No Role, No Rock

If you want to play a great part in your next worship song, you have understand your instrument’s unique ROLE.

(And, the more you understand the ROLES of the other members of your band, the better the part will become.)

Your instrument’s unique ROLE really comes down to some combination of 3 elements - A Chord Progression, a Rhythmic Pattern, and a Melodic Phrase.

CHORD PROGRESSION: I always start new worship musicians with a chord progression, and nothing else.

Everyone wants to start strumming and playing tons of melodic phrases right away - DON’T. This will only slow down your ability to play a great sounding chord.

RHYTHMIC PATTERN: Depending on your band’s instrumentation, you will have some role to play in carrying the rhythm of the song. Very rarely will we have to play 1/16 notes. Stay with 1/4 and 1/8 notes.

MELODIC PHRASE: The lead singer carries the lead melody of the song. Our part must always support that melody and NEVER bury or distract from that melody.

Let’s consider each common instrument used in modern worship bands.

Drums:

Chord Progression

In modern worship music, each of these instruments has a specific way it interacts with chords, rhythm, and melody. For example: