Working With Youth Bands: Point and Play
Mar 27, 2009 Youth Worship
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?
Tags: band, drums, guitar, Team, work, youth, Youth Band, Youth Worship
Sunday Setlist- 3/15/09
Mar 21, 2009 Worship Planning
Yes I know I am almost a week late in posting this. Oh well.. maybe since I can’t be first, I’ll be last.
Last week we had special guests leading worship. It was our youth band. I am so honored to have the priviledge of working with this group of talented young musicians. They have worked hard all year to lead music during our youth program and for youth worship services. So when the opportunity arose for them to lead we let them have an opportunity to lead in our morning contemporary worship service. As I expected they did an awesome job.
Here were our songs:
One Way
Today is The Day
Counting on God
How Great is Our God
Blessed Be Your Name
You Never Let Go
We also took communion and had a new family join.
That’s what we sang. Check out what other churches did for their Sunday Setlists.
Tags: band, Church, Setlist, Songs, Sunday, Sunday Setlist, work, Worship, youth, Youth Band, Youth Worship
Appreciating Your Worship Team: Social Media
Mar 15, 2009 How To, Youth Worship
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.
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Tags: Appreciate, band, CD, Church, facebook, fork In the Road, Team, twitter, Worship, youth, Youth Band
Youth Bands: Who provides the equiptment?
Jan 19, 2009 Youth Worship
Our bass player was playing at practice three weeks ago when her strap came off and her bass landed right on the input jack, busting the jack, solder joints, and a good portion of the body of the bass. I was not sure if the bass would be repairable or how long it would take to fix or for her family to replace.
So I got to thinking, “Do many youth programs and bands have instruments that belong to the church for the kids to play, or do all the kids play/bring their own gear? Our band uses all my gear including my PA, drum set, bass amp, and guitar amp and effects, but they play their own instruments (I play left handed). So, what do the rest of do with their youth bands? Do I need to look into buying some instruments and equipment through and for the church?
Jason Huffman is the youth director at Palestine FUMC. He shares his own thoughts about ministry and more on his blog.
Tags: band, blogs, Church, guitar, jason huffman, Thoughts, youth, Youth Band
National Youth Workers Convention- Part 1
Nov 22, 2008 Uncategorized
This weekend I am attending the National Youth Workers Convention in Nashville TN. I have attended many of these events in the past years, especially when I was the youth director, but now since I have moved into a different role, (I am a volunteer and work with the youth band) I am viewing this conference differently. I used to come with my seminars already chosen about being a youth director, or setting up a youth group, or the best games for youth groups. Now I am looking at things like the course I took yesterday on how to be a transformational leader, or spiritual disciplines, and things like that.
The thing that always awesome are the general sessions and times of worship and teaching that occur there. Yesterday they started off with Mercy Me, David Crowder, Joe Castillo (The sand art guy) and Frances Chan.
Well… we are about to head off to lunch and a super seminar. I hope to share some of the lessons learned with you in future posts. Oh.. and for all you twitter folk you can follow what’s going on by searching the tag #nywc.
Tags: band, How To, lessons, National Youth Workers Convention, twitter, work, Worship, youth, Youth Band
Working With Youth Bands: Change it Up
Oct 29, 2008 How To, Youth Worship
Today in our youth band we were playing Blessed Be Your Name. Since we knew the song very well I decided to use the song for an experiment. I started the intro but was playing the song in 6/8 instead of 4/4. It took on a swing/waltz type feel. The band came in and played along. The drummer picked up the beat, the bass player automatically adapted his part and with a little help, the singers sang along. Why did I do this? I really don’t know. But I learned a few things.
1. Try New Things- We tend to get into habits of playing. We always play a certain pattern, riff, or solo. Changing the time signature forced us to try different things.
2. Out of the Comfort Zone- Playing something in such a different way forced the band to pay attention. they were not sure what’s coming next and had to be more alert.
3. Encourage Adaptivity- Playing in the different time signature also forced our group to adapt. The singers had to figure out how the words and syllables best fit playing in 6 instead of 4. Our drummer had to adjust his pattern to go with the new time.
4. Shake Up a Familiar Song- When we finished one of our singers turned around and said, “I am not sure what we just did… but I liked it!” We didn’t make a decision then but we just may do it that way sometime who knows?
So I encourage you to change things up. Try songs in new keys, time signatures or chord patterns. You may never actually use the song that way when you lead worship but it will help to stretch your band on their instruments and encourage them to not just focus on the way we have always done it.
How have you changed songs like this?
Just a Glimpse
Oct 8, 2008 Youth Worship
For the past several years I have been working youth worship teams. Every year is different, mostly because with youth you have a constant flow of kids in and out. Some graduate, some get jobs and cannot particpate, and then there are some that join for the first time. Every year though with your group there comes a point where you hear it. What is it? It is a glimpse of what can be. It is when they aren’t just playing music but playing musically. It is when you see, that they see, that there is more to doing ths than just strumming, drumming, playing and singing.
Today we I saw it, and heard it. We came out of the chorus of “One Way” and into the bridge. The band dropped out, the keys kept playing and the singers came in on the words. The electric slowly built in, drums slowly got more intense and it just clicked.
2 minutes later the monitors weren’t working right, the singers didn’t understand their part, and it was time to go. The moment didn’t last long. It wasn’t all better after that time, but it did happen.
My encouragement to you is to listen to and identify those moments. Celebrate them and show the youth in the band what they sound like, so they can begin to hear what they sound like and strive for them.
Tags: band, drums, rehearsal, Team, work, Worship, youth, Youth Band, Youth Worship
How Do you Lead and Play Drums
Oct 2, 2008 How To, Youth Worship
Leading a youth band is hard. It’s even harder if you are having to lead from the drumset. My friend Jason Huffman who has guest posted here before is looking for some advice in this area. Check out his post and leave a comment.
Jason’s guest posts include
Embracing Technology with Youth Bands
Tags: band, blogs, drums, jason huffman, technology, work, Worship, youth, Youth Band
What To Do With a Youth Worship Team
Sep 18, 2008 Youth Worship
Do you have a youth worship team at your church? Are you interested in starting a worship service in your youth group? Since I began writing I have had more questions about youth worship leading, working with youth bands and other related items, I thought I would create a permanent link to all the articles written about youth worship leading and youth worship teams on Fork In the Road.
Also I wanted to let you know that I am going to be a special guest for an internet call in program hosted by Tim Schmoyer of “Life In Student Ministry” at 2:00 pm (EST). We will be talking about how to help students become the worshippers God created them to be, and how that worship can be initiated and led by their peers. Here are the instructions on how to join in on the conversation. I hope you will join us.
Tags: band, Church, fork In the Road, How To, Team, work, Worship, youth, Youth Band, Youth Worship
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
