Musical Excellence

A healthy ministry should be musically excellent. It matters to God — He commissioned the best craftsmen to build the temple and tabernacle — and it matters to your church and your team. Music is the core of the ministry you’ve been called to, so do your very best.

Action items

Grow yourself

• Set the pace. You don’t have to be the best musician on the team, but you should be visibly improving your craft.
• Learn the basics of music theory (beats, counts, meters, bars, time signatures) and enough about each instrument’s role to communicate with each player.

Understand parts and arrangement

• Learn the frequency spectrum (lows to highs) and which instruments fill which range.
• Analyze your favorite albums with a critical ear: when do the drums, bass, electric, and harmonies come in and drop out? Use multitrack software to solo instruments and hear how the layers fit.
• Teach your team to think like producers. Move beyond everyone playing chords to playing parts — make the album version your reference point, then make it your own. Send each player the tutorial for their part.

Set expectations for preparation

• Define what “prepared” means — e.g. ~1 hour of practice a week at home.
• Practice is personal (at home, learning parts); rehearsal is relational (together, fine-tuning). Nobody should be playing a song for the first time at rehearsal.

Run great rehearsals

• Practice everything: the intro, what you’ll say, where you’ll pray, transitions, lighting, sound — don’t leave it to chance.
• Record the rehearsal and send it to the band with specific notes. Lead confidently and ask for what you want.

Build great worship sets

• Pick great songs in great keys, woven into a journey toward the Lord, with strong arrangements and singers.