worship planning tip #8: Charts - Overdo it

Charts - this is one of those places where the worship leader/pastor/director needs to overdo it. And by "overdo it" -- be all things to to all musicians, if at all possible.

My OCD (obsessive chart development) stems back to a prolonged and silent suffering under a yet-to-be-convicted chart-abuser. Back when I was a volunteer worship guitarist, the worship pastor used those big hairy piano arrangements from Integrity Music or some other source. He'd give that eight page monster to the pianists, lyric sheets to the vocalists, and a chord chart/sheet (words and chords only) to the rest of the band. At best, these charts were copied from the back of the Integrity songbook where the piano arrangement came from. But more often they pulled off the internet. You know - those courier font chord sheets that look and sound like they've been transcribed by a 14-year old. If it was the same in key, that's all that mattered.

After awhile, I talked my worship leader into giving me the piano charts. I'd use a 3-ring binder and lots of scotch tape to render some sort of flippable song book. Occasionally I'd cut and paste full arrangements down to melody and chords, but that got a little too obsessive, even for me. (Besides, the bass player made fun of me...)

Chord charts bite. There are no rhythms written, no melody notated, no sense of arrangement. I used to hate them, but I've made some peace with these word-processed pieces of...music.

I've come to realize I'm a visual learner and the lead sheet (notated melody on the treble clef and chords) gives me more visual cues. Most of my musician friends learn best audibly (which--I can tell you from experience--is WAY more advantageous than visual learning when it comes to music). They connect and remember rhythmic changes by ear. I can hear those changes, but they don't stay with me well. But if I SEE them on paper, I'm 3/4 the way to memorizing it. That's why I liked the lead sheet.


So fast-forward a few years later. I became a worship pastor in a smaller church. Because I liked lead sheets, that's what I used. That's what my band used. That's what my vocalists used. That's all we used. Because I liked them.

When I moved on to my next church, I had softened a little. I realized my vocalists, especially those who didn't read notes, preferred lyric sheets. And many of my guitarists and bassists got lost in all the standard musical notation. And I even found myself preferring a simple lyric or chord sheet for songs I knew well.

So now each time I introduce a new song, I try my best to create a collection of charts: leadsheet (melody, chords, lyric), chordsheet (chords, lyric) and lyric sheet. And if a song is in a lousy key for guitar, I create a "guitar capo chart" (transposed to reflect "capo chords").

Sample of song folder

A lot of files? Yep. To keep it straight, I create a folder for each song. (Click on pic to enlarge it.) Each folder also contains mp3s (both original and pitch-shifted) and any other files that pertain to the song.

Have you noticed this folder doesn't contain those big hairy piano charts?  Most of my other song folders don't either. This is one place I've decided not bend (with one exception). Here are my two big beefs with full piano-accompaniment arrangements for worship songs:

1. The ten fingers of the pianist can cover the bass line, all the chords and rhythm and even emulate a quasi-guitar riff. That's good if you don't have a band. But if you do, the keyboard player is stepping all over the rest of the team.

2. The piano charts aren't easily modified. They're written to play a specific arrangement. While a lot of the lead sheets I used are geared towards a specific arrangement, their simplicity and brevity makes changing easier.

I mentioned an exception. When a song is piano-driven, or the particular arrangement is piano-rich, I'll use a fully arranged piano chart. It's easier to give my note-reading piano players a written chart versus asking them to learn it by ear.

By now, if you're a part-time, volunteer or an otherwise overworked worship leader, you're thinking, this is way too much work. You might be right. Sometimes I feel the same way. But here's how I stay motivated:
1. I remember that I serve the team. My work on the charts can save time for my team members.
2. I like doing it. Don't overlook this. You may hate putting together charts. Find someone on your team or in your church that does like it.
3. I've got a few systems in place. In follow-up article I'll go into the nuts and bolts of collecting, developing and creating charts.

When it comes to charts, overdo it as best as you can. Your team will appreciate it.