jcadmus Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Got the following note today from the leader for this Sunday at church: "Since we are not having rehearsal Thursday night and seeing that most of the team reads off of the lead sheet (sheet music), please take a look at the chord charts and compare it to the lead sheet before we meet Sunday to make sure the chords/arrangement jives. This will cut down on our rehearsal time and probably frustration on your part. Jon and I will have the set posted by later tonight. If you have any questions, feel free to email me." As nicely as I could I wrote back that I didn't really think it was my job to debug the charts -- that's the leader's responsibility. Thoughts? "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Depends on the context. What's the "frustration on your part" that he's trying to solve? I would say if de-bugging charts could help the band as a whole, it's probably worth doing and maybe this is a compliment to you for your "debugging" skills? Maybe this is a "value add" for you, as a member of the band. If that's the case, I say do it with a smile--assuming you have the time, ability, and desire. But if this is another in a series of leadership duties being foisted upon you--without the benefits of being the actual band leader (if there are any, LOL)--maybe it calls for a conversation. "Everyone wants to change the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves." Leo Tolstoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Personally, I REFUSE to let any lead sheets, chord charts, arrangements, or even good taste and common decency DICTATE what I'm gonna play! You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Well, I think it's a symptom of poor leadership and perhaps a bit of laziness on the part of this leader and some others -- although not all. My view is that leaders are supposed to show up prepared, with a clear vision of what they want to accomplish and the ability to communicate that vision to that band. That, in part, means providing charts that are clean. This leader and some others fail to do that, and as a result we end up spending time during rehearsal doing a lot of "well the sheet music says play an A, but the chord chart says it's a G." [And on the recording it's an A flat, so who the heck knows what it's supposed to be.] "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Is it possible that different people might be working off of different sheet music and he wants to make sure they're all doing the same arrangement by having them compare it to the chart? Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Why is there "sheet music" and "chord charts" for each song? Wouldn't you just get either/or? We all get the same "sheet" via Music Stand as part of Planning Center. Actually, we each get our own that is saved with any markings we make. Next time we do that tune, we all get our marked up sheet. It's pretty nice. iPads work great for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Why is there "sheet music" and "chord charts" for each song? Wouldn't you just get either/or? What he said. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Is it possible that different people might be working off of different sheet music and he wants to make sure they're all doing the same arrangement by having them compare it to the chart? Our leaders provide the charts -- both sheet music and chord charts, as some of us prefer one while some prefer the other -- when they lead. They change the keys and arrangements often enough that keeping the same charts is not practical. Frequently, they will hand out sheet music and chord charts that don't agree. Sometimes they also disagree with the provided recordings. Seems to me, it's the leader's responsibility to make sure those all line up. "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Yes, I would agree. I was just thinking of my own analogy where people sometimes learn from youtube videos so there are sometimes fifferent versions...radio edits, etc. That end up getting discovered and hammered out in practice. Gosh, remember the days of "practice tapes"? LOL, BL would make cassettes of all the songs we were to learn and distrobut them. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Seems to me, it's the leader's responsibility to make sure those all line up. yep. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Seems to me, it's the leader's responsibility to make sure those all line up. yep. It should be. Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duff beer Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Yes, I would agree. I was just thinking of my own analogy where people sometimes learn from youtube videos so there are sometimes fifferent versions...radio edits, etc. That end up getting discovered and hammered out in practice. Gosh, remember the days of "practice tapes"? LOL, BL would make cassettes of all the songs we were to learn and distrobut them. I'm usually the guy responsible for emailing our song picks to the rest of the band. I always attach a YouTube of the version we are learning to avoid any confusion. Yes, I remember "practice tapes". I used to make them all the time. They then became "practice CD's"...which I actually still make for the band because some of the members spend a lot of time in their vehicles for work purposes and they like being able to listen to new songs during the day to help set the arrangement in their heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Of course it's the leader's job to do these things. But what's the coin involved? If there's no coin, then either deal with the situation as is, or step up to the plate. About the different keys: I wish I had done much more/most/all of my jazz playing in Nashville notation when I was playing more jazz. It's just better in these types of situations. (Yes, I know it's not too late. But it's not relevant to the playing I'm doing now.) Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibescotty Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 In the duo I play in, whomever brings in the song is responsible for making sure it will work musically and that includes bringing the chord charts to practice and making sure they are correct so we can go through the song and work out what we're going to do to it. Musically we know where it is. All that cool rhythm and feel comes when we actually start working on it. I would say whomever is in charge of putting the songs together needs to really have their shtick together to make sure everyone is on the same page. It could be that the leader isn't musically strong enough to sort out the differences in the sheet music and the chord charts too. Then it becomes a much larger problem I suppose. Double Posting since March 2002 Random Post Generator #26797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 We have a full-time, salaried music director (MD). He selects music that fits liturgically for every service, distributes legal copies (sheet music), oversees equipment maintenance and logistics, runs sound and schedules and directs rehearsals and performances for every choir. Basically he does everything except play your instrument or sing your part during performances. The choirs are all volunteer (i.e. not paid), preferably members of the parish. Volunteer musicians are only required to practice (alone), rehearse (with the choir) and perform. Some choir members also setup/breakdown, if necessary. (Unfortunately there's no budget to hire roadies to schlep a bass rig through a snowy parking lot. ) Other paid musicians are the cantors (solo singers) and occasional hired musicians for special events (typically members of the professional symphony orchestra). If you're in a similar situation where the worship leaders are paid but nobody else is then they need to step up and do their job. If they can't read music well enough to know when lead sheets and chord charts don't match then maybe they aren't qualified for the position. (Our MD has at least a B.Mus.) If the worship leaders are volunteers, too, then cut them some slack. Everyone should pitch in and help to the best of their abilities, where needed. If you're all paid, well, whoever's in charge should make it clear exactly which duties belong to each position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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