Fork In The Road Music » Team

The Importance of Teaching

Russell Martin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:23:22 +0000

When working with my youth worship team I often find myself emphasizing rehearsing the songs. After all, we generally have one event or another to prepare for so that means creating a songlist, and working up that music to perform or lead with.
I have realized, however, that there is a huge benefit to teaching, and not just rehearsing. When I first started to teach guitar lessons I told myself that I wanted my students to learn why a chord was what it was, what the names of the notes they were paying etc… Instead of just “play this chord”
I believed by teaching them how to learn to play guitar, then they could continue to learn whether I was teaching them or not.
The same thing should be true for worship teams. We should work with them to teach the basics of chord structures, rhythms, balance, tone, song structure, etc… So that they begin to recognize these things.
What’s cool is that when your group starts to learn these things, they begin to play musically together. You don’t have to explain every part of every song, but they begin to feel it.
For us this has resulted in more productive rehearsals, and more enjoyable ones too.
So what basic lessons would you teach a beginning praise band?

Words of Encouragement

Russell Martin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:21:00 +0000

When I was in college I was part of a ministry leadership team for a student ministry group. Each week we had a memory verse that we had to memorize and recite at our weekly meeting. These scriptures, ingrained in my head, have been helpful in different situations to offer comfort and encouragement.

Here is one I recited often over the past two weeks through our move to a new house.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”

~ Philippians 4:6-7

The Right Key is One Key to Stong Vocals

Russell Martin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:54:40 +0000

There are many ways you can help your worship team vocalists sing strong with confidence. One thing I discovered this past year is that the right key is the key!

Last year I would introduce a song usually by listening to the cd then having the band try it and vocals sing. Many times they would like the song, however the vocalist would be struggling trying to sing out of their range, or flipping octaves between verse and chorus. Since the music was printed and we had already worked on learning in the original key, it was hard to change keys and we usually just struggled through.

This year we tried something different. This year every new song was first introduced to the vocals. After they learned the basic tune we found the key that best suited their voices. I made a note of the key and then during the next week would print music accordingly.

I have really noticed a difference in a few key areas:
1. They enjoy it more- When they are comfortable with the key they don’t have to worry about how they will hit the notes, and less worry means more fun.
2. They are stronger- Since we chose a key that fits their range they are more confident and sing out.
3. They get more done- Since we no longer take time out in rehearsal searching for keys with the whole band, and transposing music 2-3 times we get more done, learn more music and get better as a band.

What tips do you have for developing vocalists?

Help Me Save a Life

Russell Martin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:27:39 +0000

For the past two years I have been supporting the “Nothing But Nets” campaign. The campaign raises money to provide mosquito nets that protect from Malaria with the goal of wiping out the disease on the continent of Africa.

Between now and Christmas I want to raise enough money to buy 1000 nets. At $10 each that makes a total of $10,000

Wow, you might say that’s a lot of money but think of it this way.

Between now and Christmas is around 45 days. That means if you saved 22 cents per day between now and then you would have $10 for a net.

I figure that I have about 2000 people I am connected to between facebook personal page, fan page and twitter. If only half participated we would reach the goal.

How you can help:

1. Donate: I have created a netraiser team called Fork In the Road. You can help support me by making a secure online donation. Click here to donate.

2. Forward, Retweet, Repost: Send this on to your friends in your social networks. Get them to help.. who knows we could pass 1000 nets easily.

3. Start Your Own Team: Why not start your own effort with your church, youth group, or among your social media friends. It doesn’t matter who raises the money, just that they get raised.
For more information on how YOU can participate in Nothing But Nets, please visit www.NothingButNets.net

Thanks for your support!

Appreciating Your Worship Team- Ask for Feedback

Russell Martin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:49:24 +0000

Each year I have an end of year evaluation with my pastor and other church leaders. This is a great time to look back on the previous year, talk about goals and identify areas in need of attention.

This year I decided to go a step further. I sent a short survey out to my worship team. After all, these are the guys who are in rehearsals and leading worship with me week in and week out, and I really wanted to know what they were thinking. I will admit I was apprehensive about doing so at first, however now that we have gone through the process it is one that I plan to do every year.

The set up was simple:

1. I used google to create a form

2. I emailed the link out to the team members

3. As they filled in the sheet the answers were collected for me

Here were my questions:

1. Rate the overall musical quality of the worship Team (1-5)

2. How much do rehearsals prepare you for leading worship Sunday morning (1-5)

3. Rate the variety of music presented (1-5)

4. List up to three things you think the band has definately improved on in 2009

5. What are three things you would have liked us to have improved on but we did not?

6. If you were in charge, could do anything you want, what one major change would you make?

7. Give me your idea of something new we should try to do?

8. Can you commit to the worship team for 2010? Why or Why Not?

9. What else would you like to say?

Through providing this opportunity for feedback I was able to hear things that I might not otherwise and address them before problems arise. I am excited too about new suggestions that were given and am looking forward to implementing them in the new year.

