Psalm 33:3 – “Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully on the strings with loud shouts!”
1. Above all things keep it simple (stupid!).
a. The role of the piano, contrary to many classically trained pianists is not to outline the melody. This is carried by the vocals in a worship band.
b. The role of the piano player is to fill upper-mid range space with simple, often basic playing
c. Much of what is played is simply half notes or whole notes.
d. Learn to take chord charts and simply play the chords (no fills or elaborate extensions). Play only the roots and (maybe) a 5th in the left hand.
2. Know who you are playing with. Who you are playing with will determine how and how much you will need to play. Playing in a full band with multiple guitars will typically force your piano playing to be in the higher registers of the instrument. When you play in the context of a band, you are no longer the only instrument and instead of having to fill up the WHOLE sonic space, you are now caught in the middle (literally!) and must play your part tastefully as one of many components contributing to the overall sound. Learning to invert your chord structures in a way that does not overlap the sonic space being played by other instruments, particularly the guitars.
3. Always be listening. Listen to as much praise and worship music you can. Download songs from iTunes, purchase CD’s at your local music store. If you find a particular album you enjoy, purchase the accompanying music if it’s available. Begin to copy the playing you hear on the recording. Take note of what the piano player does, how much she/he plays and where he/she plays.
4. Music Theory is your friend. It’s difficult to communicate when you are unable to speak a language! Knowing the language of music is another ‘tool’ in your tool-belt for music. Understand how music is put together and how chords follow each other. Many, many songs are very predictable because they follow similar patterns of ‘tension’ and ‘release’. Learning ‘chord families’ is helpful for the novice player (i.e. if we are playing in D Major, we will likely see a G, A and Bm chord). Learn how to create close voicing’s so when you play these chords, your transitions are smooth and pleasant.
5. Don’t get too complex with your voicings when playing chords. Often open 5ths, omitting the 3rd of a chord provides the ‘space’ sonically that will be pleasing to an arrangement. Large, illustrious chord extensions often muddy up the mix when playing in band setting.
6. Keep off the bass player’s notes. Desiring the ‘power’ that comes from octaves or roots/fifths in the left hand often leads us to ‘step on’ the notes the bass player is playing. Remember that in a band context, lower notes are covered by another instrument. Because the piano is a very versatile instrument, the tendency is to want to use it to it’s maximum potential. When playing with a band, most of what you are playing will be around the C4 range or slightly below.
7. Those scales and modes ARE useful. Your classical music training is not a waste! In fact, it’s a solid foundation, and arguably the best. Knowing your scales and modes is very helpful when playing piano in a worship band setting, as it will help you ‘hear’ the parameters in which a fill/lick can be played in depending on the key/mode of the song you are playing. For instance, if I am playing “Revelation Song” which is in D-Mixolydian, I know I am basically playing in a G scale (or a D scale with a continual flatted 7th, depending on how you want to look at it). I know now that any ‘frills’ I want to add in musical spaces must conform to the parameters of this mode. Many of us are comfortable playing major/minor scales. If you have these down, begin to look at some blues and jazz scales. You will find that the notes and harmonic chord structures that arise from these scales can tastefully (at times) be superimposed on common worship songs.
8. Learn to find the ‘Musical Holes’. All music is made up of both notes and space. Both are equally important. When you play piano in a worship band setting it’s important to learn to listen for the ‘musical holes’ so that if you do a fill/lick you are placing it in a hole and not on top of someone else’s notes. Much of this is learned over time and comes with the experience of ‘trading off musical space’ with others you are playing with. Communication in a band context is key and is often done with musicians using eye contact and facial expressions.
9. So what do I play in the ‘holes’? We’ve talked a little about musical notes and space. We termed the space as ‘musical holes’. This begs the question: What do I play in the musical spaces? Again, our key principle remains true: always keep it simple. Often the holes are filled with simply outlining or arpeggiating a chord. The odd time, some songs (God of the Ages, Cannons) will have signature ‘licks’ that are sometimes carried by the piano. The places where these parts are played are often obvious and come at the end of a musical section of a song. They are used as a ‘musical hook’ to fill in space and are often signature to the song.
10. Stay humble and assume you still have lots to learn. The journey to becoming a better musician is much like that of becoming sanctified: it takes time. Here’s some tips to ensure your continual growth as a skilled worship pianist:
a. Listen to it all. Find out what worship albums have become embraced by the church. Listen carefully, practice and play with the recordings.
b. Read any information you can find (on the internet or at your book store) on playing technique. There are both Christian and secular resources that expand on these basic principles.
c. Surround yourself with players who are better than you. Look for a ‘musical mentor’. Ask lots of questions and position yourself as a student.
d. Pray that the Lord would open your mind to understand and comprehend what you work on, that He would give fruit to your labor and develop you into the musician He wants you to be!
Further online resources to develop your skill:
1. http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_3562_play-keyboards-church-band.html - “How to” videos demonstrating some of the concepts written about in this article.
2. http://www.musictheory.net/ - A fantastic page that teaches basic music theory, complete with online tests and exercises.
3. www.worshipteamtraining.com/.../Classical_Pianists_Pt.1.pdf - A great article for those who are coming from a more ‘Classical’ background.
