

the privilege and challenge of playing different drum kits all the time. In fact on this tour of ten cities I have to play a different kit every night. It’s not always what I want to hear, but I always play with conviction. I’m learning something every time… and on several of the events it’s been “patience”… especially when a kit doesn’t sound the way I think it should. It could be the drums, the heads, or the room and PA system that are affecting the sound of the music. I don’t always know. BUT, I do take note of how things work and don’t work. One thing I do practicing is trying different instruments than I would normally play. Trying extreme options can lead to an inspiring discovery. Use a huge snare drum tuned way down for a song that you thought should be tighter… or vice versa. A tight piccolo snare on that rock ballad would be an unusual choice. Maybe hitting a mounted “concert bass drum” for a back beat would be awesome. OR… maybe not. Put a small cymbal or tambourine on your snare and see what that sounds like. Try extreme options when practicing to see how it affects you as you’re playing. I’ve noticed playing a different sound or set up makes me play differently. It stirs up my creative juices. Imagine that! Put your drums in a different configuration and see what happens. BUT REMEMBER. When playing with your band always honor the music and play what’s appropriate for the moment. Don’t try to do something odd or different just to make a point. As modern worship continues to grow around the world the sounds and styles will expand with it. Every genre, style, and sound is available for us to bless the Lord, bring glory to His name, and to inspire others to join us in the experience. Keep stirring your hunger for more of Him and to be more of what He’s called you to be. Psalm 150… Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

Paul’s music is similar to Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and other modern worship leaders. But I’m also checking out new stuff by Hillsongs United and other groups that are using more techno sounds and some huge drum and percussion sounds. Blessings, Carl – For some percussion Jesus Culture and other groups are sound- inspiration, check out Eastman Percussion ing more like big arena rock bands. Nice Ensemble. stuff. And Israel Houghton and other urban h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / gospel groups are bringing that tight goswatch?v=k7BerR_qbLw pel drum vibe. I like it all. I absolutely listen to what others are doing, and when I’m working with people I pay attention to what they are saying about what they want to hear. All options are on the table when I work with others. I’m not afraid to try new things or to have someone make suggestions. This is probably one of the keys to be able to stay fresh and to keep working. But it also keeps me inspired as a player and a worshipper. Trying new sounds is also great for growing musically. When I travel I have

Carl Albrecht has been a professional drummer & percussionist for over 25 years. He has played on over 70 Integrity Music projects; Maranatha Praise Band recordings & numerous other Christian, Pop, Country, Jazz & commercial projects. He currently lives in Nashville doing recording sessions, producing, writing and continuing to do various tours & seminar events. Visit his website: www.carlalbrecht.com or send an e-mail to: lmalbrecht@aol.com.

ÂŠ2015 Avedis Zildjian Company

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Keyboard

bric for for Keys Keys & & Teams Teams bric

By Ed Kerr oard classes classes at CMS CMS Northwest Northwest last last oard at ared something something that that I’ve I’ve been been using using in in ared at The The King’s King’s University University in in Dallas. Dallas. It’s It’s gg at keyboard players. The people in these keyboard players. The people in these es found the the rubric’s rubric’s contents contents helpful, helpful, es found In my keyboard classes at CMS Northwest you will will too. too. you last month I shared something that I’ve been

with and and use use its its chords chords and and scale scale for for making making up up aa with new melody. melody. Do Do this this with with your your whole whole worship worship team team new perhaps. Give Give your your bass bass player player aa chance chance to to create create perhaps. melodic figure figure for for aa change. change. ItIt can can do do keyboard keyboard aa melodic players and and guitarists guitarists some some good good to to support support players another instrument that’s presenting section’s another instrument that’s presenting aa section’s melody. An An excellent excellent learning learning and and listening listening melody. experience for your your team. experience ing an intro to for a song you’reteam. very familiar with and use its chords and scale

A Rubric for Keys & Teams

using in my teaching at The King’s University in Dallas. It’s a rubric for keyboard players. The defines aa rubric rubric as as something used to the rubric’s people in these CMSused classes found defines something to contents helpful, and I hope you onsistent criteria for grading. In the will too.

onsistent criteria for grading. In the Wikipedia defines a rubric as something worship musicians, we aren’t aren’t being worship musicians, we being used to delineate consistent criteria for gradcourse, but but the the content content of my myofrubric rubric can course, ing. In the of context worshipcan musicians, we aren’t being graded, of course, helpful parameters parameters for for us us to to evaluate evaluatebut the content helpful of my rubric can give some helpful parameters ontribute to our our worship worship teams. for us to evaluate what we contribute to our ntribute to teams.

for making up a new melody. Do this with your whole worship team perhaps.

Give your bass player a chance to create a melodic figure for a change. It Another item on on my rubric issome internal clock Another item my rubric internal clock can do keyboard players and guitaristsis good to support another instrument that’s presenting a section’s melody. An excellent learning and listening application. I define the internal clock as that application. I define the internal clock as that experience for your team. sense that that we we and and our our listeners listeners have have of of the the ongoing ongoing sense Another item on my rubric is internal clock application. I define the internal pulse of music. music. For instance, can play a song song like pulse For II can like clock of as that sense that weinstance, and our listeners haveplay of the a ongoing pulse of music. For instance, I canwith play aa like “Revelation Song” with pulse, apulse, steady “Revelation Song” with asong steady quarter note “Revelation Song” steady quarter note quarter note pulse, like this: like this: like this:

worship teams.

Visit andmy you can download nes.com and and you you can cankerrtunes.com download my nes.com download my complete keyboard rubric. Here, though, eyboard rubric. rubric. Here, Here, though, I’m ajust just I’m just going to highlight few of the items eyboard though, I’m from it. The first I’ll mention is steadiness temghlight aa few few of of the the items from it. The first ofteams ghlight items from it. The first po. I suspect that many of the worship is steadiness steadiness of of tempo. I suspect suspect that with which you Iplay utilize some sort of metrois tempo. that nome. In-ear monitoring systems are more pope worship teams with which you play e worship teamsular with you thanwhich ever, and theyplay make incorporating a metronome easy. Whether your church has e sort of metronome. In-ear monitoring e sort of metronome. In-ear monitoring in-ears or not, it’s very important that you (and more popular popular than than ever, ever, and theyregularly practice everyone else onand your team) ee more they with a metronome. Oh yeah, practice. If the rporating metronome easy. Whether porating aa metronome easy. Whether only time you touch your keyboard (or whatever has in-ears in-ears or or not, not, it’s it’syou very important instrument play)important is during worship team rehh has very hearsals and church services, it’s pretty safe to nd everyone else on your team) regularly nd everyone elsesayon regularly thatyour you’re team) not developing your skills. th a metronome. Oh yeah, practice. the h a metronome. Oh yeah, practice. IfIf the Find an app for your smart phone, play with ou touch touch your your keyboard keyboard (orusewhatever whatever a drum loop (or or software on your computer ou to provide a steady click for you. Sit through you play) play) is is during during worship team you worship team any of Carl Albrecht’s seminars (or read his arand church church services, services, it’smagazine) prettyand safe tohear him enticles in this you’ll and it’s pretty safe to couraging you to practice with a metronome. u’re not not developing developing your skills. u’re your skills. Without a doubt this is one of most important

Then, II could could trust trust that that every every quarter quarter note note pulse pulse Then, doesn’t needtrust tothat beevery heard after all and and could could use Then, I need could quarter note pulse doesn’t need touse be heard doesn’t to be heard after all after all and could use some half notes here and there to create some rhythmic some half notes here here and and there there to to create create some some some notes interest,half like this. rhythmic interest, interest, like like this. this. rhythmic

for your your smart smart phone, phone, play with a drum drum The second item with on my a rubric is melodic inpp for play ventiveness. What does this suggest to you? e software software on on your your computer to provide aa that For computer me, it reminds to meprovide (and my students) there are unlimited possibilities for melodic for you. you. Sit Sit through through any of Carl Carl kk for any of ideas within the songs we play. Are you familseminars (or (or read read his David articles in this this seminars articles in iar his with Crowders’ recent song, “Come As You Are”? It opens with a beautiful and you’ll hear him encouraging you to melodic and you’ll hear him encouraging hook on piano. Someone you createdtothat melody th metronome.from Without a doubt doubt thiscould is play that the notes a of the scale. this You h aa metronome. Without is melody and that melody only for the intro of stt important important disciplines disciplines of as a musician. musician. the song. of Or, a I suggested in my last article

Further down my list of rubric rubric items you’lldelineation. find This Further list of items you’ll find Furtherdown down mymy list of rubric items you’ll find sectional suggests that the songs we present shouldn’t be four minute presentations of sectional delineation. delineation. This suggests suggests that the the sectional unvarying instrumental and vocal This textures. What createsthat a sense of delineasongs we present present shouldn’t besense fourofminute minute tion between an intro andshouldn’t first verse? What arrival is felt and heard songs we be four when the first chorus comes around? Many factors can help sectional delineapresentations of unvarying instrumental and vocal presentations of unvarying instrumental andThe vocal tion be strong, including the rhythmic variations shown above. quarter note pulse first seen, creates for example, a could be usedof fordelineation the intro. Then the second textures. What creates a sense sense of delineation textures. What figure could be played when the vocal enters. This change in featured instrubetween anwill intro and first verse? What sense of between an intro and What sense of mental rhythm set the versefirst apart verse? from the intro. Sectional delineation. arrival is is felt and and heard heard when when the first first chorus comes comes arrival The last felt point I’ll mention from my rubric isthe responsive chorus accompanying. Simaround? Many factors can help sectional ply put, this means factors that you’recan listening to the singers. During their vocal around? Many help sectional phrases, avoid playing melodic activity. When they hold a long note or take delineation be strong, including the rhythmic delineation be presenting strong,a including rhythmic a breath, consider melodic idea. the Otherwise your melodic ideas will compete with the song’s vocal line. Definitely not a good when leadvariations shown above. The quarter note pulse variations shown above. The quarter noteidea pulse ing a congregation in worship. first seen, seen, for for example, example, could could be be used used for for the the intro. intro. first Whether you use my rubric or some other set of guidelines, be a Then the the second second figure figure could be be played played when whenthinking the Then the musician. Always consider what tocould play and when to play it. vocal enters. This change in featured instrumental vocal enters. This change in featured instrumental rhythm will set theOfverse verse apart from the intro. Ed Kerr is set Director Worshipapart Studies from at Thethe King’s rhythm will the intro. University/Gateway Church in Dallas, TX. He has a Master’s Sectional delineation. delineation. Sectional Degree in piano performance, has written many songs

item on on my my rubric rubric is is melodic melodic dd item ness. What does does this this suggest suggest to to you? you? For For ess. What nds me me (and (and my my students) students) that that there there are are nds ossibilities for for melodic melodic ideas ideas within within the the ossibilities play. Are you familiar with David play. Are you familiar with David recent song, song, “Come “Come As As You You Are”? Are”? ItIt recent beautiful melodic hook on on piano. piano. aa beautiful melodic hook 12 JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM created that that melody melody from from the the notes notes of of the the created

The last last point point I’ll I’ll mention mention from from my my rubric rubric is is The responsive accompanying. Simply put, this responsive accompanying. Simply put, this means that that you’re you’re listening listening to to the the singers. singers. During During means their vocal vocal phrases, phrases, avoid avoid playing playing melodic melodic activity. activity. their When they they hold hold aa long long note note or or take take aa breath, breath, When consider presenting presenting aa melodic melodic idea. idea. Otherwise Otherwise your your consider melodic ideas will compete with the song’s vocal melodic ideas will compete with the song’s vocal line. Definitely Definitely not not aa good good idea idea when when leading leading aa line.

disciplines of a musician.

here, “You Have Permission”, you could create a melody of your own. Spend some time play-

published by Integrity Music and teaches as a clinician with Yamaha and Paul Baloche. He plays Yamaha’s motif xf8. Visit Ed online - www.kerrtunes.com

Bass

By Gary Lunn

Bass Individuality Everyone has their own style, no matter what it is that they do (“...we are fearfully and wonderfully made”). We arrive at our own opinions based on our individual styles that we develop naturally. As musicians, it’s a constant search for us to find our own individuality. As musicians in the body of Christ we can share these discoveries with one another to help each other grow. A specific rule book has not been written on proper style development as a bassist in a worship setting. We can, however, consider what those before us have done which continues to make us the sum of all parts (information about experiences) considered up to this point. I have learned a lot from many bass “mentors” through the years, and believe me, I am still learning.

