10 tips for choosing tracks for your praise team

1. Know the correct name of the song and the original artist.
Nothing is worse than buying a track and discovering you bought the wrong one. (Yes, I've done this.) Make sure you know who sings the song.

2. Read the description of what's on the cd. 
The cover will state the keys or ranges of the songs and the back cover will state whether there are background vocals or not. I tend to lean toward tracks that have background vocals for all keys.

3. Find out how long the track is. 
I had to retire a song simply because I didn't realize that the song was over 7 minutes long when I bought it. I don't know about you, but that's a LONG time for one song. Determine if there's a good place to stop the track if you don't want to sing the track in its entirety.

4. Listen to the track before you purchase it. 
This is especially crucial if you don't know what key you need. When I purchase online, they don't play the entire song, but will have a snippet of the original key (usually.) Some songs modulate so know the song before you buy it!

5. Be aware of the keys.
Most tracks have a high, original, and low key, but not all. Sometimes that's still not helpful. I don't know what key we sing any of our songs, but I do have a basic foundation in reading music. If you don't - ask someone who does to help you before you buy the track.

Here's the best tip I can offer you: Make sure the track has the song in the original key. If you know the original key is too high for you, purchase a track that has a 1/2 step down. For example, if the song is sung in D, buy D flat (or C#) if that's an option. I feel like a 1/2 step down is safe. If they don't have D flat, choose C. It's tricky, so again, ask someone who knows or reads music to help.

6. Buy more than 1 if you love the track.
I don't think you can burn them, so go ahead buy a second cd if you love the track. CDs get knicked easily so it's good to have a back-up before it goes bad.

7. In terms of gospel, I love Soulful Sounds tracks. 
The keys they offer generally work for my team. I've purchased Daywind, Mastertrax, and Ultimate tracks too - all solid, but Soulful Sounds seems to be a good fit for me.

8. You can buy some tracks on iTunes... (mostly solos)
Just remember, if it's only on your phone, you'll need to download it to a CD or save to a computer so the team can sing it in your absence. Also, I bought a track on my iPhone 7 and forgot that you need a special jack to plug and play via stereo system. (Kind of embarrassing!) You need to have the proper equipment/set up to get things from your phone to the sound system.

9. Karaoke cds can be hit or miss.
Some companies offer karaoke cds which have a mix of songs on them. You get a lot of songs, but only in one key and it may not have background vocals. Buy at your own risk.

10. Buy a few at a time.
I suggest that you buy more than 1 track at a time. Sometimes you'll find that the one track you thought would be awesome doesn't work for whatever reason. Better to buy 2 or 3 for that reason alone. You'll use them.

This time I'll be different

As you can probably gather from my lack of posts, I gave up at the end of 2016.

I got tired of coordinating, getting shot down, being let down, and getting grilled. But it's a new year and this time I'll be different.

I've decided that this year, I'm going to focus on some very practical goals.

1. I will stop complaining about our lack of a musician. Like, seriously, how long do you keep wining about what is? Time to find something else to complain about.

2. We will sing every song I buy a track for. No more wasting money. I'm sitting on at least 9 cd's because we haven't had rehearsal. Which leads to #3...

3. We will have consistent rehearsals and if no one comes, I will lead praise & worship alone so that we can introduce new songs into the rotation. Now this is probably the biggest goal and I don't like the idea of singing alone to a track, but what's the alternative? Keep singing the same 10ish songs? Nah man.

As far as this blog is concerned, I'm going to be pulling back a bit. My goal is to have one insightful, honest post a month. Quality over quantity. It's so easy to get dragged down the rabbit hole of trying to post every week, but I'm trying to achieve balance in my life. One post a month feels right for me.

My main prayer for the month of January is that God reinvigorates my passion for Him. Leading a praise team is draining and I don't want to lead begrudgingly. If you're reading this blog, I know you feel the same way. I hope that you hang in there with me. It's going to be an awesome year! In Jesus's name.

