Band, Bass, Drums, Guitar, Leaders, Piano, Players, Singers, Vocal Team, Worship Leading

How To Hack Your Band (Show #105)

#WTTU University, Worship Team Training University, http://www.worshipteamtraining.com/university/ WorshipTeamTrainingUniversity, Worship, WorshipLeader, WorshipTeam, Vocals, Band, Guitar, Piano, WorshipTeamTraining, Workshops, @worshiptt, BranonDempsey, @WorshipTT, #Worship #WorshipTeams, #WorshipLeaders#WhatABeautifulName (Video Below)

3.5 min read

Bring Out The Best!

As a worship leader, musician and singer, you want the best from your band. But how do you get it? It’s easy for us to think that we are “ok,” but deep down you know things are not ok. So what are some ways you can hack the greatest sound, the greatest playing and the greatest leadership of your team?

Think about it this way: your team is a unit of talent. They are not just independent individuals. Your band is a unified front of musical dependance for the church. They better you lead your band and make music, the better you lead your church in prayer and worship. 


WATCH SHOW #105!



Song Tutorial of the Week: “What A Beautiful Name”
“What A Beautiful Name” written by Ben Fielding Brooke Ligertwood. Copyright 2016 Hillsong Music Publishing / Capitol CMG Publishing.

Get the Full Track of Music Loops and Stems on GuideTracks.co



 #WTTU University, Worship Team Training University, http://www.worshipteamtraining.com/university/ WorshipTeamTrainingUniversity, Worship, WorshipLeader, WorshipTeam, Vocals, Band, Guitar, Piano, WorshipTeamTraining, Workshops, @worshiptt, BranonDempsey, @WorshipTT, #Worship #WorshipTeams, #WorshipLeaders

The Essentials…

From using our featured song above, I will break down the parts to demonstrate what your band should be doing.

There are countless concerns to address for each section of the band, however, I am going to cover only a few essentials. But these essentials, as taught in our Workshops and University studies, have a high capacity to make your band sound more effective. [tweetthis]Developing your band begins by developing your people.[/tweetthis]  


Timing the Drums

This is the heartbeat of your band. When the pulse get’s out of time it can cause palpitations to the rest of the group.

Ask your drummer, what they think their role is. I dare you. Most drummers may say: to play a good beat, have a great style, or lay down a rhythm for people to follow. All of these answers are necessary, but they are not the primary. If you ask any Nashville, LA or NYC studio professional musician, they will tell you that the number one job of a drummer is: keeping time. As a drummer, develop good pulse by working with a metronome/click. Learn to keep tempo, not tricks.

The band needs to lock-in, but they can’t if your timing is not secure. The best drummers I know, Zoro the Drummer, will tell you that learning to keep time is also learning to develop discipline. The worst thing a drummer can do is run fast like a train, or fall off the tracks causing a wreck for the band.

Once you develop good timing, which is your Genesis, then you can focus on groove, which is your New Testament. “and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness” 2Pet. 1.6  


Interlock the Bass

One of the most fundamental groove instruments is the bassist. They not only provide the anchor and tone of the band, but did you know that they actually help keep time as well? In fact, it may surprise you that the bass player assists the drummer in keeping the pulse alive.

It’s not just the bass and kick drum, locking in together as one. It’s the bass player listening to what the drummer is doing, feeling the open notes, counting the rests and pulsing their notes just enough to nudge the drummer along. Good bass players, like drummers, spend more time listening than playing.

They can sense the nano-second time it takes between what is played on the downbeat of one and the last beat of that same measure. In fact, the are thinking about 1-2 steps ahead of the drummer. They patiently anticipate what is to come, so they are ready to make the switch. They are calm and consistent.

Good bass players think about their tone in reference to others. They try to shape their eq to match the sound of the band. While groove and baselines are important, they know that they must play conservatively.

Ask your bassists, how much time do they spend listening to the band. Watch them during rehearsal to see how much they are paying attention to the groove. Are they patient, are they tone focused, are they staying out of the way? “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor 3.11  

Soundscape the Piano

One of the most talented individuals of the team is your pianist. Not only do they know how to read music, but they understand all the components of music: melody, harmony and rhythm. The pianist provides color, phrasing and space to the music.

