KerrTunes.com Articles

Like Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:36:00 +0000

Among the many classes offered at the

in 2006 were several that shared certain content. Each related in some way to the concept of "free worship". Sometimes this concept is termed "selah". As you've read the Psalms, you've probably seen this term between sections of a Psalm.
I understand this term to mean "pause". The writer of the Psalm is encouraging the reader to pause and consider what they've just read. Do you ever find yourself in too much of a hurry when reading your Bible to pause and think about the words you're reading? God in His wisdom knew this would be true, so He challenges us in the Word to pause. Chill out. Slow down. Take a deep breath and relax long enough to let His words of life skin in to our hearts and minds.
Just as we're sometimes in a hurry to read a few verses, I find that sometimes I feel so "clock conscious" as I lead worship that I don't often pause and consider what I'm singing. That said, I'm finding that, more than ever, I look forward to times of free worship in corporate worship settings. Selah moments. Time to pause.
Many of you have experienced the richness that can be found in free worship. If you've ever wondered what music to play for one of these moments, my new song, "Like Rain", contains a chord progression that works beautifully as a starting point. Download a leadsheet for "Like Rain"

here

. You can see this progression in the chart below:

This progression is heard often on worship recordings and offers some opportunities to create some very beautiful voicings on your keyboard. To feel some of these voicings under your own fingers, why not sit at your keyboard and try these?
For the first chord, G2, I suggest you place your 5th finger, right hand, on the D just above middle C. Below that play an A with your 2nd finger, right hand, and a G with your thumb, right hand. With your 5th finger, left hand, play a G one octave below the G your thumb is playing.
Things get really "juicy" when you move to a voicing for the A(add4)/G, measure two of the chart shown above. Note that the spelling of the A(add4) is A C# D E, with the D being the add4. So, for this chord's voicing, keep the D under your 5th finger, right hand, play the C# directly below it with your 4th finger, right hand. Keep your 2nd finger, right hand, on the A and your thumb, right hand on the G. In your left hand, play an E just below the G your right hand's thumb is playing. Use your thumb, left hand, for this E. Continue playing the G the 5th finger of your left hand is playing.
Whew. That was a challenge to describe. I'll list those voicings in columns to give you a quick overview of these important voicings.

RH Fingering	G2	A(add4)/G
5	D	D
4	-	C#
2	A	A
1	G	G
LH Fingering
1	-	E
5	G	G

Go a little further now and play these two voicings again and again. Have a slow tempo in mind and play each chord twice. Play them as solid voicings, sounding each note simultaneously. This will let you hear very clearly the dissonance that results from keeping the D in the soprano of your right hand. Like I said, "juicy".
Now try creating some broken patterns, where you play the notes in linear succession rather than simultaneously. I'll attach some audio files soon so that you can hear these examples.
Lord, give us greater and greater freedom to worship You as Your people gather. Whether we're singing a known song or a new song over a repeating chord pattern, visit us with Your awesome presence, in Jesus' Name.
-Ed Kerr

I Will Bow To You

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Thu, 01 Apr 2004 07:36:00 +0000

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

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

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

note pattern. Big ears being used here? Absolutely. The shaker's frequencies are much higher than the 8

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

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

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.

Lord, I will bow to You
To no other god but You alone
Lord, I will worship You, nothing hands have made
But You alone
I will lay down my idols, thrones I have made
All that has taken my heart
Lord, I will bow to You
To no other god but You alone

Remember The Giver

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Thu, 01 Apr 2004 05:20:00 +0000

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.

A New Lyric & Some New Chords

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:45:00 +0000

I want to provide you with an arrangement of a familiar Christmas carol. "Silent Night" is certainly a favorite song of the season for many Christians. I suspect that many who do not yet believe in Jesus as their Savior also find comfort in the beautiful lyrics and lullaby-like qualities of this song. For many people in our culture and even in our churches, there may be personal realities that sometimes produce anything but ?sleep in heavenly peace?. The ongoing conflict in Iraq, the frequent terrorist atrocities which dominate the news, and other concerns might be your focus rather than rest in the love of God. In response to that reality, I've written an additional verse to "Silent Night".

You can

hear it sung in an mp3

here and

download a pdf

of the arrangement as well. Perhaps you might find it useful for an offertory or special music selection in one of your services during the Christmas season. To hear the familiar tune of "Silent Night" with these lyrics could encourage someone in your fellowship to surrender an area of concern to the Lord. Here are the new lyrics:

Holy God, only You see

All we lack, all we need

You alone love us just as we are

Humbly now we surrender our hearts

Give us hope as we worship

Fill us with heavenly peace

Amen. What an awesome reality, that God can and will give us hope as we worship Him. As we enter the holiday season in which we celebrate "God with us", I pray that we will be people who walk in the peace of God that passes understanding. Certainly there is much in our society today that could cause us to be afraid, but I hope that you and I will run to our Strong Tower and find relief from the cares of the world.

