Church Instrumental Music and Worship - MyStaffArranger.com

Client Testimonial

2008-06-30T22:26:00.003-05:00

At the end of last week, I received a last minute project from one of my great clients, Tommy Creel at Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon, MS. The project consisted of fixing a "studio" orchestration that doesn't match up with the published choral/piano part, plus I needed to add in some additional orchestra parts.

Since the project had to be completed in 3 days for a Sunday night service, I was a little concerned about some accidental mistakes on a rushed project. I e-mailed Tommy on Sunday night to see how the project turned out, and here was Tommy's response:

Everything went well. It was a good night. Thanks for all your help.

Be blessed friend!

Tommy Creel, Crossgates Baptist Church

What I'm reading right now - 7 Practices of Effective Ministries (part 1)

2008-06-17T11:40:00.005-05:00

Over the last several days, I've been reading a great ministry book: 7 Practices of Effective Ministries If more churches would follow these principles, I believe we would have more great, effective churches instead of just "good" or "OK" churches.

As I finish this book up in the next few days, I'll be sharing these 7 practices and how we can apply them to our ministries.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 13)

2008-06-11T09:46:00.004-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 –Rhythmic accuracy (part 1 – Basic Rhythm counting)

Last week, I introduced this next mini-series within my overall Take 5 series. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be discussing rhythmic patterns and counting as it relates to church orchestra music.

OK, so here are some basic counting patterns that we all encounter on a regular basis (in 4/4 time):

Quarter notes (steady beat): 1, 2, 3, 4

Eighth notes: 1 &, 2 &, 3 &, 4 &

Sixteenth notes: 1 e & a, 2 e & a, 3 e & a, 4 e & a

1 Eighth + 2 sixteenths: 1 & a, 2 & a, 3 & a, 4 & a

2 sixteenths + 1 Eighth: 1 e &, 2 e &, 3 e &, 4 e &

Everything I learned about leadership I learned through conducting (Part 3)

2008-06-10T10:00:00.002-05:00

In a post last week, I listed three aspects of leadership that I have learned through my experiences with conducting. Here are some additional thoughts:

4. The buck stops with you. As the leader, you have to accept personal responsibility on the success or failure of your team. You need to do whatever it takes to take your team to the next level(s).

5. Develop the leaders around you. If you can spend 80% of your time and energy on the top 20% of your team, you will get a return of 80%. It's the old Pareto principle (80/20 Rule).

6. Keep your commitments, no matter how small. Your word has to be your word. Period! Your team needs to know that they can trust your leadership.

7. Value your people's time. Begin rehearsals on time. End rehearsals on time or even just a little bit early if possible. Give your groups a break from mid-week rehearsals on occasion if the schedule permits. Your people will love and adore you for this.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 12)

2008-06-04T09:18:00.003-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 –Rhythmic accuracy (part 1 - Introduction)

One of the biggest challenges we have in church instrumental music today is playing difficult rhythm patterns. The string and woodwind sections are often given challenging runs, spanning one or two beats. The brass section is often given interesting “horn licks” composed of various combinations of eighth and sixteenth note patterns.

When playing these patterns, it’s important to have a good idea of what the note counting should be by sight (i.e. 1 &a 2 a 3e&a 4), hear and feel the rhythm internally, and also apply the appropriate style of the music to that rhythm.

Over the next few weeks, we will dig a little deeper on playing these various patterns with rhythmic accuracy and style. Stay tuned!

Everything I learned about leadership I learned through conducting (Part 2)

2008-06-03T09:54:00.006-05:00

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that conducting any sort of ensemble is really more about leadership and less about the craft of conducting. I'm sure you have seen conductors that had excellent technique, but had difficulty leading their group from the podium and vice versa - their technique wasn't that great, but due to their musicianship and leadership skills, they were able to achieve a stirring performance from their group.

As I've pondered these thoughts and my own personality, this is what I have learned over the last 15+ years of conducting and leadership from the podium:

Preparation, preparation, preparation - before you enter a rehearsal, service, or performance, you need to prepare yourself mentally ahead of time. This means, you must have a game plan of what you need to accomplish during that period time. I always go into a rehearsal with a pre-planned rehearsal order and what I need to accomplish during that time. Essentially, you're establishing mini-goals you would like to accomplish during that rehearsal. In a performance setting, this changes a bit, in that I'm trying to accomplish a stirring, musical performance from my group for the congregation or audience. I need to be musically and mentally prepared to fearlessly lead my group from beginning to end with excellence.
Act and talk like the leader - groups under your leadership can smell fear in you in an instant. Being on the podium many times requires the "fake it until you feel it" mentality! You need to be poised and confident as you assume the conductor role. This is often a struggle for young, aspiring conductors.
Build relationships - your relationships with those you lead will determine your effectiveness over the long haul. Spend time talking to your team members before and after rehearsals. Go to breakfast, lunch, or dinner with them. Have social events where people can relate to you as a "real guy."

Everything I learned about leadership I learned through conducting (Part 1 - Intro)

2008-06-02T09:13:00.008-05:00

Conducting has not always been my first love. My primary instrument has been trumpet since the 5th grade. When I entered music conservatory, though, I had to take some conducting classes, and at that point I had the conducting bug.

