How to get rid of music stands in your church
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
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Why we don't use stands in our church: • Congregational Engagem...
The music stand thing is such a hotly debated topic. Once you suggest that music stands are a negative thing, people get mad. And they like to tell you about it. So here is a bit of a disclaimer...
We are not saying that every church should get rid of music stands. Every church is different. Every worship team is different. For some churches, using music stands is necessary (you don't have rehearsals, your leadership doesn't decide on or distribute music early enough - which is a separate issue, your team isn't ready to begin memorizing everything, etc). There are great churches who use stands. But, in our church, we don't use music stands and we think it really helps elevate the level of worship.
We also want to say that everything we do should be done through the lens of honoring God and honoring people. That is the most important thing here.
So if you're ready to transition from a culture of using stands to a culture of not using stands, here is a 4-step process. And remember - take things slow - this is a process that involves changing culture. And changing culture never happens quickly.
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I've visited a small Church in the UK where the worship team is not on a stage, and not at the "front" of the Church. The "music" is average, but the "worship" is AMAZING.
What did the have on the stage or was it just a screen with words and a background? Very awesome idea.
@@HelpMeFlyIt There is a screen at each side of the church so you look at whichever one is more comfortable for you. The seating is almost a full circle. The "band" is not the focal point at all.
For several years, I was the only lead guitar player on our worship team so I played every week. In the beginning, we tried no music stands, but I couldn't hang. I worked 50-60 hrs a week and absolutely did not have the time to memorize a new set list every week. Without the music stand, I made a ton of mistakes. Especially when the worship leader would transition the song differently than we had rehearsed. I tried putting the music on the floor, but it was too small to see. I finally broke out the music stand again. That was my only experience trying the no music stand thing. I definitely see and understand the benefits of not using a stand and wish I were more capable of memorizing songs, but it just doesn't work for me personally. I admire those who are able to make the transition!
Paul Holway gotta learn how to play by ear man lol but reading us important too
Learning a song by ear has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of monitoring you use in a live situation. They're completely unrelated.
Rob Long play by ear as in not having to rely on a sheet of paper to give you the chord changes or notes. It's necessary to be able to do both. I think playing by ear, being able to hear chord progressions and different intervals is the way to go especially in a church setting
Rob Long I believe what Carl is talking about is learning by ear - meaning developing the ability to listen to a song and hear the chords and changes - just another way to learn songs.
You're talking about having the ability to be flexible with the arrangement in a live situation. In that case (if you're following a worship leader who repeats sections as they see fit in the moment), having the song memorized makes it even easier.
Rob this is an intervention. Use your music stand and move on from this comment section. Get your life back on track.
It's not easy if most or even some of your team are Sunday musicians - No judgement meant here, I'm one myself. I have more music knowledge than most of my team, but I'm not good at memorization and I have a full time job. So..
Time to learn new songs can be reduced a lot IF you can get your people to learn a little music theory. If they know Keys and Intervals, you're halfway there. You can say, "Play the third chord in the key of Bb", and if they get it, you're good. NOW you need to push them to learn the Nashville number system. "But, dude, chords or numbers, you still need a stand!" Yeah, I'm getting there. Once you've played the number system for even a few weeks, you begin to notice patterns - a lot easier than seeing them when you have to deal with several different keys. The patterns will lead to a kind of intuitive thing. You know a song sounds like This, and other songs that sound that way went 1, 5, 4, 6, so the next chord is probably... It IS a process, but the number system helps non-full-time musicians connect the sound of a song with the placement of chords, and makes it super easy to change keys on the fly.
Yuck...didn't expect the comments to be so toxic...
Anyway, I think one suggestion that was missed was LOWERING your music stands. Put them as low as possible, and use them when NEEDED, but as little as possible. This can be a good way to transition away from them over time.
I have recently instituted this in my band. It has made a big difference for me simply because there is a railing in front of the band that is usually decorated in some form and I had my musicians lower their stands to blend in with it. It made a great difference in what the congregation sees.
That's exactly what I did. As the lead guitarist that had a full time job with multi state travel, I simply did not have time to memorize all the music. I played for awhile with a stand and realized it was just too obtrusive. I got what we call a shorty, it lowers to knee height and is all but unnoticed by the congregation. I only use chord charts to occasionally glance at, as I've always had to learn/memorize particular lead parts. It has worked out very well, at this point, I could probably get rid of it altogether.