I also want to mention something about a recent experience I had while going Listen to your heart (also referred to as to a smaller venue to hear a really great your “gut”). Ask God to guide and direct band. The bass player for the band was a you as you strive to play each song as really great bass player. The problem was best you can and with the least amount of that he was not concerned enough about self-serving. This will let you know when his own volume blaring off of the stage to play your “voice” high or to lay the from his (large and loud) bass amp. He foundation down low. was playing way too loudly! This negative effect ruined the evening for me and it If you can listen patiently to all of these probably ruined the concert for most of elements, you will know when to play in the attendees as well. The sound man was the high registers. You will miss the mark very frustrated because he could not mix some of the time, but the times when you the band louder than the bass! hit the mark will be rewarding to your soul. This great musician was severely lacking I was also recently asked, “When is it in all three of these elements: in listening, appropriate to use slides and runs in a sensitivity, and servanthood. He didn’t song during worship? When can they ask anyone if he was too loud, he didn’t have a positive effect when I use them?” attempt to listen and try and perceive For me, slides and runs are directly related whether or not he was presenting too to dynamics within the song. When a much bass for the room, and he didn’t song is first trying to establish itself, it’s listen to the sound man’s cries for help. the bassist’s job to support the song and not draw attention to the bass, especially Too much bass in NOT a good thing! when a lyric is being sung. During an It creates distortion of the overall musical intro (or re-intro), if no one has created a image being presented, and this guy did melodic theme, its good to try and “come not contribute to the success of the band in up” with a melodic theme that compliments this smaller venue. the chord progression. It’s very helpful to The key to success for adequate delivery become familiar with the melody of the of the message of a song coming from a song so that you can let it inspire you to band is just to simply listen. If everyone invent something that echoes a trait of the listens and reacts accordingly, proper melody; either note-wise or rhythm-wise. conveyance WILL occur. In a worship setting, this is paramount. Blessings on the Slides seem to be more effective later in work if your hands! a song (a bridge or ending choruses). I typically use the lower octaves of the bass more toward the end of a song. to shine.

Recently I was asked a very important “stylistic” question. It was, simply put,“When is it appropriate to play the bass in the high registers during worship?” This is a really good question. My first impression was to answer the person, “Be still and you’ll know.” In other words, listen and you will receive direction. You’re probably wondering, “Listen to who? What?” The answer is, “Yes.” :) Seriously, there are several ways that you can look at this. Start with listening and go from there. If you listen to the song, then you will know the message, the purpose, the mood, the subject, the effect it needs to achieve, the groove, the dynamic levels required, and most importantly, where you (the bassist) fit in to all of this. When you feel that you are close to completely understanding all of these considerations while playing the song, I believe you will Note duration is also important. I typically know when it’s time to speak as a solo use shorter notes in the verses and longer voice, to “step out,” to lead out, etc. notes in the choruses. Sometimes a song But then you have to ask yourself the requires the opposite effect. I will often question, “Am I stepping on anyone?” stop a note a fraction of time just before This leads to the next “listening” element; the snare drum hits to allow the snare to to listen to the other players in the band. have its own place in the mix, creating Listen to what they are doing and let it a “breath” in the music, just before I lead inspire you to stay out of their way. As you into the next downbeat with a note or two do this you will know when it’s your time within the scale.

Gary is a session player/ producer/writer in Nashville, TN. He plays for many recording session accounts, does home recording, production, and attends Grace Church (gracechurchnashville.com) in Franklin, TN. Email him for questions, comments or scheduling at garylunn@me.com.

WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM JAN/FEB 2015

Vocals

By Sheri Gould

Train Them Young Are you in a position to influence singers? Especially young singers? Then I have some suggestions for you. Training people to sing correctly, with vocal technique that will enable them to sing for a lifetime, is like giving them a gift that will return lifelong benefits. Here are 5 of what I think are the most important skills every singer should understand and apply. The younger we can instill these in our singers, the better. #1) Teach them to understand and use breath support Breath support is understood by very few and used by even fewer. Yet, of all the potentially significant techniques one can learn as a singer, this certainly as to rank at the top. Why? Because without truly understanding breath support and applying it, a singer will necessarily invoke the use of the wrong muscles in the singing process. In order to sing, or to phonate at all, one needs to use some musculature. A singer will either choose the right muscles or the wrong ones. If a singer doesn’t know the difference he or she may very well default to using the wrong muscles. Even singers who understand breath support often don’t use it. It’s not enough to see your students using proper breath support during vocalises, watch them for support when they are actually singing. Often there is quite a discrepancy between the two. This may be tied in closely with the way the singer speaks as well. This brings me to the second most important thing... #2) Teach them to speak correctly

the singer. Visit www.clevelandclinic.org/ voicetreatment for a free Voice Treatment Guide. I so appreciate the mindset they have that incorporates the total (vocal) instrument and its uses. Make sure that you acquaint yourself with and practice healthy speech habits so that you can model for and also quickly diagnose speech issues in your singers. The younger they are the easier this may be to fix, but even an old singer can learn new behaviors. Then follow up on a regular basis to make sure they have not grown slack in their care. There needs to be a lifetime commitment to healthy speech patterns. #3) Teach them how to relax the neck muscles and lower their larynx Understanding how to keep the muscles in the neck relaxed will help force students to use better breath support by taking away other means of supporting their tone. Additionally, it will help to keep them vocally healthy by eliminating unnecessary stress to the vocal folds. One of the key factors in staying relaxed, vocally is to keep the larynx in a low (neutral) position. This is typically only accomplished through training. The untrained singer is not likely to even be aware of the position of his or her larynx. When the larynx is high, much stress is added to the vocal folds and surrounding neck muscles often resulting is soreness after singing. The sooner the singer is made aware and taught to control the larynx the better. A positive muscle memory can be established and good habits can be put in place early on.

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#5) Teach you students about vocal health

Last but definitely not least, make sure your students gain a thorough knowledge of how to keep their instrument healthy. There are so many important aspects to vocal health; hydration, proper rest, understanding the importance of warming up, #4) Teach them to be discern- etc... Establishing healthy vocal habits ing about who they imitate from an early age on can help to set the stage for a wonderful, full lifetime of singRecently, there have been a number of ing. videos “leaked” showing artists singing with all the band members stripped out of God bless you as you strive to serve the mix and all effects lifted. Some have Him through helping and training others! been unfair in their depictions of the singer’s actual ability and others have been quite telling. For example, there were sevSheri Gould is an eral clips of Karen Carpenter in the studio, internationally acclaimed voice only, and she was incredible. Many vocal coach. With a degree other singers however, proved that without from the University of Ill, all the glitz, effects, auto tune, etc, they she has been coaching have very little real talent or substantial vo- since 1979 and leading worship since cal finesse. 1985. For weekly vocal tips, check out

The trick here may be to make sure that you speak correctly. Speaking correctly involves the same processes as singing correctly; breath support, correct tone placement, relaxation, etc. Most of the time where there is a vocal/singing problem it can be traced directly back to an improper speech technique. Yet this extremely important aspect is often overlooked during the vocal training process. Even though I am not a speech pathologist, I spend a great deal of my time trying to teach people how to speak properly. I wish that every singer would spend some time with a speech therapist and learn the basics of this crucial technique. This is why some clinics are now starting to join forces to incorporate singing and speech training It is easy to admire the music of a particunder the same roof (like the Cleveland ular artist without recognizing that, as a voClinic Voice Center) offering total care for calist, they may not have good technique.

I’m not referring to style. I’m talking about making sure that, whatever style is sung, it is sung in a way as to keep the singer singing for a lifetime. So many popular singers have ruined their voices over time and are no longer fit for live performance. This does not mean that their music or style necessarily was flawed; it simply means that they damaged their voice over time (for any number of reasons) during delivery. It is important to make sure that when you are training (especially when working with young) singers, you emphasize the need to be discerning about healthy vocal practices. Make sure you take time to find out who they listen to and perhaps spend some time together critiquing the vocal techniques of those artists. Invariably, if your student enjoys listening to a particular artist, they will likely end up imitating them. Try to encourage them to step out of their boxes and listen to other types of music with singers who may be older and time tested. It may make you sound a bit old fashioned, but emphasize that older artists who are still singing with healthy voices have learned and applied good teaching/technique. It’s important that your student does not confuse developing style with good vocal technique as if they are juxtaposed. They can be accomplished together!

Sheri’s FB page at www.facebook.com/ officialsherigould. For information on products, including instructional DVDs, check out http://sherigould.com

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EQUIPPING THE CHURCH

by Chuck Page

Is Cloud Computing Right for your Church? Within the IT world different “buzzwords” come and go. Currently the IT “buzzword” of the day is Cloud Computing. Over the past 18 to 24 months my entire customer base has been asking me if they should move from on-premise solutions to cloud solutions. For simplicity sake I will take the basic IT needs most organizations have and discuss if keeping them different paid-for offerings that do provide on premise makes sense or moving them support. I would suggest these plans if to the cloud is the better decision. you’re leaning towards cloud email. Microsoft has an email only plan for around Security and Authentication: There are $5/mth per user. Some organizations can numerous levels of security for all net- justify hosting their own email on premise works. Having a server on premise is the especially if they have over 15 employsafest way to maintain your network secu- ees. Microsoft Exchange is by far the most rity and authentication. A local server not popular and the easiest to find someone to only allows control of secure passwords provide installation and support. but also allows for different levels of security access to folders and files. For churches Line of Business Software: This area can this can be very useful and appropriate be tricky when determining if you should when you’re dealing with your member’s try out the cloud or host on premise. Here’s personal issues or prayer requests. Keep- the rule of thumb to use. If the product you ing confidentiality is extremely important want to use has already been developed to maintain trust between the staff and its to run in the cloud and all you have to do members. By allowing security and au- is sign up and pay a monthly fee then this thentication to be in the cloud you gain product is a candidate for you. If the prodsome convenience for easy offsite access uct you want requires you to pay for servbut give away control of the security. er/rack space/storage then you should seriously consider moving that product on Mail Services: There are numerous com- premise and host it yourself. panies to choose from that can provide cloud based email. Most of us have a Accounting Data: Never, I mean never least one of these even if it’s not our pri- let this data offsite. This should always be mary account. Some proven companies hosted on site and backed up daily. Don’t out there are Google (Gmail), Yahoo, and be fooled by mainline accounting compaMSN (Hotmail, Outlook.com). There are nies pushing their cloud based programs also other sources you might consider us- and stating that they are secure. Here’s a ing that are tied to your website subscrip- prime example…. A business associate of tion. Most of these companies provide mine has a custom software company and free email services and work very well. uses the most popular accounting software The issues I have with these free services program available today to run his busiare their support when something goes ness.(You can guess which accounting wrong. Basically there is little or none. So software I’m referring to). His company if you’re dependent on your email system has been growing as has its revenue. He then choose a paid-for version. Gmail and recently received a letter from a finance MSN do offer a purchased plan. Other company stating that because his revenue mail services such as Microsoft 365 have had hit a certain level he qualified for spe-

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

cial financing. The finance company listed his revenue accurately. He contacted the finance company and asked how they knew that financial information. They replied the accounting software company had sold it to them. He then contacted the software accounting company and learned that on page 43 of the user’s license agreement (ULA) it stated that they had the right to sell any and all of his data to whomever they pleased. Needless to say he was shocked and has since cancelled his cloud subscription with that company. There are good reasons to use cloud computing for some functions. But other functions need to be closely guarded and controlled. Decide wisely, your data and finances are part of your stewardship responsibility. Chuck Page GoFishMedia, LLC

Chuck is a partner and General Manager of GoFishMedia, LLC. He has been involved with technology for over 15 years and worship for over 20 years. He resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife Lisa. Visit: www.gofishmedia.net Send Chuck an email: chuck@gofishmedia.net

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AN INSIDER’S LOOK AT Ten years ago I never imagined I’d be on staff at a church, let alone the biggest church in America. Every time I pull into the building I’m moved with the sense of responsibility and privilege it is to be a worship musician in this day and age. The Lakewood band is made up of nine extraordinary people. They are amazingly talented, funny and very human. The band is very diverse and can play literally every style of modern music and nail it. We have the honor of being the back-up band to some of the biggest names in Christian Worship. They include Israel Houghton, Darlene Zschech, Martin and Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, Marcos Witt and Danilo