Since completing music conservatory, I have conducted a university concert band, elementary and middle school bands, auditioned for the Air Force Band program (man, those musicians are incredible!) and two church choirs and orchestras. Over the last several days, I've been thinking about how conducting these ensembles has changed me, and even shaped my personality.

You see, my personality is such that I'm a bit of introvert. Most days, I'm happy as can be to be hiding out in my office blogging, typing up e-mails, listening to music, reading scores, etc. I enjoy human interaction, but I also enjoy a lot of "me" time - time to read, think, and accomplish tasks.

Learning to be an excellent conductor, especially within the church setting, has taught me that the actual "get on the podium and conduct" part of the position is really just that, a small "part" of the job. Much of a conducting position is really all about building relationships and leading people. Having your musical "chops" together and conducting technique is extremely important, but it's just part of the equation. Those under your baton will not respect you if your not building your relationship with them on a regular basis. Lead out of love for them!

Tomorrow, I'll continue with Part 2.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Current churches we have been serving

2008-05-29T09:49:00.004-05:00

Over the last several weeks, we have been blessed to serve some current as well as some new clients. Here's a list of churches we have been working with:

Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City, OK
Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon, MS
Fellowship Reformed Church in Hudsonville, MI

With the summer upon us and Patriotic services being planned around July 4th, if we can be of service to you for arranging, transposition, transcription needs, please feel free to contact me. I am here to help and serve you in the local church.

Larry

ljones@mystaffarranger.com

(816) 729-3252

Take 5 Minutes (Post 11)

2008-05-27T13:49:00.005-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Making Music, not just playing an instrument (part 2)

In my Take 5 post last week, I mentioned that I believe the greatest musicians of all time strive to make music, to create a “magical moment,” and to communicate a message. The great musicians of the world have arrived at the place where they no longer are thinking about the technical aspects of their instrument. Instead, they sing through their instruments. They get into “the zone” and enter that freeing realm of true music making.

All of us can learn a lot from listening to some of these incredible musicians from both the past and present. Both vocalists and instrumentalists that I have enjoyed listening to and learning from include people like Wynton Marsalis, Josh Groban, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, James Galway, Andrea Bocelli, and even pop stars like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and even Kansas City’s own David Cook!

There is an incredible amount of recorded music and artists available to us, today that we really need to take advantage of listening and learning from these great artists.

Christian music star's daughter tragic death last night

2008-05-22T10:23:00.006-05:00

I came into the office this morning and heard about the tragic death of one of the adopted Chinese daughters of Steven Curtis Chapman. Apparently, Steve's older teenage son accidentally struck her sister with the family SUV.

Marie Sue (5) was hit in the driveway of the family's home on Wednesday afternoon. The brother apparently did not see his sister. The girl died later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN.

Our prayers go out to the Chapman family during their time of grief.

Steve's song Cinderella was inspired by Marie Sue and her sister. Check out the song video and back story below in this You Tube video:

Update: I also just discovered this additional video blog, giving us the opportunity to know a little more about Marie Sue and her dad's relationship.

Take 5 Minutes (Post 10)

2008-05-20T15:55:00.008-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Making Music, not just playing an instrument (part 1)

In my previous Take 5 post, I wrote about the various qualities that most of us think of when we consider what makes a great musician, qualities such as super talented, consistent, hard worker, etc.

I would make the case, however, that these qualities are just the starting point. The greatest musicians of all time strive to make music, to create a “magical moment,” and to communicate a message. The great musicians of the world have arrived at the place where they no longer are thinking about the technical aspects of their instrument. Instead, they sing through their instruments. They get into “the zone” and enter that freeing realm of true music making.

As church musicians, we have the greatest message in the world that needs to be communicated, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe all of us can strive to get beyond the notes and rhythms on our pages of music, and dig deeper to tell that story in a clear, powerful, and beautiful way!

Finding more musicians for your worship team

2008-05-19T14:01:00.012-05:00

What are you doing to find additional musicians for your worship team? Maybe you're at the point that you have a "deep" team with regulars and back-up members - that's great!

My experience has always been, though, that we have key positions within our teams that seem to "cycle through" on needing solid, competent musicians, positions such as drums, bass, rehearsal pianist, lead trumpet, etc.

In the past, I've tried using our church's weekly newsletter/bulletin to advertise these needs, but I have never had much success going in this direction.

In the last few weeks, I've seen an increase of interest in the instrumental groups here at our church. Here's what I'm attributing to this increase:

Prayer - never underestimate the power of prayer, asking the Lord to provide your needs
Word of Mouth - let others know what specific positions you're currently looking to fill
People Leverage - enlist others on your teams to make your case for what and who you need!
Follow up with potential musicians as fast as you can - it's vital to move quickly when you get contact information on potential musicians within your church. Move quickly on getting initial info and interest, but take your time on moving them within your groups to make sure they are a good fit!
Related to word of mouth, we are currently in the process at our church in developing an "Equipping" Ministry/culture within our church by offering "Finding Your Niche" classes. Within these classes, various volunteer position needs are discussed. These classes were begun in February, and just a few short months later, I'm beginning to see the fruit of this approach. It's pretty awesome!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 9)

2008-05-13T10:37:00.008-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Have you ever pondered what sets an incredible musician apart from an average musician?

