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SIZE a 76-key keyboard and the receiver’s antennas is ideal, way to pianos words and lyrics. or sung, clearly part of the unit Not only can also push C7, or a characterTURN UP THE BOARD. but seldom grand 10. is that contained in the is plays just a be a greatplaying experience. it MIXING Choosing but which you can THE possible. INSTRUMENTS. message, often, the wireless signal must rebound naturally points an to zero. a Yamaha great service, many Start out downMost 5. RESET the instruments. that the THE OTHER off (faders) essential to a instrument a first-class but on Bosendorfer, resemble of walls of things. 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Set the the stage-style Do you the How important keyboards, of each channel a really to their transmitters replacing aesthetics to more the piano? allow at the top portable the mixer each one against Another on major problem seeking to choose a you can err on of knob is found acoustic use a more is broadband noise andneeded. If you’re with or radio Balance or are you to plug in a (tone) controls interference. and is a place where to the auxiliary prefer the main focus, If your bass guitar. This an reset all the equalizationis essentially off. Turn the importance l services you may want options available are house of worship is locatedand in athe The vocals are city, other choose lavalier which then or solo buttons are that an entry-level analog wireless side of being conservative. mute chances We have so you can audible. Use the center position,microphone more-traditiona system Make sure that piano. up position.) off. cable, or a guitar that they are clearly the platform, in the simply obscuring them. won’t are off work for you. Digital wireless systems, g stage monitor sends of finishes, church. want to ensure up on you which vocals, without these buttons the giving(Usually you both fill around the reject noise and other nondigital signals, in a variety decor of your 50%. Shure QLX-D.........$107200 disengaged. fader to control authentic-lookin instruments to are excellent, fader to about the cabinets, the master volume and handsmaster volume cost-effective alternatives to traditional More info on pg. 63 Set thewireless wooden As you go, adjust wireless systems. that matches free convenience. instrument overall level.
p Sound
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Editor’s Corner
My “Not-So-Deep” Teaching Style…
SEP/OCT 2015
Features
I found myself in a small quandary last month in Nashville 8 at the Summer NAMM Show.
Product Review By Bruce Adolph Yamaha A6R Dreadnought Acoustic – Limited Edition
40 Guitar Grab Bag By Jeffrey B. Scott Trimming the Fat Getting your pedalboard into flying shape (without spending a lot of money!)
By Carl Albrecht
42 The Band By Tom Lane Playing to the Room
Same Chords, Endless
43 The Platform By Tom Jackson Homogenization: Good for Milk, Bad for Worship Teams
Corey Fournier from Roland Corp US and Mike Overlin from Yamaha Corp of America and I started the Musician’s Chapel event a few years ago at the Winter NAMM, and last year we started it in Nashville at Summer NAMM. This 10 From the Drummer’s was our second time in Nashville and both Corey and Mike Perspective were not going to be there this year.
I asked our friend/writer Mitch Bohannon to lead us Drumming for the Top 25 in worship for the event (he was in Nashville with Kyser Worship Songs Capos) and I was relieved he said, “Yes”. Now, I just needed a teacher. We only have about 30 minutes for the 12 Keyboard whole service so we usually do 15 minutes of worship music By Ed Kerr and then 15 minutes of talking/teaching. In Anaheim during Winter NAMM we have had David Options Ellefson speak twice (bass player for Megadeth and Vicar in the Lutheran faith) and beloved veteran artist of the Jesus 15 Bass music movement Tommy Coomes speak once. Both were By Gary Lunn excellent! But this time around no one that I tried to call was Bass Players as “Time Police” available. I was talking with my wife Judy and she optimistically said, 16 Vocals “Bruce, you should be the speaker”. I declined, saying that By Sheri Gould my usual role at events is to prepare the stage for others Superior Vocal Health - A to step onto and do what they are called to do. I am Product Review grateful that I get a front row seat at these events to see what happens, but I really don’t spend much time in front 18 Equipping the Church of an audience… I am a producer and a host at times but By Chuck Page not a public speaker and definitely not a theologian by any DVD Playback Can Be Illegal stretch of the imagination. But Judy’s encouraging words did resonate, as I really 25 Songchart didn’t have anyone else who could easily step in and teach By Tim Timmons & Jason Ingram our Musician’s Chapel. I decided to do it. I spoke with ”Rest My Soul” Mitch and let him know the plan and he was more than supportive. 26 Product Review
By Mitch Bohannon The days leading up to it were busy with ad sales, editorial LR Baggs Session DI meetings, and general relationship building, but in the back of my mind was the thought that I had to prepare to say something for 15 minutes coming up. The night before our 30 Record Reviews early morning service I wrote out some serious notes in my By Gerod Bass hotel room and tried to think of something deep to discuss… • Rend Collective Continued on page 54
4227 S. Meridian Suite C-275 Puyallup, Washington 98373-5963 Adolph Agency Direct Line: 253.445.1973 Fax: 888.391.4440 Website: www.worshipmusicianmagazine.com Publisher/Editor: Bruce Adolph bruce@christianmusician.com Vice President: Judy Adolph Customer Service: Brian Felix, 888.391.4440 x1 brianfelix@christianmusician.com Design Layout & Production: Matt Kees Director of Advertising: Steve Sattler steve@creativesalesresource.com 626-836-3106 ©2015 Worship Musician! is published bi-monthly by The Adolph Agency, Inc.
vol. 13, issue 5
• New Wine Worship • One Sonic Society • The City Harmonic • Aaron Shust
34 FOH Engineer By Kent Morris Rock, Paper, Scissors: Attitude Trumps Them All
44 Ministry By Rick Muchow Doing Music Right: Love, Look, Lead, Lean, Labor, and Legally too! 45 Product Review By Jack Mao Mackie FreePlay 48 Ministry + Artistry = Profitability? By Scott A. Shuford Best Practices for Designing Your eBook 50 Worship Team Training By Branon Dempsey Is It Live or Memorex? Don’t Copy A New Song; Sing a New Song to the Lord 52 Product Review By Bruce Adolph Casio CGP-700 Digital 88 Key Piano 53 A Few Moments With... Jon Nicol Practice-By-Numbers: Setting Clear Preparation Expectations for Your Worship Team
36 Percussion By Mark Shelton Silent Partners 38 Cut-Capo By Mitch Bohannon Something Old, Something New
Interview 20 Tim Timmons by Bruce Adolph photos by Cameron Powell
WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2015
7
Product Review
By Bruce Adolph
Yamaha A6R Dreadnought Acoustic – Limited Edition The first new guitar I ever bought from a music store was a Yamaha 12-string that I bought in Hong Kong when I was around 16 years old. Later I had a used Yamaha Hummingbird copy when I was 19 and still later I bought a brand new Yamaha Jumbo body (knock-off of a Gibson J200) when I was 21. This was back when all Yamaha’s were still made in Japan and it had a big sound. I can’t even remember what happened to that guitar now… time has a way of erasing some things. When I began managing a music store in Los Angeles I brought in the Yamaha line of
guitars to sell for the retail store and a few years into that one day my Yamaha guitar rep told me that he was bringing by eight Yamaha custom LL series guitars to my store for me to look at. My rep left Yamaha that morning with nine LL series guitars but had stopped by a hotel in Hollywood on the way and allowed Amy Grant to select one of them for herself (she was a Yamaha artist at the time and was touring through). So I looked at all eight guitars and I selected one that I wanted to buy for myself from that batch. That was back in the 80’s and I just saw some of those same guitars on sale on eBay for over $2,000. Even though Yamaha has been building guitars in other countries in Asia they have never stopped making guitars in Japan. In steel strings they’ve been making the L Series 56, 36, 26… and in nylon the Grand Concert Classical models. The big change with the A6 Series is that for the first time in a long time they are offering a guitar for under $1500 (street) from the Yamaha Music Craft factory. Most of the models have been priced above the $2500 street price point. Hence we haven’t seen many on our shores. ;) But I am glad to be holding in my hands right now a Yamaha A6R guitar that was built by the best luthiers in Japan and to my surprise, they only made 20 of this body shape and 20 of a concert size model AC6R. Wow – a new guitar by Yamaha made in Japan for just $1,499! So let’s dive into it. First, the feature set… the worship guitarist’s community loves cutaway dreadnoughts and this one has not only a solid Sitka spruce top but also solid Indian rosewood back and sides for tonewoods. This gives this guitar its presence sonically. To enhance that sound live on the stage you have the SRT System 63 pick-up and electronics which offers more bells and whistles than you can imagine. We will break that down a little further in a minute. The neck profile is labeled “high comfort” and the moniker fits…
it is thinner than most necks but is very comfortable to play. For cosmetics, the pick guard styling gives it a little bit of a country guitar throw back vibe and the mahogany binding, Abalone rosette and headstock logo inlay all add to the good looks of this instrument (not to mention the snowflake fretmarkers). The nitrocellulose lacquer finish helps make the guitar look pretty too but what it brings to the guitar’s tone and what it will help the tone mature into as the finish ages over time is more important. The bone nut and saddle add to the look and sound and the abalone Yamaha logo on the headstock just multiplies the classy overall appeal. The open back tuners top off the coolness factor with the A6R. The SRT electronics stands for Studio Response Technology - a DSP-driven acoustic modeling system that analyzes the sound of each individual string to faithfully re-create your guitar’s sound live and it re-creates the sound and spatial dimension of a vintage microphone used in a professional studio. The SRT also sports a regular three band EQ, a digital tuner and a blend knob to mix the DSP mic settings with the piezo pick-up to your own personal liking. This System 63 really is a versatile way to offer you a lot of extra tonality from your guitar’s amplified sound. As far as playability goes, the satin smooth neck feels great on your hand and the ebony fretboard and thin-ish frets make this guitar a joy to play! I like the nut width at 1 11/16” as well. The sound right off the bat is better than any of the other Yamaha guitars out there today. It is full and rich with good highs. The lows are a bit darker and more complex. I dig it… the Japanese luthiers have dialed this in. If you total up all of the special features and aspects of this guitar’s design it is quite impressive, but the sum is even greater than its parts… this guitar is a good value as well as sound. I have a feeling the limited run is going to sell out quickly - which only proves my point for me. Yamaha please make more guitars back in Japan! Retail $2,399.00 Street $1,499.00 A hardshell case is included. www.Yamaha. com
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SEP/OCT 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
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From the Drummer’s Perspective
By Carl Albrecht
Drumming for the Top 25 Worship Songs Below is the list with a short groove description Paul does a great job of describing the pattern of each – I recommend going to YouTube to and the phrasing, which is so important to the feel of the song. Check out his commentary and check out various renditions: demonstration on this YouTube clip. Hearing it I’ve done an instructional video to learn the and seeing it are so helpful in getting the idea. grooves and styles of the top 100 worship songs Start at about 1:42 in the video. *Great detailed called “Drum Grooves For Worship.” You can description Paul. Salute!! Your assignment as a modern worship drummer check it out at my web site - http://carlalbrecht. h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = is to add these top 25 worship songs to your com/store/drum-grooves-for-worship/ playlist and play along to each one. I just But I wanted to focus on these first 25 songs lvOKLuYnp0 checked at the CCLI.com web site to verify these to look at some of the nuances and particulars This is just one song. But for each song you top favorites. Feel free to find several versions of each song. That’s really what you should be learn you should think of it in this way. Try to to play along with, or find the one you use with doing for every song that you play. The details visualize what you are hearing and apply it to your band and copy that vibe. You can easily are so important to the feel of each one. your drumming. Fill in the things you hear on go to any digital music service you like and the recording with drum loops or live percussion purchase them there. I know you can listen on For instance on the song “Hosanna” by as needed. That is so much a part of modern different servers for free, but be a musician of Hillsongs (which is not on this list. It’s #27) worship drumming. Listen carefully to the studio integrity and honor and BUY what you listen to. Paul Mabury played drums on the recording version of “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman I won’t turn this into another sermon, but you are for Brooke Frasier. I love the vibe he created and you’ll hear what I mean. If you haven’t added by playing the ride on the rim of the snare and part of the tribe… support your team. electronics or percussion to your drumming now adding a special hi-hat effect with his left foot. is the time. Start adding shakers, tambourines, and various drums to Song Title Groove Description your current kit. And get into some Straight 8ths – drum loop or shaker / open kick music software and loop programs on 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) your laptop. th Driving 16 notes/ snare ride – “Bethel Live” version This Is Amazing Grace Moving on to “Oceans” by Fast 8th notes – Floor tom ride extras Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) Hillsongs. Check out the video of their live version and you can catch some 8th note ride with 16th note filler How Great Is Our God of the drum moments that show what Rockin’ 8th notes Our God to play on that song. There’s even an extra percussionist playing a floor Slow driving 16th notes/ floor tom ride pattern Cornerstone tom and other parts. The drummer th One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails) Driving 8 notes/ Busy snare & kick patterns also goes into a very explosive hihat to snare pattern that adds tons of 8th note ride with 16th note filler Lord I Need You energy. This is not your typical rock 8th note ride with 16th note filler / Piccolo snare on left for 1st verse groove, but it works great in this Mighty To Save song. You’ll have to work on fast, Straight 8ths Forever Reign two handed 16th note grooves to get *3/4 – Slow percussion pattern on Djembe; add kit later in song. In Christ Alone this one right. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=rK-MBCZ5K5Q Big rock ballad. 8th note driven Revelation Song Many of these modern worship Slow Ballad – Big 8th note driven groove Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) songs use a driving floor tom pattern, Straight 8th with 16th note gallop later Blessed Be Your Name crash ride, or even grooving on the rim of a drum. This type of playing th Driving rock 8 notes Everlasting God can open up the left foot to play other Driving 16ths Hosanna (Praise Is Rising) parts on the hi-hat or even a mounted tambourine or block if needed. You Ballad - Slow grooving 16ths Here I Am To Worship could even use trigger pedals to play Driving 8th notes Your Grace Is Enough any kind of sample needed. Also playing snare cadences to create a th th 8 note ride with 16 note filler The Stand marching effect or playing it lightly *6/8 – Majestic ballad How He Loves instead of a hi-hat ride pattern is very popular. Watch what happens here Traditional Hymn *OR – Baloche, modern U2 vibe How Great Thou Art on “He Is Risen” by Paul Baloche Straight 8th notes https://www.youtube.com/ Jesus Messiah watch?v=HDko8F4Uyrg Worship Ballad / Slow 16ths – floor tom ride Holy Spirit Drummers and worship leaders often ask me how to prepare to play drums in a worship band. Like any other style of playing, you have to listen and copy the drum musical style you want to reproduce. To be authentic you have to work on the details of each song.