It’s not often that you find pianist that know both: how to read and how to play by ear. When you do, or when you get this musician developed in this area, you have a gold-mine of treasure. Learning to play by ear and chart, can help simplify and bring unity to the band. In this role, the pianist’s job is to not play all three parts: melody, harmony and rhythm. Rather, it is to support all three parts.

If you have a good drummer and bassist, they are already covering the rhythmic parts. If you have a good guitarist, they are supplying the harmony. When you have a great vocalist, they are employing the melody.

The pianist’s job is to chordally and rhythmically provide foundation to the bassist and drummer. Each of these three components listen to each other. In a contemporary band, the pianist needs to focus on just the fundamentals – like the drummer and bassist as noted above.

No melodic runs, glisses, fills or passing accidentals, just focused notes, chords and phrasing. This is not to deny the talents of the pianist, but to help them better unify the band.

“Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory…esteem others better than themselves.” Phil 2.3  


Overlay the Guitars

The guitarist is one of the most complex and dexterous players of the group. They provide rhythm, tone and sparkle to the band. Great guitar players focus on two things: listening and tone. Knowing where to create space, when to fill or not to fill the musical holes is their job.

Their instruments, like others, need to be in perfect tune and precision. Changing the strings often, keeping their fretboards and electronics clean and staying in tune. If one string is out, if there is a buzz, or if their sound is muddy or tinny, it will disrupt the sound among the bass and piano. Many guitar players (Rhythm players) struggle in the area of strumming or trying to develop new strumming patterns. I say that your strumming patterns are not as important as you are keeping time with the drummer.

If your strumming does not compliment what is being heard by the hi-hat and snare drum, it will sound cluttered and disjointed. Here’s one thing I recommend: develop some practice time solely between the drummer and the guitarist. Just one-to-one.

Have the drummer play to the click, using a simple rock/pop steady pattern: 1 on the kick; 2 & 4 on the snare, with 8th notes on the hi-hat. Let your guitarist play along, but have them focus on the timing of the drummer. Lock into the pattern being played on the hi-hat – listen to what is going on inside the upbeats and downbeats.

Follow the accents on the snare drum, and pulse the overall phrasing to the kick drum. If your drummer and guitarist are playing it right, it should sound simple and together – as in one unit.  


Navigate the Vocals

Your vocalist is the leading sound of the team. There are quite a number of concerns and challenges for vocalists.

However, they provide the overall navigation, melody and focus to the music. If there are inconsistencies, it can make the band sound half-empty. The upshot for vocalists is to provide confident, calm and consistent melodic and lyrical direction. The top job of the singer is to maintain the following: memorization, knowing the melody, controlling the voice, good microphone technique and engaging presence.

Memorization is huge as it will not hinder your vocal leaders in worship. Use the confidence monitor or music stand as a guide, not a god. People want to see and hear your voices out – not into the music.

Knowing the melody and controlling the voice is key for the church to participate. If you don’t know the melody, neither will they. Good vocal control is not under-singing or over-singing. Vocalists need to develop what is called a “mix” – using a combination of  chest voice and head voice. It’s not using too much air, but just the right amount of air – the same as you would speaking.

Microphone technique is critical. #1 Listen to the guidance of your sound engineer. Let them help you. Do not eat the mike, nor hold it down to your stomach. The engineer and church, will not be able to catch the clarity of the voice, if you are not singing into the mike in the correct way.

We can go over this section in a whole other article. “I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” Ps 104.33

“The number one job of your worship band, is to help your church worship.” @BranonDempsey

 

Recap

We cover these technical areas in our WeekendWorkhops, as well as in our new WTT University content training. My hope is that you can take some, if not all of these ideas to explore with your team. At your rehearsal, watch your team. Take note of what is happening first. Align what is going on in your team in comparing it to the list above + your own notes. On the next rehearsal, speak with your band about your observations.

From what you’ve learned, encourage them to try your new insights. Remember, it’s not so much about making music, but making good music that brings forth great prayers, praise and worship from the people to our Glorious God! Sing to the LORD with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp (NIV). Sing out your thanks to the LORD; sing praises to our God with a harp. (NLT) Ps 147.7

@BranonDempsey @worshiptt

  Worship Team Training Workshops @worshiptt Branon Dempsey http://www.worshipteamtraining.com/workshops/
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