Which is more important, skill or passion?

[DADGAD]

Our church just bought a new state of the art recording system. They will be recording the live P&W music and releasing a CD about every six months. It will be a compilation of the best songs.

Last week, my band was on and, knowing we would be recorded, I executed my guitar playing with my utmost skill and precision. Afterwards, my wife said that my playing was perfect but totally lacked my usual passion. She said that I should go back to my usual way of playing as that is what most people enjoy.

What do you think is most important; skill or passion?

Gary

[HOBBSTER01]

passion.
Skill is the building block,but passion evokes the mood of a piece.

[magicguitar]

Passion! It just makes the difference. I've seen guitar players with all the skill in the world, but sound dull and lackluster AND on the other hand I've seen players with little skill that sounded GREAT because they put themselves into the song.

[andy__woods]

skill without passion isn't good for worship (not necessarilly bad, but is indeed lacking). On the other hand though, passion without skill becomes noise. If someone is really passionate, but not a great instrumentalist, they can still be passionate from the congregation or wherever they may be. I think it takes a good combination of both.


Very cool though that your church is going to compile a cd! Let us know when it comes out, I'd be interested to give it a listen

[CatfishStudios]

It is only through passion, that one develops skill.

[neocaster]

If you're doing it for the right reason, passion. If you're trying to impress anyone, you're playing in the wrong place.

[refin]

Passion (as a player) is something that flows from years of connecting your fingers with your heart and soul----passion for worship,no instrument necessary.

[BAW4742]

I think passion is more important. Passion for the music will lead to skill. Music should be emotional and with out passion it just becomes technical.

Try to forget about the record button and play from your heart.

[GoldieLocks]

I've jammed with alot of people with skill but no passion. Its always boring.

Then again I've played with some people with passion & no skill...it was chaos everytime.

I believe music is ART and Math at the same time.

[DADGAD]

Great insights. Thanks for helping me wrap my mind around this.

Would you say that the passion or soul of the playing always carries through in the final recording?

[octatonic]

Has to be both.

I'm not sure these binary questions are at all meaningful- it is like say "which is better, oxygen or gravity?"

[aunchaki]

Originally Posted by octatonic

Has to be both. I'm not sure these binary questions are at all meaningful- it is like say "which is better, oxygen or gravity?"

OK, that's funny!

Originally Posted by DADGAD

Would you say that the passion or soul of the playing always carries through in the final recording?

I'm sure that different people hear different things in live or recorded music. I'm sure there are very passionate recordings that won't come off that way to me. Rather than worrying if you sound passionate, try to simply be passionate and see (er... hear) what happens.

Blessings...

[scooteraz]

Originally Posted by octatonic

Has to be both.

I'm not sure these binary questions are at all meaningful- it is like say "which is better, oxygen or gravity?"

Actually, it this pair, gravity Without gravity it would be hard to collect enough oxygen to be useful...

However, point taken. Still, I think of the pair, passion. As Goldilocks said, skill without passion is boring. Some of both is needed, but for any music that I can think of I will take a reasonably skilled player with great passion over the stylist with amazing skill and no passion.

Of course, I have "a dog in this hunt", since my passion is MUCH greater than my skill so, you have to take my comments with that in mind.

[stephwills]

Give me passion over skill any day. If you have passion, you'll eventually get the skill.

Of course, my passion far exceeds my skill. And if I'm careful, it always will be.

[bobthecanadian]

Do whatever you think is best and play for an audience of one. As a performer of this type of music you are equipped/skilled to play the way that you do.

I have heard this same basic argument, in one form or another, since I first got involved in worship service playing. I like the way you put your question, which is 'more' important. I have heard too many times that it is an either/or question, which really misses the whole point.

Some have said that I, as a younger worship player, was focused on the skills and not passionate enough. Others said that I was too passionate and not focused enough on the skills. However, whenever I was playing for the audience of one it was never either, or both. It it always acceptable. So, go figure. I am sure that you are putting your best foot forward.

So which is more important? I think what is most important is to be focused on what you're singing/playing for. If it is playing well to get a good recording, then that's fine. If playing in P/W setting and the focus is a church worship setting, then that's okay, too. The only warning that I could think of is that combining the two could lead to a little danger. For example, if the performance is to impress a digital recorder, or some other type of recording device, then the focus has shifted.

My experience regarding this has taught me to ignore the extraneous stuff and focus on the One. Let the other guys doing the recording figure it out later. If it is a live recording, certain things are expected as it is not a studio recording. Do you best at both, playing with skill and withpassion! You will set yourself apart and that will be a wonderful blessing!

Cheers,

Bob

[PraiseCaster]

Skill without passion is sterile, bland.

Passion without skill is a train wreck.

