Ch 2: Leading Yourself
There are multiple types of preparation for the MD role. In the next lesson, we’ll learn how to prepare for a particular service, but before doing that, we need to dive into the bigger-picture preparation of training your ears. As masters of the realm of detail, we need to make sure we’re hearing what needs to be spoken into, which requires training.
Andy Bennett (our church’s first worship pastor), used to say you don’t sharpen your axe by continuing to swing. That actually accomplishes quite the opposite. You need more than just reps; you need to take time to sharpen your axe!
Listening Exercises
A great way to do this is to put on music (can be worship or secular) and listen. A few things you can be listening for to train your ear include:
What chord are you hearing? (6 4 1 5? 4 5 6 1/3?)
Fun Fact: Did you know almost the entire score for the Christopher Nolan film Interstellar was made with a three chord progression? As MDs, we need to be able to separate out the fancy layering and hear the foundational elements of what make a song work!
What instruments are you hearing?
What musical points of interest jump out at you?
If there are guitars, what kind of guitars? Single coil or humbuckers? Amp types?
What are the drums doing? Throughout the song, are there points of tension and release? How does what the drums do help accomplish the bigger picture of the song?
What is the bass doing? Is there a real bass? A synth bass? Both?
What are the keys/synths/piano doing? Is it a bright piano vs a subdued one? A grand vs an upright? Is there an organ? Any synths?
Music Theory
Another great way to train your ear is to download an app that can develop your music theory or your ability to hear intervals. Hearing whether two notes are a major second or a major third apart is a valuable tool that you will eventually need to use on stage.
The main goal with all of this is to grow in our excellence by being able to pick out details. As we grow in this role, let’s commit to ourselves to develop our musical ears so, again, we can own the realm of the detail.