Sunday, June 1, 2008
Greg Adkins
I found a great artist recently. His name is Greg Adkins and he is an independent musician from Tennessee. He is a Christian, but I am not sure you would call him a Christian Musician. Since he is independent, he can do what he wants. He is a great song writer -- reminds me of Paul Simon. He has many songs about family, especially "Old Radio". Here is a review of his latest album.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
New Baptist Hymnal
Lifeway is putting out a new baptist hymnal. When I say new I don't just mean another one. They did publish the last one about 1991 or so. I mean a NEW hymnal.
Did you not think that Lifeway had it in itself to go outside the box. Well check it out. This is a hymnal that includes praise and worship songs as well. More radically though, it makes this available online for individual purchase of tracks, instrument parts, and video accompaniment.
Follow the link above and watch the video and you will get a good look at what is in store.
Did you not think that Lifeway had it in itself to go outside the box. Well check it out. This is a hymnal that includes praise and worship songs as well. More radically though, it makes this available online for individual purchase of tracks, instrument parts, and video accompaniment.
Follow the link above and watch the video and you will get a good look at what is in store.
Sound Operator Instruction
I have found that both learning about sound reinforcement and teaching a willing volunteer about this is very challenging. I come to this out of need since I am the most "expert" in our congregation. That is not saying much. Therefore I need a good deal of education in this area. The volunteers that I can find need much education in this area as well.
People learn in many different ways. I like to have a step-by-step instructional textbook to methodically guide me through. In the sound field, you also need some examples to listen to and occasionally someone to show you physically how to do something. I have found the perfect resource!!!!!!!!
The Ultimate Church Sound Operator's Handbook.
This is a great resource for the church. It assumes a volunteer's knowledge base, but does get very technical at times. The first 5 chapters are just the place to start. Bill Gibson, the author, starts with a discussion of the heart matters.
I think it is a must have. I bought two. One for me and one for the sound volunteer.
People learn in many different ways. I like to have a step-by-step instructional textbook to methodically guide me through. In the sound field, you also need some examples to listen to and occasionally someone to show you physically how to do something. I have found the perfect resource!!!!!!!!
The Ultimate Church Sound Operator's Handbook.
This is a great resource for the church. It assumes a volunteer's knowledge base, but does get very technical at times. The first 5 chapters are just the place to start. Bill Gibson, the author, starts with a discussion of the heart matters.
- Ch. 1 -- Qualifications for being a sound operator
- Ch. 2 - Responsibilities of a sound operator
- Ch. 3 - The Spiritual Importance of Worship and Music
- Ch. 4 - Relational considerations
- Ch. 5 - To get paid or not
I think it is a must have. I bought two. One for me and one for the sound volunteer.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Singing about Sin
As we approach Easter, we tend to sing songs about His suffering, death and resurrection. This is a great time for music in the church. There are so many songs about the cross (At the Cross, Near the Cross, The Old Rugged Cross, Above All, The Easter Song, Christ the Lord Has Risen Today, He Arose, In Christ Alone, etc).
These are all great and powerful songs about the truth of God's love. It seems to me that few of these songs focus on why Christ had to die. Namely our sin! The lyrics focus on other truths like His resurrection, our salvation, defeating death, His sinlessness.
I am grateful that our pastors preach about sin. They don't hammer on this topic week in and week out, but they do not shy away from this topic either. I find it difficult to find songs about sin. I have found a song by Billy Foote called "Break Our Hearts."
Artist: Billy James FooteCopyright: 1997 Bear Foote Music (ASCAP)
These are all great and powerful songs about the truth of God's love. It seems to me that few of these songs focus on why Christ had to die. Namely our sin! The lyrics focus on other truths like His resurrection, our salvation, defeating death, His sinlessness.
I am grateful that our pastors preach about sin. They don't hammer on this topic week in and week out, but they do not shy away from this topic either. I find it difficult to find songs about sin. I have found a song by Billy Foote called "Break Our Hearts."
Break our hearts, o God, break our hearts
Break our hearts, o God, break our hearts
For the sin in our lives, break our hearts
For the sin in our land, break our hearts
Chorus:We cry out, Need your hand
Come back to our land
We confess:We've lived in sin
Show your power once again.
Artist: Billy James FooteCopyright: 1997 Bear Foote Music (ASCAP)
You can hear the song from his website. Look under music. It is off of the album I Have a River.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Are You Groovin'??
Are you groovin'? The winter kind of sets me in a survival mode. Let us just get the snow off the drive, keep warm, and keep plugging ahead. That does not make for a happy lifestyle. Do you find that your spiritual life, church activities, family time, and job are at odds?