Play from your heart. There, the desires where put in for you, and that very same passion/desire will drive you to perfect the skills needed to play passionately from your heart.

Dont think, "I'm gonna record!", rather think, "I'm gonna lead in Praise and Worship!"

[PraiseCaster]

Originally Posted by DADGAD

Would you say that the passion or soul of the playing always carries through in the final recording?

Good question!

I would say yes, but other than my opinion based on my own playing, I have nothing else to quantify this. I can tell when I am playing "detached" or engrossed into the song. I doubt many around me would be able to tell the difference, unless of course, they are guitarists too.

[mudbean]

50 - 50

mud

[three barrel]

Passion is emotion. Skill is the result of dedication to an art and some innate ability. Both are a part of worship. In the worship setting, passion without skill could quickly get in the way of a meaningful worship experience. Think of the times you have had a passionate, but awful voice blaring behind you in worship. You may say "bless their heart" for their passion, but it still grates on you like fingers on a chalk board, doesn't it? Likewise, if someone keeps playing clams on their instrument, it will bring an unwanted tension to the experience. So for me, skill first. We are there to lead OTHERS into a meaningful worship experience.

[Beerts]

Originally Posted by GoldieLocks

I've jammed with alot of people with skill but no passion. Its always boring.

Then again I've played with some people with passion & no skill...it was chaos everytime.

I believe music is ART and Math at the same time.

well put!

[DADGAD]

We are to, "...play skillfully..." and I do not see passion "mentioned" part of the equation. Therein lies the basis for my OP.

I had no problem delivering a perfect execution of the performed piece. However, when I play with more passion I tend to not play each verse, chorus or refrain exactly alike. Perhaps all those years of music study, chart reading, jazz, theory, song writing and guitar lessons has ruined music for me. Ha!

Perhaps it must be a blend of both; skillful playing with the realization that someone is examining the guitarist's heart or passion at the same time. We all know that nothing performed musically is ever hidden from the listener. You can't "lie" when playing guitar. Especially on a Tele....

Gary

[tom grossheider]

It isn't either/or, to worship as God intends I believe they both play an integral part of the worship experience. Passion is more an emotion, and personally speaking I am not always emotional ready to play. But if I use my skill to execute well, eventually the emotions (passion being one of them) will follow suit. My desire to worship God and to please Him in all things is what drives my desire to play well. Passion comes and goes, obedience does not.

[Pickalittle]

Both. Skill first.

[hotraman]

Originally Posted by DADGAD

Great insights. Thanks for helping me wrap my mind around this.

Would you say that the passion or soul of the playing always carries through in the final recording?

Not all the time.
You'll know if you captured it, when you listen to your playback.
Its hard to do.
Like others have posted, with a blend of both.

[tjalla]

I agree with the oxygen/gravity analogy... why chose?

But if we must, I think it depends on context...

1) If I'm fronting the band, I'd prefer to have skilled musos backing me
2) If I'm a (hopefully capable) sideman, I wouldn't mind trying to make a passionate frontperson sound the best he/she can while delivering his/her energy
3) 'Passion only' might work more in a live audience
4) I'd opt for skill if I knew the music was going to be recorded.

Its harder to find 'passion without skill' that transfers to tape well. (Unless maybe we're talking some old backalley acoustic blues, but that's a whole different story)

[esteban]

Albert Einstein: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Switch imagination for passion, blah blah blah...

[wbm68]

Originally Posted by DADGAD

Our church just bought a new state of the art recording system. They will be recording the live P&W music and releasing a CD about every six months. It will be a compilation of the best songs.

Last week, my band was on and, knowing we would be recorded, I executed my guitar playing with my utmost skill and precision. Afterwards, my wife said that my playing was perfect but totally lacked my usual passion. She said that I should go back to my usual way of playing as that is what most people enjoy.

What do you think is most important; skill or passion?

Gary

As it will be recorded and can and will be listened to over and over and over again, I'd say in a recording environment skill.
For a one shot live performance where no one can go back and analyze it, passion.
Any wrong/bad/sloppy playing will be a lot more obvious if you have to hear it over and over again. No one will care about your passion when listening to sloppy playing repeatedly on a CD.
Ideally you have both, but I'd concentrate on how I play while recording.

[Jake Blues]

Great question,

In my own church playing I try to keep it really simple and not allow "ME" to be the focus. My desire is to lead people to exult Jesus Christ. And simple passionate playing where ego/technical flare is ommitted seems to acheive great results in leading people into worship.

It goes without saying that my playing is without mistakes, is tasteful, and somewhat interesting; most would say highly skillful. But indeed my passion for leading people to worship and praise is greater than my passion to have people remember or comment on how or what I played.

Funny thing-I played a really difficult fingerpicking piece by John Standefer for a specail once. Fairly flawless, a technically dificult piece, and very tasty. Not one comment from anyone. The next week played some simple chord melody stuff in the first positon and was asked to record a CD.

