Help! My first time playing in church!

[daBowsa]

So my church has a 9am and an 11:15am service. They also have a 10:30am "intergenerational" service where you can bring screaming kids to, but attendance is significantly less that the other services.

 

Well, they just started a new choir group and the pianist/organist is leading that group, and they'll be rehearsing at 10:30 - so the call went out for a pianist for the intergen service.

 

Of course, I ignored it, because my rock & roll, chord comping, half-assed soloing skills just aren't a great fit for church, right?

 

Well, a few week passed and they asked again in the newsletter, this time for "anyone" who plays piano or guitar. If they're expecting a guitar player to strum chords, my piano "struming" can't be any worse, right? Heck, I'll even play LH bass for 'em!

 

So I responded, and *just* got the call to see if I can play *this* Sunday. The "just do it" side of me decided it'd be good practice and it would probably be better than no music at all (right?) so I said "Sure!"

 

Long story short, what do I do?

 

I'm pretty good at sing-along type situations - I play for my kids birthday parties, and Christmas time, etc. However, I'm always singing too, at least to get things going or help recover if people forget the words.

 

I don't think that'll work in church, and I'm assuming people will want to hear it go around once with me playing the melody line, correct?

 

Once things are going, can I switch back to RH chords and LH bass, or do I have to keep ghosting the melody?

 

When I play the lead in, should I play RH chords and plink the melody with my pinky? Or play LH bass and grab the chord with my left on 2 & 4?

 

See, my problem is if I go out and buy some sheet music, I'm not going to learn *all* the notes by Sunday, and I'll be so nervous about missing, that I'll probably end up missing. I prefer to just "play" it.

 

Any suggestions? Did anyone make it to the bottom of this long-winded post?

 

[mate stubb]

When I played hymns in church (organ not piano), you play 4 to 8 bars (often the last) to set up an intro.

 

Another tip - try to play the song at the tempo the congregation is used to. If you play it slower or faster, they will get confused.

 

Also, once you pick the tempo and start, stay with it. The congregation often sounds like they are behind you. If you slow down to let them catch up, they will slow down too and still be behind. It depends on the size and acoustics of your church how severe this problem might be.

[JMcS]

Keep it all simple. Play a melody the singers can follow - make the notes targets the singers can aim for. My son plays drums for the youth (high school age) music group at our church. The piano player is very talented, but can't grasp the concept of playing the notes that are needed instead of every note he can. He goes all Liberace on a song and the young, somewhat un-confident singers chase the notes he is playing instead of hitting the actual melody notes. He has 10 fingers and by god he is going to use every one of them as frequently as he can.

 

Good Luck and have fun.

[Tusker]

What they said ...

 

Keep it simple - the congregation needs to follow

 

Enjoy it - and you'll find your voice/style much faster

 

Don't sweat the small stuff - The music is the small stuff

 

It's a fun gig. Congratulations!

 

Jerry

[kanker.]

Well, were it me, my first suggestion would be to wear a flame retardant suit, but other than that, play the melody. People want/need to hear it.

[DafDuc]

My church gigs, they've usually had guitar books for me to play from. After raising their eyebrows cos everyone else always asked for the keyboard books.

 

If they're doing praise & worship stuff, they might not have books for you - but there are some good P&W fake books out there. I have one, but forget who the publisher is. There's also a hymn fake book, "1001 Hymns", I think that's from Hal Leonard.

 

And if there's a lot of Gospel, then the African American Heritage hymnal from GIA is pretty good in terms of repertoire. But no chord symbols, so if (like me) sight reading is an issue for you, you might have to sit down and work out the chords ahead of time. Dunno why they left them out - GIA is funny about that sometimes. It's like they think that only guitarists use chord charts...

 

As far as how to approach the tunes - ghosting the melody (good term) really helps the assembly sing, so I do it unless the song's getting away from me, then I drop back to comping. In an ensemble setting, I do way more comping than melody support.

