Fork In The Road Music

Never pray for patience

Aug 30, 2008 Uncategorized

Right now I am waiting on some tires to be put on my car. When I pulled into the shop I was the only one here. Somehow there is a car in front of me now and my car I still waiting. It is at times like this that I wonder what I should do. In all fairness to me I was here first. And from what I can see there is no reason that anyone should be Infront of me. Add to that the fact that I have places to be, family to see and things to do.
I guess I don’t know the whole story though. Maybe the car in front was left here last night and he is getting to it first thing in the morning. Maybe he was having something else done to. Maybe God is just trying to teach me patience.
I don’t remember praying for patience. But I guess it’s a lesson I still need to learn. If not I wouldn’t be sitting here frustrated writing this post.

What do you still need patience with?

Tags: Russell Martin

Online Lesson- Basic Chord Theory and Nashville Numbering Part 2

Aug 29, 2008 Youth Worship

These are lessons 2 and 3 of an online lesson on Basic Chord Theory and the Nashville Numbering system. This lesson deals with how to put together scales and chords. It is built on lesson one which talked about intervals and whole and half steps.

Part II – Scales

A scale is made up of a combination of intervals sequentially ascending or descending. For our purpose we will be looking at Major scales. Each scale will include one of every letter (A-G) of the musical alphabet.

Major Scales- Major scales pattern of steps is W W H W W W H
To figure out the scale start on any given note. Lets take C for an example. Then just move up the required step to get the next note. Then proceed from there till the end.

C (W) D (W) E (H) F (W) G (W) A (W) B (H) C

Ex. 3. Try creating a scale in the following Keys. The first letter and some of the others have been filled in to help you.

_D_ (W)____ (W)____(H)____(W)____(W)____(W)____(H)____

_G_ (W)____ (W)____(H)____(W)____(W)____(W)____(H)____

_A_ (W)____ (W)____(H)____(W)____(W)____(W)____(H)____

_E_ (W)____ (W)____(H)____(W)____(W)____(W)____(H)____


Part III- Chords

A chord is two or more tones played simultaneously. For the purposes of this lesson we will be dealing with major, minor and diminished tritones. Tri meaning three and tones meaning tones or notes. So a tritone would be three notes played at the same time.

Remember about whole steps and half steps? Well chords use that same concept as intervals. After chords are just combinations of intervals. A major chord consists of two intervals. The first interval is two whole steps, the second is a whole step and a half step. So to make a C Major chord you start with the root note. (The root note or tonic is the note the chord starts on)
and count up from there. Here is an example

Starting note is C two whole steps takes you to E and a half step and whole step take you to G

Note: Two whole steps are called a Major 3rd, A whole step and half step are called a Minor 3rd

Simplified it looks like this; C (W)(W) E (H)(W) G or C (major third) E (minor third) G

You can also find it by writing out the scale you are using and choose every other note:

C D E F G A    B C

Ex 3. Try writing out the following major chords in the key of G (Hint use the G scale above)

G major =  G B  __   D__

C major =  C     ____   ____

D major =  D     ____   ____

A minor chord consists of the opposite intervals. The first interval is a half step and whole step, the second interval is two whole steps, or a Minor third and then a Major third.

Use the same C scale but start a chord on D

D (H)(W) F (W)(W) A

Ex 4. Try writing out the following minor chords in the key of G (Hint use the G scale above)

A minor =  A C  __   E__

B minor =  B     ____   ____

E minor =  B     ____   ____

Please feel free to use this with your praise team or for personal study. If you want the answers I can get those to you. If you missed it, view lesson one here.

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Tags: Chords, Free, How To, lessons, Nashville Numbering, Team, Theory

Online Lesson- Basic Chord Theory and Nashville Numbering Part 1

Aug 28, 2008 How To

Imagine this- You are in rehearsal and you have your chord sheet for “Lord Let Your Love” sitting in front of you. You are ready to rehearse when your group realizes that the key it is written in is too high and it needs to be changed. At this point you have two options. Scratch the song, or spend 5 minutes telling everyone what the new chords are, having them write them down, scratching out the old chords etc.