Montero as well as artists like Sheila E. and Susan Boyle. In the audience on any given Sunday you’ll find celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, pro athletes, princes, and U.S. Presidents. Lakewood is also known to reach out to celebrities who are in trouble or damaged in the media and need a place to heal and find God. Lakewood Church in Houston Texas is pastored Joel and Victoria Osteen. There are over 40,000 people in weekly attendance. So this is our band’s story. It’s a little about who we are, what we do, how we think, and the heart behind it all.

serve the local church. There are two keyboard players, two guitar players, The Lakewood Band is more than just a a bass player, drummer and percusgroup of talented players. We are a team sionist and two horn players, nine in of friends passionate about worship, and total. We add more musicians dependdedicated to serving our church. ing on any given week’s needs. They The band is unique in many ways. Every- can range from a jazz harpist or a one is on staff (all but two are full time) and violin to the whole Houston Symphony. we come from different musical and ethnic GETTING TO KNOW US: backgrounds. We travel and room together on tours, eat together, record together, First up, William Garcia plays keys pray together and laugh a lot back stage. and is the current Musical Director. It’s a band of session guys and producers He’s probably a genius and the youngwho all are here for the same reason, to est in the band. He calls out arrangeWHO WE ARE:

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

ments during services, interfaces with singers and guests, and makes custom stems for the songs. He’s a pleasure to work with and always has a smile. He has a saying at the beginning of each service, “Gentlemen, it’s gonna be a great one!” Larry Ratajczak Berkley Graduate and former MD, is now a mentor to William and plays keys, synths and organ. He writes most of the charts for the band and often sits in the MD chair switching off with Will. Jonathan Camey plays drums. He sits in a very hot seat because

THE LAKEWOOD BAND By Michael Hodge

besides playing drums, he’s responsible to start and stop all the loops and stems on Ableton. Joel Camey, his younger twin brother (by a couple minutes), plays guitar in the band. He also has his own fashion line at kmewear.com. On bass is Able Orta. He’s a veteran touring musician recruited from Nashville and is a wonderful singer and worship leader in his own right. Javier Solis plays percussion and switches off on drums. He is known for a unique approach to modern percussion and is a well-respected studio musician working in Nashville

and LA. Omar Martinez from Puerto Rico is on trumpet and flugel horn. He writes most of our horn arrangements. Randy Allison is on tenor, alto, baritone and soprano sax. He has been in the band the longest and is a computer and Internet wiz. Lastly Michael Hodge (that’s me) is on guitar, and I’ve served in different roles in the band over the years including MD. My passion is raising up younger guys at the church.

sionally. James Williams on trumpet, and Mike Donahue on trombone. We miss not having them all the time! For the Spanish service we add Jaime Arroyo on piano and Mike Zuniga on bass. HOW’D WE GET HERE? People often ask us how do you get into the Lakewood Band?

I find that in Ministry everything is about relationships. They can bring you to places I’d be remiss to leave out two horn you never dreamed of. Our team comes players who have been in the band for from many different places but we have years and are now only with us occa- one thing in common… which is relationWORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM JAN/FEB 2015

Lakewood Band

continued

ship. Israel Houghton recruited three of us from Nashville. We raised up Jonathan, Joel, William and Omar from here at Lakewood. Larry and Randy are like founding band members and were here before I came on in 2005. OUR JOB: Playing worship music is always an honor whether it’s for a home group, prison, or at a stadium. We all know it’s not about us and we remind ourselves often. We have actually never been the subjects of a magazine article before. The staff band is on call whenever we are needed. We all do outside work like recording but our priority is serving here at Lakewood. Doing outside sessions etc. helps keep us on point musically. All of us continually hone our craft to be the best we can be.

night service that begins at 7:30pm. We will play almost the same set as the coming weekend. Thursday night is a 7:30pm Spanish service with a rehearsal starting at 6:00. We try to rotate band members for this service and bring in some of the younger guys to get experience. Saturday we have a sound check at 4:00 or 5:00 depending on who’s leading, that weeks rehearsal schedule, or if there is a special guest. On the weekends we play four services: Saturday night, two Sunday morning, and a Spanish Service at 1:45pm. A couple of us might then brave the Young Adults service Sunday night as well. REHEARSALS AND GEAR

Rehearsing, as most of you know, can either be a pleasant or painful experience. We are all expected to be on time and ready to go with a smile. Rehearsal is where a lot of worship bands get really bogged down. They take planning, good communication, respect of people’s time and teamwork. A great rehearsal is one where you get a lot done, don’t waste time and have some fun thrown in. Our set list is planned ahead of time so we mainly focus on keys, arWe average five or six services and two rangements and segues between the rehearsals a week. There are also about songs. Since Lakewood services are ten NIGHT OF HOPE tours each year with televised we try to get our worship set Pastor Joel. One or two of those will be at timed within a minute or two of our goal. baseball stadiums and the rest will be at Within this set we still leave some wigarenas. Once a year we may go out of the country. We are always expected to be gle room for extended moments at the professional, on time and willing to go the end of a song if a worship leader feels led to linger there. There is a clock out extra mile whenever asked. front so we can see how we’re doing if A WEEK IN THE LIFE: we need to then shorten a song later in Here is what a typical workweek looks the set. like for us. We rehearse on the main stage. Our Monday there is a meeting with Peter FOH engineer, monitor engineers, lightWilson the new head of the Music depart- ing crew and stage managers rehearse ment, William, the tech guys and the wor- with us. All of us are on in-ear monitors. ship leaders. They plan out the set list and We’re fortunate to have Roland M-48 lighting and video. Tuesday Larry writes personal mixers. They sound great and any new charts and the tech guys program have a lot of features like EQ on each lights and prepare video content. Tuesday channel, onboard reverb and an aux evenings are English and Spanish Choir input. rehearsals usually including William and William is in charge of running the Larry. On Wednesday we have a Span- rehearsal yet each band member has ish rehearsal from 11:30-1:30pm. We a mic and can share ideas for transithen have an English rehearsal from 2:30- tions or arrangements. For main keys he 5:00. This is followed by a 5:30 to 7:00 plays a seven-foot Yamaha C6X grand rehearsal prepping for the Wednesday with MIDI. He triggers Ivory 2 for the

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actual piano in the house. Miking the piano isn’t practical because the drums are only three feet away. He’s also using Logic ProX and Omnisphere on a MAC played from an M-Audio controller sitting on top of the piano with an Apogee interface. We use the Planning Center Online and Music Stand App and read our charts on iPads. Larry is brilliant at chart writing and editing. If we change a key or section of a song he will edit it and have it uploaded to PCO minutes later. His rig consists of a Yamaha Motif synth, a Hammond B3 and some Soft Synths. He also does string stem arrangements using Hollywood Strings. STEMS AND LOOPS: Speaking of stems and loops, we use Ableton Live on a Mac Mini with an Apollo interface. Jonathan (drums) usually loads that stuff in at the top of rehearsal and then changes tempos and keys as we go through our list. To start the song, William gives a verbal cue and then Jonathan will trigger (start and stop) loops and stems with a Yamaha DTX-MULTI 12 pad. Everyone needs to know tempos so guitar delays and Keyboard pulses etc. are all in sync. Since the band is made up of professional musicians, we read music and are able to learn songs quickly so we actually spend most of our rehearsal on creative transitions. We do try to put songs in related keys but if the transition needs to go to an awkward key or tempo, we might start with a drum intro or let William do an instrumental key change. We have four or more worship leaders in any given service. Putting the song a comfortable key for the singer sets them up to win. Keeping our rehearsal organized makes it go smoothly. There are a lot of people engaged and we have learned to appreciate the importance of everyone’s time. With a band this size we have to work on making room for each other musically. It takes some effort to not step on each other. We’re also not all playing all the time. After we get keys, arrangements and segues down we’ll run the set from the top and multi track it. This allows an mp3 of the rehearsal to be posted on drop box for reference. We can also add more stems if we need them to these final arrangements. Our percussionist Javier has a ton of toys along with Meinl congas, timbales and bongos. He’s also using a Roland SPD-S Sampling pad for 808’s, tympani hits or crazy musical sounds he comes up with. For bass Able goes direct using a Universal Audio LA-610 Pre with a compressor. On guitars, Joel and I have various pedals on our boards (too numerous to mention here) and are currently using combinations of Third Power, Top Hat and a Kemper Profiler

Lakewood Band

continued

amps at church. Our cabinets are under the stage miked with Shure 57’s. LIGHTS CAMERA WORSHIP! We get asked a lot what it’s like to have church every week in a fifteen thousand seat arena. To me it’s like going to a big college campus and you just get used to it. People are drawn from all over to hear Pastor Joel’s message and experience the presence of God in worship. Playing in the band is not only honor but actually lots of fun. First off, the services have a lot of cool production going on in the background. Our whole stage is actually a giant elevator that goes up at the beginning of the service and back down during the message. There are two lighting directors with over sixty moving lights, four spotlight operators, about eight camera operators, and several added Go Pro’s occasionally mounted on guitars or different places. We have a front of house engineer, two monitor engineers, and a stage manager with helpers. Up stairs there’s a TV director calling shots with a crew doing shading, lyrics and lots of video content. While that’s going on in another studio is an engineer mixing for SIRIUS radio and the live internet feed. There are over 100 channels of audio multi tracked on a Nuendo System for each service. As a side note we are presently installing the new STUDER FOH and monitor consoles.

STAYING IN THE MOMENT: One of the issues we face in the band at Lakewood is staying in the moment. I’m talking the worship moment. It’s an important issue that modern worship bands with lots of production must all face. For me, and I imagine for others, it can be a real challenge. We have to stay on point musically. That’s how we serve the worship leaders and congregation. Most of us sing with the congregation while we play and try to honor the Lord. There can be a lot of distractions and you must stay focused musically and spiritually, and yet enjoy the process. It’s critical that as worship musicians, we see ourselves as lead worshipers. Part of preparing for a service is having your heart right with God. You can’t take people where you haven’t been your self. Fortunately, you can get used to having a cameraman by your side. He’s just trying to do his job to get a good shot and hopes the director can use it in the moment over the other 10 or so possibilities he has at the time. If your heart’s in the right place you’re going to experience God’s presence. It may be easier at a small group or at home or on a mountaintop. If you can get your mind and heart in the right place you experience God in a powerful way during worship. CONCLUSION: Here’s the takeaway. All of us in the Lakewood band know how special this opportunity is to be here. We don’t take it for granted.

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We’ve all served at much smaller churches. There is nothing you can really compare this church experience to yet at the same time it’s somehow just like any other church. The grass is green but no greener I promise! We are very fortunate to serve under a Pastor like Joel Osteen who is actively engaged and passionate about worship. He understands it’s value, and it’s a huge priority at Lakewood. I know some of you might not be so fortunate. Most of our band members have been in those situations as well. If you are in a worship band, be encouraged. We are all in living a very unique time in history. Worship is a culture and movement all of it’s own. All over the country and actually the world, churches are singing many of the same songs. Worship songs are more creative than ever, and I’m so proud of the modern writers. Lyrically there is a lot of solid theology and depth as well as crazy fun. It’s a very powerful dynamic that can unify Christians across denominations, languages and cultures. If you do ever get a chance to come visit Lakewood in Houston, Texas, we’d love to show you around. It’s a very welcoming atmosphere and we will give you a little tour of the amazing facility. If you come to a service be sure and say you are my guest (or the band’s) and you will be seated right up front. We’d love to meet you after the service. Until then, join us and grow where you are planted and serve with all your heart. Amen!

