KEYS
BUILD CONFIDENCE AT THE KEYBOARD | David Pfaltzgraff
How do you feel as the pre-service timer ticks down ? In-ears in , final check of the placement of that ever-elusive sustain pedal , hands to keyboard and … do you feel excitement , anticipation , anxiety , or fear ? As the clock nears zero , do you scan through the various songs , transitions , and dynamics you ’ re about to navigate ? How confident do you feel in those moments ?
Confidence , or a lack thereof , can be a difficult thing to bottle up and tap into at will . But when you ’ re helping lead worship for your church it ’ s important to have a healthy level of confidence in your ability to enhance , encourage , and lead . How can you build the confidence to perform seamlessly and leave a lasting impact on your congregation ? In this article , we ’ ll delve deeper into the three key aspects that will help you elevate your confidence as a worship keys player .
DEFINE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Before you can confidently reach the stage , you need to build and maintain a solid relationship with your instrument . Even if you ’ ve been playing keys for years , one setlist to another can require new ideas , playing techniques , and sounds be explored .
Most of us don ’ t have the time to spend hours and hours each week completely reinventing our approach to the keyboard , and that ’ s okay . But if you find that you ’ re never left with enough time to focus on a new detail , nuance , or texture then it might be time to find a way to broaden your comfort zone .
Defining your comfort zone is vitally important for two reasons . One , without it defined you ’ ll never know whether you ’ re operating within it . When it comes to Sunday morning your goal shouldn ’ t be to be deeply uncomfortable the entire service because you ’ re unsure of your ability to pull off what you ’ ve planned . Two , when you know where your comfort zone ends , you can help yourself grow by pushing just up to and over the limit , purposefully and slowly over time .
As you experiment with different sounds and techniques , you ’ ll gain the confidence to express yourself more freely during worship . This comfort zone you ’ ve built becomes a natural place to explore new ideas and styles , allowing you to regularly contribute improvements to your team .
An easy way to practice this is to choose a familiar song and experiment with incorporating different tones and effects . Notice how each setting changes the overall feel . This practice not only enhances your comfort level but also adds a layer of creativity to your playing .
TIMING LIKE CLOCKWORK
Confidence at the keys is closely tied to your sense of timing . For the keyboard your sense of timing has two faces . First , a sense of musical timing that ensures you ’ re at the proper tempo and rhythm , and secondly an intuitive ability to smoothly handle the timing of transitions from song to song and moment to moment . A wellexecuted transition or precisely timed dynamic
88 September 2023 Subscribe for Free ...