Forever (We Sing Hallelujah)
8th note driven Rock Ballad
Whom Shall I Fear God Of Angel Armies
8th note driven with military snare cadence 16ths
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Continued on page 54
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Keyboard
By Ed Kerr
Same Chords, Endless Options Many of the worship songs written within the last 10 years use only four chords within the song’s key: the 1, 4, 5 and 6. Analyze the songs from your church’s most recent worship service and I suspect you’ll see these chords often, perhaps exclusively. As keyboard players, this limited harmonic vocabulary presents us a challenge: how to create musically interesting parts from chords that are so similar to those used in the previous song or the following song. Among the choices I have as a player is what rhythms to play. Rhythmic choices are infinite, whether I’m creating a linear melody or a pulsing quarter note or 8th note pattern. For my examples here, I’ll use the verse of “This Is Amazing Grace”, by Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle, and Phil Wickham, in the key of G. G
Who breaks the power of sin and darkness C2 Whose love is mighty and so much stronger Em7 D C2 The King of Glory, the King above all kings Or course you could choose one of the many recorded versions of this song and imitate keyboard parts you hear there. But I want to remind you that just as songwriters keep coming up with new ways to create melodies using the notes within a key, you can develop your own creative keyboard parts. So, some options you have when playing piano on this song include: 1) Constant quarters
3) Variation of overall rhythm from example 2: The addition of a tie out of beat 2 in measures where 8th note activity occur creates interest. Note that in bars 7 & 8 I didn’t
use a tie out of beat 2. A minor change but further illustration of the variety that’s possible. 4) Letting a rest, lack of activity, and longer rhythms provide variety: Take advantage of the fact that we have note values of varying
length available. Here a half note, held for 2 beats, contrasts nicely with the faster quarters and 8ths used. As in example 3, ties not included in bar 8. 5) Constant 8th activity: Note that the 8th note activity introduced in example 2 is now
Note that this is a very repetitive part. Quarter note pulses in every bar. Note too that you never have all the notes of any chord stated. We have lots of voicing options, too, choosing which notes to include, which to leave out. 2) Constant quarters with occasional 8th note activity:
I hide the left hand staff here and in the following examples since it could stay the same or be omitted to open up the low end for the bass player. Note that the 8th note activity appears in bars 2 and 4 and then more frequently, in both bar 5 and 6. This gives a little momentum to that moment where chords change more often. Note too that the 8th note melodic activity is the same each time it’s heard, except in bar 6 over the D chord.
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part of every measure here. This part would sound great if you used an electric piano sound, something that has bite like a Fender Rhodes. If you try any of these examples with your worship team, be sure and factor in what your guitarists are playing. Several of these examples mimic what an acoustic or electric guitar player might play. Be sure your parts complement rather than compete.
Ed Kerr is Director Of Worship Studies at The King’s University/Gateway Church in Dallas, TX. He has a Master’s Degree in piano performance, has written many songs 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 Players as “Time Police” Bass frequencies travel everywhere. It’s the most difficult-to-tame sonic element in a live sound environment, and is usually one of the most difficult aspects in the studio recording mix process. That is why it is so important to maintain awareness of your volume and your tone in any situation. Along with that, because of our awareness of time fluctuation and groove, it’s our responsibility to listen to everything else that is going on. I often tell people that the bass players are the “time police” of the band. It’s easy to assume that this is the drummer’s gift, but more often than not, this is not the case. Bassists typically have an innate ability to do this. Let’s think about it... The Cause: The bassist can make or break the connection between rhythm and melody. Bass is crucial to the music and is completely related to everything else going on. It can set the tone of the music with a hundred notes or just one. One of our primary goals is to keep precise time and “lock in” with the drummer. This is a critical part of a bassist’s role, along with outlining the tonality of the music and marking out the significant notes of each chord (or even an approaching chord) in the bass line - a lot like signposts along a path. This way, everyone in the band is made more aware of where they are in the chord progression of the song. In other words, you’re leading without the other band members even knowing it. The Stage: There is a certain solidity that is present in the music when the bass is where it is supposed to be. It adds comfort to the music, the song, and to the moment. It is sorely missed when it is absent, leaving the music with no “pedestal” for the spelling of chords to rest upon. It also can supply a thunderous effect in the music when an approaching dynamic calls for it. The bass is meant to be played with fortitude, and to supply a proper foundation. This requires skill, courage, and restraint. Its staying power and consistency carries the entire band. Essentially, the bass sets the stage for the ensemble. The Root: The fundamental importance of the root is that it’s the actual “beginning” of
every chord. It is the single most deciding factor in indicating the harmonization of the chord. Being the lowest note heard, it is always the first one listened for by everyone who is trying to determine the harmonization of a chord. Bass is the most important tuning reference for every instrument or voice in a band or ensemble. It can instantly affect the feel of the music and change everything about a song. Bass can make everything right or wrong in a split second.
might mean that you will have to play a little ahead of the beat sometimes to stay with him, but when you’re following the drummer, it’s always going to feel better. Doing this takes massive amounts of practice, skill, and discipline, but the outcome is always worth it. The Effect:
Our purpose as bassist of the band can be described in three steps. First, the bassist should make everyone else on the team sound better. If the other musicians The Pocket: are less seasoned, then we must lead Locking in with the drummer is of them to greater heights by firmly holding utmost importance. The bass and drum down the low end, occasionally filling relationship is vital to the groove. It IS the in the gaps when needed. If the other groove. You can still find your own “voice” players are very accomplished, then we in that process, but always remember that offer them support. Either way, if we do it is not about you - it’s about everyone else our part to help them sound better, we will that you share the platform with and what sound better. you have to offer to ensure synchronicity Second, produce bass sounds and levels and flow. That is a huge responsibility! that contribute to the overall sound of the
team to adequately support each song. Pay close attention to your bass level so The bass can effectively change the as to not overpower the band. Adjust energy in any part of a song. Dynamically, your tone at the amp to fit the room or the it can soften the tone of a song when stage. Too much bass volume will have a played in a higher octave, and build a negative effect on the morale on stage. A song when moved to a middle or lower bass level that is too low can cause a type octave. It can soar over other movement of insecurity in the music. Basically (pun by simply sustaining, creating an openness intended), the bass tone can drastically in the music even though its presence is change the effectiveness of your purpose. still apparent. It can also part the waters by pausing, then, upon re-entry, can Lastly, don’t expect too much attention or restore complete harmony. By multiplying credit. I have found through the years that or changing rhythmic values, it can propel if no one says anything to you about what a song to new levels. By playing in you are playing, it is typically a good thing syncopated fashion, it can either create (the old saying, “No news is good news” interesting changes in the music or (if you applies). Not everyone understands the mess up) it can cause complete chaos. significance of the bassist, but we do... By seizing an appropriate moment and and God certainly does! playing a melody in a higher register it can speak with a prophetic voice to the souls that are meant to hear it. A bass line can offer direction and inspiration to hearts that are listening. It can also cause utter Gary is a session player/ confusion if we ignore the other musicians producer/writer in playing. The bass has great and powerful Nashville, TN. He plays responsibility, being the team’s anchor for many recording session and support. accounts, does home The Energy:
The Outcome:
The key is to constantly survey the musicianship around the platform and interpolate it. Listen closely to the drummer (especially the hi hat) and lock in with him or her (or slightly behind him). It
recording and producing, and attends Grace Church (gracechurchnashville.com) in Franklin, TN. Email him for questions, comments or scheduling at garylunn@me.com.
WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2015
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Vocals
By Sheri Gould
Superior Vocal Health - A Product Review For those of you who read this column on a regular basis, you know that I don’t review products here. However, recently I had the opportunity to get introduced to an exciting new company and try out a couple of their products. It actually happened rather by accident…
effective product it is!! When I first sprayed this product into my mouth I was amazed at how truly powerful it is and how great it tastes—which is different than most sprays out there. They gave me a few samples to share with the students I encounter when I speak. The reaction is always the same: a bit of shock and awe. But that is just the beginning. After just a few brief minutes they begin to feel changes in the back of the throat, the tingling rush of the blood vessels as they open up and clearing of the sinuses as well. The mucous and debris begin to disappear and you feel like singing! It literally makes you feel like you can sing anything, and better than you ever have! J I call it my performance enhancing herbs. Again, from their website:
Vocal Rescue In 2013, my husband met the owners of Superior Vocal Health at a trade show and discussed some of their products. Doug (my husband) explained to them that his wife was a “prominent” vocal coach in the Worship Community. They gave him some samples and asked him to pass them on to me. We were in the throes of a move, so the products promptly got packed away. Our move was complicated and the vast majority of our things remained packed for about a year. So it wasn’t until last Christmas that they finally got unpacked and actually used for the first time. During the holiday season, my daughter and I contracted a very nasty bug. She bounced back more quickly than I did, but her voice was completely gone. This was particularly troubling since she was set to sing the following Sunday. I raced to my refrigerator to begin putting together my typical concoction of Aloe Vera and Glycerin when I remembered the vocal products that had gotten packed away. So I went to the medicine cabinet and brought out the Vocal Rescue. Let me say this: it truly did rescue my daughter’s voice: it was back within 24 hours. My daughter asked if she could take the rest of the bottle with her so I sent her home, still coughing, but product in hand and voice recovering.
Throat saver is an all natural Certified Organic herbal formula with a unique blend of restorative herbs such as Propolis, Slippery Elm, Echinacea/ Vocal Rescue a time tested blend moreisthan 10 different herbs has for sore and dry throats, to Throatofsaver an original formula created Goldenseal, Thyme, and other throat specific been called, by some voice professionals a “must have vocal health aid and remove excess mucus and debris from the throat and vocal One of the things that drew mehelp to the product It hasdrip been carefullyreduce crafted - helping to product”. It has helped many voice professionals fromdue anherbs. embarrassing cords that can accumulate to post nasal and infection, was situation the fact that is loaded with Certified aid in restoring energizing when theyitfound that theirand voice was not up to swelling inflammation offull the function throat and cords,and and help with dry the throat and organic herbs. Check was thisaout from their and the performance short time away.website: Vocal issaliva an easy to in- the mouth syndrome due to Rescue reduced flow helping to excess mucus vocal cords It mouth helps by to remove use gargle that helps to coatkeep and the restore the throat vocal cords due salivary glandsand active. and debris from the throat. It also supports the to excessive use,istiredness, and/or sore throatpacked due to colds, laryngitis Vocal Rescue an amazing gargle throat and tovocal In effective addition when it can used be very in helping speedmechanism the recovery ofby helping to keep tonsillitis. Its can be very for useful throat and vocal with and natural organic anti-inflammatory and acute head colds, and general throat irritation.glands It promotes clearing the salivary active andofthe throat moist repair. restorative herbs such as Licorice, the throatMarshmallow, of mucus congestionand in order to remove lingering mucus that open. Vocal Rescue isTurmeric, a must haveArnica item to forbe the performer, presenter, needs expelled. If mucus stays to long in the throat, it becomes a Sage, Ginger, oil and other professional speaker, teacher, lawyer or clergy. you use your voice to oncontinually live, thus breeding ground for If viruses and bacteria herbs. This herbal combination helps to seriously So,the in conclusion, I highly recommend these a regular basis in the publicprolonging sphere, thisrecovery productfrom may colds give you and flus. reduce inflammation in the vocal mechanism two products. quickest and safest solution to raspy voice or tightened vocal cords. This Over time I may get the opportunity and restore an overused and tired throat due to to try and review other products in their product excessive use, over singing, or speaking and/or line, but for now let me say this: every vocalist sore throat due to colds, laryngitis, and tonsillitis. should own this incredible pair of products. Vocal Rescue is especially effective when I am so excited about this product that I have gargled before a show, and in the middle of a even begun to carry them with me (and offer show or presentation, to aid in helping restore them for sale) at conferences so that others may and invigorate the voice. experience their wonderful healing properties. As we look forward to a busy holiday season, The only downside to this product is that it has to many will find that long rehearsals, dryer than be gargled and subsequently spit out. This makes usual air, and a multitude of extra activities may it slightly less convenient than the typical throat put your vocal health care on the back burner. sprays you find on the market today. Additionally, Please make sure to stay on top of things vocally it’s a little more expensive, at $16.95 a bottle, so that you don’t end up with vocal problems. than many of the other vocal sprays that you I believe these two products can truly help you find online or in your local store. However, once get through any rough spots you may encounter. you see the list of quality organic ingredients, it God bless you as you sing for Him! makes sense. I, personally, would much prefer a higher quality ingredient list/product even if it cost a few dollars more. All in all, despite these Sheri Gould is an internationally factors, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this product! In acclaimed vocal coach. With a fact I plan to add this product to my online store degree from the University of Ill, she at sherigould.com as soon as possible! has been coaching since 1979 unanimously the same thing from everyone VOCAL heard RESCUE THROAT SAVER who tries it.
A few weeks later she called me to tell me how amazing the product was and to ask me if I could please get her some more! At that point I was truly intrigued. I contacted the gentlemen, rather embarrassed actually since they had given me the product so long ago, but they were gracious and sent me more samples so I could try it myself and offer it to a few people I know to get some other opinions. I had actually had some residual vocal trouble as a result of all the coughing I had from the sickness at Christmastime and was struggling to get back into shape vocally myself. I actually even had a vocal meltdown at a conference in Throat Saver February when my voice just gave out completely during a seminar. I gave the Vocal Rescue a try Once I had tried the Vocal Rescue and was and within a few minutes—completely had my voice back. This product is amazing and I have thoroughly impressed, the owners suggested I also try the Throat Saver Spray. What a fun and
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SEP/OCT 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
and leading worship since 1985. For weekly vocal tips, check out facebook.com/officialsherigould. For information on products, including instructional DVDs, check out www.sherigould.com
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EQUIPPING THE CHURCH
by Chuck Page
DVD Playback Can Be Illegal Just about every month my sales and technical teams enter into a discussion with our customer base regarding the legality of DVD playback. Because of the confusion surrounding this issue I’ve set out to write this article in the hopes that it educates the decision makers in churches across this readership.
had reason to believe was not lawfully made ....” This educational exemption also allows for teachers to show the DVD not in its entirety as long as it’s for educational purposes. Many Pastors have argued that their intent falls under this provision, but in reality the exemption was intended for schools not churches.
