A few questions for music/worship leaders:
- How many here are music/worship leaders for your church?
- How many are in the band and praise team?
- What style of music or which artists do you use?
- How do you conduct practices? Split with band and singers separate or combined?
- What do you struggle with the most?
To begin:
There are 4 band members (keys, drums, bass, guitar) and 5 singers.
We vary in style and artists, from Chris Tomlin, Hillsong and Planetshakers to Israel, Donnie McClurkin and Fred Hammond.
Our practices at this time are combined. I've had split practices in the past for new songs, then a combined practice at the end - and I like that. But unfortunately where I'm currently at, most of the songs are either lower or higher than the original version, which means the singers aren't able to sing with the cd while the musicians practice.
A friend has a home studio and found a way to take the original cd and change keys without distorting the sound or tempo - hopefully that will work.
The thing(s) we struggle with the most are:
Transitions during the worship service. Moving from one song to another has been difficult for the band and singers. Most of the time, I like transitioning without a delay, but it seems there's always a pause as the band gets their music ready, the keyboard player transposes if needed. It's definitely something to work on.
Songs. It seems we're recycling the same songs every couple weeks, over and over again. There are 3 songs I would love to retire and never do again - they've been played out, and I really don't like the chorus': Friend of God, I Know Who I Am and Trading My Sorrows. The verses are cool, nice groove, but the chorus' are ridiculously repetitive.
Anyone else?
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