I think some other great alternatives, especially in smaller churches: Give the vocalists a confidence monitor behind the sound board for the words, this still removes the barrier, but gives easy reference. For musicians, using the music stand app on an iPad/tablet can have a much smaller footprint when mounting the device to a mic stand etc... every situation is different and scalable to every churches needs and these can be some good transitional steps for bands that aren’t ready to fully memorize songs yet.
Thank you for taking the time to discuss what may seem a pretty trivial and dumb question. I appreciate the advice you offered as well as we are slowly moving to removing stands from our already crowded and small stage. I actually had this talk with our music director/worship pastor. We were talking about improvements to our sound and worship overall. One of the things he mentioned briefly was memorizing songs instead of relying on sheet music on stands. He gave a great example of the previous week’s Sunday service where he afterwards asked us if we knew what the songs were about or where the doctrine (what verse) it was based off. We didn’t know - but we sure could tell you what the chords were for it. And in my experience, when you are no longer staring at a sheet of music and worrying about not knowing the chords, notes, or lyrics, you can fully devote your time and heart to worshipping God. It no longer becomes half of yourself to God and the other half caught up in straining your neck to look at a stand, but your self entirely offered in submission to God, praising, exalting through the gifts and talents he has given you. That’s my two cents on it. Regardless, may whatever we do be for the glory of God and to exalt and praise and worship him with our entirety and not for our own self help or benefit.
I play electric guitar so when I first started playing worship music, i knocked down my music stand so my music sheets, picks, and my slide went everywhere. That was the first and last time I used a music stand.
Thank you.
I am new at leading and working at a residential faith based recovery program, Phoenix Rescue Mission.
We recently introduced a praise and worship component and it’s been a wonderful and challenging process.
Your video/advice is really helpful.
I’ve been wanting to remove music stands but realize in this setting it would be almost impossible with the limited time/access our clients have. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for some, God is always able.
But I am inspired to lead by example and challenge myself to be that prepared so we can have that improved connection and improve the experience. Peace ✌️
There's no right or wrong here. But one has to remember that in this context, people don't come to see the band. Or shouldn't, at least.
You are right! However, the whole idea isn't just to be seen. It is th e reason that we want to be seen: to make a stronger connection with the people you are trying to lead. That connection will be stronger when you can clearly see them and they can clearly see you.
They shouldn't be coming for the music either, but take that away and see where the church is in a year.
@@harmonyinjesus1726 exactly, you up on the stage can be worshiping your heart out looking at your music stand or iPad holder, but you’re supposed to be leading others into worship, so your presence on stage matters
We use music stands at my church because we often change out the cuts and repeats of our songs from one time to the next, and since we only rehearse on Wednesday night and Sunday morning for 45 minutes each, it is difficult to memorize the songs, especially if changes are made on Sunday morning (that happens occasionally). The suggestion to put a chart at my feet won't work for me. I have very little space, with an effects board at my feet, and I am 6'5" - my eyesight isn't that good! BTW, we have been told by visiting vocalists that we have a very good band. Not sure what they were comparing us to, but it is what it is.
One aspect of WT that I truly appreciate is that Brian, Fuller and others approach practical issues from a faith-based perspective. They demonstrate a heart for service and genuinely try to help by sharing their knowledge and experience.
This is helpful. I have been leading worship for the past 10 years and I committed to not use music stands too. The issue is not the music stand itself but it's the heart. Sometimes we rely on the music stand that we forget to practice and meditate the songs that we're about to sing. That's laziness. And we come to the church that Sunday not knowing any idea on what to play but since the music stand is there we can execute it and fool the congregation that we are leading them but in reality during that moment of playing or singing, you are not leading, you are busy reading to the music sheets and miss the opportunity to lead the congregation in worship. So be responsible. The music stand is not the issue, it's our heart and discipline. Psalm 33:3 say to "play skillfully" and this is one part to do it. God bless you guys.
I really appreciate your videos, you guys are really helping out with the youth group at my church, and I'm so thankful for all of the insight you guys are sending out there.
