6 August
Dear MinYen,
Yup, that's one aspect of worship leading and serving God - God's strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. That is why, I tell you, no point worrying the night before the worship, or just before. It can have upsetting effects.
Okay, down to the evaluation.
I guess the starting of Romans 16:19 was quite bumpy, if you noticed. I did not know when to start, and it was difficult to get them clapping because the guitar rhythm wasn't clear. So, for songs like Romans 16:19 which have special startings, make sure you practice with the musicians the STARTING, so you know how they are going to sound and where you come in. Also, the ending of the last fast song, firm foundation, was a bit of an anticlimax. Primarily because this time, we neglected to rehearse the ENDING of the medley, so the ending was a little abrupt. It was why the clap offering was a little bit feeble, but it was still okay.
Notice that for the fast songs: "love the lord, Jesus we celebrate, firm foundation"; I continued almost immediately from the previous songs. I knew that we did not have any special startings for these songs rehearsed, so it was important not to break the MOMENTUM of clapping and rhythm, so I went on to the next song. Notice that there was no hitch when Melvin transposed to D Major for Jesus we celebrate. I had in my mind, the first note of the song in the key of transposition, and started singing. This requires CAUTION, because singing the first note wrong has severe adverse effects.
Did you notice how generally I directed the people to sing sections? For example, when I was about to sing chorus, I would say out the 1st line of chorus, point at the 1st line on the transparency, and do a "C" sign to the musicians. The most important part to this kind of directing is the "saying," because both the audience and musicians can hear that. There are certain adverse effects if you just let the song flow on, without directing. What do you think will happen, for example, at the end?
Caution, again. If both your first line and last line have the same words, how can others differentiate? For example, in I offer you my life. I wanted to sing the last line "Lord I offer you my life," but Melvin made as if he thought I wanted the chorus to be sung again, "Lord I offer my life to you." In this kind of case, hand signals are important, as quite obviously seen.
Notice how I filled up spaces in between songs and parts of songs. For example, in Bind us together, I said a prayer "Lord, this is our desire, bind us together", or something like that, during the slightly long pause between "that is why we sing" and "bind us together". Practice making such "flow-continuing" statements to fill up the silent moments. Sometimes I sing part of the next line, e.g., in power of love, after "let your love surround me," I sang "bring me near now," before the rest sang the next line. It fills up the silence, especially if your musicians aren't exactly drowning out the congregation.
It was good for you to speak as they were singing, asking them to close their eyes, for example. These things help to bring variety and help people to focus on the meaning on the words, rather than just to sing for the sake of singing. Some worship leaders even pray when the song is being sung. If done well, it is impressive and uplifting. Of course, these come with experience. It's good too, to ask them to welcome one another in Christ, before starting. It helps create a more relaxed atmosphere.
Back to the rehearsal. We focused a lot on the startings, writing down the right keys, practising the transpositions. The reasons for these are self-explanatory. Bear these in mind when you conduct rehearsals.
Notice how there were only 2 musicians, and yet nothing went totally wrong? In fact, the fewer the number of musicians, the easier the co-ordination, since the worship leader can spend more time on checking each musician.
Yup. Overall, you're right: it was a good worship, as some of the rest were also saying. I've really enjoyed working with you this time and worshipping the Lord together. I hope that you have learnt something from these experiences, and continue to gain experience.
God bless!
2.Love the Lord - G Major
3 Jesus we celebrate Your victory - D Major
4.Firm foundation - D Major
5.Jesus we enthrone You - G Major
6.Spirit touch Your church - A Major
7.Bind us together - D Major
8.Let there be love shared among us - D Major
9.Lord I offer You my life - D Major
10.Doxology - D Major
11.El Shaddai - C Major
12. The power of love - G Major
© Wesley
Cheong 1997