What an exciting moment when worship musicians grasp the concept that no individual has to be the whole band. We get to enjoy the pleasure of contributing to the big “praise picture.” At the same time, we relax and appreciate the contributions of the other worship musicians around us. Whew! What a relief. The weight of the entire worship ministry is not upon a single set of shoulders. It should be evenly distributed among all team members, and consequently becomes bearable for both the player/singers and the listeners. No one is covering all. When each-one-plays-less, worship becomes a total team effort. The result is a sparser, cleaner sound, uncluttered by overplay, and rendered effectively non-distracting. That’s when we point to Jesus!
THE CHINESE CELLO CHAPTER
There once was a Chinese cello. It was a lovely little instrument, well crafted with a reddish hue in the finish. On stage, it fairly glowed in the glare of the bright spotlights. But the poor thing had one very sad and distinguishing quality: it possessed only a modest, quiet little voice.
For months, the ambitious cellist tried to integrate this soft-spoken instrument into the piano trio with which he played. With his right arm he bowed the strings as hard as he could, working aggressively to force more volume from the instrument. Blisters and callouses developed on his thumb and index finger as he applied every bit of downward pressure he could muster. No improvement. He made longer, more intentional bow strokes. Still the cello-voice became no louder! The more he overdrove the instrument, the less it seemed to respond. Instead, it seemed to shut down, resistant to the demands of the player. Frustration had nearly established itself permanently when one last solution came to mind: “What if I lighten up and allow this decibel challenged cello to sing with it’s own sweet voice in it’s own sweet way? Rather than try to force more sound out of it than it actually has to offer, why not gently coax it to be the best it can ever be?” Suddenly, from the shy little violoncello, there arose a beauty and authority of sound, which was never before imagined. The transformation was accomplished, not by playing more, but by playing less!
Is it possible our worship teams could learn from this challenged cello? Are we filled with wonderful potential, but overplaying and singing to compensate for some perceived limitations, real or imagined? Maybe all we really need to do is lighten up and allow the team to be, like the cello, it’s “own sweet self.” True professionals understand the importance of not overplaying. Why can’t we, who are mostly amateur volunteers, apply that same wisdom and enjoy the profound transformational benefits? I believe we can!
THE PRODUCER PRINCIPLE
In recording, the producer is the one who gives overall vision and direction to the project. Have you ever watched an experienced producer work in the studio? One of the giftings you’ll observe, which seems common to the best producers, is to know intuitively just how much of what is recorded to actually keep in the final edited product. The “producer principle” is this: allow musicians in the studio to create, imagine, and yes, overplay. Record multiple takes of solos (instrumental and vocal). Capture thick layers of background vocals and doubling. Go a bit overboard adding percussion instruments, guitar and keyboard fills and licks, special effects, etc. The experienced producer understands that after the sessions are over, and the creative dust has settled, there will be time to listen, consider, and edit all those overplayed/over layered tracks into a sparse, clean, professional presentation, worthy of the producer’s reputation.
Why not apply this producer principle to our own worship teams? Working in the slightly different context of rehearsals, let’s allow for a bit of overplaying and singing. We then edit out the excesses through good direction and agreeable, diplomatic communication. We discuss in rehearsal which parts to keep and which ones are over the top. We snip and trim until we arrive at clean music arrangements based on professional paradigms. We create space and time within our tunes for dynamic expressions of worship. In this way, we build interesting arrangements, ranging anywhere from single instrument accompaniments to all-stops-out jamming.
INSTRUMENTAL SPARSITY & VOCAL VARIATION
Finally, let’s remember that music consists of both notes and rests. These share equal importance in any musical endeavor. “Resting” should not be considered an insult or a demotion to any worship team member. Rests provide for the creation of more moving song arrangements. They are built-in boundaries, which help to keep us from overplaying and over singing. Like any other great musical composition, worship songs include alternating periods of silence, which add to the drama, expression, and dynamics of the worship time.
Always be aware that the more players and singers who are on the stage at any given time, the less each one needs to contribute to the overall production. No one needs to stick out like a sore thumb. No one should behave as though they have a monopoly on stage presence or volume. Everyone has an open door to express the depths of their passion for Jesus in an orderly, musical manner. There’s no grandstanding, posturing, or drawing attention unnecessarily to the individual. Instead, everyone is blended, deferred, and unified, drawing attention to Jesus. It doesn’t get any better than that! When we apply instrumental sparsity and vocal variation to worship settings, overplaying disappears and distractions are eliminated in favor of musical polish and the pursuit of the One who created us to worship Him in the first place. We should never feel awkward on stage about simply hanging out in His presence. Even if our particular musical part, by virtue of rests, doesn’t come in ‘til half way through the song, we are still leading others into worship—if only by our countenance and our obvious passion for Jesus. And that’s enough.
Resting in Him,
Sandy
Sandy Hoffman serves the worship community in Santa Fe, NM where he is the director of
