WORSHIP TEAM
FIVE (FIXABLE) THINGS THAT KEEP YOUR TEAM FROM PRACTICING | Jon Nicol
You can tell, can’t you? When your guitarist gets players and singers will carve out the time. But change how the song goes.” I have heard that
that way-too-focused-face as he fright-reads the rest will just fall victim to the busyness of accusation more than once.
through the chord chart. Or how your drummer life and not make the time. So take away the just plows into the first chorus with no regard excuse by getting the charts and recordings Early on in ministry, I loved being creative with
for the dynamic change that was supposed to out sooner—at least a week in advance. songs. But what I didn’t realize was that my
happen. Or you hear the alto sliding around to
“creativity” was impeding my team’s practice.
find a harmony while missing roughly every third 2. YOU’RE NOT MODELING PRACTICE. To me, it was just a chord-tweak here or a quick
word. Now, your keyboardist—the killer reader As the leader, when you show up unprepared, switch on a chorus and bridge there. But to my
she is—hits all the right chords. But it sounds you give your team members permission to do team members, those changes made their
nothing like the recording. And your bassist— the same. practice feel pointless.
up on the progression within the first eight bars. It’s tough, I know. As a leader, you have so So I began to see the value in default song
But he sure got busy watching the acoustic much going on that personal practice almost forms. Now for each of our songs, I chose
player’s fingers when everything changed in the feels like a luxury you can’t afford. But when one arrangement to be our standard. And
bridge. team members see your consistent lack of then when we do make structural changes,
God bless him and his fantastic ear. He picked
preparation, they will follow that standard it’s easier since we’re working from the same
It’s obvious: your band didn’t practice. Or if they you’ve set. So build time back into your starting point.
did, it wasn’t enough to avoid the music-stand- schedule to practice. Your personal practice spooning and arrangement-murdering that’s isn’t just about you getting better, it will level-up 5. NO CLEAR EXPECTATION FOR PREPARATION.
masquerading as your rehearsal. your whole team. Does your team even know that they should
It’s tempting for us worship leaders to let our 3. righteous indignation burn for our ill-prepared REHEARSAL. the time to define and communicate what
team members. But we’re not innocent here. When I started to differentiate between practice prepared looks like for both rehearsals and
In fact, if our team members aren’t practicing and rehearsal (Practice is personal; Rehearsal services, then your team isn’t practicing like
enough, we’re probably failing them as leaders is relational), I began to recognize "practice they you want them to.
in at least one area. elements" that were taking up valuable
practice before rehearsal? Or what to practice?
YOU’RE
LISTENING
TO
SONGS
DURING
Or how much to practice? If you’ve never taken
rehearsal time. One such practice element was Several years ago, I created a “Preparation
We can't order our team to practice (or slip listening to a song at rehearsal. Usually, it came Policy” that spells out what we expect for
them a pill that induces woodshedding). But we as a request from a team member who hadn’t practice and rehearsals. Now, a piece of
can take ownership for our team’s commitment learned his part at home. So we’d stop rehearsal paper won’t change anything for your ministry.
to learn their music. for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds so one But after you’ve clearly communicated your
person could hear his part. If you factor in the expectations (and fostered team buy-in), you’re
Here are five ways that worship leaders allow, four other band members, three vocalists, and now able to start holding team members to that
or even encourage poor preparation. The bright one sound tech at rehearsal, that "personal” standard.
side is that each of these things is also fixable listening session wasted a cumulative 37 by the worship leader. minutes of other people’s time.
I said at the top that these were all things a
leader could fix. But do you notice something
FIVE (FIXABLE) PREPARATION ISSUES
(Warning: the first time you deny a mid-
else in common with each of these issues?
rehearsal listen, your team won’t like it. But
1. SONGS POSTED TOO LATE.
They’re all parts and pieces of a "system of
they’ll remember it.)
When your team doesn’t get the setlist until a
preparation.” A “system” is just how you or your
couple days before rehearsal, you can kiss pre- 4. NO CONSISTENT SONG ARRANGEMENT. team gets something done. When it comes to
rehearsal practicing goodbye. A few committed "I don’t even bother to practice. You always pr