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Church is Stressing Me Out.....

#101
Problems can spring from any direction. IME the OP's situation is not extreme. Poor communication is not rare. And that can be on either side of the communication.

At one rehearsal, a choir director had us go over a song and did a section three different ways interchangeably. When she said she was done with the song I asked for clarification on which of the ways that we had done it was to be done the next day... because trainwrecks. She literally gave me the "zip it" hand motion, which caused many of the women in the choir to giggle. I maintained a game face and said nothing further.

So Sunday morning comes... we're doing that song and we get to that part and the big trainwreck happened. Not surprisingly, no one giggled about it. I kept my game face. Sometimes karma's right around the corner.
:D

I was actually told later on by the music minister that the choir directors didn't like me "questioning" them. I guess they preferred the embarassment of trainwrecks on a live performance. Cool.
 
#102
I was actually told later on by the music minister that the choir directors didn't like me "questioning" them. I guess they preferred the embarassment of trainwrecks on a live performance. Cool.[/QUOTE]

Wow, I commend you for keeping your cool! This would be one of those moments that beg for a group meeting including all levels of leadership from the Senior Pastor on down. I don't know how the authority structure is in your situation but whoever is the overall leader should have stepped in and either explained to you the correct procedure to get the answer you needed or to the choir director the correct procedure to address your question. These procedures should be in writing for all to reference. I'm guessing senior leadership would not be pleased with their response to you.
 
#103
Brad Johnson said:
Problems can spring from any direction. IME the OP's situation is not extreme. Poor communication is not rare. And that can be on either side of the communication.

At one rehearsal, a choir director had us go over a song and did a section three different ways interchangeably. When she said she was done with the song I asked for clarification on which of the ways that we had done it was to be done the next day... because trainwrecks. She literally gave me the "zip it" hand motion, which caused many of the women in the choir to giggle. I maintained a game face and said nothing further.

So Sunday morning comes... we're doing that song and we get to that part and the big trainwreck happened. Not surprisingly, no one giggled about it. I kept my game face. Sometimes karma's right around the corner.
:D

I was actually told later on by the music minister that the choir directors didn't like me "questioning" them. I guess they preferred the embarassment of trainwrecks on a live performance. Cool.
Click to expand...

Choir Directors = They that shall be obeyed.
 
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#105
Bryanthebassguy said:
Wow, I commend you for keeping your cool! This would be one of those moments that beg for a group meeting including all levels of leadership from the Senior Pastor on down. I don't know how the authority structure is in your situation but whoever is the overall leader should have stepped in and either explained to you the correct procedure to get the answer you needed or to the choir director the correct procedure to address your question. These procedures should be in writing for all to reference. I'm guessing senior leadership would not be pleased with their response to you.
Click to expand...

As a musician, network engineer, account executive, etc. I'm more than used to dealing with personalities. Bottom line all involved are humans and there's no less crap in the church than any other organizations I've worked with. So I choose my battles. It's not worth risking an income stream over.
:)

In fact, some of the craziest, most over the top stuff I've heard of in the workplace has been at churches. From the top down.
 
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#106
jaco944 said:
Man, we practice on Fridays, go over the set before service (usually 3-4 songs). Then invariably the BL changes it up playing songs I either have never heard or certainly haven’t rehearsed. I’ll either hold on and do my best or just drop out. I’m a paid player but new to contemporary Christian so I feel your anxiety. As an added bonus he never plays the tunes in the key he calls out. Most challenging gig I’ve ever had lol.
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That almost sounds like someone trying to trip up the other players, not someone being an effective BL.
 
#108
Don’t sweat it! I’ve played in church most of my life. From southern gospel, country gospel, black gospel, and now contemporary. One thing I have learned, 99% don’t know when you make mistakes and those that do are at church for the wrong reason. When it comes to contemporary most all the songs sound and are played with similar chord progressions. Also, I only use charts in the studio. After 35 yrs. of playing I know the songs by tune. Learning as you play also allows you to play whatever they throw at you. After 2 practices each week our P/W leader may scratch what we’ve practiced and give us a whole new list. It keeps you sharp. Just relax and do your best. When I was learning at 13 my dad always told me “do your best, don’t let people know you’ve made a mistake because The Lord has already anointed there ears to where they won’t even noticed.”
And, because I consider my playing as not only the way I enter into worship and it’s my ministry. If it’s for the church I play for free. Because, the Blessing comes later when I do my taxes. Strings, batteries, gas and mileage to and from practice and church can be written off by way of total donations throughout the year.
 
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#109
Donald Thompson said:
Just did a rehearsal where we've gotten the songs last minute with no time to go over them. Then the day after I've gotten a text with at least 9 songs on top of the 4 we already did. This is literally giving me high blood pressure.
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Every rehearsal and gig I play these days is sight-reading from charts. No stress, as that's what I do. Without charts though I'd be a mess.
 
#111
Been there as a guitar player for services. I’m now relegated to bass player duties when I’m on. We use Planning Center Online, which is freaking awesome if setup and used right. Our WL does change things up from Thursday rehearsal to Sunday warm up but it’s usually only limited to song structure. He gives us a *lot* of room in the way of playing. As long as it sounds god and the musicians hearts are in the right place he’s cool cat. I am in charge of Teen worship for the MS and HS Student ministries. It’s a bit eye opening when you are on the other side of things.
 
#112
kbraker510 said:
Been there as a guitar player for services. I’m now relegated to bass player duties when I’m on. We use Planning Center Online, which is freaking awesome if setup and used right. Our WL does change things up from Thursday rehearsal to Sunday warm up but it’s usually only limited to song structure. He gives us a *lot* of room in the way of playing. As long as it sounds god and the musicians hearts are in the right place he’s cool cat. I am in charge of Teen worship for the MS and HS Student ministries. It’s a bit eye opening when you are on the other side of things.
Click to expand...

Do you really think playing the bass is being relegated? (or is that what your folks say or joke about?) little do many know...
 

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