But here ’ s the problem : too many worship leaders are waiting for that one rock star who can raise the whole level of the team .
And if those leaders do have a killer musician on their team , they ’ re frustrated when that person isn ’ t there to carry the band .
THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF “ AVERAGE ” What if instead of relying on a rock star , we explore the untapped potential of an average team creating above-average music ?
How ? Arranging .
If your band understands some simple arranging techniques , it ’ s musical alchemy . You put plain rocks in a box , and POOF ! It transforms into a pot of gold .
OK , so that might be a little overstated . But it ’ s the law of synergy : the whole is greater than the sum of the parts .
A band of mediocre musicians following good arranging principles will sound far better than the C-team whose codependent on an A-player to raise their grade .
FIVE SIMPLE ARRANGING PRINCIPLES So let me give you a few simple arranging principles that can transform average musicians into an awesome band .
1 . Know your place on the musical spectrums . There are two spectrums all of our instruments and voices live inside : the sonic spectrum and the rhythmic spectrum .
The sonic spectrum has to do with the tones . Look at an 88-key piano . That ’ s our sonic spectrum . Most music we play won ’ t extend above or below these notes .
If the sonic spectrum is about what notes are played , the rhythmic spectrum is about when , how long , and how often .
The rhythmic spectrum ranges from silence to an ADHD drummer jacked up on Red Bull .
Too many worship teams crowd one or more areas of these spectrums . A few examples :
• The acoustic guitar and hi-hat fight over a 16th note rhythm .
• The left hand of the keyboardist steps all over the bass player .
• The acoustic guitarist chops wood on open chords and drowns out a tasty midrange piano part .
• The result is a blob of sound .
All the notes are “ correct .” The rhythms might even be in time . But it ’ s a mushy pile of goo that not even an expert audio engineer could redeem .
The next arranging principle gets more specific about what , where and when .
2 . Understand what part you ’ re contributing . Modern song arrangements contain five distinct elements : 1 . The Foundation 2 . The Rhythm 3 . The Pad or Constant 4 . The Lead 5 . The Fill
We don ’ t have time to dig into each of these elements now . But when your team members understand each of these parts AND how each one contributes to the song at any given time , the musical “ good ” starts to happen .
3 . Listen . Listen . Listen to each other . The fatal flaw for too many worship musicians is how enamored they are with their own sound . When team members get their heads out of their instruments and start listening to each other , great things happen :
• They create parts that complement each other
• They leave space that serves the song and worshipers
• They honor each other ’ s gifts instead of trying to highlight their own
4 . Embrace rest . The mark of an immature musician is overplaying ( and over-singing ).
Musically and emotionally mature people don ’ t need to play every note of every measure of every song . Space and rest are crucial to an arrangement that accompanies the congregation as they worship .
5 . Determine Dynamics Deliberately . A team who understands arranging will intentionally plan the dynamics of the song .
Too many times bands start the song at one dynamic level and stay there . Or if they do understand dynamics , they try to achieve both “ big ” and “ quiet ” with volume alone .
But the dynamic journey over the musical mountains and through the gentle valleys isn ’ t achieved with a mixing board fader or a knob on a guitar .
It ’ s a “ more and less ” thing , not just an “ up and down ” thing .
WRAP-UP ( AND A TOOL TO HELP ) Having that stellar player come along to raise the overall sound of your band is good . But don ’ t wait for them .
You can lead an average group of musicians to awesome if you can teach them some basic arranging principles .
To help you , we put together this Quick Guide : Arranging Essentials For Worship that you can use with your team . Click here to get access to that .
Thanks !
Matt Miller Matt lives in Cincinnati , OH with his wife Kara and their daughter Melody . He ’ s the Head Coach of WorshipTeamCoach . com and WorshipWorkshop . com , two sites that help worship leaders make every Sunday exceptional . If you want to explore coaching or mentoring with the WorshipTeamCoach team visit this page . WorshipTeamCoach . com WorshipWorkshop . com
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