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» Do the fundamental things well
Number 7: Effective rehearsals
The most stressful times I’ve ever had at church have been during music rehearsals. The chance that things will go wrong is just about guaranteed! There’s time pressure, sound issues, overhead issues, creative differences and even personality clashes… At the same time, music has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding ministries I’ve been involved with. There’s nothing quite like leading God’s people in song!
How do you minimise the stress and maximise the joy of a music rehearsal?
» 1. Be organized and communicate clearly
» 2. Start on time
» 3. Pray
» 4. Nominate someone to direct the rehearsal
» 5. Bring lyrics sheets for the musicians to write notes on
» 6. Do new or harder songs first
» 7. Consider longer rehearsals
1. Be organized and communicate clearly
Music rehearsals involve pulling a few people together. There are the musicians, someone to set up and operate the sound, someone to type up the overheads or song sheets, and the leader of the service. Communicating the rosters well in advance, and shortly before the date, will help prevent last-minute confusion and people forgetting to turn up.
2. Start on time
I don’t know about your church, but the general tendency for all our church activities to start 15 minutes late has a big impact on rehearsals, particularly when it feels like the time is short enough already. There are three main things you can do to keep people arriving on time:
• Continue selling the vision for music at church and encouraging the musicians to remember what they’re doing it for.
• Do whatever it takes to make rehearsals enjoyable. I remember one musician who loved playing so much at church that he was always 15 minutes early!
• Approach people who are late individually. This is more effective than a general e-mail reminding everyone to “please be on time”. It also means you’ll be aware of any genuine problems musicians are having getting to church by the set time.
3. Pray
See the section Pray as a music team.
4. Nominate someone to direct the rehearsal
Even small groups operate more effectively if there’s a leader. As soon as you add two or more instruments, it’s worth nominating someone to be responsible for how those instruments should be put together. It will save a lot of time if they do this before the rehearsal.
5. Bring lyric sheets for the musicians to write notes on
Print out the complete lyrics to the song from start to finish - including any repeated bits - and give them to the musicians to make notes about what they’re doing in each section. As well as making everything nice and clear, it’s a good way for the musicians to keep the words of the songs in mind as they play.
6. Do new or harder songs first
It will always take longer than you think! If you're going to be rushed at the end of a rehearsal, far better that you rush over the familiar/easy song.
7. Consider longer rehearsals
If rehearsals are really stressful because you’re so pushed for time, it may be that you need a longer rehearsal time, or even an additional rehearsal time. Initially it might seem like a big ask, but the extra time can have a real impact not only on the music, but also on the team – there’s more time for prayer and fellowship, it’s more enjoyable, and people feel the reward of songs coming together more completely.
If you really don’t have more time, consider dropping one song, repeating one song from the previous week, or sing one song from a CD so you don’t have to rehearse for as long.