My band rejected my request to move from acoustic to electric guitar

hotraman said:
Yeah, church drama at its best. If you are a PK, that you have seen a lot of the "junk" that happens.
Full disclosure; I am an ordained pastor of worship / seniors at my current church. But I am not the main worship pastor ( we have four of us) and I am part time. At my age, 67, I am still learning new things about worship, music and leadership. But some things should never change: treating all team members with respect. And being honest about a person's gifting and abilities, and having a growth track to help them improve. Sound techs can be hard to deal with, especially those who are not musicians.
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Lol. I've seen my share of junk at my dad's church...enough for me to vow never to become one despite my dad being a 3rd gen pastor. It's tough helping out those in need only to see them leave when they become financially stable. People just don't have anh royalty but guess none is owed to us.
 
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DanWessonValor said:
Lol. I've seen my share of junk at my dad's church...enough for me to vow never to become one despite my dad was 3rd gen pastor. It's tough helping out those in need only to see them leave when they become financially stable. People just don't have anh royalty but guess none is owed to us.
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I Hear You On All Levels. The Only Sane Way To Look At It Is As Seed And Never To Take Offense Or Else It Can Wreak Havoc. Easier Said Than Done...I Know All Too Well. :)
 
DreamTheaterRules said:
Yes! Every church I’ve ever been in, too or heard of, has a music director. Someone who is in charge of the music. I can’t fathom ANY group of singers and musicians functioning without some leader. Are you saying someone just picks songs, send the music and says “see you Sunday?” Even with untrained people in the membership, I’ve never heard of a church that didn’t at least have a music leader who picked songs, lead practices, etc.
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Yes, we do have 2 people who pick the songs and have them available for us on the Planning Center site. The 2 people who do so are the worship leaders. Yes, they go over the harmonies with the singers and they do point out the dynamics of the song if things are not quite right. So while there is some discipline there's still a "loose approach" to the whole overall thing.

That was very apparent with two of the four songs we played this past Sunday. I'm always thinking in terms of "build" with these songs by bringing in different elements in my parts as the song progresses to help it build to a strong conclusion. But others just kept things on the same plain thorughout the entire songs with no real build what so ever.

As said, it's very hard for me to point these things out because it would mean me telling people "this is what you should be doing here." (I can see the looks already. "Who the hell do you think you are. The next George Martin??") And they're right because I'm not and believe me when I say I'm very hard on myself. I've been told I'm my own worst critic. I record everything I do, I listen back to it and I'm always changing things to make it better. Doesn't mean I'm perfect. I take it seriously and I'm trying to do the best I can with what God gave me. I've said it many times before: there's thousands of players on YouTube of all ages who can blow my doors right out of the water amd I know it. So who am I to point out what's wrong. It's hard.

In my defense, I must be doing something right. Yesterday, 5 people from the congregation came up to me and said how much they enjoy my guitar playing. This always blows me away. I assure you, I do NOT get big headed over this in any way. I know why I'm there. It's not about me but it is up to me to do the best I can for our Creator. Again, I'm just a very small, insignificant fish in an ocean. Players like me are a dime a dozen who could be replaced in a heartbeat. I always tell these people thank you and inside I'm thinking "well.......I guess they can tell I did my homework." That's the only pat on the back that I give myself.

If I'm wrong with any of this then I'm all for being corrected.
 
Mike J. said:
Yes, we do have 2 people who pick the songs and have them available for us on the Planning Center site. The 2 people who do so are the worship leaders. Yes, they go over the harmonies with the singers and they do point out the dynamics of the song if things are not quite right. So while there is some discipline there's still a "loose approach" to the whole overall thing.

That was very apparent with two of the four songs we played this past Sunday. I'm always thinking in terms of "build" with these songs by bringing in different elements in my parts as the song progresses to help it build to a strong conclusion. But others just kept things on the same plain thorughout the entire songs with no real build what so ever.

