Fork In The Road Music » voices

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?

Sunday Setlist 1/11/09

Russell Martin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:12:36 +0000

When we started rehearsing today, my thoughts were that this was not going to be a good morning. If you follow me on twitter or facebook you know what I am talking about. On Wednesday we had installed four brand new wireless Sure microphones and when installed there were a few cracks and buzzes but I thought we had worked them out. Sunday morning, as we began rehearsal, the gremlins reared their ugly head and the microphones again were cracking. Luckily we had the old microphones, reinstalled them and we were good to go.

When things don’t work well I start worrying. I know I shouldn’t but we also had a guest singing with us this morning and I wanted everything to work well, you know, so she didn’t think that this is how it always was. So I really spent my morning worrying about pleasing people and not God. I think there is a verse about that. Thankfully God worked even inspite of me and the morning was great. The band sounded awesome, and the vocals did a great job. And yes.. the microphones worked great. It turned out to be one of the best Sundays that we have had so far.

So with all of that here was our Songlist

Wade in the Water- (Based on Eva Cassidy Version) Our service this week was on the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Having the voices of Shelly and Kerri this song was a natural choice for us to use to kick off the service.

Cover us- (The Sonflowerz) We heard this on the Song Discovery 72 CD. We actually will be working 6 or so songs from this CD in the next few weeks.

Stir In Me (Todd Proctor) They were doing this song even before I got here and it has made it through the years. I think it’s because it’s easy to sing and the band loves to play it.

Did You Know? and Thank You For Loving Me- (Shelly Wilson) The band loved playing this song off of Shelly’s latest CD and the best part was that she was here to sing them live with us.

You Never Let Go-(Matt and Beth Redman)- Our pastor ended his sermon talking about the fact that no matter how we feel God is always there no matter what. I didn’t know really how his sermon was going to end but this song fit perfectly.

To view what other churches did this week visit Fred McKinnon‘s Sunday Setlist.

Listening

Russell Martin — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:10:00 +0000

At camp last week we took all the kids out to the vespers point by the lake. From where we were sitting you could see across the lake to the lit cross on the island. While we were there we sang some songs, enjoyed the outdoors and being there under the stars.
While we sat we were asked to listen. To just sit there and listen. We were to listen to the sounds of the crickets, bullfrogs, wind in the trees. So I did that, I sat and listened. I looked up at the skies, and started separating sounds. I heard the crickets chirping, I heard the bullfrogs croaking, a bird here or there and other insects making their nightly noise. We were indeed surrounded by a symphony of sound. But then I started hearing other noises. A truck going down the highway that ran infront of the camp, a golf cart carrying someone going to their meeting room, the distant boom of music in the mid-high dance across the camp.
I was supposed to be enjoying the sounds of nature and what I could hear was all the man made distractions. At first i thought it was a bad thing. But then I realized that I was able to hear those man made distractions. When I sat down to listen I was able to determine what was nature, what was man made. I think all day long all the sounds just blended together and I really had no distinction between them, they all just blended together.
Maybe most of my days go like that. I wonder what would happen if I sat down during my day and separated the sounds. Would I then be able to determine which noises are good and which ones are distracting instead of just putting up with them all blending together?
What about you? Take a chance to just sit down and be still. Take 15-30 minutes and sit down and just listen. Then ask God to help you determine which noises to listen to and which ones to block out.