Most of us would probably list qualities such as:

1. Super talented
2. Practices regularly and intelligently
3. Consistent; rarely has a “bad day”
4. Takes lessons; has a coach
5. Listens attentively to recordings, live performances of other great musicians

All of these qualities are very important and definitely play a big part in making a great musician, but I believe there is one final quality that super cedes all of these. I will cover this in my next Take 5 post!

Singer/Songwriter Dottie Rambo killed in tragic bus accident

2008-05-12T14:20:00.006-05:00

I was shocked to find out on Sunday morning that singer/songwriter Dottie Rambo was killed in a bus accident in the middle of the night here in the state of Missouri.

Two of her songs that we have done on a regular basis in our church are probably her more familiar songs: Behold the Lamb and We Shall Behold Him, but she's written thousands of others.

Here's a copy of the news release from the Singing News:

BOONE, NC(Singing News) - Singing News has confirmed that legendary singer/songwriter Dottie Rambo was killed in an early morning bus accident. Early reports indicate that the accident was weather-related, and that several other passengers aboard the bus were also injured. The family was notified early this morning that the accident happened near Mt. Vernon, Missouri. Manager Larry Ferguson is still unconscious and has two broken legs.

Updated Information from Missouri authorities on Dottie Rambo

At 2:19 a.m., Missouri State Troopers responded to the accident that took place on I-44, two miles east of Mt. Vernon, Missouri. According to the Troopers' report, the 1997 Prevost Dottie was traveling aboard ran off the roadway, struck the guard rail and an embankment. Dottie was pronounced dead at the scene by Lawrence County (Mo.) Coroner Don Lakin at 4:20 a.m.
Aboard the bus were Dottie's product manager Christopher Barnes, Larry & Judy Ferguson, their children Pierce and Christian, and driver Ronnie Meadows.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Intentional Worship Ideas from Access Elevation Church

2008-05-08T09:57:00.009-05:00

I just read a great blog post from the Access Elevation Church Blog regarding what they are doing to foster intentional worship experiences for their worship team. I thought the ideas were so good, I decided to place a copy of their post on my blog. Check it out!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Lately, the Worship Department has taken some simple steps to better invest in our musicians. We have not always done a good job at this, but we have found that a few small changes have made a big impact. Here are a few.

We have devotions during one of the worship experiences. Since every band member and singer is expected to sit through one sermon, that leaves three other 40 minute blocks of time at Providence and one at Butler that we have decided to use very intentionally. During one of the sermons, we will gather the band and singers together to share some Scripture, pray, cast vision and just see how their walk with God is going. It seems like a no-brainer, but it is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of Sundays that this can be forgotten very easily.

I already mentioned that every musician is expected to watch a sermon. We have taken that one step further and asked that the whole band goes to the same worship experience and sits together. It helps foster a sense of community within the group and prompts some good discussion afterwards.

There is intentional time during the week dedicated to writing thank you notes, commenting on people's Facebook pages, and just calling to see how things are going. It is amazing how far a simple thank you and genuine encouragement can go.

We have started a meeting that occurs every two months with all of the band and singers in order to cast vision. We want to tie their hearts to the vision of the church, not the Worship Department. We have only done this once so far, but it was a great success.

These few simple practices are reaping huge dividends in our ministry. Take these suggestions and see what works in your context. The key is to be intentional and not let the work of ministry keep us from caring for the ones who are doing it with us.

Wade Joye, Worship Pastor

The Vegetable Orchestra

2008-05-07T09:10:00.004-05:00

I saw this video clip on The Vegetable Orchestra a few weeks ago - pretty humorous and entertaining! Maybe this should be the future of the church orchestra?

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Follow up - What is the future of the church orchestra?

2008-05-06T09:23:00.005-05:00

In my post yesterday, I blogged about my opinion regarding the future of church orchestras. After I completed that post, I thought it would be a good idea to do a follow up post on why I have been pondering this question over the last few months.

If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that the church I currently serve in, has undergone some challenging difficulties and changes. Almost three years ago, we went through a nasty church split, and the entire culture of the church has shifted since that time. We've gone from more of a "white collar" to "blue collar" congregation. I'm not bemoaning this change; it's just interesting to note what has happened.

In this type of culture shift, you can definitely identify a change in musical/worship style tastes. A large choir and orchestra seemed to appeal well to our past culture, and we grew and thrived during that time period.

Back in January, we began a new contemporary worship service with band and young worship leader. There has been steady growth in this new service with a decline in the blended worship service. All the statistics and history with this type of change point in the direction that the contemporary service will overtake the blended service in attendance within a year. Support for choir and orchestra will probably wane.

For me, in this role at this church, the handwriting is probably on the wall for the future. My position is such a speciality, niche area. Thankfully, the Lord has given me desires and passions in the financial/stewardship area in which I can use to build up the kingdom!

What is the future of the church orchestra?

2008-05-05T13:25:00.006-05:00

"What is the future of the church orchestra?"

This is a question I have been thinking about quite a bit over the last several months. To be honest, I have no clue, but I suspect that church orchestras in general are on the decline.

In the picture to the left, you can see a standard bell curve. Almost every organization, product, system, etc. can be charted on a bell curve such as this. There is (almost) always a rapid rate of growth, zenith, and decline.

