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How do I make learning 11 songs a week less painful?
- Thread starter Donald Thompson
- Start date
This is the biggest problem IMHO.
Learning 11 songs is a bit excessive in itself, but reasonably doable if you know the key in advance. In order to change key on the fly you need a certain skillset. This is not a skillset I ever possessed, but I know people who did. They used Nashville numbers or some similar number-based system.
Over time using this sort of system, you start to remember and recognize patterns. So you eventually you don't have to really learn new songs. Rather you recognize and think of it as the chorus from Y song, the verse from X song, and the bridge from Z song. Since you already know all of the sections and style, you just have to learn the form. The people I know with this skill can often hear a song once or twice and then be able to immediately play it down in any key.
So you can view the current approach as excessive and take appropriate action. This may include convincing the music director to take a more reasonable approach, or it could include quitting the band and finding a more suitable situation.
You could also view it as a growth opportunity. Learning 11 tunes a week could be extremely beneficial, especially if it facilitates learning and mastering Nashville numbers. It's not something I would consider if I did not see value in it down the road.
At my stage of life, I would pitch a fit. Earlier in my life, I might have viewed it as an opportunity assuming I had access to a suitable mentor. However in all honesty, I don't know if I have the right mental aptitudes to actually pull it off. I suspect my memory capabilities are insufficient.
When I was running a group, I remember being presented a chart with Nashville numbers (supposedly). Not sure if the numbers were wrong or what, but none of us could make sense of it. We wound up finding a regular lead sheet.
My normal expectation was for everyone to suggest new song possibilities. We would meet to choose and the vocalists were given veto power. Then the music director and the vocalist would get together to pick the key. Next the music director would scratch out a lead sheet with the chord progression. Everyone was given a recording and the lead sheet for reference, which they took home to learn. On rare occasion we would change the key up or down by a third or less.
For a worship band I would probably change up the process a bit. The process would depend on the skillset of available musicians.
I have a question:
Is this a "volunteer" situation or paid? I have been in both many times in church situations.
If it's just "volunteer" then, IMO, that is really taking unfair advantage of your time and is frankly a rather silly way of doing things. Again IMO.
If you are paid somewhat decently which does happen in some churches, that would at least help but it's still a weird approach IMO. That's a LOT of work.
Like someone else said, I'd listen to a tape of the material over and over in my free time. While driving etc..
Then I guess I'd take 3 or 4 tunes a day to work on each day and try to learn as best I could. But you'll have to go back and refresh the first ones again occasionally as needed until you know them all.
Like I said in my other post, squirrely way to do "bandleading" in my opinion and rather abusive of your personal time. If you're not getting paid you'd better really love playing there.
Is this a "volunteer" situation or paid? I have been in both many times in church situations.
If it's just "volunteer" then, IMO, that is really taking unfair advantage of your time and is frankly a rather silly way of doing things. Again IMO.
If you are paid somewhat decently which does happen in some churches, that would at least help but it's still a weird approach IMO. That's a LOT of work.
Like someone else said, I'd listen to a tape of the material over and over in my free time. While driving etc..
Then I guess I'd take 3 or 4 tunes a day to work on each day and try to learn as best I could. But you'll have to go back and refresh the first ones again occasionally as needed until you know them all.
Like I said in my other post, squirrely way to do "bandleading" in my opinion and rather abusive of your personal time. If you're not getting paid you'd better really love playing there.
Based on CCLI.com's top-played charts, I can give you a list of the songs that 90% of churches sing each Sunday. It's the same 20(ish) songs in a rotation, not unlike radio airplay. A quick perusal of Sunday morning church service live feeds on YouTube will confirm this. I play 2-3x a month at a local church and have built a catalog of tunes that get played regularly. I could sit in at almost any church with little to no practice... because they all play the same songs! Trust me. I'm not wrong. It can be mind-numbing.
And while the 11-song thing OPs leader is doing is just plain stupid, after a few weeks, it'll get easier for him.
A worship band is not a band, in the traditional sense. The musicians don't have a say. They're there to serve. Of course, an opinion can be expressed, but ultimately the staff does all the organizing and the band just shows up to play. If you haven't tried it, it's very different from being in a band on Saturday night (where you have to know 40+ songs, btw).
Assuming these are all volunteers and unpaid except maybe the WL. The expectation that volunteers have the time to do this and work their day jobs - comparing volunteers to aspiring pros or pro musicians isn't appropriate. WL walks a fine line with losing volunteers at worst, or just having crappy music at best. No way to run a worship team. I'd walk
I'll just say that my 19 years of playing in churches has been a very different experience. I have binder of over 200 song sheets that are in current rotation at our church. We're still adding to that regularly. I've probably retired another 100 songs over that time. We wouldn't think of playing the same 20 songs week in and week out. Visiting other churches around here and talking with their musicians, we are not out of the ordinary.