I encourage you to find some way where you can receive honest feedback from those you work with on a weekly basis. Not only will it help you to stop possible problems, but it gives your team members ownership.

So.. how do you give opportunities for feedback?

Your comments are appreciated.

People Vs Perfection

Russell Martin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:41:57 +0000

Relating to worship teams and the services we lead what does the following mean to you:

People vs Perfection

Participation vs Performance

Working With Youth Bands: Point and Play

Russell Martin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:08:34 +0000

Here is a little exercise we use with our youth band to work on playing together, keeping rhythm, following a leader and learning to listen to other parts. We took a repetitive section of a song, in our case we used the first part of “Undiginified” and we made sure everyone knew it. Then I told them that I had an on off switch. When I pointed to them they should play if they weren’t playing or stop playing if they were. I started off pointing to the drums and bass, then added guitar, keyboard etc. Then I switched off the drums to see how the rest of the group would keep beat. We played for about 10 minutes with this and I let my vocalists take a turn at telling members when to play or not.

It was something simple to do, but they really had fun.

What fun exercises do you use with your youth praise team?

Appreciating Your Worship Team: Social Media

Russell Martin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:21:04 +0000

There are many ways to let your worship team know you appreciate them. Some of these include sharing a meal together, or even giving a CD as a gift. One more I way I thought of today is to use social media.

The beauty, and sometimes curse, of social media is that whatever you put up, most anyone can see. Services like twitter and facebook are a great way to get a message out to alot of people at one time. Why not use this means to show your appreciation to your worship team. This morning our youth band led worship and did a great job. As I was getting in my car I just posted a short twitter that said “Couldn’t be more proud of the youth band, they did a great job.” My goal was that when this posted to my facebook account that some of the youth band members would see it. What happened was that other church members who were there also chimed in and left comments like “Yeah they were great.” So my simple twitter/facebook update actually prompted others to show their appreciation too.

Is this the only way to show appreciation… no. But here are some of the benifits I have seen:

1. It is immediate- A handwritten card may be more personal, but by the time you write it, mail it, and they receive it, 3 days could pass by. I was able to send out this message immediately.

2. It is global- Write a note to one person showing your appreciation and that one person will see it. Write it on something public like twitter or facebook and many people can see it, and chime in too.

3. It encourages others- When you share your appreciation on a public site like facebook then it prompts others to share their appreciation too.

4. It’s easy- No pens, envelopes, stationary, or desk was involved.

5. It gets to the point- When I write a letter alot of times I end up rambling not knowing what to say. Using a text or twitter makes me say what I want to quickly and concisely.

If you like this article then consider subscribing to Fork In the Road music by email or using your rss reader. Visit my contact page for more ways to stay in touch. Follow me on twitter.

Appreciating Your Band- Today is the Day

Russell Martin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:43:34 +0000

Today I passed out a rehearsal CD to our band. I spent some money and purchased everyone in the band a copy of Lincoln Brewster’s Cd “Today is the Day”. The songs are great, different from what we have traditionally done, and the style fits our group. Plus I have a sophomore kid playing guitar who can pretty much nail all the guitar parts. It was something simple that cost a little bit of money but that i hope goes a long way. Since we recently stopped making “reheasal cds” for our team, buying them a copy of a worship CD helps them to continue to learn songs, plus increases their worship music collection.

I am not sure if we will continue to buy CDs for the team but it seems like a great way to show a little appreciation and to stay within copyright regulations as well.

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Appreciating Your Band-Take a Break and Break Some Bread

Russell Martin — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:27:54 +0000

I became the worship leader at my church over 2 years ago. After a while I felt like we were getting into a rut and stale in our music and our rehearsals. What I began to realize is that all we did was practice and lead. I decided that what we needed was a chance to spend time, not playing our instruments. So for one rehearsal I ordered fajitas from a local restaurant and treated them to a meal. It was nothing fancy, just some chicken, cheese and tortillas. We sat and ate, talked about stuff, learned about each other and we even ended up playing through some new songs, but that wasn’t the focus. The whole meal cost me around $100. The money spent is nothing compared to what has happened since.

Over the past years we have continued this tradition. Not on a regular basis but randomly. We meet together, share a meal and just chill out. Turns out I think it has been some of the most productive rehearsal times that we have had.

How often do you just take a break and do something different with your team?

If you like this article then consider subscribing to Fork In the Road music by email or using your rss reader. Visit my contact page for more ways to stay in touch.