the dawning of
THE DIGITAL AGE
Product Reviews: Alclair In-Ears
Record Reviews
SEP/OCT 2013 Volume 11, Issue 5 09
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The Digital Age l Matt Gilman l Graham Kendrick l Soulfire Revolution
“Mixing the Lead Vocal” Bill Gibson
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“A Lyric or a Poem?” Paul Baloche
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F R N EW IS E SU E
Finding the Right Music Gear for Your Church Just Got Easier!
Get the Newest FREE Issue of Worship Sound Pro — the Ultimate Music Gear Guide for Houses of Worship! Call Today for Your FREE Copy! The Best Technology for Worship
Worship Sound Pro features the latest and most essential music equipment and technology for today’s houses of worship.
Multitracks and the Modern Musical Message Find out how you can enhance your worship performances with professional-sounding accompaniment — and learn about the tools that make it happen.
Essential Guides for You and Your Volunteers In-depth, down-to-earth articles help volunteers, pastors, and worship leaders understand the ins and outs of the latest in worship sound technology. Go to Sweetwater.com/worship to learn more about MultiTracks!
Working with MultiTracks loops and tracks instantly gives your worship team a fuller, more professional sound. When you transition to working with clicks and loops, you need the right tools on the platform to make sure the team hears clearly and performs its best. Here are some essentials:
Live 9 This software puts you in command of your clicks, loops, and stems. It’s easy to use and has become very popular with worship groups.
MultiTracks and the
Modern Musical Message
MultiTracks.com gives worship teams the tools they need to bring professional-sounding accompaniment and loops to the platform.
When you open a MultiTracks file in your DAW, you can easily pick the parts you need.
Without question, more and more churches are supplementing their live sound with multiple-track accompaniment and loops for live worship performances. This concept’s growing popularity has led to a demand for great-sounding tracks and loops that are also easy to work with. We spoke with Phillip Edwards, founder of MultiTracks.com, and asked him about the transitions that churches are making to running tracks — and the gear they need to do so effectively. Sweetwater is proud to partner with MultiTracks.com to provide the potential for a fuller, more professional sound on the platform. Many worship leaders may have heard about running “clicks” or “tracks” in worship, but these names don’t always mean the same thing to everyone. Could you begin by describing the difference between an accompaniment track and a MultiTrack? Also, a click track and a loop? Absolutely. I’m just old enough to remember going to the Christian bookstore and seeing cassettes of accompaniment tracks with the lead vocal removed. MultiTracks are not that kind of “track.” That is an accompaniment track to be used without live musicians. MultiTracks are a collection of all the individual parts or “stems” from a recording. Our Original Master MultiTracks are the same thing that the original artists use on tour to add in parts from their own recordings to help them sound like their albums and to fill out their live sound. A click track is the actual click that functions as a metronome in a musician’s in-ear mix. A click helps the musician stay in time, both with the band and any track he or she may be playing along with. You can use the built-in click from any DAW, or a standalone click track that can be sent to the front of house and then back to your monitor mix. A loop is simply a recorded track that loops continuously. I think people sometimes generalize a loop as being any track that is played along with a band. But typically a loop should refer to a percussive or melodic phrase that you can repeat over and over as you play a section of a song. Do you ever hear of worship team members having a challenge transitioning to using a click track in their ears? I teach about this at a worship conference, and I’ve heard this so often that now I just ask those who are currently running a click track with a worship team to speak about the differences they’ve experienced in their team after they added the click. I can always count on the same story. Usually there is some initial resistance, but pretty soon everyone loves the benefits of playing in time, and they always want to use a click after that. Using a click track makes everyone play tighter, and the consistency definitely improves. You’ll be amazed at the feedback you receive! Also, pre-recorded vocal guide cues give the team count-ins, so transitions and song entrances are smoother and easier to navigate.
Worship Sound Pro 101 Guides
Since a click is involved, I’d assume it’s important for the team to use in-ear monitors. Yes. Using floor wedges at your church would be a barrier to running a click track or MultiTracks. There are many benefits to making the transition overall, which is why more churches every day are going with an in-ear setup. If you have a live drummer who has to turn up a floor monitor up loud enough to hear it over his drums, then everyone around him has to do the same. Suddenly, you have a
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Take a look at the instruments we’ve highlighted in this guide, including Yamaha’s MOTIF XF8, the affordable Korg SP280, and the piano-like Kurzweil PC3K8. You’ll also want to check out the Hammond XK-3c.
Keyboard
Picks
Workstations: Powerful Tools for the Worship Worship SoundLeader Pro 101 Guides
Choosing the Right
KEYBOARD Whether you’re looking for a simple instrument that just plays and sounds like a real acoustic piano, or you’re seeking a powerful centerpiece for all your worship team’s ambitions, there’s a digital piano that’s right for your church. To help you zero in on the perfect keyboard for your needs, let’s take a look at the different kinds of keyboards available, as well as the important factors you’ll want to consider when making your decision.
When Less Is More Many church pianists we work with often feel overwhelmed by the number of choices out there — and even more so by the number of knobs, buttons, and controls on keyboards. “All I need,” they tell us, “is an instrument that plays like an acoustic piano and has a fantastic natural piano sound.” If this sounds like you, you’ll want to select what’s called a stage piano — and ideally one with a full set of 88 weighted keys (also called weighted action). These keyboards actually mimic the response of a grand piano’s keybed, where the lowest keys require more force to strike, and the upper keys feel light and airy beneath your fingertips. To nail the sound of an acoustic piano, today’s top keyboard manufacturers have gone to great lengths to record some of the finest grand pianos in the world, putting these sounds right inside the instruments. Not only can you get the sound of a classic Steinway, but on many you can also push a single button to get the sound of a Bosendorfer, a Yamaha C7, or a character-filled upright. If you’re replacing an acoustic piano, you should consider the importance of aesthetics to your church. If you have more-traditional services or are seeking a really natural look up on the platform, then you may want to choose a more authentic-looking stage piano. We have options available with wooden cabinets, in a variety of finishes, so you can choose an instrument that matches the decor of your church.
FIVE Main Features to Consider As you take a look at the keyboards featured on the next few pages, these five factors will help you start narrowing down your decision:
1. Action
Do you want keys that are weighted to feel and play just like an acoustic piano’s? Or do you want keys that glide beneath your fingers so that you can easily play synth and organ parts?
2. Sounds
Do you primarily need an authentic acoustic piano sound, or would you like to have other sounds such as strings, synths, electric pianos, organs, and more?
3. Arranging/Recording Capabilities
Will you be composing songs with your keyboard? If so, you may want to have a built-in sequencer, onboard drum sounds, and a direct-to-computer connection.
4. Size and Portability
Choosing a 76-key keyboard instead of a full-size 88-key instrument can be a great way to cut down on weight while maintaining a first-class playing experience.
5. Appearance
How important is it that your church’s keyboard resemble an acoustic piano? Do you want an integrated stand, or would you prefer to use a more portable stage-style keyboard stand?
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While streamlined, piano-like instruments are ideal for a number of worship leaders and church pianists, many other houses of worship rely on keyboards for much more than just piano sounds. In fact, if you’re a piano-centric worship leader, you may very well be able to perform and produce your entire service with a single powerful instrument called a keyboard workstation. More than just keyboards with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of instrument sounds, these instruments often feature multitrack sequencers, so you can layer all the different instrument parts into a full orchestration. It’s very similar to working with audio editing and production software, only you’re not tethered to a computer — and you can easily play these backing tracks right from your keyboard during services. And even if you do have a complete worship band, you can use a workstation to add a few choice backing instruments to fill out your sound — perhaps a second trumpet part, a string section, or even an extra kick drum sound for more power.
bunch of monitors onstage that are louder than the sound system in the house, and the click track in those monitors would bleed into the house. Going with in-ears gives the mix control back to your sound person, and you have the added benefit of being able to mix in some individual MultiTracks with your live sound. If I’m a worship leader and I want to make my team comfortable working with MultiTracks and click tracks, what would you recommend? Great question. Though it’s not difficult, it does take time to transition your team. The first time you learned to drive a stick shift, it was really awkward because you were used to doing it a different way — then it became familiar and you wondered how you ever did without it. We have people on our worship team who were reluctant to use a click track because they weren’t used to having it in their ears. Give it some time, and you won’t even really hear it anymore — you become used to it. Now, using MultiTracks is a different story in my opinion. It makes the mix in your in-ears and the front of house sound amazing!
Guitar Sound Kurzweil PC3K8 Amazing feel and piano sounds
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A Balance of Features for Modern Worship
If you don’t need the all-out power of a workstation, but you’d still like a Roland RD-64 Asdrum worship and events become more diverse and tied into today’s culture, it’s handful of cutting-edge capabilities — maybe built-in patternsservices for Portability plus great rehearsals and a lighter sequencer for a quick songwriting sketch pad — there and inevitable that the music instruments performances involved become increasingly contemporary. $ 00 are a number of options that fall somewhere in between the two categories playing feel It’s just aswhich common platform as it is to see pianos, we’ve already mentioned. Instead of choosing an 88-key option, has the to see full-band setups onMorethe info on pg. 112 same number of keys as a full piano, you can select a 76-key — or smaller — organs, and choir ensembles. version. These instruments trade a slightly reduced range (many keyboardists never use the highest and lowest keys anyway) for lighter weight and a more can benefit from using a DI box — especially if your setup One very element of modern worship music portable form factor. You can still get fully weighted keys on attractive a 76-key piano, involves outboard effects and other gear (with balanced performance the guitar or you can choose a semi-weighted version that works well if youisperform a — a very portable, versatile instrument thatpiano. also happens to be Hammond relatively affordable XK-3c inputs) in addition to your amplifier, or requires extremely blend of classic and modern instrument sounds, rather than strictly long cable runs. Balancing the signal with a direct box (compared to that hulking pipe organ). Though worship Classic Hammond Increasing in popularity are keyboards that feature performers a built-in microphone sounds helps to keep the signal strong and helps to remove pesky have been using guitarsorgan as accompaniment for input. These are perfect for the performing worshipdecades, leader and for years have seen a boom in guitars electronic interference. There are DI boxes available to suit thegreat last few scaled-down youth services. The vocal microphone goes right through the every budget. as standout instruments. But how do you effectively keyboard’s output, so you’ll need to amplify only one signal. Better yet, into your gathering without turning the $ 00 integrate the guitar there are professional vocal effects built in, so you can refine theinto vocal Natural Sound, Even Plugged In proceedings a sound loud rock show? Read on. More info on pg. 107 without having to purchase an extra piece of gear. Taking “direct” to an entirely new level, some acoustic Going Direct guitar-centric pedals and even onboard preamps include Don’t Forget About Realistic Organ Sounds very specialized EQ curves and effects that give your The dynamic, natural sound of an acoustic guitar is right up Korg Kronos X 61 The organ is still a very popular instrument for worship services. And while there with the piano when it comes to accompanying solo Great workstation, $ 00 most of the keyboards we carry feature a built-in organ sound, you can get artists or ensembles with one instrument. loadedUntil withrelatively free extras that organ-playing experience — complete with drawbars — by choosing a recently, though, playing your acoustic live meant remaining More info on pg. 109 dedicated instrument for the task. stationary in front of a microphone and fighting feedback theyou sound system. Have more questions? Our Sales Engineers are here from to help choose the The advent of onboard pickups acoustic players from this fate, allowing them to Sound best keyboard for your church’s goals. In fact, what freed you see in Worship plug right into an Give amp us or aPA system and, in many cases, Pro is just a small sampling of the many keyboards we have available. >> AVID $ 00 control the guitar’s volume and tone. One mostly unsung call today at (800) 222–4700. Eleven Rack More info on pg. 130 but very useful tool for amplifying an acoustic guitar is the DI, or direct box. InSP280 general plugged-in guitar a more natural sound. Fishman’s Aura Korg $line actually 00 includes stompboxes matched to specific body Outstanding terms, the purpose of a DIplayability, box is to sounds, and portability convert the signal coming from your styles. Simply plug your favorite dreadnought or jumbo or More info on pg. 114 instrument into a “balanced” signal classical into its corresponding pedal, and you get a very that’s compatible with the church’s good approximation of your guitar’s unplugged sound. Best sound system. Though many mixing of all, this “microphone-like” tone doesn’t come with the boards allow you to plug straight in, baggage of feedback! using a DI on the platform means the Though EQ curves and pre-programmed algorithms can signals coming from instruments and make a guitar sound great, today’s standalone modeling microphones are all consistent when and effects units allow you to coax an incredible array of they connect to the PA. Even if you’re sounds out of your acoustic or electric instrument. The an electric guitar or bass player, you number of effects that can be applied is simply staggering, and, believe it or not, as modeling technology has gotten >> BOSS $ 00 more advanced, it’s now easier to pack those effects into MO-2 More info on pg. 132 smaller and smaller effects units. One big advantage you
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Tell us about the resources and tutorials available at the MultiTracks.com website. Our blog is full of training and tutorials specifically geared toward worship leaders, and you can sign up for more in-depth training and screen-sharing assistance as well. I would encourage people to take a couple of hours and dive into learning a software program. I think they’ll be blown away by how it benefits their live sound. We’re grateful that we’ve been able to help thousands of worship leaders make the transition, and we’re constantly hearing about the difference it makes for their church. Thank you for talking with us! Anything else you’d like to add? We have free demo content if you just register for an account with us online. Plus, there is a Free Content section with click tracks and loop tracks that you can download without an account. We’ve made it really easy to try this out with your team, and we’re always adding new songs to the catalog. We’re definitely here to help any way we can.
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get from modeling effects (Line 6’s POD standalone units, for example) is the ability to get the sound of your favorite guitar amp while plugging straight into your church’s sound system. This means you get total control over your stage volume and tone — and you don’t have to lug that hefty amplifier on and off of the platform.
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A360 Thanks to convenient, full-featured personal mixers such as Aviom’s A360, each performer on the platform gets his or her own custom in-ear monitor mix. The result? More confident and consistent performances!
Big Tone from a Small Package Sometimes, however, there’s no substitute for the sound and response of an honest-to-goodness guitar amplifier. The trick is being able to coax peak performance out of your amp without shaking the walls of your church and drowning out your message. As recording guitarists and studio engineers can tell you, the secret to big tone, oddly enough, lies in using a small amp — especially if you rely on classic tube-powered units for that rich, sustaining tone. A small single-speaker combo amp is relatively easy to transport and move, and its controls give you immediate access to volume and tone adjustments. Using lower power levels, or wattage means you can “drive” the amplifier’s power section and speaker, getting the benefits of the amp’s dynamic response and full-sounding tone without blasting the congregation and overpowering the rest of your worship team. If you need more than just one great sound from your amp, consider a multichannel amplifier (usually equipped with separate controls for clean and distorted sounds, as well as tone controls and reverb adjustments) or even that most recent of amplification developments, the modeling amp.
How Many Amps Do You Need? Small modeling combo amps provide a two-fold solution for worship guitarists. The first is versatility. Packed with multiple amp sounds and effects, a modeling amp can literally take you from shimmering clean sounds to uplifting, sustaining lead tones in seconds (and a footswitch is often included, so you can make changes on the fly). Secondly, you don’t have to give up portability and low stage volume to get the most out of these amps; in fact, modeling amps are voiced to provide very consistent-sounding versions of the amplifiers they emulate, even at low volumes — try coaxing the same sustaining lead tones from a real 100-watt amp stack that you can get from a preset on your modeling combo! Plugging into a small modeling combo lets you call up pretty much any tone you need for a worship performance. And the very compact size and light weight of such a combo makes it a snap to get on and off of the platform quickly. And let’s not forget the bass player, as there are plenty of great-sounding, highly portable modeling combo bass amps available that can hold their own on any stage.
