Preparation is everything.
As a friend of mine once said in describing what needs to happen at rehearsals…
“Never wing anything”.
The challenge for those who lead and teach songs to the band is that they need to be thoroughly prepared for the rehearsal. You cannot come to lead a rehearsal just knowing how a song goes. If you are the M.D. (Music Director) then you have to be aware of every single aspect of the new song. You need to know where you are going and how you are going to get there, if you are going to lead. Can you imagine having a travel guide leading a group of paid up customers through a tour of Europe who had only seen travel brochures and never been there? It would be a disaster and people would demand their money back – and rightly so!
Similarly, nothing kills team spirit, than someone who has put less work into learning and knowing the song than they have. Someone who doesn’t have a clue how to make the song “sing”. And whilst they may not have invested money in it (they may have in giving up work??) they have invested something more precious – time. With money, you can always get more – but with time you can’t. So when it comes to preparing for leading a team meeting of any sort, but in this case, a band practice where you are learning a new song, you must be fully prepared.
So what do you need to have ready before you even start?
Here’s a few things the wise Music Director or Worship Leader needs to know intimately and have ready…
- An accurate chart of the song. This should be given a few weeks in advance with a recording or video of the new song. Even a scratch recording is better than nothing.
- A clear format of the form of the song... where the verses, choruses, pre choruses, bridge etc… all go and fit together. They need to know a clear “intro” and “outro” for each song and be able to make it clear to the team.
- What instrument(s) are driving the song. Whilst a recording of a song may have an acoustic guitar (for example), you may need to find your most competent player in your team to drive the song.
- What is the “groove”. Usually the drums and bass will lay the foundation, but you need to be clear on where the main accents fall. What is the time signature? How does the song maintain impetus if it’s slow etc.
- Where are the gaps? Do you hold a chord for 2 bars or 4 bars? What’s the turnaround to repeat a section.
- What are the songs details…. like tempo, key, etc.?
There are so many aspects to knowing a song and you’ll often find out what you don’t know as you run through it. A good Music Director is firm in how a song is to work, but flexible and open to other’s ideas. The rehearsal is the place to try out these ideas, so listen well and try things new.
Team rehearsals of any description will have greater success and generate greater team harmony when well prepared by those who are leading. People will feel like they have made a wise and profitable investment of time, if time is well spent.
What other things do you need to know if you’re teaching a team a new song, or sprucing up an old one?
Let me know below.