Let’s start with this understanding; this article is not dealing with homemade DVD’s or video clips. Those types of art are not generally illegal. What I’m referring to as illegal playback are those pieces of media that are copy written. You will probably recognize the following two images, or images very similar, from many of the DVD’s you’ve viewed before:
So now that we’ve defined that showing a clip from the movie “Ice Age” in your service is technically illegal, what do we do with this information? First, I doubt very strongly that the FBI is going to start hassling churches over this issue. But knowing that it’s illegal should be enough for churches to stop this behavior. So the next step is to share with you the legal alternative for the church.
What the authors of the DVD are trying to protect is the viewing of their media in scenarios that were not intended. The
There are resources available that will allow the church to show “snippets” intent of the DVD is for private use in a of movies in a church service and do it home environment and to be shown in its legally. One such resource is a company entirety. Churches are not considered a called WingClips. www.wingclips.com private venue unless it is a home-church. This company has arranged with With that said, there is a provision Hollywood a system of using movie clips for schools and non-profit educational for sermon illustration. They’ve gone so institutions. They are allowed to show far as to categorize the clips into sermon the DVD in the classroom for educational segments such as “apology”, “anger”, purposes. They can even show the DVD “fasting”, “idolatry”, and many, many not in its entirety as long as it fails within more. All the pastor has to do is search the “educational purpose” guidelines. the category of his sermon, watch a short clip or two and download the clip for the The text below is a portion of the actual service. This is not only legal, but also law that allows teachers to circumvent the pretty much hassle free. No more queuing rules of DVD playback. up DVD’s or finding the correct start and stop points. All this is done for you. “Section 110(1) of Title 17 of the United States Code grants a specific exemption So the next time a movie clip is needed from the copyright laws for: in your church service, check out a performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of faceto-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or
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company like WingClips first. 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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November 13-14, 2015 :: Eastridge Church, Issaquah, WA one-day intensives on November 12
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interview with
Tim Timmons
by Bruce Adolph
Worship Musician: I really like the encouragement from the new song, “Right Beside Me”. Tell us about writing that song.
seas, and I can step out on the waves because He’s with me. It’s really one of the themes of this next record; we can do these things because He’s with us. We don’t have to conjure Him up . . . He’s just there. It’s about us being awakened to the idea and lifestyle of Him being with us all the time. So that’s all encompassed in the song, “Right Beside Me”. It’s the picture of Peter walking out on the water and just staring into Jesus’ eyes going, “Okay, we’re together in this. Let’s do this!” The cliché message is, “Don’t take your eyes off of Jesus.” And yet, how many times during my day do I take my eyes off of Jesus and begin to function in my own power, and I don’t even realize it. I think as followers of Jesus one of our goals is to encourage each other to keep our eyes on Jesus moment by moment.
Tim Timmons: I get to hear so many stories when I’m traveling the country. One, because I love people, and two because of my journey with an incurable cancer diagnosis, people feel like they can entrust their stories to me. They trust that I’ve gone through stuff, and when I sing about going through pain and sorrow and holding on to Jesus. . . they just trust it. I remember writing the song, “Right Beside Me” with a friend, Hank Bentley, who was on the Matt Maher tour with me. He and I had heard some really powerful and incredible and terrible stories. We were talking through those stories and just thinking . . . how different would our stories sound if we WM: You mentioned your health challenges. lived as though Jesus was actually with us? And it’s not just when we’re gathered as the church, You’ve been given a platform to sing and speak but He’s with us all week long. When I live like from, and I’ve always been impressed with the that’s true, I can brave the storms, I can walk the sense of anointing that God gives when you
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can use the story of your life to connect with an audience. Can you explain your diagnosis and how you’ve been living your life since then? Tim: 14 years ago I was given 5 years to live. I was diagnosed with an incurable cancer... other than the hand of God of course…And it’s amazing how Jesus had really prepared me for it. I remember a few weeks before my diagnosis I just kept hearing this one scripture over and over and over; whether I was in a small group, or I was teaching on something, or I was listening to a message somewhere, it was always the same verse. I knew that Jesus was telling me that this was going to be a life verse for me (and I always thought life verses were pretty cheesy. . . ). It was Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I thought, “Okay, Jesus. You want me to live so that my whole life is You. You are my life and we are in this together and intertwined. I want to live like every breath is You, Jesus.” And I said,
“Let’s do this! I’m in!” And then a few weeks later I got this diagnosis. I remember going home right after the diagnosis, and that verse was just hitting me. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He had prepared me so well for this thing. Not to say that there was any excitement over it at all, but I was ready for what He had for me. There have been many moments of tears, especially now that I have 4 kids. If you want to get me crying, just start talking to me about being at my kids’ graduations, or my kids’ weddings. And then I started to future-trip, and I went to a place in my head where the presence of God is not. Jesus is here in this present moment, and I was experiencing a wrestling match between trying to predict the future and just staying with Jesus in this moment. Because for me, to live is Christ . . . right now. My wife had a different journey. She had a 5-year, all out wrestling match with God through this whole thing. But to see where she is today is so beautiful! WM: Have you gone through any treatments, or is it something that they don’t even try to treat? Tim: Yes, I’ve had surgeries and different treatments. They say I have 4 tumors on my liver at the moment, and they always say that the cancer is ultimately wearing out my heart. But what I’ve been saying lately is that I don’t know why I’m still here. It’s not because I’ve done my quiet times and I’m so awesome. I don’t know why He still has me here, I just know that I woke up today. And that’s the great gift! I don’t know why you’re here, Bruce, and I don’t know why anyone reading this article is still alive and breathing, but for some reason, we are. The great gift is that we’ve been given the ability to seek first the Kingdom of God today while I’m alive, which means loving our neighbors, which means looking for wherever Jesus is at work and then acting upon it. I wake up in the morning and ask, “Okay Jesus, what do You have for me today? Whether it’s an interview, or a concert, or hanging out with somebody random on a plane. So whoever is in front of me, Jesus, You woke us up today and You are in this conversation, so what do You want in this? What do you want me to learn and what do You want me to encourage somebody else with?” And that’s kind of like my mantra every day. WM: So you choose to shave your head then? It’s not because of any of the medications or chemo? Tim: (laughter) Yes, my baldness is purely male pattern baldness. It’s nothing cancer related. I am a firm believer in the TRUTH that Jesus was bald! 4 Timothy 9:2-3 WM: I have seen the influence of Mumford and Sons springing up in a few worship artists lately. You’ve got one song on this new record that I really hear their influence on. I think it’s the first or second cut on the record. Do you listen to them? And who else do you listen to for musical inspiration? Tim: I really enjoy Mumford and Sons. I think you’re hearing that influence on the song, “Everywhere I go”. They have just nailed the
acoustic, 4-on-the-floor thing. They took it and WM: That’s awesome! That will really speak ran with it. I think everyone in the industry is to many of the people who read this magazine. trying to NOT do anything Mumfordy. Another song on the record is, “You Are Good”, You’ll notice on that track that there’s not an which is another song that seems to follow a acoustic guitar on that track. In fact, there’s not personal narrative. You seem to write your songs an acoustic instrument at all on that track. I think in a very conversational manner, which I like! Do we were trying to pull away from that sound and you have a particular way that you go about lean a little more in the vibe of Andy Grammer writing your songs? with “Honey, I’m Good” that’s out right now. Tim: I tend to look at songs as prayers, and I But I love Mumford, and I think what they did often call them prayers. I was with Jason Ingram was so wonderful. For us, we’re always trying to and we were both just talking about our lives figure out how to move past something that even and the difficult things that are going on in our they have quit. How do we not make that the journeys, and we literally just started talking next thing that we do, but find our own authentic through this prayer. And for me, I love co-writing. interpretation of what a song is supposed to be? I think co-writing is one of my favorite ways to As I’m producing a record, I’m trying to think, write songs, because you’re coming at it with a “How can I make this the most . . . me?” Or, few different viewpoints. The refining that comes if I’m leading something or talking to worship from adding another person into a co-write with leaders and they want to know how to produce a whom you have mutual respect and a bucket full song for their gatherings, I’m always encouraging of humility brings the best song. For any song them to make it the most authentic version of that I’m going into a co-write with, for the most them. This is something I’ve had to learn the part we just talk through our lives and about hard way. I used to go in to other bands and what the truest thing is in that moment. Because I make them all sound like how I thought everyone think just about anybody can go write a worship should sound like. So I’d go in and lead at song. That’s easy to do. It might not be good, another church worship gathering somewhere but anybody can write a song. But if it’s real, with a full new band, with people who are a part and becomes an actual prayer and not just a of that community, and I’d try to make them do bunch of empty Christian words thrown together, things that weren’t really authentically them. Like then there is a difference that is felt and heard. I’d try to get the guitar player to play with more And if we agree on this prayer together, then He delay (and the guy doesn’t even have a delay promises He’s going to act on it. So that’s how I pedal), or I would try to make the drummer play go into co-writes, especially when we’re writing something that he wasn’t wired to play, instead prayers, which are these worship songs. I want of just letting these guys/girls be who they are that song to feel like I’m praying it, because if and seeing what happens. Every time I do that, I that’s true, then everybody in our gatherings will just think that it’s just better. actually be able to own this prayer. Everyone can learn. We can all grow and we all need inspiration. We all need Mumford and Sons, and The Edge, and all these people to really help influence us. But we all have different influences, and if we can see each other like, “Oh, you’re a fifty year-old dude with a Strat and an overdrive pedal and a chorus pedal, and that’s what you bring to the table; and on the other side you’re a twenty year-old drummer who knows how to play whatever it is that you’ve been influenced by.” Let’s bring this stuff to the table and see how we can actually be one and make something different. And that’s what is so fun; I think in our genre everybody tends to play the exact same thing over and over and over, and we’re all trying to play like the record. We can learn from the records, but I think we should be who we are.
The bridge on that song is probably my favorite bridge on this record. It’s out of a Louie Giglio conversation where he was saying, “We don’t praise God because we’re supposed to, or because we ought to, or just because it’s a good thing for us to do. But we need to think of it as ‘That I may worship Him.’” That phrase, “That I may”, is such a powerful phrase. It changes the way we look at sorrow, and calamity, and pain. We don’t say, “Hmmm, God you’re not worthy today.” He is always worthy, and we get to praise Him, no matter our circumstances. And so that was a prayer that Jason and I had to pray that day. There were tears as we were writing the song, because we both needed to pray this prayer. Now, I’m not typically a ‘crier’, but I’ve found that my best songs are the ones that, as I’m writing and praying this song, I start to cry because something is touching really deep. And I like to write on general themes that I see all over the country. I see people in pain, and I like to write about what would be the most powerful prayer for these people, because we all deal with common issues. Whether you’re a follower of Jesus or not, we all deal with worry. So what if we wrote a song (a prayer) that deals with worry and then talks about casting our cares on Him?
Every 5 person band, if you pull out one person, it should sound different, because there’s a whole other set of skills and influences coming in that should make something different and beautiful in it’s own right. Now, if you’ve got a terrible musician who isn’t up to par, that’s a whole different issue. I always tell people, when I’m about to lead with a new group at a church gathering, I say, “I’m going to give you a bunch of suggestions and a bunch of thoughts, but ultimately my biggest direction to you is . . . just WM: “Cast My Cares” is one of my favorite don’t be a distraction. If you don’t know a part, songs by you! It really ministers to me. just lay out. Even if you don’t do any of these other things, but you’re able to hang with Jesus When you led worship for us at our night of worship at NAMM, you spent some time talking and not be a distraction, then let’s have fun!” and singing about the fact that, as followers of WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2015
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Olson, and Kevin Ryan are my favorite guitar Tim: I do! I have a Gretsch White Falcon makers in the world. As luthiers, I think that they that I love. And then recently I went to a vintage are simply 10 steps above. guitar show at The Factory in Nashville. It was I’ve always wanted one but have just been too so ridiculous! In many ways it wasn’t good for broke most of the time to have one. I looked me to be there because there was way too much Tim: Yeah! What if it’s true? I say that so many on Craigslist all the time, and after searching for there that I wanted. Matt Maher let me play his times in my concerts or at a worship gathering years I finally found one! It’s a Goodall standard Gibson ES125, which is such a well-built hollowthat I’m leading. I’ll just say, “What if it’s true?” from around 1990. I saw it on Craigslist and body guitar, and I fell in love with it. And I bought And there are always a few people that get mad thought there must be something wrong with it one at the show that’s an early ES125 with 2 at me after awhile and say to me, “It is true! How because it was such a good price. I ended up P90’s in it. They don’t always have 2 P90’s in could you say that this might not be true?” And buying it from a young lady that had it sitting in them; in fact, they generally only have one. But I say, “I believe all these things to be true too! a closet after her uncle had given it to her. I love I wanted the model with 2 P90’s because when But what if we actually lived as if it were true?” that guitar! And I love playing it with the Kyser I played Matt’s ES125 it just had the tone that I Because who do you know who actually lives as Cut Capo. I’ve always loved Kyser capos. I’ve love. I’m really excited to start leaning into that though the same Spirit and power and authority tried every kind of capo multiple times and Kyser guitar. I’ve got Tele’s and some other guitars too, that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is living is my favorite by far, especially when playing but I especially love my White Falcon, my G&L inside of them all week long? I just don’t know live. They are easy to use and they sound great! blues boy tele and I’m very excited about my that many people that live as though that’s true. So But I’ve really been living with and playing with new/old Gibson ES125. in this next season of my life, I want to be found the cut capo. I’m an alternate tuning guy anyway, WM: There’s just something about getting living as though that’s true, more this year than I and David Wilcox has been a huge influence for a new guitar that sparks something in you did last year. You know how the Bible refers to me, both as a songwriter, lyrically, and even as sometimes. Like there’s a new song in there, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? What a live performer and in his guitar playing. I’ve waiting to come out. if people around us started referring to the God memorized all of his tunings, and I think that Tim: There is! And I was telling someone the of Tim, or the God of Bruce? And they started alternate tunings literally bring up another song other day, even if you get an inexpensive guitar, doing it because we actually lived as though it out of your guitar. A new voice comes out when or an old beat-up guitar with only 5 strings, there’s were true, and we didn’t just live ordinary lives, you’re in an alternate tuning, and I love the cut still a new song that that guitar will open up. but we lived extraordinary lives as if I had the capo because it really does add a new voice to The different voice will make a new song. Every fullness of God (and the word “fullness” should your guitar. time I pick up a little ukulele, or even something be one of the most amazing and powerful “F” As far as amplifying an acoustic guitar, I think with plastic strings, I think there’s something to be words in the whole world) living inside of me. So I’ve tried almost every pickup and preamp out found in that instrument. So as much as I love Jesus, awaken my soul to see that it is true, and to there. I am a bit of a freak when it comes to this wonderful, well-built guitars, I think there’s a song live as though it’s true! topic. With that said, I’m absolutely loving what in any guitar. My first song was written on my WM: Thanks Tim! That’s such a good word! LR BAGGS has been putting out. I am outfitting dad’s old 4 string tenor guitar. I didn’t even really Let me change gears a bit here and ask you all of my acoustics with the Anthem system. I am know how to play the guitar at that point, but I about some of the equipment that you use. I a sucker for dual and triple pickup sources to wrote a song on that little 4 string, beater guitar. know we both share a love for James Goodall bring out different tones, but I am tonally satisfied Recently I bought an old Gibson L50 from the guitars. Tell us about yours, as well as any other (see what I did there) with the Anthem. As far as ‘30’s. I got it for a steal, and it’s so beautiful! preamps go, I am currently using and am a big gear that you use. There have been a lot of great songs and fan of the LR BAGGS Venue. melodies written on that guitar. Tim: Well, I’ve been a huge fan of James WM: Do you use an electric guitar too? Goodall for most of my guitar life. He, and James Jesus, we have the same Spirit living in us that raised Jesus from the dead, and what if we lived our lives based on that truth. Can you expound on that? I think that theme pops up on this record as well.
