Nailing the Parts of Every Song

As I read about electric guitar players' experiences in church, it seems like almost everyone takes great latitude in exactly what they play for each song. My WL provides MP3s and charts at least 2 weeks ahead of time, and I spend 2 to 3 hours per song, before rehearsal, learning, to the best of my ability, the e guitar parts of each song. If there's a song that has no electric part in it - I don't play during that song. (I may have something ready that would work for swells, or something though - just in case the WL asks for it). If there is a lead, I learn *that* lead. I also match the tone to the best of my ability.

Am I the only one who does this? Maybe it's because I've just started playing on team recently, and I needed a goal to work toward.

I have a Boss GT8, and pre-program everything. 2 or 3 patches per song, and I mark the pages where they are to change. I almost don't even need to think during the service.

I have a feeling 99.9% of people in the room don't even care if I play the exact parts or not, but it's fun, and it helps me to have something to work toward. I know when I'm ready. (Admittedly, some leads I can not play at all - but I fake it as closely as possible).

Well, at my church they never play anything the way the original artist does. And then they never play it the same way twice. So we are a lot more liberal in the way things are done. Even if I tried to insert the original guitar lead part into the song, the keyboardist would just play all over it anyway.

I just add in parts where I can find any space...not that there ever is much space...

Our WL prefers that we try to maintain our "own sound" vs. doing exact covers, so I usually go for "evocative" in my playing and patch selection, i.e., I want people that are familiar with the original to feel like they are hearing something that gives a healthy nod to the artist(s) that made it popular, but I don't try to match exactly. Leads are rarely note-for-note, unless it's something distinctive at a significant transition (Lead Me to the Cross comes to mind). And, sometimes you have to cover 2 or more electric parts, so those days it's pretty much whatever I feel like doing.

I also notate the charts for effects on/off, but usually because it can be weeks, months between doing some songs, and I don't want to go back through the entire process again. (I never actually switch patches in a song, but I can switch effects in/out in a patch, so that might be the difference.)

I'm sure I spend more time in preparation than some, but less than others, too.

P.S. Unless told to not play, I will play in all acoustic/keys songs, but dialed way back, and just do fills, 2-note chords, harmonics, whatever moves me and fits. I have a lot of freedom to do whatever I want, *most* of the time.

I start by trying to match the tone and key lead lines of the way the original artist played it. I like listening to an artists live version, however, to get a sense for how they re-create the song live. For example, the way Daniel Carson plays "Glorious" live is different from how it was played on the recording. Then, I think about how our band is going to play it. If there's going to be a keyboardist playing chords, then I try and go up high(er), and do some fills, instead of playing all chords.

But I do rehearse each song enough so that I don't even have to think when it comes time to play live.

As I read about electric guitar players' experiences in church, it seems like almost everyone takes great latitude in exactly what they play for each song. My WL provides MP3s and charts at least 2 weeks ahead of time, and I spend 2 to 3 hours per song, before rehearsal, learning, to the best of my ability, the e guitar parts of each song. If there's a song that has no electric part in it - I don't play during that song. (I may have something ready that would work for swells, or something though - just in case the WL asks for it). If there is a lead, I learn *that* lead. I also match the tone to the best of my ability.

Am I the only one who does this? Maybe it's because I've just started playing on team recently, and I needed a goal to work toward.

I have a Boss GT8, and pre-program everything. 2 or 3 patches per song, and I mark the pages where they are to change. I almost don't even need to think during the service.

I have a feeling 99.9% of people in the room don't even care if I play the exact parts or not, but it's fun, and it helps me to have something to work toward. I know when I'm ready. (Admittedly, some leads I can not play at all - but I fake it as closely as possible).

Worship Leaders, this is the kind of dedication needed on your team.

Hats off for getting the files and charts out to your team 2 weeks ahead.

Very professional.

I try to get as close to the original songs as possible when we first learn them. Over time, they may morph and change a little, but for the most part, I think if you have previous knowledge of a song, you'd be able to sing along. I also have to work within the limitations of whatever musicians we have on the team at the time, so I take that into account as well.

