to your personal practice in two ways . First , set a time limit for your overall practice session . Then , estimate the time you ' ll need for each song while staying inside the overall limit . To keep you on track , set a timer for each piece .
Those constraints will keep you focused . And using a timer on newer pieces will prohibit them from eating up your entire practice window .
You might be thinking , " But what if I can ' t learn that song in that amount of time ?" That ' s OK . Few musicians can master a new song in one sitting . For most people , learning new songs requires multiple practice sessions . Get the basics down early in the week . Then find a few more 10- to 20-minute pockets of time to get the song rehearsal-ready .
5 . CHART IT . Create your own chart or lyric sheet . Seriously — like old school , with a pencil and paper . And do it multiple times .
Why ? Because it requires your brain to engage with this song differently . For many people , the " read-write " approach to learning can be powerfully effective . This is a fantastic tactic for memorizing a song . But even if you aren ' t required to memorize music , the exercise will help you internalize the form , changes , lyrics , and where your different parts come in and out .
And by the way , the chart doesn ' t need to be pretty . It ' s just a learning tool for you .
6 . CLICK IT . Turn on the metronome . Why ? Because playing in time is critical to the overall sound of your band . ( I checked with the experts ; they agree .) But another reason is this : it ' s a giant sonic spotlight illuminating the problem parts of each song .
7 . 80 / 20 IT . Spend 80 % of your time on the 20 % of songs that are not yet rehearsal-ready . If you already know a song , don ' t waste valuable practice time running through it . Find a few minutes before practice to brush up on that one . But for a dedicated woodshed session , hone in on problem parts and whip them into shape .
8 . PERFORM IT . Most immature musicians stop after ' learning ' the song . And if they do continue to put time into it , it ' s just playing . ' Playing ' is mindlessly meandering through the music . But when you ' re in playing-mode , you gloss over the tricky parts .
To truly get a song to service-ready levels , you need to perform it . That is , put real elements in . Run the backing track or set the metronome at tempo . Stand up and imagine you have a congregation in front of you . Put your music stand down and to the side . And don ' t stop — no matter what !
Now , the last two tactics can only be implemented by the worship leader . And if ( when , hopefully ) they do this , your practice demands will get so much easier .
9 . STANDARDIZE IT . Worship leader , if you change the arrangement every time you schedule a song , that ' s tough on your team . When you do it mid-rehearsal , please know your band ( and lyric projection tech ) wants to feed you to one of Carol Baskin ' s tigers .
Develop a standard arrangement and form ( or sequence ) for each song in your rotation . And have a reference of how you want the arrangement to sound . Record your own if you need to . an excuse for not practicing .
10 . SONGCYCLE IT . I ' m a big enough nerd that I wrote an entire book about rotating songs for worship , The SongCycle : Simplify Your Worship Planning and Re-Engage Your Church . ( It ' s available on Amazon , and the proceeds go to feed hungry children in , well , my house mostly . They eat a lot !)
But you don ' t need the book to understand the premise . Here it is in five words : Rotate fewer songs more often .
Tighten up your song list . Introduce fewer new songs and repeat them more often until they catch on . Also , rotate known songs often enough to keep them familiar but not overdone .
The ' rotate fewer songs more often ' tactic is the single biggest way to cut your team ' s personal practice time and still be more prepared . It will 10x the effectiveness of all these other tactics . Why ? Your team won ' t be learning new songs every week . Or relearning ones they haven ' t played for six months .
But the most significant benefit will happen with your whole church . Your congregation will know the songs . They ' ll sing from the heart and not from the screen . And your team will be more engaging as they sing and play from the heart , not the chart .
If team members implement the first eight tactics and worship leaders implement the final two , your rehearsals will be shorter ( and more fun ). Sunday mornings will be less stressful . You ' ll all sound tighter and more together . And , you ' ll have a platform full of confident , expressive lead worshipers encouraging your congregation to join in .
When you ' ve identified those parts , slow down the met and drill them until you get it up to speed . ( Or , do # 1 if possible and move on more quickly .)
By the way , some team members use this " you always change the song " accusation as an excuse not to practice . (" Why bother ," he thinks , " she ' ll just change the song .") So by creating a standard song form , you eliminate
Jon Nicol Jon ’ s the founder of WorshipWorkshop . com and WorshipTeamCoach . com , two sites that help worship leaders build strong teams and lead engaging worship . He lives and serves in Lexington , Ohio with his wife Shannon and their four kids . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com