Soaring Vocals vs Staying in Our Lane!!

The day our worship team begins learning a new song can sometimes be tough. As leader it is up to me to pretty much arrange the song that best fits our team's strengths... and just as important... avoids our weaknesses. One of the first things we must realize is this... we can't all sing like the stars on the radio. Some absolutely can! However it is rare that churches are filled with folks who are on the professional level. I remember our preacher once asked us to learn a Big Daddy Weave song. As I listened to the song I was struck by this fact, OK we have no one here that can cover this song. I had to humbly go back and tell him, "If we could sing this song, we wouldn't be here. We would be out on the road." He laughed and said, "You are right, I guess we all have to stay in our lane".

Sometimes it is best to take vocal lines and make them our own. If there is a high note that we struggle with guess what... we dont do it. We find another note, another way of phrasing the lyric that puts it in our range. It is simple... stay within our boundries. Sometimes vocalist practice just as the professional on the recording sang it. They get to rehearsal and wonder why they suddenly sound bad and freeze up. Well guess what... the pro is not there backing you up. The pro has recorded the song the way that best suits their voice, their range and their key. Take the song and make it your own. Take time to find the right key. Do it how YOU can best do it. Put it in your lane. That's where your leadership can create a win/win. Show them different note options that work. It may sound strange at first, but not for long. This allows you to avoid the comparison to the pro. Your praise team will feel alot more confident when it's crunch time knowing they dont have to hit that high C or whatever it is (at 8:30 am). Also, the song will be more worshipful and the congregation won't feel the awkwardness... which allows them to... worship. Again... some of you may be blessed with singers who can knock out anything that comes down the pike. What a blessing. Many big churches usually have at least one, maybe two dynamite singers. Most mid to smaller churches... not necessarily the case.

We have rearranged many songs to fit us. We have even arranged songs that men sing lead on the verse and turn to the women to carry the lead on the chorus or soaring sections of the bridge. Noone even notices (But they absolutely do notice when we cant hit the note) It is not unusual for church members to say... I heard that song on the radio the other day... and kinda I like our version better. Even though what we are doing is much simpler, which can make the song more "singable" to the congregation... which may be why they like it more... becuse we are "staying in our lane". Remember, It's all about the worship, not the ability to hit notes.