until you don’t dread that moment in the song. PRACTICE WITH OTHER SOUNDS.
Don’t just practice the actual part again and Broaden your palette of sounds you bring to
again. Start from two measures before. Or two your worship team. Unless you’re playing an
beats before. Challenge yourself to play the acoustic piano or an older keyboard that has
part in a different key. Push yourself to play the a limited number of sounds, you likely have
part accurately at a faster tempo. With time numerous piano sounds to choose from and
your fingers and your brain will relax and what lots of different pad sounds available, along with
had been a stressful part of the song will no string sounds, orchestra sounds, etc. Perhaps
longer be. you could call up a string ensemble sound and
practice imitating what a string quartet might
PRACTICE GETTING RID OF FLAMS. play. This is such a great challenge, since you
Yep. Flams. Drummers will often play a flam. A need to create four independent lines within
flam is two almost simultaneous drum strokes. the harmonies. So hard yet so fun! So different
They’re very effective when played intentionally from playing piano activity or pad voicings.
by a drummer. Not so effective when we Whatever sonic choice you make, be aware
keyboard players play a flam, especially in an that changing a sound can be a distraction to
exposed piano part. Call up an acoustic piano your worship leader or band, so be sure you
sound on your keyboard and set a relatively try these things in rehearsals, not in a service.
slow tempo on your metronome. Don’t worry I encourage you to stretch yourself and bring
about playing a particular song. Just play some more variety to your sonic contribution.
triads with your right hand. 3 notes, perhaps
venture beyond what you currently understand.
But building some time into your week to watch
a YouTube tutorial on your keyboard or your
software might energize you and ultimately your
team if you discover a sound, synth element
or shimmering pad that’s the perfect building
block for a song.
Please don’t view anything I’ve suggested
above as requirements, tedious activities to
fill a few minutes of your week. The skills you
bring to your worship team, the confidence you
have at your instrument, the ease with which
you can play your selected songs combine
with the skills of everyone else on our team to
create music that matters. Psalm 32:7 speaks
of “songs of deliverance.” God can absolutely
use you and your team to minister His life, His
hope, His joy, His healing and His peace to your
listeners. And to you yourself as you’re playing.
thumb on D, 3 rd finger on F#, 5 th finger on A. PRACTICE PROGRAMMING.
Start the metronome. Play one chord per beat. Oops. That sounds intimidating. You may stand
Listen closely to whether each of the three or sit at a keyboard each week that has buttons
notes is sounding precisely at the same time. If and functions you’ve never used. Or your
not, you have some flams going on. Eliminating keyboard may be hooked up to a computer
flams is absolutely worth your focus in practice. loaded with software and sounds you’ve barely
explored. That’s okay. Serving your team well
December 2018
today doesn’t necessarily demand that you
Let the practice routine you establish prepare
you for those moments.
Ed Kerr
Ed Kerr lives in Seattle with his family. He serves as
worship arts director at First Free Methodist Church,
teaches keyboards in Paul Baloche’s leadworship
workshops and is a clinician with Yamaha’s House
of Worship. He also manages the Yamaha Worship
Facebook group and invites you to join the group.
www.KerrTunes.com
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