Worship Musician! Magazine - Nov/Dec 2013

MATT REDMAN on songwriting and God’s grace

Product Reviews Elliott Guitars Custom Tone Master

Product Reviews PreSonus ADL 700 & Monitor Station

Record Reviews

New Life Worship l Matt Redman l One Thing Live l Martin Smith Keith and Kristyn Getty

NOV/DEC 2013 Volume 11, Issue 6 11

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US $5.95 Can $6.95

“10 Characteristics of a Great Mix” by Bill Gibson

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Songchart “Your Grace Finds Me”

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Worship Sound Pro features the latest and most essential music equipment and technology for today’s houses of worship.

Sweetwater-exclusive Interview with MIKESCHAIR

The hardworking group discusses their new album, their songwriting process, and their approach to choosing gear for recording and live sound.

Essential Guides for You and Your Volunteers Image courtesy of Matt Br Bronleewe

In-depth, down-to-earth articles help volunteers, pastors, and worship leaders understand the ins and outs of the latest in worship sound technology.

Producer

Matt Bronleewe

Giving Their All

There’s no better example of a hardworking band effectively sharing the modern musical message than MIKESCHAIR. This Nashville quintet has received multiple Dove Award nominations and tours incessantly. Plus, they’ve partnered with several nonprofit organizations to help those in need — both at home and abroad. Lead singer/ guitarist Mike Grayson, guitarist Kyle Schonewill, drummer Nate Onstott, bassist Seth Penn, and keyboardist Dustin Wise will be celebrating the release of MIKESCHAIR’s soon-to-be-released album, All or Nothing, with a tour that also features Plumb and Josh Wilson. We spoke to Mike about his calling, his commitment, and his approach to making music that makes a difference.

Tell us about your new record.

This was the first record where, from a writing standpoint, I actually had a theme in mind. The first song I wrote for the record was the title track. From that moment on, I knew that the theme was set before me, of this idea of literally abandoning everything and giving all to Jesus. Throughout the album, there are three or four titles that have the word “all” in them, with the last song on the record being kind of a remake of the old hymn, “I Surrender All.” The album kind of became a journey, starting with “All or Nothing.” This is the goal of the record: bringing people through the journey of what it might look like to get to that point of saying, “I’m done with the mediocre; I’m done with the gray. I’m just ready to go for it.”

Take us through your writing process.

Songwriting is a really organic thing for me. MIKESCHAIR has been around for almost 10 years, and this is our third national release. I’ve spent a lot of time traveling all over the country and figuring out what works and what doesn’t, what connects with people and what doesn’t. I feel like this record is more focused. I had a lot more to pull from. Sometimes it’s a quote from what my pastor said, or from when people come up after a show and share their stories. There’s a song on the new record called “Forever Faithful.” That song came directly from a story that was told to me after a show. For me, songwriting is definitely a platform not only to personally get things out, but I feel that some of my job as a writer is to view the world from an outside perspective and see what God is doing in other people’s lives.

A lot of people ask, how does a song start for you? Is it a melody? Is it a lyric? Is it a chorus? For me, it’s always different. The music usually comes first for me. I’ll have a melody I’m messing around with. From there, I’ll really dive into what I want to say. On this record in particular, I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a line in a song that didn’t make me feel something. I didn’t want fluff; I didn’t want to say what I thought people WANT to hear. I wanted it to be very genuine and true to what MIKESCHAIR is about. There was a lot more time spent on lyrics for this record and just making sure that everything that was said was worth saying.

How does your approach in the studio differ from your live approach?

The studio really is a different animal. Live, I tend to really focus on the emotion of the lyric — to the point where maybe in a studio setting it might not come across as well. Live singing and playing for me is more about connecting with the person in front of you, as opposed to the studio, where I’m always trying to be true to the song and the emotion. We’re also a radio band; a lot of our music is played on the radio. So that’s a factor in the studio. But, I don’t feel like we ever have to put limits on what we do because of that. We’re trying to create the best moments that relate live but also are communicated best in a recording situation.

Matt Bronleewe mentioned that the new album sounds bigger.

We’ve taken more of an organic approach on this album. The listener may have a harder time distinguishing between what a live drummer has done and what a programmer has added. MIKESCHAIR has a pretty large, epic sound, and things are kind of related in a movie sense for me, creating different scenes. Even when it comes to writing, it’s very visual to me. I can see what I want the song to express, and at the same time, I have ideas in my head for how I want it to sound in the end. There are lots of big gang vocals, going back to our first record. One of our first songs that we did on that album was “Let the Waters Rise.” That one had a really anthemic, epic vibe to it. We definitely carry that into the new record, but at the same time, there are more organic elements involved, as opposed to synths or very obvious programmed beats.

How did you approach your gear choices for the new album?

We use a lot of Fender gear. Our bass player uses a P Bass. Our lead guitar player, Kyle, plays an American Tele, and I use a Tele Deluxe live. On previous records, we had this vault of 20 or so guitars. With this album, we focused on three or four things rather than focus on 20 different things. A lot of it was gear that we use live.

Obviously, we’d supplement it with gear the studio had, but for the most part, it was all gear that we use on a day-in/day-out basis.

What do you use for monitoring and wireless gear live?

Onstage, I use Westone in-ears with dual drivers, and we have wireless Sennheiser instrument packs. I use a Sennheiser EW-135 for vocals. interested ested in making music.

Tell us about your biggest influences and how you got inter quar As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been drawn to music. My grandma grew up singing in a quartet.

My dad always loved music. When I was a little kid, I was always singing — to the point where my parents put first guitar guitar, I me in a boy’s choir. I remember desperately wanting to play an instrument. Ass soon as I got my first remember learning to play an “E” chord, and I learned that you could move it up the neck and that it sounded ted writing music as soon as I learned that one chord. I’ve never been one who good in different places. I started focused on being a virtuoso. I’ve always been more drawn to the songwriting aspect of what playing allows me to do. As far as early influences, Jars of Clay was a huge influence on me. I grew up listening to Christian music; Jars of Clay, Chris Tomlin, and Delirious? were huge influences.

Photos by: REID ROLLS PHOTOGRAPHY

What’s next for MIKESCHAIR? Definitely a lot of touring. With the release of any new record, we hit the road hard. Whenever we do a project, Ultimately that’ that’s why I do Christian music. it’s all about, “What can we do to get out and connect with people?” Ultimately, ts and what He’ss given us to communicate. The best We love getting out and sharing what God’s put in our hearts way to do that is by going on the road.

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MIKESCHAIR’ss latest album, All or Nothing, is coming soon. ! mikeschair mikeschair.com To find out more, go to mikeschair.com!

The Nashville-based engineer and musician brings plenty to the producer’ss chair when he works with MIKESCHAIR in the studio.

Matt acts as a sounding board, helps to define arrangements, and challenges the band to do their best work. He tells us about what it’s like to work with the band, how he was an early proponent of Pro Tools recording software, and why he relies on Sweetwater to give him the scoop on new gear.

How does the production on the new album differ from past MIKESCHAIR projects? as, how do we take what One thing that Mike and I talked about was, ther? I think the new album has we’ve done before and move it further? trying to marr a bigger sound. There was kind of a notion of tr marry the ying to find digital universe with real players, trying find harmony between those two things.

Any thoughts about working with Mike?

One great thing about Mike is that he really does strive for the best.

He gets up early, stays up late, and works really hard. When he comes joy I always know he’ in and we work together, it’ss always such a joy. he’s going to pick up the ball and run with it, and push everybody to do their best. ools when you rrecor ecord, ecor d, corr You work primarily with Pro Tools record, correct?

T for a ver I’m a Pro Tools guy. I’ve been working in Pro Tools very,y, ver very long time; it’s like pen and paper for me. When I first first started, it was T with 2" tape. Then, I was one of the first guys to have a big Pro Tools rig in Nashville, back when a lot of people told me I was crazy and should be buying ADATs. Do you use the Eleven Rack in your projects?

I use it a ton. During a project a few years ago, I had to just blast out all the guitars in Eleven Rack. I didn’tt have the chance to go to another studio and replace anything. But I was immediately impressed. I love being able to play through all those presets on the tist presets that came with it when I Eleven Rack — definitely the artist got it from Sweetwater.

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What did you use for Mike’ Mike’s vocals?

We used a combination of things. Most of the vocals were recorded W on the U-47. I went through a VVintech intech X73 into a Distressor Distressor. The Distressor is great for that “modern” vocal sound.

Which plug-ins and virtual instruments have you gotten a lot out of?

I love the Native Instruments Komplete collection. We’ve W used the Alicia’s Keys piano quite a bit. I also use the Abbey Road drum kits and ‘80s kits. As far as vocals, I really like the Sound TToys plug-ins and some of the W Waves plug-ins.

What would you most love to add to your studio setup right now?

The U UA Apollo Quad interface is definitely one of the things I could see in my studio at one point. I love the U UAD plug-ins. Sweetwater is great about letting me know when something I’d be interested in comes out. This gear is my lifeblood, and being able to talk to people at Sweetwater and have a company like yours out there ser servicing the needs of people like me is huge.

Read the entire Q&A with Matt Bronleewe at

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Editor’s Corner

Flush the Old; Welcome the New...

NOV/DEC 2013

VOL. 11, ISSUE 6

OK, two things right off the bat.

1). With a title like the one above you would think that it was the Jan/Feb. issue “beginning of a whole new-year” pep talk from your editor. Well, you are wrong and that is what you get for assuming… ha!

Features

2). There is something about flying on an airplane that gets me in the mood to write to you guys and gals – our faithful readers.

38 Worship Team Training

By Branon Dempsey 8 Simple Rules for Better Worship Leading

the talent pool in that town is really remarkable, and thankfully many of the Christian musicians in that community support what we do with both the conferences and the magazines. Thank you Lord for your favor on us!

40 Guitar Grab Bag

By Doug Doppler Band Chops for Guitarists

8 Product Review

By Doug Doppler Elliott Guitars Peter Stroud Signature Custom Tone Right now I am en route to Tennessee for our Christian Musician Summit Nashville event. We have a slew of good teachers there…

Master 10 From the Drummer’s Perspective

By Carl Albrecht If you subscribe to our CMSstream.com you will be able to access Drumming in the Presence several of the workshops/teachings we are videotaping from this conference.

OK, enough commercials already – back to flushing out the old and in with the new.

It was about 10:30pm on Saturday, September 14th and I had another hour of work to wrap up a 10-hour day preparing for a 5:30am Sunday morning wake up time so I could drive my truck (which was laden with guitars and accessories) to our SeaTac Guitar Show in Kent, WA. I needed to be there around 6:30am or so, as we were loading in vendors who would fill up 120 exhibit tables. Doors opened at 9:30am to the public so the vendors want in early to set up (and also to buy and sell from each other in a fun ‘business to business’ atmosphere).

Judy was in the kitchen that Saturday night making me a late snack for working so hard. As I was preparing to price the last of the goods I was packing she asked me, “What is that sound?” I said, “It sounds like the bathroom toilet is running.” We turned around and saw water an inch deep rippling out of our downstairs bathroom and spreading out over our wood floors and heading for the burlap carpet in the living room. “Yikes!” I yelled, and ran in to turn the valve off behind the tank. Well, that did not stop it. Wow, was that a bad feeling!

After a few tense moments the water flow abated and we were left to clean up this major disruption. An hour later we had things somewhat back to normal, but it took a trip from the septic tank company the following Monday and a good amount of money to get the tank lids found, dug up, and the tank flushed empty. Yikes is right.

That was the first flush. The second was a technical one that I didn’t see coming either… especially as I am not as fluent as you might imagine with technology. When the new operating system for the iPhone came out I downloaded it so I would be up to speed. Long story short, my laptop, which holds 160 Gigabytes of info, had 157 of them in use so my phone couldn’t back up properly. It seems I set Continued on page 48

4227 S. Meridian. Suite C PMB #275 Puyallup, Washington 98373-5963 Phone: 253.445.1973 Fax: 253.655.5001 Email: bruce@christianmusician.com Website: www.worshipmusicianmagazine.com Publisher/Editor: Bruce Adolph Vice President: Judy Adolph Customer Service: Brian Felix brian@christianmusiciansummit.com Copyediting: Kevin Wilber Design Layout & Production: Matt Kees Advertising Sales: Bruce Adolph bruce@christianmusician.com • 253-445-1973 Worship Musician! is published bi-monthly

by The Adolph Agency, Inc.

12 Keyboard

By Ed Kerr Your Extraordinary Coolness 15 Bass

By Gary Lunn Bass With Heart 16 Vocals

By Sheri Gould When Creative Meets Practical 18 Tips for Tight Teams

By Sandy Hoffman ’Tudes For Tight Teams Part II (Egos, Issues, and Insecurities) 26 Songchart

By Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin Your Grace Finds Me 30 Record Reviews

By Gerod Bass • New Life Worship • Matt Redman • One Thing Live • Martin Smith • Keith and Kristyn Getty

42 The Band

By Tom Lane Younger Voices 44 Camera

By Craig Kelly Your Mic is On! 46 Playing the Mandolin

by Martin Stillion Beautiful Star of Bethlehem 50 Percussion

By Mark Shelton Coloristic Considerations 52 Product Review

By Matt Kees PreSonus ADL 700 & Monitor Station 54 A Few Moments With...

Paul Baloche Keeping Worship in Christmas

34 FOH Engineer

By Bill Gibson 10 Characteristics of a Great Mix 36 Ministry + Artistry = Profitability? Creating your MAP™

By Scott A. Shuford 5 Tips for Creating Winning Banner Ads

Interview 20 Matt Redman: on Songwriting and God’s Grace

by Aimee Herd

WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM NOV/DEC 2013

7

PRODUCT REVIEW

By Doug Doppler

Elliott Guitars Peter Stroud Signature Custom Tone Master

The Peter Stroud Signature Custom Tone Master is a crystalline reflection of the partnership between Peter Stroud and artisan builder Andy Elliot. Individually they’ve played and worked on hundreds if not thousands of guitars, and this instrument is a collective distillation of that experience.

