STOMP

Last night at rehearsal was the first time I had to put my patches to the live performance test. Here's a short list of what worked/not worked:

Worked:

1. I arrange my patches left to right (A-D) clean progressing to dirty.

• A = clean sound with a bit o delay
• B = Bluesy sound that is good for plucky parts and rhythm, some distortion. breaks up a bit when I hit it hard. This is my most versatile patch and it lives on the B switch for any bank. It's the run to home to mama patch.
• C = Power Chord patch. Over-driven, compressed and no delay. I like to have this serve a percussive role in the mix.
• D = lead patch. overdrive and delay. I have a chorus element ready to go but usually have it "off" by default. If I want it I can hit the mod switch.

2. I also spent a time adjusting the patches so their volume level is consistent. The trick here is to identify the quietest patch (a variation of StreetsHaveNoName in my case). I crank the volume on this to 10 and then turn down my other patches to match the volume level. Now I can switch patches with confidence and not worry about adjusting my guitar's volume.

The less I can think about tech the better when playing.

Did Not Work

1. I left the patch list at home so I had to 'remember' what I'd come up with on the spot. doh!
2. A couple of patches were way too loud despite my attempts to sync. I believe what happened is that they were consistent levels on my computer but I failed to sync the XT.
3. I need to ensure that a patch I need for a song is not stuck on another bank set. I had one patch on 30D that I needed on my 31 series.
   

• Advice = Copy the patches to multiple banks so you can have a bank for each song. Don't worry about 'losing' some great patch. Save it on your computer and some reserve bank.
  

Double Trouble

As I was practicing my parts last night for a worship band rehearsal I wrestled with the dilemma we guitar players face as we need to figure out ways to sound like we are playing 3-4 guitar parts simultaneously. Case in point is a rocking tune called 'Happy Day' by Tim Hughes.

Originally uploaded by Mr. TRON

There is a typical riff part that works of a Csus chord on the 5th fret and the second and third guitars are playing driving power chords. What to do? Do we give up the identifiable riff for the weighty chords that will give the song body and punch? I face this all the time and truth be told I don't have a simple blog answer.

Here are some mitigating factors:

1. If there is an acoustic guitar player, ask them if they would be willing to join you as a partner in electric crime for the multi-guitar songs. (this can be tough to switch guitars mid-service, gives the FOH people headaches, and makes managing patches more difficult)
2. The synth player may also turn out to be a closet rhythm guitarist. I don't mean strap on a guitar I mean fire up some patches that can mimic either the riff part or the power chords. I'm surprised at how well this can work.
3. If 1 and 2 are not options I would then go for the divide and conquer strategy of playing the riff in instrumental sections of the song and going to the power chords in the choruses.
   
4. Talk to your worship leader and start a guitar army with another player. multiple electric guitars on stage is a scary thought but I'm quite sure that God can handle it. The challenge at that point is to ensure that you and the second electric player:
   
1. Play your parts together without the band. (Avoid playing over each other, BLEND)
2. Find patches that go well together. Example the riff patch could utilize some chorus and delay and have more high-end to the sound - while the second power chord part is more straight up overdrive without much reverb, or other effects. The sum of these parts is definitely greater than the whole if you don't let the effects gum it up.

Off the Charts

Christmas Music Stand 2005
Originally uploaded by joy-z

In what would Jesus Play Ben commented that:

"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.

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
1. 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.
  
3. Practice the song to the CD using your simple chart at home and in rehearsal.
   

This is what works for me. When my act is really together I simply make a one page list of songs using 64 point bold type that I set on the floor by my effects pedals. I usually write in the patch name that I am using as well on each song.