I appreciate your videos, as a guitar player in my church P&W I'm always trying to find ways to improve our stage presence and performance, and yes it's about worship but there's still a level of performance involved.
really enjoyed this video. we have just moved to a new building a few weeks back and had a month to get used to no music stands before the move. Those of us not as confident have cheat sheets. Myself and a friend are using the cheat sheets and very occassionally refer to them so hopefully steady progress will happen. i actually found when playing i felt that the sheet actually threw me a bit when we played an extra chorus unplanned. So im keen to work towards loosing sheets completely.
The songs change every week for us and we couldn't (at least me) remember them all , so, we will keep using them, maybe someday we will have a projector that puts music and notes on the wall
Thanks for the video! We are going through this change kind of. We play a lot of songs that aren't basic, like tommy walker stuff that's hard and has quite a bit of chords and whatnot. This is a great video. Thanks team!
+Ryan Burton Thanks Ryan!
I certainly see both sides. I originally swore I'd never use them, but at my current church we play the same songs in different keys about every week. We often times we have multiple keys in every service, and there's been many times were every song was in a different key. Not very good for keeping a worship set to flow together haha. Now that I'm in more of a leadership role, I can help our director a bit on picking songs in the same keys and picking keys that transition and work well together.
Even though I had the song memorized in one key, if we are doing it in a different key one week, and then in yet another key after that, it was impossible to keep straight. I'm still just a volunteer and have a full time job and lots of other commitments. If you're a worship leader, try not to make it difficult to your players to be prepared. There is individual responsibility for each person to rehearse and to be ready, but don't create obstacles because you're too lazy to do your job well either.
Wow such an amazing video..ive been blessed with this video..God bless you
If we were a 3 songs and a closer refrain kind of church I could handle the memorization but with 6 songs plus a communion song... not so much.
I do not have this issue because I don't have a band at my church but I play Tenor saxophone and I need a good Gig music stand, So I wanted to ask what kind of music stand do you use in the transitions between steps, 2:37
Thanks!
What do you guys think about confidence monitors for lyrics? We use ProPresenter's stage display function to display lyrics for worship team and choir members, which is great for people. But I've noticed that it takes away from the engagement of our choir during worship. Eyes locked on the words, that sort of thing. Just curious as to what you guys thought! Thanks!
This is interesting but maybe you could explicate on how removing music stands enables a better worship experience. Haven't you just exchanged the dependency of sheet music for cognizant recall? Which one is more impeding?
As a lead guitarist on the worship team...I just wanted to get rid of them one day, and talked to our music coordinator about what he thought. So the reason I wanted to remove them was, I noticed our team was a bit "stiff" per say in moving freely about the stage, and more focused on the sheet music. So that's the reason behind us removing them, it helps the team jump , extend their hands out, kneel, whatever it is they're feeling during worship to move upon
I like the idea and theology behind moving away from a music stand, I'm genuinely interested in tips on how people found doing this as they did it and how quickly they adapted? I find my ipad a big comfort and don't always look at it but some times its a crutch rather than a help. Thanks
Thanks guys, great insight
Thanks for making this video. I would love to get rid of my stand but I've been using one for nearly 40 years now as a guitarist and as a worship leader in the past. There are so many new songs coming out that I find it impossible to carry all the lyrics & chords in my head. It's more difficult when I'm not choosing the songs and another person has. They perhaps choose to sing something new and I've only had a few days to prepare for the Sunday service. I would feel a fool floundering around and playing bum notes or chords if I didn't have the sheets in front of me. It's probably a bad habit I've formed, I fully admit it. What I can do though (As I can play by ear as opposed to reading proper music) is play creative solo work over a few chords between the songs. This can create a sense of freedom or atmosphere where we are able to press into God and enable an ebb and flow where the gifts of the Spirit can begin to operate. I fully realize that not every church has this type of freedom of expression or are allowed to exercise the gifts of the Spirit like the Pentecostal churches do. I love your spirit brother and love all your video's so far. God is using you mate. William from Scotland.
Although I haven't been commenting , I have been following this channel for awhile now. I just wanted to thank you for the great guitar lessons and leadership advice. I am a start up worship leader and I am having a hard time playing guitar and lead the worship at the same time. I find myself looking at the music stand for the most part and not being able to engage with the audience. I like the idea of not having music stand. My question is, am i supposed to be memorizing the music or am I supposed to be able to play by hearing? I feel like i am music deaf. I can't seem to figure out what it is that i am hearing. A video on how to train your ear will be very helpful. Thanks again. God bless!