Blessings

Vanilla and Rocky Road

Scene from Blackish where the choir sings How Sweet Is (To be Loved by You). Hilarious!

A post I read by Carlos Whittaker affirmed some thoughts that have been taking roots in me.

Don't Dilute the Flava God Made Ya has nothing to do with praise and worship specifically. It's more about being your authentic self and not changing that authenticity when you don't fit into the mold of what others might be looking for.

At this point in my journey, I'm not this super verbal, entertainer type worship leader. I know we all like charismatic worship leaders, but I don't really do the whole "hype em up" thing. I could get up there and scream "When I think of the goodness of Jesus...", but that's just not me. I like to worship, I like to sing, so I worship and I sing. I used to be a cheerleader, but because worship is kind of my thing, I don't feel led to call up that skill set. Sure I encourage people to press in, but you're not gonna get a lot of talking out of me. God hasn't given me a word to share with His people so I'm not gonna stand up in front of a congregation and just start talking prophetically or even matter-of-factly. It's just not me.

I think Carlos's post drives home that whatever God made you to be, be it. Everyone won't like your style, but someone will.

The diversity of the church amazes me. There is room for vanilla, Rocky Road, and every other flavor imaginable.

Blessings

Passion - My Heart Is Yours (Live/Audio) ft. Kristian Stanfill

What a simple, beautiful song. Enjoy!

Tips for worship team members

I read this great article called 10 tips for worship team members - part 1

Here's a brief recap of the tips, but definitely read the post! 

• Practice: Professional musicians know the difference between practice and rehearsal
• Be a support to your worship leader
• Be on time
• Don't sabotage songs you dislike
• Behave like a Christian on stage and off

3 pointers for those not on the praise team

I'm totally convinced that our district congregation is wack. Yep, I said it.

Recently we had a great P&W set. (Yes I'm tooting my horn - beep, beep!) Definitely the best of our last three, but somehow there was still some wackness going on within the congregation.

I'm not gonna even waste my brain cells trying to figure out why the audience was half dead, but here are some pointers for all of you who are not on a praise team.

• The best way to kill a service is by not participating. You don't have to be able to sing to make a joyful noise. You can lift your hands, wave your hands, sway, dance, clap, smile, etc. These are all ways to participate. There's nothing worse than looking at an audience of blank or angry faces.
• When you're excited about something, you don't sit all the way in the back. You don't have to be on the front row, but sitting on the periphery is a sign of where you are mentally and dare I say spiritually.
• Get over yourself and your issues. You are not responding to the praise team, per se. Praise and worship is your time to connect with God. Quit looking at the praise leaders as performers or as people in general who you may or may not even like. It's not about the praise team. It is about your response to God. We are mere conduits/facilitators.

There was a really popular secular song out a few years ago that had this really catchy line: "if you ain't got no money take your broke $%% home!"  Basically, don't try to kick it if you can't afford it. You'll kill everyone's good time trying to hang out when you're worried about keeping it cheap. That's kinda how I feel about P&W these days. If you didn't come to church to praise God maybe you should just stay home. (And please don't start thinking "well, sometimes people just need to hear a word or get prayer.") We need to quit coming to church to get something. This is not a welfare line.

So yeah...it's not always the praise team or the soloist or the preacher; it's you.

Running on E

Did you miss me while I was gone? I usually post every week, but I didn't have much to say for the month of February so I took a break.

I also am usually very upbeat, but for whatever reason, I'm not feeling very chipper these days.

In short, I think I need a Sabbatical. I won't spend a lot of time explaining everything in great detail, but I bet if you're following this blog you probably feel the same way at times. If you are like me, you wear multiple roles at your church. (#smallchurchproblems) I called myself stepping back from the youth leader role, but because our national youth convention isn't in the U.S., I've been thrust back into organizing. Then, besides leading the worship team, I also sing a solo most Sundays. Finally, I agreed to help with our district praise team this year and things are really about to pick up.

