depending on the song . I love playing aux keys . When playing aux keys a nerd like me gets to focus on all the little details and textures that aren ’ t always overt but add that extra polish to make a song standout .
The Easter setlist was large and diverse and I had done a deep dive programming all sorts of synth textures and little moments that I was excited to spring on the team .
I had also programmed some arpeggiated synth parts , some because the original arrangements called for them and others because I just thought they ’ d sound cool and serve the song well .
Rehearsal kicks in and we ’ re feeling good through the first few tunes . Then we arrive at one of the songs where I ’ d programmed a sweet synth arp for the chorus . The band is grooving and we ’ re all feeling locked in as we hit the pre-chorus , building up to the chorus . I ’ d matched the tempo of the arp to the original arrangement beforehand , so all I had to do when the chorus dropped was sling my guitar to my back and nail the four chord and I felt sure the heavens would open .
I hit the four chord alright , but quickly realized that I ’ d made a critical miscalculation .
You see , this particular band didn ’ t play to a click . It just wasn ’ t a part of the team ’ s culture , and I knew that . Yet , in my excitement and eagerness to add flashy synth parts I had conveniently ignored that critical detail so my arps and their precise BPM requirements immediately clashed with the team .
Those arpeggiated parts sounded so cool at home when played along with the original recordings .
At that rehearsal ? Everyone else was locked in and I sounded out of sync . It only took me a few bars to sheepishly acknowledge my foolishness and those arps got taken out of the Patches I ’ d spent hours preparing .
Looking back on this story now , it ’ s a little embarrassing but honestly , I don ’ t think it ’ s that hard to get carried away when you ’ re passionate about your music . Hopefully not to this magnitude very often , mind you , but it was a great reminder to me after the fact that you can ’ t do your preparation in a vacuum .
Wax on , wax off statement ? When you play in a band you ’ re playing along with the
other members of the band , not the original arrangement playing in your head .
DON ’ T GET DOWN , GET EVEN ( BETTER )
I share these stories not just because they ’ re kind of funny to me now , but because they were genuine learning experiences for me . There are countless other times I ’ ve forgotten something , made a mistake , or stepped on someone ’ s toes in my desire to bring my best to a worship team . Those experiences can be just as if not more formative and important as your greatest mountaintop successes if you let them be . If you dwell on them for too long , beating yourself up or shrinking back from those environments so you never make another mistake , you ’ ll lose momentum . If you can take them for what they were , take stock of what you can learn , and move forward with that knowledge you ’ ll be on your way to being someone else ’ s Mr . Miyagi someday .
David Pfaltzgraff Founder and Lead Sound Designer at SundaySounds . com , a site that resources worship keys players and guitarists around the world . David currently resides in Des Moines , IA with his wife and two boys . He enjoys volunteering in his church ’ s worship ministry , old synthesizers , and a good super-hero movie .
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