So what's the protocol for visiting and house musicians?

[MrSparrow]

There's two types of protocol that have to be followed. One is if YOU are visiting another church and the other is if another church is visiting YOU.

There's some certain things that HAVE to be established first...

1. If you are HOSTING another church you stay on your post until someone moves you. Nothing is more tacky than having guest musicians playing the offering and altar call and backing up YOUR PASTOR in YOUR CHURCH. That absolutely BURNS ME UP!!!!!!!!! If you don't know if the visiting choir have their own musicians when the choir comes up and no one bumps you off of your instrument then you better show you've been shedding and get ready to play with them. Of course it's TACKY for the visiting choir to KNOW they don't have a musician and sit there and don't say ANYTHING to ANYBODY and expect you to play the song (if you know it) exactly the way THEY do it...

IF the choir has everything covered then you move off of the instrument but do not LEAVE your area. As soon as that choir and the musician's are done you need to get back on your post.

2. If you are visiting another church and you KNOW you transpose, before you get your butt off of the keyboard put the settings BACK to where they were. If you're rearranging cymbals and lowering seats and tom toms then before you get up, change everything BACK.

3. If you are visiting another church and you KNOW you got a ton of equipment then you should NOT be arriving 10, 20, 30 minutes after the service starts to set your stuff up AND you should plan on being there the entire night AND you should allow other people to play your stuff. It's TACKY, RUDE and DISRUPTIVE to a service for musicians to pack up their stuff and leave right after they finish ministering. If musicians are bringing their stuff to your church to set up or after church they're breaking their stuff down. Help them get their things back to their cars, trucks.

4. If you want to play with another choir then first ask the lead musician with a head nod or something before you just jump in. If they ask you to play then do your best if you don't know the song. Of course you will have to give up your title of Minister of Music or head musician or BEAST of the CENTURY and follow the visiting musician's lead. Just because you got tons of breaks the way you do it with YOUR group/church/choir don't mean that that chuch/group/choir is ok with you doin what you do...

5. Do NOT I repeat DO NOT act all stank and conceited and compare your skill level publicly to visiting musicians. God tears down the proud but He lifts up the humble.

6. Do NOT abandon a visiting musician to play at your church. That happens to me a LOT and I HATE IT. A few weeks ago I there were drummers at a service but no one wanted to play the drums for a group that had a keyboard player but no drums. So I jumped on the drums. Then a choir came up with NO musician. The church musicians didn't lift a finger to help so I went and played keys for their songs. Another musician (visiting musician that is) jumped on the drums and we kept the service going.  Another time I played at a Seventh Day Adventist Church and they asked me to sit in with them... So I did but when the preacher finished preaching he asked a musician to come and play some "soft music" and none of them busters moved a finger. Of course everyone looked at me and I was like "man this is NOT my church"... They're church had THREE keyboard players. So I went up and played anyway thinking one of the church musicians would relieve me... boy was I wrong... I ended up playing the rest of the service. They should have given me ALL the musicians checks for that service.

THEN THEY HAD THE NERVE TO CRANK UP SOME SONGS FROM EARLIER IN THE SERVICE AFTER THE SERVICE WAS OVER!!!!!!!!! I told one of the musicians who called himself watching my chords to take over and he said "man this aint my church"... and walked away... even though he's Seventh Day Adventist too... Then them busters didn't help me pack up my stuff... needless to say it will be a WHILE before I go back there.

Follow these protocol rules and post shorter versions of them on your equipment and you'll be straight. People don't do better because they don't know or forgot HOW to do better. Each one teach one...

MrSparrow

[kodacolor]

good stuff

[sjonathan02]

There's two types of protocol that have to be followed. One is if YOU are visiting another church and the other is if another church is visiting YOU.

There's some certain things that HAVE to be established first...

1. If you are HOSTING another church you stay on your post until someone moves you. Nothing is more tacky than having guest musicians playing the offering and altar call and backing up YOUR PASTOR in YOUR CHURCH. That absolutely BURNS ME UP!!!!!!!!! If you don't know if the visiting choir have their own musicians when the choir comes up and no one bumps you off of your instrument then you better show you've been shedding and get ready to play with them. Of course it's TACKY for the visiting choir to KNOW they don't have a musician and sit there and don't say ANYTHING to ANYBODY and expect you to play the song (if you know it) exactly the way THEY do it...

