Question:
I just started playing guitar in the Worship Team. I come from a heavy metal background so this was totally new. I took my acoustic/electric to practice last night and did pretty well.
In the past all my learning was from ear. I can read the music chords along with the Team, but I am a bit slow and get lost because I can not follow the song structure via the sheet music. I suppose I need to brush up on how to follow the sections better.
Does anyone have any tips on this? This is a brave new world for me.
Shane
Answer:
Originally Posted by ChromeBeast I just started playing guitar in the Worship Team. I come from a heavy metal background so this was totally new. I took my acoustic/electric to practice last night and did pretty well.
In the past all my learning was from ear. I can read the music chords along with the Team, but I am a bit slow and get lost because I can not follow the song structure via the sheet music. I suppose I need to brush up on how to follow the sections better.
Does anyone have any tips on this? This is a brave new world for me.
Shane
Yeah, just nail down "Kumbiya" and you're gold.

Chesh
Answer:
Originally Posted by CheshireCat Yeah, just nail down "Kumbiya" and you're gold.
Maybe stick to FBL recomendations Chesh <---really big wink
(for new ones around here, Chesh gives alot of good advice)
I'm gonna ship this off to worship leading.
Answer:
Originally Posted by georgeo Maybe stick to FBL recomendations Chesh <---really big wink
(for new ones around here, Chesh gives alot of good advice)
I'm gonna ship this off to worship leading.

Answer:
Practice with recordings of the songs. Did I mention practice? I think it's the key Oh, and get FBL SE.
Answer:
Originally Posted by ChromeBeast I just started playing guitar in the Worship Team. I come from a heavy metal background so this was totally new. I took my acoustic/electric to practice last night and did pretty well.
In the past all my learning was from ear. I can read the music chords along with the Team, but I am a bit slow and get lost because I can not follow the song structure via the sheet music. I suppose I need to brush up on how to follow the sections better.
Does anyone have any tips on this? This is a brave new world for me.
Shane I was in the same boat last Dec. I just came to a new church and was asked to join the worship team. I come from a rock background, never learned to read sheet music(still don't ). The church I previously attended had some very tallented musicians and we used chord sheets for all the music. Even the keybords used the same chord sheets the guitar players used. This system worked very well. Anyways I just assumed every church in the universe did things this way. Well I was in for a shock when I joined the new worship team. I quickly noticed that we mostly used sheet music, even though the chord names are on there to me it is still very hard to follow along. It's like reading Chinese. Another thing is we play in alot of flat keys, so I've gotten real good with the capo (my new best friend). We tend to do a fair amount of older hymn type of songs and as everyone knows they are not very guitar friendly. The best thing to do with these is to just pick out the chords that hit on the main beat in the song. Also talk to the people on your team and tell them your not too sure about reading the sheet music. I'm sure they'll help you out with finding the road map for each song. The guys on my team have been very helpful with me in this area. Hope all goes well. Oh yeah, like Chesh always say's get FBL SE
Answer:
FBL SE You guys are too much I just ordered mine on Friday and cant wait to get into the groove
course you yungun's might not know what that thare means
God Bless
Forever His
Answer:
Originally Posted by Forever His FBL SE You guys are too much I just ordered mine on Friday and cant wait to get into the groove
course you yungun's might not know what that thare means
God Bless
Forever His I'm 39 yrs old and no yungun. I know what yer sayin.
Answer:
Well, I'm still a really big proponent of the "Kumbiya" School of P/W Music.
Chesh
Answer:
So you're getting lost in the charts? Mark them up! Write in CHORUS, VERSE 1, VERSE 2, Bridge, etc. Little notes like SECOND TIME ONLY! can be helpful...if you know what the structure will be, I'd write a little road map somewhere. If you know there will be a key change, and don't feel comfortable reading it off the other chords, write it in!
Have big ears!
L.
Answer:
Originally Posted by LWatford
Have big ears!
Now that's truly some good advice!! Someone told me something like that some years back, and it's one piece of advice I'll never forget; LEARN HOW TO LISTEN
Answer:
Originally Posted by ChromeBeast I just started playing guitar in the Worship Team. I come from a heavy metal background so this was totally new. I took my acoustic/electric to practice last night and did pretty well.
In the past all my learning was from ear. I can read the music chords along with the Team, but I am a bit slow and get lost because I can not follow the song structure via the sheet music. I suppose I need to brush up on how to follow the sections better.
Does anyone have any tips on this? This is a brave new world for me.
Shane
Take a small tape recorder to practice and record it. Then you can practice at home between then and Sunday.
Answer:
I went thru essentially the same thing abuot 3 years ago, except instead of the metal, it was pop/rock cover bands. It took a while, but I was finally able to read and play the chord charts. The main thing for me was that I was not familiar with the tunes. It helps to listen to them from MP3's or CD's just so the song itself is in the "back of your head" when you go to play them with the team.