Andy’s craftsmanship is rooted in his experience as a touring Christian musician for thirteen years. During that time he played Zion guitars, and it was Zion founder Ken Hoover who introduced Peter to Andy. From day one the mission was to craft a great sounding guitar that worked just as well in studio as it did on the road.

When Peter came to Andy he had clear idea of he wanted structurally and sonically. The current build still reflects Peter’s original desire for the strings to pass through an offset alder body, over three barrel-style saddles, and to be captured by a pair of P-90 style pickups.

He also wanted to be able to use his hands, volume control, and pickup selector to control the gain, tone and dynamics of the amp.

In turn Andy used his skill to capture the extreme level of nuance that Peter was looking for.

Andy’s “I wouldn’t sell someone an instrument I wouldn’t own myself” attitude plays a vital role in the quality of this instrument. He hand picks the wood, using only plain straight grain hard maple for the necks, ensuring they respond evenly to truss rod adjustments for decades to

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come.

Andy and Peter initially teamed up with pickup guru Lindy Fralin, but now Andy meticulously winds the P-90 style pickups himself. Andy also selects the alloys for his custom-designed bridge, with a maximum of 1 gram variance from bridge to bridge. More than just the sum of some great ideas and parts, the Tone Master reflects a relentless pursuit to design an instrument that is as inspirational to play as it is to look at.

While the Tone Master is a truly beautiful guitar, the name does not disappoint. The acoustic tone is wonderfully consistent across the strings as well as up and down the neck. If you play most instruments long and hard enough you’ll find someplace where they buzz or produce some bizarre overtone. None of these issues were apparent on this instrument thanks to the choice of woods as well as the design of the bridge.

Although the bridge uses three barrel-saddles to couple pairs of strings together sonically, the saddles are slightly separated from one another, simultaneously delivering blend and separation.

chords due to the width and size of their fingers.

T h e 9.5” radius feels great to play for chords as well as single notes.

Speaking of playing this is where this instrument truly excels. Although it can morph into creating an astonishing number of our favorite tones, the Tonemaster has a sound, and an outstanding one at that. From rollicking rock to chimey clean the pickups are loud yet clear. They drive the front of the amp powerfully without sounding—or just as importantly—feeling overwound.

Feel being the operative word here, this instrument really delivers. The strings have just the right amount of bounce whether hit soft or hard and the “jazz controls” open up a whole other world of tones. Regardless of where the controls are set the guitar is wonderfully touch sensitive without being quirky or brash.

The Elliot Guitars Peter Stroud Signature Tone Master is hands down one of the best instruments I ever played. If you’re looking for killer tone, great feel and expert craftsmanship, this guitar has it all.

This guitar retails for $3,850.

For a larger instrument, the 25.5” scale Tone Master is well-balanced and extremely comfortable to play whether standing or sitting. The 1” 11/16th nut width is perfect for players with who have intonation issues with open string

For more information please visit ElliottGuitarsNC.com

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FROM THE DRUMMER’S PERSPECTIVE

By Carl Albrecht

Drumming in the Presence I’ve been writing about technique and growing in your drumming skills quite a bit lately. The musical journey of a musician should never end. It’s always in process. There’s always so much to learn. Discovering how to groove better; developing more chops; learning the latest technology… etc. It’s all important and vital in our drumming journey.

But it’s time to step back again and address the heart of the worship drummer. Keeping your focus on the Lord, serving the worship leader, and leading people into His presence is your highest calling. Everything else serves that.

welcomed everyone and started to pray, the band started to play softly under what was being said. I honestly didn’t hear him (the pastor) very clearly, but the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Play so softly that know one else can hear it. But I will hear it… and right now that is all that matters.” So for the next few moments I just used my fingers and played the drums and cymbals to worship the Lord. I was flowing with the other sounds coming from the band, but it was as soft as I could play it. If anyone else heard, it didn’t matter. I was doing it at the Lord’s request.

There is a moment in worship services, and even concerts, where there is a tangible sense that God is in the room. Of course God is present everywhere, but I’m talking about that “manifest presence” of the Lord when people are singing, praising, shouting, clapping hands, dancing… “making a joyful noise.”

And yes, sometimes it’s in the silent moments of worship too that we sense the Lord’s presence.

We just have to stay tuned in to the Lord as we play… or NOT play. Things will always happen that can distract us from our primary goal and calling as a worship musician. It happens to everyone, but staying focused when distractions happen can keep you from losing heart, as well as help you to maintain your passion as you play.

It was odd… and amazing at the same time. My heart seemed to be focused once again on why I was there and what worship is really about, and Who it really is for.

I noticed at a recent event with the Paul Baloche band that the Lord was drawing me closer to Himself as I was walking toward the stage. He was already calling me to be aware of His presence as I played. We had finished praying before the service, but it didn’t really feel like a profound moment of seeking the Lord for me. Honestly, I felt like I was struggling the whole weekend. The drum kit was great, but it was new to me, and I never really felt like I got it tuned up and dialed in for the way I wanted it to sound. So that was the first distraction. Then it seemed like the sound or “in-ear” mixes were not really working well for us. It wasn’t the engineer’s fault. It was just a different room; different sonic environment… it was just different. And last, but not least, Paul was not really feeling there was enough “energy” coming from the band. So I tried a few things to create some “drive” to the drum parts I normally play for Paul’s music. He was not happy with the changes. It’s a bummer when you think you’re helping and it is actually having the opposite affect. Sigh… :) And so it happens. Some days are better than others.

In the middle of the struggle I sensed the Lord saying to just worship Him. Don’t focus on what is not working, or not perfect, and just do your best and pour your heart into it. And so I put on my best “game face” and sat down at the drums to express my love for the Lord in what He has gifted me to do. As one of the pastors

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(I Chronicles 25:7 NIV - … all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord.)

Yes, I’m there so serve the band and the people, but my first calling is to make music for the Lord. And so I immediately felt spiritually recalibrated. As the band launched into the songs the flow of worship seemed to be stronger, and the band, as well as the congregation, responded with more passion.

The other issues were NOT resolved. It was better I guess… or maybe I just didn’t focus on the negative as much. Either way, it didn’t seem to matter. I just had the feeling of jumping off of a cliff into a perfect swimming hole. The presence of the Lord does that to me. I hope you feel that when you are worshiping too. I was still working hard to focus on the musicality and deal with some of the technical distractions. Just because I was having a good time in the presence of the Lord does not mean that I neglected the job I had to do. But being focused on the Lord and sensing His nearness gave me strength and determination to overcome them.

There will be times that, no matter how much you prepare and practice, things will not go as well as you thought they would. All you can do is to continue to learn and grow in the calling and skill the Lord has placed in you. Even as my worship experience improved at that event, I was still adjusting or tweaking the mechanics of the music.

Between sets I would work on issues that I thought would help. I continued to work on some tuning options on the drum kit. It felt like the kick drum and toms were finally working great, but I never really got the snare drum to sound the way I wanted. It was a snare the church had that I was not familiar with, and I didn’t think it would be a big deal to try it out. It was a top brand, but for some reason I could not get it to sound the way I thought

it should. When that happens, you just keep playing and make the best of it. And so I did. The cymbals where a top brand of another manufacturer and sounded good, but I switched to my personal collection to eliminate that distraction.

At the same time the band was careful to do sound checks before each set so we could fine-tune the mixes. It finally settled in during the last set. I don’t know why it took us so long, but it just happens that way sometimes.

Keeping your heart at peace and keeping the rest of the team settled is also part of being a worship musician/ leader. As we’re all trying to grow and make things better it’s okay to challenge each other, and even push when it’s necessary… but never, ever be mean. Even when the atmosphere is getting tense, try to maintain a sense of humor and a positive team spirit. Sometimes this means just keeping your mouth shut! Yes, there are times to just let it go, and if you can’t say something that will encourage everyone or really be helpful then just stay quiet.

The calling or job of a drummer in any group is to lay down a solid foundation of tempo and groove. In a worship team there can be an extra duty of being the one who brings the focus of the team onto the Lord and ministering to Him. This is, of course, the calling of every worship team member, but quite often we just let the worship leader or pastor carry the responsibility. It really should not be that way.

I feel the character or personality of drummers is to be one that rallies the troops.

It’s not surprising that drums historically were used in battle to bring armies into step; to keep order; to determine the pace; etc. And so it is in modern worship music. Drumming is not just about hitting things and pounding out rhythm. It’s about being a minstrel of the presence of the Lord... assisting the lead worshipper in keeping the band in step, and rallying the people to meet with God. We are the first line of servant leadership for a worship team. And so, I’m reminding myself and my fellow drummers to stay in line, and in step with their high calling. Always play for the glory of God and to raise up a sound that welcomes the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Everything else is secondary, and falls in step to that. -- March on!

Carl Albrecht has been a professional drummer & percussionist for over 25 years. He has played on over 70 Integrity Music projects; Maranatha Praise Band recordings & numerous other Christian, Pop, Country, Jazz & commercial projects. He currently lives in Nashville doing recording sessions, producing, writing and continuing to do various tours & seminar events. Visit his website: www.carlalbrecht.com or send an e-mail to: lmalbrecht@aol.com.

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SOUND LEGACY

KEYBOARD

By Ed Kerr

Your Extraordinary Coolness I’ve been teaching some songwriting classes recently, and one of the resources I recommended to the students was “God Songs”, a great book Paul Baloche has written along with Jimmy and Carol Owens. An early chapter addresses the harmonic choices songwriters have when writing congregational worship songs. Jimmy Owens describes the challenge he once faced when writing music within the fairly limited harmonic vocabulary of these songs. He says, “In those days I preferred chords with at least four notes, and sometimes seven. But I had to ask myself—which is more important, to show off my extraordinary coolness, or to minister to the people?”

You might wonder what this has to do with you and I as keyboard players. Here’s a picture that shows how it relates.

Something like the piece you see above couldn’t be more different from a pad part that works well on a popular worship song like “The Stand”. It’s one of many songs where the pad part heard on the familiar recording features 2 notes that are held for four bars or more. Without changing. 2 notes.

The truth is every musician on your worship team gets to decide whether they’re going to play in a way to showcase their skills or play what is called for in the song’s arrangement. Played “10,000 Reasons” lately? If you play it like Matt Redman’s recording I’ll bet your guitar players found that challenging, since the recording features little more than acoustic piano and vocals. Each of us, every vocalist, every member of the band, needs to always ask whether what they’re contributing is essential to the song’s arrangement.

This is a screen shot from multitracks.com’s file for “Glorious”, a song by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown. See that wide Would the last chorus of the song you’re playing have more yellow stripe running across the picture? That’s the waveform impact if the background vocalists waited to sing until that chorus arrives? Would the reintro after the first chorus gain momentum if the bass player didn’t enter until then?

Would the momentum of the arrangement be heightened if the drummer avoided playing the snare drum on the backbeat until the 2nd verse arrived?

As illustrated with the keyboard hook in “Glorious” seen to the left here, would dropping a keyboard part out after the intro until much later in the song help the arrangement reach a dramatic climax? The answer is clear when you listen to the recording.

Certainly a live presentation of a song is different from a recording where there can be multiple keyboard parts and other elements contributing to a dynamic arrangement.

Still, there’s no reason the parts you and every other musician on your worship team creates can’t contribute to an arrangement with similar impact.

for a keyboard part that states the intro’s opening hook. Here’s some more detail. You can see here that the part stops after Listen carefully. Play thoughtfully. And minister well, in Jesus’ 8 bars. It’s well over 2 minutes later before the part is heard Name.

As a songwriter Ed has written over 100 songs with Integrity Music. He has a Masters Degree in piano performance. Ed and his family live in Washington State. Ed plays Yamaha’s Motif XS8. www.kerrtunes.com

again. There are other keyboard parts on the recording that are heard sooner, but this particular sound is used sparsely.

Just as Jimmy Owens learned that demonstrating his grasp of sophisticated chord theory didn’t necessarily fit the music he was writing, you and I need to embrace the fact that the keyboard parts we contribute on our worship teams won’t often demonstrate the technical facility we have as keyboard players. Like me, you might have extensive training as a classical pianist. You’ve performed Chopin Etudes, Bach Partitas, and Debussy Preludes. Lots of activity for both hands. Lots of fast notes. Recognize this? >

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BASS

By Gary Lunn

Bass With Heart I recently went on a mission trip to Japan with a group from Christ Church choir. We had a great time, saw many interesting places, experienced a new culture (for me), and got to see new people brought into the Kingdom. I think that there is something very anointed about choirs and the way that they present music and song. They can sing the “blues” of a sinner’s life or the praise of a happy Christian life. It’s not always possible for both experiences to be sung by an individual Christian artist, but a choir can sing them. Think about it.

While I was there I got to meet a few bass players and hear them play. The thing I noticed most was not unlike some of the choirs I heard - I saw more “going through the motions” rather than actually playing in the same “language.” I agree with the common opinion that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but just as I saw the Christ Church choir relentlessly work on their proper Japanese diction, the same effort must be undertaken to copy someone else’s bass style.