1. Above all things keep it simple (stupid!).
a. The role of the piano, contrary to many classically trained pianists is not to outline the melody. This is carried by the vocals in a worship band.
b. The role of the piano player is to fill upper-mid range space with simple, often basic playing
c. Much of what is played is simply half notes or whole notes.
d. Learn to take chord charts and simply play the chords (no fills or elaborate extensions). Play only the roots and (maybe) a 5th in the left hand.
2. Know who you are playing with. Who you are playing with will determine how and how much you will need to play. Playing in a full band with multiple guitars will typically force your piano playing to be in the higher registers of the instrument. When you play in the context of a band, you are no longer the only instrument and instead of having to fill up the WHOLE sonic space, you are now caught in the middle (literally!) and must play your part tastefully as one of many components contributing to the overall sound. Learning to invert your chord structures in a way that does not overlap the sonic space being played by other instruments, particularly the guitars.
3. Always be listening. Listen to as much praise and worship music you can. Download songs from iTunes, purchase CD’s at your local music store. If you find a particular album you enjoy, purchase the accompanying music if it’s available. Begin to copy the playing you hear on the recording. Take note of what the piano player does, how much she/he plays and where he/she plays.
4. Music Theory is your friend. It’s difficult to communicate when you are unable to speak a language! Knowing the language of music is another ‘tool’ in your tool-belt for music. Understand how music is put together and how chords follow each other. Many, many songs are very predictable because they follow similar patterns of ‘tension’ and ‘release’. Learning ‘chord families’ is helpful for the novice player (i.e. if we are playing in D Major, we will likely see a G, A and Bm chord). Learn how to create close voicing’s so when you play these chords, your transitions are smooth and pleasant.
5. Don’t get too complex with your voicings when playing chords. Often open 5ths, omitting the 3rd of a chord provides the ‘space’ sonically that will be pleasing to an arrangement. Large, illustrious chord extensions often muddy up the mix when playing in band setting.
6. Keep off the bass player’s notes. Desiring the ‘power’ that comes from octaves or roots/fifths in the left hand often leads us to ‘step on’ the notes the bass player is playing. Remember that in a band context, lower notes are covered by another instrument. Because the piano is a very versatile instrument, the tendency is to want to use it to it’s maximum potential. When playing with a band, most of what you are playing will be around the C4 range or slightly below.
7. Those scales and modes ARE useful. Your classical music training is not a waste! In fact, it’s a solid foundation, and arguably the best. Knowing your scales and modes is very helpful when playing piano in a worship band setting, as it will help you ‘hear’ the parameters in which a fill/lick can be played in depending on the key/mode of the song you are playing. For instance, if I am playing “Revelation Song” which is in D-Mixolydian, I know I am basically playing in a G scale (or a D scale with a continual flatted 7th, depending on how you want to look at it). I know now that any ‘frills’ I want to add in musical spaces must conform to the parameters of this mode. Many of us are comfortable playing major/minor scales. If you have these down, begin to look at some blues and jazz scales. You will find that the notes and harmonic chord structures that arise from these scales can tastefully (at times) be superimposed on common worship songs.
8. Learn to find the ‘Musical Holes’. All music is made up of both notes and space. Both are equally important. When you play piano in a worship band setting it’s important to learn to listen for the ‘musical holes’ so that if you do a fill/lick you are placing it in a hole and not on top of someone else’s notes. Much of this is learned over time and comes with the experience of ‘trading off musical space’ with others you are playing with. Communication in a band context is key and is often done with musicians using eye contact and facial expressions.
9. So what do I play in the ‘holes’? We’ve talked a little about musical notes and space. We termed the space as ‘musical holes’. This begs the question: What do I play in the musical spaces? Again, our key principle remains true: always keep it simple. Often the holes are filled with simply outlining or arpeggiating a chord. The odd time, some songs (God of the Ages, Cannons) will have signature ‘licks’ that are sometimes carried by the piano. The places where these parts are played are often obvious and come at the end of a musical section of a song. They are used as a ‘musical hook’ to fill in space and are often signature to the song.
10. Stay humble and assume you still have lots to learn. The journey to becoming a better musician is much like that of becoming sanctified: it takes time. Here’s some tips to ensure your continual growth as a skilled worship pianist:
a. Listen to it all. Find out what worship albums have become embraced by the church. Listen carefully, practice and play with the recordings.
b. Read any information you can find (on the internet or at your book store) on playing technique. There are both Christian and secular resources that expand on these basic principles.
c. Surround yourself with players who are better than you. Look for a ‘musical mentor’. Ask lots of questions and position yourself as a student.
d. Pray that the Lord would open your mind to understand and comprehend what you work on, that He would give fruit to your labor and develop you into the musician He wants you to be!
Further online resources to develop your skill:
1. http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_3562_play-keyboards-church-band.html - “How to” videos demonstrating some of the concepts written about in this article.
2. http://www.musictheory.net/ - A fantastic page that teaches basic music theory, complete with online tests and exercises.
3. www.worshipteamtraining.com/.../Classical_Pianists_Pt.1.pdf - A great article for those who are coming from a more ‘Classical’ background.
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