Again, your experience in how a church band operates is yours and not universal. We work as a team and every musician and singer does have a say in how we operate. If a worship leader or the pastor came in and tried to play dictator, they'd find themselves as a solo act pretty quickly. We're a small church and we need to have everyone on board for everything we do. There's no firing band members and bringing someone else in. I know not every church is like that, but that's the way we roll.
sorry to hear it, but for most of the sub gigs I'm talking about, I have just been given a list of songs, and possibly a CD or two if its original material, and expected to learn the material any way I need to. So ... just about never see any charts, unless its a basic Real Book gig.
For instance, this spring, I got a sub call for a band that just gave me about 5 CD's of their original music (about 45 songs) and 8 days later I was doing theater shows with them ... and apparently did it well enough to be asked to join the band. So, it can and does happen.
BTW, I'm not unsympathetic to your challenge, just saying that there are ways to manage it and players do it all the time.
again, best of luck
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of course they pay, or I would not do them. But I'm assuming (dangerous I know) that the OP wants to be part of the music service at his church, so he must get something out of it (if not money ... I know some worship players do get paid). Also, as a sub, I have been expected to learn a 40+ song book and only ended up playing maybe 30 or so of those. It's just part of the deal.
I already mentioned trying the Nashville Number system (or some other non-key specific system) and someone already mentioned that as the OP works through this challenge, while somewhat difficult, it will definitely improve your musicianship/abilities: your ears, how quickly you absorb/remember a song form, your ability to create simple set list notes that help you work the song list. It will also make you a more valuable player for other to consider. Lots of upside to stepping up to the challenge here.
anyway, I'm not trying to be contrary on this topic, and I hope the OP figures his situation out as well as he can.
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Your band leader is not a musician. Any singer that has performed for a decent amount of time can tell you what key they are comfortable in. 11 songs a week to play 4 is an insane waste of time unless you are 19 and in college and have no life.
Sure if i have a sub gig I might need to learn 20 songs for it, but rest assured that the same band is not going to perform 11 new songs a week. If i sub again in the next 6 months I might only have to learn 3 new songs. I gig maybe 150 dates a year now since I got a day job to help out with paying for my boy’s college, but just thinking about the nonsense you are going through makes me tired!
Unless they provide charts and you can just read them. Thats a different story. We have all had charts thrown at us and that can be fun.
Sure if i have a sub gig I might need to learn 20 songs for it, but rest assured that the same band is not going to perform 11 new songs a week. If i sub again in the next 6 months I might only have to learn 3 new songs. I gig maybe 150 dates a year now since I got a day job to help out with paying for my boy’s college, but just thinking about the nonsense you are going through makes me tired!
Unless they provide charts and you can just read them. Thats a different story. We have all had charts thrown at us and that can be fun.
If the BL is also the singer, there is no excuse for him not figuring out his preferred keys before he assigns the songs. Does he not also play an instrument? If not, that explains a lot. Singers who only sing often have little appreciation for the amount of work instrumentalists need to do.
11 songs is way too many for a 4 song selection. He is wasting your time on seven songs to play four? That's ridiculous. Sounds like he is not organized. If you can't talk to him, then I would probably walk from this situation because he's demanding a lot of wasted time from everyone. But I would let him know why on the off chance he'd like to fix things.
11 songs is way too many for a 4 song selection. He is wasting your time on seven songs to play four? That's ridiculous. Sounds like he is not organized. If you can't talk to him, then I would probably walk from this situation because he's demanding a lot of wasted time from everyone. But I would let him know why on the off chance he'd like to fix things.
Yes, but why doesn't he already know his appropriate keys for each song? He's not doing any homework and wasting everyone's time.
That assumes the OP has an ambition to become a top-level player. Not everyone has that ambition or the time, and worship players in particular are usually all over the map in terms of skill and aspirations, as many of them are volunteers. Sure, if you really want to be the best player you can be and your time is not more valuable for other things, then spend your time learning 7 songs to throw away each week. You might play them next week, but I'm guessing if that were the case, OP wouldn't be having a big problem with being asked to learn 7 new ones week after week.
For the right person it is a great opportunity, but there also comes a time when the juice isn't worth the squeeze, and I've been there too. I know how to learn songs, I know how to transpose, my chops are adequate. Just tell me what songs we're actually going to play so I don't waste a lot of time.
Ask for chord charts in the appropriate keys. That’s not an unreasonable request and any band leader worth their title should be able to provide them.
Just me personally, but 11 songs in a week is a drop in the bucket. Everyone’s skill set is different. I’d voice your concerns with the leader that learning that many in such a short amount of time especially without having solidified the key you’d be leading the songs in, is beyond your capabilities. If his response is ANYTHING but supportive and encouraging, you really should look elsewhere to help lead worship. Just my opinion though. I have no tolerance for even slightly abusive or egocentric worship leaders.
Fair enough. Nothing to disagree with there.
I was making an assumption, not about skill, but about desire. This would be hard for me and just like you said, based on how much I liked the music and how much I valued that particular playing opportunity, I'd decide whether or not it was worth it.
The OP will decide for their self and their answer is the right one.
