an MD might just be calling out sections of a varies from team to team. Some teams can read a drummer who may not be aware of groove
song, like “Intro, 2, 3, 4,” or cueing a person music and others might not be able to describe patterns, it’s about communicating to them
to fire a click track, or the tracks. Having an the music they play in terms of the rhythmic their role, that they are the rhythm section and
MD can be really useful, especially if you have a subdivisions. Speaking as an MD, what are they need to be aware of what the other player
couple of newer worship team members and a some of the things that worship musicians is doing. As a bass player, it’s very important to
few who are more experienced. need to know, and what are some strategies know the grooves in a song and the parts that
for getting everyone on the same page? your drummer is playing. It’s kind of a next level
thing. Maybe not every bass player is ready
My role at Bethel is a little bit different because
we do a lot of spontaneous moments. That [Michael] There’s no other answer other for that, which can be okay. But when you’re
moment is really up to the leader to sense than ‘practice’! For me, it starts with my own evaluating your team, if you’re the person that’s
what the room is doing and what the Lord is practice. I don’t just play guitar, I also arrange supposed to be elevating them to a higher level,
doing in the room, and then take us into that and produce music. Having the role of a MD those are the kinds of things to be aware of as
moment. My role is less about telling everyone means that I have to be aware of the big you try to pull them into that new awareness.
what to do, and more to help the leader set up picture. Most musicians these days don’t just that moment and make sure that the band is want to play guitar, or do just one thing. We live It takes experience to do it, and it’s hard
responding to that moment appropriately. I take in a day and age where you can do anything because not every church has someone with
a ‘hands-off’ approach to it. Personally, I don’t on a laptop. There are a lot of musicians, even that kind of experience. You just have to do the
like to call every section of the song, like “Intro, ones that are just starting out, who have more best that you can. Thankfully, we all have access
Verse, Chorus, etc.”, but all of that kind of stuff of the big picture in mind. to recordings, and now there are things like
MultiTracks.com. There are a million different
depends on your band. First of all, for churches
that are looking to find someone to take a MD I just try and do my best to teach those people ways to find out what you’re supposed to be
role, you want someone who knows what to focus on what’s going on in the big picture. doing in a song. I think the key with that, and
they’re doing musically. You want someone In that specific situation with a bass player and something that I’ve adopted as a guitar player,
who knows music theory and can communicate
with a guitar player, for example, and explain
the chord changes that are happening, but also
be able to communicate to a bass player or a
drummer and explain how the groove goes,
or to tell the bass player to play eighth notes
and to lock in with the kick pattern. The more
your band leader knows, musically, the easier
it’s going to be for them to communicate to the
band as a whole, which is their primary role. The
amount of communication varies from team to
team. With our teams at Bethel, I try to do the
least amount of communication possible and
put some responsibility on the band members
to actually learn the songs, arrangements,
and parts. Then I follow up to make sure that
they’re actually doing that. If a leader decides
in the moment that they’re skipping a song,
they know they can just turn around to me and
I’m going to tell the band the information. That
way the leader isn’t trying to get everyone’s
attention.
[WM] You mentioned the bass player knowing
the kick drum pattern, which alludes to the
level of musical understanding, which of course
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