Sometimes when you have a lot of responsibilities you start to resent being involved so much. Not to mention I work full time, am a mom, and wife. I have friends, but honestly I can go well over a month without seeing them. I feel like I'm running on empty here. And not in the physically exerted way; in the personal/spiritual way. And I don't mean in the religious sense. It's more like I'm doing so much for everything and everyone and I'm not replenishing myself.  I'd like to chalk it all up to the winter blues, but it's almost spring. (I say that while it's snowing at this very moment and it's March.)

So that's where I am. Stick with me as I try to bounce back.

What had happened was...

It's almost the end of the year and time to answer the question of whether or not I accomplished my goals with my praise team in 2015.

My main goal was to make the praise team a priority. Did I do that? Yes and no.  I definitely stopped working with the youth department to try to focus. That helped. We had some rehearsals, but the last half of the year we really dropped the ball. I could go into all the excuses, but they don't seem change: conflicts with work schedules killed us. When rehearsals stop, that's the death of a praise team.

My main objective was to get 12 new or retired songs back into our play list. Did we do it? Not exactly. I think we successfully added ~ 3 or 4. Wamp wamp waaaamp!

Not exactly a stellar year, but there were moments of greatness and things are looking up. We finally got a musician. Somehow, my younger brother decided to get off his end and take lessons from my older brother. He's learned about 6 songs and he's really coming along. I'm confident that next year we'll be able to retire our tracks. Gloray!!! We also debuted one of the songs I wrote and then the district praise team sang it as well. Finally, last Sunday someone mentioned wanting to join the team.

Needless to say, we have long way to go. Becoming consistent with rehearsals is going to be my main focus for 2016. No more excuses.

Here's to wishing all of us a triumphant 2016 with our praise teams!

Cheers!

Jessica Love ft. Todd Dulaney "I Draw Near"

I heard this song for the first time today and couldn't wait to share it. Enjoy!

6 Sneaky Little Ways to Become a Better Musician (That Don't Involve Picking Up Your Instrument)

This is a repost from a blog called SONICBIDS. Here's the link to read the entire post, but I'll leave the goods below.

6 Sneaky Little Ways to Become a Better Musician (That Don't Involve Picking Up Your Instrument)

1. Make use of commutes, lunch breaks, and waiting in line.
2. Analyze music as you listen to it.
3. Turn concerts into learning experiences.
4. Wake up just 30 minutes earlier.
5. Watch footage of your practice sessions.
6. Download music-related smart phone apps.

Insecurity issues

I must admit I have issues as a lead worshiper.

I am an average singer. Don't have a great vibrato. Have average range. Don't always sing from my diaphram. I also don't think quick on my feet and my voice sometimes goes out when its hot in my church and the fans are on full throttle. But the average singer thing is my main issue.

It is extremely easy to be intimidated as a lead worshiper when you can't blow. I wish I could rip and run across the scale, but that isn't my strong suit. I love singers who run effortlessly, but that's often the measure we hold everyone by. At least in black church culture. Why is that?

As I've grown in my Christian journey, one of the things I'm more cognizant of is not being wooed by rhymes, runs, and physical attractiveness of something or even an edifice. This goes for a sermon, as well as the music. We (including myself) have got to move past some of the superficial stuff and get to the heart of worship. Don't get me wrong, it's hard to go in when things are pitchy, but it shouldn't be easy to go in just because of someone's ability to sound like Beyonce. (No shade... I love Halo! :)

I may not be able to do the Jason Nelson warm up challenge, but dang it, do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do ain't never hurt nobody. That, I can do all day, every day.

Blessings

P.S. Go on Instagram and check out Jason Nelson's warm up challenges. Some of these people are dope and some are just flat out funny.

Praise team - party of one

"Being a worship leader, as you know, is a lot. You have to be there when no one is there. You try to push your vocal vision, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Not to mention the congregation pulling on you, but it's all fun..."

This is part of a text that I got from my district music director about what it means to be a worship leader.

Since most of you are probably on the P&W team or are the main leader, you know this quote is 100% true.

