Band Rehearsals

Worship Band Rehearsal - Part 1

One of the most asked questions I hear from worship leaders who are just starting to lead is how to organize and facilitate worship band rehearsals. This sounds fairly simple, but it is a pretty pasture filled with land mines!

I've been involved in worship, either leading or as a musician, for the last 12 years and I've had all different experiences with rehearsals, good and bad. If you want your band to run screaming from the building, vowing to never play their instrument again, here's my top 10 list of surefire irritations.

1. Don't prepare anything in advance.
Nothing is more frustrating to the band than for the leader to show up with a big stack of song sheets, plop them down on floor, and ask "so what do y'all think we should sing this week?". Part of the leadership role is to discern in advance which songs should be sung that week, pull appropriate charts (I'll talk more about this next), and show up at rehearsal with a thought out plan. This doesn't mean you can't make changes, but at least everyone has a starting point.

2. Introduce 5 new songs.
When the new Passion album releases, you must resist the temptation to introduce half of the songs to your band the next week. I suggest not introducing more than 1 new song per rehearsal. Your church will thank you as well :).

3. Create unique arrangements for every song.
There are some exceptions to this no no. If all your songs are charted specifically for each instrument, all your players read music, and the song is new to your church, then I say go for it. However, if your band plays mostly by ear and chord charts, you're going to have problems. Also, once people learn the standard way to play or sing a song, playing different arrangements is difficult for the band and for your church to follow.

Worship Band Rehearsal - Part 2
Continued from prior post...
4. Make sure your rehearsal is at least 3 hours. Seriously people, unless your worship band is going on tour, this is ridiculous. The last thing your volunteer musicians want is to spend an entire evening away from their famliies for a worship rehearsal that should have ended after the first hour. If you are only introducing 1 new song (see point 2), then you should be able to run through that song 2 or 3 times, practice your known songs once, spend some time in prayer, and still be done within an hour!
5. Consistantly show up late and allow others to do the same. It's amazing how much this is just expected and tolerated among musicians. When people are consistantly late, it says to everyone else "my time is more important that yours". As the leader, if you refuse to deal with this, eventually everyone will begin showing up late. Then your rehearsals will run long (see point 4).
6. Give everyone only words with chords. It's amazing how many worship leaders bring only lyric chord charts to rehearsal. Playing a new song with a chord chart is like fumbling around for the light switch in a dark room. Companies like www.praisecharts.com or www.ccli.com/songselect/ can help you with charts. If you are committed to only using chord charts, at least allow your band to hear the song in advance.
These are not a sure fire formula for success, but if you follow these suggestions, you will navigate safely through the dangerous field and avoid many pitfalls that others (including myself) have painfully experienced!
Blessings on your ministry!
Posted by Jimi Williams at 09:18 AM in Worship Band & Team, Worship Leading | Permalink

Tips for Smooth and Effective Rehearsals

Smooth and effective rehearsals begin with preparation by the leader before the rehearsal. How many times have I talked with frustrated worship leaders not getting enough accomplished at rehearsals, only to find out that they had not done the things necessary ahead of time to ensure a productive rehearsal? Here are a few tips to smooth out and make the best use of your musicians' time.

Know what you want to accomplish before rehearsal.
As a leader spend time mapping out the rehearsal, creating a set list that includes all material you need to rehearse for the upcoming weekend. Be sure to also include a couple of songs that are in the future schedule. Working on all new material is frustrating for the musicians. Start with something they are confident in before you get into songs you really have to break down and work out tediously. If your folks act tired and cranky, you probably have gone past their threshold of pain. Just insert something fun and familiar, and you'll see new life in the rehearsal.

Organize your charts ahead of time.
When your group comes in, have all the music for rehearsal in order on the stands. Make sure the charts whether true rhythm charts with notations for performance or lyric sheets with the chords above, are readable and laid out in the song form you will be using. Charts out of order, with mistakes, or poorly copied can waste hours of valuable time. You will accomplish much more musically with your group when you as a leader are organized.

How long should rehearsals be?
The amount of time needed for rehearsal varies with the skill level of your musicians and singers. The fastest way to accomplish musical goals is to hire a few professional musicians, especially in the rhythm section. They will pick up ideas fast and will push your volunteers to a new musical level. When you are working with pros it is even more critical that you have your act together before the rehearsal so as to not waste your budget dollars on disorganization. These musicians are on the clock and every minute counts.

Working with volunteer musicians usually takes longer to accomplish your musical goals but is rewarding in building the value of your congregations musical community. I find that two hours is adequate for most groups. If you go longer, attention spans begin to wane and less is accomplished. The first hour is when you will get the most done. If you have a lot of material to learn, plan a retreat or weekend workshop for your players/singers with some other elements built in for community building. Saturday morning rehearsals have worked well for us. We do this twice a year.

Get recordings of the music you are rehearsing into the musician's hands before rehearsal.
If you plan ahead you can have your musicians listening to the music that's coming up weeks before. If they have been living with the grooves, lead lines, melody lines etc. they will be much more comfortable when these songs are introduced in rehearsal. We use e-mail to distribute MP3s, vocal arrangements, and info to all our musicians. It saves a lot of rehearsal time.

Remember to keep rehearsals fun and encouraging.
People are beat up on all day in the work place. Make your rehearsal a time of spiritual rejuvenation and musical accomplishment. There's nothing like that feeling when every one has worked hard on a song and it finally clicks in.

It all begins with good preparation before the rehearsal. If you as a leader don't do that, no one will. Now, go have a great rehearsal. God is worthy of our very best.

Carlton Dillard joined the staff of Riverbend Church as Associate Pastor of Music and Creative Arts in 1989. He is known across the country for his innovative use of all styles of music in the church setting. He is in much demand as a conference speaker and clinician and is also proficient as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer with many songs and arrangements currently being used by churches across the US.