Josh Basil
Weekly Report #2
4 Feb. 2007
I observed a worship band practice.
I got to the church a little after they had started practicing (trouble starting car + cold weather = lots of fun!) I sat on the main floor for a while, just observing from the “outside”. They all seemed to be having a good time. I noticed that the worship leader would occasionally get off topic and start telling stories. Most of the time they were working on one specific song, “burn in me”, because they had never done it before and Paula (the worship leader) really wanted to play it this morning. The practice started around 8:30 and the service doesn’t start until 10:30, so they had plenty of time! After a while Paula invited me up onto the stage so I could get a different view of the practice. I sat in the only open seat with the choir and she asked if I was a soprano, because I was sitting with them? I quickly sad no thank you! I cannot sing very well! She gave me the words to the new song and another sheet with the song list for the morning. I was observing the musicians for a while and they seemed to be a little confused with the music. The bass player and piano player were the only ones that seemed to have a clue because the others were always watching the music and their fingers and trying really hard to play an easy song. It was becoming a little obvious that Paula was becoming frustrated with the drummer because he was about an hour late, wasn’t paying close attention, and couldn’t finish a song very well. Before she got too upset, she got out her bible and began their devotion time. She read from Hebrews 12 where it talks about God being a consuming fire and how it related to the new song. The devotion/ prayer time was short, but to the point. We need to let the fire of God consume us and burn in us. It was interesting to see how much work goes into the music, especially if the musicians aren’t top quality! It was also fun to watch the actual service and take note of those parts that they had practiced a million times; they nailed it! As a result of this observation, I learned to appreciate how much work goes into leading worship and how patient worship leaders need to be with the band and choir.
5 comments:
Hey Josh;
It sounds like you had a interesting experiance. I realy liked the way the worship leader in which you are following, handled the situation by reverting to scripture instead of getting angry. I think that makes a huge difference in the spirit of the practice and service.
It was interesting reading about your experience, Josh! I liked what you said about the worship leader needing to have patience with the band and choir. It would have been very easy for the worship leader to get angry and blow up at the drummer for not being on time or paying attention. The worship leader and the band all need to work together as a team, having positive attitudes to prepare the worship songs.
I'm glad that the leader has the skills it takes not just to do music, but more importantly to deal with people. One of the toughest things to learn is that when you are counting on volunteer musicians and singers, be ready to be let down and be able to deal with it. There is an ability to be fluid with people that makes them feel welcome still without the awkward mad stage. It sounds like turning to the devotion time is what kept her level and there is something to be learned from that.
It sounds like a fun morning. Its kind of crazy how even if some people in the band may not be getting the music if you just take some time to devote it to God itll work out.
Have a good one
That's pretty neat. It's stragne that drummers tend to be late more so than the other members. But yeah, lots of work goes into the music. I noticed this when I observed music rehersal and it's very exciting to see how it all comes together in the service.
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