How many times have you had to lead worship with most of your team not there? How many times have you lead worship when half of the congregation is late and misses half of the set? How many times did you have a song you wanted to sing (or sang) that tanked? How many times have you lead worship when the congregation seemingly was not in a worshiping mindset? And don't you feel like the weight of the entire service hangs on your shoulders? I know I do.

Being a worship leader is a huge responsibility. In cases like mine, where you didn't have a desire to lead, but are placed in the position, it's difficult to muster up the umph to deal with it all. But in the words of my pastor "the work of the Lord requires work!"

Some times, the best you can do is be an awesome party of one. Lead by example. Make sure you're where you're supposed to be. Sing the best you can. Work as unto the Lord. Galatians 6:9 admonishes us to "... not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Blessings

And it don't stop

A big shout out to all my new subscribers who signed up for the blog at the #UPCAG conference!

Now let's get started.

What did I learn about praise and worship (P&W) while attending our national conference? The beat goes on. (In my Whispers voice - I added the link for the sake of my "new school" readers.)

People don't show, the beat goes on.
Tracks don't play, the beat goes on.
Mics don't work, the beat goes on.
Attitudes flare, the beat goes on.


Bottom line: it don't stop!

Our special musical guest had the worst time with audio, but she pressed through with grace. The mics weren't to our musical director's likings, but everyone kept going. There were people who normally sing on the praise team who didn't (myself included), yet there was still a praise team.

Regardless of the of the obstacles we might encounter, we have to keep going when we are leading others into worship because whether we do or we don't, the "show" will still go on. As praise team leaders/members, it's our job to set the atmosphere and we can't do that if we decide to quit or have an attitude because things don't go right. Let's continue to press toward the mark!

Blessings

What Taya Smith of Hillsong knows about leading worship

 If anyone knows anything about leading P&W, Taya Smith does! The following is what she posted to the Hillsong Worship Website:

1. The difference between preparing and not preparing is MASSIVE.
Apart from knowing the songs and learning the lyrics, setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing — it allows the Holy Spirit to speak, puts a verse on my heart, and gives me ideas.

Setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing...

2. Receive constructive feedback.
From those around you who have been doing this for longer than you. I want to lead people the best way I can each time, plus I don’t know everything so I need to remain humble and teachable. SEE ALSO: 10 THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT LEADING A CREATIVE TEAM (#11 IS MY FAVOURITE)
3. Have a plan.
If you don’t play an instrument, grab the Music Director, or a musician and together, figure out the keys of the songs you’ve chosen, any potential creative moments you might have, specific transitions, etc. That way you have a plan in place that has been practiced, but you also have flexibility to change if you feel to do so.
4. Have an opinion.
Especially if you’re a co-worship leader. When the senior worship leader asks you what you think of a song, idea, or moment – have something to contribute! You could have a great idea that no one has thought of yet.
5. Run your song list by someone else.
I always get a second eye to look over my list, just to make sure it’s the strongest and most relevant it can be. This can mean you may need to tailor a song list to a specific service and then tweak it slightly for the next one.
6. Don’t strive when you lead, but don’t step back either.
Lead with the authority that has been given to you. Yes, there is a spiritual weight to the platform, which includes the responsibility we have to lead people to Jesus, but lead confidently knowing you’ve been given the platform and entrusted by your pastors.
7. You will have a train wreck and you will be okay.
A close friend and mentor told me this and a week later, I had a beauty! Don’t stress – it keeps you humble and you learn from it, plus they make for great stories!
8. Watch, listen and learn every chance you get.
We never graduate from learning.
9.  Your primary service to the church is to lead them to the presence of God.
Don’t think for a second that worship leading is your moment to shine or preach, especially when you are taking ‘the gap’.  If it adds to the service and allows you to arrest the atmosphere, then do it; but if it takes away from Jesus and what your primary purpose is, leave it out.
10. Be yourself.
You are unique and God speaks to each of us differently, so lead accordingly. God has put something on your life, so lead from that place.
love, Taya