This is just my own theory, but I think church orchestras probably reached their zenith in the 1990s, and now we are on the downward slope of their decline. I believe there are a number of churches that will continue utilizing orchestras for many years to come (just as some churches continue to use pipe organs), but they will be in the minority, not the majority.

Here are my thoughts on why I believe this is occurring:

Church culture is changing; there is a season and purpose for everything. What worked in the past won't necessarily work in the future. Contemporary worship (i.e. small 5-6 piece band) seems to be the next great vehicle of worship for the 21st century. We can see this all the way through church history from A Capella music, Gregorian chant, pipe organ, some church orchestra music, piano only, piano and organ, etc. Now that I start listing these styles over history, the church orchestra is probably a cyclical worship style!
Decline in people that play band/orchestra instruments. In the past, I had a much easier time finding instrumentalists then I do, today. We can see this in the decline of music programs in the public schools. Maybe there's a direct correlation?
Rise in people that play rhythm section instruments - keyboards, guitars, drums, etc.
Decline in the sale of church music. It seems that many church music publishers have had a difficult time as of late due to declining sales. It's always been a small niche market, anyway.
Decline in blended worship attendance; rise in contemporary worship attendance.

I'm sure there are other indicators, but those are a few that I could come up with off the top of my head.

Even though instrumental church music/church orchestra is my primary vocation, I'm not necessarily bemoaning this fact. I just need to prepare myself mentally for the changes that are already present.

I'd love to hear what you think on this topic. Feel free to leave me a comment!

Comments on Finale Tips and Tricks

2008-05-01T09:13:00.003-05:00

In a previous post, I responded to my friend Jennifer's question regarding saving your score as a playback mp3 demo file.

Here was Jennifer's response to my blog post:

Hey Larry,

Thanks so much for the Finale tip on your blog. As it turned out,this week I had to make an orchestration for our Middle School production of "Bye, Bye, Birdie" for a song for which no track existed...I had never done a lift like this before, but I got busy and punched it out, checked your blog, made the CD of the playout and Presto - track produced in time for this afternoon's rehearsal and in plenty of time for Friday's opening night. (It is playing in the house as I write this note - my classroom is next to the Worship Center, it used to be the choir room) So we saved the day for the drama coach. Thanks, I would never have looked there for that process. And I really do like the "human playback" thing in Finale! Thanks again!!

Jennifer

Finale 2008 Tips and Tricks - adding multiple verses with lyric tool

2008-04-30T10:00:00.007-05:00

(Click on pics to enlarge)

Yesterday, I received a call from my good friend Phil up in Michigan. Phil likes to call me from time to time to ask me Finale questions, and I thought his question would be a good one for a Tips and Tricks blog post. OK, here we go!

Phil's, question: "How do I add multiple verses with the Lyric Tool?" Here's the process:

Click on the Lyric tool
Click on the Lyric menu
Select Specify Current Lyric
Start with verse 1, click OK, and go back to your score and enter all the lyrics for verse 1
Then, go back to #2, and specify verse 2
Continue this process until you have entered all verses.

One final note, you will probably need to adjust each line of verse lyric by using the arrow tools off to the left side of your screen.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Are you Twittering?

2008-04-29T10:15:00.002-05:00

For a number of weeks now, I have had a Twitter account, but I haven't seriously tried this application out. Over the last few days, though, I have decided to really try this social "marketing" tool out and see what it can do.

Short explanation of twittering: they are "mini-blog" type posts about what you are doing at certain times during the day, such as:

just woke up; preparing to go to work...

The key is that the tweets and twitters are short and sweet, without any real care for correct grammar, etc.

This is what I see in the beauty of twitter:

Let others know what is happening to you on a regular basis. You can post the humdrum to the dramatic.
You can twitter on the go with mobile phones, blackberry's, palms, etc. (I haven't really got this going quite yet).
You can stay up with other friends and acquaintances by checking out their tweets and twitters.

On the left side of my blog, check out my twitter updates.

You can also create your own free Twitter account at http://www.twitter.com/. If you do, come follow my world at https://twitter.com/larryjones2001.

Take 5 Minutes (Post 8)

2008-04-28T13:25:00.002-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Practicing (Part 5): Practicing Tools

In last week’s article, we discussed good practicing habits, and a few “tools of the trade” came up in our discussion. Here’s a list of the tools that I am aware of at the present time:

1. Metronomes
2. Tuners
3. “Silent Brass” system
4. Accompaniment Trax – warm-ups, technique builders, solos, etc.
5. Mechanical devices – example: B.E.R.P for brass instruments, mirrors, practice mutes, breathing apparatus, etc.
6. Educational videos
7. Software – SmartMusic Studio, Band-in-a-Box

If you’re interested in finding more tools that may be available for your instrument, I would encourage you to do Google searches, such as “Violin [or insert your instrument here] practice tools.”

Pandora.com

2008-04-22T13:00:00.002-05:00

I ran across this interesting website a few days ago: Pandora.com.

You can use this secular music site to help explain the type of sound you are seeking from your band or how to play certain genres of music. For every song that is played, Pandora provides a description of that style. Just click the song title. You can then use that same description to explain a particular sound to your band or to find new songs and music styles. For example, for the Foo Fighters song Learn To Fly from the album There Is Nothing Left To Lose, Pandora says that the Features Of This Song include hard rock roots, electric guitar wall-o-sound, repetitive melodic phrasing, extensive vamping, a vocal-centric aesthetic, major key tonality, and electric guitar riffs.

