worship planning tip #17

worship planning tip #17

Unless you have the same band and vocals week after week, always plan your songs with an eye on the musician* schedule. Look at the range the vocalists who may be taking the lead. Look at the strength of your scheduled band and determine if the song you're planning can be played in it's 'default' arrangement. It might need to be simplified or even saved for another week.

A couple months ago I had to yank an instrumental piece out of our order. During rehearsal the band was just not getting it. After too much rehearsal time wasted, I finally had to admit defeat and said, "let's move on." It was my fault, not the team's. Had I been realistic about the strength of the players that week, I would have never pushed for it. I discouraged a few by setting them up to fail.

It's not a bad thing to chuck someone in the deep end from time to time. But when they start at the bottom of the pool wearing a parka and carrying a mini-fridge, the learning potential is lost to frustration.


btw - when I refer to "musicians", I mean instrumentalists and vocalists. It's scary how many vocalists don't consider themselves musicians. Now, when it comes to including drummers in the musician category, that's a different story. (just a joke, my Vic Furth wielding friends)