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I probably write half of my songs on a keyboard. It’s been about 3 years now where that has I love the different voicings and soundscapes that become our community. And I don’t see it as can be found just out of one pad. I’ve been using “poor people”; I see it as, “they are the church”. Omnisphere and Reason and love them. I have as many issues as they do, they just might I almost always start with a drumbeat. I started look a little different. And I’ve learned so much playing drums when I was 7 years old. My from this group of friends. parents bought me my first drum kit and I fell in love with music. I moved on to guitar when I was 11, and then taught myself piano a little bit after that. I just taught myself how to play chords off of my guitar chords. That’s kind of the basis of my music, but then mostly I’ve just leaned into the guitar.
WM: So do you set up a small P.A. system in the carport? Or how do you do it?
Tim: No. I rarely actually lead worship there. For a long time they didn’t know who I was or what I did, and then they found out as I did more concerts in the area. But I’ve made it my deal to not even bring my guitar that much because it’s WM: Tell us about Motel Church. It really more fun just to be with people and talk through intrigues me. stuff with them and love them well without the Tim: Sure. I left leading worship at a great instrument. It’s a different form of worship that is community out here in Orange County, Mariners just as powerful as me having a guitar. And I’m Church, where I was for 15 years. It is such an starting to write songs that this community can amazing group of people. I left there and started pray; something that speaks in their language, gathering with some other friends, in the name and that the prostitute or the pimp could actually of Jesus, trying to figure out how not to just “do pray. It doesn’t have language that’s so huge that they can’t understand what they’re saying, church”, but how to “be the church”. but they can actually own their prayer. So we started gathering at this motel, actually in the back carport of a motel in Orange county One of my goals in life is to help people own that’s not even a mile from one of the most their response to Jesus. That’s why I’m a worship expensive malls in America. There’s this run- leader. As a worship leader my goal is to help down motel that we started meeting at every people own their response to Jesus and not for me Sunday morning. And at first I was just bringing to just tell them what their response should be, but my kids so that we could be with the poor and to help them own it through great questions and we could learn how to love those people. We’d great songs. So I’m trying to write songs lately be serving every Sunday morning and we’d put that anybody, from any gathering, anywhere; on our gloves and help serve food, and then it hit whether you’re a homeless person or if you’re a me at some point, because I’m trying to figure out billionaire, we can all pray the same prayers. As how to seek first the kingdom of God . . . what a writer that’s how I’m trying to write, and as a did Jesus say about His kingdom? Because that’s leader that’s how I’m trying to lead. what I want to do. He said, “Blessed are the poor I’ve spent my whole life working within the in spirit (people that don’t fit in our gatherings) 80 minutes that the church gathers. And it is for theirs is the kingdom of God.” Once that so important that we gather as The Church. really sank in, I began to think, “Wow! I am the Every week we meet for 80 minutes, and it’s so church! And these people are the church! In powerful. But there are 10,080 minutes in a fact, theirs is the kingdom of God.” So, there week, and the problem is that there are 10,000 was a lot that I had to learn here. other minutes in which we’re not gathered.
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To even say that we “go to church” isn’t even biblical. It’s impossible, biblically, for us to go to church. We gather as the church for 80 minutes every week. And yes, it’s powerful, and yes, we need to keep meeting together every week and using our instruments and these other elements in the 80 minutes. But if that’s the point . . . then we’ve missed the point. The point is what happens in the next 10,000 minutes before we gather again. That’s when the stuff of life hits the fan. That’s where we live the majority of our life either seeking first our kingdoms or seeking first the Kingdom Of God. Remember, you can’t go to church. You are the church, whether gathered or scattered. For us as worship musicians, what if we realized that the 80 minutes is not the point of the week, but it’s our encouragement and our launching pad for the next 10,000 minutes. If we can see it as that, I think our worship wars won’t be as powerful. I think our pettiness over who is playing and who’s not playing will decrease. I think our demand for excellence, while it won’t go away, it won’t be the point anymore. Stan Endicott has said for years, “Be careful, because excellence can be an idol.” And I can remember so many gatherings that I’ve been a part of . . . I can remember glaring at a musician behind me who would play a wrong chord and think, “Come on! We’ve practiced this, right?” But really, is that how I want to leave a legacy? That I’m mad at somebody because they didn’t play the right chord, or the drummer is speeding up so I’m going to glare at them? Is Jesus not going to work because I played the wrong note? No, Jesus is always at work, and the more that I can see the 80 minute gathering as a launching pad for the next 10,000 minutes until we gather again and as a privilege that we may gather together, it frees me up as a leader, musician, and worshiper to seek first the Kingdom Of God! for more info, visit www.TimTimmonsMusic.com
SONGchart
REST MY SOUL - Key of D Tim Timmons, Jason Ingram ©2015 All Essential Music / LETSBEBEAUTIFUL (ASCAP), So Essential Tunes / Open Hands Music (SESAC). All rights adm by Essential Music Publishing LLC.
VERSE 1
VERSE 2
D
D
Rise my soul arise
Sing my soul now sing
Bm
Bm
God’s in control
A
For He is strong and you are weak
A
D
You’re not alone
Yes sing with everything
D
Bm
Rise into His light
A
Your saviors praise wave after wave
Bm His plans are good A
BRIDGE Bm
You’re on His side
G
I will call upon your name CHORUS
D D
You’re above my circumstance A
God of perfect peace G
D
All my life is in Your hands
You are here with me G
D
A
On this raging sea its true Bm You won’t let me go G
D
You’re my joy my hope G
A
D
I will rest my soul in You WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2015
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Product Review
By Mitch Bohannon
LR Baggs Session DI “Studio Magic…” Has that phrase been overused? Maybe yes, and maybe no. I would tend to say, “yes,” but then I need words to describe my experience with the new L.R. Baggs Session D.I. and what it has. Words like “sparkle,” “umph,” and “that thing” are just not descriptive enough! I first visited with Mike Newsom at the L.R. Baggs booth at NAMM in Anaheim this past January. Mike excitedly showed me what I believe was a prototype of the Session D.I. and I have been waiting on the edge of my seat ever since. I’ve been pleased to use L.R. Baggs products for over 15 years… from the iBeam to the Element, Dual Source, Lyric, and the Para Acoustic D.I. When I heard the Session was coming out, I was already confident that it would be a welcome addition and even an improvement to the Para Acoustic D.I. To be honest, the only things I was not partial to on the Para Acoustic D.I. were the small knobs that were hard to see and adjust quickly. I got the Session D.I. right before I headed out to NAMM in Nashville, and what a great time for it to arrive! I was totally impressed with the unit right out of the box. It comes in it’s own custom soft-shell zipper case, which adds a little “candy.” It sports a rugged metal casing, easy to see and adjust knobs, unobstructed stomp button, output options . . .oh man, this thing is sweet! Let’s look at what it has on board. Input is standard ¼” with the option of ¼” or XLR out. Five easy-to-read knobs and a VU meter for this 46-year-old who needs a new prescription…volume, gain, notch, saturate, and comp eq. Look to the side and you’ll notice an optional DC input that can jump into your pedal-board power. (Other power options are an on-board 9v battery or, my favorite option – 48v phantom power). There is also a ground lift and a 4-position HPF (High Pass Filter) that can switch between 40, 80, 120, and 200Hz to filter out problematic low frequencies. The stomp-box style foot switch with mute light is as logical as it is functional. Thank you L.R. Baggs! I can’t stand to hear people unplug their guitar before the sound tech knows it’s happening!
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The volume, gain, and notch adjustments are fairly standard and understandable. Set the gain to where the input won’t clip (noted by the VU meter) and balance the output volume for a good clean signal to the FOH. Then, adjust the notch if there happens to be tendencies for feedback. Though these are simple features, this is the reason I said that it was great timing for the Session D.I to arrive. I was headed to Nashville for a couple of weeks and, Scott, my teammate, was leading worship in my absence. He has a great acoustic that has a much lower output than mine. The “Gain” and “Volume” controls gave him just the boost he needed to fill the house without having to make major changes on the soundboard. Where the Session D.I. achieves its “Studio Magic” accolade is with the “Saturate” and “Comp EQ” settings. Actually, there are geniuses working at L.R. Baggs… They figured out how to take the special touches that are usually added by studio engineers to an acoustic guitar recording in the post-processed mix and give it to us “live and in color!” The saturation adjustment is voiced specifically for the acoustic guitar to add warmth, dimension, and harmonic nuances that really smooth out the signal. Where the Saturate knob covers the “Studio,” the Comp EQ knob covers the “Magic.” Again, tuned to the acoustic guitar, this
compression adjustment covers three specific bands of compression that can tame common problematic frequencies and enhance the overall voice of your guitar. L.R. Baggs has made these frequencies to be “touch-sensitive” (how’s that, keyboard players?) where they actually respond in real-time to your playing dynamics. I’m sure most of you, like me, will play a driving rhythm and a soft finger-style in the same service. It’s sure nice to have an intuitive compressor that “listens” to my playing and responds in a way that enhances my sound. Now, saturate and compress to taste! The Session D.I. has a list price of $359 and a street price of about $249. I was told this unit was demo only, but I may have to beg! And it fits so nicely on my board! Mitch Bohannon developed the Short Cut Capo for Kyser and is a worship pastor in Louisiana. He and his beautiful wife, Noelle, have been married for 22 years and have three awesome kids! www.kysermusical.com
JOSH WILSON AND THE KYSER ® SHORT-CUT ™ AVAILABLE AT CONCERTS AND ONLINE
www.joshwilsonmusic.com | www.kysermusical.com That Was Then, This Is Now Tour
Josh Wilson, That Was Then, This Is Now, out now!
Oct 9 The Woodlands, TX Oct 10 Sugar Land, TX Sept 11 Orlando, FL Sept 18 Charleston, WV Sept 25 McDonough, GA Sept 26 McDonough, GA Nov 21 Allen, TX
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Record Reviews Rend Collective As Family We Go 1. Celebrate 2. Free As A Bird 3. You Will Never Run 4.Every Giant Will Fall 5.One and Only 6. Joy Of The Lord 7. Never Walk Alone 8. Your Royal Blood 9. Just A Glimpse 10. Coming Home 11. The Artist 12. Ireland’s Call (Deluxe Version) 13.You Will Never Run -Neon Feather Remix (Deluxe Version) 14. One And Only-Urban Rescue Remix (Deluxe Version) 15. Never Weigh Me Down (Deluxe Version) 16. Every Giant Will Fall- Ukulele Version (Deluxe Version)
By Gerod Bass chorus that gives life and hope to all who listen. “One And Only” gives us room to breathe after so many high energy tracks as lead singer Chris Llewellyn sings passionately of the truly unique nature of the love of Christ; while “Joy Of The Lord” snaps the listener back into the flowing musical river of celebration of worship that seems to be the running theme throughout this album.