The next time I have a difficult time explaining a rhythm section song feel to my band, I'm heading straight to this site. It works!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

New Product - Direct Note Access

2008-04-21T13:32:00.003-05:00

This morning, I ran across a link to the video below featuring a new product called Direct Note Access. This product looks like a great tool for studio production.

Check out the video; it may be a product you can use at your church for studio recordings.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

American Idol - cool arrangements this season

2008-04-17T10:30:00.006-05:00

Over the last 3 seasons or so, both my wife and I have become American Idol fans, and this season has definitely been the best (in our opinion) due to the depth of talent from the majority of the contestants.

We have been especially impressed with David Cook who, we're happy to say, is a native of Blue Springs, MO. Blue Springs is in the Kansas City metro area where we currently live!

One thing that has impressed us with David is the musical arrangements he chooses or creates. Everything he chooses or creates always sounds like "him," stylistically. David's approach to his journey on Idol reminds me a lot of Daughtry 2 seasons ago. Vocally, they have similar sounds (although David Cook probably has a "cleaner" vocal sound) and they both always "stay true to themselves" as Paula always says.

This week on Idol, the contestants challenge was to pick a Mariah Carey song and actually be coached by Mariah. David chose "Always Be My Baby" which is a very "Pop" sounding arrangement as done by Mariah. David's arrangement (probably with the help of Idol staff writers) has a very hip, fresh, contemporary, alternative sound. David definitely hit a home run on Tuesday night! Way to go, David!

As an orchestrator/arranger, I also enjoyed the contemporary string writing for the live performance. The funny thing was, I actually noticed some techniques being employed that I have used for a couple of arrangements I wrote for Menlo Park Presbyterian this past fall.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 7)

2008-04-16T10:49:00.005-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Practicing (Part 4): Good Practicing Habits

In last week’s article, I discussed some of the bad practicing habits we pick-up, especially as younger instrumentalists. This week, we’re going to flip it around and replace those with better practicing habits, such as:

1. Isolate and work out problem spots instead of just playing through a song from beginning to end (think “IDI” – Isolate, Drill, Insert)
2. Fix mistakes immediately before they become ingrained in our memory
3. Practice with a minimum of distractions
4. Practice on purpose; have a focus and goals to achieve
5. Listen intensely to demo recordings for style, rhythms, pitch, tone, etc., then turn off the CD and play the music by yourself, so you can hear and identify problems

Take 5 Minutes (Post 6)

2008-04-08T11:26:00.004-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Practicing (Part 3): Bad Practicing Habits

When we were all young instrumentalists playing in school bands and orchestras, I’m sure that many of us had to fill out practice records for our directors in order to fulfill a practicing obligation. I know in my school, we had to put in at least 20-30 minutes a day for 5 days a week. In order to complete these assignments, I’m sure many of us just “put in our time” without really focusing on accomplishing specific tasks or goals to learn to play our instruments better. We developed bad practicing habits. Even though we’re adults, now, I’m sure many of us can still fall back into these practicing habits from time to time, habits such as:

1. Playing through our music from beginning to end.
2. Consistently practicing mistakes
3. Practicing with distractions (TV, radio, computer, family)
4. “Noodling around” without focus
5. Practicing (regularly) with demo recordings

Not all of these habits are necessarily wrong to do at a specific time for a specific reason (except for number #2!), but if this how we’re practicing on a normal basis, we won’t be using our practice time as effectively as we possibly can. Next week, we’ll discuss good practicing habits.

The Church of Oprah - an Idea Virus is spreading throughout the Christian world right now

2008-04-03T10:27:00.007-05:00

You may have already had someone send you this YouTube video link via e-mail. Yesterday, my wife received 5-6 emails alone from friends and family regarding this YouTube video about The Church of Oprah. This is seriously scary stuff. If you haven't seen this, yet, I would encourage you to watch the video below.

My wife has watched Oprah for years, and even subscribes to the O Magazine. My wife is discerning and totally understands and comprehends when the opinions she expresses on her talk show don't always "jive" with what we believe as born-again believers. I've always believed she was a "new ager" and never a true born-again believer, in spite of all the loving and generous things she does around the world to help needy people. Just remember that the Bible speaks of Satan as being an "angel of light." Hmmmm, that sounds familiar; anyone ever heard of The Angel Network!

Anyway, check out this video about Oprah, and pass the word on to other believers. Keep this Idea Virus moving!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Finale 2008 Tips and Tricks - Saving/converting your Finale score to an audio file

2008-04-02T11:02:00.010-05:00

(Click on embedded pics for a larger view)

Today's Finale tip is in response to a question from my friend Jennifer down in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Here's Jennifer's original question and my response:

"I know there must be a way to make a Finale file into an MP3 file or SOMETHING that one can put on a CD for a demo. I have done a couple of beginning band arrangements that I would love for my kids to take a CD home to practice with..."