Building a Mix
Since the primary goal of amplifying an acoustic guitar is to retain asIt’s much of the guitar’s natural character as point: the mix disaster. Maybe your church’s regular bound to happen at some possible, it’s important that your acoustic amplifier provide sound person calls atrun the last minute. Maybe the new volunteer sound person a very clean, transparent sound. So why in notsick simply your instrument directly into the soundasystem? While that’s from a doesn’t know volume slider a sliding door, or a mixing board from a mixing perfectly fine solution for many worship leaders (especially bowl. Whatever the circumstance, solo performers or small acoustic ensembles), those playing something has to be done to save the service. acoustic guitar in full-band setups orsound, on larger the stagescongregation won’t be engaged or inspired by the music, Without decent benefit from the control and focused sound they get from a and combo the message beamps completely lost. dedicated acoustic amp. Many may of these include extensive EQ controls for fine-tuning your tone, as well as onboard filters that hold feedback at bay. sound Amps with built-in system may not be perfect — forewarning the team that Though creating the perfect mix for a service is a effects let youtrue addart, even more body and depth everything may not be ideal will go a long way toward a sound person with littletooryour no mixing experience sound. Plus, they eliminate the needsonic for aclarity complicated signal easing the process for everyone. At least they will know can still achieve good and deliver the message chain runningwith through outboard effects pedals. what to expect! pleasant and effective audio. Though Here are some tips for acoustic combo ampsthe pack soniclast-minute punch frommix a small saving dayplenty with aofquick, — whether enclosure, larger still require sound reinforcement you rooms are working the sound booth yourself or have the help 4. Turn it on. from a PA system. That’s where your amp’s built-in direct of a volunteer. Turn on the speakers or the amplifiers last; this prevents loud output comes in. thumps and pops from coming through the system.
1. Keep it simple.
Using Your Amp’s Direct Output
Unfortunately, mix emergencies rarely occur when you have Most dedicated acoustic guitar bass amplifiers include loads of spare timeand to work on a solution — it balanced direct outputs, giving you the option of running almost always happens minutes before the service is your rig through your church’s system without sacrificing supposed to start.PA While your sound booth may have racks the control and sound you and get onstage. Several electric guitar now is of processors sophisticated audio equipment, combos (especially modeling amps) with direct-out capability not the time to experiment with effects or to randomly are also available some even include emulation, start— turning knobs. Focus speaker on the bare minimum you sending very realistic tones to the PA. Usingeffects for need to amp get the jobstraight done. Leave the special your amp’s direct output doesn’t just let you “have your another time. amp and play it too”; it also allows you to handle the sound level that reaches yourwhat’s gathering. You canthere. enjoy getting the 2. Use already sound you want on the platform, while your church’s sound your sound system is already setthese up, the cables and engineer can Hopefully, make a mix that’s ideal for the room. All the snake aremake run toplaying the mixer, andorthe monitors great sound tools help to guitar bass in the are tuned in to prevent feedback. Plug the mics into the mixer or snake worship environment a more inspiring experience for you — in their usual positions. Try to use the same “old standby” and your listeners. microphones and other gear you usually use — again, now is not the time to experiment with new gear!
3. Have a conversation with the worship team. Explain to everyone that the regular sound person is not available and that help is required to have the service go well. This means guitarists need to turn down, drummers need to control volume, and so on. Explain that the monitor
5. Reset the mixing board. Begin by pulling all the volume sliders (faders) down to zero. (Usually these are found at the bottom of each channel on the mixer.) Set the channel gain to a mid position (Usually this knob is found at the top of each channel on the mixer.) Next, reset all the equalization (tone) controls on the mixer to their center position, which is essentially off. Turn the auxiliary or monitor sends off. Make sure that mute or solo buttons are disengaged. (Usually these buttons are off in the up position.) Set the master volume fader to about 50%.
6. Begin testing each sound source through the mains. Have the main vocalist speak or sing into his or her mic. Bring up the volume slider until you can hear the vocals in the main speakers. Turn up the auxiliary or monitor sends until the vocalist can hear himself or herself in the monitors. As you verify that each mic or source works, pull its volume fader back down to zero. You can leave the aux (monitor) sends turned up so that the singers can hear themselves. To prevent feedback, don’t run the stage monitors too loud.
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E
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Phillip Edwards The founder and CEO of MultiTracks.com, Phillip is a worship leader and a musician with professional touring experience. Since launching MultiTracks.com in 2006, Phillip has been teaching and training at worship conferences around the country on the concept of running MultiTracks to achieve a professional sound in any size church.
RSS V-MIXING SYSTEM
The Basics of
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UM3X RC In-ear monitors are critical to working with MultiTracks. These isolating earphones allow each member of the team to hear the click, the accompaniment, and the live instruments and vocals clearly.
Can you address potential copyright issues with these stems/loops? A download from MultiTracks includes a limited license for live performance at your house of worship. We cover the royalties for use of the master as well as for publishing. Though you can perform the song as many times as you like at your church, the license does not allow you to use the tracks for streaming over the Internet or for recording purposes.
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You can also get LiteTracks, which are premixed stereo MP3 files from original sessions. On the left side of the stereo field is a click; on the right are synths, strings, pads, and sounds that enhance the worship band’s performance of the song. You can put LiteTracks on your iPod or other player.
Rehearsal Mixes let your team members hear the parts they’ll be playing louder in the mix, so it’ll be easier for them to learn what they should be playing. It’s an effective rehearsal tool that helps reduce practice time. Rehearsal Mixes are very affordable, and you can even buy credits in bulk to bring the price of each down even further.
Can you trigger these files via MIDI from, say, a keyboard controller or a MIDI foot controller? Yes. Many musicians run MultiTracks from the stage this way. It helps if all your musicians are onstage so that you can cue everyone together. If a guitar player is leading worship and triggering the tracks, he or she might want to use a foot controller, which is easy to program within most any DAW. Or you could assign the Worship Sound Pro 101 Guides pads or knobs on your MIDI keyboard to fire off the tracks from your keyboard. This way, you’re never touching the laptop.
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Can you walk us through the options that MultiTracks.com offers? We offer three core options: MultiTracks, LiteTracks, and Rehearsal Mixes. MultiTracks aren’t simply accompaniment tracks; they’re often the original stems from the original recordings. The cool thing about these tracks is that you can essentially have the entire recording up there — the exact same stems the artists use during performances — on the platform, ready for you to add your own parts.
MultiTracks are actual stems of audio, often from original recordings. Can you tell us how the MultiTracks are controlled by software or hardware? How much flexibility do you have with the arrangements? The MultiTracks that you download from our website can be played in any DAW or music software that can play multiple audio files at one time. We have users of just about every software — Ableton, Studio One, Pro Tools, Digital Performer… the list goes on. If you’re just triggering the tracks to start and stop, and don’t need to jump around from section to section, then most DAWs will work great. We have lots of training videos on this concept on our MultiTracks blog.
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There are other websites out there that offer audio files for accompaniment. How does MultiTracks.com do things differently? Beyond the sheer size of our catalog, the quality of the original master recordings is amazing. There are also demos and quite a bit of free content on our site, which can help people get started. As does Sweetwater, we place a high value on supporting our customers, and we have a knowledgeable staff of engineers and trainers who can answer your questions and get you up and running right away.
Photo by Jon James and Troy Behrens
7. Have the worship team begin to play a song. Watch for red overload or “clip” lights on the mixer. If you see these, turn down the gain controls at the top of that source’s channel.
8. Build the mix by bringing up the volume faders for the basics first. Start with the bass drum and the bass guitar, turning them up to a comfortable level and balancing them against one another. You may need to adjust the level of the master volume fader to get the overall level to the right point.
9. Turn up the volume faders for the vocals. Now focus on the vocals. Set them to a comfortable level, balanced against the bass guitar and the bass drum. The lead vocalist needs to be the loudest, with the background or harmony vocals filling in behind.
10. Turn up the volume faders on the other instruments. One at a time, begin turning up the other instruments. Start with the rest of the drums, then the guitars, the pianos, the keyboards, and any other instruments. Adjust the volume as needed. Balance each one against the vocals, the bass drum, and the bass guitar. This is a place where you can err on the side of being conservative. The vocals are the main focus, and you want to ensure that they are clearly audible. Use the other instruments to fill around the vocals, without obscuring them. As you go, adjust the master volume fader to control the overall level.
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spikes in sound. Ask each worship team member what he or she needs to hear from the monitors — one at a time so that everyone doesn’t speak at once — and adjust the auxiliary sends accordingly.
13. Don’t try to overtune the mix, and don’t make it too loud. Set things up so that they are clean and clear, and at a comfortable, conservative volume level. Then stop! Once you get to the point where it sounds okay — this should happen fairly quickly — stop tweaking the knobs. It’s easy to lose perspective and get lost in knob turning, even though the goal has already been achieved.
14. Here’s a final tip. When in doubt, focus on making the vocals, whether spoken or sung, clearly audible. The congregation is there to hear the message, which is contained in the words and lyrics. The music is inspiring and essential to a great service, but it plays just a supporting role in the grand scheme of things. Ensure that the vocals are heard, and the service will be a success!
11. It’s time for the equalizers. Up to this point, we haven’t touched the equalizers (tone controls) on the mixer. If you find that the sound is getting too bassy or boomy, use the “low” or bass tone control to reduce the bass frequencies a small amount on instruments such as bass guitar, keyboards, and piano. Vocalists, especially male vocalists, may also need their bass reduced a small amount. To increase the clarity of a vocal or an instrument, add a small amount of treble or high frequencies by using the tone controls on that mixer channel. Be careful with the tone controls, as overuse can lead to feedback!
12. Fine-tune the mix and the monitors. Adjust volume levels so that instruments and vocals are balanced, and adjust the bass and the treble controls on channels as necessary to prevent boominess, harshness, or
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Editor’s Corner
Hobo Truckers...
OK, I realize I have no room to talk here about hair fashions, as I have had long hair most of my life. Lately I have been going for the aging Robert Plant of Led Zepplin fame look on a good day, and on a bad day my hair more resembles Aqualung from the classic Jethro Tull album cover.
SEP/OCT 2013
Features 8 Product Review
But after spending some time at the Creation West festival in By Mitch Bohannon Enumclaw, WA (which I highly recommend – it is a good event) Alclair In-Ears I have to say the old “hair bands” fad from the 80’s days may be getting some real competition from the new “beard bands” 10 From the Drummer’s fad of today. Perspective I was eating back stage at the festival and the bands that were By Carl Albrecht playing that day were congregating around the catering area. Drummers - Balance and It was hard to tell who was who, as so many of the guys and Control their managers and, yes, even record label guys were sporting 12 Keyboard long beards.
By Ed Kerr When I say long beards I mean it looks like open auditions But The Chart Says C! for a job on the Duck Dynasty television program. Guys from the Mars Hills bands Ghost Ship and Citizens were there along 15 Bass with Crowder’s band members, and I was having a hard time By Gary Lunn telling people apart.
Glean, Lean and Learn
I do credit David Crowder with sparking this crop of facial hair as he led the way with his long goatee years ago. When 16 Vocals he played the last two Christian Musician Summit conferences By Sheri Gould for us his beard had caught up with his goatee. That is when So Whose Job Is It Anyway? I coined the phrase “hobo trucker look”. I can imagine a tour bus pulling into a rural truck stop to gas up, and all of the band 18 Tips for Tight Teams members running into the gift shop looking By Sandy Hoffman for trucker’s baseball caps with high foam ’Tudes For Tight Teams - Part I front ends and fish net backs and sides. (“Combat’itude”
Adjustments) I jokingly told David Crowder that next year I was going to sell fake beards to the teenagers at the festival so they could wear them 26 Songchart By The Digital Age in the audience when Crowder played. In Captured his quit witted fashion David responded with, “Well, that will be good, as next year 30 Record Reviews we are going to be selling beard oil at our By Gerod Bass merch table.” You gotta love this guy! So the next time you are at a Christian music festival and a hobo trucker looking guy walks by… don’t offer him a bar of soap and a tuna sandwich from your cooler… ask him for an autograph! Bruce & Judy
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.
VOL. 11, ISSUE 5
40 Guitar Grab Bag By Doug Doppler Know Your Tone - Part 1 42 The Band By Tom Lane The Draw 44 Camera By Craig Kelly The Director 46 A Few Moments With... Paul Baloche A Lyric Or A Poem? 47 Songchart By Paul Baloche & Graham Kendrick What Can I Do (Christmas Version) 50 Percussion By Mark Shelton The Rise of The Sticks 52 Product Review By Eric Wylie HK Audio - LUCAS Nano
• The Digital Age • Matt Gilman • Graham Kendrick • Soulfire Revolution
34 FOH Engineer By Bill Gibson Mixing the Lead Vocal 36 Ministry + Artistry = Profitability? Creating your MAP™ By Scott A. Shuford So Many Social Media Platforms...So Little Time 38 Worship Team Training By Branon Dempsey Volume Wars
Interview 20 The Dawning of The Digital Age by Aimee Herd
WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2013
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PRODUCT REVIEW
By Mitch Bohannon
Alclair In-Ears I’ve needed to get some new custom in-ear monitors for a while now. One of my current monitors has been going in and out…I’ve had them for about five years. This past May, I met Marc Mussleman of Alclair at CMS@The Chapel and had a good visit with him about some of the options he can offer with custom in-ears. So, this past month, I ordered my new set of custom in-ear monitors from Alclair. They had several options to choose from… entry models with dual drivers, all the way up to highlevel quads. I chose the “Reference” monitors with triple drivers. When purchasing custom in-ear monitors, it’s important to me to purchase what will best meet my needs. Marc asked me all the right questions about what I need to hear and helped steer me to the right set of monitors.