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The Hottest New Worship Songs for 2015 Jesus Loves Me (Chris Tomlin) Greater (Mercy Me) This I Believe / The Creed (Hillsong Worship) This Is Amazing Grace (Phil Wickham) It Is Well (Bethel Church) Overwhelmed (Big Daddy Weave) Because He Lives / Amen (Matt Maher) Great Are You Lord (All Sons and Daughters) Oceans / Where Feet May Fall (Hillsong United) Open Up The Heavens (Vertical Church) { chord charts }

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Record Reviews Martin Smith Back to the Start 1. Back To The Start 2. Emmanuel 3. Fire Never Sleeps 4. Waiting Here For You 5. You Are My Salvation 6. Grace 7. Only Got Eyes 8. Great Is Your Faithfulness 9. Redemption Day 10. Awake My Soul 11. Song of Solomon 12. Shepherd Boy 13. God’s Great Dance Floor

By Gerod Bass Back to the Start is a dynamic collection of songs covering a wide range on the musical spectrum. Smith’s vocals drive a majority of the album, breathing life into songs that otherwise might fall flat and almost every track is well produced and could be played by most volunteer worship teams. The days of Delirious? as a band might be over, but Martin Smith is very much alive and still creating relevant songs of worship for the local church. Bluetree Worship and Justice 1. It Is Finished 2. My Redeemer Lives 3. Jesus, Healer 4. Each Day 5. Magnify 6. New Creation 7. God, You Are Good 8. Rest 9. My Rock 10. You Were, You Are

Best known as the front man and cofounder of ground-breaking British modern worship band Delirious?, Martin Smith has continued to point people to a loving God through his passionate song writing and worship leadership all over the globe. His latest US release, Back to the Start features a combination of songs taken from his two Northern Irish Worship rockers, Bluetree God’s Great Dance Floor solo albums, have released their sixth full-length worship Step 01 and Step 02, previously only album entitled; Worship and Justice. released in the UK. Bluetree gained worship notoriety in 2009 “Emmanuel”, a song that is already for the well-known song, “God of this getting plenty of radio play and is popping City”, which was written spontaneously up in church services around the world, while performing at a brothel in Thailand proved to be one of the standout cuts and was subsequently made world famous from this collection. With its piano beat by Chris Tomlin. They are well known for and celebratory chorus, we find Smith at being active advocates to end hunger, the top of his game exalting a God who poverty and are championing the cause is with him even when the battles of life to end human trafficking around the world. rage. Another standout is “Redemption Worship and Justice is a collection of 10 Day”. While not the most singable track new songs focusing on the act of worship on the album, this cut showcases Smith’s that we embody while pursuing justice for unmistakable vocal ability as his voice our neighbors and for our world. Their Irish soars and speaks of Christ’s death and flavor is apparent throughout but a little resurrection. The song is a great Easter more edgy and raw than what you will offering and helps keep the album up to hear on other albums. speed during the second half. Overall, this is more of a laid-back Besides the previously released hits, worship album that is full of authentic “God’s Great Dance Floor”, “Waiting worship moments. One of the better Here For You” and “Back to the Start”, my lyrical moments is in the song, “Each favorite song of the album is “Awake My Day.” It opens with a simple melody over Soul” which is a peppy acoustic guitar a piano line that evokes the imagery of driven celebration of God’s love for us. a sunrise as he sings, “Each day, in the Rarely have I heard a better combination morning sun I see You.” It’s a song about of rap and contemporary pop that actually the faithfulness of God as He walks with makes sense and blends together well into us through life and never leaves. a very memorable chorus. “Jesus Healer” is a beautiful mid-tempo song that would fit very nicely into a Good

*Gerod’s Personal Picks in bold.

Overall impression Average church congregation could learn/participate on the first hear Can be learned/adapted by a band of average skill Lyrical creativity and integrity

Martin Smith Back to the Start Bluetree Worship and Justice Planetshakers This is Our Time Worship Central Set Apart Newsboys

Hallelujah For The Cross highest marks

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Friday worship service and “Rest” speaks of the peace that we receive when we live in the freedom that Christ won for us on the cross. Songs like “My Redeemer Lives,” “New Creation” and “It Is Finished” are passionate reminders of not only the power of God’s grace in our lives but also the motivation that should call God’s people to action in their world. Bluetree is not going to blow the doors off your sanctuary with this album. This collection is not full of overproduced, arena rocking worship anthems. These are songs born out of individual struggle from a heart that yearns for God’s mercy and love. This is a scripturally rich and personal album that has one goal, connect the listener with a God whose love should motivate them to action, and I have to say, mission accomplished. Planetshakers This Is Our Time 1. This Is Our Time 2. Joy 3. My Heart Is Alive 4. Leave Me Astounded 5. Covered 6. Stronger Than a Thousand Seas 7. The Water Is Rising 8. It’s Your Love 9. Sing It Again 10. You 11. Holy 12. He Touched Me 13. Your Presence 14. Look to You 15. Abba Father Psalm 100 calls us to shout with joy to the Lord, to worship Him with gladness and to come before Him with joyful songs. Australia’s Planetshakers newest release, This Is Our Time does just that with 15 new songs filled with enthusiasm and joy and geared toward a younger generation of worshippers. Recorded at their annual conference in Melbourne earlier this year, This Is Our Time is an album meant to shake worshippers out of their seat from thought to action or as front man Joth Hunt puts it, “This [being] our time to show the love Christ to others; to be the servant.” This album is a call to all of God’s people, old and young to worship with fervor and an excitement not only in our singing, but also in our lives outside the church walls. Planetshakers music for the most part echoes their name and the “Radio Disney” nature of the opening few tracks is entirely appropriate given the nature of who the movement is aimed at, young people. The album’s first three songs, “This Is Our Time,” “Joy” and “My Heart Is Alive” could easily be mistaken for One Direction tunes, with youthful vocals and dancy time signatures. Each song overflowing with authentic energy and joy that is completely

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Record Reviews latest release, Set Apart includes 14 new expressive worship songs penned by the writing talents of Ben Cantelon, Luke Then things take a mature turn when Hellenbronth, Jason Ingram and of course track 4 begins. “Leave Me Astounded” long time worship leader, Tim Hughes. is a much more intimate and grown-up worship song that is much different from the Instrumentally, this album sits in the previous three, as if the kid’s worship was modern Hillsong, Jesus Culture pallete over and it was time for the adults at the with lots of guitars, pads and driving conference to worship. Track 5 follows suit. drum beats that we all familiar with has Co-written by Israel Houghton, “Covered” just enough personal identity to keep has a laid-back almost southern gospel it interesting throughout. Thematically, vibe that calms things down a bit as the this album reminded me of the cries for lyric describes in great detail how we are mercy and renewal we hear in the book of psalms, making this a very intimate and covered by the grace of Christ. deep theological album. ‘Water Is Rising’, boasts some excellent guitar work and is an impassioned Some of the standout tracks include declaration of God’s active presence in the opener, “The Way”, a techno/ today’s world and an invitation to join dance influenced celebratory anthem Him in His movement. The album wraps that reminded me a bit of Tomlin’s up unexpectedly with the touching piano- “Great Dance Floor”. Anna Hellebronth’s led song “Abba Father” which I have to silky vocals take over on the upbeat admit quickly caught my attention and “Awesome Is He,” which is a vertical song after I listened to it for a second time, proclaiming the greatness and majesty of became my favorite on the album. Above God while “Can’t Stop Your Love” is an the foundation of piano and strings, Joth intimate reminder that no matter how much sings of the overwhelming love of a father we have sinned or denied Christ with our that we all seek and that only our God lives, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. can provide.

Newsboys has taken it a step further with their latest release, Hallelujah For the Cross, a 10 song collection of some of the world’s best loved hymns reworked for the modern church.

Working out the implications of the cross is the bluesy title cut “Set Apart.” Amidst its airy drums and legato feel, “Set Apart” reminds us of our standing before God as people redeemed by the blood. “Wide Open Spaces,” taps into the very heart of God, reminding listeners of their place in God’s story and his call on our lives.

“Jesus Paid It All” follows and pretty much holds true to the original melody but the instrumentation and arrangement gives it an anticipatory feel that is infectious. “All Creatures of Our God and King” is both celebratory and hauntingly beautiful with its driving rhythms and new bridge section that gives new life to the hymn while respecting the original melody and feel.

infectious and will be very relevant for youth and young adults.

This is again another solid offering from the Planetshaker guys. I really appreciated the eclectic nature of the music contained here that will surely reach a wide variety of audiences, both young and old and point them to Jesus. Joth Hunt’s lead vocals are a driving force through the album, and his energy contributes to the intentionality of the lyrics and the band’s mission to engage listeners. Overall, I thought it was a bit weak lyrically and lacked a lot of theological depth but I think the mission of Planetshakers comes through in fine style with this album. Worship Central Set Apart 1. The Way 2. Stand Up 3. Can’t Stop Your Love 4. Set Apart 5. Pursue Me 6. Awesome Is He 7. Worth It All 8. All That I Am (Spontaneous Song) 9. Enough Light 10. Let Go 11. Your Cross is Enough 12. Dead Things to Life 13. Singing Over Us 14. Wide Open Space (Spontaneous Song)

There are some nice cuts on this album that are sung with passion and authenticity even though many of the arrangements and instrumentation sound like every other Hillsong-esque worship album out there. I was disappointed that Worship Central didn’t take more musical a risks here and some songs were a bit cliché heavy but there are a few songs from this album that you should consider adding to your congregations set list. Newsboys Hallelujah For the Cross

1. All Creatures of Our God and King 2. Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus 3. His Eye Is On the Sparrow 4. Hallelujah For the Cross 5. It Is Well 6. Jesus Paid It All 7. I Surrender All Since 2006, Worship Central has been 8. What A Friend We Have In Jesus a movement of song writers and worship 9. Holy, Holy, Holy leaders who are dedicated to training 10. All the Power of Jesus’ Name and raising up the next generation of It seems as if every Christian band musical leadership for the church. Based nowadays is including at least in London, the collective has touched one rewritten or updated hymn thousands of lives and continues to press in their latest project as the church seems to in, seeking to “see the worship life of the be returning to the core of its musical roots, local church around the world explode,” hymnody. Although most are following suit as director Tim Hughes explains. Their to this “fad” of sorts, CCM supergroup,

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Although I have never really been a huge fan of Newsboys, I have to say that I was impressed and even inspired by many of the tracks contained on this album. “Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” is a brilliant combination of old and new that includes the beloved aforementioned hymn as it’s chorus with a decidedly more uptempo pop/rock vibe that actually works. The lyrical story of the verses paint a picture of a lost soul who is trying everything to fill the void in their heart when what they need to do is to turn their eyes upon Jesus. Another interesting musical choice, but one that again surprisingly works, is the techno version of “It Is Well”. Tait’s voice is spectacular on this track as he belts it out with sincerity. I have played this song over the years at least 200 times and after listening to this version, it actually dawned on me that this is a hymn of celebration and should be sung and arranged as such.

The album wraps up with the classic “All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name” interestingly as we hear a vocally rich and snappy four part acapella version that although energetic and unique, seemed a bit out of place. Overall, this was a surprisingly well done album as the guys took some big risks with songs that people hold dear. These risks though were taken with respect to the hymn’s original writers with the intention of making them fresh and relevant to the modern church, which I appreciate. I did think though that it was a bit overproduced and Michael Tait’s vocal can be over-the-top dramatic in some spots, but for the most part this is a great collection of rewrapped hymns that people in your church will love singing Gerod Bass is a ministry veteran who has been serving God’s people through worship and youth ministry for more than 20 years. Since 2009, he has been living his dream serving as the minister of worship and Jr. High at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Tacoma, Wa. Gerod is a singer, guitarist and recording artist who has a passion for impacting lives for the sake of the Gospel. You can find out more about Gerod, his ministry and his music, including his newest album release at his website, gerodbass.com.

FOH Engineer - #Throwback but always great!

By John Mills

Practical Mic Techniques - Drums originally published in Worship Musician Sep/Oct 2011 First things first, while we Sound Engineers can perform some pretty neat tricks, there are limits to what we can fix. If your drummer’s kit sounds more like cardboard boxes than big full sounding drums there is only so much we can do. Maybe a better way to state it is, if there is no tone from the drum acoustically, we can not create it. So get you drummer new heads and have him tune them up before you dig in here. If you don’t have time to wait, you can start by ripping off the pounds of duct tape, paper towels, and huge blankets that were stuffed in the drums by the last music minister in hopes to make them quieter. If they have to be that quiet, then you probably need to consider the “e” word. Electronic drums. I personally hate electronics, I’d much rather have a real drum kit, even if it has to be behind a shield or in a booth but that is another article/war for another day.

blend of the two mic channels. On a slow song I generally pull back both Kick mics but I pull the 91 back a bit more. This kind of puts the kick back in the mix a bit. It is a duller sound that is more like a feeling thing rather than a driving force. On the contrary I use quite a bit more level on both kick channels on faster songs. I tend to favor the 91 here since it’s a brighter sound and cuts thru the mix better, but be careful to keep enough of that 52 since it really captures the low end thump. The Snare Drum: When micing the snare let’s think about the instrument. Many folks put just one mic on the top head and call it done… but when you listen to the snare acoustically from a few feet away you aren’t just hearing that top head… you are hearing the snares rattle underneath… therefore… yup you guessed it… two mics again.

