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Top 10 Dos & Donts a guide for

insensitive musicians

Bassists, guitarists, drummers, violinists, cellists, pianists, keyboard players, saxophonists: all ofyou its time to sit up and pay attention.

Yes, although you think you have the monopoly on wisdom in your band/ensemble heres aharsh reality that you need to understand. You dont.

All musicians, regardless of their Christianity and their right-mindedness and generous hearts,

have a little bit of pride lurking down deep in the soul. Why? Well, its because they all have one

thing in common: theyre human.

So leave your prejudices at the door thank you very much, and enjoy just a few pearls of wisdom

to help your on your way. Singers, you can go. Well deal with you later.

1 Do pay attention and look up

Youre ploughing away grinding out your riffs, licks, rhythms and something occurs to youthis song seems to be going on all awful long time.

HELLO

You look up and suddenly youre aware that the whole band is looking squarely at you. The

worship leader is grimacing because, in short, he or she wants you to stop.Like now.

Band dynamics rely on communication and there is a tendency with musicians to concentrate

solely on what they are doing. With this head-down approach youll miss cues instructing you to

play tenderly, forcefully, quietly and so on. If you miss your cues youll look like an idiot, andits important, for your very being, that those idiot quotients are kept to a minimum.

2 Dont just turn up and play

Churches rely on people to muck in. Sure everyone plays their own individual parts based ontheir talents but sometimes a little extra care and legwork by can grease the wheels for everyone.

If youve got a bit of time help the drummer carry his stuff or maybe shift a few amps around. If

the soundman is rushed off his feet, give him a hand lugging some speakers or put up a fewmicrophone stands. There might be a few chairs to put out or an overhead projector to assemble.

At the end of the service have a look around and offer to clear away some stuff. Clearly, you

have your job but your musical skill isnt the only element to your worship. God likes this

approach: its selfless and kind.

3 Do take the practise seriously

No you dont want to look like the Grim Reaper during the rehearsal but you dont want to start

behaving like Patch Adams either. There are phases during the practice particularly when theworship leader is concentrating on one musicians part where its tempting to start messing

about. Usually some smart arse starts playing a Livin on a Prayer and like sheep we all join in to

underscore this moment of mirth. Dont do this. Its dull and boring and crass. Be patient, feel

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free to have a chat but keep the banter to a minimum. A worship leader doesnt need to keep you

in line like a schoolteacher.

4 Dont forget your kit

Drummers, in particular, have a lot to remember but forgetting to bring sticks does crop up from

time to time because its just so obvious. One Musicademy drummer confessed to turning upwithout sticks a sizeable oversight and could not find any kind of suitable replacement. A

frenzied, yet thorough search in the churchs kitchen yielded two hand mops and this miscreant

was forced to play the entire set with said cleaning instruments.If you wish to make your life easier do a mental checklist when you are packing your stuff.

Tuners, sustain pedals, capos, plectrums, reeds, metronomes, drum stools regularly feature in the

remember when I forgot my anecdote but if you are a saxophonist and you forget to pack your

instrument then its time to tattoo a picture of it on your forehead and write look in the mirroron the back of your hand.

5 Do listen to the other parts

Lead guitarists that dont listen to acoustic guitarists, acoustic guitarists that dont listen leadguitarists, drummers who dont listen to bass players, bass players who dont listen to

drummers

The list of sinners that dont use the curly things on the side of their heads is seemingly

endless. Listening to music, listening to what other people are playing is true musicianship andits worshipful too. You can pick up on phrases and lines that the drummer is using, or even the

other way around it all adds to a feeling that you are part of a tight, respectful team and that

there are no egos in the way to derail what you are trying to do, which is to lead people to a placeof worship. Being in a band is about teamwork and if you are not aware of what the others are

doing and how they are doing it, itll be fragmented and itll sound fragmented.

6 Dont. veer away/forget what youve rehearsedTry to stick to what youve rehearsed thats the whole point of a rehearsal. Sometimesmusicians go off-piste in the service and youre never quite sure whether they are going to get

back on it. Of course, worship leaders leave room for something spontaneous to happen but

thats different from completely changing the basic form of what you have practised. Some of usare absent-minded but try to concentrate and if you know you are prone to this write down

pointers as to what you should be doing.

7 Do note down the running order

There is a story of a well-known drummer who was reminded of the true meaning of fallibilitywhen he was asked to click in a tune at a major Christian worship event. In a venue packed with

thousands, the sticksman counted himself in and began playing a standard 44 measure at quite a

frenetic pace. This lasted for around 16 bars. Expecting the band to join in he looked up. Therewas a nod of the head from the worship leader and eventually he stopped. He didnt write the

songlist down and had clicked in completely the wrong tune. You might like to describe this as a

trainwreck, of which it was. He was then informed about the song he SHOULD have played and

was invited to start again at the right tempo.This cautionary tale is there to implore you to adopt this very simple practice. Just write the list

down in the correct order and stick to it. If the worship leader chooses to mess with it, thats

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his/her lookout.

Also make sure you keep your music in order to ensure seamless song changes it really does

help to keep the congregation stay in an attitude of worship.

8 Dont overplay/underplay

There is a side of us that wants to show off, and theres another side that wants to climb into ourshells. Both extremes come from a place of insecurity one where we desperately want

attention, the other where we dont want any. Without getting too Freudian about this or feelingto need consider the relationship youve had with your parents, simply ask yourself the question:

am I worshipping God? Fear of man makes you underplay and fear of man makes you overplay.

Be sensitive to Gods spirit, and stick to what the worship leader is asking you to do.

9 Do learn your parts beforehand

You might have to badger the worship leader prior to the Sunday service to give you a list and if

he or she is notoriously Space Cadet and some are you will be at their mercy. Still, if you are

fortunate enough to get a song list early make sure you are familiar with the tunes and the

arrangements. Note down the structure and write down how many verse/chorus repeats there are.This may well change on the day but at least you will have a sense of what is about to happen

and therell be fewer surprises. Tempos are a big problem for drummers and worship leadersoften like to play at completely different speeds to those on the recorded songs because they

want to put their own stamp on it. Thats fine but take a metronome to ensure you get

consistent tempos. Turning up and saying Ive no idea how this song goes and expecting to geta decent handle on it within a couple of minutes never really works.

10 Dont be rude to sound people

This seems to be a vocation for a lot of musicians who, quite frankly, should know an awful lot

better. Stupid, up-themselves musicians look down on sound men/women who get little

recognition for their efforts, are often engaged in back-breaking activities and are invariablyblamed for dreadful sound and ineffective foldback. Poor sound quality is rife in churches, but

usually its because the acoustics are terrible and congregations cannot afford to purchaseexpensive sound equipment. For sound people in these situations its often a thankless task. If

your foldback mix isnt quite right, wait your turn and try to be as clear as you can. Whatever

you do, dont start huffing and puffing and whispering under your breath if the sound isnt how

youd like. Keep calm and try to communicate politely what you need. If this doesnt happenthen, yknow, sometimes you just gotta suck it up, and get on with it.