them to be soft! Alclair was easy to can spend thousands of dollars on one I’ll start with the ordering process. work with to get the material just guitar, hundreds of dollars on pedals The descriptions online are very easy how I needed. The detachable cable and gear, and hours of time playing to understand with a visual of the EQ connects to the monitor with a two- and practicing only to get on platform setting, a simple overview, and a list of prong plug – nice and secure. and run all of that money and time what typical users are looking for. One through $25 earphones that may as of their slogans online, “in-ear candy” As I mentioned, I chose the well have come as a ‘prize’ in a cereal gives a good idea of the design choices! “Reference” monitors. These have a flat box. And, if some musicians would For mine, I went all out…bright colors response (EQ) like you would use in a even break down and purchase better (blue and gold, for our kids High School), recording environment. For me, as the monitors for $99… it’s important to glitter, and even “splatter paint” on the worship leader, I want to hear a clean, consider that each of my custom in-ear outside face! It almost took me longer to balanced mix of all that’s happening monitors has lasted at least four years! pick colors than it did to get them made! on the platform. With the triple drivers, It’s beyond worth it! Alclair custom inEven with the July 4th holiday interruption, it seems that each instrument comes ear monitors range in price from $249 it was less than a 10-day turnaround and through cleaner. From the bass and to $699 depending on your need. The I had my in-ears in ‘ear’. Obviously, part drums to the keys and guitars – it’s monitors I reviewed retail at $399. of the ordering process is actually getting like there is more sonic space for the In Him, ear-molds made. Please take note- I called instruments to come through with clarity. These are a dramatic improvement Mitch Bohannon 2 places local to me. The first told me they’d make molds for $50 per ear… the from the mix in my previous monitors. I second place I called only charged me a had to re-level my personal monitor mix Mitch is one of TOTAL of $15! Bottom line…call around. because I was hearing so much more than I had been hearing! the pioneers in the For musicians, cases are an important development of the cutpart of our gear, and these Alclair ears Here are the specs on the Reference capo, an alternate Custom Monitors: Triple driver two arrived in a sweet Pelican 1010 case… tuning device used by very cool! This is my third pair of way – 2 woofers and 1 tweeter. DC many worship leaders today, including custom in-ear monitors, so that’s my main Resistance - 20 Ohms. Impedance Chris Tomlin and Rick Cua. He is a comparison base. The weight and feel of @ 1KHz - 27 Ohms. Input Sensitivity worship pastor in Sulphur, LA, a regular the monitors is nice and sturdy, and the @ 100mVolts - 105 db SPL. Noise contributor to Worship Musician and Christian Musician Magazine, and has finish is done well. I chose to have soft Isolation -26db. been part of CMS since 2004. Mitch material in the ear canal. For my previous Are they worth the money? and his wife, Noelle, have been married monitors, one pair had soft material in the Absolutely! Think about it... I really for 20 years and have 3 awesome kids! canal and one did not. My ears prefer don’t understand how as musicians, we
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SEP/OCT 2013 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
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FROM THE DRUMMER’S PERSPECTIVE By Carl Albrecht
Drummers - Balance and Control There is no more challenging dynamic playing situation than being the drummer in a worship band. Even in these days of what most consider the peak of the modern worship movement, drummers are still the bad guys of the band. The “diablos of db”… the “villains of volume”… the “losers of loud”… the… OK, OK, you get the idea. It is always easiest just to hit ‘em hard AND ROCK!!!! As a drummer, to NOT hold anything back is an amazing feeling. I love to play like this when it’s possible. Unfortunately, drummers are usually not in settings that will work for this kind of playing. If you are in big arenas or outdoor amphitheaters, you have the freedom to give it all you got. In most other venues you have to play to the room. Even if it’s a big room, stay aware of your drum volume as compared to the overall mix. And I don’t mean to play louder than everyone else either. When I’m in a totally unrestricted situation I quite often play with bigger sticks, bigger cymbals, and much more overall volume. I swing higher and hit harder. The big stage setting often calls for projecting more sound and energy. Although I really dig in when this happens, I’m still listening to the balance of the sounds of the drum kit. I won’t hit the snare really hard and then wimp out when playing tom fills. I’m also aware of the balance between the kick, snare, and hat. Actually, I pay close attention to the kit sound as a whole instrument. Do the sounds all project at the same level? Listen carefully! At any dynamic level you play you must keep the sounds balanced between every element of the kit. Without the help of microphones, play your kit as hard as you can and listen for the overall balance of every element of your drums. You might want to play with earplugs when you do this. I’ve used a dB meter at head level when I’m playing hard and it is very easy to reach levels of 100 to 115 db. OUCH! Those decibel levels are very dangerous when experienced without hearing protection. I tell all my students to use earplugs or headphones when they are playing. ALWAYS! This level of volume is extreme in any band. But you have to be aware of the balance of sounds even at that level. Besides playing at your top volume with control and balance, you have to be able to do this at any dynamic level. Start playing loudly with your big sticks, then gradually decrease the volume in levels. Come down to just what feels like one degree. And then come down another and then another. But,
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SEP/OCT 2013 WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM
at each level, stay there until you feel it’s perfectly controlled and the sounds of your kit are balanced. It may take several minutes to get comfortable with a certain dynamic level. That’s OK. Don’t be in a hurry. Remember that to play louder you should use a higher stroke and more of a whipping motion. Don’t push down on the sticks or tighten your grip. Don’t make a tight fist on the stick. It’s more like the movement of cracking a whip, and it should feel very smooth or fluid. When you practice like this, become totally aware of how your arms, legs, and whole body feel. It’s quite a learning experience. Controlling volume and balance on your kit does affect the way you feel physically. Become aware of those sensations in practice times so that you are not distracted by them when you are actually playing with your band. Also do this balance and control exercise with every kind of stick, brush, mallet, and multi-rod in your stick bag. The goal is to be comfortable at any dynamic level. Don’t get into the mindset that your loudest is your best. Your sense of time, groove, and feel should be awesome at any level. Work with a metronome at all times when working on these exercises. I know you’ve heard that before. Some things never change. Another phase to this kind of drum workout is to adjust the volume of just one part of the drum pattern. For instance, focus on just the dynamics of your snare part. Play the whole kit pattern so that it feels natural to you without thinking of it. Then change just the volume level of the snare while keeping the other pieces at their regular volume. Start by lowering the dynamics of the snare first. Even to the point of playing it so softly as compared to the other parts that you almost can’t hear it. It may feel difficult to control your playing at lower dynamic levels, but that’s OK. Get it as soft as you can, then start to bring it back up to the point that felt normal to you. Gradually increase its volume until it completely overwhelms the other sounds of your kit, then gradually bring the volume back to what felt like normal to you at the beginning. This exercise should be applied to all the different elements of the groove you are playing. It’s really amazing how this makes you aware of the feel of a groove just by changing the volume of a particular part. I find it helpful in discovering what makes a pattern feel great, or not. It can, many
times, be a dynamic adjustment within the groove that makes all the difference. One observation I’ve made about this balance and control exercise is that usually the cymbals and hi-hat are the hardest to balance within the drum kit. Playing all the drums at a consistent level seems to be a natural approach to playing. But when I move to the cymbals or hi-hat I have had a tendency to hit them too hard. Pay very close attention to this as you work on these concepts. Yes, playing heavier and brighter cymbals can cause this to happen too, but it seems I’ve heard many drummers dig in too hard even on cymbals that are smaller and lighter. Being aware of this problem and listening carefully will help you overcome this challenge. This is something I always remind myself to pay attention to. Lastly, try to have time playing your drums alone in the room, auditorium, or church you have to perform in. Play with no amplification for a while. Then, with your engineer available to assist you, turn on the PA system and play with everything turned up. Of course this seems like a strange experiment, but it actually allows you to focus on what your drums sound like by themselves in a real playing situation. It’s a definitely an unusual exercise, but once you’ve done it a few times your ears start to actually notice how your kit sounds when it’s blended well in the room. You should first do this without in-ear monitors if you are using them in performances. Then put them back in and work on a good drum mix in your ears. Also ask your engineer how balanced your sound is in the house system without them having to over compensate for something out of balance in your playing. All of these focused practice sessions will help you keep your playing balanced and controlled no matter what style of music you are playing, or in what size of venue you perform in. Always work closely with your sound team and over time you’ll find you’re playing and your sound will become more locked in and blended with the band. *Please let me know how this routine works for you. It’s good to update information as we learn how things work in a real world application. www.LMAlbrecht.com 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
But The Chart Says C! This year, as I’ve traveled and taught in workshops with Paul Baloche or in Yamaha’s WATS conferences around the country, there is one thing I emphasize that has proven to consistently resonate with keyboard players. It’s a summary of chords that are heard often in recordings of modern worship songs. I’m not just talking about major and minor chords, but the variations of these chords that permeate modern arrangements. This summary has proven helpful to many musicians who have wondered why their presentations of worship songs doesn’t quite sound like the recordings they’ve listened to of the songs. The chord chart they’re reading says “C”, but when they play the C E and G of that chord it doesn’t sound like what they hear on the recording.
1, 4, 5 and 6 chords in the key of the song. In the key of C, for example, those chords are C major, F major, G major and A minor. Thinking of these chords by number is invaluable and will help you grasp the summary I’m presenting here.
beside each other. The impact of this chord is most strongly felt if you do this, and it’s the voicing most often heard on recordings. Like this (try these with an acoustic piano or pad sound):
Beyond utilizing this set of four chords Right hand C (middle C) within a song, there are several variations B of each of these chords regularly heard on recordings. Figure out which of these G variations are recorded and then be sure you play them within your worship team. Left hand D This will take some focused listening, but G I think this summary will help you define You can separate the 3rd and 4th too, what you’re hearing. The reason this type and create another beautiful voicing: of listening will be necessary is that the chord charts often made available for these songs don’t always give detailed Right hand B descriptions of each chord variation D The essence of what I teach is that many you’re hearing. of the most popular worship songs today Left hand C (middle C) Here we go. I’m sticking with the key of have a fairly limited number of chords. C throughout this article. The 1 chord, C, G The most commonly used chords are the is spelled C E G. Root, 3rd, 5th. Besides The last of these commonly used chords being heard in this basic form, this chord is the 6 chord. In key of C major it’s A is often presented as a C(no3), also minor, spelled A C E. It’s often heard as an known as a C5. This only has 2 notes Am7(add4), where a D is added along rd in it, the C and the G. The 3 is omitted. with the 7th of the chord. G is the 7th of You’ll often hear a C2 chord as well. It’s an Am7. Adding the 4 to the 6 chord is spelled C D G. Again, no 3rd, but the not nearly as dissonant as adding it to 2, the D, is added. To summarize, the 1 the 5 chord in a key, but this note is a chord can be a C, a C(no3) or a C2. nice “color” tone to include. And, again, The same is true of the 4 chord. In the it’s something that you’re hearing often on key of C that’s an F major chord. It’s often recordings. heard as an F(no3), containing just the F Like I said, this is a condensed version of and C, or an F2, spelled F G C. what I take much longer to present in my The 5 chord in the key is another classes, but take some time to write some major chord. In the key of C it’s a G of these optional voicings into your chord chord. Like the 1 and the 4 chord, it charts, and as you play them I can assure is often heard as a G(no3) with its 3rd that your keyboard parts will sound more omitted. You might sometimes hear it as a like what you hear on recordings. G2 chord, spelled G A D. More and Visit my website, kerrtunes.com, to more often, though, the 5 chord is heard download a chart that will list the 1, 4, 5 as an add4 chord. The Gadd4 chord is and 6 chords in every key and spell out spelled G B C D. Notice that the 3rd of these commonly used variations. I know the chord, B, is present, along with D, the you’ll enjoy making them part of your th 4 note above the root of the chord, G. vocabulary. This very colorful chord is a great addition to your chord palette, so experiment with As a songwriter Ed has how you might voice it in your fingers. The conspicuous interval in the add4 chord is the minor second that exists between the 3rd and the 4th. As you choose where to place these notes make it your goal to keep these two notes right
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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
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BASS
By Gary Lunn
Glean, Lean and Learn Being an independent, self-employed bassist (for most “every” occasion) definitely has its up’s and down’s. Almost every single “Ah-ha” experience that I have is not unlike what a songwriter feels when he hears that one “magic” phrase that seems to speak to him saying, “This is a great song title!” Wherever I go, whether it’s a session or a live gig, some “thing” always happens that I file away in my brain and say, “I am gonna write about that!” Most importantly, even if it’s an unfortunate event, I always try to look at it as one of learning; to glean as much as possible from the experience. As I strive to be a “glass half full” kind of person, I continue to gather information to share. Recently I was hired to play at a “Mega” church for a weekend. The honorarium was quite generous, and I have a big family, so I was grateful for the opportunity in many ways. I never take new opportunities to be a part of a praise and worship experience for granted, but I strongly believe that “...the laborer deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7) and I am always grateful to God for the provision. But just like every other playing experience I have had, this one was not without something to teach me.
to default to the chart and be prepared to lean on that startling “voice” inside my head.
There were literally some sounds playing that I could barely hear, so it became my job to imagine what they sounded like - and play with them. Unfortunately, it was the drums that I could not hear so well. That was a bit of a challenge, but I was able to get through it because I was very familiar with the drummer’s playing (and the click track was very loud). After the first service when I spoke to the monitor mixer about my monitoring needs, I discovered that he had a bit of an attitude. Unfortunately, my request was not granted.
The point that I am trying to make by sharing all of this is that, as a bass player, we are sometimes confronted with new situations. We have to be flexible and maintain a good attitude while putting forth our best effort, even during unusual circumstances. I have mentioned before that, to me, bassists are the “watchmen on the wall” of the band. This was a prime example where I had to scope out a situation and make a decision about who to look to for instruction so that I could be Whether you are a paid bassist on staff the solid foundation for the band, since at a church or a volunteer, your attitude that’s why they hired me. should be the same. I realize that there are Also present in this situation was one many churches in the world that expect more little “hiccup” that we all had to deal their musicians to play for free. If you with. There was a bit of a communication attend one of those and you do donate breakdown between the musicians and your time, play as an offering: an offering the monitor-mixer person (we were NOT to “Him who is able to keep you from on a self-mix headphone situation such falling” (Jude 1:24). I hope your attitude as the Aviom, Behringer, or Furman). We is one of humility and servanthood, as were all totally dependent on our own line- well as one of constant awareness of the of-sight with the monitor mixer in hopes importance of your post as a bassist in a that he’d be looking at us precisely at the worship band. time when we needed something (and we all know that, inevitably, everything in your mix changes between soundcheck and the gig, so there’s usually a need).
The church was in a transitional phase From the start (even at rehearsal) I had in the worship leader position and this never gotten my headphone mix right. particular weekend they were trying out someone new. He was very good, and the choice of songs for the worship really ushered in God’s presence, but there were a few distractions for the players that felt a bit inhibiting to me. First off, there was a music director who was also a player in the band, separate from the worship leader. That was okay, except for the fact that he wore a headset mic and he would often “pop in” and give the band instruction about an upcoming transition or an unplanned repeat of a section. Monitoring on in-ears, it was often quite startling and took some getting used to! It also showed me that there was little connection between the worship leader and the band leader (other than a “plan”). In other words, in this case I could not really follow the worship leader. I had
Gary is a session player/ producer/writer in Nashville. Contact him either by Facebook or email at garylunn@ me.com. Also, check out https://soundbetter.com/ profiles/2979-gary-lunn
Wear it Well...
MusiciansThreads.com
WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2013
15
VOCALS
By Sheri Gould
So Whose Job Is It Anyway? I am married to the world’s foremost 2. After that, the phrase to remember expert on “sound” issues in the church: is “move something”-and not a dial, Doug Gould. Well, maybe he’s not switch or fader to start with. Instead, EXCACTLY the world’s foremost expert, start with making sure there is good but close enough for me. Because of this, monitor placement (and the right I spend a lot of my time hanging around number of people per wedge), mic with “techies”; church and otherwise. technique, no bleeding into the mics Being a singer and platform musician, it from other instruments, (move the is a change of pace for me to hang out singers closer to the mics and monitors with these wonderful guys (and gals) who while remembering proximity effect!) spend time on the other side of the sound Get away from the drums! Move your board. Over the years I have learned a lot sound engineer onto the platform to about some of the struggles that the “other hear what YOU hear, etc... side” endures. I was recently invited to 3. If you use IEM (in ear monitors) join a Facebook page called “Church with individual monitor mixes, all Sound-Media Tech’s”. I have enjoyed the vocals (minus perhaps the lead) being a part of their page, although I should be on one track. Otherwise admit that most of the time they are talking there is no way have a real time blend about a lot of things I do not understand! and it becomes the sound tech’s job to Recently however, someone asked what blend the vocalists volume. This is not I thought was a very good question: “As supposed to be his function. a musician, I believe that an important 4. Train the vocalists to manage their part of my development is to refine own blend, including their volume. my ear to where I can hear myself in They should bring a “perfect” blend to the mix without standing out in it. I’ve the platform and the tech should need gotten comfortable singing with barely only to reinforce it. In a perfect world any of my own vocals in my monitor (if they had the same microphones mix and I prefer that so as to keep and cords, all working correctly) their stage volume down. As a sound tech, volume levels should all be set the I get frustrated with singers that need same. Utopia? Yes. But it’s the goal. so much of themselves that it bleeds into the main mix. Do you guys think 5. Make a CD of the team each week and bring the volume level of one it is reasonable to coach musicians singer up slightly in the CD mix so into developing their ear and being that the singer can (on his own time) conscious of stage volume?” learn to recognize his voice in a mix. What followed was 43 comments worth Next week feature a different singer. of very interesting stuff. I threw my 2 cents My friend Vic Thomas does this at his worth in there—mind you, being the only home church and finds that it helps a vocal coach in the mix. I shared with lot. those guys what I share with my classes In addition, I think it’s important for each on team vocals. I thought I might go singer to take responsibility for learning ahead and share them with you. This is what my husband and I teach when we how to listen and detect their own voce talk to vocalists about their responsibility in the mix. As the questioner pointed out, he had spent time in personal training as with regard to sound/audio issues. a musician and a singer to learn how to 1. Get the house right first. Play 10- identify his own voice, and therefore he 15min with NO MONITORS at all. required less in the mix. There simply isn’t Your ears will adjust. Afterward, look time during our very full team rehearsals for what you CAN’T hear well and for everyone to get sufficient training in add only that into the mix. Typically this area. If everyone would do a bit of this will be a bit of STP (self, time this on their own time, we could lower and pitch) NOT a “CD mix” which is the overall stage volume before we begin impossible to get in a stage monitor, to implement some of the things I’ve nor is it necessary. mentioned.
