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Author Topic: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music  (Read 5060 times)

blyempowered

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Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« on: June 01, 2013, 08:15:31 AM »
I was going to put this in the lounge since there's more action over there than here but I figured this topic would be more appropriate here.

I believe that part of advancing in any area of life, especially in our careers, is always evaluating where we are skill-wise and then making the necessary steps to become better. That is how players like Lebron James have got better over time.

So I want to know from you all what are the skills needed to be a great musician and a great minister of music (I put both because while I'm a minister of music I'm also a musician). I'm in the process of evaluating myself to see where my strengths and weaknesses are. This year has been one of growth for me but I know there are areas in which I still need to improve.

Ok, help me out please! Thanks!

Offline betnich

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2013, 10:51:32 AM »
This is my mindset as well - one can always get better. "Study to show yourself approved".
Sometimes this brings me into conflict with those who accept mediocrity or who have a "Meh - this is good enough" attitude.

Picked up a book yesterday about leading small groups - hope it has some tips for me, since I can always improve my people skills.

The Bible says not to act as if one has arrived, but to be humble and teachable. We can learn from anybody, either what to do or what not to do...

blyempowered

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2013, 07:06:04 PM »
This is my mindset as well - one can always get better. "Study to show yourself approved".
Sometimes this brings me into conflict with those who accept mediocrity or who have a "Meh - this is good enough" attitude.

Picked up a book yesterday about leading small groups - hope it has some tips for me, since I can always improve my people skills.

The Bible says not to act as if one has arrived, but to be humble and teachable. We can learn from anybody, either what to do or what not to do...

Amen!!

So help me out. LOL!!

blyempowered

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2013, 08:11:49 PM »
Amen!!

So help me out. LOL!!

Please...LOL! #sorryforbeingrude

Offline GospelEngineer

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2013, 08:58:49 PM »
For both the #1 most important thing you need is a strong relationship with Christ.

Then....

Minister of Music

Strong communication skills: this is where most of the leaders I've worked for have fallen short. You need to have a vision and be able to convey it.

Organization: Get songs and other information out in a timely manner. Don't call saturday night asking the other musicians and the praise team to have a brand new song ready for sunday morning.

An understanding of the pastor's/church's vision: I was put in charge of a praise team at one church that was only doing old school foot stomping songs when I got there. My vision was to turn them contemporary, however the pastor didn't agree which eventually led to me resigning my position. It was all amicable however a lot of time and energy could have been saved if we had sat down and discussed it all beforehand.

Humility: Being in charge does not make you exempt from the rules. If you expect the singers and musicians to be on time be on time yourself, if you expect them to know songs by rehearsal time, make sure you know them yourself. One of the biggest faults in a lot of leaders is they are great at ignoring the standards they expect those following them to obey. Practice what you preach.

Delegation: Don't be afraid to put others in charge of certain things. My home church has a band leader and his job is to be the liaison between the minister of music and the band, so instead of you having to call every band member about a change you simply tell the band leader and he conveys it to the rest of the band.


Musician

Desire to improve: Too many musicians are comfortable at their skill level and have no desire to grow or improve their skills. In order to be a great musician you have to always be striving to get better.

Structured practice: This is something I'm actually just learning to implement. Too often I'll sit down at the keyboard with my only goal being to learn the new songs for sunday or for my band's next performance. I'm now understanding I need to be more focused in my practice time so now I'm setting a certain amount of time for doing scales(with a metronome), working on songs for church, working on songs for my band, and then an amount of time to explore new techniques, chords, scales, etc.

These are what I feel are some of the most important aspects of being a minister of music and a musician. If you have any questions feel free to leave them here or inbox me.


Offline betnich

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2013, 09:04:12 PM »
Well...I have not "arrived" yet, but IMO the most important are -

Musical Ear  (to pick out parts, mistakes)
Musical Skill (coordination, etc. can always be improved)
Charisma - ability to inspire others, help them express their natural and spiritual gifts, set hearts afire

These can be inborn, but also developed...all for a larger goal and the Glory of God...

blyempowered

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2013, 10:29:24 PM »
For both the #1 most important thing you need is a strong relationship with Christ.

Then....

Minister of Music

Strong communication skills: this is where most of the leaders I've worked for have fallen short. You need to have a vision and be able to convey it.

Organization: Get songs and other information out in a timely manner. Don't call saturday night asking the other musicians and the praise team to have a brand new song ready for sunday morning.

An understanding of the pastor's/church's vision: I was put in charge of a praise team at one church that was only doing old school foot stomping songs when I got there. My vision was to turn them contemporary, however the pastor didn't agree which eventually led to me resigning my position. It was all amicable however a lot of time and energy could have been saved if we had sat down and discussed it all beforehand.

Humility: Being in charge does not make you exempt from the rules. If you expect the singers and musicians to be on time be on time yourself, if you expect them to know songs by rehearsal time, make sure you know them yourself. One of the biggest faults in a lot of leaders is they are great at ignoring the standards they expect those following them to obey. Practice what you preach.

Delegation: Don't be afraid to put others in charge of certain things. My home church has a band leader and his job is to be the liaison between the minister of music and the band, so instead of you having to call every band member about a change you simply tell the band leader and he conveys it to the rest of the band.


Musician

Desire to improve: Too many musicians are comfortable at their skill level and have no desire to grow or improve their skills. In order to be a great musician you have to always be striving to get better.

Structured practice: This is something I'm actually just learning to implement. Too often I'll sit down at the keyboard with my only goal being to learn the new songs for sunday or for my band's next performance. I'm now understanding I need to be more focused in my practice time so now I'm setting a certain amount of time for doing scales(with a metronome), working on songs for church, working on songs for my band, and then an amount of time to explore new techniques, chords, scales, etc.

These are what I feel are some of the most important aspects of being a minister of music and a musician. If you have any questions feel free to leave them here or inbox me.

Man this is what I need! Thank you!! I'm already seeing areas I need to improve on (and the strengths as well).

Well...I have not "arrived" yet, but IMO the most important are -

Musical Ear  (to pick out parts, mistakes)
Musical Skill (coordination, etc. can always be improved)
Charisma - ability to inspire others, help them express their natural and spiritual gifts, set hearts afire

These can be inborn, but also developed...all for a larger goal and the Glory of God...

None of us have arrived. Great skills! Thanks!!

blyempowered

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2013, 01:17:42 PM »
Some information to look at: http://www.squidoo.com/gospel-choir-music


I've had the joy of reading some of this information and it is amazing! Thank you so much for your contributions as they've been a part of my recent growth the last year or so.

blyempowered

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2013, 11:10:31 PM »
Still open to more answers.

choirlist

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Re: Skills to be a great musician and minister of music
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2013, 12:05:41 AM »
Before I reply I will give some background about myself. I Played at a church with over  2000 members I was the main keyboard player. While there I assisted Musical Artist Micah Stampley on in a choir workshop there have been lots of other artist attend the church but I will point him out. He is a Minister of music and a National recording artist so its safe to say he has a doctorate level of knowledge in Music ministry.

He has ofcourse Strong Vocals

EXTREMELY proficient if vocal harmony/ our choir had like 5 parts going on at 1 time in a song and it sounded really cool

He understands singing dynamics as well

He is also a very solid Pianist and Organist...Don't believe me? I have a recording on my video cam to prove it he was getting off in the key of "A"

Fun and goofy personality.... Lets face it people gotta like you in order to get far.


Doesn't accept bad singing

 I use these as examples for my own Music Ministy now and have found myself getting more calls to work with choirs and Bands and Just lots of different events.
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