After watching this video I now know why some churches that I've been to have music stands and some don't (like my home church). I didn't know the reason to it but I kinda knew that it was mostly remembering the music or memorizing the Nashville Numbering System.
+musicman123 Using the number system is a great way to make memorizing songs much easier!
In our church I am the only one who is not using music stand and my leader told me that he was inspired of me and he will do the same, the reason I am not using music stand is because.
1. Worship
2. Psalm 33;3 play skillfully
3. We musicians got the blessing first and the congregation next so we are the channels of blessings
4. I don't want to look on paper all the time.
I'm a bass player. I can manage one string at a time and now you want to memorise a whole song?
James Pickering ye
^^
No we want you to memorize 3
Three strings, or three songs? Either way, don't be ridiculous.
Guys they're just stating that the use or non-use of music stands in church are a personal preference; and not using music stands works for them! Unless you're playing classical, jazz or any other type of music that requires the use of music stands or if you want to literally "see" the movement of the song (on sheet music) or where you are during a specific part of a song; then you have nothing to worry about!
santiago0528 Yeah, it's amazing how some people are flying off the handle for disagreeing. It's all preference, not law. I, personally, don't use them regularly, but I always have one handy if I need it.
Does your church have a designated music director on stage that can communicate with the band and production?
I'm going to use mic stand with 10 inch notebook with 10 inch screens and page Turner's so if repeat an song can flip the screen back again and no music stands going to start out doing this what do You thank.? Bythe way Im61 all most62 Your all a blessing to see hear thank You for giving your time to do these CZcams videos I'm old school Your helping bring me into the new modern day gear thank you .GOD bless and keep You allI do take time out to pray for the minstery you do and on CZcams to.thank You.I have six guitars and a lot of new gear soon as get my back fixed and GOD heals it I'm going to put it all to good use to minster into the LORD as David did and people to.
Next topic, how to get rid of your iPad in your church?😂🤣😅
As a viola player in a worship band I am going to try this on Sunday - as a Church this would never work for us as we, and a lot of churches in the UK, don't have screens for lyrics for the band and a lot of my church's music is lead by two keys players who are very good sight readers but freeing up space and sight lines on stage where possible could be a positive move and encourage trust between band members. Leading by example is the right way to encourage any culture in a church.
Our church is launching with weekend, so we have the benefit of being able to establish a certain culture from the jump. We came to the topic of music stands, and our solution was that we just didn't buy music stands. 😎😉
Hey in our church we are now switching from music stand to Ipad!
With the app "onsong" its a very nice app!
And and the environment is better without the music stand!
I went to a tablet 3yrs ago. After that, everyone on the team got one. I hate paper and will never go back.
I was thinking the same thing. iPads are a little smaller and cleaner looking than a typical music stand. Another option I used to use is a laptop (or some other display) on the floor - kind of a poor man’s TelePrompTer. I get that this is a hot button issue, but it makes sense. The goal is to facilitate CONNECTING. Open your eyes, make eye contact, reduce anything that’s between the worship leader/team and the congregation. Every church will be different...
Next topic will be how to get rid of iPad! 🤯🤡🤪
In ears with audio cues would be great as you mentioned in your "in ear monitor" video.
- Most modern music is easy repetitive 3-4 chord progressions, a stand and sheet music shouldn't really be needed unless you go to a more traditional church who uses more elaborate orchestrations or have those elitist musicians who must have score sheets cause they know how to read music.
- Most people who complain about music stands are those who have the "this is a show or performance" mentality, out of all things to focus during worship is "ugh look at those noobs with the music stands, so tacky"
- One of the things I hear many music leaders say is the musician should make themselves invisible to the audience, you want the audience to focus on worship not on you. This includes being an over the top leader or supportive musician. Music stands can be discrete, I've seen churches who have waist high privacy curtains to hide stage clutter and such where stands are off line of sight from the audience below. Yet the feedback the music leader gets is why are are the musicians hiding? shouldn't they be up on a pedestal so we can see the band perform? (then we go back to are we there to worship or to see a band perform?)
