The Do's and Don't's of Vocal Performance in Leading Worship

Part of my job as a worship ministry director is to observe how the congregation responds to each song from week to week.

For our congregation, the cues I look for are raised hands, moving mouths, standing tall and exuberant; these all indicate strong engagement. At other times, when I see minimal body language, unmoving lips, and slumped posture, it shows me that there's a disconnect.

This disconnection can happen when a new song is introduced, but if you're singing familiar songs, and yet the disconnection is still present, then where do you look to?

At the risk of pointing fingers, the uncomfortable truth is that the congregation is looking to YOU 🫵 to guide, encourage, and lead them with strength, confidence, and accessibility. Their participation, or lack thereof (aside from unfamiliarity with a new song), reflects back to the song leader and other vocalists' delivery. If delivery is strong, then the response will be strong. If the delivery is weak, then the response will also likely be weak.

Here are the do's and the don't's of vocal performance to help you deliver a vocal line that will lead the congregation well.

"Do" Know the Tune—"Don't" Try to Smokescreen

This should go without saying, but there's a HUGE difference in deviating from an established, known melody for artistic expression vs. singing different notes because you didn't spend enough time learning the song. Here's an example:

Years ago, I introduced Phil Wickham's "At Your Name" to our church, and it went really well. We sang it several times over the course of a few months, and then, a fellow worship leader wanted to lead it. This individual would sometimes do contract work at other churches, so they weren't always present for the singing of this new song.

There's a phrase in the pre-chorus: "...the earth will rejoice," which follows the solfège syllables, "do–do–re–mi–mi." When this fellow worship leader arrived at that line, what they sang instead was, "do–do–re–mi–fa." It's an easy mistake to make, as we naturally hear a step-wise, scalar melody arriving to that point within the major scale. I highlighted this for this person, giving them the correct arrival note. Instead, this person said, "Well, this is how I'm doing it today."

Uh, nope. This is not a case where artistic expression can be used to change a melody; this phrase is a key point in the song where it must cadence on that particular note. It's what the writer originally intended, as it provides a strong "color" to the chord with which it's paired, plus the congregation already knew it that way. So, they were expecting to sing the phrase the way they knew it.

What it led to was visible confusion when all the participants arrived at the phrase at the same time, but were singing different notes from the band. What should've happened was the leader showing humility, accepting the correction, and refraining from what I call the "smokescreen," where we try to pass off mistakes as intended choices.

"Do" Stand Tall—"Don't" Slouch

Posture is critical to a well-delivered vocal line. Not only does it set you up for the right kind of breath support, but non-verbally, it communicates confidence that others will emulate.

I recently attended a chapel service that was partially led by younger singers. Throughout several moments, their eyes were glued to the music stand in front of them, which only came up to roughly chest-height. This led to two disconnections:

• Lack of eye contact with the congregation.

• Lack of breath support because of being "closed up."

The result? Hesitation, poor intonation, and aloofness between the song leader and congregation. When you stand up tall and look away from the page, you can create a stronger connection to the congregation, where they respond to your assertive, confident delivery and reflect that back to you.

"Do" Know Your Instrument—"Don't" Look Down All the Time

This one is for those who sing and play at the same time. When you know your instrument, you are able to look away from the keyboard/fretboard and focus on connecting with the congregation. From a practical standpoint, it also gives consistent placement for your vocal mic.

I can't count how many times I've experienced disconnection when I've observed others look down to find the next chord or note to play, and their mouth leaves the mic. (And to be fair, I've done it plenty of times, too!) The result is a "start-and-stop" to the line—something that feels "broken."

The solution? Become so attuned to your instrument that you can confidently move from fret to fret or key to key that you don't have to worry about wrong notes or chords, all so you can focus on being right on the mic.

The Bigger Picture

These "do's" and "don't's" are meant for one goal: to serve your congregation well in leading them well, which means assuming a defined standard of executing/performing well. We are not pursuing excellence for the sake of "being great"; we are doing it so we can collectively bring an offering of praise to God inwhich everyone feels comfortable and confident in what is being created.

Be blessed 👊✌️