IF the choir has everything covered then you move off of the instrument but do not LEAVE your area. As soon as that choir and the musician's are done you need to get back on your post.

2. If you are visiting another church and you KNOW you transpose, before you get your butt off of the keyboard put the settings BACK to where they were. If you're rearranging cymbals and lowering seats and tom toms then before you get up, change everything BACK.

3. If you are visiting another church and you KNOW you got a ton of equipment then you should NOT be arriving 10, 20, 30 minutes after the service starts to set your stuff up AND you should plan on being there the entire night AND you should allow other people to play your stuff. It's TACKY, RUDE and DISRUPTIVE to a service for musicians to pack up their stuff and leave right after they finish ministering. If musicians are bringing their stuff to your church to set up or after church they're breaking their stuff down. Help them get their things back to their cars, trucks.

4. If you want to play with another choir then first ask the lead musician with a head nod or something before you just jump in. If they ask you to play then do your best if you don't know the song. Of course you will have to give up your title of Minister of Music or head musician or BEAST of the CENTURY and follow the visiting musician's lead. Just because you got tons of breaks the way you do it with YOUR group/church/choir don't mean that that chuch/group/choir is ok with you doin what you do...

5. Do NOT I repeat DO NOT act all stank and conceited and compare your skill level publicly to visiting musicians. God tears down the proud but He lifts up the humble.

6. Do NOT abandon a visiting musician to play at your church. That happens to me a LOT and I HATE IT. A few weeks ago I there were drummers at a service but no one wanted to play the drums for a group that had a keyboard player but no drums. So I jumped on the drums. Then a choir came up with NO musician. The church musicians didn't lift a finger to help so I went and played keys for their songs. Another musician (visiting musician that is) jumped on the drums and we kept the service going.  Another time I played at a Seventh Day Adventist Church and they asked me to sit in with them... So I did but when the preacher finished preaching he asked a musician to come and play some "soft music" and none of them busters moved a finger. Of course everyone looked at me and I was like "man this is NOT my church"... They're church had THREE keyboard players. So I went up and played anyway thinking one of the church musicians would relieve me... boy was I wrong... I ended up playing the rest of the service. They should have given me ALL the musicians checks for that service.

THEN THEY HAD THE NERVE TO CRANK UP SOME SONGS FROM EARLIER IN THE SERVICE AFTER THE SERVICE WAS OVER!!!!!!!!! I told one of the musicians who called himself watching my chords to take over and he said "man this aint my church"... and walked away... even though he's Seventh Day Adventist too... Then them busters didn't help me pack up my stuff... needless to say it will be a WHILE before I go back there.

Follow these protocol rules and post shorter versions of them on your equipment and you'll be straight. People don't do better because they don't know or forgot HOW to do better. Each one teach one...

MrSparrow

Figured I'd quote this for emphasis. Excellent!

[zeph1]

If you have visiting musicians/choir, do you take it upon yourself to join in if you're one of the house musicians?
We visited a church this weekend where our choir sang. We have a drummer, a conguero and me - the keyboardist (so I run my own basslines). Well, when our choir got up to sing, I started playing and the house musicians took it upon themselves to join right in with their organ, bass and keyboardist.
My problem with this is that they don't know our arrangements of songs; e.g. during certain songs when we'd normally cut the music (like "He's Able" for one) they would keep playing and I'd have to cue them to stop playing with messes up the flow of the song. And them when we'd modulate on certain songs, they were a step behind because they didn't know when I was changing keys. And then their instruments were so loud that they were smothering me out.
I thought when visiting musicians come, you as the house would step aside and let them do their thing - or as a minimum play in the background. At least that's what we do at our church.

i guess i'll put in my 2 cents:

just simply if your choir is singing and other musicians start playing along, you as the musical director of your choir need to take the lead. case in point at my church i am the musician and choir director at the same time, and when others try and play they look to me for the ok and if it is ok we have a blast!! but when this happens you then have to become band director over everything. weather at a visting church or at home. if your choir is minister in song you have to take control!!!

[MrSparrow]

Figured I'd quote this for emphasis. Excellent!

Thanks bro... I've been M.I.A. for a bit but I'm back... (kinda) LOL

[sjonathan02]

Thanks bro... I've been M.I.A. for a bit but I'm back... (kinda) LOL

Man, I'm sure you're makin' it do what it do, bro. Good to see you when you're here.