So, since this article focuses on real drums and we’ve now got them sounding great acoustically, lets focus on how to translate all your drummers’ hard work of tuning and tweaking his kit. I’ll give you some tips for each drum individually and then blend them all together at the end. The Kick Drum: Even thought the kick drum is considered a bass instrument there is a full spectrum of sound going on in there. That’s why I often use a double mic technique. While you can get away with just one of the following mics and achieve a great result, I like to have the versatility of two mics. I use a Shure Beta 52 in the hole of the front head of the kick and a Beta 91 lying on the pillow inside. Here’s the trick. You are going to try to capture just low end with the Beta 52… there should be a ton of it just inside the hole. I actually roll off a good deal of highs and probably cut at least 8 to 10db of 500Hz and about 6 to 10db of 250Hz from this mic. It will sound pretty bad by itself… but what we are doing is making room for the other mic. Now listen to just the Beta 91. I use a high pass filter set around 100 to 125 Hz so that we take all the low end out of this mic… since it is being used to primarily get the beater sound and the tone inside the drum. Then I blend the two together.

For my top mic I use a Beta 57, which has a super cardioid pattern. This allows me to reject a little more of the hi-hat and toms around it and hear a bit more snare. See figure 3. My bottom mic preference is a KSM137 don’t’ forget to invert the phase of this mic. You’ll want to aim the mics down on about a 30 degree angle toward the center of the drum. As far as eq goes… on the top mic I usually take out about 6db at 600Hz and add some lows around 120Hz to 200Hz make it have a little low end presence… not too much, but you do want it to have a little warmth. On the bottom mic, roll off a good deal of the lows around 140Hz, and maybe pull out some 200Hz, depending on the drum. Now blend them together… you’re going to use mostly top mic and put just enough of the bottom one in there to know the snares are there… too much and it will sound more like a marching snare. The Hi-Hat:

This trick is useful from song to song thinking of one fader like bass and the other like treble. Instead of messing with the channel eq to get that drum to sit in just the right spot, try varying the

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I love the KSM137 here. It does a great job of rejecting other drums while still preserving the delicate highs of the hat. I tend to mic the edge of the hi-

hats as shown in figure 5. Most of the time I’ll put the mic on the top like this because the hi-hats form a physical barrier w/ the snare drum and help get a little of the snare out of the hi-hat channel. The eq on the hats can be pretty crazy depending on the hats, but I find myself mostly taking out a bunch lows and maybe a little dip around 700Hz. The Toms: The angle of the mic and distance is very important here, especially if you are using a Beta 98 like I am. They are super cardioid mics and therefore only hear what you have them pointing at. I like them on about a 20 to 30 degree angle pointed straight at the center of the drum. This gets good deal of the tone from the edge of the drum while still getting a bunch of the stick hitting the center. More toward the edge equals less attack, but more tone. Eq on the toms is very subjective, depending on what you like, but I take out about 8db at 500Hz. The Overheads: Using the KSM32 for overheads I try to get each side of the kit with one mic while keeping them both equidistant from the snare. Try to overlap the center a bit, see figure 7. I tend to run these guys pretty flat capturing the whole sound of the kit and not just the cymbals. The two mics being exactly the same distance from the snare is a big deal because if one is off just a bit you will have snare cancelation at some frequencies. Also. If your sound system is in mono... use only one over head placed directly over the center of the kit. Less is more. Putting it all together: Now obviously you can tell that I am a fan of Shure microphones, but honestly many companies make great drum mics. If you substitute any of their equivalent mics you will probably achieve similar results with the techniques I’ve shared. When you mix the kit it might be obvious to say that all the drums should be about the same volume, but I like to also think about eq. When listening to the kick and snare in the mix they should both be driving with both volume and tone. I’m not a fan of a tiny little paper-thin snare… the song seems to fall apart when the snare isn’t full. All the drums should be sticking out of the music just enough to be leading the song somewhere. John Mills is the Senior Vice President at Morris Light and Sound. He lives in the greater Nashville, TN area. Early in the history of the Christian Musician Summit conferences, John was the FOH and production manager of the event.

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PERCUSSION

By Mark Shelton

Tambourine Primer Part 1: Headed Hints “And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Striking the head with the middle section of the A more delicate sound than the shake version, Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all curled fingers, similar to knocking on a door, will the thumb roll is produced by skipping the thumb the women went out after her with tambourines bring out a punchy pop from the head along with against the head so that the head and shell proand with dances” (Exodus 15:20, AKJV). the sound of the jingles. duce vibrations that in turn vibrate the jingles. Had Moses only thought to snap a quick photo of Miriam as she played and sang, we would not have to speculate about the percussion instrument being played by his celebrating sibling. At least half a dozen English versions of the Bible use the word “tambourine” in that passage, but was it really a tambourine?

For less of the head sound, bring the fingers Curl the fingers of your playing hand in and and thumb of your playing hand into a cluster leave the thumb extended. and strike the head with the fingertips. See Photo Moisten the thumb. (Okay, I lick my thumb.) Experiment with striking different areas of the head to discover the variety of timbres and how Touch the thumb near the rim of the tambourine the jingles respond. head at the 7:00 area.

The instrument was probably some type of frame drum, a single-headed membranophone with a shell depth measuring less than the diameter of the head. Frame drums have existed for thousands of years in the Middle East. Present-day examples from that region include the tar, bendir, and riq. The headed tambourine is a common frame drum in Western culture and a handy approximation for a number of English-language Bible translators. With that historical background in mind, it seems appropriate that our modern-day version of Miriam’s frame drum is heard in many types of Christian music including cantatas, hymn arrangements, choir anthem orchestrations, and modern worship songs. In the hands of a skilled percussionist, the headed tambourine can produce a variety of Rolls tone colors and a substantial amount of volume. The jangling sound of a single “tambour The tambourine sound is sustained with either de Basque” can soar through the mix of winds the shake roll or the thumb roll. Both of these and strings in a symphony orchestra. That kind of techniques should be in your arsenal. power should be handled with knowledge and skill, so grab your favorite “schellentrommel” and The shake roll is probably the easiest and most check out a few techniques. obvious method of producing a long tone on the tambourine. With the instrument perpendicular to Grip and Playing Positions the floor, use a fast back and forth wrist/hand rotation to move the jingles. The movement is With the head facing the ceiling, grip the similar to a twitch. tambourine in the shell area where there are no jingles. Place your thumb on top of the head and Although a shake roll can be started with the curl the remaining fingers under the bottom rim. twitching motion, often the music requires a more definite attack. This can be produced by first strikThe position of the headed tambourine plays ing the tambourine and immediately starting the a role in the sustain of the jingles. Holding the shaking motion. tambourine perpendicular to the floor allows the jingles to ring for a moment after a strike. For genStop the roll by shifting the tambourine flat eral playing, position the instrument at approxi- (parallel to the floor) and ceasing the rolling momately 45 degrees to the floor. This will shorten tion. With a bit of practice, you can drop to the the after-strike ring of the jingles, producing a flat position very accurately to produce precise drier sound. See Photo endings. If the music requires an articulated note upon the release of the roll, strike the head as Single Strikes you cease the rolling motion.

With slight pressure, move the thumb up the tambourine head toward 12:00 following the curve of the rim. Experiment with the pressure until you feel and hear the appropriate skipping. If a landing note is needed, simply drop the heel of your palm onto the head. A light coat of beeswax applied to the head (near the rim) may help you achieve the friction necessary to produce the roll. Another option to aid in the execution of the thumb roll is The Roll Ring (TM) from Grover Pro Percussion. The textured strip has a special non-permanent adhesive backing that makes it easy to apply or remove. Online Resources Video tutorials on headed tambourine basics, the shake roll, and the thumb roll are available at www.youtube.com/marksheltonmusic. Expand your headed tambourine playing further with information from an earlier article in Worship Musician! (Volume 10 Issue 6). Go to www.christianmusician.com and search for “Tambourine Tips: Random and Useful” in the Nov/Dec 2012 issue.

An active freelance musician, Mark Shelton has created programs, products, and educational services for a variety of ages. Mark’s percussion work can be heard live and on recordings with Gateway Worship. Check out more of Mark’s educational materials at www.percussionforworship.blogspot.com www.youtube.com/marksheltonmusic.

and

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

believe

Cut-capo Guitar

By Mitch Bohannon

A Fresh Look at the Short-Cut Capo It’s sure easy to get into a rut, isn’t it? From marriages to ministries… getting into a rut can be devastating! I believe the downfall of many a church started with getting into a set way of doing things. I don’t want to get off on a tangent, so I’ll stick to guitar-talk. Playing a song the same way every time we play it… that’s often our “rut.” If you’re not a Short-Cut capo user, I want to encourage you to give it a strum and I am certain you’ll find a place for it somewhere in your bag-otricks. Some folks use it periodically and some use it all the time. But, just the same, it’s easy to get into a rut with the Short-Cut capo.

Either way, the diagram will show you the key of “E,” the chord-numbers, and the fret numbers for these new shapes. Since this shape is moveable, I’ll show you the shapes without the capo visible.

In most all of my Short-Cut classes I will explain that this capo can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. There is not just one way to use it. There is not just one set of fingerings to use. Normally, I teach fingerings that are modifications from playing chord shapes from the key of “D,” So, let’s look at it in a different way. It starts with learning two simple shapes. If you are familiar with standard Short-Cut capo chords, you probably already know the E/G#. The second is a variation of the “A” chord.

These two shapes become moveable to create a nice collection of chord voicings. In the last issue of Worship Musician, I encouraged you to apply the Nashville Number System to the Short-Cut capo chord shapes. It can be quite helpful to a guitar player to understand the Number System when using capos. We end up playing the same chord shapes and then transposing them into different keys. Thinking in numbers, the 1 is always the 1 and the 6m is always the 6m no matter where we place the capo.

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You’ll notice that on frets 2, 7, 9, and 12 it’s the same shape… but on 7, 9, and 12 you’ll want to mute the 5th string with your finger. This helps to clean up the bass note. Again, I’m showing you the Number System and frets relative to the capo so that it will make sense when you doublecapo to play in keys above “E.”

heroes,” Gary Chapman. Literally, 30 years ago, I was in awe of his playing and songwriting and finally got to meet him while in Nashville and give him a Short-Cut capo. That same evening, I was at the Opry and got this text from Gary, ”This Short-Cut capo is killing me, how As you strum through these chord have I lived without it!”. Wow, someone shapes, you’ll find a family of Short-Cut who could wipe the floor with most of us chords where the root note is the bass note. even with 4 broken strings found this little With these new voicings, we’re able to capo that inspiring! expand the “sound” of the Short-Cut capo. Pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before, but Wouldn’t that be something… if hearing it’s worth saying again. I remember years these new shapes stirred something in your ago seeing an interview with George spirit and new songs of praise were born? Jones on television. He was talking about Don’t get stuck in a rut. Give the Short-Cut his guitar collection and stated that he capo a try and play in freedom! would get a new guitar every time the one he was playing “ran out of songs!” That really stuck with me and spoke of the creative process. Sometimes it’s the sound of a new guitar that causes us to Mitch Bohannon hear something in such a fresh way that developed the Short it sparks a new song or at least a new Cut Capo for Kyser and arrangement. is a worship pastor in Louisiana. He and his Sometimes I over-emphasize the beautiful wife, Noelle, simplicity of the Short-Cut capo when I’m have been married for teaching it. That leads folks to think it is 22 years and have three a tool for the beginner. Well, just to give awesome kids! www.kysermusical.com perspective… this past summer, I had the blessing to meet one of my all-time “guitar-

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GuiTAR GRAB BAG

By Jeffrey B. Scott

Working Modeling Magic I have long been a fan of making music in as uncluttered a fashion as possible, so this month, I’d like to offer up an opinion that these days, seems pretty unpopular: if you play guitar, you should know how to sound just as good through a modeling pedal as you do through your hand-wired, vintage (or not-so-vintage), boutique amplifier.

that it could work, and I’d still be pretty happy with how it sounded.

