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Band Skills
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Quick wins for your band
Two worship band scenarios
• The ‘produced’ model • The ‘community campfire’ model
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Mechanics of playing together
Stage placements • Where is your band? • Why do we do what
we do?
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Think about
• Sight lines• Positioning amps• Microphones
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Mechanics of playing together
Tuning
Doesn’t matter what you play…
If it’s out of tune it’s horrid…
It’s better to be flat than sharp…
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Tuning
Number 1 culprit - Capos– Pulling sharp– Big Frets– Pressing too hard – thicker strings (wound G)
Solution - capo directly on the fret
Number 2 - one string out of tune• Tune from string 1 (top E) • Always tune up not down • Change strings • Check intonation• Tune often and often
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Tuning
Acoustic instruments
• Humidity and temperature • 440 tuning • Drums – rehearsal not the
time to tune!
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Staying in time
Everyone thinks they’re in time - but maybe not as much as they’d like to think!
GameTry to stay in time…
• Subdivide the beat
• Move your body
• Keep eye contact
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Practical ideas
• We are going to look at the practical aspects of playing worship music better
• Ideas, top tips, demos and Q & A • Vast subject, we may not cover everything
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Playing better
4 things that help us play together better
Tuning, Timing, Groove and Dynamics
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Tempo
Discussion
• Should the tempo change?
• Where does the tempo go wrong for you?
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Where the tempo goes wrong
– Equating dynamics to speeding up and slowing down
– Starting off too fast or slow– Drums coming out of hard fills– Band just cant keep in time with each other
Any playing with tempo must be completely deliberate
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Wrong tempo?
Doesn’t need to be far off to sound wrong – Breathe(!) before you play– Sing the fastest part of the song in your head
(e.g. Holy, holy)– Less tempo and more authority– If it’s wrong don’t suffer; change or start again
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Building the Groove
Discussion
What is groove?
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Why bands sound bad
• Too many conflicting rhythms• Wrong rhythms for the song• Ad hoc changes in rhythmic pattern
Demo
Better is one day; Great is thy faithfulness; Lord, reign in me
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Finding the groove
Exercise
Can you clap the groove?
• Listen to the accents in the melody• Drums set the groove• Other instruments find a space in the
groove
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Grooves are made up of 8th or 16th notes
Understanding the Groove
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
x x x x x x I’m com-ing backto theall a-bout you, it’s
x x x x x
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Your space in the groove 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & aKick x x xBass x x x x
Elec 1 x x (x x x x x)Elec 2 x x (x)
Keys 1 x (x x x x)Keys 2 x - - (x) - -Acoust. x x x x x x x x xGroove x x x x x x
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How the band fits together
Bands can sound bad because the members:• Don’t play their part• Play too many parts • Play other members parts
Do you play your part?
Lead Vocals
Drums
Lead Vocals
Drums
Bass
Lead Vocals
(Just enough to work)
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Lead Vocals
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Electric
Lead Vocals
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric Keys
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Bass
AcousticKeys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Bass
Lead Vocals
BVs
Drums
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVsOrchestral
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead VocalsBVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead VocalsBVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Electric
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead VocalsBVs
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Drums
Bass
Lead Vocals
(Just enough to work)
Acoustic
Drums
Lead Vocals
(Sounds too empty - no support)
Acoustic
Lead Vocals
(Sounds better - no gap)
Acoustic
Drums
Keys
Lead Vocals
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Drums
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
Keys
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
AcousticKeys
Lead Vocals
Keys
Lead Vocals
Bass
Acoustic
Drums
Bass
Keys
Orc
hes
tra
l
Electric
Lead Vocals
BVs
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Listening skills
• 75% listening and 25% playing– Listen to what?
• Mature musicians focus on the sum of the whole group, not your own bag of tricks– What is your instruments role in the team?
Stick to it.– Be consist in your part as it helps others to
‘lock in’
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Dynamics
• Dynamics – louder and softer
• Two types of dynamics – Terraced and linear– What does that mean?
Example - Whom shall I fear?
Exercise - 10 levels of dynamics
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Playing dynamically together
• How do you decide what dynamics to play? • Constant change
– read each other– Listen – to what?
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Communication
Demo - Faithful One
Watch for what we do - • How do we communicate?• What do we communicate?• Looking around• Conduct with eyes• Body movements (big and small)• Watching hands• Listening to cues in the music• Spoken word cues (it’s not a CD!)• Spoken word outro’s• Different people leading
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Exercise 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a 1. x x x 2. x x
4. x x x x x x 3. x x x x x x
Follow Andy!
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Beyond the mechanics
DiscussionSome bands seem to do all of the technical things well but the music can still seem lifeless and distant. Why?
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Any questions?
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