We talk a lot about songs. We talk a lot about music. We talk a lot about worship. But an often neglected (but no less important) aspect of leading worship is how you approach transitions.
In this post I want to give you an outline for how to think through your transitions each week. And this is something you should think through and give as much attention to as the songs themselves.
Why Are Transitions Important?
Think about what is most important on Sunday morning. Nothing is more central than the people of God connecting with the presence of God. We don’t want them to have an experience with music or a sing-a-long with the band. We want hearts connected with their maker.
I’ve done transitions very poorly and God has still moved. But it also was a distraction. I’ve said “crap” instead of “clap”. I’ve had plenty of unintentional, awkward silences. I’ve even knocked over a mic stand.
With that being said, things will happen. But let’s do our best to think through the whole worship set as if we’re telling a story or scoring a film. Be prayerful in your planning. Be intentional in your decision making.
A Few Transitional Ideas
1. Identify & Plan Every Transition – Leading a 3 song set? You have four transitions to plan & rehearse. How will you enter into song 1? How will you transition from 1 to 2? 2 to 3? How will you exit the 3rd song? These transitional moments aren’t just an opportunity for you and your team to sound slick and polished. It’s not for you to be impressive with how air tight your worship set is. It’s a way for you to prayerfully pastor your congregation with what is good for them in worship. Sometimes that’s a quick, slick entrance into another song. Other times, it may be a “planned” spontaneous moment to linger in God’s presence.
2. Rehearse Every Transition – Rehearsal isn’t just about getting through songs. It’s about outlining a story. And each of your transitions is a part of telling that story. Make sure your team knows each transition. Make sure roles are assigned. Who is starting the next song? How long should they wait to begin?
Also, worship leaders – outline what you’re going to say. Think through even the slightest vocal cues. Don’t leave this to randomness. Leave this to prayerful, pastoral reflection. Some questions to ask:
- How can I give this song context through the Word of God?
- How can I draw attention away from the band in this moment?
- How can I encourage people to sing out more?
- Is there a responsive reading that would strengthen this moment?
3. Vary How You Transition – Not every transition should be the same. Even with a set, it’s helpful to vary how your songs blend together. Here are a few ideas:
- Spoken Challenge – Sometimes a little spoken challenge can go a long way to blend songs together and make it feel more “human.” Utilize those transition moments to re-connect with the room.
- Repeat a Chorus – Rather than just ending a song, a great way to transition is to sing the chorus again, but with nothing but keys or an acoustic guitar. Allow the raised voice of the congregation to fill the room. Again, another way to make those moments feel less “produced” and more real.
- Medley a Simple Hymn – Hymns are incredible transitional songs because they tend to disarm people and unify more generations. Sometimes these transition moments with a hymn and generate more momentum than a full song.
- Intentional Silence – Don’t be afraid to lead people into silence and space. Transitions don’t always have to be the avoidance of silence. Silence is only awkward when it’s not led well or pastored through. But when done well, it can be a very healthy practice for your church.
- Blend songs together – A transition we do every week is connect our opening song click/loop to the opening countdown video. That’s a simple way to always have a great transition there. Since we’ve determined we don’t need to flow in that moment or talk too much, it works well. You can do the same with certain songs in your set. Rather than ending, pausing, and clicking off a new song, have the drums begin the next song before the previous song dies out. Find creative ways to make the transition seamless and rehearse it.
Remember, the goal of our transitions, rehearsal, and planning is to connect hearts with God. We want to create an undistracting atmosphere that helps people see the perfections of Jesus more clearly.
I’d love to hear from you about this. How do you approach your transitions?
Any best practices or tips? Let us know in the comments. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
When working on transitions I look at the keys of the songs and if necessary shift them a semi-tone up or down so they’re all the same key. This can remove awkward key changes and gives you the option to eliminate any gap. Just check during your preparation time that the range is still ok!
Another thing to try is during a long instrumental intro is to have one of the vocalists read out scripture relevant to the song. Again, this would be selected during prep. This lets you build focus, especially if the verses are on screen. Careful not to make it too long, as spoken voice and music can compete for the sound engineer’s attention 😉 – This could also work on an outro .. As a leader you’ll sometimes need to break things down as a band and pull it back. This lets you shift focus on spoken directions.
Instead of a repeat chorus, some songs lend to repeating the last few lines. In Christ Alone is an ideal example, going back to repeat from “No power of hell”
Such a good post. These things must be thought about or we can risk just going through the motions.
Thanks for your prayerful input on this.
Solid. Thanks!
Brilliant comments. I have learned the value of scripted transitions, including scripted, brief prayers between songs. I also try to teach my students the ways that a knowledge of music theory can be very useful in moving from one song to another and from one key to another. For instance, melodically a motif from the previous song can connect to a motif of the next song. While that is happening, smooth chord progressions from one key to another can take place, using common pitches between two chords, and eventually working your way to a Vsus (for my taste rarely do I use V7 as the pivotal, penultimate chord).
Really value these insights, i always believe we are not leading songs and there should be a story a moment and experience with God. Blessings!