Here are the steps to create an audio file from a Finale score:

Make sure your score is completely set-up the way you want it to sound on the recording, and using the playback feature, play the score a number of times to double check it.
From the File Menu, select "Save Special" and "Save as Audio File." (enlarge first picture)
A dialog box appears; I personally would choose the Compressed MP3 File so the file size is more manageable, then add a File Name to your score - be sure to select the file location where you want Finale to save your audio file to (enlarge second picture)
Save your audio file; it will take a few seconds for Finale to process this. The bigger the score, the longer this will take.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Musicnotes.com - source for digital sheet music

2008-04-01T11:35:00.003-05:00

My wife is a singer, and occasionally she is asked to sing for weddings or funerals.

Over the last couple of months, she has been asked to sing for 2 weddings, and she needed to get her hands on the sheet music for a couple of different songs in a short time frame.

After doing a couple of Google searches, I ran across a very helpful website for digital download sheet music. They seem to have both Christian and secular song titles.

Check this site out at MusicNotes.com.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Fixing off-beat rhythms in your choirs

2008-03-31T12:09:00.005-05:00

I've been watching an interesting e-mail/discussion board this morning on the topic of how to teach choirs to sing off-beat rhythms correctly.

Here seems to be the best overall advice I have gleaned from the discussion so far:

Only model the correct way. Don't fall into the trap of modeling the incorrect way, first, followed by the correct rhythm. This only confuses your choir.

Isolate the trouble spot and remove any extra things to think about (text and pitch come to mind).

Drill the rhythm adding back the removed elements one at a time; first add text, then pitch.

Insert back into the context of the piece.

This is excellent advice, and I think that most of it you can apply to your church instrumental groups as well.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 5)

2008-03-26T14:50:00.004-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Practicing (Part 2 – How should I warm-up?)

In Practicing, Part 1, I discussed the importance of adding a good warm-up to your regular practice routine. So, what constitutes a good warm-up? Here are some of my thoughts and ideas over the last 27 years:

1. Non-musical exercises – string players, it might be a good idea to do arm and hand stretching exercises. I even had a friend in music conservatory that ran his hands and arms under warm water to warm up the muscles. Wind players, it might be a good idea to do upper torso stretching and breathing exercises.

2. Long Tones – it’s always good to start out “low and slow” and not do anything too strenuous at the beginning of your warm-up time. Just take time to concentrate on your tone quality and get your muscles, embouchures, and breathing all working well from the start.

3. Scales and Arpeggios – it’s good to review scales and arpeggios during your warm-up time. I usually start low, playing my scales in one or two octaves, and then go through all the scales by half-steps. Not only am I reviewing scales and key signatures during this exercise, but I’m also working on my range, playing as high as possible.

4. Interval Exercises – it’s good ear training practice to play different interval exercises or studies. Many technique books are available out there to add variety to your routine. The exercises we do in the orchestra warm-ups are also a good way to get started.

5. Articulation Exercises - it’s good to practice exercises in which you play various types of articulations and/or bowings for the strings. Slurs, short notes, accents, triple and double tonguing, etc. You can also incorporate various types of articulation and bowing into your scales, arpeggios, and interval exercises. Be creative!

6. Melodic Studies – simple songs and chorales are a great way to focus on your musicianship. As you play these simple melodies, concentrate on your tone, vibrato, phrasing, dynamics, etc. Learn to “sing” through your instrument, and communicate a message as you play!

Sands Painting Video - creative Easter element

2008-03-25T10:00:00.006-05:00

In yesterday's post, I promised I would follow up today with more information on the Sands Painting Video that we ran for pre-service on Easter morning.

Our worship planning team ran across this video at the Willow Creek Association website.

Here's the description that they give on the video:

Ever draw in the sand? This unique video experience features Willow Creek’s Mark Demel doing just that. From Willow’s Easter service, this amazing combination of sand, light, and music not only opened the service, but drew multiple gasps and applause from the audience as each wave of Mark’s hands magically created another image of God’s love through creation and the cross.

This video is definitely worth checking out; Mark Demel is extremely talented and creative. Our church seemed to enjoy seeing for the opening of our own Easter service.

Check out the link to a full length sample of this video here provided by the Willow Creek Association.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Worship flow - worship testimonial

2008-03-24T13:08:00.005-05:00

Happy day after Easter! I sure many of us in the church worship community are pretty worn out today after a busy, stressful Easter Sunday. After our 2 church services yesterday, my family and I went out to dinner, and then after we got home, I practically passed out for a 2 1/2 hour nap!

Our blended worship service went well, yesterday, but we had a number of musical and technical challenges. One item I believe we may have struggled with was the flow of the service. The flow was really rough only near the opening of the service. Here was the order of our Easter blended service:

PRESERVICE - Power Point/Video Show (end w/Prayer Card/SAND video-6 minutes Note: I'll share more on this video in tomorrow's post)
EASTER SONG (orchestra prelude)
BAPTISM
MAN OF SORROWS - Paul & Jesse Land w/video and CO
CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN TODAY (G3 worship arrangement)
WELCOME - Pastor
HAPPY DAY (G3 Worship)
DAY THREE
PRAYER - Associate Pastor Charles Funderburk
THE STONE’S BEEN ROLLED AWAY
SERMON - HOW TO BE CERTAIN YOU’RE GOING TO HEAVEN John 3:16
INVITATION - JUST AS I AM (H 342)
OFFERING - ALL HEAVEN DECLARES (Praischarts)
CLOSING REMARKS - Pastor
CLOSING CHORUS - HAPPY DAY

OK, this is where I think we disrupted the flow, yesterday:

The pre-service "Sands Video" was worshipful and "down" in nature.
We immediately went into a high-energy, fast moving orchestra prelude.
Next, we had 2 baptisms.
Then, we went back down to a beautiful, worshipful, slow, "down" arrangement of Man of Sorrows
Then, we went back up and stayed up with Christ the Lord Is Risen Today.

