i might have a church type gig

jonathan_matos5 · #1 01-22-2007, 02:05 PM

the bass player for the youth group at my church has been no show for the last few weeks so i might be replacing him

it will be my first time playing bass in front of people and with a band if i do but for now im just waiting for a call.

wish me luck.

IAmTheDood · #2 01-22-2007, 02:20 PM

good deal! good luck!

de la mocha · #3 01-22-2007, 02:57 PM

Make sure the keyboard player stays out of your realm....

jonathan_matos5 · #4 01-22-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by de la mocha

Make sure the keyboard player stays out of your realm....

no keyboard usually guitar, drums, bass, sometimes djembe, sometimes there is a chick that plays violin

**bassman314** · #5 01-22-2007, 05:35 PM

I lead (on bass) a junior high youth group band. Think of Reliant K meets Children of Bodom... ok not THAT metaled out but yeah.

Just remember that you're in a WORSHIP band, not a worship BAND, and all will be fine.

It's tons of fun, and a great way to learn more about your own faith as well as way to polish your chops for the future!

Good Luck!

Rocker949 · #6 01-22-2007, 05:37 PM

Good luck with that. It's not the same thing, but my wish is to be in a Christian rock band.

jonathan_matos5 · #7 01-23-2007, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocker949

Good luck with that. It's not the same thing, but my wish is to be in a Christian rock band.

same here

bassman1185 · #8 01-24-2007, 03:34 PM

Cool stuff, man. I've been playing for worship at my church for about 7 years (I've only been playing for 8) and it's always been a great learning experience. My advice is to find a good non-offensive tone (think generic rock/balad tone) and DON'T OVERPLAY. I was a leader for a youth retreat a couple of weeks ago, and the bassist for the worship band had phenominal chops, but he killed almost every song by playing way too much. Just lay back, and remember who you're bringing glory to.

TheDarkReaver · #9 01-24-2007, 04:01 PM

did the no show end up going to the "dark side" and wind up in a black metal band?

Disco_Gee · #10 01-24-2007, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassman1185

Cool stuff, man. I've been playing for worship at my church for about 7 years (I've only been playing for 8) and it's always been a great learning experience. My advice is to find a good non-offensive tone (think generic rock/balad tone) and DON'T OVERPLAY. I was a leader for a youth retreat a couple of weeks ago, and the bassist for the worship band had phenominal chops, but he killed almost every song by playing way too much. Just lay back, and remember who you're bringing glory to.

Excellent advice.

ThumbyAche · #11 01-25-2007, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassman1185

Cool stuff, man. I've been playing for worship at my church for about 7 years (I've only been playing for 8) and it's always been a great learning experience. My advice is to find a good non-offensive tone (think generic rock/balad tone) and DON'T OVERPLAY. I was a leader for a youth retreat a couple of weeks ago, and the bassist for the worship band had phenominal chops, but he killed almost every song by playing way too much. Just lay back, and remember who you're bringing glory to.

I soooo agree with what you are saying, especially about "remember who you're bringing glory to". Playing at church is much different than entertaining a crowd at any other gig. You really are there in a more transparent form, you help deliver a message, so to speak. The music is really secondary to the lyrics and message of the song. Worship is the real purpose and solo's, licks, etc all take the backseat to the overall purpose of being there. That isn't to say you can't play a great bassline but it's more of an awareness of why you are really up there. If you are focused more on pickup selection or what pedal to choose for that bridge section, etc...then you probably aren't tuned in to what is going on...my opinion and what I have learned from my Worship leader.
If you are a book reader, then check out "The Unquenchable Worshipper" by Matt Redman....it's great and I learned so much about how I approach bass playing/being a musician at church and on a worship team. He has some GREAT stories in that book.

rockr4Christ · #12 01-25-2007, 08:28 AM

Hmm... I totally agree with everything that has been said so far.
I have been playing elec bass for year and a half, and every minute of that has been spent on a worship team...
now that im a little better ( i think at least:P) i can see where i have overplayed and such. The danger of overplaying is really only present when your not focusing on the Worship part of it, but more of the Band part of it (as has been said b4 me). I dont think it means that you cant have a sweet bass line or rockin bass intro (yah.

