Booyor's BLOGgh!

Just like when I met with Norm Stockton, these are some thought-processings for myself. If you benefit, that’s cool.

Here’s the homework from Jeremy:

Band on the Run from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

• Maximize time – don’t overarrange – congregation says “Why is this taking so long?”
• Serve lyrics, serve congregation, maximize on given gifts of the band
• There’s a time to try out ideas, time to move on
• Democratic process doesn’t necessarily mean the best ideas win out – 3 out of 5 people could have a bad idea
• Instrumentation, dynamics, melodic lines
• Everyone listens like a producer – what needs to drop out here? Just because we’re up front doesn’t mean we have to be playing.
• Pre-made arrangement CDs are a curse when they don’t fit our context – don’t be locked into an arrangement
• Sound check most important part of rehearsal – you need to be aware of everyone else
• You don’t have to use everything from a CD – you can cut out bridges
• Wall of Sound sometimes makes it tough for the congregation’s voice to feel like an important contribution
• Bass guitar = foundation for the congregation to rest on
• Straight 8ths serve the song
• Off beat patterns can throw off the forward motion of the song – if drummer gets crazy on fills, bass simplifies to complement
• The Feel (ahem…groove) brings unity
• But not everything has a Feel – some songs can just be sung; you can add a Feel, but you don’t have to
• Adding a Feel to an older song can bring new focus to the lyrics
• Now how much we can do, how much we can serve
• They don’t need to know that I practice a certain amount of hours per day, but that Jesus is awesome
• Texture determined by how much of the story has already been told in the song
• Know the sounds/aural spectrum of your instrument /li>
• Everyone needs to think of the structure/sections of the song
• Aha! The Origin of the Pre-Chorus is at 54:20 in the video
• Listen to others as much as yourself
• Serve the lyrics, serve the King
• Humble servants of a gospel of a crucified King that has changed us
• Everyone playing whole notes on the chord changes does not sound bad – it may even sound better than what we’re playing now
• Play a part, not a chart
• Practice spontaneity
• Ultimately trust God to work in His Spirit and not in our arrangements. Our arrangements our tools but will never on their own change hearts.

Great video, J.

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