Worship Musician Magazine December 2020 | Page 138

KEYS
CHRISTMAS | David Pfaltzgraff
Christmas time is here , friends and while it sure hasn ’ t been the year any of us were expecting I assume nevertheless that many of you are right in the middle of planning your Christmas worship services .
Christmas is an odd time to be in a worship band . Oftentimes these services get extra attention , whether in the form of a traditional Christmas play , a carols or candlelight service , or just by adding some Christmas songs into the rotation the last few weeks of the year . At the same time , many of us find ourselves busier than usual in other areas of life as well , be it wrapping up the end of the year at work , family commitments , or just the general busyness of the holidays .
What makes things odd is that while you ’ re putting extra energy into these Christmas songs , you ’ re often only playing them once , maybe twice and then putting them back in the drawer until next December .
In addition , as keys players we ’ re often called on to fill all the extra spaces during Christmas time , whether that be making up for extra orchestration in an arrangement or quite literally filling the space left by a band member ( or three ) who has gone out of town .
The net result here is that we ’ re often learning more new songs than normal , with different and possibly more complicated parts than normal , different sounds and patches than normal , all during one of the busiest times of the year .
But you know something ? I absolutely love it . I ’ ll admit it . I truly love playing Christmas music at church .
In today ’ s article , I ’ m going to spell out a few simple ways to prepare for Christmas music whether you love it or hate it , to make sure that you ’ re energized by the process and make a meaningful contribution to your band ’ s Christmas services .
Ho ho ho !
HEAR THOSE JINGLE BELLS First off , let ’ s talk about the auxiliary role that many of us get thrust into this one time of the year . I ’ m talking about being asked ‘ hey , can you play a sleigh bell sound ?’, ‘ can you cover all the string parts in this Trans-Siberian Orchestra song ?’, or ‘ the guitarist is visiting his parents , so can you cover that Lincoln Brewster guitar solo ?’
Let ’ s face it , keys friends , we often get asked to fill the space that needs filling , whether it ’ s because the arrangement calls for sounds not normally called for or because other band members are MIA .
So , it ’ s important to take some time to do the work of dissecting and understanding what makes ‘ Christmas music ’ sound ‘ Christmas-y ’ to the modern listening ear . During this season , it doesn ’ t have to be complicated , just turn on your local ‘ all Christmas ’ radio station and instead of paying attention to how tired you are of hearing that one song again , listen to the signature sounds that you hear across countless songs and arrangements .
Maybe take some notes on your phone as you hear common sounds like glockenspiel , celeste , tubular bells , orchestral brass , or that classic Mannheim Steamroller style of synth sound .
Understanding the feeling that these sounds evoke is really more important than exactly replicating any one of them in particular . Try to get inside the ‘ theory ’ of Christmas music ’ s sounds .
THIS SONG HAS A WHAT CHORD ? Depending on the way your church approaches
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