In Nashville I play with several tribute bands (for “the love,” mostly). I play with a Steely Dan tribute band, a Chicago tribute band, an 80’s R&B/pop tribute band, and I sub occasionally with an LA, 80’s pop tribute band. I was already somewhat familiar with most of the material before playing with each of them, except for the Steely Dan band (I was not as familiar with their material before “Aja.” Needless to say I had to do a lot of intense “wood shedding” to really be able to play those “Dan” tunes authentically. I tell people that playing bass with that band is like doing a bass solo the entire time, due to the complexity of some of the bass parts; complex, yet very composed and repeating (Anthony Jackson’s bass line on “Glamour Profession” is a masterfully composed

work of art in itself). Whenever I would practice with the original recordings, I was sure to pay close attention to the notes; but more than that, to the “attitude.”

There is enormous attitude present in Chuck Rainey’s playing that you have to really “get the feel” for. If it’s not there when I play it, it’s just not the same, not even close. He is truly a master of the “pocket,” yet his lines aren’t always just a “walk in the park.”

When analyzing bass players’ performances, you should be sure to listen to the intensity of their playing ebbs and flows. Listen for when it feels bouncy and excited, or when it’s laid back and mellow. Does he lean forward on the beat when he does a fill or does he pull back and just “get it done” in his own sweet time? Does he seem to pluck the strings hard or does he have more of a soft touch? These are all attitude studies, but they will cause changes in your playing style as you try to become “that” bass player.

The Chicago material (which I have listened to since I was very young) has a completely different set of rules attached to it, conceptually. Chicago is more about the song, the horns, and the vocals. It’s much less about the actual groove within the songs. In fact, Peter Cetera’s wonderfully melodic, “Bugaloo” style bass lines have very little to do with what Danny Seraphine is doing with his ‘jazzy” style drum parts (they are very busy with plenty of miniature solos every few bars). As a result, Cetera’s bass parts are very fundamentally oriented and repetitious, yet wonderfully melodic and “signature-esque.“ But the unusual way that it all works out is that now the bassist is holding every song down in a solid stature while the drummer is doing all kinds of busy playing. It’s completely different from the normal bass player and

drummer approach, but when it’s done correctly in the cover band, it feels just like vintage Chicago.

In a worship band, when there is a drummer who overplays (and won’t “dial it back”), it might be the right approach to take when playing with this band. In other words, somebody’s gotta hold it down, and it may as well be you since you’re the only one left to do it. :-) The bass player/drummer relationship in the Steely Dan tribute band is a lot more like what it should be in a worship band.

The drummer is wonderfully solid most of the time, which allows the bassist to have more freedom to choose his melodic moments, always chosen tastefully. As I always say, bass players should never overplay during worship so that we don’t draw too much attention to ourselves.

If there was one thing that I wish I could have conveyed to my brothers in Japan, it would have been this: Remember that as you study different bassists they all become a permanent part of your own personal musical fabric. They get mixed together and what comes out of you eventually is YOUR own style; it’s all a conglomerate of what you like and favor about all of those different musicians. It takes time!

But if you just play notes, then they’re just tones without any of the originally intended passion behind them; then they become lifeless notes. Dig in until you find the heart of the master - and the Master!

Gary Lunn is a session bassist/programmer/producer in Nashville, TN. Feel free to contact him with questions or work opportunities at garylunn@me.com or find him on Facebook.

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VOCALS

By Sheri Gould

When Creative Meets Practical Tension.

Lots of things come to mind when I think of this word. Some things are innocuous, such as the tension I need on the ropes stretching across my clothesline. Some things are romantic—such as the gentle (or not so gentle!!) tension caused by the attraction I felt when I first met my husband. Then there is this definition: “a strained relationship between individuals or groups…”

Ah… the joys and pitfalls of being a part of a team.

There can be lots of reasons for tension developing within the parameters of a team, but for today’s article, I’d like to address one specifically: the tension that develops when the “Creative” meets the “Practical”.

I’ll never forget an experience I had when I first got the position of “Worship Leader”. Until that point, my various position titles were things like “Music Director”, “Choir Director”, and “Minister of Music”. But one day things changed.

There was no longer simply a piano on one side of the church and an organ on the other with a choir loft in between.

We were going to establish a “worship team” with a live band, and my title was going to change.

know what He wants to do on Sunday?”

This man and I would likely have clashed had we been working together.

His “creative” style versus my “practical” managerial style would likely be at odds with each other on a regular basis. But need they always be?

Creative vs. Practical Visionaries are typically “creative types”, but they often need practical help to carry things out. Conversely, the practical “manager” types (like me) can’t do much on our own when it comes to thinking creatively. Some of my close friends laugh at me when I say I’m not creative because of all the very “creative” things I’ve been a part of—even led—in my life. But, truth be told, I am a great copy artist and can carry out someone else’s vision pretty easily. Here’s the thing though . . .I’d be lost without the creative types. And you know what? Most of them would be pretty lost without someone to help “manage” their creative juices.

We need to have a healthy respect for each other’s gifting(s). I also think it’s very important to know and understand each other’s gifting(s), and temperaments. As a part of my leadership classes, I always recommend that people in leadership take some type of personality test (like the Myers-Briggs for example) so that they can be sure to understand how they function. Then they need to make sure that they seek out other types that will complement them. Without a myriad of personality types and gifting our teams will become one-sided, even lop-sided.

We will invariably be missing some important elements that will have negative effects over time.

I swiftly began to research. Of note to me was a large church in the area that had a very “successful” worship team. I had access to the worship leader there because I was regularly giving his wife voice lessons. One day, I met up with him and asked him for his advice on several key issues. I’ll never forget one of the things he shared with me. He said, “I never put my set list together until Saturday night. I want to make sure that I What’s hard for me is not getting things get a fresh leading from the Holy Spirit.” done on time. What’s hard for a creative I nearly laughed out loud. Now don’t type is being forced into a box. We need get me wrong. I had a lot of respect to recognize that each side has valid for the way God was using him and points and valid needs. The world won’t the worship ministry at his church. But I end if certain things don’t get done on heard something very different behind my schedule, and creativity won’t die just his comment. What I heard behind his because someone has put a parameter comment was more akin to, “I put things on it. off until the last possible moment.” Maybe And then there’s the leadership aspect. that was unfair of me, but my thinking Authority issues. Who’s in charge? When was this, “Doesn’t the Holy Spirit already do I get MY say?

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One of the things I like to say is that, in my experience, people rarely mind taking time out of their schedules for rehearsals.

What people mind is having their time wasted. So, we need to have effective rehearsals. In order to have effective rehearsals there needs to be a plan (ok I admit it, there’s my “managerial” style coming out). There is a time for creativity.

There is a time for brainstorming and having creative ideas. Rehearsal is NOT that time. During rehearsal, SOMEONE needs to be in charge. That someone needs to have a plan. That someone, I assume, is going to be your worship leader. Please do NOT share your creative thoughts, ideas, and plans with him (or her) DURING rehearsal. Save them for later. They are probably great ideas, but respect his and everyone else’s time and share them later. Your ideas are a LOT more likely to be genuinely considered if they are offered in a respectful and timely manner. (Take it from a manager type) Now your worship leader may be the OPPOSITE of me. He may be the creative type and not so great with carrying out those PRACTICAL ideas that help rehearsals to go more smoothly and effectively. You manager types have to hold your tongue as well. Share your brilliant ideas: later. He needs to hear them, just not in the middle of rehearsal.

Lastly, but most importantly, write Philippians 2:3-4 on your heart. Let it be our mantra: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” “

God bless and happy singing!

Sheri Gould is an internationally acclaimed vocal coach. With a degree from the University of Ill, she has been coaching since 1979 and leading worship since 1985. For weekly vocal tips, check out Sheri’s FB page at www.facebook.com/officialsherigould. For information on products, including instructional DVDs, check out http://sherigould.com

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TIPS FOR TIGHT TEAMS

by Sandy Hoffman

’Tudes For Tight Teams - Part II (Egos, Issues, and Insecurities)

In Part I of ’Tudes For Tight Teams, we received a serious combat’titude adjustment! Realizing that there was “no wisdom in the second kick of a mule,” we resolved to learn from our team-spoiler mistakes—THE FIRST TIME! Responding wisely, we decided to make deposits into, instead of withdrawals out of, our worship team “relational bank accounts.” We saw that without the right worship-’tudes, our worship-engines sat idle, getting us nowhere–fast! I’m just not willing to settle for sitting still, are you? Together, as they say in the South, “Let’s give it the gun!”

PREDIS-MUSICIANS Most of us worshipers are also musicians.

We seem to be driven, or at least strongly influenced, by certain artistic predispositions. There are egos, issues, and insecurities, which can creep up and accompany us throughout all our days. Try as we may to banish them forever from the kingdoms of our hearts, they seem to be permanent fixtures. They are only mastered and brought into submission through the application of God’s Word in our lives.

Though they may never be completely gone, they can be overcome by “... presenting our bodies [and ’tudes] as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is [our] reasonable [act of worship] service. (Romans 12:1b, NKJV) Personal egos, issues, and insecurities lie deep in heart-driven areas of our lives. They can become entrenched, inhabiting the very core of our identity. They must be covered by the blood of Christ and overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot defeat them alone, but with Divine help, our aim is to move from Galatians 5:20, where we read such words as “jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and dissensions,” to Galatians 5:22-26: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such there is no law.

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

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EGOS I seriously considered calling this article “THERE HE GOES AGAIN” (referring to an individual experiencing recurring egoexplosions). With slight variations, this may also be written in the plural as: “THEIR EGOS AGAIN!” It’s a play on words, but yes, our ego challenges do tend to be repetitive. Just when we think we’ve got all that ego-related baggage unpacked and put away: “Boom!” It rears it’s ugly head again, and we’re back to square one: doin’ ’tude-time.

Our egos, which are rooted in our opinions of ourselves, can cause no-end of worship team conflict. Since egos are tied so closely to our judgments of, and comparisons to, the world around us, they can quickly cause us to slip into conceit, provocation, and envy. (See Galatians 5:26 above.) How do we keep those egos in check? Here are three Biblical suggestions, shared to help us get on the road to right ego-’tudes.

1. Begin by preferring one another: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” (Romans 12:10, NKJV) Practicing putting the needs and feelings of others before our own will always help us to avoid or diffuse ego-driven team contentions.

2. Let others (except for your mother) praise you (and don’t do it yourself either): “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2, NKJV) If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that there are at least two people on earth who will always tell us what we want to hear: our mothers, and ourselves! It’s probably best to allow someone other than those so dear to us to articulate the perceivable truth about us.

Honesty can be a real kick in the ol’ ego!

But as regards honest critique: “When you detect, do not deflect!”

3. Humble yourself before the Lord, and let Him do the lifting, i.e. bragging/judging/ comparing: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10, NKJV) ISSUES FOLLOW EGOS: ...they flow where egos go!

Judgments,

criticisms,

and

negative

analyses of other people’s performances, musicianship, leadership, relational skills, communication skills, fashion, passion, etc., can easily turn into ongoing issues within our worship teams. Something as seemingly harmless as a raised eyebrow, an unintended condescending glance, or even throat clearing at the inappropriate moment can engender hurt, embarrassment, humiliation, and anger on the part of the teammate feeling judged. You will probably live to regret it!

As said in Part I, I am compelled to debate with Sir Isaac Newton and say that it seems to me that not every reaction is equal to the original action which spawned it.

Sometimes the reaction appears to be a serious over-reaction, far more intense and much longer lasting. Once that reactivityball is rolling, it is so difficult to recall our initial negative output. We must think before we speak!

The scripture clearly admonishes us to “judge not.” Unless we are ready to ride that judgment-pony for the long haul, it’s best to keep our negativities to ourselves and focus more on encouragement, support, and gentle instruction with our fellow worship team members. Always keep in mind that it requires as many as ten deposits in any relational “bank account” to offset even one judgment-withdrawal. Unless you’re prepared to ride out that wave of ongoing team-issues and reactions, it’s best to be careful how you sprinkle those judgments around...

Equally as destructive are comparisons with other’s abilities, successes, authority, popularity, good looks, or opportunities, which can tear down worship team unity and trust. Comparing will cause us to be dissatisfied with ourselves, and at the same time, envious of the blessings and gifts of others. There is no promise of productivity in time wasted comparing. Why not resolve to be your very best, and allow others to do the same?

INSECURITIES INTENSIFY ISSUES When we are unsure of ourselves, it’s easy to judge and compare. Our own insecurities exponentially increase the likelihood of team issues! I’m thinkin’ that “the cure for the insecure is confidence!”

When we are comfortable in our own skin, we’re much less likely to be comparing our epidermis with the skin of our worshipneighbors! Increasing in confidence greatly aids in reducing our insecurities and kneejerk judgments. (Underline “jerk” because that’s how some will perceive you!)

Where do your insecurities lie?

Appearance? Inability to walk as Jesus did? Fear of the spotlight (sweaty palms/ Continued on page 48

MATT REDMAN on songwriting and God’s grace

A full time worship leader since the age of 20, Matt Redman’s wealth of experience in songwriting for the Church is not only valuable, but is—even after all this time—very inspirational.

To put it simply; he is definitely not ‘weary in well-doing.’

Matt allows not just his words and songs, but also his heart of devotion for the Lord, to be evident to all. His new record focuses on God’s great grace that finds each one of us in the midst of life; always unmerited and often unexpected...

Aimee Herd: Matt, you’ve been writing songs to express love and a walk with the Lord for so many years now—and you have a new live worship album recently released—do you ever get to the point where you say, “I just don’t know what else to say…

I’ve written songs for the Lord in so many different ways…” …and what do you do if/when you do get to that place; how do you get past that?

Matt Redman: I once heard a pop producer say you can only write four kinds of pop song – “I love you,” “I hate you,” “Go away” and “Come back!”

That’s a great observation, but obviously it’s not true of worship songs.