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Having said that, I do believe that vocal directors need to spend some time helping to develop the ears of their singers. Time should be spent weekly training singers to listen more carefully to one another and learn how to achieve blend. This can be done through more acappella singing, as this increases the need for singers to rely on their internal sense of intonation as well as really listen to the other singers on the team. Achieving blend depends on many things; volume is only one. Learning to curb unnatural vibratos, create similar vowel shapes, and affect tone quality are a few other things to focus on as well. But listening to each other is critical. As we learn to be better listeners we will need less in our monitors. And why is it important to have less in our monitors? So we can lower the stage volume overall. A lower stage volume means a cleaner sound to the house (and likely a lower volume as well, which is something we sorely need to conserve our hearing). Because my husband and I have seen such a hunger for help in this area we decided to do a class together at conferences all over the country called “Mics and Monitors for Vocalists”. It was so well received that we made it into a DVD. Joining me on the DVD are: Doug Gould (worshipmd.com), the renowned sound man Randy Weitzel (monitor engineer for Michael W. Smith, Michael and Janet Jackson,Chicago, Elton John, Amy Grant, The Rolling Stones, to name a few!) and Mark Rush ( Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems) who all help to simplify and answer your sound/audio questions. You can find this DVD online at: http://sherigould.bigcartel.com/ product/mics-and-monitors-for-vocalists God Bess and happy singing!! (and listening :)
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 I (“Combat’itude” Adjustments) “A” IS FOR ‘TUDE Contrary to popular legend/music/ culture, I believe that one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, (girl). How do I know? Because over the years I’ve experienced being both a “bad apple,” and occasionally a member of “the spoiledwhole-bunch!” In some situations, I was the spoil-er. In others, I’ve been among the spoilees. In either scenario, the sickening sweet stench of rancid fruit is difficult to ignore! If you’ve ever been under the apple tree in the skin-toasting, late-August sun, you know... ON THE COVER On the cover of this very magazine, just under the banner of WORSHIP MUSICIAN!, you’ll find five powerful words: “Practical Help for Worship Teams.” In these pages, articulated by authors and authorities on the subjects and often times filled with breathtaking brilliance and insightful delights, you’ll peruse literary offerings on such topics ranging from vocal vitality to rhythm and rhyme. Song writing, picking, strumming, and drumming are all examined in the most intricate of detail. There are patterns and scales for keyboards and bass, and ads for new “stuff” all over the place. Songcharts and CD reviews by the score, scriptures and features, and always much more! (Uh, oh! Dr. Seuss writes again! Sorry, I digress... But hat’s off to Theodor Geisel.) ANYWHO... The point is, this WORSHIP MUSICIAN! publication is carefully crafted for the growth and edification of the worship musician. Here on this page in this issue (and in the next), let’s discuss, in edifying fashion, the spark which ignites the fuel in the engine of our worship. That spark would be: ATTITUDE! Without the right worshipattitude, the engine sits idle and we get nowhere–fast! Are you ready to turn the key? SPOIL-ER AND SPOIL-EE Earlier, I mentioned the dichotomy of the spoil-er and the spoil-ee. I believe it was Newton who said, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” How very true, especially when dealing with worship team dynamics! As an occasional spoil-er, I’ve learned through much trial and error that even the slightest perceived “wrong look” from me, of disapproval or
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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)
These egos, issues, and insecurities are heart-areas where healthy ‘Tudes for Tight Teams are an absolute necessity. They must be covered by the blood of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Though we cannot do it alone, our goal musical-condescension, can immediately should be to move from Galatians 5:20, provoke an equal and opposite reaction where we read such words as “jealousies, from the intended (or even the unintended) outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and spoil-ee. dissensions,” to Galatians 5:22-26: (I am compelled to debate with Sir “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, Isaac here, and say that it seems to me peace, [patience], kindness, goodness, that not every reaction is equal to the faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. original action. Sometimes, the reaction Against such there is no law. And those appears to be a serious over-reaction, far who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh more intense and much longer lasting, with its passions and desires. If we live in relationally speaking, than the action by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let which it was provoked in the first place!) us not become conceited, provoking one I have heard that it requires as many another, envying one another.” as ten deposits in any relational “bank In the absence of healthy attitudes, we’ll account” to offset even one withdrawal. never enjoy the blessing of participation in It makes sense, then, that in promoting tight worship teams! Instead, there will be healthy team ‘tudes, simply avoiding the conflicts, spitefulness, and sometimes alltype of miscommunication which may out war! When right attitudes are missing, affect a withdrawal is an excellent idea. THE PRAISE STOPS HERE! “Bad’itudes” We can bank on it! When it comes to result in total worship team distraction. team relationships, best to be wise, And if we’re not careful, these bad’itudes concise, and measured in every thought, can easily turn into “combat’itudes!” word and action! On the other hand, when good ‘Tudes “Wise,” you say? One of my favorite for Tight Teams are being exercised; we sayings these days is: are likely to experience the true unity of “There is no wisdom in the second kick heart, mind, and musicianship which leads us to connectivity and cohesion. of a mule!” Shared between those who are leading I’m not sure who said it, but short of and those who are led, the results are the Book of Proverbs, I cannot imagine powerful times of worship and ministry, a more true and applicable statement to minus so much stress. worship team life and health. In order COMIN’ UP that we may not repeatedly provoke our teammates, (causing them to become In the November/December Issue of spoil-ees, who then react with bad WORSHIP MUSICIAN!, you’ll find Part attitudes, and in turn become spoil-ers), II of this examination of ‘Tudes for Tight we must make a habit of learning from Teams. There, we’ll further discuss the our own spoil-er mistakes—the first time! egos, issues, and insecurities that impact the effectiveness and success of our THE PRAISE STOPS HERE! worship team ministries and interactions. Let’s face it; most of us worshipers Because bad‘itudes can steal from us the are also musicians. We might even fruit of the Spirit as it applies to worship, call ourselves “artists” if we take our it is vital that we learn to master these musicianship seriously enough. Most heart-areas and apply God’s way of artist-musicians seem to be driven, or doing things in our approach to worship at least strongly influenced, by certain team humility, relationships, and personal artistic predispositions. There are egos, preparation. issues, and insecurities, which appear to accompany us into this life and Still adjusting, throughout all our days. Try as we may Sandy to banish them forever from the kingdom of our hearts, they seem to be permanent Sandy Hoffman serves the fixtures. They are only mastered and worship community at Christ brought into submission through the Church Santa Fe, NM and application of God’s Word in our lives. beyond. Find out more about his Though they may never be completely “Tips for Tight Teams” online at: gone, they can be overcome by “... www.WorshipWorks.com
the dawning of
THE DIGITAL AGE The phrase: “the digital age” may conjure up many images in your mind—computer keyboards, monitors, software… or maybe four geeks eating Chinese food over their laptops (wait, that’s a TV show. Bazinga!) This is the band; The Digital Age, formed out of what was the Crowder Band, they are continuing the mission of cultural relevancy inside a passionate and unfettered pursuit of God. TDA guitarist Mark Waldrop explains where they came from and where they seem to be headed...
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by Aimee Herd
Aimee Herd: The Digital Age (TDA) is made up of four former David Crowder Band members: Mike Dodson (Mike D), Mark Waldrop, Jack Parker and Jeremy Bush (Bwack)… people got a little taste of what TDA sounds like with the EP released last year. Was that part of the plan as you left the DCB and reformed as TDA?
about 15 Sundays a year.
were full time construction workers! (Laughs) After three months we were like, OK we’re a band not construction workers, we’ve got to play. [Around that time] we got a call from UBC that they’d like us to come play again, so for the first time since our final night of worship with David Crowder and Passion, we picked up our instruments and started going through songs to see what we could do for that first Sunday.
So, The Digital Age is basically the four of us that wanted to stick around in Waco at UBC and keep playing music. When David left there was a little bit of a identity crisis—what do we need to do; asking God what it will look like because we still wanted to play music. For us four, it just kept coming back to Mark Waldrop: When we finished local community; stay here...we have the David Crowder Band with the last deep roots in Waco and love it; we At that point we had one room built at contractual album, David told us he have families here. was going to move to Atlanta to be part We had already picked the name, our studio and were just rehearsing in of the Passion City Church with Louie and knew it would be us four. But, there. We started getting some tweets Giglio, Chris Tomlin, and those guys. we took three months off [from music of people wondering what we were going to sound like; instrumental band, The David Crowder Band—in the and from the worship team] and built mainstream... 90’s—was the University Baptist a recording studio here in Waco. We We thought, “Well, since we’re Church worship team, near Baylor wanted a place to hang out and record; University in Waco, Texas. It evolved it became a home base for us (and now rehearsing for church, we should just and the name was changed to the DCB. we’ve opened it up for others to record). record and film this just so people will But throughout that time we were the What we did was buy an old boxing stop asking us what we sound like.” worship band at UBC. We played there gym and converted it into a recording So we released the EP and put some almost every Sunday, and only missed studio. During those three months, we videos on YouTube called Rehearsals. It
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The Digital Age: by Aimee Herd
continued
was about as simple as that, it was us rehearsing for church. We were really blown away by the response. AH: Yeah, the response was huge. MW: It was great! AH: Let me backtrack just a little... You were all at such a pinnacle as the David Crowder Band, with that last recording on Billboard and iTunes; describe what that was like to come off of that into the unknown. MW: Oh man! We played our last show at Passion, the week before the album was released. Literally, the next day we were up at the studio doing construction. I was in flip-flops, with torn shorts, and we were hanging drywall (it just makes a mess, there’s dust everywhere when you’re drywalling). I was holding up this 8-foot sheet of drywall, and I got a phone call which I couldn’t answer at that moment. But when I checked later, it was David (Crowder). I listened to the voice mail and he says, “Hey Mark, I just want to let you know we’re number two on Billboard, number one in the U.S. and we just knocked off Adele, so, pretty awesome... “ I thought oh my gosh, I bet we’re the only band in the history of ever who got a phone call that they’re number one in the U.S. while hanging drywall, covered in chalky dust! (Laughs) It was just a really surreal moment. But we hit the ground running, and we were already onto the next thing. We actually already had the idea for our new record—a concept album— called Evening: Morning, before the EP was released. We knew we wanted to base it on the Creation story of death to life; uncertainty to certainty, and beauty from ashes. That was our theme. The last Crowder Band record was a record about death—a Requiem Mass. So we wanted to write The Digital Age record about creation and life, saying; things die, but new things happen. AH: I love a good concept album! What was the writing process with the songs on Evening: Morning? MW: All the songs are co-written by all of us, that’s just how we do it. It’s hard, especially in worship music, to just write a bunch of songs, because then you get into the problem of using the same phrases and ideas, like; God, You’re awesome... etc. Especially if there are multiple writers in the band. You want to say something more specific than that. So, what we do as a band—and we did this with the Crowder Band too—is to write into the
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you had in your dream, then go back to sleep. In the morning you’re like, Everybody goes home and writes “Huh. That’s pretty interesting...” [knowing the theme of the album], and AH: It’s so interesting that you guys records little ideas. We then have all create songs like that. You’d think it these little snippets of songs—some are more fleshed out than others, with might be difficult to make it all cohesive, melodies or a lyric line. Then we go but obviously it works, if the Crowder into the studio, and we put all these Band is any indication. But have you little MP3 and WAV files of varying ever run into problems pulling off a completeness on the computer and song live, when you’ve only pieced it we sit there and go through them as together in Pro-Tools prior to that? a band. One person will say, “Yeah, MW: We technically played our first I’m not really feeling that...” Another live show outside of UBC, as The Digital will say, “I’m not feelin’ that.” But then Age, last August (by then we had someone will play something and we’ll already had a lot of the record written). go, “Oh my gosh, I know that’s a verse So, it had been about 8 months and idea, and I have a chorus in my head we hadn’t played a show outside of that will work amazing with that. Let our church, and we wanted to play me take that home, play with it, and I’ll a couple new songs to see how they bring it back to you.” were working in a live setting. It was We’re all really proficient with at this high school; we thought we were recording and writing, so when one of really artistic... this song is gonna be so us says that, it means we’re going to cool, we’re gonna start out quiet, then take it home and add all these things to it’s going to build and we’ll have this it; drums, synths, glockenspiels... when crescendo... the high school students we flesh things out in our heads it’s were not into it. We got back to Waco pretty intense, so we understand then and said, “Oh my gosh they didn’t like when we play it for each other, we get it.” thematic mold.
what we’re doing. And then when we like something, we’ll just open up ProTools, grab an acoustic [or whatever] and add it; in that way, we just start building the song in Pro-Tools.
The problem with that is... playing it live together later on. I got a tweet the other day from someone who was trying to find a YouTube video of us playing “Oh Great Love of God,” a song David and I wrote, [and it was pieced together in this way]. I tweeted him back to say, “We’ve actually never as a band, played that song. We never sat in a room and played that song because of how we write—David and I wrote that passing around files—then at some point it’s kind of ready for Bwack to track drums, Mike play bass... but we never actually sit in a room and hash it out. We’re just so Pro-Tools, mathematical. But, on Evening: Morning, on a couple songs we said, let’s actually do that [play it together]. I think on some songs it really helped, and made it different sounding from the Crowder Band. We set up in a circle in the studio and played the songs through a few times, saying, how would this translate in a live setting...? It was a little more organic, and less “we built this song in Pro-Tools” way. But, for the most part, we write by creating and passing around files. The iPhone is a great tool for writing because you can lean over at night, pull out your iPhone and sing [and record] some weird melody that
We realized in that moment that we’re a worship team, and we’re there to help these people worship. We’re not doing that if we’re not providing a way to connect with them sonically. That moment actually did help us revamp some of the songs we had written; but then we also wrote a couple extra ones for the record that were more upbeat and happy to round out the album. The album was going to be a really more of a Sigur Ros, post rock thing, until we remembered we’re a worship band and we need [the music] to be somewhat accessible so people can worship. We’ll try songs out at UBC too, just to see what the response is.