 

If you have an assembly that sings 4-part (I grew up Presbyterian, we did, but now I'm Catholic, and Catholics don't even have the harmonies in the pew books), then you want to play the hymns as written. If not, fake is fine. I usually "improve" on the chords when I'm accompanying alone.

[BluesKeys]

Our praise team has words with chords above them. They pass them out at every service. The singers already know the melody line plus it's not written as a lead sheet so I am always safe.

[Yikes]

Playing the melody helps, but it can start to sound old-school, especially on songs with syncopation. My suggestions:

1. If the song could be led by guitar-and-voice only, then it's OK to comp instead of ghosting the melody. Examples of this opportunity might include:

a) songs that are already familiar to most people

b) songs where rhytmn is the dominant feature (where a steady guitar strum is more helpful than a melody)

c) Songs that were obviously composed on a guitar

d) Songs where the vocalist is very strong and is pshing the beat, and could sing a cappella if (s)he wanted to.

 

2. When comping between the vocal phrases of a song, let your last chord include and emphasize the first note to be sung in the following phrase - - tell 'em where they're supposed to land next!

 

mate_stubb's comment about sticking to the tempo is important, even if the congreagation seems like it is lagging behind. Let them catch up to you.

[gangsu]

Wow, I've never played for a church that required I buy my own music! Two days in advance. I've always at least been given a photocopied lead sheet.

 

I tend to lay on the melody and play big, unless there's a soloist. If you're in full view it's easy indicate when to breath and when to push a phrase. Just sing along. Tempo can often be fairly accurately by speaking the words in rhythm. (unless they don't suit the tune, which happens)

 

But it sounds like your church would be real unfamiliar territoy to me.

 

At any rate, you'll do great. And those young mothers will love ya.

[dp2]

Your chord-compin', foot-stompin', make-someone-wanna-shout, funky rock-keyboard skills would probably have found a home in my home church. Walk that bass line, and play the way you play!

 

Seriously, there's wrong with getting a little funky on the chords, melodies, harmonies, etc. Have you ever checked out the keys parts on any of Fred Hammond's, Hezekiah Walker's, Phill Driscoll's, or Hosana Integrity's songs? If not, then check them out. Yet, one thing should do is talk with the music director of your church. Tell him what you told us, and be prepared to play some examples. It might be that no one has ever brought up the topic in the past, and it might be that no one with your musical background has stepped up to the plate before.

 

In college, I played on a few worship teams. Except two or three players, all of the other team members only knew how to play rock, and most of them only knew how to read tab and some chord symbols. I, on the other hand, came from a very different background. I played mostly Jazz and Classical, I listened primarily to a different style of Gospel, and I could read and play by ear.

 

It worked out just fine, because I could adjust to anything they played. Additionally, I worked with some of them ocassionally exposing them to some simple music theory. This helped them to be able to play other kinds of tunes, and we all benefited from the experience. My point here is that you can do something similar--assuming that the director of music from your church won't object.

[daBowsa]

Thanks everyone - the fact that everyone has been in so many varied situations and handled them differently makes me feel very comfortable in the fact that there isn't just "one way" to play.

 

I will: play what feels comfortable, sing along to keep my tempo in sync with the congregation, play the melody as needed, and have fun. Sound about right?

[DafDuc]

[Trill]

Dabowsa, I understand completly how you feel. Having played lead guitar in church for years . I moved to a new church and really want to help out on the keys .The old church(large and very much rehearsed) was almost all like Brooklyn Tabernacle stuff or very contemporary.

 

The new church (smaller)is all Acoustic guitar driven with piano and strings or some basic organ.

I would love to help out. But the real me likes to play like Billy Preston or other gospel type players . I am almost ashamed to admit that I don't know if I could play the sweet arppegiated type things, and do a good job. I have been working on it. So ,I know exactly what your saying. I think when we realize we are not the show and we are there for the flow it becomes very important. The advice everyone gave is good.

 

On the other hand ,one of the best things is to study gospel music. Learning the so called "shout chords and "Preacher chords "for organ , generally associated with black churchs will do a lot for all your chops.