- Churches are rapidly transitioning to all-in-one tablets with music charts, page turning pedals, sound monitoring systems, mixing board accessibility, etc.
- Then you have those other churches who don't use any music stands but the band and the singers are being "assisted" by playback tracks, there a very few churches who actually pre-record their own band and voice parts into a multitrack during rehearsal then they playback the recorder tracks during the service and the musicians are just "playing" along, to me that's just...well...I don't even know how to express how that makes me feel.
Here’s an idea- play songs musically engaging enough to remember.
Some Dude BINGO!!!
100% agree. Also a few days to a week to remember and play songs good? LOLz This is totally not gonna happen unless you guys practice together daily for that entire week. We can't even do that and it's our own songs after we've written one.
@@Funny-bf8xf you don’t have to practice multiple days a week to get a song for church. Play with a metronome and do your part at home. Practicing together is only useful for a few reasons: 1) fun, 2) intros and outros, 3) figuring out any changes you want to do to the song, and 4) going over new songs or songs you’re writing. Otherwise, my point remains-worship leader should pick better songs and not just relegate the band to being a CCM Top 100 cover band.
@@Somefatdude intros and outros are parts of the songs so it still stands.
@@Funny-bf8xf yeah but no need to get together to do it. Just send out the chord progression and the bars you want. Practice your part at home with a metronome and done.
This is a great idea!
I would like that you make a video giving us advice about beginners leaders. Because many of us have talents, but very often we surrender because the hard and difficult moments come to us. God continue blessing you!
2:30 for the start of the explanation.
We don't use music stands during actual worship. We are encouraged to learn by heart and prepare progressions / riffs and stuffs like that individually. When we come together to rehearse, minor alteration is made to produce the desired arrangement.
But the bottom line is that we all do have preferences that works for some of us but don't work for others.
Blessings to all!
Bro i have a question
How to mix guitar effects in multi effects like NUX MX-10 (for simple worship song)
Thank you and God bless
Because many Filipino here, using this kind of cheap multi effects
I’m predominantly a guitarist, but in the near future will also be 1 of the worship leaders in my church, either-way, I’ve done both, been in situations where music stands are standard practice, then, especially the last church I was part of, no music stands, and a lot of songs to learn, I can honestly say, I prefer no music stands, as I’m just that type of musician that wants to know the music and lyrics inside out so it’s 2nd nature, and thus focus more on Jesus/God......
you may have made a video on this, but what is a good way to memorize songs? is it just repetition?
+Ben R We haven't yet, but we are planning to soon. Thanks for the suggestion!
Personally, I listen to the songs over and over agin as I drive. Then I play through them on my own with charts until I know them. Finally, I spend time visualizing playing the songs - for example while I'm driving to church, I'll actually visualize playing the chords on guitar. Eventually you will begin to learn songs faster and faster.
What I found really helpful is studying chord progressions and trying to learn some songs by ear... Once you get used to play in a certain key, you kinda feel what you should play next to sound right. If you play the guitar, sometimes using a capo can help too. I'm saying this but I'm still in the process of getting free from music stands, glad to know other churches go through this..
I use an IPad on a short mic stand. I play guitar for my churches worship team. If I am on lead, I never use the IPad, I leave it at home. If I am on rhythm guitar or acoustic I will most times use my IPad to glance at for the chord charts. Sometime I can memorize the songs though and don't need it. Like many here I work about 50 to 60 hours a week with commute time, so I don't have time memorize the music, which changes from week to week as do the keys depending on who is singing. I have also had many instances where we show up on Sunday morning and a singer says, "Oh I need to change the key on one or two songs". What!? are you kidding me? So the IPad comes in handy there. I do know the keys, but I have to think about them for a minute, I can't just go play 1,4,6,5 in the key of F and Bam! got it...lol. And on acoustic in keys like B, B flat, F, I like to capo up to a better keys chord shapes, so there's that too.
Anyway, with all of that being said, I LOVE playing guitar on the worship and praising God through music, so I am with whatever the Worship Leader needs me to do because I am all about pleasing God and making the Worship Leaders job as easy and pain free as possible. Amen!
we use our music stands. I have my tablet, drum machine, and mp3 for loops on my stand. My worship pastor has her mac, tablet, and controller on hers.
