to making music to the best of your ability .
What ’ s the best solution for this dilemma ? I think I know what ’ s going to work for me . A Go Bag ! If you google “ Go Bag ” you ’ ll find some fairly ominous links . Go Bags to have ready in case disaster strikes your area , a Go Bag for first aid emergencies . My suggestion here is far less ominous . I ’ m just suggesting that you and I think about what is essential for us to do well what we do with our worship teams in terms of equipment .
Do an inventory over the next few days of every cable that is part of your musical setup . Every power supply . Every volume pedal . Every sustain pedal . Everything . After doing that inventory take an inventory of the actual cables and pedals you have lying around your workspace at home and your church . It ’ s a radical thought , I know , but this might be a good time to actually organize your cables . I have an over-the-door coat hook thingy in my studio . There are probably 30 cables hanging on it . 30 ! And naturally they ’ re become tangled together so that when I need one cable it ’ s enmeshed with 12 other cables . Get some big Ziploc bags and some Velcro cable ties and group similar cables together . Label the bags . Get ‘ em organized and accessible .
Beyond that step , create a designated bag or crate that will house all of the gear that you need each week at church or in your travels . Here ’ s the important thing : nothing from that bag or crate is available for use at home or anywhere else . It is only for what you do OUTSIDE of your home . That ’ s the only way you can be confident that when you are setting up for a rehearsal or unloading for an important gig everything essential to your work is within arm ’ s reach when you need it .
Think beyond what works at your church . This weekend I sat in as keyboard player for a wonderful night of worship in my area . A few issues arose as I tried to setup my audio interface to send MainStage , some tracks , a click track and a guide track out to the house sound system . They only had two mic lines for me . Hmm . I quickly adjusted a few things in my Ableton setup and was able to whittle my needs down to three lines to the sound system . Oops . They were out of direct boxes . Note to self for next time : Carry a direct box ( or two ) in my Go Bag . Then I ’ ll be able to use that when needed and help the rehearsal move forward without the sound person tearing through the equipment closet looking for a direct box . Extra note to self : Remember to pack up your direct box after the event . Extra extra note to self :
Label every cable and pedal and bit of gear with your name and phone number . Someday you ’ ll leave something behind and thank the Lord when someone calls to tell you they have your equipment .
Is this too practical for you ? Do some of you walk into a space where everything has been set up for you each week and all you do is glide those fingers of yours over the keys ? If that ’ s you , you are blessed .
I want to close here by saying that we ’ re all blessed to have any part in music ministry that blesses the heart of God and encourages people who gather each week for our services . I hope the thoughts I ’ ve shared here can help you avoid some of the hassles and rehearsal hold ups that I caused this weekend by not having everything I needed on hand for an effortless setup . Thank you for doing what you do each week in spite of whatever challenges you face . Just do what you can to eliminate those challenges by bringing your amazing Go Bag with you . I ’ ll be doing the same .
Ed Kerr Ed Kerr lives in Seattle with his family . He serves as worship arts director at First Free Methodist Church , teaches keyboards in Paul Baloche ’ s leadworship workshops and is a clinician with Yamaha ’ s House of Worship . He also manages the Yamaha Worship Facebook group and invites you to join the group . www . KerrTunes . com