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by Aimee Herd

Even in our best moments we’re only just scratching the surface – there’s an amazing breadth and depth of revelation for us to tackle in our songs.

We can sing about the colors of God’s faithfulness and love, we can tell of all the shades of His greatness and holiness. We can anthem about His mighty deeds and wonderful acts. The list goes on and on. So in light of that I hope I’d never run out of new things to say in song to Him. If I do, I’ll know I need to open the eyes of my heart a little wider. My hero would be a person like Charles Wesley, who never ran out of things to say to the Savior. He composed over 3,000 hymns and even on his deathbed he couldn’t stay silent, and wrote one last song.

interesting activity – you never really feel qualified. A scientist can stand upon their research, knowledge, and experience and feel confident that they’re an expert in their field. It’s the same for many walks of life – you could pass an accountancy exam, for example, and know that you’re now qualified to that level and will be able to repeat your past accomplishments whenever you need to. But it’s not the same with songwriting. A song like “10,000 Reasons” can fly around the globe a bit and, like you say, pick up a few awards along the way. But the interesting thing is, in some ways I don’t feel any more qualified now than I did ten years ago. I know more about how to form a song, and how to put myself I love songwriting as a creative in a posture where I’m more likely to process, but more than anything, I be inspired. But ultimately I can’t relove it as a devotional process. I find trace my steps, repeat the formula that pouring out a heart-song and then and make it happen again. And I love laboring over the crafting of it is such that, because it builds in a sense of a good way to talk to God. The other dependence. factor in the mix is the collaboration Yes, of course I’ve learned a lot along thing. It’s brilliant how many times the way, and I hope my skills as a you don’t have a new song idea, but songwriter are growing. But deep down someone else does. Or you can’t figure I know that experience or expertise out how to proceed with an idea you alone cannot provide a song that’s have for a song, but someone else has going to help people reach out to God the missing piece. Since I started co- in worship in a special way. Ultimately writing more intentionally, I’d say I’m I’m dependent on the Holy Spirit. I’m definitely ending up completing more not belittling experience and hard songs. work – they count for so much – but my AH: “10,000 Reasons” was such a point is that anything truly meaningful, big song, brought you two GRAMMYS, lasting, powerful, and spiritual is going a Billboard Music Award and ASCAP’s to have something else to it, something Christian Music song of the year… extra. In a funny way, that takes a lot of and it was such a great anthem of the pressure off. worship that so many in the Body of Christ have embraced and have related to—is it hard to follow a song and an album like that? Does that ever get into your head at all, or is each new album is a whole new thing for you?

MR: Songwriting is an

room, doing their thing.

Something interesting happened the day after the awards. I woke up to an email from someone whose loved one had just passed away to be with Jesus, and in their hospital ward as they moved from this life to the next, they asked to be listening to the “10,000 Reasons” song. That put everything firmly into perspective for me. I was so utterly grateful to receive the GRAMMYs, but that’s not what I write songs for. I write songs to usher hope, peace, and truth into people’s hearts – and to give them a way to talk to God, even in the most intense life moments. That email was a timely reminder.

AH: Your new album is titled “Your Grace Finds Me”—where has God’s grace found you at this time in your life?

What is the story behind that title?

MR: That song is an acknowledgement that the grace of God shows up in our lives every single day, in all sorts of amazing ways. When we sing about grace, so often we’re singing about it in the context of Calvary – and of course we should because that’s the centerpiece of our faith, and the hugest example of grace we’ll ever come across. Grace found us at the cross, and we’ll never be the same. But I wanted to write a song that looked at the full spectrum of grace – and how it keeps on finding us. Life itself is grace – for every single breath is a freely and generously given gift to us from the heart of God. We did nothing to deserve it, and we could not earn it.

You could apply that thinking to every AH: Speaking of awards, what was part of your life – every single good gift it like for a worship artist to attend the we have in this life is the grace of a GRAMMY Awards?… generous God at work.

MR: It was a really special couple of One of the themes on the record is of days. I loved being there with my wife, ‘battle and blessing.’ So often we seem Beth, and experiencing that moment to travel through both together. We together. And also, there was a great can have something hard going on in sense of team - my co-writer Jonas our life, and then have this great sense was there hanging out, and of course of God smiling over you with blessing. the Giglios; Chris Tomlin, and other There was one day when we were friends who I’ve worked with for years; writing – myself and Jonas Myrin – it for example the Capitol CMG guys. So was a crazy day; my son went to the there was a really nice sense of being hospital with a suspected broken leg, I around team and among friends. One ripped the door off my car in a parking of the great things about those few incident, and I could hardly play guitar days was the amount of love, warmth, because of tendonitis in my hands... I and encouragements that poured in was like, “Look we need to just stop the afterwards through email and social songwriting process right now, there’s a media. I felt so affirmed in what I do lot going on in life...” but my wife was in life, and I felt so grateful for that. brilliant, she said, “No, you get down And then of course there was the live there and contend with these songs, this music side of things – it was a treat to is battle.” And out of those days came see some of the world’s biggest music a couple of key songs on the record; culture shapers right now, all in one

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Matt Redman: by Aimee Herd

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“Mercy” and “Your Grace Finds Me.” Sometimes, those kinds of moments are the things that define us, more than anything else, in terms of what kind of worshipers we’re going to be. My prayer for this record is that it will really find its way into people’s lives.

AH: A couple of the songs that really stood out to me on the new record are: “I need you Now,” and “Wide as the Sky”. What were those songs born out of?

MR: “I Need You Now” was written in Stockholm, co-written by my friends Jonas Myrin and Scott Ligertwood.

It’s a simple prayer of thirst and dependence. When we were writing it I really had a sense of the lyrics being very real to me – it wasn’t a case of scrambling around for some words that would fit – it felt like a heartfelt cry, a song I needed to sing in that moment.

When we recorded the songs live at LIFT, leading this song was a moment that really caught me by surprise. It seemed to help usher us into a deep moment of encounter with God. My friend Kristian Stanfill initiated the song “Wide as the Sky.” Some of the chorus was a thought he had when we were co-writing for the Passion college conference last year. But it never became a completed song. I loved what he had going with this idea, and it kept coming to mind. So three days before the recording he and I decided to get together, with Jonas Myrin too, and see if we could complete the song.

We went through a couple of versions, and landed on the finished song that you hear on the album. The great learning point here for me was how open-handed Kristian was. He had no ‘preciousness’ about his original idea – he just wanted the best for the song – so that set up a great atmosphere for him, Jonas, and me to write in. We could all

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harmonies, percussive elements, and organic sounds – there’s very little effects or processing or grandiose textures going on. It’s the same with someone like Adele. Who would have thought that largest selling artist globally could be speaking through such an organic and stripped down expression of music? With her music, it’s really all AH: Another song that touched me, about her voice and the songs. especially in light of the increased awareness of human trafficking, and This point hit home for me when I the increased persecution of Believers watched the documentary, ‘Jiro Dreams in certain countries… is “Let My People of Sushi’ recently. It’s about this old Go”… can you talk about how that Japanese sushi chef who many say is among the best in the world. He talks song came about? about how these days everyone piles MR: Yes, I really wanted a song that all sorts of elaborate sauces on sushi, was both a congregational worship which of course can be interesting and song, and a justice song at the same creative. But he says actually the very time. I was also really keen that we get best sushi is when you source the very really specific in the lyrics, to speak up finest and purest ingredients and then about the modern day slavery issue present them very skillfully in a simple and the evils of human trafficking. and uncomplicated way. He said he’d My wife Beth had the song title idea, spent over six decades trying to refine “Let my people go” – and I loved that his approach and perfect the ultimate because it summed up both things pure sushi. I found that really inspiring, we were going after – worship and and it definitely helped me think justice. When Moses says that phrase through trying to write songs that could on behalf of God, he is saying, “Set be stripped down to their most basic my people free so they can go and arrangement, but still be beautiful, and worship.” So it’s a worship issue. But still ‘work.’ then of course he’s also talking about AH: Does Beth still write with you? them being free from the shackles of slavery – so it’s a justice issue too. For Talk about some of the co-writers who more info on this whole thing, check out collaborated with you lyrically on this album… www.theA21campaign.org.

MR: Yes, it’s a huge blessing to AH: “This Beating Heart” has that kind of ‘Rend Collective’ feel to it. Was be married to someone who loves to worship, and understands the there any influence there from them? songwriting process so well. Other MR: Ha! Probably! I hung around collaborators on the songs are people them for a while this past year, so it’s like Jonas Myrin, Jason Ingram, Matt definitely possible that some of their Maher, Chris Tomlin, and Reuben Irish charm is rubbing off on me! I Morgan. What I love about all of those think, more than anything, the song guys is they have a strong heartbeat style here reflects that new wave of folk for congregational worship, and all that’s showing up in popular culture. It’s write both lyrics and melody. Another fascinating to me watching bands like couple of writers are from my UK band Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers, – Jorge Mhondera and Willie Weeks. and how wide they are taking that kind I asked them to throw me an idea for of music. I love this kind of music so I an up-tempo song, and they sent me think it probably just naturally found some musical thoughts which I loved it’s way into our approach on a few and evolved into “Sing and Shout,” the songs on this album. It’s the same on opening song on the album. the last record – we’d never have got the mandolin out of the attic and dusted AH: Who are your band members it down if this new wave of folk wasn’t on “Your Grace Finds Me”, and where influencing culture – I feel like it gave was it recorded? us permission to explore those styles MR: We had a large band – including again.

4 guitarists. We wanted some nice What I love about that genre is how depth of electric texture in some of the uncomplicated it can be – it’s all voices, songs. We also had several acoustic instruments happening (bazouki, throw ideas around without any danger of anyone getting offended or feeling defensive about their contributions.

That kind of thing is so important when it comes to co-writing dynamics. You all have to dive in with humility and vulnerability – it just doesn’t work otherwise.

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Matt Redman: by Aimee Herd

continued

m a n d o t a r, banjitar etc.) so we needed a few hands on deck to accomplish all this. Daniel Carson from Tomlin’s band joined us and came up with some great parts.

Matt Podelsa, in my regular band, handled the mando and lots more electrics.

Bryan Brown, another of my regular band, took on acoustics and banjitar. And then we brought James Duke in – he played bazouki on “Sing and Shout” and we let him loose to do his distinctive thing on electric guitar with a few of the songs. Nathan Nockels MD’d the band, and his worship leading wife Christy Nockels sang – as did my wife Beth, and a great singer from Hillsong, Jules Adekambi. Jacob Arnold, who has played drums with me for five years now, handled drums - with his long-time rhythm section partner John Duke on bass. So we had a very full stage, but it was great for flexibility and variety – which is probably important when you’re recording 12 songs all at once. Another key part of the team is our sound guy, Stephen Bailey. You can imagine that with all these instrument options and most of us singing, there’s a whole lot going on mix wise. Stephen’s attention to detail and commitment to learning the song arrangements counts for so much in those moments.

enhances your calling to lead the best, and run with that. For some, that will mean lots of pedals with lots of flashing lights. For others it’ll mean keeping it as basic as possible. I’ve tried so many things over the years (guitar effects pedals, 12-string Rickenbacker electric, Telecaster with a piezzo acoustic blend option, midi on my acoustic guitar for effects and percussive stuff, valve DI’s, high-strung and baritone acoustics etc) – but I’ve reverted back to leading with simply a nice acoustic guitar (Collings) plugged through a guitar tuner. Like I said, it won’t be the same for everybody - especially people who are way more musically skilled than me. But I think I’ve figured out that what seems to work best for me – and that’s keeping it all simple, so I can focus on leading the people.

And then the brilliant musicians around me do all the intricate musical stuff.

AH: What are your thoughts on how the music that we tend to categorize as “Christian Contemporary” music seems to contain a lot more of a worship theme to it?

MR: I think that whenever a Christian writes music, it’s quite likely to contain some dialogue with God in the lyric at some point. So yes, you often hear vertical worship thoughts and prayers in a Christian Contemporary song, and that feels really healthy and appropriate to me. I think the distinction really comes down to whether a particular song is ‘fit for congregational use’.

And that’s the thing I’m going after with everything I have – I just love the dynamic that happens when we get in a room together and sing our hearts out to God in unison.

AH: You spent some time in the US, working with Passion City Church, and are back in the UK now, right? Talk about your time at Passion City and how that compares with living across AH: A lot of artists I’ve talked with the Pond… aren’t really “gear-heads”… they MR: Yes, I’ve lived back in the UK might have a favorite guitar or two… for a few years now. We had a great what about you, what is your favorite/ adventure in Atlanta, and the lovely preferred gear? thing is we still get to do lots of life with MR: I’m definitely in that category. I folk there and journey alongside Passion don’t really get very excited about gear City Church a good bit still. And of or any kind of tech stuff. I did try to for a course, I’m on still the Sixstepsrecords while, but I didn’t think it was helping me label, which comes out of the Passion become a better worship leader. That’s movement. just for me personally and definitely isn’t One of the biggest differences the case for everyone – I think you’ve between the USA and the UK in the just got to figure out what approach local church setting is the production

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stuff. There’s more financial resource in USA churches, and I think that’s led to a great level of musical excellence among many churches, and some outstanding sound and visuals. That stuff isn’t ultimate, but I do think it’s important, because we’re living in a media-savvy generation. Sound and visuals are important, and they always have been. Just look at the temple in the Old Testament; there’s so much beauty and skillful creativity at play.

We need to be thinking about how we can fire up the imaginations of unchurched visitors, and we also need to know that we’re bringing our best creativity to worship. Of course, we never want to over-produce worship times. ‘Presence’ is ultimate – not ‘production.’ Worship is a spiritual activity, and we need to keep that in mind at all times – we need our services to be able to ‘breathe’ a little. And we need to make sure a heart to encounter God together finds its way into all our planning, programming, and thinking.