Susie Woodbridge) 3. God Almighty (Featuring Chris Lawson Jones) 4.This I Believe (The Creed) (Featuring Karen Gillespie) 5. Wildfire (Featuring Sam Bailey) 6. Skies (Featuring Susie Woodbridge) 7. All Consuming Fire (Featuring Chris Sayburn) 8. Held High (Featuring Sam Bailey) 9.Come To The Waters (Featuring Lauren Harris) 10. O Lord We Seek Your Face (Featuring Chris Lawson Jones) 11. Now Glorious (Featuring Karen Gillespie) 12. Forgiven (Featuring Susie Woodbridge) 13. Good, Good Father (Featuring Chris Sayburn)
“Your Royal Blood” took me by complete surprise. This song takes a huge musical risk that actually works very well. This song is southern Gospel inspired and features some groovy guitar work while giving homage to the classic hymn, “Nothing But The Blood”. Instead of just re-working the melody or writing a new chorus of an old hymn, Rend actually takes the main theme and re-writes the entire song to create something that is both old and new. New Wine Worship is the worship This is the type of song that makes Rend ministry of the New Wine Churches in Collective stand out in a world of copycat England. Each year they host spring or Over the past few years, no other worship. summer conferences that feature intense worship band has successfully crafted The deluxe version of the album prayer, Christian teaching, and worship more creativity into their music than modern showcases Rend’s version of “Ireland’s led by some of the best up and coming worship pslamists, Rend Collective. Their Call” – the anthem used by the Irish Rubgy worship leaders from around the UK. Their brand of acoustic folk rock is infectious, team. At first listen I wondered if this fit second release, Wildfire, is a 13-track and their writing connects with listeners on with the rest of the album but then I was album that captures a move of the Holy every level. There is a lot to expect from reminded by the album’s title. As this song Spirit across New Wine fellowship while the Irish rockers as they are set to release has become the rallying cry for Northern seeking to reignite the global Church to their 5th album, As Family We Go. and Southern Ireland to come together for become a radical agent of transformation. At first listen, long-time Rend fans might be the common good of their country, we too Most of the songs on this album tend a bit disappointed as the band has made as Christians should remember that we are to rest in the pop/techno genre and will a bit of a shift in their arrangements and brothers and sister in Christ who are called probably appeal to a younger, millennial instrumentation, trading in their acoustic to a common good, spreading the Gospel. generation. elements for a decidedly more mainstream Again, this is a wonderful example of how rock feel. But don’t be dissuaded by this Rend Collective writes music that makes It seems like a lot of modern worship change because, honestly, there are still you think and consider your own place as writers are now writing worship songs that are actually statements of faith, and a lot of great songs on this album that no a Christian in our world. New Wine Worship is no different. one but Rend Collective could pull off. I actually love that Rend Collective “This I Believe (The Creed)” is a glorious took some risks on this album, knowing The album kicks off with the high-energy declaration of what we believe that is both anthem, “Celebrate”, which calls every full well that some of their fans would worshipful in its arrangement and solid in believer to give praise in every situation. not like the changes. But isn’t that what theological depth. We need more music The almost-punk raucous feel that we have Rend Collective has always been about, that unites us as a church and lets people all come to know and love from Rend is keeping things interesting and unexpected know exactly who we are. definitely in full effect here, and you can’t in their music? This is a great album, full “Lifeline” is a bouncy little of interesting and sincere energetic help but sing and clap along. keyboard driven song about worship music. “You Will Never Run” starts with a the lifeline that God gives beautiful 3-part harmony reminding us of New Wine Worship his people whenever they who we are as sons and daughters of Wildfire call upon Him, and “Skies” Jesus that soon morphs into an energetic features the angelic vocals 1. Lifeline (Featuring Sam Bailey) of Susie Woodbridge (who 2. No Reason To Fear (Featuring *Gerod’s Personal Picks in bold. sounds like Taylor Swift, by Overall impression the way) as she sings about God’s never ending faithfulness over the house beat Average person could learn/participate on the first hear and techno backing. Can be learned/adapted by a band of average skill Lyrical creativity and integrity
Rend Collective As New Wine Worship One Sonic Society The City Harmonic Aaron Shust
Family We Go Wildfire Make a Way We Are
Doxologyt highest marks
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The title track makes a departure from the electronic bleeps and midi sounds by giving way to a more tranquil vibe with piano arpeggios and rhythmic drumbeats. Worship leader, Sam Bailey, pleads with authenticity for God’s Spirit to run like wildfire in us and create hearts that are ready to make a difference in our world.
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Although I appreciated their previous album, Spirit Fall, a bit more than this one, this is still a solid effort that will appeal to those who love that modern, electronic pop sound. Lyrically, this wasn’t a very deep or intimate album, and honestly the mixing left a bit to be desired as I found myself distracted from the message of some of the songs because of the sheer number of different sounds that were happening in the background. I would recommend this album for youth leaders and college young people who love this genre. One Sonic Society Make A Way 1. Can’t Stop Your Love 2. Great Are You Lord 3. How Can It Be 4 .Even So Come 5. I Just Want You 6. Make A Way If you have ever listened to Christian radio, or pretty much any worship CD in the past 5 years, chances are you have heard a song either written or produced by One Sonic Society front man, Jason Ingram. In 2009, Ingram joined Delirious? guitarist guru, Stu G, and Hillsong United drummer, Paul Mabry to create One Sonic Society, which is more than just a band of all-star worship leaders and musicians, but also a collective of Christian artists who live and work in Nashville. Their latest EP release, Make A Way contains 6 new songs, most of which have already been released on other projects. “Can’t Stop Your Love”, previously released on the Set Apart album by Worship Central is a pop-rock worship tune that reminds us that Jesus walks beside us and can give rest and comfort in the midst of the toughest times of our lives. “Great Are You Lord” was released earlier this year by All Sons and Daughters, who also helped cowrite this now immensely popular worship song. The version contained here is a bit more subtle and laid back, but still delivered with authenticity and strength. 2015 Worship song of the year, “How Can It Be” which was co-written with Lauren Daigle and released earlier this year, is a gorgeous personal prayer of confession. This arrangement isn’t as moving or intimate as Daigle’s version, but Ingram’s tranquil voice and the ethereal instrumentation give this version warmth and depth. I’m not a huge fan of EP’s mostly because I always feel a little short changed after listening to them, but since I absolutely love OSS, I was looking forward to this release even if it had just six songs. All of the songs here could be used in a congregational worship setting and most would be pretty easy to learn and sing. I honestly wasn’t all that impressed with a few of the songs as they tended to sound the same and run together but there are still a few nice moments on this album. The City Harmonic We Are 1. We Are One 2. Maranatha 3. Into Your Arms 4. Solid Rock 5. Shout
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6. Let There Be Light 7. All Of This And More 8. Oh What Love 9. Confession (Agnus Dei) 10. Still And Small 11. One Canadian progressive worship rockers, The City Harmonic, were born out of a desperate need to reach the people of their struggling community with the message of Christ. The band, made up of local worship leaders, came together in 2011 and since have been winning hearts for Jesus through their raw and edgy brand of worship that seeks to help hurting people connect with a God who loves them.
4. The Great Overcomer 5. Never Gonna Let Me Go 6. How Majestic 7. Come Quickly 8. Nothing More (Feat. Lauren Daigle) 9. Triumphant Conqueror 10. To The Only God
A Doxology is a liturgical formula of praise to God, which fits perfectly as the title of Christian singer and songwriter Aaron Shust’s latest album. The joyous recordings on his latest project reflect the aftermath Their third studio release, We Are, contains 11 of the previous four tumultuous years when Shust powerful and moving songs of worship full of dealt with the serious health problems of his truth and honesty that will connect hurting people two youngest sons. The album features 10 new songs celebrating God’s mercy, forgiveness, and to a caring God. everlasting love. There is no doubt that the central theme of this These songs reflect Shust’s reflective journey from album is unity, but more specifically about how grief to joy, with cuts like the opener, “Always the Body of Christ needs to come together in a world where persecution of Christ’s followers is Will Be”, that boldly speaks of God’s faithfulness becoming the norm. Songs like “We Are One”, to us in times of trouble. “Oh Praise” reminds the “Maranatha”, “Shout”, and “One” are all songs worshipper that we bear the name of Jesus and that we are loved no matter what we have done of unity written with depth and passion. or what we have been through. One of the best songs on the album is the driving anthem, “Maranatha”. The word in The theme of finding God’s Joy in the midst of Arabic means “the Lord is coming” and was used heartache is very evident throughout the album by persecuted Christians under Roman rule after with songs like “Never Gonna Let Me Go”, Jesus had ascended as a way to boost morale which is a peppy southern rocker featuring some by reminding each other that one day He will great Joe Walsh type slide guitar work and return. The powerful drums and final chorus are Hammond B3 undertones. The song, co-written infectious, and the overall arrangement is just with Benji Cowart, fulfilled the wishes of a good friend of Shust’s who wanted a praise celebration genius. upon his death instead of a sad funeral, so it was “Solid Rock” is a rhythmic and gritty anthem based on John 10:29 that celebrates Christ’s whose foundation was built (no pun intended) victory over death. With the title, “It Is Finished”, on the classic hymn. Lyrically however this one would think that this would be a somber, song is much more “real life” in nature with minor keyed tune about the crucifixion of Jesus, phrases like....”If I’m as poor as dirt, left with but instead Shust shows his creativity by focusing empty hands, I’m still rich beyond my dreams about the victory won on the cross while making because all other ground is sinking sand, I’ve got the arrangement match the joy of the lyric. everything I need”. 2015 worship song of the year (How Can “Confession (Agnus Dei)” is a gorgeous song It Be) winner Lauren Daigle joins Shust on the of confession that, while difficult to sing for the intimate worship offering, “Nothing More”, and average person, really digs into the biblical “Triumphant Conqueror” is a gorgeous pianomeat of what confession before God should look driven anthem declaring the glorious power of like in our hearts. “Let There Be Light” is a song God that features some very inventive chord of celebration that is chock full of memorable progressions and melody lines. melodies and phrases, and “All Of This And More” has a more mainstream arrangement with Aaron Shust has done a beautiful job of a pop radio bent while honoring the supernatural showing us musically how God’s joy can be seen in the midst of trial and heartache throughout this nature of God as both divine and human. release. There is some really great creativity within The writing and arranging on this entire album the arrangements and musical choices here and, is something to behold. These are down to earth, although I think some of the songs tended to run raw worship songs that were written for people together, Shust did a great job of keeping the who need hope, peace, and the new life that theme intact throughout this album. Most of the only Jesus can bring. While I loved the entire songs here could be used in a corporate worship album, I only gave it three stars because many service, so go check it out for yourself. of the songs will be difficult for most average worship teams and congregational singers to emulate, but this is still one of the best worship Gerod Bass is a ministry veteran who has been serving God’s albums of the year. Great job guys! Aaron Shust Doxology 1. Always Will Be 2. It Is Finished 3. Oh Praise
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people through worship and youth ministry for over 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. He’s a singer, guitarist and recording artist who has a passion for impacting lives for the sake of the Gospel. Find out more, including his newest album release at his website, gerodbass.com.
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FOH Engineer
By Kent Morris
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Attitude Trumps Them All Even the best gear is incomplete without proper interconnects. I have seen milliondollar sound systems brought low by an improperly built $40 cable. A $4000 wireless mic is useless if the $2 batteries are dead. While the opposite extreme of overpaying for magical cables is not wise, it does pay to invest in correctly engineered cables and connectors.
always beats complex because when something goes wrong (and it will) it is easier to diagnose and fix. I remember fifteen years ago when Ben Gowell started playing guitar with Paul Baloche; his rig was simple but his tone complex, and Paul responded favorably when he noticed the clean look and quick set-up Ben brought to the stage. Ben stills plays with Paul today.
The most important instrument is the human. The difference FOH engineer Big Mick Hughes brings to a Metallica concert is his ears. While he uses Meyer speakers and a Midas console on shows, he would still deliver a successful event on DAS speakers and a Behringer console. He knows the band, the music, and how to achieve fullness in any venue while retaining clarity. It is better to invest in The level of gear really doesn’t matter training and skill than in obtaining more when ingenuity is applied. As long as the gear. product is functional for the application, it Talent is often inversely proportional to will produce an acceptable result. When the amount of equipment owned. Not to faced with a less-than-perfect situation, the knock Bruce’s “Love one woman, many key to success is to know how to use the guitars” shirts, but there are some amazing available resources to their fullest potential. players in the world who ply their trade For instance, Rambler, an automobile long on a single, low-end instrument. Naturally, associated with frugality and the slow if given the opportunity, they would have lane, won the NASCAR Grand National better guitars, but the point is: for many of in 1952 simply because its efficiency us it is easier to save up for another guitar allowed it to run the entire race without than to woodshed the one we have. a single pit stop while all the faster cars Simple always wins. It doesn’t matter the had to refuel. venue, locale, or circumstance, simple
Attitude trumps gear. The best thing you can bring to a gig is a great attitude. People will gravitate toward someone with a smile and helpful approach even if their skill set is a little shy of great. The best monitor engineers are not the ones who can whip about any brand of console. They are the ones who spend the time to help the artists dial in their mix and stand ready with spare batteries, gaff tape, and a screwdriver.
“Gear-head” is a term used to refer either to American aficionados of muscle cars or, in our industry, to musicians and techs with a penchant for the equipment we use. While a healthy appreciation for the technology, craftsmanship, and design of our gear is a positive trait, obsession over the brand, history, and lineage of instruments and amplifiers can lead to an unfavorable outcome. Some examples of unhealthy gear-lust include spending more time researching serial numbers than practicing scales, becoming volatile on Facebook when someone degrades a product you own, and becoming convinced musical mastery lies with owning the right amp. For everyone who has struggled with “gear fever” here are some steps to take toward a cure.
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So, to cure gear-fever take two smiles and be at call early in the morning.
Kent Morris is a 35 year veteran of the worship technology arena with a passion for excellence, balanced by the knowledge digital is a temporary state.
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PERCUSSION
By Mark Shelton
Silent Partners The congas pattern is ending on beat three of Get A Grip--Quickly the verse’s last measure and you need to dive into While the addition of a trap table to your set-up the chorus with shake tambourine cookin’ on the is a major help, most of your hand percussion opening downbeat. Can you make the switch will be resting flat on the surface of the table. with only fractions of a second? Some instruments like the tambourine and shaker How about that moment when the music director are a bit troublesome to pick up quickly and stops the band in rehearsal and asks you to play quietly with one hand when the items are flush a specific part on the bongos during the bridge with the table. Enter the launching pad--it takes of the song? The leader simply sings the rhythm seconds to make, weighs next to nothing, and and you play it back with supreme confidence can really smooth out a challenging changeover. on the next run-thru. Will you remember that lick Resting on the trap table, this inaudible ally when the worship set starts in forty-five minutes? allows you to prop up a portion of an instrument Both of these real-life percussion challenges can or implement (shaker, tambourine, mallet, or stick) be eased with the help of some “silent partners.” and create a space under the object. That small None of these items contribute anything sonically gap provides enough room to slide a hand under to the music, but these soundless supporters the thingamajig and bring it into playing position have assisted me in many rehearsals, worship without extraneous sound. The launching pad is a simple solution that’s simple to construct. My services, and performances. personal design calls for a strip of foam rubber folded lengthwise and taped into place. In Easy Reach A trap table “lives” in my gig van so that it is always handy. Whether playing in a jazz ensemble, worship band, symphony orchestra, or folk group, a trap table has gotten me through many tight logistical situations. This soundless sidekick provides a central location for sticks, mallets, and hand-held instruments such as tambourines, shakers, claves, and cabasa (and you can park your coffee mug on it). The lightly padded surface of this silent partner assists you in transitioning instruments without extraneous sound. A music stand with the desk parallel to the floor IS NOT a trap table. There is too little space and too much potential for a cacophonous spill. You have a choice of either commercially available trap tables or you can design and build your own (like I do). My first tables were built from plans found in Sound Designs: A Handbook of Musical Instrument Building by Scoville & Banek. Over the years, I have experimented my way into a personal version that is simple to construct and easy to carry. Just grab a staple gun along with the basic ingredients of plywood, light padding, and black cloth and you cook up a table top fairly quickly. Toss your creation on a keyboard X stand and you will soon wonder how you ever lived your percussive life without a trap table.
