I had a rehearsal tonight for a Church gig that's coming up. The gig calls for learning six songs from a recording and sheet music (the sheet music is actually for percussion, so I had to transcribe my own drumset charts). The music is fairly typical praise and worship. It's not terribly complicated but it is fairly structured. The music will be performed to a click track, a recorded metronome which keeps the band in sync with some video.
The directors of the band were very kind and complimentary, evidently impressed that I played the songs well in this first rehearsal. This set me to thinking and reflecting on the way home.
There seem to be a few people in charge of music in these various places I play that regard me as some kind of ninja with super powers when it comes to this sort of thing. When I come in and do the job the way I think it should be done, I get treated as if I'm some sort of Jedi.
I don't get that. This isn't some false humility on my part. I work very hard and I certainly know what I'm capable of, musically. But the thing is, adequately performing the music at an acceptable level of quality for leading a large congregation is the minimum that a musician should deliver. Yet, it seems to be rare enough in the Churches that a person who can actually do the job well is something of an anomaly.
That sucks. Amateurish levels of musicianship ought not be common in the household of God. Not among those charged with leading the worship, at least. If I can stand out by just being able to do it, what does that say for the average level of quality in the Church overall?
We have got to start regarding excellence as a duty. Merely wanting to serve is not enough to qualify one for worship leading. It is adequate for apprenticeship. I'm not trying to discourage anyone here. I'm all for encouraging those who want to serve, but part of that service is learning the craft enough to do the job well enough for the service of the Church.
2 comments:
You ARE a ninja!
It's too easy for musicians in church to put it on cruise control, because they earn a spot in a band often times by being a faithful church member, and not through the quality of their artistic skills. While it's important for Christian artists to be humble and live lives of integrity, for those called to play it can be a commission of sorts and things such as frequent practice, and musical growth, should become a part of life.
The reality is though that some churches don't have a budget to hire professional players, and volunteers "in general" have less time and often less drive to work on their skills. That said, the leaders of volunteer-only programs should seek to inspire their musicians to grow musically and work hard to improve, and not just float along. Even if they don't have a budget to pay players, they should consider buying music for players to listen to, and educational materials to listen to individually or as a group (e.g. Groovin For Heaven DVD series by Norm Stockton), or even lessons.... paid for by the church if necessary. And the musicians involved should exhibit a willingness to learn. Piano players who can read hymn books need help when it comes to playing with a modern combo, and if they don't know it they need to be told, and given materials to help them understand.
Still - after all that, most guys won't play like "Johnny!" Sorry.
Blaine Fallis
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