Multitracks and rehearsal mixes are awesome tools. I use them all the time, and I’m incredibly thankful we have them. But there’s a drawback, for sure. It’s really easy to open the rehearsal mix, solo your guitar part, and immediately start working. That sounds like exactly what we’re supposed to do. We have a part to learn. Sunday is coming. We need to be prepared.
But if we’re not careful, we can get really good at learning our guitar part without ever really learning the song. And, more importantly, without really knowing what we’re about to sing with the church.
Listen to the Whole Song First
I know we’re busy, but fight for this: before you isolate your part, listen to the whole song. Listen to the vocal. Listen to the band. Pay attention to the dynamics, the arrangement, the personality of the song, where it builds, where it pulls back, and what the different instruments are doing together.
This is something I talked about in my process for mastering worship songs: before I ever start worrying about the individual guitar parts, I want to become a student of the song. There’s a practical reason for that. If I understand the whole arrangement, I’m in a much better position to decide what my guitar actually needs to do. But there’s another reason that I think is even more important.
Pay Attention to the Lyrics
Know what the song is actually saying. What is it teaching? What is it proclaiming about God? What are we confessing? What are we thanking Him for? What are we asking Him to do?
We’re not just learning songs so we can play them correctly. We’re going to stand with the church and worship with them. I believe that should start with us having a posture of worship too, not just a commitment to learning guitar parts. And that’s hard to do when the lyrics are still unfamiliar to you.
I don’t want Sunday morning to be the first time I’m really processing the words while I’m simultaneously trying to remember whether that lead line starts on beat three. I want the song to already be familiar. I want to know what I’m singing. I want to be able to worship through the song rather than spending the entire time mentally hanging on to my guitar part. Preparation should help free us to be present.
Then Figure Out the Guitar Stuff
Once you know the song, then start digging into the individual guitar parts. Maybe the multitrack has three, four, five or even more electric guitar parts. You probably don’t need all of them.
Maybe you combine a couple parts. Maybe you simplify something. Maybe one guitar part is essential in the verse but another part makes more sense in the chorus. Maybe something needs to disappear completely. That’s all part of serving the song well.
I’m not trying to recreate every detail of a studio recording. I’m trying to understand what makes the song work and then determine what my role should be with the musicians who will actually be standing next to me on Sunday. Listening to the full song first makes those decisions much easier.
Know the Song Before Sunday
This is really what I’m getting at. Know the song. Know what you’re singing with the church. Let the lyrics become familiar. Understand the flow of the arrangement. Then know your part.
There’s freedom that comes from being prepared this way. When the song starts, you aren’t just waiting for your next guitar cue. You know where everything is going. You can listen. You can respond to the band. You can sing. You can worship. That’s ultimately where I want all the preparation to lead.
I Know We Get Busy
Sometimes you really do have to jump in, learn your part, and get ready for Sunday. That happens. I’ve done it too. There are weeks when life is packed, the set comes together late, or there simply isn’t enough time to prepare the way we would prefer. This isn’t meant to pile guilt onto those weeks.
Just fight against making that your normal way of preparing.
Multitracks are an incredible gift. Use them. Solo the guitar parts. Slow things down. Hear every little detail you need to hear. Just don’t let the ability to isolate everything cause you to lose sight of the whole.
Know the song. Know what you’re singing. Know your parts. Then go worship with your church.
Coram Deo,
Troy
GuitarforHISGLORY