Here's a portion of the chord chart for my arrangement of "Silent Night".

What would your response be if your worship leader handed you this chord chart for use in an upcoming Sunday holiday service? If your response would be to plan an early visit to Grandma's house that Sunday so that someone else would have to play keyboard, I hope that the tips I'll give you here and in "Building Blocks For Keyboards" will help you feel more confident in your abilities to create keyboard parts from a chord chart.

One of the most important principles detailed in my new video is an invaluable one for any musician to grasp, the principle that "less is more". This principle has its origin among studio musicians who have seen that the most important consideration they can make when deciding what part they will play on a recording is the need of the arrangement. Though they might be able to play a dazzling 32nd note run covering four octaves on their instrument, their first consideration will be whether such a run would be appropriate for the musical context. Often, the part they contribute is quite simple, showcasing not the technical dexterity of the studio musician, but rather their musical sensibilities. Listen to keyboard parts from your favorite praise and worship recordings, and I suspect that you will find that generally the parts played are not terribly demanding technically but do seem to be just what the arrangement needed musically.

How can you and I create keyboard parts that have similar qualities? Compare the portion of the chord chart shown above with the keyboard part you see below. I've prepared an

mp3

of these four measures for your use. Take a moment and listen to them now. Several elements of this keyboard part merit description. One of the most conspicuous ones I see is the simplicity or the right hand's part. It starts with a Bb above middle C and stays on that note for nearly two full bars. I call this part a drone, where a single pitch is heard for several bars over changing chords. In the 3rd an 4th bars the drone continues, as the right hand jumps up an octave to another Bb. Throughout these four measures, most of the note values in this right hand part are long ones, half notes or greater. Melodic activity and melodic interest are definitely not features of this part, but the fact that it is created from a single pitch is. I'm highlighting the occurrences of Bb's as drones in the graphic below with yellow.

By contrast, the left hand's part is much more involved both melodically and rhythmically. It gains melodic significance from the chord progression of the arrangement. Study the chord chart above and you'll see that it features a "walkdown", a concept explored in many examples within my new video. I've highlighted the notes of the walkdown here in blue.

A walkdown features a bass line that descends by whole or half steps. In this chart you'll see that the walkdown begins on a Bb and then descends for the next three notes, moving to an Ab, a G, and a Gb, then repeating that four-note walkdown. To pair that descending bass line with the unyielding Bb of the drone in the right hand makes for a pleasing musical texture.

The left hand's part gains rhythmic significance through the use of an ostinato, a device common in classical music. Webster's Dictionary defines an ostinato as "a musical figure repeated persistently as the same pitch through a composition". Do you see how there are 2 eighth notes played on the 1st and 4th beats of each measure? I've highlighted these notes in red below. Since the pitches used in each group of 2 eighth notes change, this example doesn't adhere strictly to Webster's definition of ostinato, so I'll call them a rhythmic ostinato.

The use of repeated rhythmic patterns like this gives the arrangement a continuity and predictability. Once this repeated figure is established, it continues all the way through measure 28 of the arrangement. Again, a

pdf of the arrangement

is available here.
This four measure selection is an excellent example of a concept developed in my first video,

"Keyboards In Contemporary Praise and Worship, vol. 1"

. That concept is "the internal clock". The essence of this concept is that we don't need to create keyboard parts where every subdivision of every beat is filled with activity. Look at measure 1 of the example shown above. Do you see a constant string of 8th notes in the left hand? No. There are 8th notes on the first beat, then a half note held through beats 2 and 3, eighth notes on the fourth beat, and another half note held through beats 5 and 6. The logic of the internal clock concept is that we can create a sparse keyboard part (remember the "less is more" principle, described above) that sufficiently establishes the meter of the song we're playing without creating a busy part.
Listen to these four measures again by clicking

here

. If you were to play these measures this way, do you think the listener would panic on beat 3 of every measure, anxious about where the next downbeat will be? No, because the first two eighth notes of the left hand part establish the subdivision, and the listener's internal clock fills in the subsequent eighth notes that aren't played after that. We can trust this "internal clock" in our listener. Thus, we can create keyboard parts and arrangements that are sparse rather than full of constant activity.
Click

here

to listen to these 4 bars, first played as written, and then played with every 8th note filled in, and I think you'll agree that the meter is clearly established in the first example. Try this yourself, playing whatever song you choose. Evaluate whether or not the part you're playing is filling every subdivision of the meter or if you're making music that trusts the internal clock in your listener.
I'm including a pdf of my piano/vocal arrangement of the hymn, "

Be Thou My Vision

", which demonstrates many of the principles discussed above. Click

here

to hear an mp3 of the arrangement. An ostinato is created in the intro, and that ostinato pattern is repeated in almost every measure of the keyboard part. The "less is more" and "internal clock" concepts are shown as well, with very few instances throughout the arrangement where anything is played on the third beat of any measure.
Behind all of the resources available here at kerrtunes.com is my hope that these items will help get many major musical concepts not just in your heads but in your fingers as well. Enjoy the process as you grow as a musician and minister, in Jesus' Name.

