WORSHIPTEAMCOACH
HOW TO SERVE YOUR TEAM WITH GREAT CHARTS
And so let’s talk about what goes into a great READY-TO-GO CAPO CHARTS
system for creating, managing and distributing With a couple of mouse clicks, I can transpose
When it comes to music charts (sheet music, charts. Not every point may apply to your charts for my guitarists who use a capo. I’d rather
chord charts, etc.) for worship music, I’ve been situation. But the point is to develop a system that have them invest their time practicing versus
known to go a tad overboard. Before the age of serves your team intentionally. Let’s dive in: transposing.
boxes and binders packed full of charts. I was a AFFORDABLE SOURCES FOR QUALITY CHARTS CORRECT KEY
one-man SongSelect. Invest in quality charts. I have two go-to sources It should go without saying, but have different
I’m a recovering chart nerd.
downloadable music was fully realized, I had file
for charts. SongSelect is the best when it comes charts for your different keys (unless your whole
I remember the day I threw away my last two to affordability and selection. team can read Nashville numbers). It wastes
binders of “physical” music. I finally accepted that And why do I purchase charts? For this reason: your team’s time to have to transpose a chart
manually. That’s another way the premium chart
I could now get any song I wanted online. And
everything I was currently using was now taking LIMITED DIY up a few megabytes on my hard drive (and safely Unless you have hours of time you can dedicate backed up to the cloud). Besides letting go of my to chart-creation, limit the “do-it-yourself” work on PITCH-SHIFTED RECORDINGS
pulp-based collection of songs, it also started my charts. Speaking of the correct key, some players only
sites are helpful.
use the recordings to learn. Pitch-shift your MP3s
journey to relax my standards for charts. I learned
to say “good enough”.
Occasionally, a more obscure song calls for a
so they can learn in the correct key.
custom-made chart. But if it’s available, I’d rather
While my standards for chart perfection have buy the music than create it myself. Even though Also, when the recording is in the right key, it helps
relaxed, I’m still a bit of a nerd. But now the I enjoy it, I realize it’s not the best use of my time. your other musicians to learn the song as they
play or sing along with it. If your service-planning
compulsion for great charts is about what
serves the team, not my musical perfectionism. CONSISTENCY BETWEEN FORMATS app doesn’t include this feature, use Transposr.
As a worship leader, I lead a team of volunteer If you provide multiple formats (like lead sheets com.
musicians who 1) don’t have a lot of time, 2) and chord sheets), they’ve got to match. You’ll genuinely want to do a great job on Sunday, and frustrate your team when people are reading off The bottom line here is that we’re serving our
3) all have vastly different learning styles. of two different arrangements. teams and our churches. Our songs are part of
Some only use recordings. Others prefer a simple FIRST-GENERATION COPIES church family. So if we’re asking our musicians to
chord chart. Others like to be able to “see” the With so much access to downloadable music, sing and play with confidence, the least we can
melody and rhythmic changes on the lead sheet. there are few excuses for giving your musicians do is provide them with great tools to hear, see
And some just want the lyrics. ugly, fourth-generation photocopies with scribbled and learn those songs well.
the worship experience we’re creating for our
notes from the “ghosts of Sundays past”.
So I provide my team with chord charts, lead
So make fresh copies.
sheets, lyric sheets, and MP3s for each song. I
know that sounds like a lot. But for me, it’s about DIGITIZED CHARTS
serving my volunteer musicians where they’re And in this era of digital devices, you want to give
at. I’d rather challenge them to learn their songs your team the option of digital music. Which leads
well rather than burden them to adapt to one to another aspect of a great chart system:
particular mode of learning.
24/7 ACCESSIBILITY
Now, you might provide your team with only These charts and recordings are the tools your
a fraction of those charts. Or you might need busy volunteer team uses to learn their songs.
more—like full piano arrangements or orchestral So give your team access to them whenever
parts. But regardless of how many formats you they need them. That’s where a good service-
use, you need a great process or system to serve planning app like Planning Center Online comes
your team well with charts. in handy.
16
May Jun 2017
WorshipMusician.com
JON NICOL
Founder of WorshipTeamCoach.com
and WorshipWorkshop.com. Author
of Worship Flow: 28 Ways To Create
Great Segues. Lives in Lexington,
OH with his wife, Shannon, and their
four children--who are all apparently
missing the “inside voice” gene.