I don't use a music stand, but our worship teams practices songs many times before we use them in service.
Seriously what a winging church society
My music is on an iPad (OnSong) mounted on a mic stand that is lowered to slightly above waist level. Although we draw from a pool of several dozen songs, there is no way in the world I can memorize a totally different set every week. Plus, I generally play guitar but also sometimes play bass and keyboards. Memorizing the music is just unrealistic.
I completely agree on the fact that in some cases Music stands should be allowed. However, I disagree that it is unrealistic to memorize a new set list each week. I used to rely strictly on my charts, but I found that once I put greater effort into learning the songs, rather than only look at the songs Sunday morning, it was extremely easy to learn a new set list. And as time went by, it only got easier. My brain shifted how I looked at song structures, and chord progressions. Now, I realize I personally put more time in because I had the luxury to do so. In some cases, people don't have that time. But as a musician, I encourage you to look at time during the week to practice the songs, and begin trying to commit the structure to a short-term memory bank.
@@scotcherton Our set list goes out on Wednesday morning with practice on Saturday morning and rehearsal before the service on Sunday morning. I'm old. Even though I've played worship music for over 25 years, i just cant remember all the different songs we do. Plus, I play guitar, sometimes bass, organ, synth, and hand percussion. Last Sunday and yesterday morning, I played four different instruments in the services.
The vocalists use music stands, and my music is on iPads running OnSong. I often have to play in flats and many contemporary songs are written with strange chord sequences (unlike traditional "circular" songs where a handful of chords repeat). It's just not realistic to memorize the songs every week.
@@misterstratocaster oh I know it can seem that way, but once you get used to it, it really gets easy. I know it seems overwhelming when you break it down like you have. But using the numbering system, it’s really only 1-7. And most church songs are typically 1 / 4 / 5 / 6, or a variation thereof.
I’m old too. Over 30 years on guitar. And I waited like a fool until last year to train using only numbers. And once I did, it was like unlocking a new level of understanding. And hearing new songs literally happen soooo much easier now.
The worst thing for us old players is to think we can’t do something, that it’s impossible to learn or do something new.
Aint happening. We do 6 or 7 songs a week and I have been doing it for 15 years I probably have a 1000 CCLI cord charts. I aint memorising all that.
I own and run a business that is pretty much 24/7 for me. I simply do not have the time to memorise songs. I have to force myself to get to one rehearsal and 1 service a week.
Without that music on a stand in front of me I could not do it and would have to quit the praise team.
With the music stand I can play and contribute.
I'm playing lead guitar in a small church in Florida, I'm playing 67 years this Christmas. I'm a pro player and there's another pro in the band as well. My problem is that the Pastor has made a young member who's not much of a singer or a musician, the Praise leader.He's just not ready to lead and this is a "political move " as his parents are elders in the church. Now we hardly ever get more than 2 days to know what songs we'll perform, that's ok for me, I can read these charts cold... HOWEVER.. I put time into these songs and learn them..many of the others are just looking at them on Sunday ( we rehearse an hour before services ) AND, the charts given out are not always the same! AND, the map on the charts varies from week to week...I'm about to take a long look at the objective of this worship band..Perhaps I need to move on to a more organized band..I guess I'm saying, music stands is the very least of my problems.
your videos are great like this
+adrian balinas thanks!
2:36 - Irony... the points are put on.... a music stand... for the video entitled "How to get rid of music stands..." Made me LOL. Good video though.
If u need it, use it. Not everyone can play without one especially when u have a new musician. Even professional use it n it does not reflect anything good or bad.
(Before the video even started) Challenge yourself to be of a standard of excellence the know the music of you have the time.
