Blog
Tips, tutorials, and ideas for worship musicians. Chord theory, leading teams, stage setup, and more.
Light Church Olongapo — worship team
Strum Patterns for Worship Guitar: What We Use on Sunday
The right strum pattern is as much a part of your arrangement as the key or the capo. Here are the patterns we actually use at Light Church Olongapo, and one lesson that took us way too long to learn.
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Vocal Harmony for Worship: What We Tried and What Worked
For years we led worship with one vocalist and no harmony at all. Here is how we added vocal harmony at Light Church Olongapo, what we got wrong first, and how we now prepare harmony parts before rehearsal.
How to Transpose a Worship Song for Your Vocalist
We almost never play a worship song in the original album key. Here is how we find the right key for our vocalist at Light Church Olongapo and update the chord chart in seconds.
Nashville Number System for Worship Musicians: How We Use It
The Nashville Number System changed how our worship team handles key changes at rehearsal. Here is what it is, how it works, and how we use it at Light Church Olongapo.
Capo Positions for Worship Guitar: What We Use and Why
A capo is one of the most useful things a worship guitarist can own. Here are the positions we actually use at Light Church Olongapo, why each one works, and how to quickly find the right fret for your vocalist.
How to Use WorshipChordBook: Chord Charts, Transpose, Setlists, and Stage Mode
A walkthrough of how our worship team actually uses WorshipChordBook week to week, from finding chord charts to running Stage Mode on Sunday morning.
How We Build a Worship Setlist for a Sunday Morning Service
Building a worship setlist is something I used to do in about five minutes. I would pick songs I liked and put them in whatever order felt right. It took a few difficult Sundays to understand that a setlist is not a playlist. Here is the actual process we use now.
How We Choose the Right Key for Every Song on Sunday
For years we picked song keys based on whatever the original recording used. Then our worship leader started losing her voice halfway through Sunday services. That problem forced us to build a real process for choosing keys, and it changed everything.
Why We Still Sing Hymns at Our Modern Worship Church
When we first introduced hymns into our Sunday setlist, half the team thought it was a strange choice. Our congregation skews young and we play a modern sound. Here is what happened when we brought the old songs back, and why we have never stopped.
Why Beginners Struggle With Transposing and How to Make It Click
Transposing is one of those things that experienced musicians do almost without thinking, but for beginners it feels like a mystery. Here is how I explain it to new team members and why I built a tool to help them see it clearly.
Why Song Order in a Worship Setlist Matters More Than the Songs Themselves
We ran an unintentional experiment one month at our church. We played the same five songs two Sundays in a row, just in a different order. The congregation response was completely different each time. Here is what that taught us about the power of song sequencing.
Learning a New Worship Song in Three Days Before Sunday Service
It was a Thursday afternoon when our pastor sent a message asking if we could add a brand new song to Sunday's set. Three days. Here is the exact process we use to learn a worship song fast without sacrificing quality on Sunday morning.