Lesson 13: Transitions

In this lesson, we’ll be speaking on transitions, their importance, and some best practices for navigating them. Every time we get on stage, we get the opportunity to take people on a worship journey in the allotted time. Just because a song has ended, it’s not the end of that story. We need that story to continue! Because transitions are the most vulnerable part of the set, it’s our duty as the Music Director to safeguard them and, by doing that, minimize distractions. Also, as crafted as we want to make our transitions and think ahead on them, always be watching the worship leader when a song is about to end as they might want to continue flowing.

Timing of Transitions

Not all transition timings need to be the same. There are some moments that require space, some moments we need to keep the momentum going and bring in the next track/click immediately and a wide range in-between depending on the worship leaders vision for that moment. However, it’s important to note that when we factor in how long a transition to a new song may take, it will likely involve a shift to a new track or click and a few bars before the song starts. It’s easy to say “hit the track” when we as MDs would want the song so start only to realize there’s an extra 2-5 seconds of dead time when we account for (1) how long it may take for the team member running tracks to start the next song and (2) the count-in that’s needed before starting the intro/verse. A great MD will gauge that time and start the next track or click that much earlier so the song will start when they mean for it to. For example, if a worship leader wants to segue from one song to another by singing a down chorus of the last one and go pretty much right into the next song, it may be wise to have the song lead sing the down chorus without a click and bring in the track/click for the next song while they’re singing the last line of the down chorus to accomplish the seamless transition the WL envisioned.

Transitioning Keys

While it would make our role simpler to lead all the songs in a set in the same key, that’s not always possible. Our goal is to transition to the next key as smoothly and as least distracting as possible. The simplest option is if there’s a crash out or swell in, we can use that time to have the keys player fade in the next key as the rest of the band is fading out. If that’s not possible, finding common tones (notes that both keys have in common) to make the transition smoother. A great example of this can be found here.

In chatting with your Worship Leader throughout the week, if there are two options for keys that are equally fine with them and one offers a better transition because the two songs would be in relative keys, offer that information as an option to think about.

Transitioning to and from other service elements

It’s important for us as MDs to think about and prepare for not only the portion of the service the worship team is stewarding but also the entire service flow, especially what’s adjacent to the worship set. A great MD will feel out the current vibe and what’s coming next to determine if chord/dynamic changes are necessary as we play behind the next item.