I think when you don't use music stands it means you're memorizing the words and chords, notes that you sing and play...to get to the point is that you practice and want to go to the next level
Personally I try to learn songs by heart as a leader to give me more freedom. However I believe that any conversation let alone expectation to dump music stands is idolatry of vanity in performance. The amount of time required to learn by heart every song for every musician every set is totally and I mean TOTALLY unjustifiable. There are thousands of more important and fruitful ministry activities people could be using this precious time for to snatch some souls out of the fire. It’s embarrassing to think that some brethren think the most important think in the Kingdom is not having music sheets
nothing wrong with music stands nothing wrong without music stands my thing is this pick up your guitar sit down with the keyboard start singing start playing don't worry about the music don't worry about the lyrics open your mouth and sing Holy Spirit he will give you more words to sing I don't mind covers but do it your way you don't even need to practice that just start playing
Brian is your music on Goggle Music Play
+Dom Villarreal if you mean the music from these videos, it's not available for sale
you don't make a worst experience my man holy spirit is the experience see Don Potter, Suzy Yaraei ,Leonard Jones ,Kelanie Gloeckler ,Matt Gilman
Larry Fries .... read this with grace: do you see any music stands on Bethels stage? The Helsers?
I’ve been anti music stand since I was 5 years old. In my opinion if you don’t take the time to know the songs, then you have no business being on the stage to begin with. It’s like trying to take a test without studying, it’s lazy. I work a full time job, and have lots of other hobbies on top of music. It’s not that you don’t have time, it’s that you have an empty excuse. (Just my blunt opinion, you don’t have to agree)
LOL! Music Stands? They are the least of worries in every worship band I have been a part of. Majoring in the minors.
In my church they use iPads to read chords and lyrics
Update: In the church where I am now, I participated in building a worship team and we use music stands. But I know about the option, to use TVs as monitor displays to give the musicians opportunity to read the lyrics and chords.
I grew up in a culture where sheet music was almost a crime. You had better memorize the songs. Its not hard to do if the music is in the mind and hearts of the musicians. It takes time and practice. Now that im in a church that used sheet music, reading the chords is a crutch and takes away a bit from worship for me.
I agree, at my church, the praise team doesn't have papers to read from. I feel it allows more of a personal praise to come out,
These days, worship music sheets are pointless,
All you need to memorise is just 1-5-6-4 or 6-1-5-4 and you will be survive
Michel Robertho in a ccm church but not Pentecostal, Baptist etc. lol
Rob Long WHAT is the NEED of CAPITALIZING words to prove your POINT?
With over 300 ccli selections in our planning center account that are not currently archived, it's a bit ridiculous to expect a team of 5-8 people to memorize 6 songs a week. A drummer maybe, that instrument can improvise the most. Anyone else, especially worship leaders who play and sing, this is a noble thing to strive for but highly unlikely to do well in the vast majority of church settings.
Some thoughts: 1) Removing stands might make the stage presence look different (or ,"cool") but it in no way enhances the worship experience. 2) Removing stands makes the worship effort physically and mentally harder for the worship team, even more so for the instrumentalists. 3) I'm tired. I spend 55 hours a week making a living. If the stands are removed I must then dedicate additional preparation hours to this ministry for which I am an unpaid volunteer. Last) Therefore, asking this of the Team could be interpreted as disrespect for their time and dedication to the ministry.
Oh, the irony of using music stands in a video about not using music stands, lol!
There is only one way to learn to walk on your own: Get rid of the crutch.
I cannot imagine an issue that has less to do with sharing the gospel with people in the pews.
This seems to be a common thought regarding this topic, but in our experience, it makes more of a difference than most people think. But like we've said in all our videos concerning this, every church is different, and it's important that we choose to do things that support the vision that leadership puts in place for each individual church.
I don't usually use a music stand, just because my eyes will lock onto it. I guess I'm just surprised at the amount of strategy and energy that has gone into this discussion.
What about shoe choice?
Color of the carpets. Piano on the left or right side of the stage. Formal or casual dress. Whether the pastor went to seminary. etc etc ;)
Fifteen minutes for a fifteen second explanation. Wow. Modern day Christians are really smart.
A "culture of music stands"??? What weird use of this word is this? Music stands affect our ministry and worship experience? Is this for real? Is there a "culture" of using guitar straps? How about a "culture" of using mics or potted plants along the front or maple drum sticks? This is just a bizarre preoccupation. I can't even imagine how "worship is going to be a better experience" because of this. Honestly. God is honored, He is glorified in our worship and I can't even believe this is an actual THING. *facepalm*
Shawne Randlett
I agree with you and thought we we're getting pranked too.