At the end of the day, when we write; our church is really who we’re writing songs for. After the new album was written, we played a couple songs at UBC—most of it was pretty close to done—I took all the lyrics to our pastor, Josh Carney, and asked him to read through them to make sure we weren’t saying anything that was out of line or theologically incorrect. Because we’re the UBC worship team, we still feel a responsibility to articulate faith to them specifically, so having that time when we get to sit down with the pastor to make sure the songs are [lyrically] okay, is a cool moment. AH: Mark, let me ask you about some of the songs specifically... “Believe” reminds me of Sunday School back in the Episcopal church I grew up in, memorizing the Apostle’s and the
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The Digital Age: by Aimee Herd
continued
Nicene Creed. MW: Uh huh. And that song has a very strong tie to UBC as well. I was picking up one of our pastors from the airport, and we got into this long conversation about how we used to sing hymns with our families, holding up a book and we’d all be gathered around singing these words... and how the person on stage wasn’t a worship leader, they were just facilitating a group singing. I thought, that’s what we want to do as a band. Maybe it’s because none of us four like the spotlight, or someone to look at us the whole show. [As a worship team] we have this utilitarian purpose. I just think it’s such a cool picture when you have this congregation looking down at these words that have stood the test of time, instead of focusing on a worship leader. So I thought it would be cool to find something old, like the Apostle’s Creed and turn it into a song. That’s how it started, I picked up an acoustic, and we—as a band— just started singing the Apostle’s Creed over the little riff I was playing and it turned into that song. We wanted it to be simple and a statement of faith. And we basically ended up blending some of the Nicene Creed in with it. And we wanted to make it hymn-like, singing the words over and over again, so by the last time, you really know what you’re saying.
had been playing a while, it’s an amazing song—I can say that because we didn’t write it [originally All Sons and Daughters]—but the worship pastor had played that at church and we said, we should learn that because UBC responded well to it. I had this different riff I was playing over it on guitar—it completely changed it—and people seemed to really resonate with it when we released it on Rehearsals. So, we really wanted to do a studio version of it. Plus, we wanted some continuity between Rehearsals and Evening: Morning, and that seemed like the song to pull over.
you need to figure it out.” So, Bwack, our drummer, (he’s this mad scientist, robot-building genius) says, “Oh I think I know what we can do with that...” He takes it home, and layers all these marching band drums and does all this crazy-happy stuff to it. He brought it back and played it for us, and we’re like, “Yup! You figured it out.”
But that song, thematically, we really like; the whole thing is based on this uncertainty, and when you reach out in the darkness, you know God’s there. We felt like that was a good first moment of the record. The album starts [thematically] at 7pm and each song AH: Now, although the new record’s corresponds to an hour in the night. So title begins with Evening... by no means track one [Captured] is 7 to 8 pm. It’s is anyone sleeping with the first song, the moment where you’re about to enter “Captured.” darkness, you’re scared, and it’s about MW: That song was really kind of to get really dark; there’s uncertainty hard for us, it almost didn’t make it on ahead, but I know when I reach out, the record—it was really disjointed. God’s gonna be there. And I know Mike had this piano song, it kind of had the path will be illuminated in front of this Jack’s Mannequin kind of feel... I me—it might only be a little bit, but I’ll thought, I really like that, let me see if know where I need to go. The bridge I can find something that complements is actually one of my favorite lines on it. I took it home and made it folky, the record, it says,“I’ve never felt more Mumford and Sons-esque, and I wrote found than when I’m lost in you.” the chorus... we just kept going back To me, that really parallels our journey and forth. My chorus was half time, as a band; we were so lost when it and his verse was double time, and it came to knowing what we wanted to just didn’t work together. do, what it would look like, how things We sent a bunch of demos to the label, would turn out, why we were doing as the record was getting finished, what we were doing... but at the end of which didn’t include “Captured,” we the day we’re like, you know what, it’s AH: You brought in “All the Poor weren’t into it. Our A & R guy goes, okay. We’re found; we have identity, and the Powerless,” which you had “Hey what happened to the “Captured” we just need to seek God and what previously done on the Rehearsals EP. song? We told him it was a mess and He has for us, and we’re going to be MW: That’s a song that our church he said, “It’s a mess worth fighting for, alright, we’re going to find Him. We Continued on page 54
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SONGCHART
Captured
Key - E♭
Words and Music by Mike Dodson, Mark Waldrop, Jeremy Bush, and Jack Parker
Verse 1 E♭ A♭ E♭ B♭ E♭ A♭ E♭ Love You've captured me a-gain Love You steal my heart Cm A♭ E♭ And oh when I reach out You're always there Verse 2 E♭ A♭ E♭ B♭ E♭ A♭ E♭ Love You've captured me a-gain oh God You steal my heart Cm A♭ E♭ And oh when I reach out You're always there Chorus A♭ E♭ 'Cause Love has come to rescue me B♭ Cm Your Love has come to set me free A♭ E♭ B♭ Your Love Love is all I need Your Love Verse 3 E♭ A♭ E♭ B♭ E♭ A♭ E♭ Love You've captured me a-gain oh my God You steal my heart Cm A♭ E♭ And oh when I cry out You're always there Bridge B♭ Cm I've never felt more found A♭ E♭ Than when I'm lost in You B♭ Cm My head may spin a-round A♭ B♭ Like the stars of the night sky do Copyright © 2013 Analog Era Music (Admin by Fun Attic Music)
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RECORD REVIEWS The Digital Age Evening:Morning 1. Captured 2. Symphony of Grace 3. All the Poor and Powerless 4. Your Name (We Shout) 5. Overcome 6. Through the Night 7. Glow 8. Break Every Chain 9. Believe 10. God of Us All 11. Always You 12. Morning Song It has been said that the end is only the beginning, and such is the case with the Texas based worship band, “The Digital Age”. 2012 saw the curtain close on a decade of the David Crowder* Band, and long-time band members Mike Dodson (Mike D), Mark Waldrop, Jack Parker, and Jeremy Bush (Bwack) are now writing their own story and finding a new place in the world of modern worship music by continuing to create, perform, and produce music together for the Church. Their first full-length studio album, Evening:Morning features 12 new songs that brings a fresh take on what The Digital Age is calling alternative worship mixed with few familiarities of their previous works together as a band. This is not a refurbished version of the David Crowder Band; this is something completely different. Just about every song on this album is different in style from the next, which makes the album as a whole interesting to listen to. The Digital Age paints a new picture of what modern worship looks like. This album is a journey through song from the evening of brokenness and separation from God to glorious salvation in the morning that is superbly done, as if they are performing a theatrical play of the story of salvation right before our ears. The sound of “Captured” is the coming together of Mumford and Sons, the Beatles, and Switchfoot. It is quaint on the one hand, with a Hippies/60’s sonic veneer; on the other hand, “Captured” is powerful
By Gerod Bass in its build up, exalting the captivating beauty of Christ’s call. “Symphony of Grace” and “Your Name (We Shout)” are both driving worship anthems that sound more like Relient K with their rhythmic guitars and double kick drum drive, while “Through the Night”, “Glow”, and “God of Us All” are techno electronica songs of vertical praise. “Morning Song” ends the album with a feeling of serenity as you hear the sound of birds chirping as someone walks up, sits down, and begins to fingerpick an acoustic guitar. This is truly a unique track that completes the musical journey of the album as the peace of Christ comes through loud and clear in this closing song. If you want something different and outof-the-box, Evening:Morning is definitely the album you have been waiting for. I really appreciated how they crafted these songs into a flowing theme of death to life in Jesus that remained consistent throughout. I think only a couple of the songs in this collection have standalone power for use in a congregational worship setting. This album seemed more like a musical than a worship album, but the Gospel comes through clearly and each song is well crafted. Matt Gilman Awaken Love 1. As the Deer 2. This is My Beloved 3. Eyes of Mercy 4. Holy 5. You Made a Way 6. Awaken Love 7. Though You Were Rich 8. Every Captive Free 9. New Jerusalem 10. Fairer 11. Closer Matt Gilman has been leading worship since the tender age of 14, when he began at a Lutheran church in Minnesota where his dad was the pastor. Today, he is one of the worship leaders at the Kansas City based International House of Prayer. His first solo album, Awaken
*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
The Digital Age Evening:Morning Matt Gilman Awaken Love Graham Kendrick Worship Duets Soulfire Revolution Revival highest marks
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Love, features 11 new songs for the church highlighting Gilman’s smooth vocals and scripture rich lyrics. Right from the beginning track, it is obvious that Awaken Love is an album deeply rooted in scripture, as Gilman give us a different view of Psalm 42. “As the Deer” reminds us of the sure hope that that we have while on our journey here on Earth. Gilman’s vocals are emotional and sincere as we are re-introduced to this classic worship psalm accented with modern rock drive. “Holy” gives us a wonderful musical interpretation of Revelation 4 as we hear about the unending song of praise that we one day will all get to sing, while “Every Captive Free” describes God’s heart for his people in passionate detail. “You Made a Way” and “Eyes of Mercy” are sung as poetic prayers that celebrate the grace and mercy of God from a firstperson perspective. The piano backing in both of these beautiful worship songs creates space and invites the listener to personally connect their hearts with the heart of Christ. My favorite track is the title track based on Song of Solomon 8, which describes how out of the overflow of God’s own heart, we were created with a specific purpose: to be loved by our maker, forever. Gilman cries out for his heart to awaken and to love like Jesus loves him, and it is a prayer that every Christian should want to pray. A subtly driving drum and bass backbeat sets a powerful foundation for Gilman’s gorgeous piano arpeggios that make this song stand out musically. Matt Gilman might be from Minnesota, but his vocal style has more passionate southern gospel appeal. I really, really like this guy’s voice. He does an amazing job of taking the truths of scripture and singing them in such an emotional way that when you listen, you can’t help but fall further in love with God. He actually gave me a glimpse into the heart of God I have never experienced before and I am different because of it. The one drawback of having so many songs that are word for word from scripture is that some of them are a little more difficult to sing, but all are easy to play and pretty straightforward musically. Although the musical style is pretty typical of the more laid back worship of today’s CCM genre, the transparency and solid Biblical foundation of this album make it special. This is a thinking man’s worship album that will challenge your faith and help you better understand how much your God loves you.
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RECORD REVIEWS Graham Kendrick Worship Duets 1. Hymn Of The Ages (Duet with Matt Redman) 2. He Is Risen (Duet with Paul Baloche) 3. Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven (Duet with Martin Smith) 4. The Servant King [We Give Our Lives] (Duet with Rend Collective Experiment) 5. Saving Grace (Duet with Michael W. Smith) 6. Keep My Eyes On You (Duet with Reuben Morgan) 7. That Name (Duet with Darlene Zschech) 8. Oh What A Love (Duet with Stuart Townend) 9. What You Started (Duet with Jon Egan) 10. What Can I Do (Duet with Paul Baloche) For more than 30 years Graham Kendrick has been leading God’s people in worship while crafting classic songs of praise such as “Shine Jesus Shine,” “The Servant King,” and “Amazing Love”. If there was a CCM hall of fame, Mr. Kendrick would be the first name on the entry ballot. Twenty three years after “Amazing Love,” Integrity Music is still proudly behind the release of Kendrick’s 38th album, Worship Duets. Produced by Nathan Nockles, Worship Duets is a 10 song collaborative effort with such worship giants as Paul Baloche, Matt Redman, Reuben Morgan, Martin Smith, Darlene Zschech, and Jon Egan. The special thing about this album (and something that shows Kendrick’s servant heart for worship) is how Kendrick did not just partner with the other artists to sing his own compositions, rather he has encouragingly brought each one alongside him by mentoring them, co-writing, and singing with them. The blend of classic and current artists gives this collection a special flavor and makes this album stand out in a world of cookie-cutter, arena worship albums. My favorite song on the album is the opener, “Hymn of the Ages” which is cowritten and sung with Matt Redman. This upbeat, hook-laden track speaks of how God’s story throughout the ages is also our story as we live in the glory of His victory over sin and death. It is obvious throughout this recording that Graham Kendrick is not concerned as to whether or not his songs fit the mold of current worship trends or whether they are “marketable” as a good CCM product. This is evidenced by songs such as “He Is Risen”, “The Servant King” and “That Name” which all have a bit more of a “classic”, early-years worship feel without sounding dated, but are each
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God-honoring and worshipful in their own way. “Saving Grace” is a piano-driven ballad typical of duet partner Michael W. Smith, which contains a touch of hymnody from Kendrick. Former Delirious? front man, Martin Smith’s vocal energy is infectious when he blasts through the power packed anthem “Praise My Soul the King of Heaven”, and the mix of Kendrick’s earthy vocal and Darlene Zschech’s soaring tones on “That Name” is simply sublime. It has been said that “collaboration leads to innovation”, and that rings very true with this collection of beautiful worship from the father of contemporary worship music. Soulfire Revolution Revival 1. Revival (featuring Kim Walker Smith) 2. Hallowed Be Your Name 3. What An Awesome God 4. Spirit Break Out (featuring Tobymac) 5. Glorious 6. Count The Stars (featuring Martin Smith) 7. Awaken My Heart 8. We Sing 9. So Much More 10. Place Of Surrender 11. All Yours 12. Just One Drop The great commission in Matthew 28 tells us to go and make disciples. It says nothing about staying in our comfort zone and waiting for people to come and hear the Gospel. Thankfully, many heed these words and step out because they feel God’s call in their lives. Cesar and Claudia Castellanos got that tap on the shoulder and left their comfortable lives in south Florida to start a church in Bogota, Columbia. 30 years and many trials later, God has transformed their 8 member church plant to well over 70,000 souls. It is here that CCM newcomers Soulfire Revolution are also answering God’s call to go and make disciples through their eclectic rock electronica sound. Soulfire Revolution consists of the daughter of the Castellanos, Lorena who sings lead and also includes her husband Julian Gamba (bass), Paola Sanchez (drums), Jose Anthony Catacoli (lead guitar), plus Lorena’s brother-in-law Richard Harding on lead vocals and guitar. Soulfire Revolution has allied with some of the biggest shakers of the current worship scene such as Jesus Culture’s Kim
Walker-Smith, Delirious?’ Martin Smith, TobyMac, and mutli-award winning songwriter Jason Ingram. Featuring Jesus Culture vocalist, Kim Walker-Smith, the opening track “Revival” is a worship dance party song that will have you on your feet before the first chorus. Lorena’s vocals are punchy and exacting as she sings out calling for revival from the Holy Spirit to change the entire world. The song immediately brings the focus of the album into view, and it’s so clear you can’t miss it. Toby Mac makes his guest appearance on “Spirit Break Out”. Originally written by Tim Hughes, this song speaks of the Holy Spirit breaking down the walls that keep us from completely being sold out for Jesus. The song is quite different from the Worship Central version as Soulfire tries to make it a bit more soulful with subtle Latin flavor. Toby adds a rap part to the middle of the song that, in my opinion, doesn’t really fit, but I appreciated the effort to create something different. Former Delirious? frontman, Martin Smith lends his unmistakable vocal to the anthemic worship song, “Count the Stars”. This is the both the most memorable and best written song on the entire album. Backed by a powerful orchestra and rock rhythms, this song declares the majesty of Christ while reminding us that He knows each part of us intimately. Musically, the album jumps around from guitar driven rock ballads to modern pop to techno, and even some rap which keeps it fun to listen to, but I was kind of disappointed that Soulfire Revolution did not try to incorporate some of the sounds of their native Columbia. This sounded more like a typical North American record than something from a completely different part of the world. I appreciated the overall theme of the album, and I hope that next time Soulfire can think a little more outside the box and actually use what makes them different, their native culture. Still, this has some great songs on it for use in your church. 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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FOH ENGINEER By Bill Gibson
