Wow - looks like there's a lot of answers to this one, I'll add one more.
When I first started playing with our band, there was just the keyboard and drums, and I came on with bass. Our primary keyboardist is an excellent musician, but she (at that time) was only used to carrying the whole load, and working from full music (didn't have a clue on a lead sheet). BTW, she plays a Kurzweil SP88, and leaves it set on one of the electric piano sounds almost all the time. I had played about 20 years earlier with another church that had a good size band, and we all worked with chord charts or just knowing the songs and progressions.
Fortunately, we were both willing to put God and His music first - She really tried hard to stop playing a heavy left hand, and I kept things real simple, laying out if she emphasized the left hand. A few weeks later, we were sounding better. Then God added a guitarist, trumpet player, and occasionally clarinet/sax player. We worked together - the cool thing about a larger band is nobody has to play very much - in fact it gets too busy real quick if more than one person is real active. our primary pianist is now working from lead sheets most all the time, and either she, the guitarist, or occasionally myself carry the melody line. Sometimes, someone wants to do something we don't have any written music for - it just takes some work together, and help in figuring out the chord changes.
As time went on, I started using harmonica in some of the slow worship, just for a different sound, and then got a keyboard myself (I had a Prophet 600 back in the 80's - but it died). I still occasionally play bass, but most of the time now, I play a Kurzweil 2000VP and a computer based Hammond B3 simulator - still play a lot of bass runs on the shout music, but use Rhodes, strings, flute sound, organ (Hammond or pipe), and pads - God put me there to add little things in the background and to smooth out the playing - part of this means learning to accompany others and not lead most of the time.
Since I play both, I really recognize that it is really difficult for a keyboard player and a bassist to play the same runs - runs in any key that are real easy on keys are hard to do on bass, and the opposite is also true. I'm not real good in playing anyhow, but it does get better with time. We have three in our home all taking piano lessons, my granddaughter, wife, and self. I'm working in the early level 3 music for the most part now.
We usually hold a practice with musicians and praise singing leaders on Thursday night - the MOST important part of the night is for everyone to gather at the beginning in prayer, bind any spirits of divisiveness, pray for each other, and dedicate what we are doing to God - then the music just flows better. If it ain't right in the Spirit, it shure nuff ain't gonna be right in the playing!
God bless,
Jim