... Then I realized it was serious and I see the their point because when the most common type of current worship songs seemingly consists of a chorus made up of 4 to 6 easy chords strummed ad nauseam in half & hole note measures there's no need for sheet music. There are currently no popular complex pieces of Christian written music, so Book 1 level musicianship has become standard and therefore no need for music stands.
I can't wait until the trend graduates to something better. If music and clothing trends walk together, there may be hope coming and we will soon be out of the overwhelming acoustic-guitar-strumming late 1960s folk-style of worship music.
What happened to the trumpet & trombone players, the sax players, ...? Many larger churches used to have decent orchestras of 3 to 7 musicians. Now there's a strumming guitar player. 🙊🙉🙈
It's about looking cool of course. That's what enhances it....lol
To add onto this, there is a skill in being able to sight read or have enough comprehensive understanding of the style of music to be able to join in and improvise something without knowing the exact music. That being said yeah, it'd be nice if worship music was less repeatative and more complex given that surely, there should be more to say then a couple sentences
If we truly honour God and honour people, this would never be an issue. But the idea of removing music stand just to look good and proclaim “a better experience” disgusts me, sorry.
If you assume the idea is just to ‘look good’ then you e missed the point of why we talk about this in the first place.
It’s to remove barriers, and allow the musicians to be more engaged in worship rather than staring at a piece of paper the whole time.
what a joke,how many non believers haven`t come to Christ because of a music stand on the platform....performance based ideas...???
I really thought this was a joke , but man this is such a subjective topic. Most of us on worship teams are volunteers who have families and work 40-50 hour weeks . You guys claim a better experience how do you measure this ? Next thing you gonna get rid of the Pastors pulpit to share the word without notes. I like your videos but you talk about honoring God and people but you should discuss more important topics about dealing with tension within the worship team , etc. very disappointing guys ....
"Ministry of the music stands" lol. Like most churches, because you have an idea that would be "better" it now becomes an issue of ministry that you want to tell everyone how to do something. And, why do you talk to people as if they are babies,
well more like we are all in kindergarten. You guys get a bit ridiculous with all of your buzz words. You sound more like you have been programmed to speak Christian cultural buzz word phrases, a clanging symbol.
Why don't you memorize the whole Bible?
I wish folks like you would invest as much time studying theology and what true worship is. All the attention devoted to the entertainment is disheartening.
+Billy Ray Bush Hi Billy. Did you watch this video, or the one we made about why we don't use stands in our church? You will find that our reasoning has everything to do with approaching worship with as much excellence as possible. We believe memorizing music so we don't have to stare at a music stand allows worship leaders and musicians to more fully engage in worship to our Father. How does this elevate entertainment over worship?
to quote you..."approaching worship with as much excellence as possible"....man you are so far from even beginning to understand what GOD expects from those who would worship Him...but that's ok, enjoy the pure experience in your ignorance... I just feel for those you are misleading.
+Billy Ray Bush hi Billy. In your first comment you attacked my integrity and theology. It was out of line, especially in a public forum. I responded with respect and defended myself.
Then you resort to pure insult. Whether you agree with me or not is a separate issue. We are allowed to have differing opinions on how to approach worship in our churches. Every church is different. I'm not saying the way we do things is the way everyone should (in fact, we make that point very clear in our video). Furthermore I think discussion about these differing opinions and viewpoints is good.
But if all you are going to do is come up with your most clever and cutting insult to what I say in response to you, there isn't much value in us talking about this at all.
Did not mean to insult but believe me that was far from the most clever or cutting comment I could have made. Sorry but when a "worship" service is orchestrated down to what to say between songs it is no longer about worship. I am critical only to make others think about what they are doing. If you feel it's an attack on your integrity or theology, perhaps you need to reflect on both. Peace to you
I think this is an interesting topic. I feel more motivated to try this personally in my own band.
I do think the tone of the video is a bit off however. It gives the impression that the frontline worship leaders must get rid of music stands in order to have an excellent worship experience when really it is a preference. Perhaps if was emphasized, that this is simply a preference, the core message might be better received.
It does present a good challenge to a worship team - come prepared. Put some time preparing or yourself for a worship experience. This is a good principle in every aspect of worship to try to "sanctify" yourself.
In conclusion, I took what I needed from the message and don't mind something new, knowing in full this is a preference, not a doctrine. Thanks.