BASS
THE CHALLENGE OF THE CHURCH CHARTS | Gary Lunn
Well , we made it through 2023 . I have bad news and good news . The bad news is that the writers of our “ favorite ” kind of charts have STILL not improved their chart writing … much . But the good news is that I still have faith that things can change - I occasionally see charts written in numbers ( the Nashville Number System ). I must pause here to shout a hearty HALLEUJAH !
An additional explanation might be helpful , as I should explain why I harp so enthusiastically on using the number system . I was born with the ability to accurately identify pitches just by hearing them . It ’ s called “ perfect pitch ,” but I don ’ t consider myself perfect , so I am totally undeserving of the term . However , if you honk your car horn at me , I can tell you what notes your horn is playing . That ’ s really useful , right ?
That also makes me THAT guy on stage … the one everybody looks at with great big eyes as our worship leader goes head-long into a song that is NOT on the set list , quietly asking me ,
“ What key is he playing in ?!?!” As long as I can derive the root note of the song that the worship leader is playing , I can usually identify the key . Even acapella . I don ’ t know how or why , but I can just pull it out of the air .
Perfect pitch is also very handy when I ’ m writing charts for a session or a band practice . I ’ m pretty fast at dictation , even though my penmanship is absolutely horrible ! Still , I am usually nominated to be the chart writer in just about every session I do .
On the downside - and this is true confession time - if I ’ m reading a LETTER chart and someone asks me to transpose and accurately play it up a step , a third , a fourth , or ANYTHING other than the key it ’ s written in , it ’ s one of the hardest things that I ever have to do in music . The reason for this is that whenever I see a “ C ” chord indicated , then I expect to hear a “ C ” chord . To play anything other than a “ C ” in the bass seems like a horrible crime against nature to me ! So , for every single chord change , I have to activate and exercise this strange , unknown will from deep within my brain to play the correctly transposed notes . This also applies to reading notation . And they say that perfect pitch is a blessing ! LOL !
Sorry for the rabbit trail , but THIS is the reason why I like the number system so much . If the singer wants to do the song in another key , and the chart is written in numbers , then I don ’ t have to ignore the letters . All I have to do is change what the “ 1 ” chord or the “ root ” is in my head . It ’ s complete and total liberation for me . I ’ m suddenly freed from the “ bonds ” of perfect pitch . I can play any song in any key as long as it ’ s written in numbers . Time to shout HALLEUJAH again !
Back to chart fixing . Another problem is that I rarely see accurate , consistent bar / measure indication with “ Church Charts .” That ’ s probably my biggest long-standing gripe , and I will share how I deal with it on a regular basis .
78 January 2024 Subscribe for Free ...