But like I said, I love so much of what I’ve seen in the last few years; being around people like Passion – and the USA church has really led the way in this area.

AH: Do you ever just look back at the Soul Survivor days and the place where your whole journey began… what are your thoughts as you do?

MR: I’m grateful for those days – it was a fantastic environment to grow in and to experiment in. You could lead a spontaneous song with 6,000 people in the room, and they’d all jump onto it.

So it gave a great sense of possibility – and led to some really exciting moments encountering Jesus together.

AH: You’re touring this fall with your good friend and fellow worship artist Martin Smith… on the “God’s Great Dance Floor” tour… where will you be playing?

MR: We’re in eight European cities – including Zagreb, Amsterdam, Budapest and Cologne. I’ve known Martin for over half of my life, so it’ll fun to get out there and lead together! *** Visit Matt Redman’s website for some great worship resources, including song videos, and chord-sheet downloads: www.mattredman.com

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SONGCHART

YOUR GRACE FINDS ME Written by Matt Redman & Jonas Myrin

Intro G /// C2/G /// G /// C2/G /// Verse 1 C2/G G It's there in the newborn cry C2/G G There in the light of every sunrise C2/G D/F# Em There in the shadows of this life Dsus Your great grace C2/G G It's there on the mountain top C2/G G There in the everyday and the mundane C2/G D/F# Em There in the sorrow and the dancing Dsus C Your great grace, oh such grace Chorus 1 G D/F# From the creation to the cross Em There from the cross into eternity G/B C2 Your grace finds me G Your grace finds me Verse 3 C2 G It's there on a wedding day C2 G There in the weeping by the graveside C2 D Em There in the very breath we breathe Dsus Your great grace Verse 4 C2 G The same for the rich and poor C2 G The same for the saint and for the sinner C2 D Em Enough for this whole wide world Dsus C Your great grace, oh such grace

Key // Bb Capo // 3 Tempo // 77

Chorus 2 G D/A From the creation to the cross Em There from the cross into eternity G/B C2 Your grace finds me G Your grace finds me G D/A There in the darkest night of the soul Em There in the sweetest songs of victory G/B G C2 Your grace finds me G Your grace finds me Pre-Chorus Vamp Dsus Em C Your great grace, oh such grace Dsus/F# Em C Your great grace oh such grace REPEAT VERSE 4 INSTRUMENTAL ON INTRO CHORDS Bridge 2 G So I'm breathing in Your Grace C/G2 Breathing out Your praise G C/G2 Breathing in Your grace forever I’ll be (Repeat Once) Em (G - 2nd time) So I'm breathing in Your Grace C Breathing out Your praise G (G - 2nd time) C Breathing in Your grace forever I’ll be (Repeat Once) Outro G /// C2/G /// G /// C2/G /// G /// C2 /// G /// C2 ///

© 2013 Shout! Publishing (APRA) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / Thankyou Music (PRS) (adm. worldwide at CapitolCMGPublishing.com excluding Europe which is adm. by Integritymusic.com) / worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP) sixsteps Music (ASCAP) Said And Done Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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Covering You. Over 158,000 churches across North America count on CCLI for license coverage and worship resources—each and every week.

See how CCLI can help cover you.

Music Licensing and Resources

Covers the copying activities that assist with congregational singing.

Over 3,000 publishers/copyright owners and over 300,000 worship songs are covered.

Song lyrics, audio samples and transposable chord sheets, lead sheets and vocal sheets.

Allows your worship teams and choirs to legally copy and share commercial audio recordings for rehearsal purposes.

Allows you to stream or podcast your live-recorded worship music on your church’s website or other streaming service.

Movie/Video Licensing and Resources

If your church uses movies for any ministry-related activities, you’ll likely need the legal permission that the Church Video License provides.

http://www.ccli.com

17201 NE Sacramento Street Portland, Oregon 97230

Online resource for churches and ministries looking for movie clips to use for sermon/ teaching illustrations.

503-257-2230 800-234-2446

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RECORD REVIEWS New Life Worship Strong God 1. Jesus Reigns (featuring Jon Egan) 2. All To Him (featuring Cory Asbury) 3. Victorious God (featuring Brad Parsley) 4. Strong God (featuring Jon Egan) 5. More Than Enough (featuring Abby Merkel and Nico Perez) 6. More Than Enough (Reprise) 7. Ascribe (featuring Cory Asbury) 8. Unassailable (featuring Jon Egan) 9. Unassailable (Reprise) 10. Who Compares (featuring Brad Parsley) 11. Love Divine (featuring Rachael Kiehne and Jonathan Moos) 12. Alive and Free (featuring Brad Parsley) New Life Worship in Colorado Springs has seen their share of trials and tragedy over the past 10 years, including the scandal of former Head Pastor, Ted Haggard; a shooting in 2007 on their campus; and most recently, their entire community was threatened by the worst wildfire in Colorado history. Although the fire never reached New Life’s property, there were hundreds of families from the congregation whose homes were destroyed. Despite these incredible challenges, New Life Worship is thriving as a church and continues to impact lives for Jesus in the Colorado Springs area. One of the ministries having the biggest impact, not just on their surrounding community, but on the entire world is their brand of highenergy, vertical worship music which has produced such worship classic as “Great I Am”, “Overcome” and “My Savior Lives”.

Strong God, which is New Life’s 6th live worship release, features 10 songs of honest and powerful worship that points the listener to a loving Savior who is faithful in every circumstance. This particular collection features some of New Life’s newer songwriters and worship leaders including Abby Merkel, Nico Perez, Cory Asbury, and Rachel Kiehne.

“Jesus Reigns” starts the album off beautifully as the lyric proclaims Jesus as the victor over death, hell, and fear. Although the song mimics Hillsong in its instrumentation and

By Gerod Bass melodic form, the passion and sincerity in which it is sung by the congregation is memorable and makes it one of the best songs on the album. The victory theme continues with “Victorious God” and “Strong God” (Which has become the unofficial theme song of New Life Worship), while “More than Enough” and “Unassailable” speak of God’s never-ending mercy and faithfulness.

“Ascribe” is a gorgeous acoustic adaptation of Psalm 29:2, and “Alive and Free” is a celebratory anthem of Easter that will have you clapping and smiling as you are reminded of who we are and where we are going because of Jesus.

This is another great release from New Life Worship. Just about every song is easy to sing, and I really appreciate how this group of worship artists puts their true heart and passion into each track both lyrically and musically. Great job!

Matt Redman Your Grace Finds Me 1. Sing And Shout 2. Your Grace Finds Me 3. Mercy 4. I Need You Now 5. This Beating Heart 5. One Name Alone 6. Jesus, Only Jesus 7. Wide As The Sky 8. Good Forever 9. Let My People Go 10. Come And See 11. Benediction Matt Redman is at a career high-point, following the unprecedented success of 10,000 Reasons and its Grammy awards, Billboard award, Dove Award and Gold certification. His latest release, Your Grace Finds Me, is poised to continue the tsunami of God given success that has once again put Matt Redman on the top of the worship music mountain.

Opening with a strong rhythm and a happy, upbeat feel, “Sing and Shout” instantly has that familiar Redman energy with a decidedly Irish groove that is a wonderful opener for any worship service.

This song is already seeing radio success

*Gerod’s Personal Picks in bold.

Overall impression Average church congregation could learn/participate on the first hear Can be learned/adapted by a band of average skill Lyrical creativity and integrity

New Life Worship Strong God Matt Redman Your Grace Finds Me One Thing Live You Satisfy My Soul Martin Smith God’s Great Dance Floor - Step 2 Keith and Kristen Getty Modern and Traditional Hymns- Live at the Gospel Coalition highest marks

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around the world and is set to warm hearts in churches everywhere with its intelligent lyricism and memorable chorus.

The title track “You Grace Finds Me” is one of the best tracks on this album. With its ethereal keyboard sounds, jumping guitar riffs, and reverent lyrics, this is classic Matt Redman. With a voice of proclamation, Redman weaves the listener through the theology of the cross and delivers a power packed message of the wonderful grace of Christ.

“Mercy” sees Matt lead the live crowd in this piano-based modern hymn perfect for a communion service. The piano continues into “I Need You Now”; a kind of theological ballad, exploring how we need God with us, while “Let My People Go” is a passionate cry in support of the A21 Campaign, a campaign against human trafficking, that fits seamlessly into this collection.

Redman is very good at writing songs that fill the gaps in modern worship music and nowhere is this more evident than on the closing track, “Benediction” which is a stirring rendition of the benediction prayer offered by Aaron in the Old Testament, and is perfect for closing any worship service.

Your Grace Finds Me holds true to the “if-itaint-broke-don’t-fix-it” model that keeps Matt Redman doing what he does best: craft uplifting, vertically aimed songs that connect with congregations worldwide, drawing them to deeper relationship with God. Go get this album.

One Thing Live “You Satisfy My Soul” 1. Like a Lion 2. We Love Your Name

3. My Comfort 4. You Satisfy My Soul 5. Always Forever 6. Awaken Love 7. Man From Nazareth 8. Isaiah 42 9. Keep Me Close 10. You Are Lord

One Thing Live: You Satisfy My Soul was recorded at the 2012 “One Thing” conference held at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City last December.

Although the 10-song project reflects the musical leanings of multiple worship leaders, its theme is decidedly singular: the revelation of the excellence of Jesus as the sustaining power of our hearts. He is the One who satisfies our souls.

A few of the standout tracks include Ryan Kondo’s opening track, “Like a Lion”.

Originally written and recorded by Daniel Bashta, this opener is just as good as the

RECORD REVIEWS original and is a joyful declaration that our hope is in Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who dwells within each believer. The title track, Laura Hackett’s “You Satisfy My Soul,” is a gorgeous vertical anthem reminding us of the truth that God is the Glorious One, and it is only His love that can quench the thirst of our souls. Matt Gilman’s “Awaken Love,” is a moving cry for a heart of love to burn within each one of us, and that we would love Jesus like He loves us.

The best song on the album is their rendition of Phil Whickam’s “Always Forever”. Featuring the mature vocals of Misty Edwards, this moving worship song speaks of the unending grace of Christ and is a song that should be in every worship leaders’ repertoire.

“You are Lord” wraps up the album nicely with its driving techno groove reminding us of the one true God, Jesus the Christ.

With this latest release, it seems that KC House of Prayer has definitely put itself on the map of relevancy with regards to modern worship music. I really appreciated the decidedly female vocal leadership on this album in a worship world that seems saturated with tenor male-led worship. You Satisfy My Soul is a beautiful album full of theologically rich music for the modern church.

Martin Smith God’s Great Dance Floor-Step 2 1 You Are My Salvation 2 Emmanuel 3 Only Got Eyes 4 Great Is Your Faithfulness 5 Song Of Solomon 6 Grace 7 Redemption Day 8 God’s Great Dance Floor 9 Keep The Faith 10 God Is Coming 11 Angel (song for Anna) Former Delirious? frontman, Martin Smith is at it again. Following up his full-length debut solo album, Smith returns with the second installment of his new songs with his latest release, God’s Great Dance Floor - Step 2. Featuring songs originally from his EP3 and EP4 mini albums with a decidedly more polished, studio feel, this worship collection also features 3 previously unreleased tracks as well as a few co-writes with fellow worship leaders including Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, and Reuben Morgan.

Some of the standout tracks include, “Emmanuel”, which is a high energy, technodriven song that reminds every believer that God walks alongside His people in every circumstance throughout history. “Great Is Your Faithfulness” is one of the new releases on this album and although it bears the same name as the famous hymn, it only holds true to the theme of the original, as the lyrics and melody are very different.

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The title track, “God’s Great Dance Floor” was written with Chris Tomlin and previously released on his Burning Lights album earlier this year.

Martin’s daughter Elle-Anna actually sings with her dad on this track.

This song is the climax of the album as the full throttle trumpets, dance beats, and club style electro sounds give this track wonderful life. Martin encourages us to dance before the Lord with joy to express our thanks and gratitude no matter what denomination we belong to.

Ending the album is “Angel” which is a re-write of a former Delirious? song, “There is An Angel” Martin re-writes the original verses to incorporate more of a love-song feel specifically directed to his wife, Anna.

The overall musical feel of this album mirrors its title with a good number of the songs landing in the techno/house dance genre which, while being fun to listen to, probably narrows the field as to how many churches will actually incorporate these offerings into their regular worship sets. A lot of the songs on GGDF-Step 2 will be difficult for the average worship team to emulate. Still, it is wonderful to hear the unmistakably smooth voice of Martin Smith again writing songs for the church and I am glad he is back.

Fans of Delirious? will absolutely love this album.

Keith and Kristyn Getty Modern and Traditional Hymns- Live at the Gospel Coalition 1. Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed 2. Come People Of The Risen King 3. By Faith 4. All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name 5. Speak, O Lord 6. Oh How Good It Is 7. Lift High the Name of Jesus 8. The Power of the Cross / When I Survey the Wondrous Cross 9. In Christ Alone 10. Across the Lands 11. Compassion Hymn 12. Kyrie Eleison 13. O Church Arise 14. Hear the Call of the Kingdom 15. Holy Spirit, Living Breath Of God / Gabriel’s Oboe 16. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty With the ongoing worship war that so often rears its ugly head in our churches, it can sometimes be difficult to find congregational worship songs that appeal to everyone, regardless of musical preference. Enter Keith and Kristen Getty, whose modern hymn writing is changing the very face of worship all over the world. Their ancientfuture approach to song writing mixed with an irish-rock feel is quickly vaulting them to the top of the worship charts while reminding us all how precious the hymns of the church are.