 

Okay my best advice if you want to continue is to buy an excellent DVD by Phil Lassiter. He goes over a lot of techniques for worship. And the dude has some funk to him also.

 

 

Soulful Production DVDs

[Eric VB]

First off, keep in mind that your church is desperate. Right now they don't have anyone playing piano/organ at one of the services. So, anything is going to sound better than silence. Likely this Sunday you will feel like you've made a million mistakes, but your church is going to thank you a million times for bringing music back to the 10:30.

 

Just the fact that they're throwing you in right away -- not knowing whether you'll sink or swim -- puts the exclamation point on their desperation.

 

And I assume you're volunteering -- that is, you're not getting paid -- so they won't expect anything above amateur level. (If they wanted a pro, they could've spent some money and gotten a hired gun.)

 

Having said all that, as a musician you'll still want to do your best. I'm just saying, don't worry if you don't sound like the regular pianist/organist on day one. They're going to cut you some slack.

 

 

I play (bass guitar) at my church (Catholic). Our music director plays piano and just reads straight from the sheet music, note for note. To lead the congregation in singing, we have a cantor. Sometimes while playing, the music director will sing instead of the cantor; there have even been duets. The SATB four-part stuff only comes out when the choir sings. Anyhow, for piano it's pretty cut and dried: play what's written.

 

I was in a gospel choir workshop once. It was three part, and each section learned its part by ear from the director. That is, the director would sing a line and the section would repeat it until it got it right. Obviously this meant a lot of preparation went into getting a new song off the ground.

 

I tried out for a gospel choir (as bassist), too. To me, it seemed the instrumentalists were free to get as "jazzy" and creative as possible, but the songs were a lot simpler in structure than a typical jazz piece. Playing by ear, good improv skills and monster chops were what they were looking for. Very different from what I do know.

 

It's a lot of fun to be an instrumentalist in a gospel choir because everything is "off the hook". The hardest part for me was being aggressive enough to compete for sonic space, as the keys' LH was non-stop and all over the place. I heard a story later that sometimes they have to tie the keyboardist's LH behind his back in ensemble situations to avoid such problems.

 

So for a gospel ensemble (in my experience), there is a lot of freedom of expression for the keyboardist and he/she is not expected to sing.

 

And finally, I've been to a few P&W services. You know, the kind where the drum set is miked behind plexiglass with typical rock band instruments. There's always a lead singer (or two) who plays an instrument (or not). By memory I'd say the keys just comp in this kind of ensemble, although there may be the stray lead such as what the lead guitar plays. It's basically rock, but there are no extended instrumental solos.

 

 

Back to topic, I'm not sure what kind of situation you're walking into. The best way to know what is expected of you is to pay attention to what the regular pianist/organist does. You can go to the 9am and watch and listen, and you'll probably get a minute to chat with him before the 10:30am starts. He may be able to give you some pointers.

 

But as I said originally, don't worry that you're not going to get it right. Just play to the best of your abilities, relax, and enjoy.

[MusicaL]

Dabowsa,

 

You got a lot of great advice. My two cents follow:

 

Having played for years in P&W bands, I've come to a few simple conclusions: Worship music isn't about the music. I consider music in that setting as a medium, a facilitator of sorts. A gift from God to his creatures which they in turn use to glorify Him. So, the minute the music becomes the point of the service, it's no longer worship. So, stay out of the way, and although you might get tempted, don't overplay!!!

 

Just to make sure I am understood, I am not saying plunk simple triads, I am saying make sure you avoid diverting people's focus given the context of the piece you're playing. If it's a hymn and it's interpreted traditionally, play it traditionally and leave it at that. If it's a hymn that's being interpreted contemporarily, then do the same, etc...

 

Although you'd think church bands would be the place where service and humility are exhibited, sadly, it isn't always the case. So, be humble, stay humble, and play humbly.

 

In any event, although we are called to play with excellence, an excellent attitude is more important than technical proficiency.

