KEYS
WITHOUT EVEN THINKING | Ed Kerr
Habits . For me , it ’ s when I sit down . Even though my knee hurts , I still cross my right leg underneath me before I sit . It also happens when I ’ m going to sleep . Lie on right side , right arm bent below head under pillow , left hand slid under chest .
I do it without thinking . I ’ ve probably done these things thousands of times in my life . Habits . Ask my wife and she ’ ll probably list a few more things I do that I ’ m not even aware of . Do you think maybe it ’ s possible for us to have musical things we do without thinking too ? Absolutely . Becoming aware of those things , AND being willing to change them , is an important area for developing your musicianship as well as being an effective member of your worship team .
Here are some areas where we might be repeating patterns we ’ re not aware of .
TELLING YOURSELF YOU CAN ’ T PLAY WITH A CLICK
Lots of worship teams these days are playing with a click track . Their in-ear monitors give them the option of hearing a metronome sound that the congregation doesn ’ t hear . At first , you may think that there ’ s something ’ s really wrong with that click and there ’ s no way your timing is that unsteady . With time , and a little humility , you may actually prefer playing with a click . Rather than seeing it as an irritating little bleep-bleep-bleep-bleep , you ’ ll find that you recognize its value , rely on it , and relax into it . Got everyone on your team playing with the click yet ? What a difference that will make .
TELLING YOURSELF YOU CAN ’ T GRASP TECHNOLOGY
Ever bought a new keyboard or new software for your computer , all excited about the new sounds you ’ d be able to make or the efficiency you ’ d add to your workflow ? Two hours after first turning on the keyboard or launching the software you ’ re staring in frustration at what ’ s before you , wondering how the demo you saw online made everything look so easy . Do you start looking for your sales receipt and investigate return policies ?
Do you think maybe it ’ s possible for us to have musical things we do without thinking too ? Absolutely .
That ’ s an option . Or , if you ’ re convinced your purchase will benefit you , you could take a deep breath , maybe step away for a moment , and recognize that just because you can ’ t instantly grasp something doesn ’ t mean some focused effort won ’ t make your current challenge an encouraging accomplishment . I know that when I first wanted to rename a performance I ’ d created on my Yamaha Motif XF-8 it seemed as cryptic as solving a ninesided Rubik ’ s cube . Now I ’ m able to quickly do it with just a few button clicks . Progress is possible !
PLAYING THE CHORDS WITHOUT CONSIDERING YOUR VOICINGS
One thing that sets apart keyboard parts on modern worship recordings from what you might hear from a pianist in a more traditional church is the voicings that are used . Voicings refer to what notes of a chord a player uses and where they put them on the instrument . A very important phrase was just stated : “ what notes of a chord a player uses ”. You see , just because your chord chart describes a 3 or 4 note chord doesn ’ t mean that all of those notes are needed . Take the progression that is used for the verse and chorus of “ Great Are You Lord ”. In the key of E , that progression is A C # m7 B . You could play each of these chords with what I term a “ block voicing ”. In your right hand , this block voicing would include all the notes of the chord positioned next to each other . No gaps between pitches .
CHORD BLOCK VOICING LEFT HAND A A C # E A C # m7 C # E G # B C # B B D # F # B
By contrast , an “ open voicing ” might look something like this :
CHORD OPEN VOICING LEFT HAND A A E A C # m7 B E C # B B D # B
Playing without color . Another distinctive aspect of modern worship arrangements is the use of color chords . Though the chord chart for “ Great Are You Lord ” might say A C # m7 B , we often hear variations of these basic chords that feature notes beyond just the 3 or 4 notes in the chords . For example , the B chord is often played as a Badd4 chord . This chord
56 June 2018 WorshipMusician . com