Life is much like a musical groove (see article below about groove). We have to have all aspects in balance. However, a groove depends on more than just balance. We can have twenty different instruments all playing and in balance -- but no groove. More than balance, we need grounding. A good groove must have solid drums, bass, and rhythm. Adding something like horns is great, but utterly useless if the center is not firm.
For a worship team, our center should be Christ. Our groove should be derived from our time with Him. If we don't start there, the rest is useless. During this winter season, let us all look at our groove. Is our center solid? What can we do to improve the basics? Then we will carry the groove with us all day!
Here is an article from worshipideas.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life is much like a musical groove (see article below about groove). We have to have all aspects in balance. However, a groove depends on more than just balance. We can have twenty different instruments all playing and in balance -- but no groove. More than balance, we need grounding. A good groove must have solid drums, bass, and rhythm. Adding something like horns is great, but utterly useless if the center is not firm.
For a worship team, our center should be Christ. Our groove should be derived from our time with Him. If we don't start there, the rest is useless. During this winter season, let us all look at our groove. Is our center solid? What can we do to improve the basics? Then we will carry the groove with us all day!
Here is an article from worshipideas.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does your praise band groove? Growing up classically, I
never knew what groove was until I became involved with
contemporary worship and was a part of a praise band.
Groove is that mysterious, magical and exciting feel that
happens when the band is all playing together at their best
and in sync. It's hard to describe, but you know it when you
achieve it.
The foundation of groove is the foundation of a band: drums,
bass and a mid-range part (like keyboard, electric or
acoustic guitar.) You must have these three elements like a
stool must have three legs. You can add additional players,
but more on that later.
I'll never forget the first time I experienced groove - I
had been at my last church about 2 years and one Sunday
morning everything came together - the feel of the band was
so exciting it almost took my breath away. I never
experienced that with classical music!
Up until that time I was struggling to find musicians every
Sunday - the musical chairs approach to a praise band. But
finally I found players that could provide a steady 3-
pronged groove foundation (in other words, they could be
counted on to show up every week!)
You can, of course, have wonderful worship without groove
(God isn't dependent on us) but it sure doesn't hurt,
either. Why not go for the gold and sound the best you can?
I've often had a warm glow after church and the rest of
Sunday afternoon, just basking in how "right" the music felt
- groove sticks with you! Groove will also get people
talking about your band.
Groove doesn't appear on command, but there are a few things
I've discovered that help prime the pump:
1. Don't continually switch musicians. Groove is partially
dependent on musicians trusting one another and anticipating
one another. This only comes by being familiar with each
other's playing. Keep the same musicians together in your
band. If you have extra musicians don't try to rotate them
in - form a second band that can rehearse separately.
2. Rehearse. Don't expect to groove if your band shows up 20
minutes before church to "rehearse." They'll be hanging on
for dear life, let alone trying to feel the music. If they
can't come to rehearsal, they can't play in church.
3. One weak musician can destroy an entire band of competent
musicians. I had several solid, professional players in my
band, but have from time to time added less than perfect
players (by saying "less than perfect" I'm being kind - I'm
talking about players who have trouble staying in the same
key as the rest of the band!) Groove starts showing up when
musicians can get beyond trying to figure out the right
notes and chords and start playing effortlessly from the
heart.
Add additional musicians carefully. When you've developed
a basic praise band that grooves, be >very<>
you let join - the wrong person can disrupt the continuity.
4. You don't necessarily need top studio musicians.
Musicians who can competently play their instrument can
together create groove. You'd be surprised at how musically
incompetent many of the top secular rock bands are - they've
simply played their own material so many times and know it
so well they sound spectacular.
A well-rehearsed praise band with average players can also
sound spectacular in time. Think of it this way: a typical
church only sings so many praise songs. After a few months
the average band will know these songs by heart, and be able
to play them from the heart.
>Bottom Line: What can you do to make your praise band
groove?
never knew what groove was until I became involved with
contemporary worship and was a part of a praise band.
Groove is that mysterious, magical and exciting feel that
happens when the band is all playing together at their best
and in sync. It's hard to describe, but you know it when you
achieve it.
The foundation of groove is the foundation of a band: drums,
bass and a mid-range part (like keyboard, electric or
acoustic guitar.) You must have these three elements like a
stool must have three legs. You can add additional players,
but more on that later.
I'll never forget the first time I experienced groove - I
had been at my last church about 2 years and one Sunday
morning everything came together - the feel of the band was
so exciting it almost took my breath away. I never
experienced that with classical music!
Up until that time I was struggling to find musicians every
Sunday - the musical chairs approach to a praise band. But
finally I found players that could provide a steady 3-
pronged groove foundation (in other words, they could be
counted on to show up every week!)