What if there were a third option? If your band understands basic chord theory and the Nashville Numbering system there can be. You can equip your band with the ability to play any song in any key.

This is what we are doing with our youth worship team. I have written a lesson complete with examples and exercises that explains what I am talking about. I will break it into sections and post it over the next few days.

Part I- Intervals
In this lesson you will get an understanding of basic chord theory, the Nashville Numbering system and practical applications for using the system to enable you to expand your ability to play songs in any key. Let’s get started.

What is an interval- An interval is the amount of space between any two given notes. We will be dealing mostly with half steps and whole steps. Look at the chart below


C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C

That is what is called a chromatic scale. A chromatic scale is what you get when you play every white and black note on a piano in sequence. You play a chromatic scale on guitar by playing every fret on a given string up the neck.

Half Steps and Whole Steps

A half step is the interval between one given note and the note immediately next two it.
A whole step is the interval you get when you skip one note in between.
We use an (H) to denote Half step and a (W) to denote whole step

Ex. 1. Write whether each interval is a whole step (W) or half step (H)

1. C-C# _(H)_

2. D-E _____

3. A-A# _____

4. F-G _____

5. E-F _____

Ex. 2. I’ll give you the first note and the interval. You fill in the correct second note.

1. C (H) _C#_

2. D (W) _____

3. C# (H) ____

4. A (W) ____

5. E (W) ____

Please feel free to use this with your praise team or for personal study. If you want the answers I can get those to you.

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Tags: application, band, Chords, Free, guitar, Nashville Numbering, rehearsal, Songs, Team, Theory, Worship, youth, Youth Worship

Guest Devo: Kerri Crocker- You Against the World

Aug 27, 2008 Devotions and Thoughts, Just for Fun

As I was driving to church yesterday, my eyes were drawn to the clouds and I just had to take a picture! Oddly enough they reminded me of “life”. The large, dense blanket to the right was covering the sky in the distance (a.k.a. our problems, struggles, fears) while the smaller ones looked as if they were pushing their way through… fighting against them so we could enjoy the blue skies (a.k.a. peace, joy, love)

Tags: Church, Devotional, guest, Kerri Crocker, Memorial, Music, peace, UMC, Worship, Worship Leader

Youth Worship Bands: Buying a Drumset

Aug 25, 2008 Youth Worship

So, you are ready to invest in a drum set for the youth room because your drummer is tired of lugging all 48 pieces of his kit to the church every Wednesday night.  This is a move I would recommend if your drummer is a consistent part of your youth program and if you foresee his/her presence in the group for a while.  If your drummer in your upstart program is a senior who will graduate in 6 months, this may not be a wise investment.  If you decide to proceed, I would like to offer some suggestions in buying that youth building drum kit.

1. Don’t’ be afraid to buy used.  Buying used is often better than buying new.  An intermediate level drum kit can be purchased used for what an entry level kit can be purchased brand new.  Often these don’t have any cosmetic issues.  If they do, that just knocks the price down even more.  As for cymbals, little can be done to make cheap cymbals sound good.  Buying quality used cymbals online or from a pawn shop is a much better investment than buying cheaper new cymbals.  With a little cymbal polish, they will look and sound a lot better than the cheaper new ones.
   
2. Don’t overlook the cymbals.  Let’s say you have a budget of $700 for drums, cymbals, and hardware.  Often what happens is people will spend $550-$600 on drums and hardware and get cymbals with what’s left.  In worship drumming, cymbals are played as much or more than the drums.  Therefore, it stands to reason that they should be as nice or nicer.  Many times drum manufacturers will offer kits with cymbals.  Typically drum manufacturers don’t make good cymbals.  Avoid these cymbals…they are little more than shiny sheet metal.  Cymbals don’t really wear out, unless they get cracked or broken.  As mentioned above, a used quality cymbal will sound much better than a new, cheap cymbal.  I would check pawn shops, ebay, or online music sites that sell used cymbals and look for Zildjian A series, Sabian AA or AAX series, or Paiste Sound Formula or 2002 series cymbals.  Usually a little cymbal polish and they will be sounding great.  If you can’t find any of these or still can’t afford them used, look for bronze cymbals (as opposed to the standard brass ones).  Zildjian’s ZBT (Zildjian Bronze Technology), Sabian’s B8 series, and Paiste’s Alpha series.  These often come in packs that include high hats, a ride, and a crash, or high hats and a crash/ride, a dual purpose cymbal for entry level kits.
   
