[This post is part of a brand new blog series, “Your Guide to Practicing the Essential Skills of a Worship Leader“. Check out the other posts here.]
Leading worship is hard.
Not only are you responsible for worshiping God, you need to lead a congregation and lead a band.
Your head may be spinning just thinking about it. But it doesn’t have to.
Depending on your musical skill and experience, leading a worship band may be the greatest joy of your life or the biggest nightmare you can imagine.
Maybe you’re a vocalist who doesn’t play instruments, let alone know how to give instruction to musicians.
That’s what this post is about. I want this to be a simple guide you can follow to improve your band leadership.
Here are 5 tips:
1. Learn the basic function of each instrument
This is huge. In order to give any type of instruction to your team, you need to do your research and know what you’re looking for. For example:
- Acoustic Guitar – rhythm
- Electric Guitar – rhythm, lead
- Keys – atmosphere, rhythm
- Bass – low end, energy
- Drums – rhythm, energy
The key here is intentionality. Every instrumentalist needs to understand their role. Otherwise, you’ll have a large group of individual soloists making a mess together. Who wants that?
The best way I’ve found to learn this is to listen to other worship music. Don’t just use it as background noise. Deconstruct each instrument. Listen for what is going on.
2. Set Ground Rules
As a leader, your band needs to know what you expect from them. Communication about your vision and values should happen before anyone steps on the stage. Here are a few of my ground rules:
- Don’t doodle in-between songs during rehearsal
- Show up to rehearsal ready
- Show up early
- Engage with pre service prayer
- Attend at least one of the weekend services
Take time and develop your list. Once your team begins to internalize it, your team’s excellence will skyrocket.
3. Communicate Arrangement Details In Advance
If you’re a new leader, it’s typical to make your song arrangement a group effort at rehearsal. I would advise against this.
To be honest, there’s just not enough time. As the leader, you need to have a clear picture of your worship set before you rehearse. Sure, some things will change. But do your due diligence and communicate arrangement details in advance. The more you prepare, the more you’ll minimize mistakes.
I’ll usually send individual emails or texts to my team members about arrangements. I’ll also include some instructions in the Planning Center email that goes out each week. Set your team up for success.
4. Enlist Help
Like I mentioned before, you may be a vocalist without any band experience. I would encourage you to get some help. It’s a false expectation to think you need to be good at everything.
Don’t wait until you can play every instrument before you lead. Just fine someone who’s good at that who can help you.
I love the combination of having a worship leader and a band leader. Not only does this release someone else into ministry, but it takes a load off your shoulders. As long as the two of you are in good communication and agreement, go for it.
5. Provide Spiritual Energy
Let’s face it. A lot needs to get done. Songs need picked. Emails need sent. Music needs printed. Band needs rehearsed. Lyrics need checked.
Before you know it, worship can fly by and no one really worshiped.
You were too concerned with your execution to notice the Holy Spirit. Now, I’m not an advocate of zero preparation. I believe this is a tension we need to manage. The harder you work on your worship set during the week, the easier it will be to be a spiritual leader on Sunday.
All it takes is a simple mind hack. When you show up for “game time” on Sunday, flood your mind with thoughts of God. Get excited. Speak about His presence. Lead your soundcheck with expectation. Pray.
Be a spiritual leader and watch your team rise to the next level.
Question: What are some other tips you would add to leading a band effectively? Bring on the discussion in the comments!
Two suggestions: 1) Play and sing in tune. 2) Play and sing tight / together.
Both objectives can be moving targets, I try to communicate to everyone on the front-end that’s the difference between good music and not-good music.
When we make that a message to the group (not calling out the flat singer or busy drummer), everybody ends up self-correcting, listening more and playing better.
Great points, Rob. Playing a part is one thing. Playing together with other musicians is completely different.
I don’t do much for the technical end of things, but I lead four songs at a senior center once a month with one musician, my husband on guitar, and a kid on the projector. I listen to the message and pick the songs from the book there on the spot unless they have come to mind before then and we have made overhead or picked out a key for something that may not be in the play book there.
I focus more on appreciating Him and the congregation does more to lead by joining participating themselves. Sometimes tempo or pitch is not lined up and I will make an adjustment for that. We have learned sing and play together much like a couple might dance together, so it does not need to be an exact do the verses then the bridge, ect, we can alter the components we are doing each times fairly smoothly. I am guessing this is not the professional way of things.
The cool part is God covers us all in service and it seems that everyone who participates is touched by His words in worship. I usually sing alone or lead the pitch and tempo, so being part of an ensemble where I play a part in a difficult pitch, have to follow or with an out of pitch lead singer is not something that I ever would wish on anyone trying to worship while singing.
I admire and respect and APPRECIATE the harmony and excellence of a group who can play and worship together with and for and audience and for His audience. Not everyone is wired to be up on the big stage in my opinion, and there are so many places to serve Him well besides there if you love and can share Him in and with music.
“All it takes is a simple mind hack. When you show up for “game time” on Sunday, flood your mind with thoughts of God. Get excited. Speak about His presence. Lead your soundcheck with expectation. Pray.”
If you waited until Sunday to do this, you better pray real hard….
It’s so true that each one of us are unique in so many ways and God has blessed us with gifts and talents, which may be different, less or more then others. But the best part is, first thing God seeks is willingness.
And my point is our willingness needs to be not just to be available but do our best to improve and grow constantly. I know we all may not end up at Hillsongs level but trying anything less for God would also not be enough. As worship leaders we must grow constantly in our musical skills, our leadership skills and our knowledge. Because until we stretch ourselves we will never know what we are capable of by Gods grace. So don’t limit yourself with just what you know or can do today.
Memorization of the word of God is essential as worship leader,If you are empty you cannot fill others.
My role as a lead guitarist bumps heads with the worship leader when I am picked (by the leader) to play the next intro. It is a different sound, meaning different patches on a peddle board or Line 6 processor. I will give you my eyes when I am ready. Literally, it takes a few seconds. One second early and I am not there. Either the intro is botched or the song has a false start. If you want it, look at me and wait. Rehearsal often goes in different order than the service. Those few seconds needed to switch, or bank up or down need to be accounted for.
Sung in the first person by a guitarist who has been burned too many times.
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Suggestion: any worship team needs what I call “jamming time” just time during the practice to gel and learn about the musical patterns of each musician. As a music director I’ve found that when we get our groove, the congregation is quicker to join into the worship than if we all sound like a bunch of soloists. It is key for the worship team to be one, so that we all flow together, led by the Spirit of God. Wonderful article, definitely keeping this one in my notes.
I relish, lead to I found just what I used to be taking a look for.
You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man.
Have a nice day. Bye Hannelore