Finding Your Space

Playing with other musicians is part of being a musician. Yet, musicians have a stigma about always seeking the spotlight and being flashy, kind of the 'one man band' mentality. However, one of the first things you realize (okay maybe the second or third) as you play with a band is that not everyone can be highlighted 100% of the time.

Finding your space in the group is key.

Good musicianship starts when you can learn how to find your space when playing with others.  I've heard people give tons of analogies for this concept. The most common one I can remember is the 'pie' analogy. Music, or the overall sound, is a whole pie. Each player is a piece of the pie. If there are 5 players in the band and 2 vocalists then we need to divide the pie into 7 pieces. This is NOT saying that they are equal pieces. Part of the strategy behind creating a unique sound is using the space in a way that isn't "cookie cutter" or predictable. The Rhythm section, in more contemporary or modern worship settings, holds a larger piece of the pie along with the lead vocals. If all musicians took that size of a slice of pie we wouldn't have enough to go around and if we all took equal slices it would sound like a huge wall of sound taking out anyone in it's way!

Personally, the style of music that I end up enjoying more is simple in it's mix. The drums, bass, and lead vocals stand out strong and the others support that "core" sound. To all you non-music producers out there, yes, that is what I said. The main things people complain about should be the most present in the mix. If you listen to about 90% of pop music (and worship music) you will find a similar structure. The bass and drums carry the music and the vocals stand out to grab your attention. Before you tune out, hear me out. We get more complaints about the drums and bass when the mix is more flat. Most people don't realize that their ear wants to hear those (well EQ'd) as the foundation for the sound. If the vocals do not stand out, then drums are the first things to complain about. If the drums are not present enough, then we take it out on the bass player. If the bass is not full enough we complain about the overall "loudness" of it.  Most people don't understand the 'sonic landscape', as a friend of mine puts it. But, in that basic mix, the acoustic, electric, piano/keys and BGVs support and bring color to the sound. That is when we can truly shine as a whole!

This video is a great example of sharing the sound-space. It is really a cool way to demonstrate this because of the fact that they are literally sharing one instrument.  The more important thing is that they are sharing the audio area or sound space. Notice how simple each thing they are playing is... but when combined with each other it is full and complete. 




As worship leaders, we need to not only realize that it will sound better to work together. But, that it is biblical!  In Romans 12:10 it says, "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. (NKJV)" In the Message translation, it really sums up this verse with a musical analogy... it says "practice playing second fiddle." Jesus talks about serving, in fact, He serves us even to the point of giving His life!  So, as we are finding our place in the mix we need to learn how to serve each other and support each other best in our roles. In doing this we will learn to serve the congregation as well, allowing them to worship without hindrance or distraction.


The common and famous saying "less is more" truly applies in leading worship. If we bring simplicity to our individual sound it will actually add more to the sound of the group as a whole.

However, there is a time when you do need to be 100% of the sound as a solo musician. I love this next video as an example of that! This is Phil Wickham doing his Singalong 2 album and you'll see that he creates a huge full sound with just vocals, guitar & delay. This video doesn't quite capture the fullness that we felt sitting in the room hearing it live.




Basically, as it says in Ecclesiastes 3, "There is a time for everything." Or you could say, a time to bring forth a full sound on your own, and a time to find your space with the rest of the band.


-Luke

Back-up Vocals & Harmonies

It has been a while since my last post on vocals. So this is much overdue.  Anyway, these past few months have been busy and our church Bethany Bible Fellowship has been able to go to a few worship conferences in the area. One practical workshop that stood out to one of our vocalists was from the 2011 PURE Worship Conference by one of my worship leader friends, Gia Lucid.  She has been singing professionally and leading worship for over 10 years and has been privlidged enough to gain a ton of experience and insight along the way.