3. You can make a cheap drum set sound good, but you can’t make cheap cymbals sound good.  What I mean is that with drums, you can put new heads, muffler rings, dampening materials, and other items into the kit to customize the sound.  You may not have the highest quality hardware (screws that won’t stay in place or lugs that back out, etc) because of your entry level investment, but you should be able to make the drums sound decent.  As for cymbals, aside from putting some tape on them to cut down on the ring, you can’t do much with a bad-sounding cymbal.  Pearl, Tama, Ludwig, Yamaha, Mapex and many other brands offer entry level kits that are made to the same specs as their intermediate models, but with cheaper materials to defer cost.  If you can get one of these, do it.  Most of these start at around $500.  Some brands such as Pulse or Percussion Plus can be purchased for around $300 but quality may be an issue if you want this kit to be in the youth room when the next youth minister arrives.  Regardless of what you buy, a new set of drum heads should be a part of your initial purchase.  Resonant heads (bottom) are less important than the batter (top) heads.  If your drummer plays really loud, I recommend Remo Pinstripes or Evans EC2 heads.  For lower volume, smaller venues, I recommend Remo Ambassador heads or any other single-ply head.  Heads that come on drums from the factory are not quality heads.  They will not sound right and after a few sessions they will sound even worse!

Maybe this will help you get the right kit for your youth building!

Jason Huffman is the Director of Youth Ministries at First United Methodist Church, Palestine, TX

www.reachyouthministries.org
www.fumcpalestine.com

Tags: band, Church, drums, jason huffman, technology, Worship, youth, Youth Band, Youth Worship

Guest Post- Logan Armatys- How to Survive Summer with a Band

Aug 23, 2008 How To

With an amazing summer coming to an end, I feel the need to write about the most important thing we, as a band, have learned from the experience of traveling together weeks and months at a time. It is our greatest adversary…patience.

10.Never eat at Whataburger more than five days at a time, as it will cause upset stomachs and crankiness with other band mates (not to mention the likelihood of unsanitary living conditions later on)

9. Try and laugh at each other’s jokes even when they’re not funny. This will create a confidence boost for the “unfunny” one in the group, and show that a good sense of humor is encouraged.

8. Go to bed before 3:00 am so you’re not showing up to morning devotional in your pajamas with your eyes half open. This is also very dangerous as it may also cause quick irritability toward others in the band later in the day.

7. Don’t be a backseat driver for the one in control of the vehicle. This can have a reverse effect which causes the driver to have a strong desire to intentionally lose control and make you cry “mama.” (A Garmin GPS system can be a lifesaver, and is strongly recommended)

6. Don’t forget your instrument.

5. Never steal the bass players bedding, or he is likely to construct a fort with everyone’s mattress.

4. Don’t stay up attempting to have pillow talk. You will be ignored and interrupted by other pointless conversations that wade throughout the night.

3. Show everyone in the band that you truly appreciate their gifts and talents as musicians. More importantly, that you appreciate and value their friendship, love, and support. ENCOURAGEMENT IS KEY!

2. Lay down any ego and pride you may have and know that without the person next to you, the purpose of the band as a whole can not be accomplished.

1. Pray as a band each time before taking the stage, and keep in mind the fact that this could be the day a student acknowledges Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior for the very first time.

Tags: Appreciate, band, CD, Devotional, Funny, How To, summer, Worship, Worship Leader

Free Song: Angelise

Aug 23, 2008 Free Stuff

I think that God speaks to us in many different and unique ways. I think also that we can speak to him in different ways. Some of us prefer to express our thoughts in poetry, some by serving and building things, some on our knees in prayer. I have always felt connected most when music is involved. Music is the way I express myself, my thoughts, my emotions. My mom said I used to come home after school, go to the back room where the piano was and play. If I had experienced a particularly rough day, my song would start out fast, furious and angry , but as I played would mellow out, become more lyrical and peaceful.