The fact is, there’s nothing quite like an amp cranked up to the point that it vibrates the floor and shakes the room a little bit. But once I realized there was superb sound AND consistency of experience, I was definitely hooked. Especially when I realized that, with in-ears, I wasn’t hearA little backstory is probably necessary, ing the direct sound of the amp anyway, so here goes… it was actually (dare I say it?) better using the POD. Growing up, I didn’t have any great gear. My first guitar was a Christmas gift WAIT! DON’T GO… I want to teach from the JCPenney catalog! Then as I grew you how to work magic, too! as a musician, I learned keys, played Here’s the thing: if you play in your drums, violin, cello, trumpet, wrote songs, and tinkered with recording. Then I decid- church, there may be places you can use ed that I really needed to focus, to try and an amp. Your situation may never request be great at one thing rather than mediocre or require that you use anything different at several. I picked electric guitar as my from your normal rig. But what if they do? Wouldn’t you want to be ready to do that first choice. just as well? Through conversations with a mentor It’s been my experience that there are of mine, Sonny Lallerstedt, I purchased my first real tube amp and started do- a few common mistakes when it comes to ing the Pedalboard Rag (you know, that setting up tones on a digital modeling dedance where you can’t figure out which vice. Let’s talk about some good common pedal you actually NEED and which you practices instead! just WANT!). Then the first POD came ESCHEW PRESETS along. At first, I added it to my arsenal as a travel-recording piece. Then the church Presets are great for Guitar Center jam started to want amps out of the way, and I tried it there, just in place of my amp. sessions, but rarely are they ever meant As we moved into using in-ear monitors, I to be used in a live band setting. Think was amazed at how quickly I could get a about it: they want you to sit down, plug tone I really liked playing with it. Next, I in and play. By yourself. So there are not a decided I still wanted to use my amp, so whole lot of presets that will translate well I figured out how to put the POD in as a into a band environment. Avoid them if at second amp through my pedalboard. In all possible as a starting place for a tone. the ears, split stereo, it was a pretty masSTART FRESH sive tone! Then came my move to California, and going on staff with a guy known You didn’t fall in love with your amp for the fact that he uses modeling amps, and pedals all at once, so why try to put Lincoln Brewster. that much pressure on a modeled preset? I think Lincoln’s first test of me was mak- Start with a model of the closest thing to ing me use a POD by itself! I didn’t know it your amp as possible. Make that sound as at the time, but that would be my trajectory good as you can. Then and ONLY then, for the next several years. Hearing what add any modeled pedals or effects. he did with them inspired me to believe

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REBUILD YOUR RIG Once you’ve got a great-sounding amp tone, you can go a couple of different ways. One way would be to stop there and just put your regular pedalboard in front of the digital model, and see how it reacts. Or, find the modeled versions of your analog pedalboard, and rebuild it inside the digital model. DON’T USE HEADPHONES! This is a big one! Tones set up in headphones are never going to sound the same as tones set up in a live environment. There’s research that proves that things sound differently at different dB levels. The best way to set up a new tone is to be in the environment where you’re going to use it. If you can, have both your analog rig and the digital modeling rig set up, so you can compare. And if you’re sound man is agreeable, have them sit with you. Another set of ears can be helpful to really get things dialed in. LAST WORD… I have to be honest - there’s a part of this article that’s about the heart. Unless you just started playing guitar last week, you’re pretty “married” to your tone, we all are. The first time someone asked me to turn down my amp, it took me a minute to get over it. Just being honest! But when I have a chance to do something that helps make the experience of a worship service better for the folks who are attending, I want my first response to be “yes!” If it helps to have another tool at my disposal, I want it to be good. Hopefully, this will help you be as good working some digital magic as you are in the analog world! Jeffrey B. Scott lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and 3 children, and is deadset on delivering his best for God’s glory. He’s a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He served with Lincoln Brewster at Bayside Church in California and is currently serving alongside the team at Passion City Church in Atlanta, GA. Twitter: @jeffreybscott

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The Band

By Tom Lane

Band of Priests

DESIGNED FOR THOSE WHO DEMAND THE BEST

If you ever want to be amused, take a look at some of the job descriptions posted online for worship leaders and staffing positions. It’s very telling, at least to me, that we’re maybe a bit out of touch with both the generation we are trying to reach and more importantly The Church God has called us to be. The list of qualifications they (EXPECT) a candidate to posses is astounding, and would rule out most of the young (and old) leaders I know that are the least bit mature and sensitive. I get it, there is no perfect church or program and I honestly think most are sincerely doing our best to serve well. But super hero staff and worship leaders are not what’s needed to win the lost and honor God in worship. We can learn from the priesthood of the Old Testament. At one point the Levites left their posts and sought work on the farms because they were no longer being taken care of and supported, largely because over and over again Israel wandered away from God ceasing to honor and follow Him. The consequences were always severe and felt among the whole nation. Historically, whenever they returned to God one of the first things to happen was the restoration of worship led by the Levites. It always came back to what matters most, and getting that right first. The Levitical priesthood was comprised of more than just musicians, singers, and artisans, but they played a key role in ministering to the Lord and serving his temple, and people. As worship leaders we are part of that priesthood. We’re not more important than others or overly special, even though the worship platform has become quite elevated in our generation and made some famous. But we are set apart to minister to God above all else, in doing this he promises to draw the people.

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he gives us daily, but also his providence and lordship. In his supreme wisdom he decided to create each of us with unique design, varying in our gifts and talents and unlike any other every made. Being okay with who we are at the most basic level is the start of being at peace with who we are. Only then can we stop striving to be who we are not. There are many critics of church, programs, ministries, etc. I have been one and had to work through my own issues to get to a place of loving God’s chosen family and body—The Church. At the end of the day, I’m just thankful he has forgiven me and involves me in any way in his grand scheme and plan. I have also learned that his plans don’t revolve around me, and that no amount of vying for position, title, or influence helps me accomplish what he put me here for. That’s incredibly good news! It means that I don’t have to re-audition or re-interview with him every year to see how good I’ve been or how well I’ve done. He’s not Santa Claus and The Church is not a corporation! It’s a disconcerting thought to think that our role is only valued as long as we fit into the program nicely, or continue to be relevant, and many feel this way. There’s a world of difference between losing your saltiness and light, and being relevant. Paul said plenty about becoming who we need to in order to reach some for Jesus’ sake, so we know it matters that we can relate to our culture and generation. Jesus also said plenty about seeking his kingdom first and what really matters most in life and eternity. If we do what he said and did, then we are free of the need to make what we do work somehow. This isn’t an argument for laziness, just a reminder that the pressure is off for us to impress or persuade others of our importance.

It’s a struggle for many of us creative Of all places, The Church should not be types to know where we fit and how to a place where we have to convince others make what we do work. Certainly not all of our worth, we are worth it all because can make it work as a vocation or lead on he gave his all! the platform, nor do all want to. It’s even hard to understand sometimes why God chooses the ones he does, and to keep Nashville, TN is home for ourselves from living by comparison. In our humanness we often do envy and criticize Tom Lane though he is involved others and their positions, we can’t help in ministry and music around the ourselves. Being grounded in who we are world. As a singer, songwriter as priests unto God is critical in our jour- and guitar player, Tom has ney of becoming faithful in our service, no been teamed with many worship leaders and artists. He continues to record his matter what our role. Part of our being grounded is understanding not only the grace and mercy that

own work, lead worship, and writes regularly for various worship publications worldwide.

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Camera

By Craig Kelly

Advice for the Beginner Camera Operator If anyone actually reads these posts from me they know that I am a champion of camera operators – especially new operators trying to make their way in the business no matter what level. Here’s another bit of advice I’ve picked up over the years; If you spend any time at all as an operator and build your reputation to that of a pro, there is no doubt that someone will recommend you for a big show. Someone will wind up sick, a camera position will be added or you’ll get asked for any number of reasons. One of the hardest things to do as a camera operator though… is to admit your inadequacies.

will be the best thing for you in the long run and here’s why; even though you may be stepping in as a favor, hero, emergency, whatever – you still only get one chance to make an impression with the director, and the more prepared you are the better. Take it from me, honest effort, logical, forward-thinking, and prepared reactions will carry you a long way as the new guy. Another thing – when the director asks you about your experience and background, full disclosure is best. I would rather know what a camera op can’t do so I can work my show around them. If you brag to me that you got this and then I have to run camera from the director’s chair… oh boy, I will remember that. If you are honest about your intentions, background and abilities, that will go a long ways with a director and they will bend over backwards to help you. Everyone likes to help humble learners.

I hope this helps. If you have questions, comments, rants, raves or other ideas You might get that call to run camera on please let me know at zoomit.cam@ your favorite national concert touring act craigjkelly.com or that college football game you always wanted to attend. You might think, I’ve been running camera at work or church now for 10 years or so and I think I can do this. Truth is, you probably can – but how well? Have you ever done it? Do you Craig Kelly is a veteran Freeknow the language? I can guarantee you lance, TV camera operator/DP that a live concert or sporting event is a for over 25 years. He writes far cry from the corporate boardroom. My these articles to be included advice to you? Get some practice and in his blog found at www. experience before you need it; there are craigjkelly.com. Often the many opportunities for motivated camera subject matter comes from the 3,000 + global operators – find them, find out how to membership in the LinkedIn group he started for new camera operators and volunteer operators get on those shows, find out how to just called TV Camera Operators. Kelly is also the watch and learn if possible. Another great International/North America Representative to suggestion is to watch TV and learn from the Guild of Television Cameraman as well the pros already doing what you might as advisory board member for 2 colleges and want to do. Be a student. Study. Count 2 high schools in the greater Seattle area. cameras. Try to figure out what and why In addition, he writes for Worship Musician the director is asking them to do what Magazine and conducts workshops for they are doing. Is there a difference in new and volunteer camera operators. Kelly coverage on different networks? I would welcomes comments here or via email at zoomit.cam@craigjkelly.com do that before you get the call. Truthfully, it

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

Ministry + Artistry = Profitability? Creating your MAP™ By Scott A. Shuford

Social Media Tip: Choosing Helpful Keywords Social media is an ever evolving medium, and one which flows through change quickly. Working in the Faith-based social media area with Christian artists, we have to keep up with these trends and changes, just like everyone else. A few years ago, research showed that “keywords” should be general, short, and directly related to the article or blog you are posting. These days, a recent report from Mashable showed that the keyword process has changed. No longer are keywords that are general and short the best route to go. Instead, current wisdom in the SEO world says that for best representation, you must have a mix of long and short keywords and tags in your articles and posts. Many artists feel overwhelmed with these ongoing changes, and are unsure of how to navigate the blending of short words and long phrases. Here’s how to break that advice down: – Your keywords/tags should be a variety of short and general words, and searchable phrases. What is a searchable phrase? Think of words and phrases that

you would type in to search for your specific article or item. Let’s say you have a Christian Worship DVD that is releasing, and you want to appropriately tag and keyword your blog or press release. The DVD is a family friendly without questionable content, and is directed at church families including young children. You’d start with your general words: Christian DVD, worship songs, family films, Christian films, faith based films. Then, you’d move on to your phrases. These are things someone would type in, that would lead them to your film: What’s new in Christian worship, clean Christian movies, worship for the entire family, new releases in Christian worship. The optimal number of keywords/tags is between 8-12, according to the Mashable report, so pick your best, and voila! – Other ideas for good keywords are location based keywords (i.e.: worship in Baltimore, family activities in Minnesota, stuff to do in Orange County). Also think about variations on the same words, and synonyms. An example is “Christian DVD” and “Christian films/movies”…they can produce different results. Including all the variations in your keywords means you will be in both ‘pools’ of searches.

– Word order also matters; typing “music that is Christian” produces different results than typing “Christian music”, and you want to cover all your bases. Studies show that unpopular keywords include: things that are specific to the company or brand alone, such as a motto or slogan that the company uses, and including keywords that are irrelevant to the site. Customers feel distrust when a website puts keywords like “wedding gifts” on a site that doesn’t sell wedding gifts. Consider your reader’s trust, and while thinking of keywords, make sure you remain truthful. Scott has led classes for us at CMS and NAMM as well as teaching on marketing for the Gospel Music Association, Christian Leadership Alliance, and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Scott is the Chief Engagement Officer at FrontGate which provides marketing strategy, online promotions, public relations, and social media marketing to reach the Christian audience. Their site at www.FrontGateMedia.com was recently awarded the “Best Marketing Website” and “Best Faith-based Website” in the 2014 Internet Advertising Competition. Get more marketing and social media tips at FrontGate’s blog.