The session outlined a few things that vocalists can do to help add dynamic harmonies to the worship service. Some of it is basic but the majority of this is gold if you can learn to implent it correctly. Here are some of the highlights from the sesssion: (this is not the full content or original order, but reorginized for flow)
1. Harmonies
    - Don't get freaked out by the word "harmony" think of it as "my melody" or an "alternate melody"
    - Be selective with your harmonies and parts. You don't have to sing the whole song and have the freedom to choose to highlight certain parts of the song using selective harmonies. Think about your how to feature sections, phrases, or even words of a song. In other words, you can fill backup vocals in for just a few words to emphasize more effectively.
    -Tight vs loose. Tight harmonies (notes closer together) are usualy better and are less distracting from the focal point or melody of the song. Loose harmonies can be good if they are done well but are more difficult.
    - Add dynamics with vocals which can help build certain parts of the songs more dramitically.
    - You can use harmonies to add choral oohs, ohhs, and aahs which will bring a very corperate/united feel to the song. When done well this can add a lot!
2. Unison/Prime Unison
    - Unison is when two people/instruments are singing/playing the same note on the same octave.
    - In worship this usually means the guys and girls sing melody together (with the same octave).
    - This can be helpful for altos who might be singing with a tenor and can not reach the higher/lower notes professionally.  It also might be preferred for some arrangements because of the 'oneness' that it creates in the song if done well.
    - You can read more about Unison here.
3. Echoes
    - Helps change things up
    - Use difference with the verses
    - Don't always do this the enire song because it can easily become overwhelming
4. New Songs
    - Establish a melody first with a solo or unison
    - Listen first, then sing (don't try to sing along before learning a line)
5. Vocal Health
    - Hydrate throughout the day. Drink a bottle of water first thing in the morning or try some herbal tea
    - Warm-up properly. Ease your voice out (try singing in the shower), massage your face, lip trills (see below), start in your lower register to warm-up before reaching for the high/power notes.
    - Try lip trills (humming with lips partly open, blowing air through them) which can help warm up your face muscles and teach you to sing with steady air.
    - Exercise voice before rehearsals and sound checks. As soon as you start rehearsal you should be professional and ready to give 100% to the sound crew can set accurate levels.
    - Use breath not throat for power
6. Notes/Tips for singing in worship
    - Bring a recording device to practice (many phones can do this)
    - MP3s can be emailed to others to share parts easily
    - Bring a pencil to practice and sound check, take notes, pay attention to the leader
    - Keep a folder of music with notes. Over time this will help you to stay consistant and grow vocally
    - Natural harmonizers should help others learn the harmonies to the songs (with a humble attitude)
    - Worship visibly with your face and body.  We comunicate a ton without knowing it. Don't just stand there when you are worshipping, think about the lyrics and what the Holy Spirit is doing and join in the worship! Even when it is 'not your turn to sing'. You can still sing along, but step back from the microphone so that you don't change the intended mix.
    - Blend with the worship leader. Follow thier words and melody, or the parts they gave you, follow thier tone, don't compete with some else's vibrato (work to flatten your's)


Also, here is a great video from Worship Team Training for back-up vocalists about Harmonies. Take a look and enjoy.

If you can't see the video click here.

Background Vocalist Video Tutorial - Amazing

This is for all of you background vocalists. I feel like bgvs and the sound guys rarely receive the credit they deserve. Anyway, here is another great video from Worship Central. Jono McNeil hits on some key topics that can help background vocalists feel comfortable and useful in our worship services. Everything in this video is 100% truth. Towards the end he really gets into some great harmony ideas and concepts which is really useful for anyone that wants to take the next step and tackle some bgv harmonies.

But, this video speaks for itself. Check it out.

Worship Central is a great place to see what is new from some other worship leaders, as well as, get some training and practical tips to leading (at any level - BGVists are leaders just as much as the "Matt Redmans" but God has given us different roles). Anyway, you can pick up a link to Worship Central from my blog or by going to Worship Central's website directly.

If you can't see the video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75YV1UDHHZg