Band, Leaders, Players, Worship Leading, WTTU Special Public Post
Jail Breaking Your Practice (Show #113)
#ThePracticeOfPractice
3 min read | 35m Video
Jail Break Your Practice
As a band or worship leader, are you bored with the sound of your sound? Are you tired of going from Sunday to Sunday, yet you feel like things are not moving anywhere? It’s time to change it up and it begins with how you practice.What are the three easy steps to break free from the practice prison? The big wall that everyone hits is complacency, but how do you move around it? We try a few new tricks, it may stick for a week or two. We easily get bored and things begin to fall off. Next, we find ourselves back to the place we started.
How do you keep things fresh from week to week without circling back to the rut? Proverbs 16:3 says; “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
3-7-17 WATCH SHOW
1. Make a plan to develop skill
It starts with God working in you and ends with His plans. Set out to make a commitment to yourself and to your band. Pray to the Lord to help you uphold your responsibilities as he guides you. Establish easy and measurable goals.
Ask yourself these questions about your band and formulate them into a plan: Can each person in the band devote themselves to practice at least 10 minutes per day?
Can each member play their own part well among others – in the mix? Can each member implement these changes during the time of worship, and not just react like a deer-in-the-headlights, and revert back to the same playing habits? Lastly, from the questions you just read, how can you apply them to your own practice time at home?
2. Develop your skill, but don’t just practice the song.
It’s one thing to know the song, it’s another to know your music. Do you really know all the notes/lyrics, all the dynamics, all the sequences, the chord changes, the sectional parts and bonus, how the transitional parts? You may amaze yourself with your practice time, if you actually zero in on the points above. Rather than just going through the motions, look at the songs you practice as mini exercises.
Find the tough spots and play/practice them in a loop. Play the piece of music using different dynamic levels: soft, medium and loud. Try playing at different tempos: slow and fast. Plus, learn to keep time by playing to a click. Stretch yourself and try to play the song with fewer notes and chords; learn to trim down the music and make it simple. Take the parts you learned at home and bring them to rehearsal.
It’s easy to play/sing your part to yourself, but how do you play in reflection to your band? You need to look at your band as being one body, but how? Each of you are members to each other. It’s not so much about playing/singing your part, if your not in sync with everyone else.
Your individual part is a make-up of the whole. A house is not built by one brick, but by many to make the home complete. As you work with your team, make note of how each person is playing. Think about the overall volume in the room. Listen to your volume in comparison to others. Begin implementing the skills you practiced at home: dynamics, simplifying notes and keeping good time.
Be a good steward of your tone, talent and temper. Always be cognizant (self-aware) of your sound, listen to yourself and make the necessary adjustments. Never underestimate the power of enhancing your talent by solid practicing, as well as spending time in creativity.
Most importantly, be a good team player. Check your ego at the door and dig ditches with everyone else. Have fun together as a team both in work and in play.
“You can’t rehearse, what you don’t practice.” @BranonDempsey
3. Implement your skill
Don’t just stand there, do something! Just make sure it’s not playing through the same-ole-same-ole music and making the same mistakes.
It’s funny, but we are creatures of habit. We learn something new, yet walk away from the mirror forgetting what we learn (James 1.23). Implementation of the team is one of the toughest hurdles for the band, but it doesn’t have to be. What can you do? Write reminder notes on your music.
Make small snippet recordings on your phone. Video yourself playing. These are small no-brainer things you can do to help you remember. Look at these notes and files during the week to keep them fresh in your memory.
When the moment comes to lead worship with the band, you have an arsenal of tools to pull from.
4. Play out with confidence.
Easier said than done, but the proof is in the walking. As in Matt. 14.29, if you have determination to get out of the boat, then you will have the faith to step out on water. But if you want to walk on water, you must keep your eyes on Jesus. During the music, make it your prayer to honor the Lord with your music, and to give you the wisdom to show what you know.Don’t worry about making a mistake. God would rather you be focused in worship, instead of you missing the moment. With good practice and preparation, you do yourself a favor to kick those insecurities.
Recap
There you have it, a few more steps and a few more tools to jail break your practice.The more you step out on the wisdom of God, the further you step away from the fear of man. As the Body, join in the congregation and your team to give Him praise.
Glorify the Lord with your skill and give thanks to the One who freely blessed you with the talent.
@BranonDempsey @worshiptt
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