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How do I make learning 11 songs a week less painful?

#61
Donald Thompson said:
27564066[/URL], member: 333433"]How do I have that talk with the band leader? Me and the pianist are pretty new, and they're hard on the pianist for messing up chords. I don't want to seem like I'm just whining.
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Okay, how about “Good day, BL. How you doing? I’m well. Thanks for asking.
I would like to discuss a few things that I and Mr/Mrs/They Pianist believe could really improve the performance experience for both the musicians and audience.

Then pitch your suggestions.
Just as with selling anything else, features and benefits for all involved including BL.

I can’t imagine a lead vocalist who wouldn’t want consistency as far as which key any particular piece is performed in, especially if they might have to perform it weekly, bi-weekly, and maybe multiple times each day they perform.

Don’t forget to mention making more progress with less available time. Not just for you, but for everyone involved.

I also have to think that in this age of digital technology and instant gratification, sheet music or nashville charts ought to be pretty easily obtained, printed or saved to pdf, and distributed for the current twenty or thirty most popular worship and gospel songs.

This isn’t a blues jam at a sketchy bar.
The music director/band leader ought to be organized enough to know days ahead of time which songs you need for a particular service/performance, and ought to make charts available to all.

If they don’t accept suggestions well, and continue to want to proceed in such an unprofessional and unpredictable manner, you don’t have to play in their band, and good people shouldn’t judge you for that either.

Always calm, polite, and civil.
 
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#64
Memorizing 11 songs in a week is a lot of work.
Writing 11 charts in a week is a whole lot less work. For typical worship material 20 min a song plus a pee break, 4 hours.

If you need help with writing charts ask. More than one person here knows how.
 
#65
I've been playing at church for close to 25 years. Working now with my 6th worship leader. Our current one is great, respectful, appreciative of our time and service. He begs us for our input. Updates Planning Center as we rehearse, including key changes, number of verses, choruses, bridges, tags, adjusts click track ques, etc.

In my opinion, yours is lazy and unwoke. Can't provide chord charts?!!!!!
 
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#68
11 songs to learn each week and you don't know what you're going to play until Sunday? No thanks. That's a lazy leader, if the word leader is even appropriate for this person. That would be a hard pass for me until they either replaced the person or learned how to manage a team. It's taking advantage of your time and is massively disrespectful, even if it's a paid situation. He has yet to learn the phrase, "Everyone is busy." Most members in church bands are not full time musicians, and even if they are they are working other gigs or jobs during the week to pay the bills. My own job can have me working until midnight on Saturday for when I need to be up at 5:45am on Sunday. My time to practice is usually at night on weekdays after my family has gone to bed.

We run a tight ship at my church. All charts and tracks are on Planning Center with notes from our worship leader for each song and I'm able to make my own as I practice. I use my iPad on stage with the charts, but I also do my best to try and memorize what I can. We'll have at max 4 or 5 CCM type songs for the two services, and 2 traditional older songs that are only played for the first service and take about 5 min to learn. The CCM stuff though, boy some of those can be challenging and if I didn't know which one we were going to play I wouldn't be able to use my time more effectively to focus on the harder parts/songs to tighten them up.
 
#69
I assume this is a non-pro band.

1. How difficult are these songs?

2. How far before rehearsal is the new song list available?

3. Is there notation or is everyone supposed to learn them by ear on their own?

4. Is the expectation to play arrangements note for note?

5. Are music stands allowed during performance?

All the above enters into how much time it takes to pick up 11 songs a week.

Regardless, if noone complains to the BL nothing will change, so speak up.
 
#70
That's rough. I had a hard time with the 4 to 5 they give us, it's been awhile since I've played off a lead sheet and I always second guess myself on the song structure, but at least they're almost always set on a key ahead of time, and we use tablets with an app that will transpose for you if they change.

I'd definitely get with the piano player and talk to the leader. See if he could pick just 4 to concentrate on so you're not practicing 7 others that you aren't gonna actually play.

It will also get easier as you get comfortable and start to see the same songs pop up again.
 
#71
TL.DR
But for the OP.
11 songs down into 4 and a key change or two possibly?

I'd file this under borderline idiot who doesnt understand what he is asking people to do.

So, 7 songs per week just don't make the cut.
My first reaction would be to call him out huge but in a more polite time, tell him you haven't got the time for his nonsense.
You or rather he, really needs a more efficient way of working.
If he doesnt get this he either dumb or ignorant and definitely not qualified to be anything like a BL.
 
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#72
Kerem Koseoglu said:
I recommend transcribing the songs into iReal Pro, which gets synced to your iPad and can transpose the entire song with a simple click. Then; keep the week listening to these songs, and use your iPad on the gig.

On the other hand, it's obviously better to have the final setlist determined in advance.
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I used Irealpro, idk why, but sometimes the key changes are kinda glitchy. Maybe it's the samsung tablet.
 
#75
Donald Thompson said:
I'm in church band. Band leader gives a set of songs to practice. After rehearsal, they decide which four songs out of the 11 they want to play on Sunday and the key they want to play in. This is really annoying sometimes as some songs are really weird to transpose,and those songs tend to take a bit to get down versus your generic 1 6 4 5 songs. Worst of all sheet music isn't always available.
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I'm curious as to whether this is a paying gig or not.
 
#80
I still can't get my head around the BL/LS not knowing the keys to the songs they're requiring you to learn.

That tells me they have little or no knowledge of music, but like to sing, then leaving it up to the volunteer musicians to do the heavy lifting to make that happen.

You've got 3 choices:
1 suck it up and continue the status quo
2 end the nonsense
3 walk
 

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