If I could go back to yesterday morning, I would have gone with my gut instinct and dropped the prelude. It wasn't really needed and disrupted the flow of the service at the beginning.

You may be asking, "Larry, if you had a gut instinct to drop the prelude, why didn't you?" Hey, I'm glad you asked! Here were the reasons I didn't drop it:

The orchestra had worked really hard on this prelude for a number of weeks.
The orchestra has not played a prelude for a number of months, due to changes in our worship service. I felt it was a good idea to feature the orchestra on a big Sunday.
I wanted to challenge the orchestra, musically, on a difficult arrangement.

Looking back on these reasons, I should have dropped the prelude from the order of service.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

The Worship Community

2008-03-20T13:45:00.003-05:00

Are you looking for a forum to discuss worship related subjects? Topics such as technical issues, contemporary worship, songwriting, conferences, and many others?

If so, I would encourage you to visit The Worship Community.

Just visit their site, sign-up for free, and join the discussion!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 4)

2008-03-19T10:26:00.004-05:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Practicing (Part 1 - Importance of a good warm-up)

Warming up is the most important part of practicing any instrument. Practicing and warming up on a very regular basis (4-7 times a week) is a great way to become more consistent on your instrument.

Here are some excellent reasons for incorporating a good warm-up into your regular practice routine:

to avoid injury
to improve endurance
to improve range
to improve tone quality
to improve intonation
to improve technique

Finale 2008 Tips and Tricks - Adding an audio track (part 2)

2008-03-18T09:49:00.009-05:00

In my last post, I discussed the process of adding an audio track to your Finale score, one of the great new features in Finale 2008.

I mentioned in that post that I would follow up with how to adjust the tempo of your score to line-up with your audio track.

Here's the process to get your score and audio track to line-up for playback purposes:

In the View Menu, select "Studio View."

Determine the overall tempo of your audio track, and place that tempo in the Playback Controls toolbar.

Select the "Tempo Tool" (icon: old fashioned metronome).

Click on the measure(s) in which your score tempo is not quite lining-up with your audio track. You may need to do a little experimenting on what tempo to insert, but the end result will be worth it to hear your score against the audio track.

One final comment: click on the picture in this post to enlarge and see my comments and location of the toolbars.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Finale 2008 Tips and Tricks - Adding an audio track

2008-03-12T15:44:00.009-05:00

Finale 2008 has this cool new feature that allows you to add an audio track to your score! This past week, I was given an Easter writing project that was an original arrangement of the hymn "Man of Sorrows," also know as "What a Savior." There was a recording of a guitar player with two vocalists, and they wanted an orchestration to accompany the song.

I knew this new add audio feature was present in Finale 2008, but I never had the opportunity to try it out. I felt this project was the perfect opportunity, so I loaded the audio file into my score, went to "Studio View," made some changes to the tempos of the score to match the audio file, and away I went in writing an orchestration that lined up with the audio file. It worked perfectly, and I was even able to export a demo recording of the orchestration with the original audio recording.

OK, so here are the steps to accomplish this in Finale 2008:

Create your orchestra score.
In the "View" menu, select "Studio View."
In the "Midi/Audio" menu, select "Audio Track," then "Load audio."
Load your audio file to your score

Once you have loaded your audio into your score, the next challenge will be getting score and audio to line up, which means altering tempos in your score. More on that in my next Finale Tips post.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Client Testimonial - Good Friday Project

2008-03-10T10:00:00.005-05:00

I just completed a quick original cello part for an arrangment to the hymn O Sacred Head, Now Wounded for my friend Anton Nel over at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. Here was Anton's reaction:

Hi Larry,I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE the part. So tasteful. The intro line is just perfect - I will not touch a thing. Thank you so much for autographing your work with quality once again.

Regards,

Anton

No matter how big or small your project is, we're here to help!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Bad day at the office

2008-03-07T09:23:00.006-06:00

Someone turned me on to this hilarious video yesterday about a bad day at the office and computer problems. I myself have been dealing with computer problems over the last few days at home and at work, and I can definitely relate to the frustration. Hope you enjoy it!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

(Click on link below to view the video)

glumbert - Bad Day at the Office

News you can use: iLevite - Sign-up for FREE

2008-03-06T11:26:00.006-06:00

A new free, web based resource for church music and worship leaders is about to launch their first publication on March 15.

See Bill Rayborn's ad below for more information.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

ESPECIALLY FOR CHURCH MUSIC & WORSHIP LEADERS

iLevite will be published on March 15. Now is the time to become a CHARTER SUBSCRIBER!

iLevite will bring you the latest news and articles especially for those in church music and worship. It's FREE and there is no commitment. You may unsubscribe at any time!

Sign up for a FREE subscription:

To subscribe just go to <http://email.ilevite.com> and sign in. Totally free and no strings attached.