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Better Than Your Memory Keeping a music manuscript book nearby (or a few sheets of staff paper) makes it easy to jot down notes and rhythms. This quiet companion can come to the rescue in the rehearsal situation described earlier and it provides a place to capture your own bursts of creativity. Great licks and catchy tunes have grown from flashes of brilliance scribbled in a composer’s sketchbook. I like to keep a few sheets of unlined paper for taking notes in my mallet case along with the staff paper. Of course, you are going to need a pencil--with an eraser. It’s still low-tech and low-priced, yet many musicians do not make effective use of this hushed helper during practices and rehearsals. You need a pencil for writing music notation, taking notes, and for those personal markings on sheet music that remind and clarify. As soon as you decide on that sticking sequence, write in those rights and lefts. When you figure out which chord voicing on the vibes sounds best, put pencil to paper. Not only will this help during your current session, you will not waste time straining your brain when you resume practicing later. (Keep an oldschool pencil sharpener in your mallet case--I do.) Though never audible, the trap table, launching pad, paper, and pencil are part of my percussion set-up at every rehearsal. Form a partnership with these items and allow them to lend their silent aid to your music making. Online Resource A short video demonstration of the launching pad is available at www.youtube. commarksheltonmusic.
An active freelance musician, Mark’s percussion work can be heard live and on recordings with Gateway Worship and on the television program, The Blessed Life. A member of the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster, Mark performs frequently as a percussion soloist. Mark’s compositions are published by HoneyRock, PerMus Publications, and Heritage Music Press. Check out more of Mark’s educational materials at www. percussionforworship.blogspot.com and www. youtube.com/marksheltonmusic. ©2015 Mark Shelton Productions Percussion For Worship
Cut-capo Guitar
By Mitch Bohannon
Something Old, Something New #funtoplay #cutcapo #TBW I’ve been writing and teaching about leading worship with the Short-Cut capo for quite a while now. I still enjoy it just as much as I did at the first strum! Lately, some of my instruction has been simply dispelling incorrect perceptions. For instance, there is a belief that using capos is for people who can’t play barre-chords. What? That’s no truer than claiming folks who drive an automatic can’t drive a standard. (What do you drive?) BTW, I have another video online that simply states that it’s all about the voicing. What chord voicing will best compliment the song you’re leading? Sometimes, when I play through a song with the Short-Cut capo, the voicing so perfectly compliments the song that I would never want to play it in a different way. I recently had the idea to highlight such songs so you can try them out yourself. So this article, “Something Old, Something New”… a current favorite song and a #TBW (ThrowBackWorship) song that may need reviving. (By the way, if you’ve not read Tom Kraeuter’s article, “Why Hymns Aren’t Necessarily Better” from Worship Musician July/Aug 2015 – you need to!). Something New. Well, relatively new and quite popular… have you used “Redeemed” by Mike Weaver and Benji Cowart from WordWorship in your setlist yet? Have you tried playing it with the Short-Cut capo? I’ve played this song many times. It’s very engaging and personal for the congregation, and there is no other way I would like to play it than with the Short-Cut. The progression is so simple to play and these voicings just work! (Written with the fingerings I use) VERSE: A , E/G#, D2 A
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PRE-CHORUS: F#m7, E/G#, A/C#, D2 F#m7
E/G#
A/C#
D2
CHORUS: A, E/G#, D2 (same as verse) Strum through these shapes and sing the song. I’m confident you’ll hear the changes. Notice on the “A” and “E/G#” I leave out the 5th string – muting it with the left hand. The only “trick” I add to this is to add a hammer-on with the “3rd” of the D-chord. That would be the 4th string at the 2nd fret in front of the capo. After the hammer-on, I’ll usually slide that note UP one full-step (2 frets), back down, and then off to the original D2 chord shape. Now, to a little #TBW. I actually posted my first #TBT picture last week. Seems most of those posts are meant to view the past as laughable. Let’s look at ThrowBackWorship as something that could still be a blessing to the church rather than laugh at what we used to sing! Remember Christy Nockels singing, “My Heart Your Home” back in 1997? Go buy it on iTunes! That song has a fantastic, simple chorus that could be tagged onto
E/G#
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D2
a new song or used during a prayer/ invitation time. The song is in the key of “D,” but follows the same shapes as I used in Redeemed. To get to the Key of “D” we need a full capo on fret 5 and the Short-Cut on fret 7. Using the same chord shapes from above, the progression for the chorus would be: (Phrase 1) A, E/G#, D2 (Phrase 2) D2, A/C#, Esus (Phrase 3) A, E/G#, D2 (Phrase 4) D2, E, A. Remember, the Word says to “Sing to the Lord a new song.” Sometimes it’s a brand new song and sometimes it’s an old song with new life. Breathe new life into your church worship! Mitch Bohannon developed the Short Cut Capo for Kyser and is a worship pastor in Louisiana. He and his beautiful wife, Noelle, have been married for 22 years and have three awesome kids! www.kysermusical.com
THE LEGACY CONTINUES
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GuiTAR GRAB BAG
By Jeffrey B. Scott
Trimming the Fat
Getting your pedalboard into flying shape (without spending a lot of money!) WARNING: Like any fitness program, George L’s cables, I bought a slightly used consult your doctor to make sure you Nano off Amazon and got to work. are ready for the demands and physical The Building Blocks: stresses that can occur in this workout. Pedaltrain Nano Once you are confident you can proceed without injury, jump in! Visual Sound/TrueTone One-Spot Are you ready to trim the fat off your Klon KTR pedalboard? Then LET’S GET STARTED! ElectroHarmonix Holy Grail nano You’ve spent years, and TONS of money Demeter Opto-Compulator putting together your pedalboard. Hours of tweaking and miles of cables have left SpaceMan Effects Aphelion you with what can only be described as TC Electronic Flashback Delay The Ultimate Pedalboard. And it fits in your car perfectly, right there next to your amp. (Sometimes you even refer to it as, “My Precious!”) But what happens when that 80 lb. beast gets asked to go on the road? Recently I had to take up this particular challenge. I had two dates this summer that I had to fly in for, and I knew a couple of things would be true: 1st, I would have plenty of luggage because of the length of time we’d be gone, and 2nd, I would have to carry everything once I got there since my trusty cart wouldn’t be making the trip. The Layout: So I decided to see what I could do to There is a generally accepted, correct make the job a little easier. way to set up a pedalboard, and tons The first step to any good fitness program of articles online about the subject. But is figuring out what you need to do to sometimes you have to do your own thing! get the job done, so I looked at all the Since I would be using a different amp songs I would be playing and thought for each setting and no idea what kind through what I would need. If there was they were, I decided to put the KTR first something crazy I might need to address, I in line, then the Compulator. This way, I wanted to be able to do so! Then I looked could have some consistency in the output at all the pedals I had, both things I was of the KTR without sacrificing the tone. The currently using and ones that I had set Aphelion is a great unit for lead tone, and aside, and chose a couple of options for putting it after the compressor allowed me each category of effect. Now comes the to determine the exact amount of boost fun part - putting it all together to see if it when I kicked it on. In the studio, producers worked! will often use a reverb after a delay so that Like many of you, I use a Mono guitar the delayed sound dissipates more evenly, case (I have the Vertigo - it’s awesome!) so I took that approach as well and fed and a couple of years ago, I added their the Aphelion into the Flashback next, then Guitar Tick to it. I have mostly used it for to the Holy Grail. storage of cables, straps, extra strings, and The Challenges: picks, but I also knew that it was sized to fit the Pedaltrain Nano, which was about First of all, there’s no volume pedal. So to come in very handy! For planning you have to be pretty familiar with your purposes, there’s nothing better than laying volume knob if you need to do swells. it out on the actual board, but I didn’t want There are mini volume pedals out there, to spend any money needlessly, so I went but as you can see in the picture, I didn’t to PedalboardPlanner.com and tried it have any space for that on the board! out first. Satisfied I could make something (For the second trip out, I threw one in my work, I took the plunge! Along with some luggage.)
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What about tap tempo for delays? Well, the Flashback has a nifty way of dealing with that - you hold down the pedal for 2 or 3 seconds, and it mutes the output. Then you strum your guitar to the beat and it captures the tempo from that! Nifty! For the two settings I was in, I had enough time during the count-off to make it work. I had just had to remember to factor that in. The Tone Test: With a Fender Twin in one setting and a boutique amp in the other, the KTR proved to be the basis of the dirty tone, as I had hoped. With the Twin especially, it was a lifesaver! And in both settings I fielded multiple questions about what I was using, and heard the grin-inducing “you got all that sound out of that??” So to my own and the audience’s ears, I accomplished what I set out to do: serve up great tone without breaking my back in the process! Final Analysis: I lost about 20lbs. off my board in the process, still kept the “muscle” of tone, and didn’t break the bank doing it! Ok, enough with the fitness program metaphors - my intention with this article is to just show you my experience and hopefully help you think outside the box of your current rig. The bottom line is that you can do things differently and still get great results, so experiment! Besides, what’s more impressive: getting a good tone out of a pedalboard you need a forklift to move, or getting a great tone out of a setup you could throw in your backpack? If you have other ideas about how to slim down your rig for travel or other great pedals you’ve found, let’s converse! I’m on Instagram (@jeffreybscottmusic), Twitter (@jeffreybscott) and Facebook (fb. me/jeffreybscottmusic). Jeffrey B. Scott lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife and 3 children, and is dead-set on delivering his best for God’s glory. He’s a guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. Check out his new EP, Highest Heights, available now on iTunes! Twitter: @jeffreybscott
Worship Arts Technology Summit
October 16-17, 2015 Music - Vocals - Audio - Lighting/Media Early bird and group discounts are available thru Sept 25th, so bring the whole team. This two day comprehensive hands-on training event is unlike any you will ever attend. Our world class teaching staff includes:
Carl and Leann Albrecht - Ed Kerr - Tom Lane - Camron Ware Aaron Williamson - Harold Rubens and more. See website for details
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The Band
COMBO PACKAGE
By Tom Lane
Playing to the Room the context, the culture, the setting, the people, and then doing what serves the moment, the songs, the ministry, the church, the people—the best. I don’t mean catering to or performing for an audience, or playing a song correctly with dynamics. It’s bringing what we’ve prepared and being sensitive and willing to sacrifice it if needed for the greater purpose of ministry to the Lord and The Church. More than once I’ve had to ditch a song, the band, the PA, the venue, or the plan and go with There are some amazing young geniuses a whole other plan because it’s what was on Youtube; kids with inspiring talent and needed and suited the situation. skill already. The only thing missing are the In general I don’t think people like feeling elements of time and experience—maturity. It’s a good picture of how technique and like they’re being drug onto a bullet train, skill can be learned very early, yet there’s whether they want to be on it or not. a seasoning and maturing that will only Sometimes it feels like we just unload come from living with it, breathing it, trying our arrangements like ammo on people, it, doing it—over and over till it’s more assaulting them with a barrage of 4 on than just technical, it’s second nature and the floor up-tempo songs at 130 BPM. instinctive. It’s an intangible quotient and We should always take into account the natural extension of who we are, and the day, moment, needs, and relevant matters variable that makes songs, arrangements, at hand, etc. Sensitivity is a true sign of maturity, and good leaders and teams will and performances stand out. alter the plan when it calls for it. It opens a In a small worship setting I was in recently door and makes room for more to happen there was a younger, very talented player than just barreling through the set list. playing passionately and genuinely Joy and celebration are wonderful and from the heart, but with the same level of intensity on every song. It was the we need more of that for sure, but grief, loudest thing in the room, over powering suffering, sorrow, and pain are always every other instrument and voice. It was present when we gather. On any given distracting, and hard on the ears, and I’m day God may desire to steer the train in not sure it ever really dawned on him to a whole other direction than what we’ve attempt to blend in with the team. Certainly planned, and we want to be mature it’s okay, and my aim isn’t to be critical enough to sense His leading and go there! of anyone’s worship, just making a point That is much more important than any that we can be so withdrawn into our own amount of savvy production, arranging, experience that we become oblivious to and creativity. our surroundings. If that’s the kind of time These are things that we should be talking we want to have, then great and there’s about as teams, worship leaders, and place for it, but if we are leading people pastors. The more aware and sensitive as a band and team it certainly helps to we are to the context we are leading in, be more clued in and aware. the more maturely and skillfully we can Big ears are one sign of a generous person, or so I’ve heard. I’ve no idea if that’s true or not, but I do know that having big ears in a musical context makes for a much better contribution to the overall expression. It means that you are listening to all that’s going on around you, so much so that it shapes and helps determine what you play or sing. The best players and singers are more often the better listeners, without a doubt!
It’s not always what we play, but how we play it! Sometimes it’s simply turning up or down the volume on our playing, other times it’s leaving out half of what we want to play in favor of the space and overall dynamics. That’s fairly practical and not all that revelatory. With worship we now introduce a whole other component, the overarching goal of honoring and experiencing God. It goes beyond just being musically sensitive, and requires being spiritually in tune. Let me explain what I mean when I say play to the room; I’m speaking of assessing
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lead others in worship. It does, however, require a united team and leadership, which is another article altogether.
Nashville, TN is home for Tom Lane though he is involved in ministry and music around the world. As a singer, songwriter and guitar player, Tom has been teamed with many worship leaders and artists. He continues to record his own work, lead worship, and writes regularly for various worship publications worldwide.
