KEYS
IT ’ S THE LITTLE THINGS FOR KEYS | David Pfaltzgraff
Recently I had the opportunity to play keys for a couple of worship conferences , with bands made up of musicians from various backgrounds . For one particular conference we played seven sessions across two days , with limited rehearsal time beforehand .
The conference turned out great , but throughout I was reminded of just how important the little things are when it comes to a successful worship service from the keys position .
So , let ’ s break down three little details that can be the difference between a great worship time and a train wreck .
THE LITTLE SOUNDS
This particular conference was full of incredibly talented musicians , resulting in a very full sound . Great sounding drums , bass processed as parallel clean and dirty signals , two electric guitars in stereo , acoustic guitar , multiple vocals , and myself on keys .
With the size and skill of this band there was no lack of potential when it came to filling out space and delivering a powerful , cohesive sound . That ’ s not always the case with some bands , where the keyboardist may have to expend extra intentional effort to make sure the sound of the team is glued together with more prominent layers of keys parts .
Because this band was ‘ full by default ’ it was a good exercise for me in intentionality and restraint . Rather than asking myself ‘ how can I make sure I fill as much space as I can ’ I was able to ask , “ Which space is most important for me to fill ” or sometimes , “ Which spaces are already filled well , and should I avoid ?”
In your own worship team you may find yourself at one of those two extremes , or more likely somewhere in the middle . For me , I found a great satisfaction in finding the right ‘ little sounds ’ that just did one specific thing and added a touch of polish , a moment of interest , or some additional texture that complimented the skilled players I was surrounded by .
Next time I ’ m sitting in with a band , whether it ’ s full or not , I know I ’ m going to look for the opportunities to make an impact with ‘ little sounds ’.
THE LITTLE MOMENTS
As we didn ’ t have tons of rehearsal time ( and I ’ m talking only two hours total before the conference to rehearse over ninety minutes of music ) we had to rely on our music director and gut level confidence to make sure the little moments of prayer , transition , and coverage were well handled and accounted for .
It became evident quickly that we ’ d have to figure some of those out on the fly , so our incredible music director made an intentional effort to feed us what we needed from moment to moment . It was a great exercise in practicing the right muscle memory needed to bring just the right ambient pad , in making sure I had that go-to keys sound for ‘ filling space ’ easily accessible at all times , and be active listening to not just what a speaker was saying , but what
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