I am all for unique takes on songs, but I've also heard worship bands do songs that I barely recognized, and sometimes that makes me cringe. I think 'original take' and 'can't properly play this song so I'll just do this' can be a thin line sometimes.

Whatever you do, remember why you are playing, and play to the best of your ability.

OP - I'd welcome you on our worship team with that kind of dedication.

For example, the way Daniel Carson plays "Glorious" live is different from how it was played on the recording. Then, I think about how our band is going to play it. If there's going to be a keyboardist playing chords, then I try and go up high(er), and doing some fills, instead of playing all chords.

But I do rehearse each song enough so that I don't even have to think when it comes time to play live.

Tomlin's live stuff is so much more powerful for me. We try to do live versions of his stuff whenever possible.

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OP - I'd welcome you on our worship team with that kind of dedication.

I lead worship weekly for 7 years, and had a bass player that recorded the rehearsal session, and made CDs or emailed MP3s out to any team member who wanted them. And then she worked on those songs for hours between then and Sunday. I always wondered why she was working so hard on it, while I could select and print out charts 30 minutes before rehearsal, show up, strum through and sing them all flawlessly, never look at them again until Sunday, and be perfectly happy with it all. (I was a volunteer, of course).

But now I understand why she was doing that. It may depend on the person/instrument, but for me, leading with acoustic, and singing lead is WAY easier for me than playing electric. I must have driven her crazy showing up with the song list on the night of rehearsal (although it was a pretty laid back rehearsal and a tiny congregation). But still - she wanted to give God her absolute best, and I was handcuffing her by not preparing ahead of time.

I can't imagine my WL doing to me what I did to her!

I get told what the songs are 2 hours before worship during rehearsal. I have most of the songs/lead parts memorized, but if something new pops up the rehearsal goes nowhere until I learn that part. The notes/chords themselves should be spot on, but it usually doesn't sound too much like the recording because we are given a lot of freedom as far as effects go (just no phasers or super-oscillating delays in the middle of an acoustic verse... Well, actually...)

Lead is an interesting role to play. I get a lot out of sitting down with a chart & developing a lead part. Sometime it is note for note of the original, other times it is something new and "better" to me. Many of these parts I develop I first hear in my mind & have to translate to guitar. I grow as a musician by doing this.

I just recently moved across the country and auditioned for the worship team. They musicians get the music (charts & CD) about 7 days prior to Thursday rehearsal where the work through the songs & cut a CD with the rehearsal versions prior to Sunday. There is a Sunday morning rehearsal as well. As I get ramped up with this team, I am interested to see how it flows with this schedule & what I can work up for the new music.

I play lead guitar for two worship teams at our church. One worship leader gives me complete freedom over lead parts, use of effects, etc (though I use the term "lead" loosely, as I can hold my own, but probably am a below average lead player, maybe the sentence should read, I play electric guitar for two worship teams at my church).

The other leader and I are ALWAYS having this conversation:

HIM: Jordan, that's not how Chris Tomin (or Paul Baloche, or Brian Doerksen, etc) does that part of the song.
ME: That's ok, he's not going to be here on Sunday.

We get the songs at rehearsal on Thursday, and usually there are some switches that the pastor makes at practice Sunday morning. I'm not the kind of guy that can make up lead lines and solos on the spot, let alone copy a song note for note off of a recording that I've likely never heard (I don't listen to a ton of "new" worship music).

We have started using Grooveshark.com to create and email the setlists to eachother a few days before Thursday's practice, which works great if you've got a computer in your personal rehearsal space at home. It's a great website for sharing songs that may not be familiar to everyone.

