I put the song in a playlist on my phone so that I can listen to it regularly at home, in my office and in my car. This is a great reminder for the band in a live setting.ĥ. Recently I played with a worship band that has an in-ear music director calling out the chords or numbers of the progression, as well as the sections of the song. Learning to ‘play by ear’ or hearing the progression is an important next step in developing as a musician. You will start to hear the progression go from 1 to 5 to 6 to 4. Your ear will begin to hear where the progression goes next. This is basis of the system that is used in the Nashville Numbering System.Īs you develop as a musician you will also learn to ‘hear’ the chord progression. If the chord progression is G, C, Em7, D. So the first degree of the scale is G or “1”. The notes of the scale in the key of G are G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G. I often think of music as numbers, so I will normally memorize a chord progression as a number pattern. A great technique, in your personal rehearsal time, is to repeat each section until you have it committed to memory.Ĥ. Then I begin learning the verses and the bridge of the song. I’ll learn the chorus first because that is usually the part of the song that gets repeated the most. I start by learning one section of the music at a time. I slowly wean myself off the music in my personal rehearsal time and in the band rehearsal time. As I learn the song, I transition from just merely playing and singing the song to worshiping God from my heart.ģ. That gives me two whole weeks to learn it well. It is very important to spend time with the music on a daily basis. This first step helps get the whole song and arrangement in my brain.Ģ.
Then I make a full SAT chart for the band and singers. Secondly, I type out the words and I make sure the musical form and chords are the best that they can be. First, I put the song in a key that works for the congregation and myself. With the music memorized, you can concentrate on leading the congregation and singing and worshipping the Lord with your whole heart.ġ. You don’t have to spend a lot of energy in your public worship time thinking about the music. When you spend enough time with the music so that you have it memorized, it becomes a natural part of you. Playing and singing at the same time involves another whole level of memorization.
I lead on either the guitar or the keyboard depending on the situation. I have found that memorization brings my leading of the congregation and worship of God to a whole new level. Lately, I have been reminded about the importance of memorizing the music when I lead worship.