I still continue to play. I mean I write and lead music on the piano as part of worship, but sometimes I really like to go in and sit down and just play whatever comes to mind. I am amazed how much i can work things out, how long I can spend thinking about God, talking to God and expressing through the keys.

Angelise was written in one such session while I was on a mission trip in Mexico. I found a few minutes after a long day of work, sat down at a slightly out of tune piano and began playing this simple melody. The name of the song comes from a french baby name meaning angelic.

I put it up here for you to listen to. I have not yet written out the music or know if anyone would be interested in it. For now though just listen, and enjoy.

Right click on ANGELISE and save as to save to your computer. The recording comes from my CD “From Me To You” which is available on my Indie Heaven Website.

Please reply and let me know what you think.

To listen click play!

Tags: angel, CD, Free, Free Song, Prayer, Recording, Thoughts, work, Worship

Working With Youth Worship Bands: Back to Basics

Aug 22, 2008 Youth Worship

This is part one in a series of posts entitled “Back to Basics”.

Maybe this is familiar. You are listening to the radio or latest worship CD and hear a great new song. You go home, type out the chords or find them online, grab the CD and head to rehearsal. You then play the CD over a few times, have your band play along with the chords and you are ready to go. Sound familiar?

I think that too often I have put the emphasis on learning songs instead of learning basics. Learning the songs is great, in fact that is what the group is there for. We learn the songs so we can lead our congregation in worship. But a youth band should be more than that. We have a chance when working with youth not just to teach songs, but to teach them how to play their instruments, learn some theory, and give them the tools they need to play as part of a group and to be a strong musician.

This is hard to do though for a few reasons.

#1 No one really likes learning basics like scales or patterns

#2 Often there is little time to devote to basics in rehearsal

#3 It’s just more fun to work on songs.

So why are basics important?

#1 Basics create the ground work of skills that can be applied to any song, not just one situation.

#2 Basics teach that the learning process is as important as the end result

#3 Basics help a group gel as they work together.

Over the next few weeks we are going to begin this process with our youth worship team. I will post up what we are trying and how it worked. If you have suggestions on how to help youth learn basic worship and music skills used in worship please send them to me and I will post them here.

Here is an example:

1. Pick a chord pattern used in a song you will be doing. For example G C Em D

2. Teach the pattern and chords to the instrumentalists

3. Have them play the pattern over and over.

4. Have them come up with 2 different ways of playing  the pattern. One should be louder and fuller, the other softer and more open.

5. Pick a cue for each way, and have them play the patterns with you cuing them on which one to play.

You have now helped them to learn to watch you, or whoever is leading for cues. This lesson can be applied to any song. What exercises do you use with your youth or adult worship team to work on basics?

Tags: band, CD, Chords, How To, rehearsal, Songs, Team, Theory, work, Worship, youth, Youth Band, Youth Worship

Removing Distractions

Aug 18, 2008 Worship Planning

In one of the last scenes of “Runaway Jury” Nicholas Easter, played by John Cusack is talking with Rankin Fitch, played by Gene Hackman. This conversation takes place after the trial in which Fitch has tried many tactics to sway and intimidate the jury to go in favor of the gun company he represents. End the end, Easter is able to cancel out Fitch’s tactics. This is one of the final conversations:

Fitch-”How’d you swing ‘em your way?
I hear you got ten votes. How’d you do that?”

Easter-”I didn’t swing anybody.
I just stopped you from stealing the thing.
We let ‘em vote their hearts.”

I recently was reading a post by Kent Schaffer entitled “Top 10 Pet Peeves about Worship Leaders” in which he groups responses from a post orignally written by Carlos Whitaker of Buckhead Community Church in Atlanta in which he asks simply:

“What is the biggest gripe you have about something a Sunday worship leader does?”