Mixing the Lead Vocal The lead vocal requires special attention in order to maintain visibility and impact for the leader at all times. We’ve covered microphone technique here in the past, and granted, a great vocalist with great mic technique can make the sound operator’s job a lot easier, but the lead vocalist’s level and sound require the most attention of all. The dynamic range exhibited by most singers creates the need for either constant level adjustment or automatic control through the controlled and conservative use of compressors or limiters. Realistically, the primary focal point of the mix is the lead vocal. Because of this, it has to maintain a constant space in the mix. The style of the music generally determines exactly how loud the lead vocal should be in relation to the rest of the band; however, apart from a few exceptions, once that relationship has been determined, it must remain constant. Too Soft, Too Loud Adjusting the vocal level during a concert or church service is by no means a “set it and forget it” proposition. Some sound operators attempt to rationalize that approach, relying on the singers and instrumentalists to adjust their playing and levels to suit the music but that is not a trustworthy approach—it doesn’t value the importance of the best possible communication of the music, lyrics, and direction from the leader. As your band gets better and better at listening to what’s going on and consciously leaves room for what the music needs and avoids competing with the leader’s directions, your job as sound operator gets a lot easier but, even then, the leader’s mic deserves constant attention. Get used to riding the melodic wave. As the melody heads into the lower range the vocal needs more support (it needs to be turned up to be heard) and as it moves higher and louder it should be turned down (depending on the singer’s mic technique). Verse Our goal should always be to have the lead vocal level set for just the right balance for the context. For example, verses almost always contain the meat and potatoes of the song’s meaning. The verse lyrics and emotional intimacy are frequently more complex than the rest of the song. In order to help the congregation get through the verse, the leader’s words and expression need to be heard well by the congregation. Verses are also typically in a lower range and more controlled than choruses or the bridge so they should be a little louder and more intimate-feeling—make sure the lyrics are clear and understandable and that the melody is easy to follow. Chorus Choruses, on the other hand, are virtually always in a higher range, they are the exciting part of the song, and singers tend to get excited singing them. For a couple reasons, it’s appropriate to tuck the vocal level back into
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the mix a little more during the chorus: • If the level during the verse was adjusted for a close intimate and present sound above the band, that same level during the chorus would be way too loud for the congregation (translation: you’ll get complaints about the volume). On the chorus, it’s usually effective to set the lead vocal levels just slightly louder than an even blend with the congregation—this way the leader is still leading and the mic level won’t be so buried that verbal instructions can’t be heard. • The chorus is the part that everyone knows. That’s where the congregation will sing it’s loudest and it’s okay to let them shine as they proclaim the simple, hooky, infectious lyric that will cross their minds during the week. This is a great time to make sure they hear themselves worshipping. The lead vocal can blend with them because they know the melody and the lyrics are simple and easy to follow. If the worship team is introducing a new song, keep the leader turned up so the congregation can learn the melody and lyric but once they have internalized the song, back the leader’s level off a bit and highlight the congregation’s worship. Bridge The bridge usually requires a little more leading than the chorus. Sometimes the bridge is so complicated that the leader essentially becomes a soloist, which can offer the congregation a great opportunity to absorb the truths of the lyrics being sung. Sometimes the bridge opens up to an intimate transparent texture; sometimes it’s in a high range; sometime it’s in a low range. The sound operator needs to adjust accordingly. As a rule: the more complex the lyric and melody, the greater the importance that the leader is forward (louder) in the mix to help lead the congregation through the song Verbal Instructions In order for the leader to lead, his or her instructions must be heard. Always be alert during transitions between song sections and between songs. Have a hand on the lead vocal fader and get your reflexes ready to react, making sure that any verbal instructions can be heard and understood. Once you’re tuned in and ready, it’s not that difficult to predict and adapt to the leader’s comments. Make Room Making room for things that are important in the mix is probably the most important concept of all. It should be understood that the song is all about the vocals. There needs to be a rock solid foundation for those vocals so please don’t surmise that I’m ever going to be a proponent of presenting a weak mix
in the interest of anything; however, there needs to be room in the mix to hear the vocals. That either means turning down an instrument that competes with the vocals or adjusting the EQ of a mix ingredient in order to reduce confusion and competition for the listener’s attention. Each vocalist has a unique timbre so your specific action must be tailored to the singer’s vocal character. Many strong female singers have a presence peak in the tone that could be anywhere between about 1.5 kHz and 4 kHz. This is also a range where many electric and acoustic guitars have an abundance of energy. By simply finding the vocalists presence peak (the frequency that is most dominant in his or her voice) the sound operator can help make room for that singer by cutting that frequency on the electric or acoustic guitar. This concept—cutting part of one sound to make room for another—is a very valuable mix tool. The other—and maybe even better—way to make room for the vocals is to adjust the arrangement. A lot of inexperienced bands just play all the way through the song (all the way through the service, for that matter). But, eliminating instruments and then adding them back at a good time is one of the most surefire paths to a great mix. Imagine a big intro with everyone playing together rhythmically—it’s powerful. Now, imagine coming into the first verse with everyone continuing at the same intensity—not good because the vocals will probably get trampled on by the band, and they would need to be very loud to be heard. Now imagine the same intro leading into the first verse but the acoustic and electric guitars drop out leaving the drums, bass, and a synth pad. As if by magic, the vocals are plenty loud without having to be boosted and the feel of the verse opens up to become more intimate and accessible. The congregation can feel the arrangement breathe. Next, after the verse when the chorus begins, add the guitars back to the mix and everything lifts—it’s like someone just turned up the emotion, not the volume. Since the range of the chorus is probably higher than the verse, the vocals and the congregation naturally get louder and the vocal level is just fine. Practically speaking, both the level adjustments and the restructuring of the arrangement need to happen most of the time. But using those concepts together with a worship team that is growing in its musical sensitivity can make a huge improvement in the presentation of the worship service. For more from Bill Gibson (w w w.bill gib so nmu sic.co m) about live sound and recording, check out: • The Ultimate Church Sound Operator’s Handbook: Second Edition • The Hal Leonard Recording Method (six books in the series) • Q on Producing by Quincy Jones with Bill Gibson
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MINISTRY + ARTISTRY = PROFITABILITY? CREATING YOUR MAP™ By Scott A. Shuford
So Many Social Media Platforms...So Little Time Is it just me, or does social media seem utterly exhausting at times? Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, oh my! Social media has become an overwhelming smorgasbord of options and a pretty distracting way to ensure we stay connected 24/7. As with anything else, this comes with its own set of opportunities and problems.
target audience, such as GodTube for videos and crowd-funding social site FaithLauncher.com, among others. However, the most active social sites are generally the best places to focus time. You shouldn’t focus all your efforts simply on the Christian sites any more than you should disregard secular media in your PR I would argue that for faith-based brands, efforts. When we create and manage social media presents more advantages social strategy for our clients, we look at than disadvantages, and make no mistake: the social networks as places where we you and your ministry are a brand. The establish embassies for our clients. opportunities for specifically targeting 2. Find out where your audience appropriate audiences are now, quite lives. literally, endless. However, there’s pressure According to a recent study by www. to some degree to be present everywhere ebizmba.com, Facebook and Twitter at all times. still remain the most popular social With limited staffing (often times that’s just you) and resources, it’s important to narrow your focus when it comes to social media and hone in on the networking sites that fit your audience best. Here are a few tips for streamlining your social media efforts: 1. Choose a handful of social networks to focus on. In a world of constant accessibility and numerous social networking platforms vying for our attention, it’s easy to believe that we have to be all things to all people. The seemingly simple answer is, “less is best”. Evaluate what social platforms align best with your goals and focus on 2-3 social networking sites, pouring your time, energy, and money into a few social entities versus risking spreading yourself too thin and attempting to maintain all of them. Keep in mind that where faith-based content is concerned, there are a few significant Christian social media platforms that make it easy for you to connect directly to your
networking sites, with LinkedIn coming in third. Pinterest and YouTube are also among the general top contenders. However, when planning where to narrow your focus when it comes to social media, it’s important to research exactly who your audience is and where they spend their time. Who are you trying to reach with your faith-based product or service? Your social media audience should directly correlate with your online presence. Is your product more visual in nature? Are you targeting females? If so, then Pinterest is likely to be a network where you’ll want to focus your efforts. Are your consumers tech-savvy teens? Then, you may want to make Twitter your top priority. Facebook is a must. The music oriented sites like NoiseTrade, ReverbNation or SoundCloud can be great. Find out where your audience lives, and be present. 3. Be intentional with your
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content. A social network can’t be completely maximized to its full potential until you invest some time in creating an intentional content strategy. Once you’ve narrowed your focus down to 2-3 social platforms, take the time to map out a content plan. Be intentional about when you post, how often you post, and most importantly, what you post. Content differs from site to site depending on what social arena you’re in. Twitter is great for concise soundbites, whereas Facebook is better for longer updates. Instagram and Pinterest are best for visuals. YouTube and GodTube are excellent for video, but you have to have great and ongoing new video content. Choose your content wisely to maximize your presence on social networks. 4. Educate yourself about all platforms. Last, just because you are focusing on 2-3 social networks that you deem as the priorities for your unique audience, that doesn’t mean you should be ignorant about the ever-changing world of social media. Educate yourself. Read blogs about social media platforms. Sign up for personal accounts on new platforms and take them for a test drive. It’s important that you’re familiar with the basic user aspects of every platform and the features of each one, so as new platforms become the latest rage, you’ll be able to quickly and efficiently meet your customers there. We may be seeing that Facebook has “jumped the shark” here in 2013, so what’s the next big thing? Scott is looking forward to CMS Seattle in November and will be teaching classes on Marketing and Social Media. He recently participated in GMA’s Immerse Conference where he served on two panels and hosted a “lunch with a pro”. 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.
www.ChristianMusicianSummit.com
Practical training for the entire band & tech crew, leaders, songwriters, indie artists...
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WORSHIP TEAM TRAINING
By Branon Dempsey
Him. In fact, God’s praiseworthiness precedes Himself. It is by grace from Holy God that we are called into relationship with Him. As a band, it is a privilege to worship Him through our instruments and voices. Isaiah put it this way: “All of us About six weeks ago I was confronted have become like one who is unclean, by a worship leader. He told me that he and all our righteous acts are like filthy had trouble asking his lead guitar player rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and to turn it down. The guitar player was like the wind our sins sweep us away,” truly gifted, attended all rehearsals, but (Isa. 64:6). showed little respect to the band and It is truly a unique and humble invitation the worship leader. As the story goes, (not a right) by God to minister to him the guitarist was persistent in turning up his stage amp, despite being asked through music while leading others into repeatedly to turn it down. The worship His worship. There’s the key - His worship leader made several attempts to work - not our worship. When we combine our with the guitarist as well as to visit with personal agendas/griefs/etc. with the him personally. One evening at practice, sincere goal of the team, we are heading the guitarist was asked to turn it down for a train wreck. Our real goal should again. In response, the player got up, be this: to exhibit Christ-like leadership in being used by the Spirit to facilitate the packed his things and stormed off. worship of God. The worship leader asked me what to do. My response: let him go. The Like you, I have seen my fair share of last thing that you, your team, and your arguments between the stage participants congregation needs is conflict from and the audio team. Guitarists and a prima-donna. I shared my personal drummers get upset because they can’t concern with him that there are too many hear themselves. However, the engineers players/singers who believe they come can’t get a decent mix because of the first before God and/or other people in excessive stage volume. Can we really a worship-music setting. The truth is, God all get along? What is the greater good? is not dependent on our ability to praise It is the congregation’s ability to respond to God without distractions.
Volume Wars
Here’s one instance of how volume wars begin. When the guitar amps are cranked-up on stage, the drummer can’t hear so he plays louder. The bass can’t hear his own playing and he turns up his levels. The keyboardist and acoustic guitar are about to pull their hair out and they follow. Everyone else and the vocals become non-existent. At this point, the engineer has lost complete control of the mix. The audio team can literally mute all the channels on the board and the stage volume takes over the entire room. The time you spend working the sound of your band will have a beneficial result. Never underestimate the power of time well spent. Your band is priceless. Your team will grow musically as well as the quality of your sound. Plus, you help your engineer and audio team to do what they do best - actually mix the music. May your congregation worship well and win the battle on all fronts. As leaders of worship, we are to esteem others better than ourselves. The apostle Paul reminds us of an important virtue: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5. 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 and 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
Know Your Tone - Part 1 I think it’s pretty fair to assume that every guitar player would love to have great tone that sounds as good on the platform as it does front of house. While there are numerous roads that lead there, I am often reminded that many players either struggle with their gear, or they lack a reliable approach for determining how their guitar actually sounds in the front of house mix. This series will hopefully remove some of the barriers we all tend to face in getting “there”. Let’s start the ball rolling by defining what great tone actually is. For the sake of this conversation let’s agree to define great tone as: “ear-pleasing sounds that lift the spirit while hugging and/or defining the musical dynamics of the teams we play on”. It’s a good idea to factor in other variables like rotating worship leaders and team members, transposing keys, arrangements, and the venue itself. Already it’s pretty easy to see that this thing called tone is a bit of moving target, which is exactly my point. Music is not a static entity, just turning on and off like a light bulb. It ebbs and flows like a river, and to be expert oarsmen we have to be ready for what’s around the next bend. While I’m a huge fan of personal monitor systems, they do have their down sides, so let’s start by looking at how the whole in-ear and ‘amps off the platform’ part of the equation factors in (we’ll get to POD and other ampfree solutions in later articles). Since amps tend to end up where they can’t be heard directly, many players are at a distinct disadvantage in that any changes they make on their pedal board are heard through a mic and earphones that are almost assured to sound different
than what is coming out of the front of the amp. Good, bad, or in between, nobody knows your tone like you do, so developing a basic understanding of mic placement is a huge plus in knowing how to get your signal chain to translate properly front of house. With a Shure SM57, a flashlight, and a little experimentation, just about any guitar player can find a placement for the mic that works for them and the sound team. Generally speaking, if you focus the mic on the edge of where the dust cap meets the cone, an inch or so away from the grille, you’ll be in business. If you really want know your tone I’d suggest having someone play through your rig while your ears are at speaker level so you know what the mic is actually hearing. I’ll warn you in advance that this can be a brutal experience for some players, as they soon realize the scratchy tone they hear in the front of house mix is actually a good replication of what’s coming out of their amp. For those coming from the modeling end of the spectrum, if your device has any Neumann mic models, I’d suggest starting there – they seem to add warmth and realism that the SM57 models tend to lack to my ear. Don’t forget to experiment with moving the mic as well. So that gets us to the end of Part I in our little tone quest. I can’t stress how important it is to know what’s actually coming out of the front of your amp (or modeling device) before you start to make tweaks. In the next installment we’ll talk about some strategies for crafting sounds that make it fun to play while supporting the rest of the team. Thanks for reading and God Bless.
Doug Doppler is passionate about God, worship, and worship musicians. In addition to his work coaching individuals and teams, Doug is also the author of “The Worship Guitar Book” which will be available in May 2013 via Hal Leonard.