YOUR GATEWAY TO THE CHRISTIAN AUDIENCE

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WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM JAN/FEB 2015

FEATURED STORY

By Rick Muchow

What I Think About When I’m Leading Worship (More Than Music) “…brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Php 4:8 Churches are looking for worship leaders that have the ability to connect a congregation to God through worship. More than music, Pastors are looking for connection. Pastors may or may not know/care anything about music but they do know and care about their flock! The worship leader that knows how to connect a crowd to God and stays away from the temptations of this world, will have no problem finding ministry opportunities. When you lead worship do you feel like the crowd is connecting to God? More importantly, does your Pastor feel like the crowd is connecting? In this article I will describe 13 things that are essential for connecting a congregation to God in worship. The most important thing for a worship leader to be is to be a worshipper. Building methodology on Biblical theology is key to the success of every servant leader of God and especially to the worship leader. “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “ Matt 22:37 Effective worship leading is rooted in knowing and loving God with all ones heart, soul and mind. Who we are, children in relationship with our heavenly Father, is far more important than what we do for a living or any “act of worship”. Further it is vitally important that worship leaders understand what the bible teaches about worship. Rather than learning biblical worship theory, it is common for God’s children to “worship by ear”. As musicians, we understand the importance of having a foundation in (music) theory. Personally, I enjoy playing music by ear but have benefited greatly by understanding the principles of theory. Before we move on let’s look at four foundational principles of Biblical worship. Understanding these principles gives us a correct perspective for leading worship. 1. Worship must be done in love. “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophesy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Cor 13:1-3 2. Worship is always accompanied by humility and reverent fear. Isaiah 66:2 describes it this way: “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” 3. God commands us to worship. Worship is not an optional activity for the believer. The bible is filled with scripture commanding us to worship. “Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water.” Ex 23:25 “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.” Psalm 86:9 4. Worship involves surrendering your entire life to God. “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walkingaround life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Rom 12:1-2 Here are 13 things you should think about when leading worship. Leading worship, for me, starts when I leave my house and ends when I get in my car to come home. Think About Magnifying God Avoid substituting worshipping God for worshipping art forms and performance by remembering the foundational principles of worship. Worship is about God, not us! This will eliminate self-promotion. “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Ps 34:3 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Ex 20:3 Think About Others. The second part of the Great Commandment is to love your neighbor. It is so important to have love for others on your mind as you lead worship. Consider these verses: “So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual up building (edification and development) of one another.” Rom 14:9 “Let all things be done for building up.” 1 Cor 14:26b “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Th 5:11 “We who are strong have an obligation to bear

with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” Rom 15 “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 1 Cor. 9:22 Think About Recruiting Watch the crowd…look for musicians. Greet your congregation before and after the service. One of the primary roles for the worship leader is to be the manager of God’s musical (artistic) resources in the church and give opportunity for others to use their gifts in worship. Rom. 12:6 says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Rather than asking people to come and help me do my thing using phrases like, “Oh please help us” or, “We need help”. I offer opportunities for people to use their gifts for God. Most of the time, people are interested in opportunities that benefit them personally. There is nothing more fulfilling than using your gifts for the glory of God. Think About Excellence Always give your best… physically, spiritually and musically. When we are well prepared we are more available to people and not tied to the “score”. Plan for excellence. You cannot be better than your material so choose service elements wisely and program them well. I think about excellence but I don’t worship it. Excellence is a good value but not the goal of a worship service. Connection is the goal! The bible is filled with verses about giving your best. Rom 12:8 says it like this, “If we are leaders we should do our best.” Think About Thanksgiving, Praise and Joy Worship needs to be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm has nothing to do with volume preference. All Hymns were not written to be sung slowly and certainly none without passion. Tempo and Dynamics are often thought of as synonymous…but they are not. Further, a slow song does not have to be void of energy. For that matter fast songs don’t have to be loud. The point is that every song used in Christian worship should be presented from a heart of thanksgiving, praise and joy. “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” Ps 97:12 “I will Continued on page 52

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Product Review

By Bruce Adolph

Shaw Guitars TSH Electric

Sea color, Sperzel Trim Loc tuners and a Rockwood nut. The total weight is 6.7 lbs. The neck profile is very thin. I was showing a few different guitars to Dave Cleveland at our Christian Musician Summit conference and after handing Dave the custom Shaw he played it for a bit and then commented, “This reminds me of my old Zion electric”. For those of you familiar with Zion (built back then by Ken Hoover) you know what a compliment that is. The Look: The striped maple back of the neck is quite impressive. The black hardware works on this guitar and the rounded edges of the body just feel great to the touch. The Capri Sea color is a winner.

I was walking the aisles at the Arlington Guitar Show this past October and I looked up and saw a photo of Steven Curtis Chapman playing an electric guitar on a vertical promotional banner. I thought to myself, “Hey, I know that guy!”. Usually you see Steven playing a Taylor acoustic guitar but this time he had a Shaw electric guitar slung over his shoulder. It looked good on him. I walked right in the booth and met Rick Shaw, a boutique custom guitar builder. He was more than friendly and we had a good conversation talking about his guitars and our magazines. Rick is a fellow believer who lives in Waco, TX with his wife and five children. He flies commercial planes. Back in 1998 he decided to build his first guitar. He already had a lot of experience working with wood and building furniture. He still is a pilot but he also has a passion to make custom electric guitars. I could tell he liked exotic woods by checking out the guitars

The Feel: The jumbo frets work well on this instrument and the super thin neck is comfortable and reminds me of the “metal” years back in the 80’s when everyone wanted the fastest and thinnest necks possible. This guitar is built for speed (blues, rock and worship too) and I know some Guitar Institute of he had on display in his booth. Rick offers Technology graduates that would love solid bodies, semi-hollows and hollow the thin neck profile and fretboard on this body guitars and he enjoys working hand- guitar. The backside of the body has a in-hand with the guitarist who is having slight contoured cut into it to make it more comfortable to play against your body. Rick build him a custom guitar. Good thinking Rick! Rick sent me one of his best selling models. The Sound: What I like about Tele bodies It is a T-010 Tele shaped guitar with an “f” hole. The body is a figured maple top (the styles with an “f’ hole is you get that Tele color is called Capri Sea and is beautiful) sound but with a hair more “air” because and the guitar’s semi-hollow body is made of the semi-hollow body. With two out of alder. The headstock has matching humbuckers you have a three-way pick-up maple wood overlay of that same Capri selector switch. I plugged the guitar into a custom 3 Monkeys “Sock Monkey” amp Sea color (nice touch). and put the guitar through it’s paces. The neck is a five-piece maple and The Seymour Duncan humbuckers give mahogany with a rosewood fretboard sporting 22 jumbo frets. The scale length the sound some girth with a good full is 25.5’ and the fretboard radius is 14 sound. What is really cool about having (translation = very thin – more on that Push-Pull split coils is that you get a very later). The pick-ups are Seymour Duncan versatile Tele. You can switch back and SH-1 humbuckers with Push-Pull split for forth from both humbucker or both single coil or mix it up with one of each in either both pick-ups. neck or bridge positions. Very hip and fun To round out the presentation there is to play… lot’s of combinations of sounds. black hardware to accent the Capri To get a good idea of what I mean by the use of exotic woods on Shaw guitars you need to go to his website and look at the photo gallery. One beautiful guitar after another is posted there. Our review model retails for $2,950.00 and includes a hardshell tweed case. Made in the USA. Rick’s goal is building a guitar that has the perfect blend of art and sound. Check it out for your self at www.shawguitars.com

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If you are looking for a true sounding, solidly built and very portable acoustic Preamp/DI box, this GMF Ai1 just might be the one for you. It’s 3.3/4” W x 2 “H x 4” D size is great for placing in your case compartment. This powerhouse direct box includes: (Led) Power indicator, Gain, Output Level, Treble and Bass, Midrange (shape) switch, Phase Switch and Ground lift. Then you have your instrument in and out, balanced XLR output, 1/8” headphone output, line in (RCA), line out (RCA), 9 vdc. Battery pocket (easy access on bottom of unit), 9 vdc. Input, (center - negative). You also get long battery life with this unit. It is so very easy to use. Plug in your XLR line (with the board channel muted), then plug in your acoustic (or Electric) instrument (the power light will come on) and plug into your amp (if you are using one). Adjust the gain, level and the tone controls and you are off and running. The components in this unit are high quality (solid surface mount type) and the controls actually do what they are suppose to do, quietly and true. On the road? Want to work on a song,? Well plug on in. The guitar, headphones and even through the RCA inputs, you can connect your external music device and there you go. The RCA outputs allow you to even use this system in a home or car stereo environment… pretty cool. The founder / CEO of GMF is Greg Farres. He has 35 years in the industry and has designed much of the technology used in the production of Ultrasound amps. He has won Acoustic Guitar Magazine players Choice Award for his work with preamps and amplifiers. It’s simple, Greg knows what he is doing and he cares. To wrap it up, many professional and non-professional musicians are using or taking a very serious look at this Ai1 direct box/preamp. I use the one I have a lot, no matter where I go, I know it will perform right. www.gmfamps.com MSRP $199.00

Brian Felix has been a worship leader for the past 16 yrs, and has been a part of the Praise and Worship team for 20 yrs. at Bremerton and Poulsbo Church of the Nazarene, and is customer service representative for Worship Musician! / Christian Musician Magazine / Collectible Guitar / CMS Productions, and has a musicians guitar /electronics service center. Brian and his wife Kathryn have been married for 19yrs. and have 2 adult sons Ryan and Eli.

WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM JAN/FEB 2015

WORSHIP TEAM TRAINING

By Branon Dempsey

Do You Hear What I Hear? We all do it. As soon as we setup our we can learn is the musicianship and disgear and get set, we let it rip. But is this cipline over the instrument and/or voice. the right response? Listening is essential for developing great skill. As a band, paying attention to the little details is our job in order to contribute toWhen we listen, we can hear the emoward making a big difference. We play tion, color and expression. This is no differby what we hear, not to create a big wall ent than human conversation. One person of sound, but to become better musicians can do all the talking, but it takes two to in Christ. Music really begins through the have a great dialogue. act and art of listening. Learning to listen produces patience. #Prov.1813 says: ”He who answers before listening - that is his folly and shame.” Whether we look at a sheet of music or hear the instruments/singers making muAlong my musical journey, I started out sic, we listen to the song’s message. This learning from great musicians of the studio gives us direction, shape and tone. It’s one and live productions as well as incredthing to start blaring away, it’s another to ible teachers from schools and universilisten and enjoy the musical conversation. ties. Blah, blah, blah…but the common In essence, music truly is community. But denominator I constantly heard them say before we begin, how much time do we was to “listen”. spend listening rather than playing? Listen to what others are playing/singPatience is tough to tame, but it must be ing. Don’t just listen to the notes, listen to harnessed in the musician and singer. It’s how they play the notes. Listen to when kind of like waiting on the Lord. We wait they play. Listen to what they don’t play. for the right moment and at the right time What are they saying? Feel the emotion to add or remove the musical items. Our that’s being spoken and unspoken. Listen job is not to play all the time, our job is to to the open spaces and try to picture the compliment all the time. Half of the music sound. we play involves silence, can you hear it? When you do play with a group, listen It’s learning how to hear what we play to your notes against theirs. Are you comand what we don’t play. It’s also learning plimenting the sound, or taking it away? how to contribute: letting others shine and Listen for each note and help support their sparkle. role. Contribute to the musical continuity and enjoy the dialogue. When you look at a symphony or even a small combo jazz band, you experience If you are a drummer: practice matching a musical conversation. Not everyone is each note to equal your volume between talking at once. There are times of huge the kick, snare and hat. Match your overunisons, but there are more countless times all volume to the band. of small textures, nuances, intrigue and suspense. This is what makes music - muIf you are a guitarist: match each string, sic. strum and picked note to be consistent. Listen to the sound of the room and become You will hear a section of brass, then a one with that sound. transition into the woodwinds, next a soli of the cello section. What you experience Bassist: even out the low and high regis a wave of musical rises and falls. The in- isters to create a warm and smooth quality betweens tell the story of where and how from note to note. Pulse the notes just right we arrived at our destination. Music is not to fit what the kick drum is doing. confined to the notes on a page, but it overflows from the heart and soul of the Keyboards and pianists: also play musician/vocalist. evenly to the band, not with both hands, but just play with one. Wait for the right No, worship bands are not to sound moment to play between the spaces or like a symphony or orchestra, but what chorally back-up the guitarist. Even play-

