Band Rehearsal Is Discipleship

How many times have we started our team rehearsals with a quick prayer and then get down to business?

I know I'm guilty of it, especially if I'm pressed for time. Lately, I've felt even more rushed in this season, with summer schedules so busy that it's easy for me to slip into "work mode" and miss the point of why we're rehearsing in the first place: to prepare our hearts, minds, and skills to lead our brothers and sisters in worship of our holy God.

Don't get me wrong—we're there to work on material, but the rehearsal space is a perfect time to take a minute, pause, and then share your heart for the worship set this week, how it ties into the pastor's message, and incorporate fun elements that encourage your team members in their abilities outside of a given song set.

Here's a breakdown of how I'll be opening our team's next rehearsal, all within about 5–8 minutes:

1. Thank everyone for coming. (Remember, many of your team members are volunteers—they are giving up time with family, other friends, etc. to be there. Remind them of the joy YOU have when you get to share this special time with them.)

2. Remind them that they are here to savor God's goodness and to offer Him praise in thanks. (Rehearsal is still an offering of praise to God—take the time to dwell on this before you begin your preparation of material.)

3. Pray. (This is vital—your rehearsal time is an offering just as valid as the main service that you lead, so it's important to give thanks to God for His blessings, goodness, grace, mercy, and to adore Him with praise in your preparation.)

4. Share your heart behind the song choices. (Does the set tie into the sermon? Are you trying to communicate a sequence of Gospel truths as each song progresses to the next? Your team needs to know this to be unified in their own heart preparation.)

5. Give a quick run-down of what will be covered. (You should already have communicated necessary details in your team messages in the days prior to rehearsal, so no need to hash everything out again. Give the need-to-know.)

6. List a few main things to have the team target while they're rehearsing the material. (I always talked about tone, technique, and timing in the past; it could be a different set of desired outcomes for you.)

7. Then, you can start with rehearsing the songs.

Now, when it comes to rehearsing the material itself, there are a variety of ways to go about this. A fun way is to pick a main section of a song to vamp, say a chorus, and have the band loop that. Then, do a call-and-response exchange with your singers, singing various phrases of the chorus lyric as a way to help them warm up. (You could also use that vamp to run through scale/interval warm-ups with your singers, rather than using phrase snippets of the melody.) 

The key here is that they're showing solid aural skills in repeating back what you're singing to them, and then build harmonies from there. The end result is everyone is warmed up and tuned up to each other before diving into a specific arrangement. (I would spend maybe 3 minutes in total on this.)

When you do these things, taking about 10 minutes, tops, you set the tone and mood for how rehearsal will go. Is your rehearsal a creative, encouraging experience where each team member feels comfortable and empowered to be there? Or, is it just a time to run through material for the sake of getting it done and then moving on? For me, musically speaking, the best rehearsals are when the team motivation is established properly at the beginning, where I'm spiritually encouraged by the leader and given solid direction in accomplishing the goals for that time. 

Looking in a bigger picture, you're sowing intentional seeds into your team by sharing your heart behind the song choices, having your team build their creative "muscles," and giving them a structure that brings clarity to what they do. 

Be blessed 👊✌️