the melody , and …
5 ) ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THE “ VOICE ” OF THE CONGREGATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE OVERALL SOUND . Our goal is to sonically embrace their “ voice ” with our accompaniment , rather than feed them our sonic soup .
Is this sounding at all familiar ? It should . It ’ s wonderful to me that this sort of approach encourages discipleship - gives a very real opportunity to exercise the restraint that ’ s required of followers of Jesus - in the context of a band !
I think these Bible passages are worth keeping in mind as we arrange our songs :
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit , but in humility count others more significant than yourselves . Philippians 2:3 ( ESV )
Love one another with brotherly affection . Outdo one another in showing honor . Romans 12:10 ( ESV )
A PRACTICAL , MUSICAL EXAMPLE :
They can occupy a similar sonic range as each other . Their “ voice ” can easily crowd the same sonic landscape needed for the “ voice ” of the congregation . Additionally , they can each present a driving , rhythmic pattern as they play .
Being less than fully aware of what each other is playing ( and even though I ’ m mixing my metaphors ), we can end up with a sonically soupy sense that there are three pairs of hands on one steering wheel , all struggling for control of one vehicle - the song ! Often , I hear all three instrumentalists trying to drive at the same time . The resulting overplaying , with too many layers of notes and overlapping rhythms , results in the undesirable sonic soup .
Instead , only one of these instruments should drive at any given moment . The other two need to get out of the way . Leave space . Play fewer notes . Maybe change to a higher register than the instrument that ’ s driving . Simplify their rhythms .
It ’ s a few years old now , but this More Than Music Mentor instructional video gives a good demonstration of what I ’ m referring to . Check it out !
There are several different , often-repeated ways that I have been able to identify where bands typically produce the unwanted sonic soup . I intend to unpack several of those over future articles . Stay tuned ! But one example of sonic soupiness occurs when several different instruments all try to “ drive ” the chordal rhythm of a song at the same time .
# 12 Electric Guitar , Acoustic Guitar & Keys : Who ’ s Driving ?
A typical church band will include electric guitar , acoustic guitar , and keyboard . All three instruments are capable of playing every note of every chord required by the accompaniment .
Grant Norsworthy founder of MoreThanMusicMentor . com providing training for worshipping musicians .
MoreThanMusicMentor . com