Worship Team Setup 2

So, when setting up a worship team, start with keys or guitars if you already have people who can play them. If not, encourage people in your congregation to learn one of them, but particularly the guitar as you'll gain the benefit much more quickly. Next, look to add bass and drums. Bass fills out the whole bottom end of your music, and drums add the necessary beat that so much modern music is based on. If you have to buy a bass, I would definitely get a 5-string, but that's just my personal preference. I just like the addition of those extra low notes; it adds power.

You'll need to take special care with drummers for two important reasons. First, if you hadn't already noticed, they're loud! They can easily drown out everything else, particularly if you have an inexperienced drummer.

There are some solutions to this problem. 1) Encourage your drummer to take lessons and learn to control their playing volume. 2) Put your drummer in a cage. If you're not familiar with this concept, we're not talking about a cage like in a zoo, although you may be tempted! We're talking about a perspex cage, including a ceiling. The problem with this solution is that, while it may be effective, it is expensive. 3) Try to minimise smooth surfaces. Bare walls, flat ceilings, and parquetry floors can all make the sound (from everything, not just drums) bounce around with uncontrollable vigour. If you can put down carpets or rugs, put curtains behind the band, or put hangings on the walls, these all help to control the sound.

4) Buy an electronic kit which means you have total control over the volume output. This is also an expensive option, but not as expensive as buying an acoustic kit and a perspex cage. 5) Get your drummer to use brushes and/or put cushions into the drums, particularly the kick and snare. The problem with this solution is that it's definitely not very inspiring for your average drummer to be restricted to brushes or putting up with the muted tones of cushioned drums.

Having said all this about drums, you might be tempted to think they're more trouble than they're worth and give them a miss. So let me just say that they add so much to the team. They keep the band together rhythmically, help to provide awesome dynamics, and lift the whole sound significantly. In short, you'll gain so much in your overall sound, it's worth the effort.

Once you've got these instruments up and running - keys and/or guitars, bass & drums - you've got your basic team. Other instruments like brass, woodwind and strings are great embellishing instruments, but they aren't crucial for a modern sound.

How To Set Up a Worship Team | Pursuit of Excellence | Worship Team Rehearsals | Why More is Less | Worship Teams & Keys | Worship Teams & Guitars | Worship Teams & Drums | The Power of Music