Practical advice for local church musicians and worship leaders

Reviewed by Adrian Cherrill

If you've ever been to worship conferences and come away with a clutch of seminar discs on how to get your worship band functioning to it's best ability, and then trawled through them for hours trying to condense it down into something your team will not fall asleep listening to, then perhaps you ought to look at this helpful little two disc set. The first disc is spoken material, where Phatfish keyboard player Michael Sandeman takes us through a series of short looks at what not to do, pitfalls, attitudes and the role of various instruments and vocals (while speaking to the other band members and one or to other musicians), with a quick look at some more developed musical ideas at the end. This is all done using Martyn Layzell's "You Chose The Cross" as the example track. Whilst the focus is very much on the practical, there is welcome spiritual input all the way through as a poignant reminder of what it's really all about. It's clear, concise and easy to follow. The second disc has four songs; all remixed several times to leave out various parts so they can be practised along to. There is a good mix of styles and pace from the slow "Jesus, Lover Of My Soul" to the faster "Give Thanks To The Lord". The only real criticism is that although the chords and words are included in the inlay, they are not matched up, and the chord notation might not be easy to follow for a beginner. Two of the songs are also in B flat (a nasty key on the guitar) and the easier capo chords aren't supplied. Despite this minor gripe, this is a useful, inexpensive tool which as a worship leader I will certainly be putting to good use.

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