Worship Band, Secular Band.. whatever.. one thing is sure is that the best bands, or the ones that come over as being extremely tight when they play are not just bands that practise a lot but they are bands that grasp Band Dynamics and Team Work

What are you on about? We just turn up and play?

Think about it for a moment

What does a Band Usually Consist of first.?

• Vocals
• Drums
• Bass
• Acoustic Guitar
• Electric Guitar
• Keys
• Sound equipment

Tip 1 Making Music - First thing which is something that must be grasped, learnt, hammered out is that your trying to produce music. Sounds simple but follow me for a moment..
I once heard someone say that when it came to playing electric guitar, you could get all fancy and solo like mad, do tons of fancy things, and get all wrapped up in trying to complex things.. but ultimately at the end of the day.. you are trying to make music, so having all the theory in the world isn’t going to help if what you produce sounds mechanical or like trash. Your Goal is to make Music so find out what the songs needs and play only that. - Find out what the songs needs, and only play that individually and together.

Tip 2 - Use Sparingly..Each of the above instruments and vocals are individual and they are designed to each bring something to the table, Trying to add 2 drummers on a song when you haven’t mastered how to have 1 drummer would be a bit insane, adding 2 drummers when the hall your playing in is not a stadium, or theater size again is insane, your going to be too noisey, Adding 2 drummers without each person concentrating on bring one particular thing is going to just cancel the other person out and while might thicken up the sound.. it might actually just make it sound too thick and lose its distinction. Use sparingly how many people you have playing.

Play sparingly, meaning don’t try to play on top, over, under or the same thing as the other person unless of course you have for-warned the other person, as your liable to just cancel the other persons playing out, or just make it sound too much. Remember Less is More.. that might mean hardly playing or not even playing at all.. can you do that?

Tip 3 - Dont use every instrument for every song - You dont need backup vocals on every song, you dont need keys for every song, you dont need electric guitar, or even drums for every song, so why do we always rush in and just start playing our bits.. if your playing someone elses song, find out how they did it, decide if you want to do it like that and if so.. do it like that, dont add in a bunch of other things if the song doesn’t call for it. Some songs dont require 2 drummers, some dont require 2 electric guitars.. its Distinction of Sound your trying to aim for, Not Distinction of the Player..

Tip 4 - Try not to wing a song, unless your very good at winging… even those most skilled musicians and session workers wont do a song unless they have an idea of what key its in, how it goes, and what they will be doing, and what the others will be doing.. so why are we any different? Do you think U2 wings it?…. im sure after years of playing their are times they play where something happens un expectantly and they have to be ready for it, but thats different to trying to do a song or a whole bunch of songs 1 day before your meant to play

Tip 5 - Pay attention to other people, sometimes we get so wrapped up in making sure we have got our sound right, that everything is working for our instrument, that we forget we are a team and that other players might be having difficulties getting their sound or getting setup, dont just start playing and continuing, hoping the other people will sort out theirs.. no your a team.. its kind of like the Motto of the Marines, No Man is Left Behind.. Don’t leave behind your team mates and storm on, otherwise you might find they storm off! The best leadership I have found was when each of the team laid down their equipment and everyone offered to help to make sure everyone was ready. If that takes all night, it takes all night, if you dont get to practise, you dont get to practise… But you have learnt a valuable lesson in it.. and that is what the bible says which is..

Philipians 2 v 3 " Do nothing out of Selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves"

Now we are talking about, being mindful of one another, and that means, making sure everyone has got everything they need, wires, cables, plugins, adapters, volume, sound, song sheets.. lets not just think of ourselves and what we have, but keep our eyes open to make sure your drummer has what he needs, the bass player has what he needs, and so on.. Storming on without people doesn’t profit anyone else except ourselves. If you want a team, work like a team.

Delirious is the Perfect Example

I never forget being at a worship conference in Toronto back in 1997 when Delirious first ever stepped foot on Canadian soil, the first place they played at was Catch the Fire. Half way through the week, the team sat down and anyone was allowed to ask them questions.

3 Questions were asked to Martin Smith that really stuck out in my mind to this day

1. Why did you change the name of the band from Cutting Edge to Delirious
Martin Responded …The cutting edge was an event, and we had never named ourselves anything, we wanted to take on a band name that reflected our journey..

2. Since you have written most of the songs so far, why dont you accept invitations to come and play at events without the rest of the band?
Martin responded… Today’s generation is a Faceless Generation, the days are gone of the one man ministry, we are a team, without each of these guys beside me, and our sound guy we wouldn’t sound the same.I don’t write all the songs, many are written by Stu G, or we have written them together.

3. How do you develop songs?
Martin Responded.. Sometimes I write a song or part of a song on an acoustic or on a keyboard at my home, then I meet up with Stu G, sometimes he brings a song or an idea and we hammer out those ideas together and then we bring it to the rest of the band, who then each of them brings their own bit to the song. Some songs never see the light of day then others do through a lot of crafting together. Sometimes Stu G will have a riff, and words, sometimes just a riff and we will craft the words around that.

Do you see and hear a pattern that was evident with Delrious? Even way back in 1997?

Only when we are willing to realize and esteem each other higher than ourselves, only when we realize how important teamwork and friendship are and how they gel it altogether can we really move ahead and grow as musicians and go on to greater things in God, without these important elements, we will only go so far.

What are you willing to Sacrifice to become a Team?
What are you willing to Sacrifice for your Team?

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