Building A Worship Team - Part 4

Okay -
...We're in tight with our Senior Pastor and have a solid relationship as well as a clear understanding of worship and the vision.
...We've outlined, CLEARLY, the expectations for our worship team so as to avoid any prima-dona syndromes.
...And we've taken a hard look at who and what we have to work with and provided some resources for them to become skilled at their instrument.

Whatever you do, don't let anyone tell you that you don't need to pray before your rehearsals. And don't be afraid to have a brief devotional along with it. Your team needs to not only sound good and blend together, they have to be bound together in Him and with Him. Otherwise, you will have a mess on your hands that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
Encourage them to pray together either as a whole team or in groups of 2 or 3 (depending on the size of your team). This also helps them to know how to pray for each other during the week...what a concept!

Now it's time to get to work - time to make some MAGIC!

1. REHEARSAL STRUCTURE

Worship Leader - you have to be prepared yourself! Don't come to rehearsal and just wing it. Even the best of us at this don't do that. Know what needs to be done, how it needs to be done and then do it!

For the rehearsal time:

• Make certain that you allot enough time for your prayer/devotional.
  
• Make sure you have adequate copies of music (lead sheets, sheet music, rhythm charts, etc.) to hand out. If you are using Cd's or MP3 files to help the team practice, same thing - have them ready and have enough.
• Pick one song for the upcoming weekend service and work it. Take a dry run all the way through, just to make sure folks have an idea of the song.
• Break down the instrument parts. Who comes in at the beginning? Everybody? If not, who and when do the other instruments come in? Talk about instrumental 'solo' parts and how they will be laid out in the song. Listen for odd rhythm patterns that clash with the main one. For example, listen to the strumming pattern of the guitar compared to the rhythm being laid down by the drummer. What is the keyboard player doing? Does it clash with other instruments? KEYBOARDIST: You DON'T have to play ALL THE NOTES! Less is always better!
• Break down the vocal parts. Who is singing lead, if not the Worship Leader? How many parts do you need to have? When do parts actually come in and when do you sing unison? Can the song be led by more than the Worship Leader? Perhaps there is a piece of the song that sounds really good for a male voice, or a female voice to lead out. Switch it out and try it. CAUTION: Worship Leaders - the more you lead every Sunday and are the main voice, the more chance of people expecting you to always be there. Not a good thing. This can lead to the congregation putting you on a pedestal that you don't want to be on!
  
• A great question I get is how many singers should a Praise Team actually have? Here's an easy answer: for every 75-100 people in the congregation you need an additional vocalist. That means for a church of 100 you would have 2 vocalists' - one lead and one harmony. If you're a church of 300, 2-3 vocalists' and a lead vocal will be more than enough. Now, the bigger you get, this 'rule' breaks down. You wouldn't want to be a church of 600 and have 7 people leading. You might as well have a worship choir (which isn't a bad thing!). We helped out a church with some worship stuff and they had 4 part harmony with an additional lead vocal on top of the Worship Leader. They actually defeated the purpose of the harmony with so many voices that the mid-range of the speakers sounded muddy and distorted. It wasn't a great sound. Too much is not the answer when it comes to vocals.
• Take the same approach with vocals as you do with instruments. Who needs to be singing? What and when? Is what they're singing clashing with the instrumental parts? Sometimes we can make a song sound way too busy by adding all the voices. Mix it up. Have one person sing in one section, then add one or two voices. It's called layering and it's extremely effective.
• Once that's all figured out and understood, play! Start putting it together and find out what needs tweaking, eliminated, adjusted, etc.
  
• Work it again and again until it feels comfortable and smooth. Then put it away for a moment. Come back to it before you go home, but for now let it rest. Pick another song and do the same thing. This process will help stretch your musicians and help them to focus.
  
• WARNING: Know that you will have some down time for both the vocals and the instruments as you 'work' the songs. Let them know this ahead of time so they don't go postal on you!
• Work through your Sunday set at least once. Focus on transitions, key changes, tempo changes, etc. If you are using other elements - scripture reading, sacraments, video, live drama/sketch, etc. - share with the team where these go and how it impacts flow. DON'T SURPRISE YOUR TEAM ON SUNDAY!

This will get you started. Have fun working with different songs, styles, patterns, arrangements, etc. And when you work on a song, don't try to do it just like you've heard it. Learn it first. Then make it your own by trying different instrument mixes, vocal parts, even the tempo can make a song more like your own. Whatever you do, find the voice of the song that moves you and your team to worship. If that happens, chances are you're going to be leading others into the presence of the Almighty!

More later...