Playing parts note for note is a good place to start and can really help sharpen skills, learn new techniques, etc. Ultimately, however, what you play has to serve the song in the context of the singers and other musicians in the band... And then there is that creative itch that all of us as musicians have that just has to be scratched sometimes :smile:

Playing parts note for note is a good place to start and can really help sharpen skills, learn new techniques, etc. Ultimately, however, what you play has to serve the song in the context of the singers and other musicians in the band... And then there is that creative itch that all of us as musicians have that just has to be scratched sometimes :smile:

This is so true. I came across a very simple lead, but it was a fingering I'd never done in my life. It wasn't a difficult stretch, and wasn't fast moving, but it was just something that was not in my normal muscle memory repertoire. I've been playing for 35 years, but I've been playing THE SAME WAY for 30 of those years.

If the part is needed, a melody line, a memorable intro, a 'tie-together' line which weaves a song together, play it.

Quite a few guitar solo moments on newer Hillsongs, for example, are pretty arbitrary sounding. Sliding up and down a string double picking a note. Certain songs its cool, certain songs it sounds like a copy and paste.

I don't interpret that style usually. I stick to the feel of the song at that point, even playing LESS notes if I feel its better. If out of the 8 bars, 2 bars of it, say the middle of the solo sounds like its important for the purpose of the song, I play that. I don't feel I need to replicate. I'm not playing as a Hillsongs cover band.

Some fills are not really important in the sense that if you keep the spirit of the song, how you play that E chord, high up the neck straight or as a diad with hammer on the maj7th to root on the B string, do it if its cool but SERVES the song and your worship team.

Tone, well, I just sound like I do.

If the part is needed, a melody line, a memorable intro, a 'tie-together' line which weaves a song together, play it.

Quite a few guitar solo moments on newer Hillsongs, for example, are pretty arbitrary sounding. Sliding up and down a string double picking a note. Certain songs its cool, certain songs it sounds like a copy and paste.

Breen, you are right on. The solo thing especially in praise music puzzles me. If you are not going to do something in that instrumental space to further the song, why not just leave it out? So many times the instrumental is right at a huge climax in the song. Playing it safe in these sections by using some generic riffing, I think, actually takes away from the song. I love writing solos with the goal of helping the song soar in those places. The extent to which I am successful is up to the individual listener. But I hope that the primary person for whom I am playing sees it as the act of worship that it is :grin:

Breen, you are right on. The solo thing especially in praise music puzzles me. If you are not going to do something in that instrumental space to further the song, why not just leave it out? So many times the instrumental is right at a huge climax in the song. Playing it safe in these sections by using some generic riffing, I think, actually takes away from the song. I love writing solos with the goal of helping the song soar in those places. The extent to which I am successful is up to the individual listener. But I hope that the primary person for whom I am playing sees it as the act of worship that it is :grin:

I believe some subscribe to the belief that a guitar solo has no place in worship music. When asked whether a classical piano solo, or a harp solo, or a violin solo is ok, those people usually realize their double standard.

I too love to "worship with my instrument" and let it sing. Esthetically, a solo provides a break from the vocal to relieve the ear fatigue that can come from hearing the same lead singer for 4 minutes straight.

I've found that a guitar solo can primarily do two different things for worshipers - either build up their excitement for celebration and declaration, or... it can bring them down to a reflective and contemplative place in the song. Rarely does a solo leave a song the way it found it.

Spiritually, there is nothing special about a guitar solo that's different from other aspects of worship music. I've heard some say "when I play a solo, it's for God, not me". Oh - but the rhythm parts and the ebow stuff - that's all me? :-)

Think of it like Journey's Don't Stop Believing.

After the initial flurry of scale-mining, its a sweet melodic line that is memorable, stands as a signature of the song, and if you were listening to it live, would have brought a climax to the song, and thus through the song, to the higher purpose.

So if you have a song that has space for a solo, and if on the record its so-so, go ahead and stretch yourself as a guitar player and a worshipper.

Wankers need not apply.

Wow, if I was told what to play in Church I wouldn't show up. (I would politely decline the invitation of course :twisted:)

This doesn't have to be a good or bad thing: or an ego thing. It has to do with what kind of musician you are. And YES, there are different kinds.
Would someone jam with BB King and demand he play a Metallica tune? No. Neither would I show up for Benny Goodman's orchestra and not be able to read music. Its all situational.

