Solutions to Common Music Problems at Church
The responses below contain relevant links to the main body of the Music in the Smaller Church seminar. If you have any additional questions, please email us or visit our blog and we'll do our best to post a response!
Click on a problem area below:
» Arranging songs
» Limited instruments
» Music team morale / vision
» Musical culture
» Organization
» Tech issues
» Training needs
Arranging songs
We have a few different instruments - but they’re not fitting together well
» The arrangement
Our rehearsals are rushed and stressful
» Effective rehearsals
How do we do an upbeat song if we haven’t got many instruments?
» Upbeat songs
We only have a piano
» Keyboard and song leader
We only have a guitar
» Rhythm guitars
» Old hymns…when you want to play them on guitar
How do we play old hymns if we only have a guitar?
» Old hymns…when you want to play them on guitar
We only have a piano and guitar
» Keyboard, song leader and rhythm guitar
How do you lead the singing with no instruments and make it work?
» How to lead singing without instruments
We don’t have many musicians, so we often have to sing along to a CD at church. Where can we get more CDs?
Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well »
The congregation finds the song hard to learn / sings it the wrong way
» Songs that cause trouble
» Teach new songs well
We keep getting out of time with one another and the congregation
» Confident, expressive song leading
» Drums
» Put the song together
We always get the start of the song confused
» Arranging the structure of the song
Songs become boring after the second verse
» Arranging the structure of the song
We're using MIDI programs playing through an electric piano, but it sounds awful. Are there other options?
» Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well
Limited instruments
We haven't got any instruments
» How to lead singing without instruments
» Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well
We only have a piano
» Keyboard and song leader
We only have a guitar
» Rhythm guitars
» Old hymns…when you want to play them on guitar
How do we play old hymns if we only have a guitar?
» Old hymns…when you want to play them on guitar
We only have a piano and guitar
» Keyboard, song leader and rhythm guitar
We haven’t got any drums
» Ongoing training
How do we do an upbeat song if we haven’t got many instruments
» Upbeat songs
We have a few different instruments - but they’re not fitting together well
» The arrangement
We have one or two good musicians we use, but they’re absolutely exhausted
» Be organized
Music team morale / vision
We lack direction as a music team
» God’s expectations for music
» An enthusiastic music director
» Pray as a music team
» Talk with your senior pastor
We’re feeling generally discouraged about music
» God’s expectations for music
» Being content with what God has already given your church
» Pray as a music team
» How to lead singing without instruments
» Talk with your senior pastor
We struggle to pray as a music team
» Pray as a music team
We have one or two good musicians we use, but they’re absolutely exhausted
» Be organized
We sometimes have personal clashes in the music team
» Deal graciously with differences
Musical culture
We have a variety of musical tastes in the congregation
» A well-balanced song list
The congregation just isn’t singing up!
» Get the congregation singing
The congregation finds the song hard to learn / sings it the wrong way
» Songs that cause trouble
» Teach new songs well
Organization
Our rehearsals are rushed and stressful
» Re-think your rehearsal time
Our music rosters are a bit disorganized
» Be organized
We have one or two good musicians we use, but they’re absolutely exhausted
» Be organized
We’ve been singing the same songs for ages - where can we find new songs?
» Teach at least 10 new songs a year
What are the different sorts of CDs you can get to sing with at church?
» Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well
We lack musical gifts
» Being content with what God has already given your church
» Ongoing training
» How to lead singing without instruments
» Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well
Tech issues
We haven’t got a sound system
We haven’t got a very good sound system
There are problems with volume, feedback and distortion
We don’t have anyone who really knows how to use the sound system
The musicians don’t spend time thinking about the sound
» Treat your sound system like another instrument
There are always errors in our overheads
» Accurate overheads
What are the different sorts of CDs you can get to sing with at church?
» Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well
Training needs
We lack musical gifts
» Being content with what God has already given your church
» How to lead singing without instruments
» Use CDs (or an mp3 player) well
» Ongoing training
Our song leaders lack confidence
» Support new song leaders
We haven’t got any drums
» Ongoing training
How good does someone have to be before you let them play at church?
» Give people a go
We have some musicians who can’t play very well - they’re a major distraction to the congregation
» Give people a go