The Keyboard In Modern Worship, pt 1: Playing With A Worship Team, by Sojourn's Rebecca Elliott

Welcome to the first article in a new sojournmusic.com series on playing piano/keyboard with a worship band, authored by Sojourn worship leader Rebecca Elliott. Rebecca is a featured singer-songwriter on our Before The Throne and Advent Songs records, and will be working on a solo CD this winter. She was featured, along with Neko Case, Okkerville River, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and other great artists on the recent compilation album Before The Goldrush.

Rebecca is also an impressive pianist and experienced piano teacher. She typically plays keyboard for Sojourn whenever singing on the worship team, and sometimes when she isn’t singing. In this installment, she gives pointers for how to play as one part of a worship band, whether a small, acoustic band or a band with a bigger, rock sound:

For keyboard players, one of the hardest lessons to learn is remembering that “less is more”. A keyboard is a pretty flexible instrument, and it can do everyone else’s job, to a point. It can be melody, harmony, bass, etc. It’s also fairly easy to lead a song from the piano bench, since most people, no matter what their church background, can recognize a keyboard melodic lead-in at the beginning of a verse or chorus.

Also, for classically trained pianists, it can be especially difficult to find the “sweet spot”: playing just enough to add to the musicality of a song, instead of overwhelming “busy-ness”. Playing too much can be distracting, as well as muddying up the song when you have too many instruments trying to do the same thing. For myself, having taken classical piano lessons for over 13 years, I’ve had to work on paying attention and not falling into autopilot: filling in everywhere I possibly can, and leaving no space for the other players. It takes practice, for sure!

For these reasons, we have to be extremely mindful of everyone else in the band, and create space in our playing for the other musicians to do their part. Teamwork!

A few things I’ve found helpful in preparing for worship:

1)   Know who you’re playing with. Knowing the band structure gives you better guidelines for practicing in the week leading up to Sunday. I’ve played acoustic sets (acoustic guitar, piano, some form of bass [usually upright], and some simple hand percussion), as well as fuller bands with electric guitar, acoustic, drum set, etc. It’s important to know what you’re working with, so you can tailor your playing accordingly.

2) Listen. Listen to a recording of the song a few times through, and pay attention to the interplay of instruments,

3) Simplify. Take your playing down to the bones. Get the chord sheets out, and play only the chords. No flourishes, no special left hand maneuvers, no fill-ins. Play the bass note in your left hand, and if you’re going to be playing with a bass guitar, don’t play your left hand any lower than the C below middle C. Play the chords in your right, and sing along with it (or play along with the recording). Play through the whole song this way a time or two.

4) Be thoughtful. Play through it again, and decide on a few possible simple fill-ins. If you’re playing with a smaller band, you’ll have a bit more freedom, so you can work on some more complex things. Play it a few different ways, and be creative.

5) Be humble, flexible, learn to adapt. What you practiced may not be exactly the way that it gets played. Once you get with the band to prepare for the service, the songs might have a different feel than you thought they would. A song you thought might be piano heavy, may end up being guitar heavy. A song that you practiced quietly (a hymn or something like) might be more “rockin’”. You never quite know until you get there, and working together requires humility and the ability to adapt your playing to what is best for the song and the congregation.

I practice this way whenever I practice for a Sunday, and I’ve been able to tell a difference in my playing over the last few months. It’s sometimes hard to play above the C below middle C, and I (and several other pianists I know) have been generally used to playing bass in my left hand.  I’ve become more and more accustomed to playing chords and fill-ins, and letting the bass player play the bass line, but it’s sometimes still easier said than done!

Practice and thoughtfulness are key. Be creative, and work with the team. When everyone’s working together, and creating room for each one’s gift, it’s a beautiful thing.