Anyway, I've spent 25 years learning how to create and improvise in almost any musical situation. So those are the situations I allow myself to be placed in. If someone has spent 25 years learning to recreate parts from sheet music or MP3's then that also is a wonderful talent.

Every Sunday all I want is a sheet of music with some words and Chords written on it. The band will do the rest. :wink:

I've had to scratch and claw to get our WL to put out lead sheets and mp3's at least 2 weeks ahead of the service I'm playing for, and that is not reliable from month to month. I'd like to have the songs a month ahead but I know now that just aint gonna happen. He's too busy blogging and facebooking and playing folk tunes at coffee shops and going hunting. Frankly, I cant imagine being in that position and not being at least a month ahead of schedule at all times.

When I do get the songs, I play thru all of them 3 or 4 or 5 times every night, try to memorize and try to learn most of the guitar parts to match the record. I'll match the "signature" parts that let people "name that tune" when they hear it, but I'll frequently have latitude to make up my own solos or my own fills to compliment the keys, etc.

I find I can rely on 3 or 4 sounds, a clean sustain rhythm sound, a clean sustain lead sound, a crunchy sound that works for both rockin rhythm and bluesy fills, and one screaming sustain overdrive sound for those Lincoln Brewster type solos that are too few and too far between.

I would much rather memorize the songs than stand on stage with a black music stand in front of my face staring at sheets of paper while the congregation looks to us for joyful inspiration. But that is a tall order because I can practice the songs with the recordings provided as far in advance as I can get them, but then come Tuesday rehearsal I can almost bet money that all the arrangements will change and the next 4 days of rehearsal the recordings and what I'm memorizing will not match what the WL intends to play on stage on Sunday. And I have only scribbles on paper to remind me of the arrangement changes he made on Tuesday.

I practice alot more than anyone else on any of our 4 teams, and I've been told that most of them are intimidated by stepping on the stage with me. I'm not that good, it just seems that way by comparison because I practice every night, 365! I took the WL aside one night and said point blank, rehearsal does not mean "learn the songs now!" It means "know the songs and your part before you get here so we can practice playing the songs as a band!" Yet, to this day, last Tuesday for example, I get to rehearsal and we spend 15 minutes - after everyone is on stage ready to practice - waiting for the WL to figure out what settings he wants to use on his delay pedal for the opening 16 bars of a song. I'm thinking, "You're supposed to have that done and saved before you get here!" Oh well, in one and out the other. Maybe he was blogging and coffee shopping when he should have been programming his delay pedal......

So, yeah, I am as ready as they will let me be. I could play a LOT better.....IF they would give us more lead time to rehearse, and IF they would have recordings to practice with that match the arrangements we will use on Sunday mornings. It would be worth it because more than a few people have commented on how much they love hearing good, well performed elec guitar based music at church, and how that is a huge draw for them and for their kids and their kids' friends. But I also understand the compromise we make by relying on volunteers who have kids and jobs and other more important hobbies.

Wow, if I was told what to play in Church I wouldn't show up. (I would politely decline the invitation of course :twisted:)

This doesn't have to be a good or bad thing: or an ego thing. It has to do with what kind of musician you are. And YES, there are different kinds.
Would someone jam with BB King and demand he play a Metallica tune? No. Neither would I show up for Benny Goodman's orchestra and not be able to read music. Its all situational.

Anyway, I've spent 25 years learning how to create and improvise in almost any musical situation. So those are the situations I allow myself to be placed in. If someone has spent 25 years learning to recreate parts from sheet music or MP3's then that also is a wonderful talent.

Every Sunday all I want is a sheet of music with some words and Chords written on it. The band will do the rest. :wink:

I like your thoughts. We've been playing long enough to know when we have to do the solo "close" or just dream up our own. I've played 45 years and am getting the hang of new Christian music, noticing a lot of the songs are using the same chords, same licks, etc.