As said, it's very hard for me to point these things out because it would mean me telling people "this is what you should be doing here." (I can see the looks already. "Who the hell do you think you are. The next George Martin??") And they're right because I'm not and believe me when I say I'm very hard on myself. I've been told I'm my own worst critic. I record everything I do, I listen back to it and I'm always changing things to make it better. Doesn't mean I'm perfect. I take it seriously and I'm trying to do the best I can with what God gave me. I've said it many times before: there's thousands of players on YouTube of all ages who can blow my doors right out of the water amd I know it. So who am I to point out what's wrong. It's hard.

In my defense, I must be doing something right. Yesterday, 5 people from the congregation came up to me and said how much they enjoy my guitar playing. This always blows me away. I assure you, I do NOT get big headed over this in any way. I know why I'm there. It's not about me but it is up to me to do the best I can for our Creator. Again, I'm just a very small, insignificant fish in an ocean. Players like me are a dime a dozen who could be replaced in a heartbeat. I always tell these people thank you and inside I'm thinking "well.......I guess they can tell I did my homework." That's the only pat on the back that I give myself.

If I'm wrong with any of this then I'm all for being corrected.
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That's a great update.
Hopefully 2024 will be a better year for you, musically. I'm believing this for myself as well.
 
Mike J. said:
Yes, we do have 2 people who pick the songs and have them available for us on the Planning Center site. The 2 people who do so are the worship leaders. Yes, they go over the harmonies with the singers and they do point out the dynamics of the song if things are not quite right. So while there is some discipline there's still a "loose approach" to the whole overall thing.

That was very apparent with two of the four songs we played this past Sunday. I'm always thinking in terms of "build" with these songs by bringing in different elements in my parts as the song progresses to help it build to a strong conclusion.
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In my purely secular take on your approach, this seems analogous to "playing to the song"..... and doing the very best you can, too.

I believe that this is a good thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
DanWessonValor said:
Someone "prominent" said something to that effect. He said, "You mix well but it always sounds kind of the same. Why don't you try to paint it a bit differently like by adding in the acoustic guitar?!" People are starting to notice and even one elder spoke to the sound engineer after noticing how I was strumming away but no sound was coming out of the PA system. The good is that he now is mixing in the acoustic guitar. I cannot believe he didn't just listen to me and waited until more important people started noticing. What a punk move.
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Proof that the problem is the guy running the mixer and not you. I am happy to read that this happened.


Mike J. said:
Not to hijack the thread from its intended purpose, but I have a question for those who serve in church.

Do any of your churches have someone who acts as a full fledged musical director? Someone who's purpose is to listen and to help the band as a whole or who helps the individual players when things are not quite right? Or is there a worship leader who also plays and makes suggestions if things are lacking?

I've been wondering this for a long time. No one at our church "cracks the whip" so to say and for the most part its good. Every one is expected to know thier parts and even if things aren't quite there (as long as its not sloppy) the approach is a failry casual one. It seems to work but there are occasions where it sure would be nice if someone said "lets record that and listen back because it could be better."
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The churches I have played at have worship ministers that run the whole thing. They pick the people that are involved and ask some to help coach others on instruments they don't know how to play. They were very team oriented environments with a clearly stated leader that ran it all.
 
I know this sounds cliché but ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" These people are obviously not playing/producing music for the right reason. We play music in church, not to please others but to worship, honor and please God The Father.

I haven't heard you and I'm not gonna judge. As long you are giving your best and using your talents for the right purpose, to honor God, then follow what He places in your heart and you will be much better for it.
Pray on it and ask God what you should do!
 
DanWessonValor said:
I asked him point blank if he was taking the bullet for the rest and he initially said yes. But when I asked him what they exactly said, it was totally the opposite. The worship pastor said that I needed to be heard more. Funny how he lied initially and made it sound like this was everyone's decision.
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I haven't read all these comments (no offense), but this is crystal clear proof you deserve to find a new group of musicians that inspire you and give you space to express yourself. Disconnect and get your musical life back.
 
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