Originally Posted by giantslayer
I've seen that a couple times at professional concerts. Once for Kutless to put in that piano part for "sea of faces," and there was another band I thought might have been putting in an extra guitar track here or there. It wasn't on the level they were doing, though, because none of those were replacing what the musicians on stage were playing.
As far as what they are doing, it disgusts me on several levels. As a musician, I hate the idea of lip-syncing with recorded stuff. I know how to play my instrument and if I can't cut it live, I'd sooner step off the stage than pretend to be playing. Where is their pride as musicians?
Second, at that point, worship officially turns into a performance. This is not a performance for God, but for people. God isn't interested in a perfect polished performance, especially not to the point of using pre-recorded tracks. God wants it to be real and He is looking for hearts that are seeking Him.
Third, there is no room to improvise. This doesn't even have to be ultra-spiritual. IMHO, a good band can flow and change things up on the spot and do it together and make it sound good. It could be on a whim of the moment or maybe they see that the crowd is really getting into a song. For a worship band, this becomes even more important because the Holy Spirit can also lead in different directions. But with a pre-recorded setup like that, if God wants to camp out on one song a little longer, too bad. If He wants to do a song they hadn't planned, too bad. If everyone is dancing and having a blast on one song the last time through the chorus and want to keep going, too bad. If they just feel like rocking out and changing things up, not necessarily at the Spirit's direction, they can't.
Sorry if I may sound like I'm coming down too hard on that worship leader. I'm not saying to judge him or leave that church. For me, I've tasted too much real worship to like something like that. It's like I've had real food and twinkies don't do it anymore. At my church, we are like the polar opposite of that. We used to have rehearsals and song lists like most places, but as we have continued to REALLY seek God and allow Him to take over our services and schedules, He kept moving us away from that. We've had services where we just did 2 hours of worship. We try to follow His leading and go where He wants to go. We have been to wonderful places of intimacy in worship that most people won't take the time to get to and, if they get there, move on too quickly. I can guarantee you they won't get within 10 miles of those places with those tracks.
That's why that "performance tracks" thing disgusts me. Not only does it put worship into a tiny little box and tell God He has to get in the box if He wants to be in the worship, but it also prevents the band and congregation from being able to move in the direction of allowing God to direct worship. It is a process. It took us years to get to where we are now. As long as they are playing with those tracks every week, they are stuck exactly where they are.
|