A Lesson on Competency and Confidence from "Maestro"

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of buzz around a new film called "Maestro," directed, written, and starring Bradley Cooper as renowned conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein. I haven't seen it yet, but I've listened and read much of the press that came ahead of it. There was one interview with Cooper that stopped me in the middle of what I was doing, and I had to share this nugget of insight for you worship leaders to ponder. 

Cooper was recounting the intensity of conducting the London Symphony Orchestra on the set, and this quote from his interview has been living rent-free in my head for some time now:

"You can get the best players together, that are on [your] team—and they're not gonna win... It really is about how they communicate and how much they want to be there, how much they feel heard, safe, and guided... They won't suffer fools, so you'd better know what you're doing... but at the same time, they WANT to be led."

His words instantly caused me to reflect back on my performance career, whether in worship ministry or in the music industry. All of my best services and gigs revolved around a central idea: 

Competency fuels confidence.

In worship settings, I see the same things happen all the time. One day, the rehearsal is on point and translates into a knock-out service. Another day can be the total opposite, filled with confusion and resulting in poor, unpolished grinds on Sunday mornings.

Why does this happen? 

In both cases, it comes down to preparation of everyone involved, especially yours as the worship leader. 

In that same interview I mentioned earlier, multiple people recounted how Bernstein was a genius who knew the music inside and out. His preparation transcended the technical—he was able to coax and guide his groups to create some of the most memorable music performances the world has seen and heard. 

Cooper felt the weight of this in his preparation for conducting scenes with symphony players. He couldn't fake his way through cues, tempos, dynamics, etc. It would've: 1) instantly revealed his ignorance; and 2) insulted the performers. (Remember that part about "not suffering a fool?") 

So, Cooper did his homework, learning how to conduct and study the music so he could authentically recreate a timeless performance on-screen. The result has people buzzing about the film, especially the players who got to take part.

Story Time

In my own career, I can remember times when rehearsals and performances were inspiring for me to take part of, and others that were... well—a real drag. 

One in particular was on a Sunday morning. These were the days when the team would rehearse about an hour before the main service would start, running through about 5–6 songs. I had introduced Phil Wickham's "At Your Name" to the congregation some weeks prior, and the worship leader for that day wanted to perform it. Things were going relatively well until we got to the Pre-Chorus, on the words, "...the earth will rejoice..." 

It's a simple enough part to sing; here are the solfège syllables: "do, do, re, mi, mi." That part of the melody bridges a transition from a 6m chord to a 4 chord, with "mi" being sung on the downbeat as a cool, trendy maj7 over the 4 chord. 

Here's the thing, though—instead of singing the original line, the worship leader sang this: "do, do, re, mi, fa."

The difference is just one note, but it results in a totally different flavor, and besides, the congregation had already learned the original melody. I thought, "No big deal."; after all, it's an easy mistake to make since the root of the 4 chord (fa) is so close to the maj7 (mi). Once we came to a stopping point, I politely pointed out how the original melody should be sung, but the leader turned away from me and said, "We're going to do it this way."—as if it had been planned that way all along.

Uh, what? Why not mention that at the start of rehearsal?

It was immediately obvious this leader hadn't fully learned the tune, and was doubling down on saving face by claiming artistic liberty with the melody. I adjusted my part accordingly (I usually echo vocal lines as a lead guitarist), but I was left with a sour taste, feeling disrespected and frustrated that my own team leader would ask me to be prepared but then drop the ball themselves AND not own up to it.

Unfortunately, this was a recurring pattern that echoed out to other members of the team, and for some time, it was difficult to have a consistent presentation on Sundays where we all felt at ease and confident. The preparation was almost non-existent, with parts being thrown together, often just before the service was to start. 

The Road Ahead

Thankfully, we're in a better place nowadays. Collectively, our team is committed to extensive preparation, both musically and spiritually, in song selection, scheduling rehearsals, and showing up ready to go for our mid-week rehearsal and Sunday soundcheck. Even recently, I've had team members meet with me 1-on-1 to go over parts, just to be better prepared for the coming week. It's a far cry from shooting-from-the-hip. (For one thing, the stress level has come WAY down.) 

The thing that makes it a joy to be part of a well-run and efficiently structured team isn't all about playing with a great band and singers; it's mostly to do with the clear communication and unashamed directives that come from the leaders. I can perform my best when I'm given a clear task that lines up individual preparation with group rehearsal, rolling out into a final performance that I don't have to worry about things like wrong notes, missed cues, and the like. 

If you're looking for ways to bring your team out of chaos and into order, try small changes like this over time:

• Get rid of marked-up lead sheets and charts with crossed out endings and vamps written in. Instead, create a new chart that has your roadmap baked into the ink, without the need for telling performers what NOT to do.

• Have songs selected well ahead of time. Ideally, this is done 4–6 weeks beforehand, but if you're working with a smaller catalogue of songs and the musicians are familiar with them, then 1–2 weeks is OK. 

• With song selection comes cues for how harmonies are assigned, where instruments should fall out or enter, etc. Please, please, PLEASE take time to think this through; your decisions depend on the ability of your individual team members for that given Sunday.

• If you're running clicks and multitracks, have those cued the week before AT MINIMUM. Ideally, this is done during the song selection process, but it's understandable if you need time to flesh out an arrangement.

Be encouraged by this: If you, the worship leader, have done your homework and learned your craft, then your team will likely follow suit. Remember, they WANT to be led, and there's not a more effective leader than one who has their ducks in a row, so to speak.

Be blessed 👊✌️