Remember The Giver [by Ed Kerr]

I have recently begun a Bible study in the book of Exodus with several friends. Years ago I had memorized a verse from this book, and over the next few weeks I am sure the verse will mean much more to me. Let me share this verse with you as I begin this article. Exodus 4:12 says, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”. I learned this verse because it spoke to an insecurity I sometimes felt about not being sure of the validity of what I might say when ministering in music. Even though I’ve only begun to study Exodus in depth, I already see that Moses was quick to focus on his own perceived inadequacies rather than focusing on the Awesome One he’d encountered at the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3. Before I delve into the more music-centered content of this article, I want to challenge you to remember Who we’re making music for in our worship times. Whether you’re anxious about what you’ll play to modulate from one song to the next or completely confident in your skill as a musician, give attention to your relationship with the One Who gives us musical gifts. As a father, I enjoy seeing my son happily playing with his favorite toy that I’ve given him, but my heart delights in those moments when he puts down the toy and reaches toward me for my embrace. Look up from your instrument, look up from your busy life, look up from whatever might keep you focused only on your circumstance and embrace Your Abba. He’s watching you. He delights in you. He loves you.

"I Will Bow To You"

In the years since I met the Lord in 1977 I’ve had the privilege of ministering with many gifted individuals. Watching God touch a congregation as these friends sang love songs to their Abba is a very special thing. One of those individuals who has most ministered to me personally is Bob Fitts. I’m sure that you are familiar with his recordings and his beautiful voice and heart for God. His most recent recording for Integrity Music is “I Will Bow To You”. Click here for ordering information from Bob's website. The recording is full of great songs ministered with intensity and sincerity. The title song is my favorite on the project. Click on this link to hear the song in its entirety. I want to spend some time focusing on elements of the keyboard part created by Chris Springer. It beautifully models much of what I teach in my keyboard videos and my keyboard classes and lessons.

The drummer you’ll hear on this recording and many others from Integrity Music is Carl Albrecht. He and I have taught together many times through the years, and one of his statements has especially impacted me. He says that a great musician will have “big ears”. The essence of Carl’s statement is that one of the most important things any musician can do is listen to the other musicians playing and singing along with them. On any recording you hear, the individual players and singers featured are probably capable of great virtuosity. Perhaps the bass player is a master of slap technique and could dazzle you with a 32^nd note run ending solidly on the downbeat. Perhaps one of the singers is capable of holding an A above the treble staff for 30 seconds. Without vibrato. Perhaps the electric guitar player has recently purchased an amazing new effects device that can make his guitar sound like it’s being played through amps stacked 12 high.

Perhaps. If you’ve ever heard this combination on a recording, let me know. I’d love to hear that! My point is that the individual abilities of all players and singers are always subordinate to the need of the arrangement. Or they always should be. You might be thinking “I know that’s true of recordings made by professional musicians, but it’s not true right now at my church”. I definitely want to encourage you that the musical principles you hear modeled on your favorite recordings can be applied in your particular setting. With success!

So, let’s perk up our big ears and look in depth at our recording of “I Will Bow To You”. From the first measure of the arrangement you can hear that the players have their “big ears” activated. Take a moment and listen to just the intro of the song, four measures only. Think about what you’re hearing. Is there one particular instrument “driving” the arrangement, playing the “busiest” part? Yes, it’s the acoustic guitar. The guitarist is playing a finger picking pattern of 8^th notes. Do you hear a keyboard part in the intro? Yes. An electric piano sound is being used. The big ear principle is well illustrated here in that the keyboard part features a stream of chords played on each quarter note. Their relative inactivity is a nice complement to the busier activity of the guitar part.

That’s the key. The parts being played in the intro complement each other. They don’t compete. Listen to the intro again. What other activity can you hear? Carl is playing a shaker with a constant 8^th note pattern. Big ears being used here? Absolutely. The shaker’s frequencies are much higher than the 8^th notes being played by the guitar, so they do not compete with the guitar even though they share the same rhythm. There’s also a high hat being played on every other beat. Enough detail for now.

The most important thing for you to recognize and to work towards incorporating in your worship team’s ministry times is the discipline of listening to one another. Use your big ears. Ask yourself whether one instrument within the section is taking the “driving” role. Often keyboard players and guitar players engage in an unintentional competition, both playing busy parts with similar rhythms using similar pitches. The result if a muddy sound and often some frustration within the rhythm section. How to avoid this? Do what the players on this recording probably did. Agree on the driving instrument for the song and let them drive. If you’re not in the driver’s seat on a particular tune, find a part that does what Chris’ s did here, it complements the driving part.

Another very significant feature of this intro is the use of a cello to play a beautiful melody. It’s interesting that both the cellist and acoustic guitarist are playing lots of 8^th notes. Do you hear them competing against one another? I don’t. The cello line is definitely more prominent. Can this work in your rhythm section? Absolutely. An important distinction between these parts is that the acoustic guitar player’s pattern features only leaps between the arpeggiated notes of the chords, whereas the cello line sometimes will play a whole or a half step involving a note not in the chord. Also, the guitar part is a continuous stream of 8^th notes, whereas the cello line features some longer note values, especially in measure 2. This principle is certainly significant for us as keyboard players. When we’re the one driving a particular song it’s valuable to know that we can provide activity within a section that won’t compete with the vocal line. Rule of thumb: Stick to the arpeggiated notes of the chords, avoid stepwise movement to notes not in the chord, and your part should complement the vocal nicely.

Take this same analytical approach as you listen through all of “I Will Bow To You”. Click here to do so. Let those big ears you have serve you as you listen for other principles being illustrated and consider how you could apply them to your playing on your praise team. Share the principles with your team, and I know that with time you’ll begin to hear some of the same clarity of arrangement as you hear beautifully modeled here.

I’ve created a resource called a GAL that might help you write out and utilize the things you observe as you listen to recordings. GAL stands for “Guideline For Analytical Listening”. I make this resource available and describe its use in an earlier article archived here. Click here to view the article. Click here to download the form. I’ve taken the liberty to fill in a GAL for this song, and you can see it by clicking here.

If you’re using this song in your worship times and hear a texture that lacks some of the clarity you’ve heard on the recording, compare the points on the GAL with what you’re hearing within your rhythm section. Perhaps you could listen to the recording together with your team while viewing the GAL and then evaluate how your performance compares to the recording.

My instructional video, “Keyboards In Contemporary Praise & Worship”, features a section entitled “simplicity vs. busyness” that can give you further direction in creating keyboard parts that are appropriate to your musical context. Many other topics are contained in the video, among them an important section on the interaction of guitars and keyboards in the rhythm section.

Whatever your current skill level, remember that our goal as music ministers is never to draw attention to ourselves but to showcase a lyric that has the power to engage our congregation’s heart and help them draw closer to God. I’ll close with the lyric for “I Will Bow To You” and trust that this beautiful prayer is something that resonates deep within your spirit.

-Ed Kerr