You can, of course, have wonderful worship without groove
(God isn't dependent on us) but it sure doesn't hurt,
either. Why not go for the gold and sound the best you can?
I've often had a warm glow after church and the rest of
Sunday afternoon, just basking in how "right" the music felt
- groove sticks with you! Groove will also get people
talking about your band.
Groove doesn't appear on command, but there are a few things
I've discovered that help prime the pump:
1. Don't continually switch musicians. Groove is partially
dependent on musicians trusting one another and anticipating
one another. This only comes by being familiar with each
other's playing. Keep the same musicians together in your
band. If you have extra musicians don't try to rotate them
in - form a second band that can rehearse separately.
2. Rehearse. Don't expect to groove if your band shows up 20
minutes before church to "rehearse." They'll be hanging on
for dear life, let alone trying to feel the music. If they
can't come to rehearsal, they can't play in church.
3. One weak musician can destroy an entire band of competent
musicians. I had several solid, professional players in my
band, but have from time to time added less than perfect
players (by saying "less than perfect" I'm being kind - I'm
talking about players who have trouble staying in the same
key as the rest of the band!) Groove starts showing up when
musicians can get beyond trying to figure out the right
notes and chords and start playing effortlessly from the
heart.
Add additional musicians carefully. When you've developed
a basic praise band that grooves, be >very<>
you let join - the wrong person can disrupt the continuity.
4. You don't necessarily need top studio musicians.
Musicians who can competently play their instrument can
together create groove. You'd be surprised at how musically
incompetent many of the top secular rock bands are - they've
simply played their own material so many times and know it
so well they sound spectacular.
A well-rehearsed praise band with average players can also
sound spectacular in time. Think of it this way: a typical
church only sings so many praise songs. After a few months
the average band will know these songs by heart, and be able
to play them from the heart.
>Bottom Line: What can you do to make your praise band
groove?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Lets get ready for Easter
Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Easter? Aren't there other holidays in between? Presidents' Day? For the church, Easter is our most Holy of days. It takes much planning and effort to present music and drama as an act of worship.
You say, yeah, we agree. But January 2nd? What's the rush. Easter is very soon this year -- March 23rd. The earliest date possible is March 22nd. Last year it was April 8th. So a full two weeks earlier this year.
Easter is a movable Holy Day based on both the solar and lunar calendars. This is a Hebrew calender not Gregorian. Here is the rule --- Easter is observed on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the ecclesiastical equinox. This is not the vernal equinox, but a fixed date - March 21st.
The Eastern and Western Churches use different calendars (Julian vs. Gregorian respectively), our Greek Orthodox brothers may celebrate the Lord's Resurrection on a different date. This year they will celebrate April 27th. Last year April 8th, the same as we did.
To find out more see this article at Wikipedia.
In any event, Easter is a mere 81 days away. And in Wisconsin, it also means Easter will be cold!!!!!!!!!!!
You say, yeah, we agree. But January 2nd? What's the rush. Easter is very soon this year -- March 23rd. The earliest date possible is March 22nd. Last year it was April 8th. So a full two weeks earlier this year.
Easter is a movable Holy Day based on both the solar and lunar calendars. This is a Hebrew calender not Gregorian. Here is the rule --- Easter is observed on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the ecclesiastical equinox. This is not the vernal equinox, but a fixed date - March 21st.
The Eastern and Western Churches use different calendars (Julian vs. Gregorian respectively), our Greek Orthodox brothers may celebrate the Lord's Resurrection on a different date. This year they will celebrate April 27th. Last year April 8th, the same as we did.
To find out more see this article at Wikipedia.
In any event, Easter is a mere 81 days away. And in Wisconsin, it also means Easter will be cold!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Advent
We are not a highly liturgical people (that is Baptists). However, we do look at the church calendar at Advent. This is a great time of year to look for Jesus' coming -- to live with expectation at what he will do in our lives. Sheri passed along a devotional website - Follow the Star.
There are many Advent traditions within families, and within church families. For Northwest we decorate the sanctuary and pull out the Advent candles. For the past few years we have coupled families of the church reading scripture and lighting the candles. This year we are using a video series from WorshipHouse Media called the Advent Journey.
I am interested in your family's traditions for Advent as well as your Church family's traditions. What do you remember as Advent traditions growing up or in other churches you have been to?
There are many Advent traditions within families, and within church families. For Northwest we decorate the sanctuary and pull out the Advent candles. For the past few years we have coupled families of the church reading scripture and lighting the candles. This year we are using a video series from WorshipHouse Media called the Advent Journey.
I am interested in your family's traditions for Advent as well as your Church family's traditions. What do you remember as Advent traditions growing up or in other churches you have been to?
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