There are a lot of responses that you would typically think of. “Worship leader closes eyes”, “It’s all about the worship leader”, Worship leader sings the same chorus over and over and over”. There was one response which sums up what we are to do as worship leaders. One responder wrote:

“Leading worship is the art of removing distractions.’”

That is something I have thought of from the beginning but what made me originally think of it was that quote:

“I didn’t swing anybody. I just stopped you from stealing the thing. We let ‘em vote their hearts.”

That’s our goal! Our job is to remove distractions as much as possible and create an environment of worship where people can focus on God and be open to Him.

So let me ask you a few questions:

1. What is top on your Pet Peeves list?

2. What do you do as a worship leader to remove distractions?

Tags: Church, Sunday, Worship, Worship Leader

Youth Bands: Working with Drummers

Aug 18, 2008 How To, Youth Worship

For a young musician, drums can seem deceptively easy.  After all, all you have to do is beat on things, right?  What often happens is you get a kid who learns a basic 4/4 beat in his cousin’s bedroom and the next thing you know he wants to be in the praise team, which may or may not be a good thing for the group.  So in this first practice, he plays the same “BOOM, BOOM, CRACK—BOOM, BOOM, CRACK” beat through every song of the set…after all, it’s all he knows.  How do you help this young player harness his enthusiasm yet still make an artistic contribution to the group without overpowering?  I see three things we can do to help the player and the band.

1. Encourage the young drummer to keep time on different elements of the kit.  In a typical 4/4 beat, 8^th notes are played on a closed hi-hat with snare beats on the the 2 and the 4 count.  Add color and texture to the songs by challenging the drummer to play those 8^th notes on maybe the ride cymbal (the large 18-20” cymbal that is to heavy and large to make a distinct “crash” sound), or on the floor tom.  This doesn’t require any extra effort on the drummer’s part, but will drastically change the feel of the song.  Maybe have her play those 8ths on the floor tom on the first verse, open hi-hat on first chorus, closed hi-hat on 2^nd verse, and ride cymbal on 2^nd chorus.  This is no more difficult on the drummer, but will give much more character to the songs

1. Help him move the snare beats around within the measures. In a typical rock beat, the snare is played on the 2 and 4 counts.  An easy way to let the song breathe is to play the same beat with no snare at all, or maybe just on the 4 count.  This is especially effective on the verses where the song is less intense.  Then, when you bring back the 2 and 4 backbeat on the chorus, it seems like the song is really rockin’ out, but all you did was hold back on the verse.  This requires a little more practice than step one, but it shouldn’t be too difficult for Ringo, Jr.  Another thing that can be done is to move the snare count from 2 and 4 to the 3 count.  This actually gives the illusion that the time of the song is being cut in half, even though it is going the same speed.  This will take longer for the new drummer to master, but when the skill is mastered, it will have a lot of possibilities.

1. Teach your drummer when to play and when not to play.  A common mistake among many young praise bands (and adult ones, too) is that the musicians don’t begin with the end result of the song in mind, but rather just focus on what part they have to play and making sure they successfully play it throughout the entire song.  With the exception of the rhythm acoustic guitar or maybe piano’s lead which are often played all the way through, the song’s intensity is determined by not only how the instruments are played, but also by whether or not they are even played at all.  This applies more to drums than anything else.  Have your drummer (and maybe your bass player) sit out on the first verse and come in on the chorus or maybe the last 2 lines of the verse and see how much more that chorus seems to scream because it’s contrasted with the silence of the first verse.  Then have them cut out on a bridge, or maybe cut all the instruments out on a verse and do it a capella, then really come back and nail the chorus.

These are some simple, easy things that can make your new drummer’s experience in the praise band more rewarding and will help the group sound better.  Any time there is a positive result, it will cause her interest to grow and she will begin wanting to learn more and practice more.  What do you do to help your young musicians?

Jason Huffman is the Director of Youth Ministries at First United Methodist Church, Palestine, TX

www.reachyouthministries.org
www.fumcpalestine.com

Tags: band, Church, drums, guitar, jason huffman, Songs, Team, work, youth, Youth Band