KEYS
ARE YOU A READER? | Ed Kerr
In a few weeks I’ll be taking a Sunday off phrase ends, there will be a few beats until the There’s no rule that says you should spend
from my full-time worship director position next phrase begins. Consider letting those be any time outside the middle register of your
in Seattle. I’m building the worship team in the spots where you create melodic material. instrument, but remember that you’re part
advance so I can be confident things will go
of a team. If everyone on the team is playing
well when I’m away. Among the many talented Speaking of melody, are there significant parts that are heard in that middle register,
volunteer musicians at my church who I hope instrumental hooks heard at the start of the the resulting sound can be thick, muddy, and
to schedule is a classically-trained pianist who arrangement? Something like this: cluttered. Consider that the vocals on your
plays beautifully. She plays beautifully when
team tend to land in that same frequency range.
she’s able to read sheet music, that is. She Do these hooks recur when the first verse or would be at a loss if asked to create a piano chorus ends? Piano sheet music will likely write One of the fantastic things that modern pad
part from a chord chart, and would be a little out those hooks. On your worship team, don’t sounds lend to a worship song’s arrangement
uncomfortable playing with a rhythm section. be a hook hogger. If the melodic figure is best is high frequencies and pitches that the rest
This is no reflection on her talent. It’s just played by a guitar, let them cover it. of the team is likely not playing. Don’t limit
because her experience has primarily been as
your contribution to the arrangement to just
the single accompanying instrument, playing Agree, as a team, who will play instrumental piano sounds. Explore the pad sounds at your
from sheet music. hooks. Listen to the team around you. You’re disposal. Learn how faders on your instrument
part of a team, so be careful to only take your can bring in changes of timbre and texture,
part of the arrangement. adding high “shimmer” at times, and taking it
So, I’ll be providing her sheet music for the
songs the church will sing that Sunday, with
away other times.
detailed piano parts written out for every song. Another thing you’ll notice about piano sheet Though many of you may not read music or, music compared to modern keyboard parts, In a sense, you and your entire worship team
if you’re a reader, may not read it very often is that the sheet music will often try to reduce are creating an arrangement of your song every
on your current worship team, there are a few the full activity of a rhythm section down to time you play it. Just as a piano arranger is
things about piano sheet music that should something that a one pianist could play. Drum intentional when choosing how many or how
impact what you play from a chord chart. activity, guitar hooks, and keyboard lines could few notes to write out for a pianist, you should
all be included in the music. Are you playing in a be intentional about what you play, where
One significant thing is melody. Whereas many band? Don’t try to do everything. Do you have you play it on your instrument, and how busy
piano transcriptions include the vocal melody a bass player? Avoid playing the bottom notes or simple that part is. And don’t think that
in the piano part, it’s practically unheard of, of chords in your chart. Let your sound person you’re the only instrumentalist who needs to
when playing modern worship songs, for a deal with one instrument covering those low think this way. If every player on your team is
piano or keyboard part to play along with the frequencies. If you do play them while the bass thinking about the issues I’ve touched on here,
melody that’s being sung. Playing the melody player is too, the result can be a muddy mess. the result can be an instrumental texture that
is common when playing hymns in a traditional
supports the vocals well and encourages the
setting, but not in modern worship. So, if you’re Lots of keyboard players tend to mostly play people gathered to add their voices to the
playing the vocal melody in your worship team in the middle register of their instrument. The sound of worship.
part, avoid doing that. parts they create there may be just what the
arrangement calls for at the time, but don’t
Instead, let your part be responsive. Respond forget that your piano or keyboard has a
to vocal phrases with melodic activity of your broader range than you utilize. Browse a piece
own. Don’t play melodically significant material of sheet music and it’s likely that you’ll notes
during those phrases. Usually, when a vocal above and below the staff.
July 2018
Ed Kerr
Ed 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
WorshipMusician.com
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