SEP/OCT 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
Improving Musicianship | Inspiring
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TRACK RECORD
BRENT MiLLigan 20th
Product Review
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Arranging Hymns for Solo Guitar by John
HeLp! I Need SOMeONe How the head of The Beatles’ U.S. record label came to Christ.
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Informative Interviews with prominent leaders in the Worship Community Regular Educational Columns on Musicianship Gear Reviews Record Reviews Song Charts
THE PLATFORM
By Tom Jackson
Homogenization: Good for Milk, Bad for Worship Teams Homogenization can be good. It helps preserve and bring a consistency to things; as a consumer you know exactly what to expect. But for a worship team and a church, homogenization can be the kiss of death.
musicians. They wanted to enter into Christian recording artist on his material. worship! I went to his church service that Sunday Now, there was worship going on that night, and their worship team sounded night, don’t get me wrong. But I believe exactly like the worship team in Seattle.
there is more. I believe there can be a I wanted to walk up and say “how did worship where we enter into the presence you beat me here?” It might as well have A couple of years ago, I was teaching of God and it changes hearts! been the same worship team… but this at a worship event in Seattle. There were The sad thing is so many worship teams worship team was filled with Hispanic over 3,000 worshipers there. The team don’t believe this – or they just don’t know artists who had been raised on Spanish onstage was playing it safe. They played it. They simply follow what everyone else rhythms and melodies in the Catholic the songs correctly. The arrangement of is doing. We listen to Hillsong, Chris church. Instead of expressing that freedom, the songs were played just as they had Tomlin, the great worship teams out there culture, influence, and musical style, they been recorded and published. And the that have recorded and led worship. We were trying to become someone else they correct words were put on the screen as try to duplicate them, because we think had heard. usual. that’s what we’re supposed to do. I was sorely grieved. I saw the potential But, I sensed people wanted to do more than just sing songs with great words on a video screen behind the
I disagree. The next day after that Seattle event, I got on a flight to Phoenix to work with a
to reach out and create something unique and lead people into the presence of God
Continued on page 54
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MINISTRY
By Rick Muchow
Doing Music Right: Love, Look, Lead, Lean, Labor, and Legally too! In the United States, each week approximately 100 million people (out of 314 million) gather to worship in over 300,000 churches. No wonder sound checks can take so long. (Insert big laugh). The fact is, preparing and leading worship for 100 million people each week is a big job, and we who carry this responsibility are accountable to God to do it right! Music is a central part of the worship expression in most churches. Music is a gift from God and a mighty tool to fulfill the Great Commission. Around the world, music is a powerful language that is used to communicate the message of the Gospel to believers and nonbelievers alike. With this in mind, here are 6 tips for doing music right. Love God and Love Each Other - Build Community. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 Loving God is vital to worship. Worship is Faith Expressed. Humans have a tendency to worship the creation rather than their Creator and to love their programs and performances more than people. Church leaders need to be intentional about prioritizing God-centered community. I built a team of more than a thousand volunteers on this theme: More Than Music, We Are a Family. 1 Cor. 14:26 says to “Let all things be done for building up.” Doing it right means programing for the benefit of God and others. Look Around - Build a team by Recruiting.
and talents of the church body and help work of art. Songwriters and Publishers people find their ministry in the church. can and do earn income from their work Most churches don’t have because they like everyone else who goes to work. don’t ask. Doing it right means recruiting Whether infringement is done knowingly or in ignorance, intellectual property (such for the benefit of God and others. as a song) is protected by Copyright laws Lead - Build by Connecting and enforced by the U.S. government. Throughout the bible there is an emphasis Here are 3 great reasons to use music on “THEY worshipped”. Worship at church legally. needs to be participatory. The goal of the 1. It honors God. worship service is connection! An Artist is the fire but a Worship leader lights the fire. 2. It blesses the owners of the music. Our job is to light the fire. To increase 3. It guards the reputation of the bride congregational singing choose songs that of Christ. are rich in biblical theology, presented in CCS has assisted me with copyright a style they can relate to, memorable, and in a key within their vocal range (check out compliance with great success for more The Best Key Finder at www.rickmuchow. than a decade. Doing it right means com). Doing it right means leading for protecting your church for the benefit of God and others. the benefit of God and others. If you are like me and don’t have the Labor - Build for Excellence. expertise or want to take the time to deal “If we are leaders we should do our directly with copyright compliance but best.” Rom 12:8. want to do it right for the glory of God, I Laziness weakens the potential of the highly recommend the services of Christian worship team. “Do you not know that in Copyright Solutions. Let them take care a race all the runners run, but only one of your copyright compliance so you can receives the prize? So run that you may focus on your calling. obtain it.” 1 Cor. 9:24 “ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, Excellence is relative. Doing it right whatever is honorable, whatever is just, means consistently giving your best for the whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, benefit of God and others. whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of Lean - On the power of God. praise, think about these things.” Phil 4:8 Excellence is no substitute for the Holy Spirit’s power in worship. The Bible says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty-you will succeed because of my Spirit, though Rick served as Pastor Of your are few and weak.” Zechariah 4:6. Worship at Saddleback
Jesus said, “I am the Vine and you are the branches apart from me you can do One of the more significant responsibilities nothing.” Col. 4:2 commands us to “be of the worship leader is to build the team. devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it, with Discovering and involving the gifts and an attitude of thanksgiving.” Doing it right talents of the congregation pleases God. means relying on the power of God for the benefit of God and others. “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Rom. Legally - really? Do we need to consider the law when using music at 12:6 church? Absolutely. The worship leader must create Copyright law refers to the right to opportunities for involvement of all the gifts copy. It protects the owner rights to a
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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 band Twitter: @Rickmuchow
Product Review
By Jack Mao
Mackie FreePlay Mackie has managed to pack enough features on board to make the FreePlay appropriate for just about everybody who needs a high quality portable PA. My first impression of FreePlay is to compare it to a boom box. While I’m sure that was part of Mackie’s intended design specs, once you fire up FreePlay and plug in your guitar or microphone the analogy stops there. Yes, you can use the FreePlay as a home or office microphone inputs. There is also an 1/8th inch playback system (you can stream music from Auxiliary input and ¼” monitor out. Each channel any iOS or Android device via Bluetooth) but can also have its own EQ and effect levels. that is just scratching the surface of FreePlay’s Downloading the free FreePlay Connect App capabilities. gives you an integrated four channel mixer, Obviously FreePlay is not designed to replace a which connects via Bluetooth and allows you to traditional PA for midsize or larger venues, but it control levels and EQ individually per channel. will work great for most other indoor or outdoor Priced at $399, it’s really not that expensive sound applications. Worship leaders, singer for what you get. It looks good, sounds great, songwriters, churches, schools, students, as well is highly versatile, and is the kind of product as coffee houses, clubs, and anyone looking for you won’t outgrow anytime soon. It’s a great a high-end alternative to a conventional portable addition for any house of worship or worship PA will find FreePlay a great investment. team, and the perfect take along for any church FreePlay features a full-Range Stereo system or social gathering. I would suggest checking with an 8” Woofer. Its 300 Watt Class D Power out the following links to FreePlay Connect on amplifier sounds great, and in general sounds as good as or better than portable PA’s costing a lot more money (don’t be put off by FreePlay’s boom box styled form factor - simply put, the sound coming out of FreePlay is “Loud and clear”.) Mackie also offers an optional Speaker Pole Mount & Carry Bag.
the App Store and Google Play, as the App features a demo mode that will let you try out the functionality of FreePlay before buying one. FreePlay Connect on the App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mackiefreeplay-connect/id980303512?ls=1&mt=8 FreePlay Connect on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.mackie.freeplayconnect See: http://freeplay.mackie.com/ for more information
FreePlay is designed to be powered by AC. There is also an optional rechargeable Lithium Ion battery pack, which gives you up to ten hours of continuous performance. (You can alternatively power FreePlay by 8 D Cell Batteries) There is an onboard feedback eliminator, and you get 16 Digital reverb & delay effects. Freeplay features two channels, which both feature a Neutrix connector that can accept balanced, unbalanced, or WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2015
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Bruce & Winston’s
GUITARS FOR SALE
1975 Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar
1971 Martin D-35 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar
Classic Black Fender Strat with Maple neck just as Spruce top with rosewood Clapton liked it. 9.5 mint three piece back & sides. with original condition with original Comes hardshell case. Sounds case! $2,950 big and full like a Martin should! $2,750.00
2015 New Riggio Tango Electric Guitar Go ask Ben Gowell from Paul Baloche’s band why he likes his Riggio so much. Boutique guitar from a master builder. Plays great, looks great, sounds great! Includes tweed hardcase. $2,475.00
(buyer is responsible for shipping and insurance expenses on any guitar purchases)
If you have a vintage guitar that you’d like to sell please contact me, maybe we can work something out... Interested? Contact Bruce Adolph ~ 253.445.1973 / bruceadolph@mac.com
Used Tacoma M2 Mandolin They aren’t making these anymore so this is a find! Sounds great with solid spruce top. Comes with original hardshell case. An ease to play! $495.00
2007 Fender Stratocaster Deluxe Good looking “Ice Tea Burst” with all of the upscale appointments the Deluxes offer in pick-ups, tuners and abalone fret markers. Includes original hardshell case. $1,250.00
1980’s Guild D25 12 String Acoustic Guitar Beautiful 12 string Guild. Comes with original hardshell case. Top shows some pulling due to time. Action is really good on this one - rich tone too! $1,095.00
1980’s Sigma DR2 Acoustic Guitar
If you call on the phone, ask for Bruce… because Winston is one tough negotiator
Vintage Sigma. CF Martin’s own knock off of itself. Made in Korea. Action is low and this guitar plays and sounds good. Quite a catch for the price. No case but we do sell gig bags if you need one. $425.00
Ministry + Artistry = Profitability? Creating your MAP™ By Scott A. Shuford
Best Practices for Designing Your eBook book. How can you turn that idea into they want. Research and flesh out good As faith-based marketers with a passion a worship series? ideas. Find out what is wanted by for the worship world for the last 14 years worshippers. Find out very specifically • Make The Download Process Simple. here at FrontGate, we’re always seeking what they are interested in, and build to engage more Christians with our clients’ Downloading the eBook should be on that. web sites, email newsletters, social media easy for the end user, but collect the pages, and so on, just as you are always • Solve a problem. Address a fear. Satisfy important data you need. You want seeking to engage more worshippers with to receive value from the person who a curiosity. Ask your core worship your music. is downloading, such as an email audience what issues and obstacles address or a LIKE on your Facebook they are facing, and seek to solve one As you seek to increase your fans’ depth page in return for providing them with or more of them. Start by posing a of experience in worship, one of the most your valuable eBook. A one or two tantalizing question that the eBook will effective ways to grow your base via step process that collects an email or answer. your Christian email list or social media requires a social “like” is best. You can following, and ultimately to increase the • Utilize a very short introduction or provide the download via the thank number of visitors and page views on your none at all. Get right to your material, you page after they submit their email/ website is to offer a free eBook to the right and keep the attention of your reader. like, or better yet, you can email them people, the target audience you would Stay away from lengthy wording in as the first email in your drip marketing like to engage. your chapter titles, paragraphs, and campaign. Too many clicks or too complicated jargon unless absolutely eBooks expand your opportunity to many fields to fill out will have readers necessary. connect with people. As Worship walking away from your offer. Leaders, we tend to only think about • For layout, think comfortable. Plain, songs and the worship experience, but white space is good. Add generous what about worship instruction? Shouldn’t margins to make the layout pleasing Have more questions about creating or we be helping worshippers to worship to the eye. The reader is there for the using an e-Book to build your following “better?” content not the layout, so don’t distract in the Christian audience? We can help. them. Streamlining these items will help Reach out to us to help design your eBook By providing something of very real as part of our Lead Generation campaign focus the audience in on the material. value designed to appeal specifically to your target person, you will secure email • Imagery is nice; keep it simple, unless services. addresses and social followers with whom it is part of the narrative like diagrams, you can continue to interact, either through charts, etc. Remember that in some Scott has led classes for us a drip marketing email campaign (a series cases, more elaborate images may not at CMS and NAMM as well of pre-planned emails) or through your transfer well to older e-readers that are as teaching on marketing for regular weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly black and white. the Gospel Music Association, email newsletter, or through your social pages like Facebook. If you aren’t • Length is dependent on topic(s). Aim Christian Leadership Alliance, for 2,000 to 3,000 words. You can and the Evangelical Christian communicating at least monthly via email always break it up and have a series of Publishers Association. Scott is the Chief and daily via social, you should be. e-books on the same general worship Engagement Officer at FrontGate which The road of development from first word topic. Making a two-part series is provides marketing strategy, online promotions, to finished eBook is often paved with also a smart way to keep continual public relations, and social media marketing confusion and questions. Here are some engagement with your reader. For to reach the Christian audience. Their site at best practices to build a successful e-Book example, a series for Christian parents www.FrontGateMedia.com was awarded for today’s worshipper: may include books on toddler, school the “Best Marketing Website” and “Best age, and teen parenting tips, rather Faith-based Website” in the 2014 Internet • Don’t give your readers what you think than lumping them into one lengthy Advertising Competition. Get more marketing they need. Give them what they know and social media tips at FrontGate’s blog.
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SEP/OCT 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
THE cymbal choice for churches everywhere! Designed to be quieter and darker for contemporary worship.
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WORSHIP TEAM TRAINING
by Branon Dempsey
Is It Live or Memorex?
