I'd appreciate prayers...

BenWahrman · 10-24-2009, 05:10 PM

I'm auditioning for my church's music team (Our term for our worship band) tomorrow afternoon. I have to play two songs I've sung in church before but never played, and, according to the email, I might have to do another "on the fly". Needless to say, nervousness has already set in. I'd appreciate some prayer/encouragement, considering that I'm nowhere close to being as good as anyone else on the team, but I still at least want to get in and practice with them. Thanks in advance.

GavFav · 10-25-2009, 09:56 PM

Goodluck (although by now you have probably already auditioned)

Hope and pray you are/were calm and focused.
Even if you don't get approved to play on stage, see if you can still come to jam sessions/rehersal. It is a great way to keep learning. I have been playing at rehersal with the other guitarists for the whole of this year but have only played 1-2 times. No problems, I am still learning and getting experience playing with band and we have a number of great guitarists that i can support when needed.

GavFav

BenWahrman · 10-26-2009, 10:36 AM

Yeah, I got in and did it on Sunday. There were three other people auditioning, two vocalists and one guy with an acoustic, with me on my electric. I only played 1/2 the time, if that, but I still managed to thoroughly mangle 2 out of the 3 songs we did. I felt every bit of my one year (give or take a week) of guitar experience. Needless to say, I was a bit upset by my own performance. I still am, in a way. I realize that no one is a good player overnight, and in guitar terms, a year is definitely overnight. I just can't shake the feeling that I didn't even play as well as I was able to. I loved the feeling I got when everyone was playing, all on the same page, and things were flowing. But I hated the feeling where I got absolutely lost in the C/E G/B D/F#, screwed up, and had to go around the horn again before coming back to make the same mistake again.

So yeah, now I need prayer that I'll have the grit to get back on the horse that threw me.

GavFav · 10-27-2009, 05:41 AM

Hey you got one song ok.
That is great for one year! Stick with it, try to get more chances to play with others and pray. If you can get the music to play at home.

Goodluck and will continuing to pray for you.

Gav

BenWahrman · 10-27-2009, 09:39 AM

Thanks, Gav. I really appreciate it.

jeepnstein · 10-27-2009, 10:52 AM

Don't be discouraged at all. I was called up to play once when I was still less than a year into it. It was misery and I really wasn't ready. Things worked out and it didn't leave any hard feelings or lasting scars.

Keep playing. Look for opportunities to jam. Practice what the worship team is doing. You'll have more opportunities. Be ready to go where God sends you and everything will be fine.

BenWahrman · 11-02-2009, 09:49 PM

So, just to update, I got word back from the team leader on Sunday. He was impressed with how well I was able to play with a year's worth of practice, but thought that I needed some more instruction and practice, especially with other people and accompanying varying instruments, before I could join the team, even on a part-time basis.

In a way, it's refreshing. I was fretting the entire week leading up to my talking to him, up to the point where I was sweating and waiting for him to walk up to me and tell me I stank. Thankfully he was a lot more gracious than that. And having an answer, any answer, is better than waiting in the dark.

But, at the same time, I'm a little lost regarding where to go from here. The team practices on Sunday mornings, before the service starts, and I'm almost never there at that time. I COULD go, but I haven't asked about sitting in on practices or anything. There is another electric player in the band I could ask for advice, but his family just had a baby, and he hasn't played at a service for quite a few weeks now. He used to be giving impromptu lessons to some of the kids around the church, including one of my brothers, but he's stopped doing those as well, at least for the time being. And almost no one else has enough free time or lives close enough for me to practice/jam with. My only option is one of my other brothers, who's teaching himself bass. But, we don't know any of the same songs. He prefers to play from tabs, songs he has on CD, like Thousand Foot Krutch or Skillet or Relient K. And you might be able to guess that our church doesn't play any of those songs.

I know I need work. I'm just not sure exactly how to get that work done.

gtrdave · 11-03-2009, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenWahrman

I know I need work. I'm just not sure exactly how to get that work done.

I would recommend taking 1 or 2 of the songs that the band does in regular rotation and learn them, start to finish. Get the songs so well rehearsed that you do not need to look at any paper copy of the music while playing it. If there's any mistakes, go over them and work them out.
Once you've got them down, learn 2 more and so on.
This might sound funny coming from a music teacher, but you probably don't need a teacher so much as you need to spend time studying and practicing. Jamming with others is cool IF you know how to play songs, so I'd advise that you start working on building up a catalog of songs, Again, start with a couple and move up from there.

As far as band practices, you should make an effort to go and witness them and don't expect to sit in for a while. My guess is that the team has a lot of work to accomplish in not a lot of time, so any potential distraction probably isn't welcome, but watching them go through the process can be an invaluable lesson for you. Maybe bring your guitar (unplugged), see if you can get a copy of the music and try to follow along.

BenWahrman · 11-03-2009, 09:59 AM

You're right, in that the team often doesn't have a lot of time to practice, and they often learn what songs they're going to play right then, not beforehand. And getting ahold of the music might not be a problem. It's knowing what songs to learn/play. Our church plays almost every style of worship music out there, from Matt Redman to Chris Tomlin, all the way back to old-style hymns, and with a few stops at original songs our church family, Sovereign Grace Ministries, puts out along the way. I suppose I COULD just pick one or two from the portfolio and learn them, if that's the best thing for me. It sounds about right.

playing4one · 11-03-2009, 10:29 AM

Hey Ben, just always remember the old saying that less is more. Sometimes when we get that first opportunity to play with a band we overplay a little. Just keep in mind to stay relaxed and allow space in the song for other musicians to carry their parts also.

AudioAUnderdog · 11-03-2009, 12:25 PM

If I were you I'd work on learning new chords and sight reading chord charts, then go back in about six months and ask to be able to sit in when they're practicing. But since you mentioned that they practice right before they play, they might not let you sit in with them because they wouldn't have time to show you anything. So, bring an amp with a headphone jack and bring some headphones so that only you can hear yourself and ask to sit in with them using your headphones. That way you can mess up all you want without being so embarrassed and the band can still get their regular practice in without worrying about what your doing. That's what my Dad did when he was starting bass.