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Improving Musicianship | Inspiring Talent
HOW
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JULY/AUG 2013 Volume 11, Issue 4
Product Review: Larose 1 Ton Hollow Boy
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“Jukebox Worship” by Tom Lane
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No One Ever Prays Alone by Bob Kilpatrick
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Can We All Get Along? by Bob Bennett
THE BAND
By Tom Lane
The Draw What are we aiming for in worship? With all the effort we put into producing good services, I sometimes wonder what we think the outcome should be and look like.
church culture, it might only relate and appeal to our own kind, and not at all to those we are trying to reach. Churches are scrambling to figure out how to reach the current generation, and rightly so, How do we gauge and judge the because it’s running away from empty intangible fruit when, not only are we traditions and programs in search of unable to, we’re not really instructed to? truth—making relevance a concern for Yet we often do use the emotions and sure. But I’m convinced that, even more responses of people as a barometer to than being relevant, we need to be real. try and interpret whether or not God In our quest to be relevant we’ve placed is moving. We can be so mindful of a world of expectation on worship teams the production, and it being executed and leaders to be “The Draw,” when according to plan, that we zip right on in fact that’s a wrong perspective and by The Lord. The performance of a song understanding. The Word actually says: can actually cause us to miss the reason “No man can come to me, except the we sing it. Father which hath sent me draw him: An encounter with God is what changes and I will raise him up at the last day.” a heart and life. My experience is that (John 6:44) This should be good news people, Christian or not, encounter Him as it let’s us off the hook from having to through some of the most simple and bear the weight of drawing others in— unlikely people and experiences. The God does that all on His own when common denominators among moves He is lifted up. So the aim then should of God are not the music or messenger, be to make Him welcome. Jesus didn’t but the power and conviction of The entertain people into following Him, but Holy Spirit leading to brokenness and sometimes I think we feel the need to do repentance. We don’t encounter God that, and misinterpret what God is after. without being real and honest; it’s always I’m speaking to all of us and not meaning the first step. Which leads me to ask to criticize, just encourage us to always be looking beyond our presentation and again, what are we aiming for? production for what God is really doing. I’ve come to believe that genuine and So how do we effectively serve and authentic worship transcends style, lead in a relevant way without losing culture, preference, and even relevance. touch with reality? Even if our style is relevant we can miss the goal of touching God’s heart. Though 1. Don’t try to be who we are not: we may be comfortable with our own Songs are vehicles of expression that
producer :: MATT KEES
~ For Indie Artists looking to make an impact ~
help us and others engage and express our passion to The Lord—tools really. Often we copy others styles along with the songs, which is not all bad by any means, but it’s not the focus. Learn songs in order that they may be used to lead and engage, not impress! 2. Start with what we have: That should be the focus of our preparation. Whether we have a one-person team or a full band, let it be what it is, and keep the emphasis on unity and pure honest expression. People relate to that more than a good performance. Don’t worry that you’re not ‘so and so’ or don’t play or sound like them—that’s not the point anyway. Also, don’t underestimate how God uses the small and unlikely, He sees the heart before talent! 3. Life comes from community and relationship. We can strategize and plan all day long, but there is never a substitute for the reality of belonging. Some love the routine of church services, but more love feeling a part of the family. If our words and music fly right over their heads and make us feel good, what good is that? We should always be on the same level with the people we are serving, not above them or unreachable. Again, even in our presentation of songs and sermons we need honesty more than style. Let’s be thankful for the traditions that have forged our foundations, but even more so let’s be concerned with honoring God and impacting those still in need of His forgiveness and salvation. If we are just aiming to build a worship environment that we are comfortable in on Sundays, we need to aim higher! When God is present we’ll always be relevant!
www.mattkees.com
“Matt is a very musical songwriter, producer, mixer and a very good friend of mine. I love hearing his work as he is one of the best in the business. I always look forward to working and making great music with Matt.” ~ Gregg Bissonette (LA session drummer and member of Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band)
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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
The Director Video production got its start first with broadcast TV, and has been around for many years. I’m sure that the development of standards and practices grew slowly at first, included the hierarchy and roles of the production team. This is not intended as a lesson in the history of TV production, but is meant to be a guideline for all volunteer video crewmembers to understand the workings of the video team in the commercial world of production for comparison and reference.
Of course, if the Director gives you permission to chime in when needed before the production, then that is a different matter. However, that is not what’s implied in the original post. The term “ignore” implies there is no such agreement and the original poster thought it would be better to not do their job in Robert P. - Yes if you have order to protect the Director. been working with that director in the past. He may understand. I’ve been on both sides of the comm. The one fall back is, “Sorry, I didn’t hear I’ve had Directors call for crazy things that.” It just might be all the time the that seemed stupid at the time, but turned No matter where your production Producer needs to change the shot, if the out to be the coolest part of the entire experience takes you, there has to be - director is not on top of things. If the shot production. I’ve had camera ops walk needs to be, a hierarchy in the production was in the rehearsal, then do the shot. away from their cameras thinking they process, and that’s what this article is The director is in the hot seat, and he is wouldn’t need to change their shots, and about – The Director. calling the shots. And if you get yelled screw up the entire production because I at, take it and go over the shot with the needed their camera to get a tighter shot. In the world of commercial TV production director after the show, but do not let him So . . .no; second guessing gets you out it is understood that the Executive Producer walk on you for doing what he asked for. the door first. is in charge of finances and making the deals, the Producer is the one assigned Bill T. - Happens all the time at Bill T. - Craig, There’s a great line every the responsibility of getting the project Fenway Park. Director will ask for a shot good director knows or should know! done, and the Director is the project’s of the runner on 2nd base, but you know “You are only as good as your crew!” In acquisition dictator. It is the Director’s the 3rd base coach will walk right into sports, directors love to hand pick their show. They are the final word on how the frame and it’s a huge butt shot. What crew and travel all over the country with it looks, how it feels, and is in charge of I do is widen out to show how close the them. The director develops a TRUST in the crew and the way things go. They set obstruction is. I’ll key in too and say not them. He knows that the camera op has the pace, the tone, and the color of the good time. Sight lines a keen eye and is on the same page production. as the director. Sporting events are too Greg S. - I’m sorry folks, but I disagree. unpredictable and you need a crew you I often find that in a church situation, During a multi-cam the Director has final can trust. You know the reason he or she some of the team may never experience say, sink or swim. It’s not up to you to didn’t take the direction is a good one! It an outside commercial TV production decide what’s good or bad, even if it’s doesn’t happen all that often, but if it does experience, and the team may grow obvious. If it’s bad, you’re not the one you better be ready to say why! from an internal system of people responsible, the Director is. It is your job inheriting a position and/or grow to do what the Director calls for, even if it If you’re working in a “scripted event” through volunteer promotions. And for doesn’t seem to make sense to you. You where there is a shot list and rehearsals, that reason, sometimes practices, duties, don’t know what the Director is thinking; then I would agree with you. I also responsibilities, and production methods s/he could be setting up a shot, or series don’t like the term “INGORE” It sounds are implemented simply because that’s of shots which make sense only once too callous! Maybe a better term would be “to justify.” Stage events are a much how they always do it. executed. different animal. People are where they If your team is looking to build and If everyone were to ignore the Director, should be and the direction is absolute! grow, I suggest adapting the structure and key in when they felt like it, then template that is most often used in the nothing would get done. Not to mention, I worked too many events where I’ve commercial side of television production. the fastest way to be replaced on a crew scratched my head and thought “huh?” I Along those lines, I started wondering is to deliberately not do what the Director didn’t understand it, but I shot it. Directors if the average volunteer understood the asks of you. have a lot going on. If they ask me to “It’s the Director’s show” mentality. Even shoot the batter when it’s a righty batter (I if you are the only team member wearing If there’s a problem, like you can’t shoot lefties at low 3rd) I remind them it’s multiple hats, maybe you would like to physically execute the shot, only then a righty and I often get the response “My hear the opinions of many professionals key in to tell about the problem. If the bad, thanks Bro!” That gets me back for shot ends up looking terrible (which you the entire season! from around the world. could’ve prevented), make note of it and As the administrator of the TV Camera bring it up in a follow-up meeting. Continued on page 48
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Operator group on the free web site LinkedIN, I often pose questions to the over 4,000 global members for these articles. Recently, I asked if there was ever a reason to ignore the Director’s camera command. Here are a few of the answers from around the world I received:
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A FEW MOMENTS WITH…
By Paul Baloche
A Lyric or a Poem? What’s the difference between a lyric and a poem? A poem may be a lyric, but a lyric isn’t necessarily a poem. Take, for example, the chorus of the favorite Christmas carol: GlO o-o-o-o O o-o-o-o O o-o-o-o O ria! In excelsis Deo! GlO o-o-o-o O o-o-o-o O o-o-o-o O ria! In excelsis De-e-O!
and surprising ways of saying things. But be careful. In trying to make your lyrics poetic or lyrical, don’t lose your clarity. Don’t get so “artsy” that you’re out there somewhere by yourself in a galaxy far away. It takes work, but a good lyricist finds the right balance. The Sound of Words
Some words just sing better than others. This is one of the world’s great lyrics, but They ring better. They sound better and it’s a lousy poem. they feel better as you sing them. It isn’t Even though poetry and lyrics are not enough just to rhyme the ends of lines; necessarily the same thing, this doesn’t it’s important how all the words sound, mean that lyrics can’t be poetic. Look at especially the sustained ones, and most some definitions from the Encarta World especially the higher sustained ones. English Dictionary: • Words that make the singer sound good will also feel good in the singer’s • POET: Somebody imaginative or mouth and mask. The long tones will ring creative or who possesses great skill and and every syllable will roll easily off the artistry and is able to produce beautiful tongue. The vowels will vibrate in the face words and give a wonderful resonance to the • POETIC: having qualities usually voice. If you don’t think about this when associated with poetry, especially in you write your lyrics, singers may be less being gracefully expressive, romantically apt to want to sing the song, even though beautiful, or elevated and uplifting they may not be able to tell you why. • POETRY: literary work written in verse, • Some vowel sounds are great on high in particular verse writing of high quality, long tones, while others should be avoided great beauty, emotional sincerity or if possible. No vowels sound bad, but the intensity, or profound insight so-called “pure” vowel sounds; ah, ay, • WRITING WITH POETIC EFFECT: a ee, oh, and u, resonate and feel better piece of writing that has the imaginative, than the short vowel sounds, as in cat, rhythmic or metaphorical qualities and the pet, sit, look and much. Right now, try singing very slowly the word “hallelujah”. intensity usually associated with a poem Please stop reading and give it a try. Do Doesn’t that describe what you want you notice how easy those vowels can be your lyrics to be? Even simple worship held out? Doesn’t it just “feel good in the song lyrics, though usually not lofty, are mouth”? Do the same exercise with the often imaginative, metaphorical, and word “ho-san-na”. Of course you can’t insightful. The best writers find unusual just decide to use only the pure sounds
and exclude the others, because you can’t communicate very well in English without using all of them. But you can try to use the more resonant vowel sounds wherever possible, especially on the long high notes of loud, bright songs. Some of the more muted sounds may be desirable on long high notes of quiet songs. Remember that lyrics are meant to be heard, not read silently off the printed page, so it matters a great deal how they make the human voice sound. Caution: Don’t go overboard with all this. Of course you can’t get all the vowels and consonants smooth, or hard, or tonal—don’t even try—you could drive yourself crazy, or at least get a severe case of writer’s block; but in your REwriting, try to replace words that clash with the feeling you want to convey. Finally, check out a recent re-write that Graham Kendrick and I wrote - a Christmas version of the song “What Can I Do” which will be featured on my upcoming “Christmas Worship” CD this October. We tried to be mindful of the ideas that are covered in this article. God bless you as you unpack and redress your songs this month.
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 will be released October 29.
Thank you to PraiseCharts for providing the chart “What Can I Do (Christmas Version)
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Paul Baloche and Graham Kendrick Paul Baloche and Graham Kendrick
Download this Download chart for this free chart at praisecharts.com/whatcanido for free at praisecharts.com/whatcanido
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© 2005 Integrity's © Hosanna! 2005 Integrity's Music (Admin. Hosanna! by Music EMI Christian (Admin.Music by EMI Publishing) Christian Music Publishing) Make Way Music (Admin. Make Way by Music (Admin. Services,byInc.) Music Services, Inc.) All rights reserved.AllUsed rights byreserved. permission. Used CCLI by permission. #4554279 CCLI #4554279
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Download this Download chart for this free chart at praisecharts.com/whatcanido for free at praisecharts.com/whatcanido
Rit.
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Charlie W. - Intentionally ignoring the Director is never a good idea. Communication is key, especially during a live broadcast. If you Frank P. - After years of live TV have time and know the Director well you may experience I’ve learned give the want to point out the problem, but chances are director the shot he called for. If it doesn’t look you won’t have the chance. Once he takes the good he won’t take it live. If you have time to shot he’ll realize that it was a bad idea. You can explain why the shot is not going to look good always talk about it after the show. then go ahead, but live TV is fast paced and the timing may not be right. As a jib op I rehearse Steve M. - I think Charlie summed it up nicely... my shots before air and the director views it and Other folks covered the Live Sports aspect... For approves it or changes it. But I typically do what a Live or Taped Entertainment show, the camera he calls for. meeting is the first place to discuss shots that don’t work. Then during rehearsal, you continue Lawrence C. - I agree with Bill Titus’ last to discuss and work out the shots. You put the paragraph. I don’t really know any directors that finishing touches on in the dress ... And when want to put up a bad shot. Sometimes when the Show airs Live ... You shoot it the way the I’m directing, I’ll look at my camera monitors, Director calls it... see the camera number in front of me, know the camera I want to call, and still, sometimes call Ron A. - What an open question...getting the wrong camera. We’re all human and we comments from all types. If director and all want to put on a good show. Hitting the talk- company have their act together then a trust has back and gently reminding the director that your been developed with the shooters...given good shot might not be the right call is sometimes the headset protocol a good shooter might sneak in right thing to do. a safeguard...and the director might be mature and cool enough to consider. Bottom line to Robert (Rj) P. - I agree that there is never a answer the question. ...as a shooter we should good time to ignore a director. And I would never NEVER second guess. If you are lucky enough ignore anyone. As a Jib Op, I need to go over to be part of a good team production/show you every shot beforehand. When I do sports it is fast will be respected and have a “zone” of trust. If paced, and it has its own little format to follow. you are freelance, always do what he says. Entertainment has a rundown. So for the most part you should go with the director’s cut. OK – with all of these great comments, I think Camera - Continued from page 44
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you get the idea, right? I’m a firm believer that the bottom line is: it is the Director’s show – but that doesn’t mean, as a crew member, you should intentionally let a Director fail. Do your job the best you can; follow the Director’s wishes (most of the time); think about your surroundings and the traps in getting certain shots and angles; and let your Director know what you see and where you can’t get to. Hopefully you can go through all of this in rehearsal. If not, cover your Director at all times. Please feel free to join our free LinkedIN group called TV Camera Operators and check out my blog at www.craigjkelly.com. If you have any questions or comments, email me at zoomit. cam@craigjkelly.com
Craig Kelly is a veteran Free-lance, TV camera operator/DP for over 25 years. He writes these articles to be included in his blog found at www. craigjkelly.com. Often the subject matter comes from the 3,000 + global membership in the LinkedIn group he started for new camera operators and volunteer operators called TV Camera Operators. Kelly is also the International/ North America Representative to the Guild of Television Cameraman as well as advisory board member for 2 colleges and 2 high schools in the greater Seattle area. 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
12/19/12 7:21 AM
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PERCUSSION
By Mark Shelton
The Rise of The Sticks
Tom-toms: Ethno-drive The worship leader asks for a “tribal groove” on the second verse, but still wants to keep some “backbeat rock” feel. Of course, the drum set player has a bunch of toms at the ready--but only two hands.
frequencies are being played--except for some well-placed whole and half notes on the concert bass drum. Tasty!
