Music school is great, but if you want to be a church musician in the 21st century, there are lots of things you're left to figure out on your own - things that simply aren't taught in most schools or private studios.
This includes:
playing and singing or playing and conducting at the same time
accompanying and supporting choral and congregational singing
harmonizing melodies (with and without chord symbols)
finding cadence points and vamping in the moment
creating modulations and transposing at sight
improvising transitions and creating musical underscores
playing 5-finger patterns in all 24 keys (12 major, 12 minor)
And the list goes on. Where do you start? How do you learn and develop these skills?
If you can relate to any of this, then this course is for you.
Tailored to church music directors, keyboardists, and organists, this course will help you develop valuable sight-reading, score-reading, and harmonizing skills; equip you to play and accompany hymns, anthems, and contemporary songs creatively and confidently; and give you the tools and resources you need to lead and support choral and congregational singing in a variety of worship settings.
Learn How To:
develop skills in sight-reading and score-reading;
develop critical listening skills by evaluating music aurally and working without notation;
foster basic accompanying skills by learning to simplify and knowing what to leave out;
build coordination: play/sing, play/conduct, play standing up, play/direct with breath cues;
harmonize simple melodies (with and without chord symbols); and
develop creativity through composition and improvisation activities.
What's Included:
Four 30-minute instructional video lessons, released over the course of four weeks
Lifetime access to the course videos and materials
A comprehensive workbook with charts, musical examples, and practicing notes
Weekly emails with class notes, assignments, and action steps
Bonus! Access to an online community with fellow church musicians to network, ask questions,
and share ideas and resources
Course Overview
Module 1 | Accompanying
We'll start with some choral accompanying basics like playing warm-ups, reading open score, and providing support for singing/knowing when to drop out. Then, we'll take a look at accompanying in worship - from learning how to cadence to playing for communion to playing "traveling music."
Module 2 | Creative Musicianship
In Module 2, we'll explore creative hymn-playing and creativity in worship, including introductions, learning how and when to breathe (for cues), providing support for congregational singing, and creating your own harmonizations, modulations, and transitions.
Module 3 | Musical Styles
In this module, we'll talk mostly about contemporary music and contemporary worship. Topics will include playing chords, how to read lead sheets and chord charts, how to harmonize a melody, creating flow, playing with a band, underscoring prayers and readings, and how to introduce contemporary music/teach a new song to your congregation.
Module 4 | Planning & Preparing
This final module will be devoted to planning and preparing for worship: choosing service music (prelude/postlude, offertory, responses, etc.), choral music (anthem, introit, responses, etc.), and transition music; preparing for rehearsals, practicing, and what to include in the bulletin.
This course is designed for church pianists and organists.
Whether you lead a small congregation in one service on Sunday mornings or play for three services a week, including a contemporary service with a praise band, you’ll learn practical accompanying skills and helpful step-by-step processes for practicing and playing music in worship on a weekly basis.
Course Schedule*
Welcome & Introduction
August 10 - Module 1 available
August 17 - Module 2 available
August 24 - Module 3 available
August 31 - Module 4 available
*Remember, you'll have lifetime access to the course, so feel free to start the course whenever you like and work at your own pace, if needed.
Registration & Pricing
Enrollment is officially open! The course is on sale for $99 (reg. $119) for a limited time (through 7/31/17). Space is limited, so save your seat today!
Ready to get to work?
I'm very excited about this new class! I can't wait to help you develop the key skills you need to play and lead creatively and confidently on Sunday mornings. Hope to see you in the course next month!
P.S. Get all the details on the course and read the FAQs here. Other questions? Feel free to send me an email. I'm happy to answer them!