Passion and skill are not mutally exclusive but often just keeping things simple and less technicle go a long way for the worship leader.

In grace

[teleftcaster]

2 sides of the same coin.

[Larry F]

Even though I'm a professor of theory and composition, I am sometimes asked to serve on a recital committee. I am getting better at it, but at first I had a difficult time understanding what was important to the other faculty members who played the instrument. This was especially true of the piano. What they looked for above all was passion. This was manifested in changes in tempo and dynamics in relation to the form, harmonic structure, and emotional architecture of the composition. A flawless performance with few missed notes didn't impress the committee in itself.

On the other hand, sometimes a player plays very sloppily, musing the notes together so that they are not distinct. You can learn to listen for this when a phrase is repeated. The first time might be mushy, only to be cleaned up the second time as the player zeroes in on it. Players criticize this type of playing, calling it "practicing." When a pianist is too indistinct in a performance, they sometimes say they played like a pig.

Just what I have observed. The music that I am describing is all virtually mistake-free, at tempo, and drawn from the classical piano repertoire of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, etc. It all sounds good to the uninitiated like me, but to the musicians themselves, they hear all kinds of things.

[Flat357]

Playing passionately is a skill !!

Never undermine skill , just because the end product may not be to to our tastes . In most cases , the person who is performing is doing so with as much passion as anybody else .
If they weren't passionate about it , they wouldn't have developed in the first place .
Playing tastefully however is all a matter for opinion .

[ChurchPlayer]

This is one of the reasons - the main reason - I hate recording worship services for the purpose of release. You can't release a poor performance, but when you're concentrating more on what you're playing than Who you're playing for then the focus is entirely in the wrong place?

I'm not saying churches should record worship services. But when they use the primary worship gathering as their vehicle for recording then you are short changing someone - and possible some One. If those leading worship are simply focused on executing of the songs then those in the congregation worshipping are not being lead as well as they should be. This is their weekly worship service and many of them are facing extreme crisis in their lives. Don't we as musicians owe it to them to make sure that nothing hinders our ability to connect with the Almighty and open the gates of heaven during that service? And even for ourselves, if we walk away from a service saying, "Man, I nailed that solo", or "My tone was perfect and my playing flawless", didn't we fall short of what God demands from worship? Could it have been "strange fire" to Him?

My take is that if a church wants to have CD's of their worship teams and their songs for members to listen to during the week then make time to have a weekly/monthly worship gathering where the specific focus is to make the recording. There are plenty of people who love worshiping who will turn out just to have one more chance during the week to sing out to God with the team(s). You can go as long or short as you want and focus on the song because that's what it is about. And you never know where the Spirit might lead. But to walk away from a "performance" instead of an "encounter" on a Sunday morning would leave me pretty empty and ready to ask the same question you did.

I do think you can play both passionately and skillfully, in either situation. For the well practiced musician they are one in the same (every time I strap on a guitar I play with all the skill I've developed during my practice, but while looking to play in the moment and not for the moment). But on a Sunday morning the focus needs to be on the Lord first and last, allowing our natural abilities, God given gifts and skillful preparation take care of the performance end of things, while are hearts and minds are focused squarely on Him. If the performance is worthy of inclusion on a disc, so be it. If not, it was still a sweet smelling offering in the moment, poured out fully to God with no reservations whatsoever. The way it should always be.

[Deadduck]

Originally Posted by GoldieLocks

I've jammed with alot of people with skill but no passion. Its always boring.

Then again I've played with some people with passion & no skill...it was chaos everytime.

I believe music is ART and Math at the same time.

My thoughts exactly. I don't know that you can say one is really more important. I've seen some guys with plenty of passion that sounded terrible. It really takes both.

[jclark]

Skill is a bow and passion's an arrow. You need one to hit the target with the other.

[DADGAD]

Originally Posted by jclark

Skill is a bow and passion's an arrow. You need one to hit the target with the other.

Wow! I think King Solomon just posted. Great wisdom!

[PraiseCaster]

Yep, jclark hit the bulls-eye!

[TxTeleMan]

Lot's of good advice here.

Skill can overcome passion, but passion cannot overcome skill. You really need to have both, as passion without skill can be mighty hard to listen to, while skill lacking passion can provide a background for the congregation to worship.

Not all share my opinon.

John Michael Talbot says you must have both in order to be a worship leader.

[gpforchrist]

Skills are about building blocks and range of things you can do. Passion is about the heart. Remember bad sounding MIDI music? That's skill without passion.

You also want enough skill though that it doesn't detract from the message of the music and of worship.

[aznrambo481]

passion can bring skill. I guess skill can bring passion, but that's not the way it typically goes...