There's a GAL I want you to meet…

In my last article I included a pdf for a form I've developed called "Guideline For Analytical Listening". (From now on I'll refer to the form as GAL.) Because I believe the information on this form can be very valuable to you, I'm going to devote this article to showing you how the form can be used. Click here to download the completed pdf for the song "Great Is The Lord" or click here to download a blank form that you can fill out as you proceed through this article... The arrangement of the song I'm presenting here is featured on Maranatha!Music's recording, "The Power Of Your Love", volume 16 in their Praise Series. This is one of my favorite worship songs, and this arrangement is completely inspiring to me every time I listen to it.

Let me start by summarizing why I feel strongly about the value of filling out one of these GAL's. Some of you are new to the world of electronic keyboards. Having come from past musical experience where you played only acoustic piano, you are not quite sure how to use some of the many sounds that are featured within a keyboard you or your church might have purchased. I am quite confident that one of the best ways for you to grow comfortable in using any new sound is to study recordings on which similar sounds are used. The GAL is a helpful form on which you can write down what you learn from that study. My intent in the weeks to come is to compile a library of completed GAL's here at kerrtunes.com along with mp3's of the songs analyzed, so that when you are looking for some hints as to how to use a certain type of sound or play a specific musical style, you can find help in this library.

Space is provided on the blank form for information that will help you find the song in the future: the recording containing the song, the song's title, and the song's style. It is handy to record the tempo of the song as well. Noting the style and the tempo will be especially beneficial in the future if you're working on a song for which you can't find a recording. Find a GAL that you've filled out or one in the library here that has a similar style and tempo and you'll probably find some direction as to how to create your keyboard parts for the unrecorded song.

So, if you've downloaded the completed GAL form or a blank one that you'll fill out yourself, let's look at what information is contained on the form for "Great Is The Lord". The GAL asks you to specify what type of sound you're hearing from the keyboards. Why not listen to the mp3 of the song now and read the things I've included in the completed form or give some thought to what you might write in the blank form? Here's a link to the mp3.

Isn't that a beautiful song and a powerful arrangement? As you listened to this recording of "Great Is The Lord", you heard that a pad sound was featured in a very conspicuous role. In fact, the pad sound is almost all that is heard for the entire intro. This is a very unusual example, and the result is a very dramatic intro that definitely leaves lots of room for the arrangement to build as the song develops. It also allows us to easily scrutinize the voicings of the pad part. For those of you who are interested in reading a transcription of this part, click here to download its pdf. This intro illustrates some important aspects of well-created pad parts.

A very significant feature of the intro you've heard here and of pad playing in general is the use of a common tone or drone note throughout the progression. Listen to the intro in the mp3 again or check out my transcription of the part and you'll observe that the note A above middle C is held throughout the example. This unyielding note creates musical tension and adds a great sense of momentum to these measures. Doesn't it sound as though you've come "home" when the A2 chord is sounded in measure 6? If you're listening to the mp3 where you have access to a keyboard, play the A above middle C occasionally as you listen. This will help you hear the unchanging note. This concept is addressed in my instructional video, available here.

Playing Pad Parts

You're reading this article because you want to learn to play pad parts, not just listen to them. To create your own pad parts effectively, there are some very specific musical considerations involved. Defining a pad sound through the use of several recorded examples will be helpful One important characteristic of pad sounds is that they have a rather "bland" attack. Click here to listen to a rolling triplet figure played first by piano and then played using a pad sound. When the piano plays the part, each note is heard distinctly, even though the sustain pedal is being held. When that same part is played by a pad sound, repetitions of notes are not heard, because the beginning of the sound is not at all percussive. This greatly influences our usage of pad sounds: They lend themselves best to parts featuring long note values.

Many of today's popular choruses such as "Open The Eyes Of My Heart" and "Let Everything That Has Breath" feature a highly rhythmic, Celtic feel in the rhythm section and lend themselves well to arrangements featuring pad parts. I've created a short sequenced track suggesting the feel of these songs. Listen to this example and note the pad part's character compared to what the other instruments are doing.

This short example illustrates one of the most critical components of well-conceived pad parts. They compliment the activity of the rest of the rhythm section. When a song has this "Celtic" feel, there will often be lots of playing of sixteenth notes, typically played by a guitarist playing a strumming pattern and a drummer, who might play continuous 16ths on the toms. As I always stress in my teaching about playing in a rhythm section, each player should be listening to the other players. In this Celtic style, several instruments are already providing "hyper" activity, the guitars and drums in particular, so the musically logical contribution a keyboard player could make here is to create a part that has very little activity. Hence, the use of a pad sound.

You might note that I used a drone note in my pad part for this example, keeping the B above middle C sounding throughout the whole progression. Listen to the original example again, and then listen to this mp3 in which I leave the droning note and create some melodic movement in the upper voice of the pad part.

Finally, I'll share with you an easy way to discern if the pad part you're playing is doing what it can for the arrangement. Simply stop playing your part while the rest of the rhythm section keeps playing. What you should hear is a sudden "void" in the arrangement, a musical "hole" left because you're no longer filling that space. In this mp3 you can hear the pad part alternate 2 bars heard, 2 bars muted, 2 bars heard, etc. See if you hear the void.

You might want to print out this article and refer to it in your next Praise Team rehearsal. Try the "void" test described above. Ask yourself whether the part you're playing is contributing to the arrangement or competing with the parts other musicians are playing, whether you're using a pad sound, a piano sound, or any other sound. And, explore the use of droning notes when using pad sounds. I know you'll enjoy the result.