"worship players needs to be like a mirror, reflecting peoples gazes up to God"amen brother. My question is how do we reflect UP to God if our heads are buried in our music charts? The answers is we can't so we need a way to internalize a lot of music into our frazzled brains in about a week's time.
That's a tall order but if you follow my 3 step plan you will become rich in song memorization and be the proud owner of a complete set of Ginsu knives.
- Guitarists and bassists: Make your own charts. This one act will glue most of the song in your head. The key is to have the least amount of ink on the page. I often end up with a couple of versions of the chart, the early ones have quite a bit of ink on them, later charts get even simpler.
- Break down the song into sections. Most worship songs rely on repetition. Just remember how to play the verse, chorus and the bridge and combine them together during the service. Breaking out of the chart is not nearly as scary as it seems all you really need are the mileposts.
- A typical chart would include the following sections:
- Intro, Verse1, Chorus 1, Verse 2, Chorus2, Bridge, Chorus3 -5, Outtro
- If the song requires switching patches note this on the chart as well.
- Practice the song to the CD using your simple chart at home and in rehearsal.
4 comments:
good thoughts carl. so wish you could have made the workshop, but i kind of emphasized the same things too. sounds like we're on the same wavelength.
I gotta say that I totally agree with this now than ever. Last week I played without music in front of me for the first time and I was totally freed up from the usual "stare at the chart and play" stance. It allows you to look around and connect with the people around you as if saying "I'm right here worshiping God WITH you." I think that is why we love rock concerts so much. We want to feel some connection with the band. My wife still talks about the time Bono touched her hand when we saw U2 play a couple of years ago. She felt part of the experience because he was looking to connect with his audience. But let me tell you, Bono wouldn't have been able to do that if he had his head stuck in a music stand. Although memorizing is a tall order, I think it's becoming a must. Just imagine how much better you will be if everything is memorized and think of the awesome encounters you can make when you truly make connections with others in your congregation. The best thing about it is that it frees you up to truly connect with God and worship.
Agreed on the "right there with you" idea. That is a great concept and a great gift to share with the congregation and with our creator.
congrats on playing without the music! actions speak louder than blogs!
I'll be watching you in two weeks. You can totally do it. You already rock out even when you have music there. It would be awesome.
Ben
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