If you serve on a worship team, chances are that you’ve received feedback from somebody at some point. Feedback comes in all shapes and sizes. In any case—whether it’s a compliment or criticism—it’s vital that we steward these moments well.
It was Christmas Eve. Probably somewhere around 2010. Jason and I were scheduled to lead the songs in our church’s Christmas Eve service, which included several very-wordy traditional Christmas hymns. Phew. Good thing our church had a confidence monitor! No need to spend copious amounts of time memorizing all the verses of the songs—since they would be there for us on the screen!
As worship vocalists, it’s imperative that we walk in honor toward our leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says to “Obey your [spiritual] leaders and submit to them [recognizing their authority over you], for they are keeping watch over your souls and continually guarding your spiritual welfare as those who will give an account [of their stewardship of you]. Let them do this with joy and not with grief and groans, for this would be of no benefit to you” (AMP).
If you serve on your church’s worship team, the tips in this blog are going to help you use your—and everyone else’s—time most effectively, and most importantly, help you to be a great team member!
If you want to sound good and feel good when you sing (without your voice cracking on you or feeling fatigue & soreness in your throat, etc.), you need habits that will take you there… and it all starts with the right morning routines!
There is definitively one most important thing in your vocal training and one most important thing in your involvement on your worship team. Nothing else comes close. If you get just one thing right, it should be this. If you miss this one thing, everything else falls short.
Growing up, I loved theme parks… especially the big ones with so many different types of rollercoasters. The upside-down ones. The stand-up ones. The lying-down ones (technically called “bobsled coasters”… who knew?!). The floorless ones. The best part? The element of surprise. Even when you KNOW the big drop is coming, or you’re about to go upside down, or it’s suddenly going to accelerate… STILL… it’s exciting every time!
There are so many amazing songs to choose from for our Easter services… but what makes them EPIC can also make them a bit (or more than a bit?!) challenging to sing! High notes, low notes, octave jumps, wordy lyrics, songs that cover a huge amount of range… it’s enough to make our rehearsal times downright intimidating! So try out these 9 strategies as you practice—and hopefully you’ll experience more success (and less stress!) as you sing!