Although the concert bass drum and the kick drum both operate in the same A driving 6/8 tom-tom groove propelled general sonic area, each of these the chorus of the opener. As the bridge of percussive brothers has a distinct timbre. the second song builds, you crescendo How about letting that rock feel continue A concert bass drum is usually tuned a stream of thirty-second notes on the in the set while that “ethno-groove” significantly lower and more open snare drum--and you are NOT sitting comes from the percussionist playing a (resonant) than a trap set bass. The kick behind a drum set. Another musician is batch of toms with sticks--equipped with drum gives that punchy thump while the handling the trap set duties while you Stickballs (tm)? A product of Rhythm Tech, “gran cassa” can provide a thundering are holding down the spot often referred the Stickball slides onto a drumstick and BOOM! to as “hand percussion.” These days, it allows the player to produce a shaker/ While an orchestral-sized instrument is is not a far-fetched notion that the entire rattle sound with each stroke. the optimal choice, space and budget worship set might be played without ever Backing the drum set groove with could dictate something smaller and laying a hand on the congas or djembe. In my ministry as a percussionist with relentless rhythm on a single tom-tom less expensive. A marching bass drum Gateway Worship, I find myself playing can give more meat and drive to the (tuned low), a Brazilian surdo, or a a fair amount of “stick percussion” along overall sound. Add a layer of tambourine single-headed gong bass can be a more with good measures of Afro-Cuban hand by attaching a Stick Jingler(tm) to each compact, less expensive alternative that implement. Also from Rhythm Tech, the can still provide some low-end wallop. drums. Stick Jingler provides an easy way to View Bethel Music utilizing a small bass Certainly hand percussionists have long mount tambourine jingles to a stick, brush, drum in the video for “Forgiven.” employed sticks and mallets on cowbells, or mallet. The original release of Matt Redman’s woodblocks, timbales, and cymbals, but “10,000 Reasons” makes great use of Check out the Hillsong United video for I perceive a bent toward greater use of stick-struck instruments in modern worship “Oceans” to catch an example of some the concert bass sound in the verses. Listen to those three strokes--so simple, yet music. (“Stick” is used as a convenient driving tom-tom action. reference to all percussion striking Snare drum: Much more than 2 so effective. implements--sticks, brushes, mallets, etc.) & 4 Glockenspiel: A brilliant choice One needs only look as far as Hilllsong Snares on, snares off, rim shot, stick There is something about the bright, United, Bethel Music, and Gungor to find shot, scrape with brushes, cross stick, tap high-pitched, happy tone of the evidence of this stick-percussion trend. the shell--and there are many more tone glockenspiel that mixes well with the rawThere are hundreds of stick-struck colors available from the snare drum. An edged sounds of rock and pop music. instruments available from the immense essential element in the drum set, this You can hear bands playing rhythmic world of percussion. I have some multi-timbre marvel can also have a home backing lines and poignant melodies with the “campanelli.” Give a listen to the suggestions for just a few pieces of gear in the hand percussionist’s nest. that might expand your timbral palette • Try substituting snare drum with brushes album version of “The Earth Is Yours” from Gungor. The glockenspiel shines brightly along with ideas for musical applications. instead of a shaker. on the opening measures! • Play a busy Remember to use those sparkling tones rhythmic pattern on the tastefully. The quality that gives the snare drum while the instrument its appeal can become grating drum set player lays if overused. down a simple “snareDoubling a hook or interlude melody less” linear groove. with the orchestra bells can be an effective • Thicken arranging device. Listen for this effect on that cadence groove “When I’m With You” from Gateway coming from the drum Worship’s Great Great God (That’s me set by doubling the on the glock!). snare drum part. Find the videos for Bellarive’s cover of Concert Bass “Your Love Never Fails” and “You Are My Drum: Lower the Vision” from Rend Collective Experiment boom to pick up some glockenspiel inspiration. Imagine the simple Sticks on the beauty of a worship Electronics: ballad accompanied samples Along with using implements on acoustic on the opening section with only a few instruments, there are plenty of compact instruments. No low electronic percussion devices designed
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to be activated by sticks. The addition of one of these instruments can increase your timbral possibilities with a multitude of digital samples at your fingertips (or in this case--stick tips!)
was able to construct a linear groove that would mimic some of the percussion parts that would not be covered in the “live” drum set pattern. My multi-percussion part uses a low tom-tom, snare drum, mounted tambourine, and Ribbon Crasher (tm). The notation below demonstrates how I orchestrated a “secondary drum set” part that could be played from the percussionist’s set up--using drum sticks.
merely by switching implements. Keep the gig bag stocked with a wide assortment of sticks, mallets, bundled rods, and brushes to bolster your stick-percussion creativity.
Your One-Stop-Shop for the Entire Worship Band when it comes to Accessories & Cool Gear The percussion work of Mark
Both the Octapad SPD-30 (tm) from Roland and Yamaha’s DTX-Multi 12 (tm) feature multiple playing surfaces and hundreds of pre-set sounds. Some of these compact units include sampling capabilities along with on-board factory Download “Found In You” from the sounds. Roland’s SPD-SX (tm) and the Gateway album, Love Expressed to hear Alesis SamplePad (tm) give you the option the original recording and compare it to record and play custom samples. with the notated version below:
A great feature of the Korg Wave Drum As we participate in this trend toward (tm) is its ability to recognize what is greater use of stick percussion in modern striking the playing surface and respond worship, remember that the plethora of accordingly. You can actually hear a basic instrument tones can be enlarged difference between striking the head with a stick or brush.
Shelton has been a part of over 2000 worship services. His playing can be heard on the 2010 CD release from Gateway Worship, God Be Praised and the 2011 recording, 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
Secondary Drum Set: Decompose and recompose In preparation to play David Eric Moore’s “Found in You”, it became apparent that there was a great deal of percussion on the recording. After consulting with my colleague, Josiah Funderburk, I learned that he had recorded multiple drum set parts. After all the tracking, production, and mixing, it was a very dense percussion groove. Working with Josiah, I
guitar & bass strings & accessories drum heads drumsticks drum accessories wind reeds JHS Guitar Pedals Your One-Stop-Shop for the Entire Worship Band Riggio Custom Guitars when it comes to Accessories & Cool Gear
guitar & bass strings & accessories drum heads drumsticks drum accessories wind reeds JHS Guitar Pedals Riggio Custom Guitars
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The Lowest Prices Across the Board resourcing skill :: equipping talent WORSHIPMUSICIANMAGAZINE.COM SEP/OCT 2013
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PRODUCT REVIEW
By Eric Wylie
HK Audio - LUCAS Nano
accessory package that is necessary to mount the speakers on custom stands and run the system in stereo mode. The system features three channels. One channel geared more towards vocals, a stereo channel and a third channel geared towards audio playback. EQ is limited to a basic “contour” knob that blends between a flat response and the typical “smiley-face” EQ. There are no onboard effects. While this is very bare bones, the system can be set up to accommodate multiple scenarios.
So how does it sound? The short answer is very crisp and clear. I tested the system first as a small PA as if it were being used at a small party. It can get surprisingly loud given its size, but it does not fill the room with the same “weight” as a larger system would. Then again, a larger system with larger speakers and more power will weigh more and require more setup. The third channel includes both RCA inputs and a single stereo 1/8” input. This will accommodate any CD or MP3 player or digital audio device. It is possible to link two Nano systems together for more power and low-end response. Obviously, more cost would be involved to buy two systems, but it would be a beefier and highly portable sound system. My second test was to plug in a mic and an acoustic guitar in order to simulate a solo acoustic performer. The overall textHK Audio is based in Germany and sound was, once again, very crisp and has been around for the past thirty plus clear from low to high frequencies. It had years. They are best known in Europe and good responsiveness in this setting, and I are highly regarded in pro audio circles. think it sounded better under this scenario The LUCAS series is their range of portable than the initial small party test. The first “speaker on a stick” systems geared toward two tests were done in stereo mode with gigging musicians, and the LUCAS Nano is the accessory package. the smallest of that series. The Nano 300 I also tested the system from the system is squarely aimed at the singer/ perspective of a personal monitoring songwriter performing in a small club, or a system for basic stage volume. Out of small party DJ market. It would also be well curiosity, I plugged in my electric upright suited for smaller conferences/presentations bass and gave it a spin. Quite frankly, and for personal monitoring in a slightly I liked what I heard from the Nano larger venue. *better* than my regular bass rig. It The core system consists of the subwoofer sounded fantastic with my upright and is base and two speakers. The two speakers smaller and lighter than my bass rig! I fit in the base of the sub for transport. The also took the Nano for a spin with an core system weighs in at a very modest 23 electric bass and tube DI. It still had a lbs and is very easy to transport and carry. great response and sound, though I think A small class “D” power amp provides I liked it better with the upright. Many a total of 230 watts of power to the sub worship guitarists use modeling amps on and two satellite speakers. There is an stage and I’ve heard many complaints from these musicians when trying to find
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a stage amp and cabinet that matches up well with a modeler. With that in mind, I plugged in my Line 6 rig and gave it a spin. The stereo channel was perfect for setting up a stereo rig. Setting up the proper gain structure between the Line 6 output and Nano input channel took a few minutes to tweak, but after that it sounded pretty darned good. The Nano could be placed behind the guitarist or, given its small size, could be set up next to a stage monitor. HK Audio also advertises the Nano as a complement to eDrums, but I don’t have access to a kit so I was unable to personally test that scenario. Outside of the gigging musician/artist scenarios, the Nano would work well as a simple PA system for speakers and smaller presentations. Setup is exceptionally simple and would only take a few minutes. HK also advertises the system for digital media and home theater. It would be a little on the expensive side for some, but I could see it working very well for portable entertainment or for the gamer in the family. This is a great system for acoustic acts in smaller venues. A small mixer in front of the PA would be necessary for multiple vocalists and instruments, as well as any time effects processing is desired. If there are any negatives to this system they are the limited channels and lack of effects processing. A second satellite system might be necessary for any acts with percussion, but even two systems would still be lightweight and fit in the back of almost any vehicle. The Nano shined unexpectedly bright in the personal monitoring scenarios. Two thumbs up there! MSRP is $1,110 with street price running around $700. Add roughly $130 for the accessory package, which I would highly recommend. Both are available online and through local dealers. Check out http://hkaudio.com/us/ for more information on the entire HK Audio line and to find a dealer near you. Eric is a bass geek and is also active as a music educator and performer in the Pacific Northwest. For more info: www.summit-music.com
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The Digital Age: by Aimee Herd for us. We each had home studios, and on the last Crowder Band record, we just all agreed this has to be the first song had a private server and would record on the record. In a happy, fun way it a part and upload it to the server. Then kicks off what we’re trying to say with the one of us would get a message that files whole record. had been uploaded to the server and AH: Yeah, and you’ve got a little we’d download the files and record audience participation going on for that another part... so we’d been kind of song too, with people sending in videos. self-producing the last two Crowder MW: (Laughs) Oh yeah, we’re working records anyway. We all started to buy on that right now! We’ve always been up gear and compressors and mics, very hands-on with making our own and all that kind of stuff. Then we took music videos. Managing our brand via all our gear from our home studios, video is something we’ve always enjoyed compiled it and brought it into our new doing. Bwack is crazy-good at doing studio. And of course we bought any videos—right now, as we speak, he is extra gear we needed. (Laughs) We’re sifting through a lot of videos, working still buying gear, that’s the problem! It’s on editing it together, we got so many been really fun for us, we’ve learned a lot, also from the bands we’ve recorded submissions! there. It’s been a great extension of our AH: That’s a good problem to have— ministry to have that. too many—rather than not enough. It’s really how The Digital Age name Mark, let me ask you a little about the came about, as we had put albums engineering of the album and your newly together all online. And there’s also built recording studio. You guys produced the social media aspect of it. It’s so and engineered this album completely by weird now that your “neighbor” isn’t yourselves, which really lines up with your necessarily next door anymore, your band name by the way. But you just built neighbor could be in Thailand, or this new studio, and it used to be a boxing New Zealand—literally across the gym... so are you keeping a ring in there globe. That combined with how we so you can blow off a little steam when learned to engineer an album over the you need it?! internet was our starting point when we MW: (Laughs) Well, we took out the were discussing band names. It was boxing ring. We had to hire a special available and we jumped on it. company to come do it because there was AH: I thought it was interesting what staph all over the ring, and it was located right where we wanted our control room you guys said about writing worship music, that you “have to be aware of to be. It was quite an ordeal. the church and make it accessible, but AH: What kind of equipment do you you don’t want to fit into any mold... have in the studio, and also what do you you need to meet the broader culture personally play? to make it more relevant.” Can you MW: I play a lot of Paul Reed Smith, explain a little more of what you mean the SE 245, but lately I’ve been playing by that? this old Rickenbacker 360 that I used on MW: Yeah, that’s actually the mission Rehearsals, it’s kind of my baby. I have of our band! So, we fly a lot, going to a friend named Todd D’Agostino, he has a church or conference for a few days a company called LaRose Guitars... he’s and then fly home. We carry-on our making guitars that are unreal! Hopefully guitars, and we’re in t-shirts and flipI’ll be playing more of those. I have a flops... the flight attendants are used to Gibson 339 that I played on “Believe,” seeing guys in suits. So of course they and we’ve had a partnership with Tom ask us, “Hey, what’s your band?” We Anderson out of California, so we have go, “Oh we’re just a little band from a couple of his guitars that Zach and Waco, Texas.” I play. One thing we don’t have is an “Are you famous?” acoustic player since David left, but a “Well, y’know, if we were, you lot of the music we listen to doesn’t have acoustic, and we can’t replace someone wouldn’t have to ask. (Laughs) We’re called The Digital Age... from The like David—so we don’t try. Crowder Band...” In the studio, the main mic we use is the “Huh, haven’t heard of you. What Blue Bottle; it has capsules you can switch kind of music?” out. It’s what we used with Crowder “We play church music.” Band. We’re running Pro-Tools HDX, we “Church music? Is that like Christian have a lot of 500 Series Pre’s, the mono rock?” gammas we really like. For compression “No, we just write music for our we have the Purple 1176, we have ATIs; church...” the Millennia Channel Strip. We use the “Huh... is that like Gospel?” ADL 600 Pre a lot... it’s been really good “No, we just write music for our Continued from page 24
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church.” Especially if they’re not Christian, they don’t know what that means. Usually they’ll wind up saying, “Okay, well I’ll look you up [on the internet].” And every once in a while, we’ll get an email or a tweet from one of them that says something like: “Hey, my name is Clara, I was your flight attendant on your flight from Dallas to Seattle. I looked you guys up. I haven’t been to church since I was a kid and I had no idea that music like this existed. When you said ‘church music’ this is not what I expected.” That’s our favorite thing in the world, because when church music reflects pop culture—when it sounds like something someone would actually listen to—that’s when you’ll have that. And people will say, “Oh wow it’s actually relevant and it sounds like something I’d listen to anyway.” Even on our YouTube Channel, sometimes we’ll get a comment on one of our Rehearsals videos where someone will say, “I’m not a Christian, but this is moving, there’s something about this that I can feel.” That’s a good start for a conversation. So for us, as a worship band; we’re out of University Baptist Church, it’s right by Baylor University, and it ministers to college students. They’re very aware of pop culture and what’s cool and not cool, and they care about that. So, to connect with them musically, we have to try to write music that’s relevant to the culture they live in. So, we try to write music that is culturally relevant... for example, we’ll listen to the radio and say OK that Katy Perry song is huge... why? The melody is like this, musically it’s like this... We have to be aware, as a band, of what people are liking right now. They’re really liking Mumford & Sons; they’re really liking Imagine Dragons... so we say, how can we write music that is speaking into this? It’s not necessarily copying; we’re not being that blatant, it’s just being aware of the kind of music that we, and our culture, would want to listen to. We want them to attach to it; that’s something that is very real to us, and that we talk about with every song we write. Will this translate? Will they like this in this setting? There are a lot of churches that do play more [traditional] orchestrated music. If we played that at UBC, people would leave our church. For that age group, you do have to be culturally relevant in your sound and in what you say. Check out more from The Digital Age at: www.thedigitalagemusic.com.
One Yamaha, Many Solutions At Yamaha, our mission is to enrich people’s lives through music. This goal inspired our long tradition of innovation and quality. Now, it also motivates our efforts to deliver a comprehensive product line—including instruments, audio gear and educational programs —that provides complete, integrated solutions for every musical situation. We’re proud to see the Yamaha name in elementary, middle school, high school and college classrooms; on parade routes and football fields; in homes; on television and movie screens; on the world’s top concert stages; and in recording and rehearsal studios around the world.
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Hunter Hayes Martin player, 2 years
“For the love of music” is Hunter Hayes’ mantra that’s inscribed on the pick guard of his Martin 00 Koa Custom. Learn how his love of watching country artists perform live influenced Hunter’s sound at www.martinguitar.com/hunter. Available Everywhere