Question:
I'm in charge of the band for my youth group this year. Two of our main singers have recently gone overseas (both of them good friends of mine), one of them being our regular worship leader. With him gone, we don't have a male singer, although there is another kid I'm looking to get into the band pretty soon. We also only have two female singers.
I've been thinking that perhaps I should start trying to sing in the band, backing vocals at first and depending on how that goes, I'd like to see if I'm able to lead worship as well. At the moment there is one girl who leads for us and there's really no one else who can do...if she gets sick or something one week we're in trouble. The problem is I don't want to start unless I know I sound half decent. As far as performance goes, I only have some choir experience.
Does anyone have any general advice for me?
Answer:
I think starting with backing vocals would be a good idea aswell. From there you can see if God is calling you to step up or not. So i guess my only advice to you is to pray about it and starting working on those pipes.
Answer:
If you feel you have the ability to sing, then do it!

And remember, worship is not a show, and while one's voice should be relatively nice to listen to, it doesn't have to be perfect. This is something I face constantly being a medium-good to good singer myself, I find times my voice is not amazing, but it isn't so bad that it is distracting.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Ring of a bell If you feel you have the ability to sing, then do it!
This is what I'm not totally sure about. I mean, I can hear when I'm in tune and when I'm not, and when I practice at home by myself, I can keep in tune 95% of the time. Is that all that is required?
Answer:
Pick a song you think you sing well and record yourself. Listen to it. Does it sound ok or is is painful? (Keep in mind that we are always our own worst critic). Have other people listen to it. See what they think. Sing a song for others and get their opinion. You really can't judge just by listening to yourself in real time. I have had to record singers on our team before just to show them how bad it was. A recording won't lie.
Answer:
Originally Posted by bread man This is what I'm not totally sure about. I mean, I can hear when I'm in tune and when I'm not, and when I practice at home by myself, I can keep in tune 95% of the time. Is that all that is required?
Do you desire an outside opinion on your singing abilities?
If so, get someone you trust will tell you the truth to lend an ear and offer constructive criticism.
Answer:
Definitely record yourself, and then play the melody line on a keyboard or guitar along with the recording.
Worship is not a performance.. if you know the right starting note and the right rhythm, thats all you need to lead. a lot of the time I cant hear the lead singer over the congregation, except when he shows us where to come in.
there's so much more to leading than whether you are pitch perfect 100% of the time... one of the best worship leaders I have known was not a brilliant singer, and some of the very famous leaders sing under the note a lot of the time!
having said all that, obviously you need to hold a tune... pray about it and practise loads of songs, just for the fun of it and cos you enjoy singing and praising God
Answer:
Pretty much everything has been said that needs to be said, I would actually recomend that you ask someone you trust to listen to you sing, rather than record yourself and listen to it, because if you have never heard yourself singing in a recording it may come as a huge shock, I have been recording as a hobby for about two years now and I still hate hearing my voice, even though I know I have a decent enough voice.
So I would recomend going up to someone you trust and ask them if they will listen to you sing, and then give their honest opinion as to whether you are capable (in the voice realm) of leading worship.
If there is no one that you know in real life that you feel you can get an honest opinion, record and send me a file, I am more than willing. I would not judge you, but I would give you my opinion about your voice.
Answer:
I believe I know one or two people who I can trust to tell me honestly. Now to find my mic and get it working again...
Answer:
does your church us a PA?
at a practice take the lead vocal and get the rest of the group to comment. if you had a bass player you wouldn't ask him/her to provide a tape of them playing right? you'd bring them to a prictice and try them out.