Don’t Copy A New Song; Sing a New Song to the Lord If I were to speak to you in French, but I merely copied phrases and key words just to impress you, would my speech be authentic? Would I be understood with clear relevance, and would I fully understand what I was saying? Even more so, if I found myself in an impromptu Nothing can take the place of live music. conversation with a real person from For that matter, nothing can take the place France, would I need to first consult with of live worship. We absorb ourselves my language audio books? How could I in listening to worship recordings, new keep up with the conversation? I would be albums, and songs. However, there is faking it. one critical factor that we may leave out: Ask any professional live or recording creativity. musician, and they will tell you that they To copy the mp3, or not to copy the do use recorded music as a guide, but mp3? It’s not about learning to sound like not as a god. Learning the mechanics of someone else, it’s about learning how music and your instrument multiplies an to be yourself. There are no shortcuts to enormous wealth of creative resources. creativity. Great art requires great work, It’s been this way through history. From and that creates a great work of art. This classical composers to jazz musicians and goes way beyond the prison of the mp3. rock artists who learned music and spent I know in the church we hear, “You can’t time studying their craft. There was no do it this way! It’s not like the mp3!!” But YouTube, guitar.com, or Planning Center has God really called you to sound like Online. All they had was a playback the mp3, or to sound like you? device, their instrument, and the ability to The real life of creativity is what you write out what they heard to create charts. do with the music. It’s not primarily what They learned how to be creative by what you hear, but how you hear it: through they had, and their music stood the test the sound, by the parts, in the dynamics, of time. Is it live or is it Memorex? That used to be the saying back in the day. Having music happen live was always more prized than the recording. The same is true today. We like to hear it, feel it, and be in the moment.
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behind the vocals, and between the notes. If you listen rightly, the clues are right in front of you to be creative. But if you are just hurrying through the notes just to copy, then you are demagnetizing your creativity.
How can you be creative and do this with your band? Listen to lots of music and learn how to read charts. Like a symphony, listen to what the parts are doing and how they are played. Listen to what is not happening, versus what is happening.
Music development and creativity takes time. You can copy a few licks to get you through, but if you were handed a simple chart of music, how could you interpret it into a creative work of art?
Here’s one example: Take a song you know well. Switch up the drum groove a bit. Come up with a bass riff that you can use under the verses. Dial down the vocal harmonies to just one single voice and one
SEP/OCT 2015 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
harmony. Have your pianist/keyboardist play in a different register and maybe just with one hand only. You can stop right here. This should give you enough ideas to multiply your creativity. But the number one thing you must first create is time. You can’t copy creativity, but you can learn to be creative. Learn to be creative as you learn to sing a new song to the Lord. #Psalm96:1 Learn more about Worship Team Training at: www.worshipteamtraining.com Worship Team Training - 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 the Expert Panel for Shure Microphones; Contributor for 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. Copyright 2015 Branon Dempsey | Worship Team Training® | Administered by For His Music. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. www.worshipteamtraining.com
let your message be heard
NAMM Is Looking for a Few Good House of Worship Buyers Are you the buyer or purchasing decision-maker for a house of worship seeking pro audio products to take your services to the next level?
At The NAMM Show, you’ll find all the products you need to create a production worthy of your message. You also can attend TEC Tracks, offering education for sound, studio and stage and join a community of like-minded professionals at networking events, daily performances and nighttime concerts. Register for your badge starting September 30 at namm.org/thenammshow/2016/attend and use code WORSHIP to save $50 on your badge fee.
JANUARY 21–24, 2016 • ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER • ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA • NAMM.ORG/THENAMMSHOW
Product Review
By Bruce Adolph
Casio CGP-700 Digital 88 Key Piano I have reviewed a lot of keyboards over the years. The last time I reviewed a Casio keyboard I liked it a lot. This time when the shipping box arrived I went to pick it up, knowing the Casio keyboards are surprisingly light (a fact that impressed me). But this box was more square shaped than a normal keyboard box and it was quite a bit heavier than normal. Whoa, what is going on here? Then I remembered that not only is this Casio CGP-700 keyboard still just about 25 pounds like I would expect, but the shipping box also includes the nice wood stand that has the bass speakers built into it. Ah, that explains why grand for you (over 24 microphones alone this box weighs around 72 pounds. on the grand). When I played though Building the stand part is pretty simple the piano bank of sounds the dynamics (nothing like IKEA furniture here) and even were spot on. I liked what I heard from after it is assembled you can easily pick the lows to mids, and through the highs as up the keyboard (which does attach to well… from the grand, to modern pianos, the stand) and move it around easily with to rock and dance piano sounds. The two people. patches even include damper resonance What those sub woofers built into the simulation. stand give you though is quite a rewarding Then you have full banks of electric experience. It adds depth and bottom end keyboards, basses, strings, horns – you to your patches… especially prevalent on name it – 550 instrument tones. For the piano, drums, and bass sounds. The practice there are 200 ensemble rhythms 40-watt amp delivers the power, and and, of course, a metronome. The CGPthere are actually 6 speakers in the system 700 is armed with powerful effects to between onboard in the keyboard and enhance your sound, and all of this activity built in the wood stand. If you prefer you flows through a 5.3” color touchscreen (it can send the signal out to the PA system will remind you of your smartphone). in your church or other venue you are Navigating this board is simple and playing this keyboard in. quick. Coupled with the good sounding Speaking of touch, the “ol’ 88’s” feel speakers is the very well sampled piano sounds themselves. I go way back with great on your fingertips. This CGP-700 Casio and they had one of the earliest comes equipped with Casio’s popular Triconsumer sampler keyboards (the SK-1 – sensor Scaled Hammer-action II keyboard, a miniature electronic synthesizer) on the which provides you with the touch and market back in 1985. For this CGP-700 response of a real concert grand piano. Casio painstakingly sampled a nine-foot How so? The lower keys have a heavier feel, while the higher keys have a lighter
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feel, making the CGP-700 suitable for both rock and classical pianists. The keys are naturally textured too. I personally like the feel of them; this Casio keyboard is agile and fast to play. Some extra features to make your life simpler… you can shift to a different key with the CGP-700’s Transpose buttons (like putting a guitar capo on your piano). Casio offers an optional SP-33 pedal system so you can get soft, sostenuto, and damper pedals just like an acoustic piano would have, and it has a split keyboard teacher mode for lessons. One last feature to mention… if you ever need to get back to basics in a hurry, there’s a handy Grand Piano button for instant access (I can see how this would come into play during a Sunday morning service). This Casio CGP-700 is quite a portable digital piano for the money without the nice matching wooden stand and added power of the sub speakers – together as a package however - it is the best deal I know of. Retail $1,099.00 Street $799.00 Price includes the SP-3 sustain pedal and AC adaptor. www.casio.com
A Few Moments With…
John Nicol
Practice-By-Numbers:
Setting Clear Preparation Expectations for Your Worship Team In the context of learning a worship song, Over the course of a couple years, things vastly improved. But I still felt like the tune isn’t even on my radar yet. Do you hate that question during they weren’t fully getting it. I realized we 2. Conscious Incompetence: I know that rehearsal as much as I do? talked about being prepared, but I had I don’t know. You planned the setlist three weeks ago. never really explained what “prepared” I see a new song on the schedule, and I You uploaded the charts and mp3s to the looks like. realize I need to learn it. worship planning app. You wrote out the To a few volunteer worship musicians, band and vocal notes outlining who plays 3. Conscious Competence: I know it, “prepared” means having their music what where. And you’ve said time and down and maybe even memorized. To but it requires conscious involvement to again, “Show up prepared for rehearsal.” most, it means they’ve pounded through execute it. And then at rehearsal someone asks: the chords of the song fifteen minutes I’ve “learned” the new song, but I’m still “How does this song go again?” before leaving for rehearsal. focused on the mechanics of it. It’s not yet He might not ask it audibly, but he The first step of this was an easy fix: be “natural.” doesn’t need to. The look in his eyes as he clear about what they are to practice. 4. Unconscious Competence: I know it, fright-reads the chart tells it all: he didn’t I made sure I stopped assuming that the and I’m not even thinking about it as I do practice. electric guitarist would learn the opening it. One of the most important leadership riff to a song or the keyboard player would It’s “second nature.” This level of lessons I learned a while back is this: lay down a B3 pad during the bridge on competency explains how I can be culture trumps everything. The culture that same song. Now I spell out those simultaneously singing, playing guitar, of your worship team determines their details in the rehearsal notes for each song and leading the congregation all the behavior. I realized I had a culture that (which are accessible by everyone in our while thinking about where I’m going to didn’t value preparation. So, I set out to online worship planning app). eat lunch after the last service. (Oh come change it. The second step has been tougher. How on, admit it, you know you’ve had those Changing The Culture of Preparation do I communicate the extent to which they moments in worship.) Rather than use these tongue-twister terms I wrote a “Preparation Policy” that spelled should practice? I can’t just dictate a time out the team’s expectation for preparation. frame: “Practice at least one hour before I decide to make the concept easier to you come to rehearsal.” For some of our convey by using a number scale. I had private conversations with repeat experienced musicians, they can be ready offenders. to go in 30 minutes. For others, it could Practice by Numbers Take a look at the chart below: I gave my team members tip sheets and take them that long to learn one song. sent them article links about effective What Prepared Looks Like On the continuum, 1 and 2 are about practice. Since musicians are all different, I needed Learning. Learning moves us from I worked at modeling preparedness and something that would spell out “what” I conscious incompetence to conscious competence. tried to run great rehearsals. expected without dictating the “how.” How does this song go again?
I even changed our language. I made sure I didn’t call our rehearsals “practice.” Practice is about each of us learning our individual parts. Rehearsal is about coming together to form the “whole.” Practice is personal, rehearsal is relational became our mantra.
3 and 4 are about Knowing. At 3, I can play the song, but I’m still very dependent on the music. Around 4, I’m moving into knowing the song and being less dependent on the music. In fact, memorization can take place here before we get to a 5 on the practice scale. I can have something memorized, but still think
I turned to the Four Stages of Competence. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a fairly simple explanation of how we move from complete incompetence to mastery in anything. Here are the four stages: 1. Unconscious Incompetence: I don’t know what I don’t know.
Continued on page 54
0
1
2
3
4
5
Unconcious Incompetence
Conscious Competence
Conscious Competence
Unconscious Competence
(Unknown)
Learning
Knowing
Mastery
WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2015
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Editor’s Corner - Continued from page 7
but it just wasn’t feeling right. I spoke with Judy and she gave me more good advice, “Just be yourself Bruce.” OK, I can do that. In the morning I woke early and decided to take a light-hearted approach that felt more comfortable to me. Once we got there and people starting filing in I got a little bit nervous again; remember I am not a speaker. But then Mitch did such a good job with his guitar and voice leading the small group of 25 or so folks into worship that once I saw them engaging and entering the presence of the Lord I wasn’t concerned anymore. No matter how bad I did, at least our little congregation of believers from various parts of the country had met with the Lord already. It was a success now, even if I stumbled. I don’t have space here to describe the whole scene, but God was faithful, and in my “not-so-deep” manner I do believe that the Lord gave me a few things to say that hopefully ministered to our gathered folks. In His Grace and Truth… Bruce & Judy
The Platform - Continued from page 43
in a unique way. But instead it had become homogenized. If you believe the providence of God has placed us in certain places and cities for a reason, then your worship teams should not become homogenized. We’re not the Gap, we’re not McDonalds. We should be more like a niche store that attracts the people in our neighborhoods. If we’re going to have an effect on our world and truly lead people into worship, then we need to allow ourselves to use the uniqueness God has given us. Tom Jackson world renowned Live Music Producer, helps musicians and worship teams develop songs into “unique worship moments.” His Live Music Methods help create freedom in the room so your congregation can express their worship more freely and passionately than ever before! Tom has worked with nearly every genre from rock to pop to Christian Gospel, impacting major artists and worship leaders such as Jars of Clay, Casting Crowns, NewSong, Sidewalk Prophets, Chris Tomlin, Francesca Battistelli, Todd Agnew, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Parachute Band, The Martins, plus a multitude of independent artists. www.OnstageSuccess.com
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Drummer’s Perspective Continued from page 10
So for these, and all songs really, the key is precision and nuance! Technically, none of these grooves are difficult to figure out to get the basics. Where every musician struggles is in the details. Never approach your music with a lazy attitude. When we hear songs, we like the lyrics, melody, and chord progression to be played precisely so the people can relate to the music as they have heard it before. Drummers and all of the other musicians should try to recreate the same feeling for each song they perform. This is done correctly by pursuing the skill of copying the smallest detail of the songs. Every musician can learn so much by doing this. I know it’s also important to work on your own creativity as a player. You can do that too. But don’t make it your only approach to playing music. That’s why I’m encouraging you to start with these top 25 songs. Get into the details of each song and watch what happens to your playing. It’s going to give you an edge and confidence in your playing that you could be missing. You might feel like you’ve heard this all before. Maybe… maybe not! Wherever you are in your drumming journey make sure you have the ability to “parrot” or copy other players. Then you can work on your own interpretation during other times of private practice or even rehearsing with your band. I know I’ve discussed these issues a bit in other articles. But today I’m challenging you with these top 25 songs so you can focus on them, and play with more confidence. Now… get to work! I’m doing it too. Blessings, Your worship drum squad leader, Captain Carl 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.
A Few Moments With... Continued from page 53
about the mechanics of it—that is, I need to consciously recall the lyrics or the chord progression. 5 is Mastery. I’ve memorized the song AND it just flows like Free Bird from a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover band. It’s where muscle memory takes over; the song is second nature. So, with this learning continuum, I can now more specifically spell out the extent I want my team to learn songs: “Please have each of these songs to a 3 by rehearsal. By Sunday, I’d like all of them to be at a 4 or 5.” Diminishing Returns A word of caution here: don’t expect 5s for every song every week. As a team of volunteer musicians who are playing different songs every week, pushing for mastery is unrealistic in most cases. In fact, it might be counterproductive. The law of diminishing returns is at work here: the difference between a 4 and 5 is probably imperceptible to most people in our congregations. But the effort that it takes to move a song from “knowing” to “mastery” is significant. For most of your team members, they will reach mastery after preparing for and playing a song many times over several Sundays. So it’s important that we rotate only a limited number of songs in our worship sets to help our team to truly know the songs. (And the repetition has an added bonus of helping the congregation to sing the songs from the heart and not just the screen.) Making It Your Own To make this easier for you to use with your team, I’ve made a Practice Numbers chart available for you. I also created a video that explains the concept that you can use with your team members. To get these resources, go to worshipteamcoach.com/prep5 If this works for you, great. If you would rather take the principles and develop your own guidelines, that’s great too. I just want to help you transform the culture of preparation on your team for the better.
Jon Nicol is a worship pastor and the founder of WorshipTeamCoach.com, a site designed to help worship leaders build strong teams that lead great worship. He lives and works in the Mansfield, Ohio area with his wife, Shannon, and their four kids.
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