Their first live album, ‘Modern and Traditional Hymns - Live at the Gospel Coalition’ is a sixteen track album that was recorded live in the spring of 2013 at the National Conference of The Gospel Coalition in Orlando, Florida. The recording is a collection of songs both old and new, drawing from the Getty’s extensive and theologically strong canon as well as great hymns of the past.

Tracks like album opener, “Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed,” “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” and “Lift High the Name of Jesus” capture the Getty’s Irish heritage, with plenty of plucky banjo and upbeat praise while offering up soaring lyrics of depth and worship.

“Christ is Risen, He is Risen” kicks off the album with a celebratory bang as we hear the patented Irish jig vibe that so often accompanies Getty worship anthems. This modern hymn is one of the best on the album, full of Easter truth and an infectious energy that will have you singing and clapping along while reminding you of the joy we have because He rose from the dead. I can’t wait to share this one with my congregation on Easter Sunday this year!

Of course, the duo’s contemporary classic, “In Christ Alone,” makes an appearance, given an extra dose of life due to its live audience, as do tracks like the “Compassion Hymn” and “Kyrie Eleison,” a percussionladen near-chant that is God-honoring and expressive.

Keith and Kristen Getty are two of my personal favorites, not just because of their amazing song writing, gorgeous voices, or artistic ability when it comes to crafting powerful songs of worship, but simply because they are bringing back the songs that the church on earth was built on. These are the hymns that people still love and still want to sing, so let your people sing them, but in a new and exciting way.

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Getty for reminding the church how important our hymns are, and for answering God’s call to write theologically rich music that brings us all back to our musical roots.

Gerod Bass is a ministry veteran who has been serving God’s people through worship and youth ministry for more than 20 years.

Since 2009, he has been living his dream serving as the minister of worship and Jr. High at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Tacoma, Wa. Gerod is a singer, guitarist and recording artist who has a passion for impacting lives for the sake of the Gospel. You can find out more about Gerod, his ministry and his music, including his newest album release at his website, gerodbass.com.

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Call (855) 362-8790

www.focus-worship.com

FOH ENGINEER

By Bill Gibson

10 Characteristics of a Great Mix First of all, if you don’t understand what great music sounds like, you’ll struggle to build a great-sounding mix. Your musicalbalance instincts are guided by conscious or subconscious impressions and observations.

As sound operators, we aren’t charged with simply archiving an event—we’re trusted to build a musical mix that has power, blended with intimacy and accessibility. Every excellent sound operator should spend a lot of time listening to music and analyzing its sound.

1. Consistent, Understandable, and Powerful Lead Vocals It is job-one to make sure the leader is heard and understood at all times, whether he or she is singing or speaking—accomplishing this demands your constant attention. Compression can help keep the vocals in a narrower dynamic range but successfully keeping the lead vocal in the best space requires active mixing (adjusting the fader level). Learn to enjoy riding the flow of the lyrics and musical energy during a song. It’s not uncommon to cover a wide fader range in the effort to keep the lead vocal in just the right place.

2. Make Sure Speaking Parts Are Heard When the leader is talking over the music, make sure he or she is heard—this is more easily accomplished by turning the band down than by simply turning up the leader. If the band is on a set of subgroups, simply turn those subgroups down a little while you boost the leader. Make sure that verbal directions and praise are heard—many strong singers lack support when they speak and can’t be heard without a substantial level boost. And, always remember to mute the effects returns between songs when the leader or pastor is speaking.

3. Balanced and Blended Backing Vocals Balancing and blending the backing vocals is as important as balancing the leader. An outof-balance harmony part destroys the impact of an otherwise powerful sound. Always be aware of the lead and backing vocal balances and blend. Personally, I prefer to keep the backing and lead vocals on consecutive faders under my right hand. When adjusting the rest of the mix, always be aware of the vocal blend.

4. Consistent Focal Point Throughout the Song It’s very important to hold the congregations attention. As the mix engineer, it’s your job to control the focus—to build a mix that is undeniably easy to follow. Lead vocals provide the obvious focal point in most genres, but in the spaces between lyrics or musical sections, some mix ingredients need to take

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over, providing a bridge to deliver the listener to the next musical section. If your music team has spent the time and energy to construct strong musical parts, the focus will tend to flow naturally, but in many instances, the sound operator needs to skillfully create a focus by highlighting mix ingredients between vocal lines and so on.

5. Sounds Good in Stereo and Mono This is a very common consideration for studio engineers, but many live engineers never think about the way a stereo mix collapses to mono. With the introduction of modern affordable digital mixers, more and more churches are capturing multitrack recordings of their music services and then remixing after the fact for distribution to the congregation. When building a mix, continually cross-reference the sound of your stereo mixes in mono to confirm that they sound good both ways. This is especially important for sound operators who work with mono live church sound systems. It is entirely possible to create a huge-sounding wide stereo mix that sounds small and very out-of-balance when played through the mono system. For a more in-depth study of this concept, refer to books 1, 2, and 6 of the Hal Leonard Recording Method.

6. Width When mixing for a studio project, a stereo mix is more interesting if there are one or two instruments defining the far left and far right boundaries. Some sound operators ridicule the idea of a stereo mix in a live setting—I don’t. Even if all you do pan stereo effects wide left–right or pan the stereo synth and guitar processor outputs hard left and right, you’ve gained something. Both sides of the room hear the same balance but most of the room is treated to a wide sound with space reserved in the middle for the vocals, kick, and snare. It’s also helpful to slightly pan instruments such as acoustic guitars slightly off center.

7. Depth A two-dimensional (left-right) mix is okay, but when a mix sounds three-dimensional (if the sounds seem distributed from near to far, as well as left to right) it becomes much more interestingly real-sounding. Reverberation and delays add depth—a very important part of a good mix. Most mixes should sound very large and impressive, yet somehow they must also feel very intimate and personal. Each mix must be shaped and molded to fit within the soundscape that projects the most realistic musical emotion for that specific song. Avoid adding

reverberation to everything in the mix. Keep some ingredients intimate (dry) and others larger and more distant (wet).

8. Strong, Smooth Highs That Are Easy On the Ears A mix that has one particular high frequency boosted on several instruments can take on an abrasive and irritating character. High frequencies must be distributed evenly.

• Frequencies between 2.5 and 5 kHz

can create a piercing, harsh, and edgy sound when exaggerated.

• Frequencies between 6 and 9 kHz can add clarity without a harsh timbre.

• Frequencies above 10 kHz add an

airy quality to the sound with less of an apparent high-frequency boost.

If you need to boost the high frequencies on several tracks, combine cuts and boosts across the high-frequency spectrum to create an even dispersion of tones.

9. Mids Distributed Evenly Among Various Instruments Midrange frequencies contain much of each sound’s character. However, too much midrange results in a “honky” sound, and too little midrange results in a hollow, empty sound. It’s important to control this frequency range. Midrange tones tend to help a mix sound blended and smooth; however, overly accentuated mids can cause a mix to sound dull and lifeless in the highs, or weak and powerless in the lows.

10. Strong, Solid, Yet Controlled Lows It’s extremely important to build a mix that distributes low frequencies evenly. If the kick is boosted at 100 Hz, the bass should not be boosted at 100 Hz. In fact, most likely the bass should be cut at 100 Hz and, if necessary, boosted at possibly 60 or 150 Hz—this, of course, depends completely on the inherent sound of the bass. Low frequencies contain more energy than mids and highs, so exaggerated boosts can dramatically increase the mix level. Great sound operators pay close attention to this frequency band.

For more from Bill Gibson check out www.billgibsonmusic.com.

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MINISTRY + ARTISTRY = PROFITABILITY? CREATING YOUR MAP™

By Scott A. Shuford

5 Tips for Creating Winning Banner Ads While the art of high click-through rates and impressions is not a perfect science when it comes to online advertising, there are a number of things that music marketers like you who are seeking the faith-based audience can do to ensure their banner ads garner the optimal number of click-throughs and impressions.

Here are five ways to make your online banner ads stand out from the crowd: 1. Write an attention-grabbing headline.

Let’s state the obvious: banner ads don’t allow for lengthy headlines or large graphics. Recent studies have shown that static banners are more effective than animated banners, simply because they aren’t as distracting. While this trick of the trade may be helpful to keep in mind, static banners give marketers even less room to communicate their message. That’s why it’s important to make every word count. Your headline needs to be creative, succinct, and to the point.

2. Make sure all words are in large, readable fonts. Again, this is tricky because space is an issue, but it’s important to increase the size of your font as much as possible. Fancy fonts may be artistic, but if your words aren’t readable, your banners

won’t be effective. Remember, your banner ads are normally surrounded by thousands of other words and images vying for readers’ attention on one page. So make sure your words stand out.

3. Aim for a clean, sleek design. It’s important for marketers to work with their designers or on their own to make sure all of their ads stay on-brand for a single product.

Banner ads should reflect the brand of your product, as all of your ads should no matter the medium. The design should bring in consistent colors, fonts, and design elements to make your banner ad instantly “pop” with familiarity and affiliation with you and your music. Make sure the design is clear, clean, and clutter-free.

4. Use a hero shot of the product.

Although limited real estate on banner ads forces you to make your product images small, it’s still important to make your product the hero of your ad. If it’s an album you’re promoting, be sure to include whatever image best represents you and your music and helps consumers to form a lightning-fast association. The goal should be to tell an immediate story through your image.

5. Include a clear call to action. Give your viewer a “next step.” Tell them explicitly what to do. Use phrases like “Click here”, “Sign Up”, and “Download for Free”, as well as key words like DISCOVER, FIND OUT, DOWNLOAD, and EXPLORE that drive people to action. It also doesn’t hurt to incentivize your ad. Offer a complimentary download of a song from your latest album, free chapter download of your book, or a coupon. You could also link to exclusive content and provide a way for them to sign up to receive more info. (BTW - this is a GREAT way for you to build your email list!)

Above all, don’t mince words. Tell them exactly what you want them to do.

Scott is teaching on marketing and social media at CMS Seattle. He has led classes for us at NAMM as well as teaching on marketing to the Christian Leadership Alliance.

Scott is the Chief Engagement Officer at FrontGate, the largest internet and events network reaching the Christian audience (www.FrontGateMedia.com) and the largest in-reach to Christian Music fans.

Get more marketing and social media tips at FrontGate’s blog.

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Improving Musicianship | Inspiring Talent

WINDOW ON THE LITTLE BLACK SHEEP

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MATT REDMAN on songwriting and God’s grace

Product Reviews Elliott Guitars Custom Tone Master

Selective Hearing Daniel Amos Andy Gullahorn Derek Webb Ron Block Jars of Clay Sweet Comfort Band

Product Reviews PreSonus ADL 700 & Monitor Station

Record Reviews

New Life Worship l Matt Redman l One Thing Live l Martin Smith Keith and Kristyn Getty

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WORSHIP TEAM TRAINING

By Branon Dempsey

8 Simple Rules for Better Worship Leading There is a huge can of worms for answers on this question. From appearance, speech, style and age, we all have our agreements and disagreements on the topic. But what does the Bible say?

others. By listening to our sound we can hone in on creating good musical dialogue. When we learn to listen to each other relationally, we create music by making melody in our hearts.

Leading worship is not to be taken for granted nor to be overrated. There are many improvements we can make to better our leading. However, when a worship leader leaves the stage feeling either deflated by negative comments or puffed-up by pride, our focus can shift from the Lord to unfavorable distractions.

4. Engage and Trim the Fat – Ecclesiastes 5.2: “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”

For worship leaders, we need to speak less and lead more. Yes, we are to use our words, but they need to be choosen carefully and wisely. Our effectiveness as leaders (musician or singer) comes from knowing how to engage the church – not entertaining the church.

So what makes a good Worship Leader or a band? Let’s go back to the Scriptures for the bullet points.

1. Be a Worshiper 1st, Musician 2nd - John 9.31: “We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.” To know God is to worship Him, to worship God is to know Him. As we learn to know Him, we also become more and more like His Son. Our reflection of Christ is found in the “will” of what we do as a response through daily obedience, which leads to God honoring worship.

2. Have a Humble Servant – Matthew 10:24: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord.” Serving one another through submitting to one another is the demonstration of humility and teamwork. Even in the disagreements, we can agree to disagree, knowing that our ultimate goal is serving Christ through worship. John Wooden said, “anyone can make it to the top, it’s character that keeps you there.”

3. Be a Listener Mark 4:24: “He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear.” As God gave us the ability to listen, musically speaking, we should measure our own effectiveness to Christ and against ourselves and

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5. Pick Simple Songs to Sing – Psalm 101.1: I will sing of your love and justice; to you, LORD, I will sing praise. First, this description of song in worship is as simple as it can get.

Songs that are pure and honest of His love – simple – not complicated.

Second, the songs are directed to God – not self. Third, the writer says, that he will sing praise – praise to the Author of praise and the finisher of our faith. This formula can be easily recognized by the worshiper.

These are songs that are as simple as Scripture. Let the Church sing.

6. Be A Music Builder – Ephsians 4.12: to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Also, do not neglect the gift God gave you for your own personal/professional growth – nurture your craft just as God desires you to help others.

7. Don’t B-Rate your leading – 1Samuael 15.7: “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” it’s not a performance, it’s worship. God does not keep score.

8. Learn New Things - Proverbs 23.12 says: “Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” Learning from books and other forms of reading material is great. However, there is nothing like having an experienced Obi-wan, to take you by the side and manually show you how to better work your instrument and/or voice. I am grateful for all my teachers to take their time, experience and care to invest into my development. At our WTT Workshops, Mentoring and Streaming Education Courses, we craft hands-on training to uniquely look like you and your team.

We take you from start to finish with the leading of your team, to help you go to the next level.