) lol but you have to be sure not to step on the song (think Queen's John Deacon...nice groovy basslines, quite busy on some, but never never steps on guitar or vocals...)
most of all...have fun and be sure to focus on Him, then its all good

.
ps. for books, look at matt redman's latest...facedown...i have yet to read it, but i hear it is ymmy.

Trevor

policyvote · #13 01-25-2007, 12:28 PM

A worship band is an excellent place to develop yourself as a player. As others above me have said, you have to have big ears, and your heart in the right place. Your job is to support and enhance the worship experience of the congregation, so keep that in your heart and head at all times!

As others said, err on the side of underplaying rather than overplaying--but if a note or a line or fill or solo makes the song (and thereby, worship experience) better, go for it! PS--if your worship leader thinks it doesn't make the song better, be willing to listen and adapt.

Always be ready to experiment, change, and improve, always rehearse and perform with your ears open, and remember who you're playing for.

Peace
policy

ThumbyAche · #14 01-26-2007, 06:18 AM

And....when playing with 2 keyboard/piano players.....pray. Just go with "The Lord asked me to cover your left hand today"...

BAM_UR_DEAD · #15 01-28-2007, 09:47 PM

I've been leading in my youth band for a year and a half or so, and recently I've been asked to fill in for the 'real' service whenever the bassist is gone for whatever reason. I don't really know any chords, can't read bass cleff (but CAN read treble and alto cuz of viola), and so my theory sucks. I'm getting lessons soon to improve my theory. Anyways, the advice I can give you is don't worry about messing up that much. Most of the audience won't know the difference between the bass drum and the bass guitar. Just have fun, I dunno that's all I can say lol.

Disco_Gee · #16 01-29-2007, 04:30 AM

We just had an awesome service last night. It was the first time in a while that I was able to close my eyes, focus on God, and lose myself in worship without worrying about what I was playing. The band was tight and the congregation was able to really get into it too.

I think one of the most important aspects of playing in a worship team is what you do Monday to Saturday. Prepare. Know the songs, know the chords, know the changes and the little dynamic elements, know the words. Practice them until you can play them without having to think about it. When playing the songs feels like second nature then you'll really be able to concentrate on what's important - you won't be worrying about what chords come next or any of that business.

Simple advice, I know, but there have been a number of times I haven't taken it myself and I've suffered on Sunday.

Embryodead · #17 01-29-2007, 06:10 AM

i had a church gig one time..

at the end of the last song i kicked over the amp and yelled out HEAVY !@#$ING METAL!

apparently this is frowned upon in the church.

ThumbyAche · #18 01-29-2007, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Embryodead

i had a church gig one time..

at the end of the last song i kicked over the amp and yelled out HEAVY !@#$ING METAL!

apparently this is frowned upon in the church.

Yah, you should have just been honest and let them know up front that you didn't know that last song so it wasn't so obvious..

Embryodead · #19 01-29-2007, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThumbyAche

Yah, you should have just been honest and let them know up front that you didn't know that last song so it wasn't so obvious..

I really did do a church gig one time wearing a slayer beanie and Opeth hoodie..

Rocker949 · #20 01-29-2007, 11:11 PM

It's good to see a topic such as this. On a topic entitled "This is Pathetic" in the miscellaneous section, things got really ugly and the thread was deleted. It turned quite anti-Christian, in my opinion. I certainly felt uneasy with what, in effect, turned out to be Christian-bashing. I'm still trying to decide whether I even want to keep coming to the TB forum. Most likely I won't. I have a tremendous amount of experience on the Internet. I've spent way too much time on it through the years in fact. But what happened on that topic was one of the most anti-Christian attacks I've ever seen on the Internet. Of course it would be hard to offer meaningful specific examples since everything got deleted. Suffice it to say that things got way out of hand. It was outrageous and inexcusable.