Playing 'Pad' Parts

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Tue, 03 Jun 2003 23:15:00 +0000

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 thismp3 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.

There's a GAL I want you to meet

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Mon, 03 Jun 2002 23:00:00 +0000

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.

Be A Genesis Musician

noreply@blogger.com (Ed Kerr) — Wed, 18 Jul 2001 23:19:00 +0000

Keep Some Secrets:

Be a worshipper of God in the secret place, not just when you're participating in a worship service as a member of a Praise Team. Examine your heart when you're hearing the team from the congregation rather than playing with them. Are you more focused on what the musicians are doing than what the Lord wants to speak to your heart and what you could sing or speak to His? I pray that you (and I) are more hungry to know the heart of the Lord than to be conspicuous in our roles as music ministers.

"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults…May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:12-14 (NIV)

Give some attention to your horizontal relationships, not just your vertical relationship with the Lord.

You've probably all seen comic strips where a little bubble is drawn over someone's head containing their thoughts at a given moment. Imagine this happening while you're playing in a worship service. Your team is singing, "What a friend we have in Jesus" while you're thinking, "Yeah, but that guitar player makes me CRAZY sometimes!" Your church's musical presentation may be of a very high caliber, but if your relationships within the team are filled with unresolved conflicts, the effectiveness of your worship times is definitely being limited. Psalm 133 makes this clear.

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity…for there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore" Psalm 133:1-3 (NIV)

Develop "big ears".

Listen! Listen! Listen! When I'm playing keyboards in a worship service I am constantly focusing on what's taking place within the Praise Team. By this I mean that I am listening for the interaction of my keyboard parts with the vocalists and the other players in the band as well as listening to the worship leader in case he or she is giving a verbal cue that demands a response from me. My response to what I hear determines the part I create at a given moment. Were I seated in the congregation at this moment I would have complete freedom to think only on the Lord, but I believe that it is essential for every member of the Praise Team to stay alert to both musical and spiritual considerations during corporate worship times. As the team does so, by the grace of God an environment can be created which enhances the worship experience of our congregation.

The fact that you can doesn't mean that you should.

Just because you've really been working hard on your scales and arpeggios this week doesn't mean you need to try and demonstrate your technical prowess to the congregation on every song in the set. Listen to most of your favorite praise and worship recordings and you'll find that many of the keyboard parts featured are quite simple, with few virtuosic moments. With time you'll begin to appreciate how true the phrase "Less is more" can be in reference to contemporary keyboard style. Check out the "

Guideline For Analytical Listening

" to see what I mean.

Don't limit the potential of your musical contribution.

If you're playing an acoustic piano, naturally you have no choice of the sound you'll be using. In this case, though, beware of only playing within a limited range of the instrument. For example, I love the sound of a grand piano in the rich register going from approximately one octave below middle C to one octave above. This generally is the register in which the vocalists on the Praise Team will sing. In order to provide some contrast with the pitches they're singing, I often try and use some of the higher notes on the piano. Since they are not pitches being sung by the vocalists, these piano parts "speak" more clearly than pitches in the vocalists' register might.

You've got 500 sounds: use more than one of them.

Especially if you have electronic keyboards, such as the Roland XV-88 which I currently use, you have many sounds from which you can choose. Your options might include keyboard-based sounds, orchestral sounds, percussion sounds, novelty sounds and many others. So, rather than playing within your "comfort zone" and using only that grand piano sound you really like, stretch yourself musically and choose something very different. For instance, if the song is something like "Open The Eyes Of My Heart" and features a constant strumming pattern from an acoustic guitar, consider using a pad sound. The sustained quality of the pad sound and the long note values a pad part commonly contains compliment the guitar part well.

Be a Genesis musician.

Do I regularly find delight in making music? Has the playing of familiar choruses become something I do on "auto pilot"? Do I just call up the usual sound and play the usual part with less and less creative energy? . I believe God has given us an amazing call to be creators just as He was "in the beginning". Ask God to give you the heart He had in Genesis chapter 1. Devote yourself to keeping your heart tender before the Lord, embrace the weight of the call He's given you to minister to His body, and by His grace you will be able to leave your keyboard after a ministry time, reflect on what transpired both musical and spiritually and say with delight, "It is good." Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31.