Worship Leaders, the greatest legacy you can give your team is not a collection of songs, but a reservoir of training, education and resources. Be a life-builder into your team and be a life learner in how God has gifted you.

Worship Team Training - Branon Dempsey Branon Dempsey is the CEO/ Founder and Training Director of Worship Team Training® a ministry providing live workshops and online resources for local worship ministries. Branon holds an M.Div in Worship and BM in Music Composition/Performance and is an instructor with Christian Musician Summit, a writer for Worship Musician Magazine, Shure Notes as well as other worship publications. Branon is a Training Partner with Yamaha Corporation of America | Worship Resources and part of the Expert Panel for Shure Microphones. Worship Team Training® is sponsored by Creator Leadership Network, Christian Musician / Worship Musician Magazine / Christian Musician Summit, as well as by Line 6, D’Addario, Proclaim Church Presentation Software, iSing Worship and endorsed by Promark Drumsticks and Jim Hewett Guitars. Visit: www.WorshipTeamTraining.com Copyright 2013 Branon Dempsey | Worship Team Training® | Administered by For His Music. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. www.worshipteamtraining.com

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GUITAR GRAB BAG

By Doug Doppler

Band Chops for Guitarists Noting that multiple weekly rehearsals are not possible for most worship teams, how can guitarists maximize the rehearsal time we do have in order to sound as tight as is possible? Aside from showing up prepared, for me it comes down to having a rehearsal mindset that focuses on supporting the band as much as it does on playing our parts. Since we’ve talked a lot about preparation in previous articles, this installment is going to focus on developing our band chops.

pump up your guitar in the mix, you can still hear the other instruments around you, especially when you step away from the monitor. I’ve heard enough missed cues to know that many worship guitarists do not share my love affair for the click and herein lies the rub. Since teams don’t always train players how to get a great mix using Aviom and IEMs, many of us have to figure it out for ourselves, which for less experienced players can translate into cranking their guitar and dumping the More than just semantics, there is a click. As each successive band member tremendous amount of skill that separates dials in their own “personal” mix, the guitarists who play with a band from band often takes incremental steps away those who simply play their parts. While from how they actually sound and this Aviom/IEMs are a huge help in the can generate a whole range of problems. worship arena, they also create some So, let’s get to some solutions! unexpected liabilities that deserve some SOUND CHECK consideration. While traditional powered Sound check is where your band chops monitors allow you to disproportionately should start to take flight—and this journey

with the drums and bass based on where they are sitting in the time, everything about your playing will improve.

DYNAMICS Try writing a dynamic number from 1-10 on your charts for each section of each song before you start rehearsal. Keep that pencil handy during rehearsal so you can document any changes if you need to.

Determining how much and where you’re going to build dynamics before a key transition is another great tool for making your guitar arrangements tight!

TOPS & TAILS

While this traditionally refers to running the last and first few bars of successive songs to fine-tune transitions, this is also a great tool for fine-tuning transitions within an arrangement like we just talked about.

Ideally this is done with the whole team, begins with building a great mix. A but it’s equally valuable to practice it on proper sound check should start with the your own, especially if you are using a drums so be sure you can hear the kick lot of pedals. When your transitions are and snare clearly. Once the bass player tight, you’re doing your part to make the starts to play be sure can hear where they team sound tighter – amen! are sitting with the kick drum so you can THE WE ATTITUDES be tethered to the rhythm section. Blend in If there are people on your team who each successive instrument and vocalist so care less about sounding like a band you’re sure to hear the band as a whole.

If you’re playing with another guitarist than you do, don’t take that as a creative try panning your instruments to opposite license to fall short on doing your part. sides for better clarity and interplay. Now This falls under what I like to call the We fine tune the click level so you can home Attitudes. We are separate parts of the in on where the rhythm section is sitting same body and if we don’t do our part in the time. Once you have this baseline to the best of our ability we need to think in place sonically, it’s a lot easier to play about upping our game. The parable of your parts relationally! Your guitar is but the talents speaks of making the most of one piece of the puzzle and without God’s gifts. In asking why, the first answer seeing (and hearing) the big picture it’s that comes to mind is to glorify God. next to impossible to play in a way that Worship should be about a pleasing offering to God. As a friend once wisely truly supports the band. said, we are ultimately playing for an TIME, TEMPO, & GROOVE audience of one. God Bless ~ Doug Rhythmically speaking, a drummer’s groove is the offset between the kick hitting “on the grid” contrasted by the lean Doug Doppler is or push of the rest of the kit, most notably passionate about God, the snare. Hearing the click against the worship, and worship drummer’s groove tells you exactly where musicians. In addition to his they are sitting in the time, and watching work coaching individuals their hands gives you visual cues to what and teams, Doug is also the author of they are about to play next. Once you “The Worship Guitar Book” which will be discover the joy of learning to groove available in May 2013 via Hal Leonard.

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THE BAND

By Tom Lane

Younger Voices We are blessed to live in a time when so many resources are available to us in the Church. Not only in the way of technology, but also leadership and talent. I’m amazed at the level of gifting, especially among young people. I know there have always been gifted people in every generation, but it seems to be present now at a much younger age than I remember in my youth.

us young, reinvigorate, and inspire us.

Instead of posing a threat to anything we do, they give us purpose to keep doing it! They also hold pieces of the puzzle we don’t that are critical for reaching our generation with the Gospel— the bigger picture.

hearts and minds present in each moment instead of always having our minds set on where we are going and if we are going to get there in time to meet the thirty-minute deadline. When we have lyrics and chords and arrangements to remember, it can be easy to forget that One such voice is Jillian Harding, a our responsibility is not primarily to lead gifted artist, writer, worship leader and a song, but to lead worship. Leading our friend. I thought you would enjoy her worship requires us to be attentive to the position of our hearts and the Spirit, not When I step back for a birds-eye thoughts on leading worship. just the technicalities of making it through view of the last 30 years, I see a story a set list. that has repeated itself in the history of When The Set List Runs Away the Church. God is always preparing ahead, as one movement is sweeping With You There is more to leading worship than the world and shaping the Church for a (Jillian Harding) following a script. Songs benefit from current generation, the groundwork for us allowing them to breathe. Scripted the next is being laid concurrently. Times There have been times when I have worship-leading makes it easy for us led worship and it felt like I was on a are always changing, but He is never to play as individuals instead of as a void of a plan. The hope is that God’s runaway horse. That horse was going community. When our only responsibility people will recognize the Joshua’s and where it was going and it was taking me is to know our lines and cues forwards and Caleb’s among us and help them fulfill the with it. In hindsight, the problem was due backwards, our worship can become a to a lack of flexibility. Our band hit the purposes of God for them. first chord and we were off and running little like a karaoke playalong. This makes It’s one thing to plan things that we from verse to chorus, instrumental build to us inflexible because we have our noses think are relevant and appealing to the bridge, final chorus and on to the next in our charts and are not prepared to do generation we’re trying to reach, but in song we rode. The fault was not in the anything except gallop through the script. most cases we are far more effective song selection or arrangements. Our when we make room for those who speak problem was that we were galloping on The band I most often play with at my the language of their own generation. from one song through the next without church has found that we can take the Historically that can be awkward, being fully present in the moment. reins and be more fully present by being because in essence it means moving over Being present is a matter of focusing our attentive to each other as we play. We are and letting others do what we’d like to be hearts toward God in worship instead taking the time to recognize that we are a doing ourselves. of being consumed with the job of community in worship, not just individuals.

For my wife and I, in the ministry leading songs. A great set list is not worth By interacting with each other while we we’re involved with, younger voices are anything if it has run away with us and play, it allows each song to breathe. The something we not only value, but we have become only fleeting words on our lips. songs come alive when we learn to read come to need them our lives as they keep It is important to take the time to have our each other’s mannerisms and respond to each other’s worship. There is a give and take that happens as we move through the songs together, and we become more acutely aware of how we are together composing our worship. Instead of being driven by a script, we are driven by our ~ For Indie Artists looking to make an impact ~ corporate worship expression.

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Nashville, TN is home for Tom Lane though he is involved in ministry and music around the world. As a singer, songwriter and guitar player, Tom has been teamed with many worship leaders and artists. He continues to record his own work, lead worship, and writes regularly for various worship publications worldwide.

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CAMERA

By Craig Kelly

Your Mic is On! The intercom is a common link for everyone in multi-camera TV, video, and event production. The general rule of thumb is to keep your mouth closed, as well as your mic. If you must to say something, think about what you’re going to say in the most precise and quick manner, say it, and then close your mic. Before you plug your headset in make sure the switch is off. Also, make absolutely sure the switch is off before removing your headset.

Steve M Henrik nailed it right off the top... Also, make sure your key is closed when you walk away for a 5... Never get off headsets until a break is called... If you need to get off for a quick fix to a problem, let the Director or TD know.

Michael J CLOSE YOUR KEY!!! We hear that in noisy motorsports events frequently and some still don’t get it. Fortunately our A1 is impatient and will close your headset mic.

Prince E

Bill T A tiny camera nudge indicates “Roger” Who out there has worked MLB? If a or “director please notice me” message. newbie is needed on the show for some Terry C reason and he keys in? “CLOSE YOUR What about joining in with stories, KEY” will come out in seconds! The other comments, and witty observations? I remember in the olden days that sports we don’t get too chatty. Maybe one click was for yes2 clicks were for Especially if you are new – forget about between periods or halftime. It’s more of it. Keep quiet, listen, and concentrate on no. Other than that, open talkback on a right of seniority. My advice to anybody your directions. A slight nod or shake of any camera is a no-no. I worked on a who is new to the business. Speak when the lens to your director will do for an music concert last year and one of the spoken to! answer if you are not on the air and a click handhelds on stage had his mike open Peter H of your headset button will work if your and was giving a running commentarytally light is on. The director will dictate however the stage sound was so loud Have to agree with Michael on this one: the tone of acceptable conversation and coming through the cans that we had to less is more when it comes to headset common sense should always prevail. send a runner down to him to get him to chatter. I work a couple of studio shows Once the event or service coverage key off so the other 4 of us could hear now where the cam ops actually wear has started, be quiet and you can’t be the director. spare IFB’s in one ear. This way we can accused of anything, right?

Guilad K step away from the pedistal camera or Jib and still be monitoring the Director and I polled the over 4,200 global industry Rules of multicam comms: TD at all times. Tilt Up and Down for yes, members of the free Linked in group #1: Keep your mouth shut. Pan left and right for no. called TV Camera Operators and got a #2: Keep your mouth shut. wide variety of answers to my question: Feel free to join the LinkedIn group called #3: Keep your mouth shut.

“What does headset etiquette in multi TV Camera Operators, or to see more TV #4: When in doubt, refer to rule # 1. cam production mean?” info for new operators go to craigjkelly.

Karen H com Here a few edited versions of the many .…….generally I agree with everyone answers I received; else, speak as quiet as possible and as Henrik W little as possible. And one click means For me it means always have your yes.

Craig Kelly is a veteran Freemic closed and only talk when it is lance, TV camera operator/DP Terry S appropriate/needed. Don’t fill the for over 25 years. He writes Tip to newbie: stay well below the curve; these articles to be included channel with chatter. in his blog found at www. impress us first with your rock-solid skills.

Mat K craigjkelly.com. Often the subject matter Craig A comes from the 3,000 + global membership Not blowing in the mic to see if it’s on. in the LinkedIn group he started for new Make it a habit of identifying yourself by camera operators and volunteer operators Marty D prefacing your requests or responses to called TV Camera Operators. Kelly is also the Only speak to the director when the Director by saying your Camera # first International/North America Representative to absolutely necessary during an OB in multi-cam shoots. E.g. “Camera 4 here, the Guild of Television Cameraman as well as advisory board member for 2 colleges and (Outside Broadcast). He/she has enough can I get off headsets for 2 minutes”.

2 high schools in the greater Seattle area. to listen to without listening to us.

In addition, he writes for Worship Musician Magazine and conducts workshops for new and volunteer camera operators. Kelly welcomes comments here or via email at zoomit.cam@craigjkelly.com

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MANDOLIN

By Martin Stillion

Playing the Mandolin: Beautiful Star of Bethlehem Beautiful Star of Bethlehem R. Fisher Boyce Arrangement ©2013 Martin Stillion

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Multi-instrumentalist Martin Stillion, a 20-year veteran of worship bands, plays at Seattle’s Bethany Presbyterian Church. In his other lives he’s a husband, father, writer, editor, Webmaster, composer, and musician. Learn more than you wanted to know about Martin at www.stillion.com/martin or www.

emando.com.

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This could work as an instrumental—or if you want to work it up with vocals, the lyrics are at hymnal.calvarybaptistsv. org/486.html. Have fun, and save me some eggnog.

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I think it’s crying out to be done rockabilly style, in a fast 4/4, like Elvis’ recording of “Blue Moon of Kentucky”—so that’s what I’ve done with this version. Bars 1–16 are the basic melody, but pay attention to the tab: I’m suggesting that you play it up the neck, in third position—which is actually the easiest approach once you get the hang of it. Ideas for an embellished version start at the double bar.

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This is one of just a few original bluegrass Christmas carols—and it’s probably the only one written in a stable (the composer was a Tennessee dairy farmer). It’s originally in 3/4 time, and while you can find lots of recordings of it on YouTube, most of them aren’t very good—people tend to play it like a funeral dirge for some reason. (Suzy Bogguss’ version has some more life in it.)