 

HTH,

 

aL

[Byrdman]

One thing I found surprising was how loud a congregation is when singing. It seems to be much louder from down front than when you are in it.

 

You really have to bang out the melody and keep it simple. And ignore the temptation to pull reharms - that's the devil speaking.

[DafDuc]

Hey Ric, what church are you at? I'm DM at St. Clement in Romeo...

[dp2]

lol Ric, I can identify with that LH stompin' all over the bass sonic space idea. I had no idea I was doing that on keys--until I started also playing bass--sometimes. I guess I kind of picked it up, because I heard bassists and keyboardists doubling off of one another a lot, but they didn't do it all of the time. I didn't realize that doing the doubling takes lots of coordination.

 

I agree mostly with what Music*aL stated; however, I'd like to add 2 more things: 1) part of playing with excellence is learning/striving to play with greater technical proficientcy, 2) the key issue with humility in playing (or anything else in life) can be summed up into a single question, "Who are you doing this for?"

 

First, the ability to play music is a gift. Anyone, who's studied anything about the history of church music, will know that many--not all--of the classics authored by Mozart, Bach, Hayden, etc were commissioned by the church. And those works were--and still are--played in church. Ever heard of the "Halleluiah Chorus"? However, church music doesn't always have to be so grand. The melody for "Silent Night" was borrowed from a simple, popular bar tune (which I don't remember the name of at the moment) partly to help make it easier for the congregation to learn. Ultimately, my point is that it doesn't matter how simple or complex you play.

 

This brings me to my second point. You need to be aware--at all times--of whom you're doing this for. If you're doing it for self, then you're missing the mark. In other words, as long is your focus is on glorifying God while you're playing, then you're doing it for the right reason. Nevertheless, you should also be sensitive to the others around you. Whether or not the other instrumentalists and the vocalist(s) may or may not have your same musical background, you can grow together and learn from one another.

 

My church music background is strongly influenced by Black/Southern Gospel tradition. Most of my heros and mentors were/are equally comfortable playing classical and jazz. Before I went to college, I had never even considered the idea that a choir could be lead by a non-keyboardist. In college, I met others who were raised on Contemporary Gospel Rock tradition, and they had never considered the idea that a choir could be lead by a non-guitarist. Many of them were used to ensembles consisting of 1-3 instrumentalists and 1-4 vocalists; whereas, I had grown up with ensembles ranging anywhere from the size of a 3-piece jazz combo to an orchestra along with a 50 or so member choir. We joined the worship team together anyway. Growth.

[MidLifeCrisis]

Where is Ben?

He has to tell us how it turned out.

[daBowsa]

Here I am!

 

It actually went better than expected - totally informal service with the minister stopping the song between verses to teach the words to the kids.

 

He would then start singing and I'd have to start playing at a moments notice along with the congregation. This type of "off the cuff" sing-along is perfect for my skill-set, and since he had every one singing, and he was right on the melody, there was no problem with me just playing chords and LH bass (very simple - roots on the 1 and 5ths on the 3, etc.).

 

All in all, it was great - my kind of gig! Relaxed, informal, fun - not having to plink out the melody means my inevitable misses are concealed as "interesting harmonies."

 

Thanks for all the advice, support, and general good will!

[Eric Iverson]

I have played in different Christian bands and backing up singers over the years as a guitarist.

 

First of all, churches vary RADICALLY in what they want to hear and what they consider godly. It's not a "one size fits all" situation.

 

Re: keep it simple - yes, if you're accompanying a congregation singing along, or backing up untrained singers. In other circumstances you can stretch out a little more.

 

Which is why I'm working on a coffeehouse project with some musicians who are worship leaders at their home churches. In no way is it taking away from their jobs there - the idea is a Friday or Saturday night once or twice a month where we can try out some new things, take a solo now and then etc. Write some new songs and arrangements..... maybe play a second instrument (in my case the mandolin and flute and hopefully a little bass guitar) that ordinarily I don't get to. For example, the other guitarist has a 12-string and I'm more than delighted to let him use it on a tune or two!