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

ing just one note alone can make a difference. When you look at the story of Joshua, God told Israel not to bombard the city on the first day. He told them to march around it for seven days, while blowing their horns. On the last day, circle the city seven times and blow the horns and shout… Josh 6.3-5. After following the Great Conductor’s direction, the walls came down. This is an example of how we are to listen, learn, wait and execute. Sure, Joshua could’ve attacked the city right away, but it would have been a cacophony. What I have found is that it’s always better to listen first. Learn to wait for the right note to play at the right time. Don’t be afraid of the silence. It’s not about the notes you can play, it’s about the notes you don’t play. The discipline of listening and patience will bear the fruits of creativity and technique. Developing great music involves both sound and silence. The result, will shine forth in a symphonic harmony and praise to God. Branon Dempsey

Branon Dempsey is the CEO/ Founder and Training Director of Worship Team Training® a ministry providing live workshops and online resources for local worship ministries. Branon holds an M.Div in Worship and BM in Music Composition/Performance and is an instructor with Christian Musician Summit, a writer for Worship Musician Magazine, Shure Notes as well as other worship publications. Branon and is a Training Partner with Yamaha Corporation of America | Worship Resources, and part of the Expert Panel for Shure Microphones. Worship Team Training® is sponsored by Creator Leadership Network, Christian Musician / Worship Musician Magazine / Christian Musician Summit and a partner with Compassion International. Artist/Teacher Endorsee through Line 6, D’Addario, Proclaim Church Presentation Software, iSing Worship, Promark Drumsticks and Jim Hewett Guitars. Visit: www.WorshipTeamTraining.com Copyright 2014 Branon Dempsey | Worship Team Training® | Administered by For His Music. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. www.worshipteamtraining.com

resonate Let Your Message Be Heard

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RICK MUCHOW Continued from page 46

greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God..” Isa 61:10 Think About the Holy Spirit Leading “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty-you will succeed because of My Spirit, though you are few and weak.” - Zechariah 4:6 TLB Listen to the voice of God while leading worship. The Holy Spirit is the best worship leader. Moses and Aaron relied on the leading of God for their ministry. God said to Moses, “Talk to him (Aaron), and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.” Ex 4:15 And Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” John 4:23 Think About Authenticity Personalize the lyrics. Love and live the Word. Pray the songs. Enter into worship (don’t get lost in it while you are leading) and be the lead worshipper. Jesus teaches us not to be like the hypocrites who love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. (Matt 6:5 James 1:22 exhorts us to not merely listen to the word and so deceive ourselves but do what it says. A worship leader is not merely performing but living the message. None of us are perfect but all of us can be honest and sincere; sinners in love with a merciful Savior. All believers are trophies of God’s grace. Consider this verse: “I have found David a man after God’s own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.” Acts 13:22 (Sam 13:14) Think About Navigating Unexpected Moments

The

Be ready for the last minute and unplanned moments and use them for God’s glory… making the most of every opportunity! These moments can be carrying out a change of worship plan without anyone noticing. It could mean transitioning the attention of the crowd from a noticeable “snag” in the service back to God. Strings breaking, missed cues, the Fire Alarm going off all can be used as opportunities for ministry that enhance a live worship service. The old saying “when you get bumped the real you spills out” applies here. People, especially skeptics, love seeing the real you. The key in navigating the unexpected (even more important than experience) is prayer. “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Col 4:2 Think About Managing Chaos I think about managing chaos when I am leading worship. Isn’t that weird? This is similar but distinct from navigating the moments. Being able to navigate the moments is very helpful to managing chaos (review Col 4:2). Knowing how to deal with chaos is very helpful to the worship leader. Again experience is helpful here however wisdom is the key to managing chaos. In I Kings 3:10 God said to Solomon, “I am pleased you asked for this. You could have asked to live a long time or to be rich. Or you could have asked for your enemies to be destroyed. Instead you asked for wisdom to make right decisions.” The best way to manage chaos (chaos distracts so much from connecting people to God and drains

joy out of the team) is to stay one step ahead of it and make right decisions calmly, clearly and confidently. Always value people more than the program. Be personal and professional but the greatest of these is personal. Love as you lead. Think About Urgency What you do really matters. It is truly a matter of life and death. People all around us are dying without Jesus. This is the worst human disaster on the planet. People need the Lord. Consider the words of Paul in 1 Cor 9:16-23 “For I take no special pride in the fact that I preach the Gospel. I feel compelled to do so; I should be utterly miserable if I failed to preach it...For though I am no man’s slave, yet I have made myself everyone’s slave, that I might win more men to Christ… I have, in short, been all things to all sorts of men that by every possible means I might win some to God. I do all this for the sake of the Gospel; I want to play my part in it properly.” He goes on to compare our life of ministry to a race that we are trying to win. “I run the race then with determination. I am no shadow-boxer, I really fight! I am my body’s sternest master, for fear that when I have preached to others I should myself be disqualified.” 1 Cor 9: 26-27 Jesus speaks of his Father’s heart for his children in Matt 18:14 “He doesn’t want any of these little ones to be lost.” Matt 18:14 We have a job to do… it matters… we may not get a second chance with some people. Think About Servant Leadership This was Jesus’ model, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil 2:3-8 Please refer to Matt 20:25-28 where Jesus taught servant leadership.

we do, our words will eventually be understood. That does not work! Most of the time when attenders are not involved in a worship service it is because they have simply not been invited to participate. The bible says in Isaiah 44:23 to “tell the heavens and the earth to start singing! Tell the mountains and every tree in the forest to join in the song. The Lord has rescued His people… now they will worship him.” Again the bible emphasizes they worshipped. When Jesus sang in the upper room he sang with his disciples. If anyone could have asked for a solo, Jesus could have… but it was recorded that “they” sang a hymn. Don’t be afraid to ask the crowd to participate and be sure to create opportunities for their involvement in the service. Think About Changed Lives This is very similar to urgency. When you lead, sing to the lost, hurting and broken. In every worship service there are people present with genuine needs. Ask God to help you encourage, comfort, serve and communicate the Good News to His precious children especially the lost, hurting and broken. Ask your team to envision God using them to minister to God’s children. Pray for attendees, volunteers, staff and the speaker. In conclusion, when Pastors ask me how I can have so much energy and engage the crowd in worship consistently, my first thought is that God is using me and that is what energizes me. I look at what I do as much more than music. I love music and art… but I love God! Serving the Lord through the Great Commission and the Great Commandment is extremely fulfilling. My second thought, when asked about my worship leading, is that I think about these 13 things, as a matter of habit, every time I lead worship: Magnifying God, Others, Recruiting, Excellence, Thanksgiving, Holy Spirit Leading, Authenticity, Navigating the moments, Managing Chaos, Urgency, Servant Leadership, Involving The Crowd and Changed Lives. This is a lot to think about when leading worship but as we practice them eventually they become second nature. Remember that leading worship is M.O.R.E. T.H.A.N. M.U.S.I.C.

One of my favorite verses regarding servant leadership is Rom 12:10 “Be good friends who love deeply, practice playing second fiddle.” Think About Involving The Crowd Throughout the bible there is an emphasis on they worshipped. Worship at church needs to be participatory. There is a difference between an artist and a worship leader. An artist is the fire. A Worship leader lights the fire. A great way to get a crowd to participate is to ask them to participate. I don’t think asking is offensive. For example… if you ask the crowd to clap their hands to the music they might do it. If they don’t respond just be patient and ask again. Don’t get frustrated with the crowd, be nurturing. If you speak their cultural language you have a better chance of getting a positive response. Learning how to ask is like learning a language. They may be ready to respond but are not responding because they don’t understand what they are being asked. Funny… sometimes we think that if we talk louder and slower to people, that speak a different language than

JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

Rick served as Pastor Of Worship at Saddleback Church with Rick Warren for 24 years. Rick encourages and equips worship leaders through Coaching, Speaking, Writing and Leading Worship. His book, The Worship Answer Book is available on iTunes, GooglePlay and Amazon. www.Rickmuchow.com Facebook: Rickmuchow Twitter: @Rickmuchow Email: info@encouragingmusic.com

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A Few Moments With…

Brad Blythe

Living like Priests Recently I asked my church this question, “What would it be like for you to wear a Catholic Priest’s shirt and collar around for a few days?” On Sunday mornings I have been speaking through the book of Hebrews chapter by chapter and teaching the theme that Jesus is the ‘Supreme High Priest’. In my estimation, one of the least taught theological truths is the priestly privilege that we have been given by Jesus. I thoroughly believe that we need to impart to people the beautiful blessing of priesthood within our culture – a culture that desperately needs Godly examples. What about you and I? If you were to wear that priest’s collar around would people be surprised? It is one of the most important spiritual questions you can ask. How do people view me as a person? Am I gracious and graceful with others? If they wandered into our churches or the shows that we play would they be confused? Or, would they think to themselves that they knew you were different in all the right ways? In our worlds, it

Looking for a producer?

is so easy for us to play and sing and lead in worship – yet forget the people. Do we see the urban church God has assigned us to? What about wearing that collar in full view of your grocery market clerks, the Starbucks barista, the servers at the restaurants you frequent and walking through Wal-Mart – what would the response be?

awareness to evaluate if you are living the Way of Jesus. The second is to appraise your impact in the neighborhood. I would ask you to bust out of your Christian club and begin pastoring an urban culture within your sphere of influence. I am not telling you to leave the church, but rather to find the ‘other church’ you have been charged with serving for the remaining six days of Right now I am writing this article in my the week. office – and by office I mean Starbucks. I live at Starbucks, writing most of my mesThe church is on a fresh and yet complisages and inviting people for meetings cated trajectory so that by 2020 experts here all the time. The staff and the regu- say the Sunday morning church experilars all pretty much know me as a pastor ence, as we now know it will be only atand yet probably 95% have never known tended by 1/3 of the people who attend a pastor before meeting me. Talk about now. Another 1/3 will be in smaller situbeing like Christ, or salt, or light. I am their ations based on their neighborhood relaonly avenue to Jesus right now. I have cho- tional connections. The other 1/3 will be sen to make Starbucks my neighborhood. a solely online community. My desire is In the last five years I have come to live to pastor the local urban relationships in out my priest-ness in something I loosely the world where I live so that I might invite call ‘urban neighboring’. In other words, them to engage in conversation about Jefinding a local place in my culture where sus someday. You all are so talented and people gather and choosing to make it my gifted and I know that there are people urban church. Therefore, I am pastoring at in your personal ‘urban church’ that God Starbucks. needs you to pastor. So put on that priest’s collar and live with them in whatever the Where are the places you could put on cultural urban church is in your neighborthat priest’s collar and pastor the urban hood. As for me, I am back to sipping my church God has put in your path? The girly soy latté and trying to live what I am first challenge is to have the spiritual self- preaching. Blessings!

“Matt is a very musical songwriter, producer, mixer and a very good friend of mine. I love hearing his work as he is one of the best in the business. I always look forward to working and making great music with Matt.” ~ Gregg Bissonette

(LA session drummer and member of Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band)

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JAN/FEB 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

Brad and his family. Brad Blyth is Lead Pastor at Westside Community Church in Orlando, Florida. He lives there with his wife Melissa, son Jack and daughter Natalie. They also have a huge 120 lb. Chocolate Lab named Charlie and a cat named Wilson (after Seattle Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson). Brad can be reached at brad@westsidecc.org

Best in class. Best in show. Both play Yamaha. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s string musicians are more versatile than ever. Players everywhere have more opportunities to perform in a wide variety of styles and venues. From classical to contemporary, from the classroom to the stage, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find the perfect instrument for any situation in Yamahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s selection of acoustic and electric string instruments. Play the very best you can.

The Yamaha L-Series offers the perfect combination of traditional and modern: a warm,

balanced tone that fits perfectly into a solo performance or mix; timeless good looks inspired by Yamahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 50 years of guitar crafting; instant played-in comfort with Acoustic Resonance

Enhancement technology; and stage-ready performance with Yamahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Zero Impact SRT www.4wrd.it/LSERIES

pickup. New for 2015: Dark Tint lacquer finish is now available throughout the entire line.

Technology that Surpasses Time.