I haven’t posted one of these in a while. You can get the rest of them here.
Do you practice?
When i graduated from Samford in ’98, I could play my scales and arpeggios at 132 (that’ll only mean something to a small few of you). Now, I can play them at about 120 – but I still find myself having to not only practice, but take time to learn new technique, new chords, new styles on the piano.
Vocally it’s the same drill. Are you showing up on Sunday mornings expecting to pop out the same notes you did last week – having done nothing to improve your instrument over the course of the week? Take time to warm up – stretch your range. Push yourself past where you’re comfortable.
Don’t simply rest on the talents that you have. Take some time to learn something new . . . right now i’ve got a mandolin in my office, and I’m trying to make my ginormous fingers fit onto the tiny frets and pound out some chords. Do I ever plan on playing the mandolin in church? Nope. Does it make me more effective in planning for, and arranging for a mandolin? You bet . . .
Worship leaders – make sure that you’re always learning, always improving, always striving to add to your skill set.
