Blog
Tips, tutorials, and ideas for worship musicians. Chord theory, leading teams, stage setup, and more.
Light Church Olongapo — worship team
How We Modernized a Hymn Without Losing What Made It Special
We spent weeks reworking the arrangement of It Is Well With My Soul for our team. Two attempts felt wrong before the third one clicked. Here is what we learned about modernizing a hymn without stripping away the very thing that makes it powerful.
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My Tuner App Broke Before Service and Here Is What Saved Me
My go-to tuner app crashed right before a Sunday service. I learned that day how much I depended on it, and why having a reliable browser-based tuner changed the way I prepare.
How We Stopped Guessing Song Tempos at Rehearsal
We used to waste the first few minutes of every rehearsal just trying to agree on the right tempo for a song. The BPM Tap Counter ended that. Here is how we use it every week.
The Mistakes We Made When We First Started Planning Worship Setlists
In our early years leading worship, we made almost every setlist planning mistake you can make. Too many slow songs in a row. Key jumps that felt like whiplash. Songs the team could not play well on short notice. Here is the full honest list and what we learned from each one.
What We Look for When We Arrange a Song for Our Team
Taking a worship song from a studio recording and making it work for a live team of four people is a different skill from just learning the chords. Here is the behind-the-scenes process we use to build an arrangement that actually fits our team.
The Hymn That Changed How I Think About Worship Leading
I have played hundreds of worship songs over the years. One hymn in particular stopped me cold during a Sunday rehearsal and made me question everything I thought I understood about what it means to lead people in worship. That hymn was Be Thou My Vision.
We Used to Struggle With Song Timing. A Metronome Fixed It.
Our worship team had a timing problem. Songs would speed up, slow down, and the drummer and guitarist were always slightly out of sync. Here is how adding a metronome to our rehearsal changed everything.
Why We Play Some Songs Simpler Than the Original Recording
When I first started leading worship I wanted our team to sound exactly like the recording. It took a failed service and honest feedback to understand why simplicity is not a compromise. It is actually the better choice for live worship.
Hymns for Communion: The Songs We Return to Every Time
Communion is the moment in a service where the music matters most and needs to say the least. Over the years our team has settled on a handful of hymns that we return to again and again for this moment. Here is why each one works.
The First Chord Is Not Always the Key. Here Is Why That Matters.
One of the most common mistakes beginner musicians make is assuming the first chord of a song is the key. It is a reasonable assumption, but it is often wrong, and that mistake causes problems when transposing or communicating with your team.
How We Practice a Song Until It Feels Natural on Stage
There is a big difference between knowing a song and feeling natural playing it in front of a congregation. I learned that difference the hard way and built a rehearsal process that gets our team from one to the other before Sunday morning.
Capo Positions Every Worship Guitarist Should Know
A quick reference guide to the most useful capo positions for worship guitar — and which open chord shapes to use in each position.