BASS
SIGNS OF THE TIMES | Gary Lunn
Music has movement and flow . And music charts are like roadmaps — they contain indicators from here to there .
If you think about it , the name of the sections in a song have characteristics of water . The “ intro ” is when you get in the boat . The “ verse ” is when you enter the stream that flows into the channel . The channel rushes into the “ chorus .” And , of course , every river usually has a bridge over it , and the “ bridge ” separates you from the body of the song .
Wow … I got in deep , quick ! Sort of “ over my head ,” so to speak . I know … dad jokes o-plenty ! ANYWAY , music does flow like water — in most musical styles , you can ’ t deny that . And particularly in worship , the flow between sections of every song is very important . Short of memorizing every song on the playlist , chart reading is the only way to get in the flow .
In music theory , every music / notation / chord chart has “ roadmap ” terms . These terms are in Italian , German , French , or English , but are often abbreviated ( for us mere mortals ).
A common example is the “ Dal Segno ” sign , usually written as “ D . S .” This sign is telling you to go back to the D . S . sign ( that looks like an uppercase S with a diagonal line through it ) and to immediately begin playing from there .
Most of the time , D . S . is followed by the words “ al Coda ” ( go to the coda ), which indicates that after you start playing at the D . S . sign — and ONLY then — as soon as you complete the chart up to the words “ to Coda ” or the word “ to ” followed by the O with horizontal and vertical lines crossed over it , you are to “ jump ” to the Coda section written toward the end of the chart . This allows the arranger to “ skip ” a section of the song and transition elsewhere . Sounds complicated , but it ’ s really not . These are just rules that responsible musicians learn
AND follow .
Another common letter sign is “ D . C .,” which stands for “ Da Capo ” in Italian and means “ Go back to the beginning ( and play from there ).” Whenever you see “ D . C .” on the chart , you simply go back to the intro . ( That one ’ s easy !)
The most commonly-used “ roadmap ” sign is the repeat sign . There are two different ones : one that faces forward in time ( a thick vertical line followed by a thin vertical line with a colon against the middle of the thin line ) and one that faces backward ( a colon followed by a thin line and then a thick line ). We often call these southbound and northbound repeat signs .
When you read a chart and encounter a southbound repeat sign , you simply keep reading . As soon as you come to the very next northbound repeat sign , you ” bounce ” back to the southbound sign ( that you read over earlier ) and begin playing from there . In other words , when you see a northbound repeat sign , you go « north » in the chart to the southbound repeat sign and play ! The next time you approach the northbound repeat sign , you just keep going .
This happens every time you encounter these particular signs , repeating the “ bracketed ” section only once . The signs always occur in this order . In other words , you can ’ t encounter a northbound repeat sign unless you ’ ve read over a southbound . You always have to have a southbound sign to bounce back to .
Take time to notice these signs on charts and become familiar with how they work . They ’ re extremely useful !
In Nashville , even number charts have these “ roadmap ” signs . The Nashville number system has become popular in churches because it makes transposing easy ( to accommodate the worship leader ( s ) scheduled to lead on any given Sunday ). You just change what “ 1 ” is in your mind and then play it in the new key . It ’ s SO simple … and handy !
It also makes communicating chord changes for a song easier . For example , there are SO many songs that are E minor , C , G , D in every key . In numbers , it ’ s just 6 , 4 , 1 , 5 ( read as “ 64 15 ”).
Can you imagine playing in the key of A-flat , and the band leader yells out , “ Play F minor , D-flat , A-flat , and E-flat !”
Someone needs it repeated , and then you say , “ 64 15 !” You ’ re instantly the hero because you know the number system , and the band leader doesn ’ t . You can also indicate chord changes to other players on the platform who might not know a song that the worship leader has spontaneously “ morphed ” into . If you ’ re able to , you would just hold up a 1 , 4 , 5 , etc ., and it really helps a brother out in his hour of need . ( In case you were wondering , you point your forefinger down toward the ground for a “ 6 ” chord . :))
At my church , the main worship leader often changes keys in a song without telling the band , or he gives us a thumbs-up sign , indicating that he is modulating up ( could be a half step , could be a whole step … no one knows ). However , the thumbs-up sign is NOT a sign in the Nashville number system ! It is a useful hand signal , though .
Part of upholding excellence as a bassist in a worship band is to always be constantly learning and being ready for what new song challenges await . Continually raising your standard by expanding your musical knowledge is just another way to honor your foundational purpose in the worship team .
Gary Lunn Gary is a session player / producer / writer in Nashville , TN . He does home recording and plays for many recording session accounts . Find him on www . facebook . com for questions or scheduling . www . facebook . com / garylunn garylunn @ me . com