Need A Suppository?
I was reviewing a worship video recording for a local church. I was struck by the singular thing they could do to improve their music quickly and increase congregational engagement exponentially.
Can you guess what it was? What could one little thing could make such a huge difference?
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to various churches in Costa Rica to coach them with a dear friend named Godofredo. He was a fantastic musician, a lover of Jesus, and a hilarious jokester.
He was giving feedback to a team at a rehearsal and they were having the same (common) problem as the band in the video. He said something and I couldn’t believe my ears. I asked him to clarify, and he repeated it. “You’re going to get the tempo right even if it takes giving you a metronome suppository.”
LOL! (and blush)
You will wreck a song if it’s not the correct tempo. You will. It won’t feel right, you can’t sing it easily, people won’t know they are supposed to clap, and a whole host of other issues will derail your song. All because of a little, innocent tempo.
The band in the church video I was reviewing was going 20 BPM too fast on two songs and 10 BPM on another. They had to shift the way they sang the bridge on one of those because the words didn’t fit.
How did they get there? Ah, that’s the real question.
First, they probably didn’t practice at home, rehearse as a team, or play in the service with ANY reference to the correct tempo. Whether you play to a click, use Music Stand’s built-in metronome, or the drummer references a click playlist on their phone to click off each song, don’t miss this: you need to practice with a click or a recording. You need to rehearse as a team with a tempo or click reference. You need the same thing during a service because nerves, excitement, or a terrible monitor mix will make you speed up.
Second, even if they did reference a tempo at the rehearsal (because they didn’t practice with one at home or it would’ve fixed this problem), they all agreed that it “felt” too slow. Have you ever been there? A song lacks the excitement, groove, or clap-ability that the recording has, so you “fix” it by speeding it up.
There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but starting at the right tempo and forcing your playing to fit is a good start. Also, listen carefully to the recording and try to figure out what instrument (or combination of instruments) is causing it to feel the way it does.
When you’re listening, look for something called “Rhythm Accent Patterns.” This means that there are recurring accents that make the DNA of the songs. It can be encapsulated in the phrasing of the words, in the groove of the bass and drums, in the riff on the electric guitar or piano. Figure out what the root accent patterns are and how you can either play them or imply them.
The takeaway: tempo matters. Get yourself into a good place by practicing at the right tempo, rehearsing at the right tempo, and performing at the right tempo. Your team and congregation will thank you.
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)
Need A Suppository? (Nº 435)
