Music Resources for the ACNA – Presented by the ACNA …



Effective Arranging and Leadership for Successful use of Instrumentalistsin a Folk Group or Praise Teamby Mark Williams, Christ Church Anglican, SavannahOur Anglican church has had the fortune of having many proficient High School and adult wind and string players become a part of our Folk Group/Praise Team over the years. After many years of experimentation, the instruments that have worked well in playing melody, harmony, obbligato’s, and descants have been flutists, violinists, oboists, clarinetists, cellists, trumpeters, and French Horn Players. These melodic instruments have added much to our congregation’s singing. (See the article “Creating a Digital Orchestra” as an option under the Folk Group/Praise Team menu.)So, how do we add these instrumentalists into the mix? How do we successfully arrange the song so that they help to lead and express the song without all of them wanting to play on every verse, all of the time?First, I supply everyone in the group with at least a lead sheet (containing the melody, text, and chords for the song). I then think through the song prior to the group rehearsal, notate the breath marks, and create a Rehearsal Sheet, like the one below, and copy it for everyone in the group. The players then notate the arrangement cues in their score (supplied sharpened or mechanical pencils being their “best friend” in rehearsals). We generally rehearse and prepare for two Sundays of music at each rehearsal so that we rehearse together two times a month and then warm-up and run the music prior to the Sunday service each week with those who are in attendance that Sunday. On occasion, we have to modify the Rehearsal Sheet cues for a player who is out ill.Rehearsal times are important to us as they are the time when we can let our hair down, practice our art together, work out any kinks, and experiment with the effectiveness of our sound in leading worship. It is also a time where the process together often reveals itself as or even more important that the eventual product as we share our “glad-fors” and “sad-abouts”, lift one another and our rehearsal up in prayer, cover any important business, and learn to work together as a Christian team. Few of these items can be effectively carried out in our brief Sunday morning warm-up time. Also, rehearsals allow us to clean up our sound and provide the time to break a song down as needed into its component parts such as the rhythm parts (guitars strumming cleanly together, bass hitting precisely on the down beats in tempo, and percussion chosen carefully to embellish the sound), and the melodic parts (piano, solo instruments in tune, phrasing, coming in on time and at the right time, and breathing with and modeling the congregation’s breaths). If we mic something, we work with the sound team to run the volume not at performance levels, but at sound reinforcing levels so that we do not come across as performance in our worship together.We have learned over time to shy away from full drum sets as they often say to many worshippers, “Performance Rock Band” within a liturgical worship context. Full drum sets, admittedly, were invented for big performance venues, not liturgical worship venues. Note, I am a percussionist. In this light, we have successfully used smaller percussion instruments both effectively and judiciously to great success: tambourine, afuche cabasa, small shakers, triangles, claves, etc. and have substituted a cajon or a doumbek for a full drum set to great effect…and less space or miking issues. We have discovered that these smaller instruments are more intimate and are received as more user-friendly in our Anglican liturgical worship. And to wrap up on instruments, a little here on guitars. We have tried all sorts and makes of guitars. Although there is a coolness factor to the electric guitar, this instrument was also wrought out of the rock genre and not liturgical Christian worship. The recommendation here is to utilize six and 12-string acoustic guitars with steel strings for best leading liturgical worship. Six and/or 12-string acoustic rhythm guitars cleanly strumming together, in tune, and equipped with metal strings and a pick, hands down, lead liturgical worship music most effectively in the Anglican Folk Group or Praise Team genre. (A helpful note: Have rhythm guitars come in strumming, on the last measure of all song introductions, as a cue to the congregation that they are now about to enter singing the song. This will help alleviate the “doubted entrance” effect.)And to really ramp things up to a new level, I would challenge you to dare to listen, really listen. Listen for strumming cleanly together, listen for in-tune playing, listen for togetherness in group tempo, listen to the effectiveness of the arrangement and the use of the various musicians and their instruments in expressing the text and the direction of the piece of music. Try placing a recording device 20 feet away from the group, record a piece, and listen back as a group. Recordings will tell you much are rarely lie.And finally, I cannot stress how important it is for the instrumental ensemble to tune to the keyboard at the start of every rehearsal and every Sunday warm up. An out-of-tune instrumental ensemble is simply a non-starter and will push people away. Now, here’s the example of a Rehearsal Cue Sheet: (see next page)REHEARSAL SHEETOctober 15 (7:00p.m. rehearsal)Communion Songs for Sunday, October 20 (17th Sunday after Pentecost)1. God and Man at Table are Sat Down (Robert Stamps) Congregation seated.Introduction: piano, bass, oboe (Note: guitars always come in confidently on last measure of intro. to cue congregation and singers that it is time to come in.)vs. 1: guitars and flute melody (piano, bass, guitars to end)vs. 2: oboe melody vs. 3: flute and oboe melody2. I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (tune: Kingsfold) Congregation seated.Introduction: flute, piano bass (add violin at half) Guitars come in on last measure of into.vs. 1: flute 8va (piano, bass, guitars to end)vs. 2: violin 8vavs. 3: flute 8va and violin descant (using a good vocal descant works here)3. On Jordan’s Stormy Bands I Stand (Christopher Miner) Congregation stands.Introduction: piano, bass, flute 8va (add trumpet on refrain) Guitars come in on last measure of into.vs. 1: violin (piano, bass, guitars to end), add flute on Refrainvs. 2: flute 8va, add trumpet on refrain, add organ strings/celestes with pedal or synth strings chording underneath to the end of the song. Organ can build to the end; very effective.vs. 3: piano and guitars single strum on downbeats of verseguitars back to rhythm strum on last measure of verse, flute 8va on Refrainvs. 4: violin 8va, add trumpet and flute on Refrain (flute 8va plays echo of melody for the each “I am bound” text creating an echo part for the women). ................
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