PIANOKEYS
4 SOUNDS, 4 QUESTIONS
For years, I’ve taught keyboard sessions in Paul Millions of options. It can definitely be in that we’re expected to provide sounds
Baloche’s Leadworship Workshops around the overwhelming when you look through the appropriate to the song we’re playing. This
country. Paul’s most recent workshop was in choices for keyboards you could purchase, the will look different for each of us. I suppose that
Winston-Salem, NC. After our lunch break I piano sounds in them, the types of pad sounds besides proposing that you have a palette of
was returning to my classroom and heard the available, and even the types of orchestral four sounds available I might also propose
beautiful music of Chopin’s G minor Ballade instruments you can emulate. So many options four simple questions for you about your
coming from the grand piano in my classroom, can be overwhelming and frustrating. contribution to your worship team’s music:
morning session. The piece contains so many My encouragement to you is to start by Am I confident that I have found sounds that
lovely melodies and so many very challenging evaluating what your equipment can do. Forget work well for the songs we’ll play?
passages for the pianist. the millions of options mentioned above. Ask Am I able to change from sound to sound
yourself what the essentials are for your palette confidently and without distracting the listener?
When my afternoon session began, I asked of sounds. For my current work playing on Am I sure what my keyboard parts will be:
her to play a bit of the piece for the class. After weekends at Gateway Church’s services here melodic hooks for intros, pad parts for verses,
we all applauded her performance, I reminded in Dallas and in hundreds of worship services and the voicings unique to each sound?
everyone that we are not all required to play at over the past years, I have found that my Am I letting my keyboard setup help me move
her level of pianistic virtuosity, but we do all have essential palette of sounds needs to include from sound to sound using layered sounds,
an opportunity to bring the skills we have to our piano, a warm pad, organ and electric piano. faders, etc?
played by one of the ladies who’d attended my
worship teams and to develop those skills.
Though pianistic virtuosity is not a prerequisite
to serving on a worship team, there are other
things that most of our teams look to us for
these days. One of the most significant ones
is being able to provide a variety of keyboard
sounds, since most of us now play electronic
keyboards, sometimes enhanced with a laptop
computer. For any given service, we may be
asked to play a grand piano sound, sometimes
a pad sound, sometimes a synth lead sound.
Just as the pianist has spent hours mastering
the challenging passages in the Chopin piece,
I have found that
my essential palette
of sounds needs
God isn’t looking across the earth for keyboard
players who can all perform the Chopin Ballade
mentioned earlier, or quickly program their Nano
Kontrol to add resonance to an Omnisphere
patch. He’s looking for people who will joyfully
serve in whatever musical context they find
themselves. May you all find the delight of being
to include piano, a stretched to master the equipment available
warm pad, organ and is needed from your instrument, and the joy
electric piano. Creator through what you and your team create
to you, the satisfaction of providing whatever
of seeing the people of God worship their
together.
you and I will do well to spend some time
mastering the sound palette available to us.
Within each of these four types of sounds there
Here’s the challenge, to quote from a recent are a staggering number of options depending
google search of “keyboards for modern on the equipment you have. As I consider the
worship”: readership of this magazine I realize that there
Note that there are a staggering number of is also a staggering variation in playing skill and
in-between, hybrid, or combinations of stage familiarity with modern keyboard equipment
piano/workstation/synthesizer options for keys among you. Some of you may be playing a 15
players on the market. Add the capabilities of year old keyboard that only offers 2 sounds.
software and DAWs and you have millions of Some of you have great new laptops loaded
options for how you could design your worship with lots of plug-ins and virtual instruments.
keys setup.
At some point, we all stand on common ground
26
May Jun 2017
WorshipMusician.com
ED KERR
Director of Worship Studies
at King’s University/Gateway
Church in Dallas, TX. Masters
in Piano performance,
songwriter, clinician with
Yamaha and Paul Baloche.
www.KerrTunes.com