Many churches ask for some practical ideas for their worship team rehearsals. Often, these practice sessions become mundane and boring. I don’t necessarily have the final word on how to handle these sessions, but here are a few practical tips.
One of the major questions asked is, “How often should we get together as a team?” There are no right and wrong answers to this question, since there are so many variables involved. It must be determined by your situation. But once-a-week practice works best in most cases. It is difficult to work together musically in a given service if you are not very familiar with one another’s abilities and musical styles. The ability to “flow” together as a team is made possible largely by working together often. Without this regular interaction it will be difficult, at best, to be “tight” musically.
The length of the practice session should also be determined by your particular circumstances. A team of two musicians will probably not require as much time for rehearsal as a thirty-piece orchestra. Remember, then, that as your team grows, your practices may need to be longer. Don’t lock yourself into a certain practice length now and, if and when you change it, end up with disgruntled musicians. Let them know that there may come a time when your preparation sessions may have to change.
Another common question is, “What should we do at our rehearsals?” On the surface, the answer would seem obvious. However, by looking a little further, one can turn up some hidden ideas. Several are listed below, but keep in mind that all of these do not necessarily need to be a part of every practice. They can be intermixed and used at appropriate times to accomplish the necessary agenda.
Worship. This is an often overlooked part of the practice time. It is difficult to lead in worship on Sunday mornings as a team if we never worship together at any other time. Our job is not just to provide a musical background whereby others may worship—we are to be the leaders in worship. If our times of preparation consist only of “playing music” and not actually worshiping God ourselves, we are sending the wrong message to our musicians. We are telling them that the music aspect is more important than what is coming from the heart. Spending time in worship together as a team is vital.
Prayer. This, too, is frequently left out of many practice times. We should take time to pray for one another, for the congregation, for the pastor, and for other concerns. Pray and seek God’s direction together for a particular service or series of services. All of these are important in building team unity.
As the leader, it is necessary to strike a balance in your own participation in the times of prayer. You should be an example for the others in prayer, but don’t make it your time of prayer. Don’t spend the entire time praying aloud and not allow the others to pray also. Encourage them to make their requests known to God (Phil. 4:6).
Learning New Music. Finally, we get to what everyone thinks practices are all about. Please keep in mind, though, that this is number three on the list.
When attempting to learn new songs, it is usually best to have music for all musicians. Some may be able to share, but asking twelve musicians to gather around one hand-scrawled 3″ x 5″ note card is a little too much.
Some teams prefer to have separate vocalist and instrumentalist sessions when learning new songs. This helps them learn vocal harmonies and various instrumental parts without interfering with one another. This, again, will depend upon your particular situation.
One important note on this: always try to learn a song thoroughly before using it corporately. This can save a great deal of embarrassment for everyone. At the same time, it should be understood that working on a given song for months without using it for a corporate service can be very frustrating to the worship team members.
Reviewing Old Songs. This is especially important if you add new people to your worship team. Most people simply assume that the new people know all the old music. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. It is good to have a “working list” of songs and occasionally be certain that everyone on the team is familiar with all of these.
It is also worthwhile to sometimes take an old song and do a new musical arrangement for it. This can go a long way toward bringing new life to something old.
Evaluate Previous Service(s). This can be very helpful as long as you don’t become scrupulous. Looking at what you did musically as well as considering the overall response can be beneficial for future reference. This is not so you can repeat something that worked but to evaluate why things happened as they did and what could have been done differently. This is not a time to be super-critical. Simply look at what happened for the purpose of learning. A great deal can be learned from sincere evaluation.
Introducing Special Music. These songs usually involve a bit more work than the praise and worship songs. This is, in part, because the special music is often more intricate, but also because the congregation will not be singing; they’ll only be listening. Most churches will spend more time “polishing” their special music.
These ideas are not necessarily all-inclusive. There are probably numerous other practical suggestions that you know about or are presently using. Potentially all of these can be used in one form or another.
It is important to maintain the interest and the enthusiasm of your musicians on an ongoing basis. By doing this, you’ll have a more contented and productive worship team.