KEYS
DEPENDS ON THE HAT | Ed Kerr
Like most of you, I wear a lot of hats. I have a full I’ll admit that shifting my brain and my fingers what your left hand does, whether you’re using
time job leading worship in my home church, back to playing with a full band has shown me a piano sound or a synth sound. The bass is
I’m a husband and a father, I try and find some that I’d let a few things become “autopilot” generally going to define the lowest note of the
time regularly to practice piano and vocalize, as a pianist that now need to change as I chords you’re playing. Avoid those frequencies
and I do a few odd jobs here and there. You regularly play with a full worship team. Since on your instrument so the sound isn’t muddied
get it. Lots of busy days. How about you? Lots some of you play in lots of different instrumental or thickened by too much activity in the
of hats in your closet? Is your daily schedule settings too, I’m going to focus here on some low frequencies.
crammed pretty full? of the essential characteristics of playing well
whichever musical hat you’re wearing.
As a musician I also wear a lot of hats.
If there are two guitars, perhaps an acoustic
and an electric, your options as a keyboard
Sometimes I’ll play in a worship setting where First thought: Pizza. Yep. Think of the music change even more. One of the guitars could, for
I’m the only instrumentalist. Sometimes a that you make as a pizza. If you’re the only example, strum the chords and sustain them.
violinist or guitarist might be making music with player, you get the whole pizza. Rhythmic The other might provide arpeggiated activity.
me. And sometimes I play with a full rhythm activity, melodic statements, harmonies. The This is when you might choose to play less
section on my worship team. Yesterday was more musicians you add, though, the smaller often, perhaps heading to the higher pitches of
one of those days. Our band had two electric your piece of the pizza becomes. For instance, your piano sound to create a simple rhythmic or
guitars, acoustic guitar, bass and drums with add a drummer, you could play less rhythmic melodic pattern.
me on keyboard. activity in your piano part leaving that to your drummer. If you had a guitarist along with the Speaking of melodic activity, something any
I hadn’t pulled out my “play with a full band” drummer, both you and the drummer need instrumentalist needs to remember is that the
hat in a while. That’s because until the end of to be sure that you’re sharing the pizza with singers always get a piece of the pizza. What’s
this January my church in Seattle had just one them. For example, you might have been their main contribution to the presentation? The
blended service where I arranged hymns and playing some arpeggiated activity based on melody. So, guitarists and keyboard players
modern worship songs to go together musically. the chords of the song. This sort of activity and even bass players need to be cautious
Only a few instrumentalists occasionally joined sounds great when finger-picked by a guitarist, about when they play melody activity. If you
me. Now we present a traditional service as so leave that piece of the pie for them. Or have or one of your guitarists decides to play a
well as a contemporary service. An organist them find a guitar part that complements your significant melodic idea during a vocal phrase,
is the primary instrumentalist for the traditional piano activity. the result can be very distracting and frustrating
service and I’m playing with a full rhythm
for everyone. Kind of like listening to two people
section again week in, week out. If you add a bass player to the team, be careful
156 March 2020
talk at the same time. The solution? Stick to
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