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TIPS FOR TIGHT TEAMS - Cont. from page 18

Editor’s Corner - Cont. from page 7

Wear it well...

pounding heart)? Social awkwardness? Intellectual limitations? The dark?! You name it, we humans have got it! But like most worship team musicians, perhaps you’re just suffering from “5-P-’itis!” “And what’s that?” It’s just me suggesting that we all could become more patient (Galatians 5:22 & 23), peaceful (Psalm 131:2), polished (Psalm 33:3), prepared (I Peter 3:15), and punctual (Galatians 4:4). Each of these five Biblical “Ps” is packed with powerful, pivotal potential for practical, positive application–so apply!

When I took my laptop to the Genius Bar at Apple they informed me that I really need to free up space, so there went another flush of several photos and videos from a lot of our events over the past three or four years.

Dealing honestly with our egos, issues, and insecurities may not be easy. As we said, they are rooted in the deep places of our hearts. Are you struggling with some of these areas? Then take the challenge to apply 2 Corinthians 5:17 across the board: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (NKJV) For the sake of effective worship ministry, let’s let “old things pass away,” applying our new, Christcreated, ’tudes for tight teams instead. We’ll be glad we did!

I was reeling a bit, but Judy helped calm me down and said, “It will be alright… you’ll get more videos and photos from your events.” I just couldn’t believe how much I had lost… even phone numbers I had acquired in the last 6 months… all flushed down the techno drain…

The flip side? I guess if I am looking for a silver lining and also trying to avoid using the not so popular King James word “dung” in this editor’s piece, it would be this… I now have a lot of room in our septic tank, my cell phone, and my laptop to press on with the business at hand and start acquiring more content.

Renewin’ the ’tude, dude,

Judy was right… flushing the past and welcoming the new is all you can do sometimes… so why not do it with grace and style.

Sandy Sandy Hoffman serves the worship community at Christ Church Santa Fe, NM and beyond. Find out more about his “Tips for Tight Teams” online at: www.WorshipWorks.com

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into motion a series of events that left me with a recovery mode message on my phone that the only way out was to flush all my media (photos, videos, text messages – you name it!). Since my computer couldn’t back them up properly and I hadn’t moved everything to the ever-present iCloud, I was out of luck! Ouch, I lost some really cool videos from the guitar show. What a bummer!

NOV/DEC 2013 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

From 35,000 feet…

Bruce & Judy

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PERCUSSION

By Mark Shelton

Coloristic Considerations Laying down an intricate rhythm pattern on the congas can be a lot of fun. A feeling of exhilaration may come over you as a steady stream of sixteenths pours from the tambourine. “Shredding” can be enjoyable, yet one shimmering note on the triangle sounded at that precise musical moment may garner more nods of approval from your fellow musicians than several displays of blazing technique. That single silver tone falls into the category of coloristic percussion.

While percussion instruments can take on melodic, harmonic, and timekeeping functions, there are those spots where the unique tones are used specifically for the sake of “coloring” the texture of the music.

All percussion instruments can be considered coloristic, but some members of the percussion family function only in the coloristic area such as the Chinese bell tree, Ocean Drum™ , wind chimes, rain stick, Thunder Tube™, bar chimes or Mark Tree™, and Waterfall™. The triangle, suspended cymbal, and finger cymbals are often used for color and can also serve in a timekeeping/groove role.

As percussionists, we invest time in practice and study to sharpen our ability to play grooves with accurate rhythmic subdivisions and proper “feel,” but there is also a need to develop our coloristicpercussion vocabulary, technique, and sense of placement.

Building Your Palette Be on the lookout for new and interesting instruments and methods of creating timbres. A simple perusal of an instrument manufacturer’s website or catalog can make you aware of new sounds to broaden your reservoir of colors.

produce a sudden burst of sound using both hands to quickly set the cylinders in motion. How about just gently brushing a few of the cylinders for a gentle wind chime effect? Remember that with many percussion instruments, you can expand your sonic arsenal even further with a variety of implements. For example, a suspended cymbal’s tone can be greatly affected by striking with sticks, mallets, or brushes (or scraping with a coin).

NOV/DEC 2013 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM

Pay attention to what is being played by the other instruments when certain percussion colors are utilized. Store those aural snapshots in your memory bank and wait for similar musical moments when you can apply those color ideas.

If you are creating a percussion part, keep in mind that the decision to refrain Avoid limiting your experimentation to a from playing is sometimes the more single instrument at a time. Try combining musically mature judgment. As tempting timbres to create a compound tone. The as it might be, a simple guitar intro might dry quality of a woodblock mixed with not need those percussive “dings” that you the sustain of a triangle might be the fresh are considering. One well-placed cymbal texture that the music director desires. scrape under a piano melody may be far Subtle Shades tastier than three. “Less is more” is often Not all finger cymbals are created the case with coloristic percussion. equal. Neither are all wind chimes.

Color The Groove Listen carefully to how your tone colors Be aware that coloristic percussion blend with the surrounding instruments. considerations extend into groove playing Experiment with various sizes, metals, also. When you play an eighth note beaters, and striking areas to find the ostinato on the shaker, you are adding triangle tone that sounds just right at that color. Turn on your persnickety-percussion certain spot in the song. Try a couple of sensibilities and make a judicious choice different cymbals and you will probably from your collection of shakers. A 12/8 hear that one seems more appropriate tambourine rhythm might bring more for the important roll leading into the sparkle to the band if you switch from an key change. Remember that the subtle instrument with brass jingles to one with shades within a basic timbre can make steel or nickel discs. a difference in the overall texture of the From found sound to conventional music. instruments to modified digital samples, Control Your Colors there is an amazing world of percussive As you amass your array of colors, colors. Dip in and explore that beautiful work on techniques that will allow you world--and choose wisely. to play in a nuanced fashion. Explore the dynamic range of the instruments and develop control over starting and ending ©2013 Mark Shelton Productions the sounds. With a purely coloristic Excerpts from Percussion For Worship by instrument, such as the rainstick, there are Mark Shelton methods to manipulate the volume and intensity of the “rain.” (It just takes a bit The percussion work of Mark of practice to learn how to stop the rain!) Shelton has been a part of

Think beyond conventional instruments.

A “found sound” such as a metal mixing bowl or a large coffee mug might be just the right sonic element for a particular Placement: Right Color/Right musical moment.

Time Build up your repertoire of tone colors Listen for coloristic percussion being by experimenting. Stir your creative juices used in a variety of musical styles. Check to explore both the conventional methods out the interesting percussion sounds used of playing AND some alternative ways in smooth jazz. Listen to (and watch) the of producing sounds. Consider the bar front ensemble in a drum and bugle corps chimes. Besides the common high to to observe a fascinating display of welllow glissando (or low to high), try to scored timbres. Orchestral music from

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the Impressionist period (late nineteenth century) and forward is especially rich in the use of coloristic percussion.

over two thousand worship services. Mark currently plays with Gateway Worship and can be heard on the recordings God Be Praised, and Great Great God. An active blogger, Mark writes regularly at Percussion For Worship (www.percussionforworship. blogspot.com).

Check out Mark’s percussion tutorials at www.youtube.com/ marksheltonmusic

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PRODUCT REVIEW

By Matt Kees

PreSonus ADL 700 Channel Strip & Monitor Station

The ADL 700 Channel Strip by PreSonus stems from the ADL 600 discrete Class A tube preamplifer, designed in part by Anthony DeMaria of ‘Anthony DeMaria Labs.’

Out of the box, this is a solid, ruggedly built unit that ensures reliability. This channel strip, streeting at $1,999, is certainly designed for ‘pro-project’ studios or single input project studios (like mine) for smaller productions, voice overs or broadcast. The ADL 700 provides a stellar sounding mic preamp at a very decent price. The mic pre is worth the price of admission... but you get more.

The ADL 700, unlike the 600, features a compressor and a parametric EQ. Otherwise, much is similar. The 700 uses the same DeMaria designed Class A discrete’ tube pre’s incorporating a 12AT7 and two 6922 vacuum tubes.There is input gain control (stepped in 5dB increments) with continuously variable trim. There is also a high pass filter (20-200Hz), a line level quarter inch DI input on the front, and multiple impedance settings for mics (150, 300, 900, 1500). Also included are a -20dB pad, +48v phantom power, & polarity switch.

The preamp is probably the most impressive part of this unit. It is very clean and clear, yet musical. It’s also quite versatile. There is so much headroom with this preamp. You can drive it extremely hard, and get a glimmer of breaking up... but you can slam it hard and allow the tubes to saturate, and it sounds wonderful. The various impedance inputs will also give you a variety of sounds that are quite fun to experiment with.

Next in the channel is the FET based compressor, designed by Robert Creel of PreSonus. Compression ratios range from 1:1 to 4:1. There are several low ratio options between 1:1 and 2:1... basically half of the continuous sweep of the pot. There is also a switch that allows you to place the EQ before the compressor in the signal chain, or you can bypass the compressor.

Next is the EQ. It features 4 frequency

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bands. The low and high have either a shelf or peak curve. The 2 mid frequency bands are gently sloped Q curves.

Frequency selection and gain control for the EQ are continuously variable, and the gain has a slight detent at 0dB. Again, you have the option of placing the EQ before the compressor in the chain of events, or you can bypass the EQ completely.

While reviewing the ADL 700, I have used 2 units together, and you are able to stereo link the two compressor sections.

During recording sessions using this preamp, I noticed an increased depth and clarity, especially with vocals. The Direct Input for instruments also boasts a more musical signal, as opposed to simply using my XMAX preamps on my Firestudio, which sound incredible on their own.

I highly recommend this channel strip for recording/project studios, regardless of size. The most important thing when recording anything is capturing the signal well... with the ADL 700, you can capture it extremely well.

MONITOR STATION So, in a nut-shell, the Monitor Station enables you to manage multiple audio sources, as well as monitor speakers & headphones right from your desktop... it’s easy and it’s fun! Yes, fun! Lots of buttons, lights and knobs.

It has two sets of stereo, line-level analog 1/4” inputs and a pair of RCA analog aux/ phono inputs with a defeatable RIAA filter so you can connect a DVD player or turntable. You

can listen to all 3 inputs at the same time, or individually. Also, you can ‘sum’ these inputs to a mono switch to check for any phase problems your mix might have.

There are 3 speaker selections for you to select from while auditioning your music, each with their own separate volume control. You can use them simultaneously, or one at a time. There are 4 distinct headphone amplifiers with individual level controls. A great option for a project studio with a small group of performers.

Grab a few headphone extensions, and you’re on your way!

The Monitor Station allows you to route your audio signals to one of 2 audio paths... Main & Cue. You can then route these 2 options to your headphones. This enables you to send a mix with a click track to one input, while sending the other to your main mix, so you don’t have to listen to a click in your control room :) Other cool features include an LED meter, a large volume knob, a mute button, a ‘dim’ button (music is attenuated for conversations), and a built in talk back mic. This is an excellent tool for a project studio. Retails for around $300.

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A FEW MOMENTS WITH…

By Paul Baloche

Keeping Worship In Christmas I’ve often found Christmas a challenge. But not for the usual reasons. For me, one of the biggest struggles has been played out at church, in worship. We have such a rich heritage of Christmas-themed songs, yet so many of them don’t seem to fit with the way we do things today.

I love pulling out these standard Christmas carols that we only seem to sing once a year, but I’ve found that very few of them are sung to the Lord. Instead, they sing about Him.

in the timeless carols.

I remember when it hit me. We were singing O Holy Night - one of the most beautiful songs ever written. As we started the song “O holy night….” it dawned on me that we were singing to “a night” - an inanimate abstraction? By the time we hit the chorus, hands were in the air, eyes closed, singing “O night divine”….

I smiled on the inside actually at the thought of all of us singing TO the night. So, for years I’ve tried to find a way to medley the two together - I will sometimes add a simple tag at the end of a familiar carol that gets us singing to the Lord instead of just about the Lord. It’s like breathing; the carols allow us to inhale all this wonderful content, while the added tags allow us to exhale a simple worship response back to God.

Does that matter? I think it does.

I think that it is so important in our congregational worship times to get our hearts going “vertical.” More than at any other time, Christmas is the season when we need to be reminding people that Jesus isn’t just a character in the story, He is the perfectly approachable and totally May I challenge you to consider this loving Christ of Christmas. approach? Maybe at the end of “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” try adding That’s why, for the past twenty years a chorus of “O Jesus we adore You, during the month of December, I have O Jesus we adore You” over the same tried to find ways to keep the “singing chord progression. Then maybe sing prayers” style of worship that we’re the classic chorus in the same key, “I accustomed to, yet incorporate the love you Lord, and I lift my voice…” beautiful content and melodies found Or like I did last year at church, when singing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” we added just the chorus part

to “King of Heaven”. We sing “glory to the newborn King,” add a simple tag by holding the final chord, then in the same key sing “King of heaven come down, king of heaven come now….” Or try a different chorus by carrying on with the drums and start singing out a simple melody that the congregation can pick up with words like “we give You glory Lord, we give You glory.”

Another idea is to take a familiar worship chorus and rewrite the verses. It doesn’t always feel great.

Some songs work better than others but it’s worth a try. Years ago I wrote a Christmas verse to “Offering” and we’ve been singing it every year since. Last year Glenn Packiam and I wrote new verses for “Your Name”.

Our churches were already familiar with the verse melody so it was easy for them to simply sing new lyrics in place of the original. By the time we get to the chorus we’re able to respond to the God of the Christmas story and sing a familiar, prayerful chorus.

In the run up to this Christmas, why not practice a little? Put aside some rehearsal time to experiment with different approaches until you find a melody and chord progression that helps a Christmas carol become a more vertical worship song.

Remember to keep it simple, keep worshipping and keep experimenting.

Paul is known for his writing songs as “Open the Eyes of my Heart”, and “Above All” and has been a worship pastor and teacher for many years. His new “Christmas Worship” album was released October 29, 2013.

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