Musical accidental

🪕🪗🎺 IMPROVISING MUSIC 🎼✍🏻

               🖊️🪘Season 1. Episode 5. MUSICAL ACCIDENTS🎷🎤

When you want to start improvising music, you will need to come out of your comfort zone and allow yourself to explore something risky and different. When you learn pieces to perform you are taught not to make mistakes. To avoid playing notes which aren’t on the sheet music, or playing them at the “wrong” time.

_With improvisation, there are no rules and no “right” or “wrong” notes to play. There are notes that sound good and notes that don’t._

But here’s the real secret to mastering improvisation: when you play a note which sounds bad you can fix it! The wonderful thing about music is that every unexpected twist and turn can become the start of a great new journey for the listener.

Unlike performing prepared music, where playing a wrong note is a momentary mistake, with improvisation it is an opportunity: it’s a chance for you to use your creativity on the spot to find a way to turn that “wrong” note into a “right” one, and bring the music back together in a satisfying way.

So when you mess up and accidentally hit a note that sounds off-key during a performance or practice, don’t panic! Just keep going in the new key and find your way back. This will help you know how far you can go with creativity and you will be surprised at the very positive effect it can have on your audience. They might not even know it wasn’t intentional!

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Get creative

                                    🪕🪗🎺 IMPROVISING MUSIC 🎼✍🏻

               🖊️🪘Season 1. Episode 4. GET CREATIVE WITH RHYTHM🎷🎤

Rhythm is considered by some to be the key to improvisation. Becoming creative with your rhythm requires a strong rhythmic Foundation, so that you are free to make changes and still sound in time.

Try experimenting with rhythm the way you experimented with notes: start by playing the melody and make a shift in the rhythm by hitting a note earlier than expected, or a bit later. Listen for the impact this has. This shifting of the beat is technically referred to as *syncopation*. It’s a simple but powerful way to add your own flair to a performance. Take it a step further and start really changing the rhythm and again, before long you’ll have created something distinctive and new.

          Of course, mixing these two aspects is where the true creativity starts to come in, as you choose notes and timing purely from your own imaginative, using the standard melody only as a spark of initial inspiration.

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Get creative

🪕🪗🎺 IMPROVISING MUSIC 🎼✍🏻

               🖊️🪘Season 1. Episode 3. GET CREATIVE WITH MELODY🎷🎤

When you are learning to improvise, often the melody can provide a good starting point. You can actually play a melody and then create your own interpretation of the melody.

The secret of improvisation is creativity. Try changing a note or a phrase by adding your own ornamentations. You will be surprised at how much you can personalize the music with a single adjustment to the melody.

Make a game of it: Play the melody repeatedly, but each time you play it, make one more change. Soon you will have created something unrecognisable! If you apply those music theory basics as you choose your notes (e.g. sticking in the scale can be a good idea at first) then your creation will be a new alternative melody which still fits the song.

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Play along

    🪕🪗🎺 IMPROVISING MUSIC 🎼✍🏻

               🖊️🪘Season 1. Episode 2. PLAY ALONG 🎷🎤

To improvise music using a musical instrument, put on some instrumental music and play your instrument along with the music.

You might worry that you don’t know what to play – don’t worry! You’re going to find out by trusting your ears: if it sounds right, it is right. 

        Playing along on your instrument like this will help you learn to improvise imaginatively. It will also help you break past that barrier of worrying that you can’t do it. Remember that everybody’s first improvisations sound bad, that even good improvisers occasionally play a “wrong” note, and that there is nobody around to hear you as you learn by doing!

If you play more than one musical instrument, you can creatively use each of them and listen to the different results. The differences in speed, tone, flexibility and their muscle memory and visual thinking will give you varied inspiration for your improvising.

Or grab your instrument, find a single note which seems to fit the key, and start playing along. You might be surprised how far you can go with a single note!

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Sing along

   🪕🪗🎺 IMPROVISING MUSIC 🎼✍🏻

               🖊️🪘Season 1. Episode 1. SING ALONG 🎷🎤

A great way to build confidence and gain personal experience in improvising is to sing along with your favorite recorded song. This can be on the radio, a CD or MP3 player, or YouTube videos online.

Find space where you are all alone and put on some music you know and like. Don’t worry about a polished performance, especially if you don’t consider yourself a singer or worry about how to sing in tune. Just start making sounds that fit well with the song you are listening to. If you’re happy to sing, sing! If not, you can whistle or hum.

         This will help release some fresh musical ideas because staying non-verbal restricts you from the song lyrics, leaving your mind free to create your own compositions as you express yourself. Singing along can be a great way to improvise music because you are creating a connection between thinking and practicing.

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Perfection

📖🎤HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT CHOIR MEMBER😌😄

                                📝🖋️ Season 1. Episode 10. PERFECTION  📖📌  

      None of us are completely perfect and we’re probably a little difficult to someone too. Give those who are difficult the benefit of the doubt and a lot of grace. This is not to say you shouldn’t have standards or lead, it just means approach all of this in a truly prayerful, thoughtful, and biblical way.

Also, the truth is, their reaction is not up to you. Your responsibility is to humbly lead your team. For the good of the entire team, and your church in general, it doesn’t pay to ignore problem people.

Of course, all of this should be done in relationship with your leadership and the structures and procedures you have in place. Don’t do it alone when it comes to dealing with issues. Always approach things in unity with your leaders and pastoral team.

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Reputation

📖🎤HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT CHOIR MEMBER😌😄

                                📝🖋️ Season 1. Episode 9. REPUTATION  📖📌  

When someone is causing trouble, saying nasty things, or doing stupid things, and they’re meant to be an upright member of the worship team, it’s easy to talk about them without even thinking. It starts with one story with a trusted friend and can end up with gossiping to anyone who’s had a similar experience with the difficult person.

As the leader of the team though, you hold the reputation of your team in your hands. It is your responsibility to steward this. Even though you may be right, it is not okay to be telling the story to anyone that will listen. Again, be the bigger person and keep your mouth shut.

Of course there are times when it is necessary to discuss situations with key leadership to seek council and gain consensus on how to move forward. But on the whole it is best to choose personal discipline of saying nothing when it comes to the people of your team and the situations they find themselves in.

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Pray for them

  📖🎤HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT CHOIR MEMBER😌😄

                                  📝🖋️ Season 1. Episode 8. PRAY FOR THEM 📖📌  

This sounds obvious but often when we’re in the thick of an issue with a person and we don’t know the way forward it’s not as obvious as it sounds. Praying about the situation and asking God for a way forward for OURSELVES is easy. Praying for the person that’s causing issues isn’t so easy.

Choose to be the bigger person — choose to bring that person, their life, situation and future to the Lord. Seek His best for them and after that make your own requests known for your side of the situation.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5 NIV)

By approaching the situation this way, at the very least your attitude will be challenged. At best, you will find a new measure of grace for them. From that place, a resolution may not always come but at least you’ll have the grace to continue loving and working with the difficult person.

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