built from the platform . You can tell the strength of the connection between the congregation and the worship team based on the moments you create .
[ Joshua ] Wow , that ’ s so practical . I love it . So much of our job is about creating a space of worship that people can count on every Sunday . However , Cristiano , I do find that one of the easiest pitfalls worship teams can fall into is overplaying . When the team “ overplays ,” it can really rip away the holy moment for the congregation . Why do you think that is ? Why do we overplay ?
Cristiano : Whew , yeah . It could come from excitement to insecurity , you know ? Overplaying comes down to a lack of education and lack of self-awareness . When you ’ re on the platform you have to remember that this is not your personal musical environment — it ’ s a worship environment . Insecure musicians have this need to overplay so maybe the pastor notices they ’ re good . This need can derail what the Holy Spirit wants to do and can throw the entire band off . Not to mention , you rob members of your congregation of something that was meant to serve them — and instead , you make it about yourself . There are serious repercussions to overplaying , but it all stems from a lack of maturity .
[ Joshua ] Wow . That was some truth ! Cristiano ; how can a music director tell if their team is overplaying ? Maybe they ’ re so invested in the music that they ’ ve lost track of the sound they ’ re creating .
Cristiano : Well , if you ’ re a well-experienced MD , it just doesn ’ t fit . You can tell that it ’ s just not sounding right . Like , at Bethel , you have to sound like the record . There ’ s no other option . Because Bethel Music is writing and producing the songs , we have to be disciplined and play like the record . So , that already limits your desire to overplay .....
[ Joshua ] That ’ s fantastic . I mean , we ’ re talking about helping the entire team create a full sound ! Because if every player brings 100 % of their ability to fill the sound , then the band isn ’ t playing at 100 %— they ’ re playing at 500 %. The whole platform becomes overloaded with sound and we lose our purpose . The whole point of the band playing is about lifting the name of Jesus .
On the subject of creating a full sound for your team — every team wants to sound full and create a beautiful sonic landscape . But maybe they don ’ t have a 20-person band , so what are some resources that are available to Music Directors and Worship Leaders so they can create a full sound ?
Cristiano : With technology these days , you can have a full band literally in your pocket ! Resources have come so far , you know . I feel like MultiTracks . com does a beautiful job with Playback 8 . I would argue it ’ s the only
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