Finale (church) music files for purchase

2008-03-04T15:58:00.008-06:00

A few weeks ago, a worship associate at a church in California e-mailed me the following question:

Do you know of any church music websites that sell original Finale files?

The only answer I could give him was praisecharts.com.

Buying original, editable Finale arrangement files directly from the publisher is a great resource for the worship associate that is fairly proficient at Finale. I truly believe this is the future for music publishing. Orchestra directors and worship associates desire more control and flexibility with the arrangements that are currently available.

Here are the benefits that I can see:

The ability to merge multiple Finale files together to form flowing worship medleys.

The ability to change keys.

The ability to edit individual instrument parts to meet your individual orchestra member's ability.

The ability to add additional instrumentation to the score.

The ability to alter the arrangement itself - chord changes, add or subtract verses, choruses, transitions, etc.

I'm glad to see that Praisecharts.com is on the forefront of this trend, and I hope some of the more independent music publishers, such as G3 worship, will begin selling their Finale files as well.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Great News - A Very Early Easter

2008-03-04T09:48:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, March 23rd, we are all about to experience a historical event - one of the earliest Easter Sundays that is possible in a lifetime. In fact, because of the manner of how the calendar works, children born after this March 23rd will never experience an Easter quite this early in their own lifetime.

Here's an article from Bob Burroughs from the latest edition of Monday Morning Email www.mondaymorningemail.com, explaining how this year's early Easter came about. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

For those of us who like to know trivia---

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring
Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar
calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves
around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) than
it will be this year (2008) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our
lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this
early previously (95 years old or above!) And none of us have ever, or will
ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228
(220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're
95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year
2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no
one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than that.

Take 5 Minutes (Post 3)

2008-03-03T09:01:00.004-06:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Tuning/Intonation (part 3)

Last week, in Part 2 about tuning, we discussed how regular practicing, knowledge of your instrument’s unique pitch problems, and use of a tuner can benefit us as musicians. Tonight, we will look at what we should be listening for within the ensemble itself.

Piano Pitch – obviously, we tune against the piano on a regular basis for a couple of different reasons. First, the nature of most blended worship music is piano driven. The piano has been designated the primary instrument in many of these types of arrangements, so we must fall in line with the piano pitch. Second, the piano tuning is extremely inflexible compared to the rest of us. It’s easier for the rest of us to tune to the piano then for the piano to tune to us!

Within your section - once you have matched pitch against the piano, it’s then good to listen “up” to your section leader to make sure you’re matching them.

Within your instrument family - members of the brass family should all be listening to the 1st trumpet player for pitch and style, strings should listen to the concertmaster, and woodwinds should listen to the first flute, etc.

Low instruments – it’s also a good idea to listen around you to the low instruments such as electric bass, upright bass, tuba, cellos, and trombones. The reason for this is due to the Overtone Series – the lower the note, the more overtones it contains. It’s a very scientific study we won’t go into, but just be aware that mid-range and higher pitched instruments can benefit from listening around the room to the lower instruments.

Within your range – listen around the room to other instruments in the same pitch range. For example, flutes and violins listening to one another. French horn, clarinet, viola listening to their pitch, and also trombones and cellos, etc.

Take 5 Minutes (Post 2)

2008-02-29T15:59:00.002-06:00

Today, I continue with another installment from my orchestra newsletter series Take 5. Enjoy

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 – Tuning/Intonation (part 2)

Last week, in Part 1 about tuning, we discussed the various effects that room temperature, instrument temperature, warming up, and instrument maintenance can have on your overall pitch. There are many other factors that can affect your pitch on a regular basis. Here are some other factors to consider:

Regular practice. The only way that we can keep our embouchures firm and fingers/arms in shape is if we’re playing on a regular basis. Even if you just warm-up for 10-15 minutes for 4-5 days a week, your pitch will be more consistent. This, of course, is all in addition to our Wednesday night and Sunday morning rehearsal times (cramming doesn’t count! :))
Know your instrument. Woodwind and brass instruments all have unique pitch problems; string players all have pitch challenges in different positions, especially as you get higher on the fingerboard. I would highly recommend purchasing or borrowing a tuner; then spend time practicing at home, checking various notes on your instrument against the tuner. Don’t stare at it constantly, though. Not only will that make you crazy, but you will constantly be adjusting, which is not necessarily the desired result.
Check tuning notes with a tuner. Using a tuner to check your pitch before rehearsals and services is always a good idea to give you a general idea if you are sharp or flat. Just remember, though, that this is not a “set it and forget it” solution!
Monitor the temperature on a regular basis. Blowing warm air into wind instruments will help during long stretches of rest. String players should keep their hands, fingers, and arms warm and flexible during periods of inactivity. There’s an old saying, “Keep your horn warm and your reed wet!.”

String section ratios

2008-02-27T10:26:00.006-06:00

Over the last several days, I've been watching an interesting e-mail group discussion with my fellow Metro Instrumental Directors. This discussion has revolved around the question:

"When you guys hire in string players for big productions, what

ratio/balance do you shoot for in the string sections?"

Here's some of the key ideas I've gleaned from this discussion:

If the sections are going to be small, be sure to go with 3 players instead of 2. Odd numbers of players help cancel out pitch, vibrato, and overtone problems associated with an even number of players. Once the sections get larger, though, this becomes a non-issue.
If you do hire outside players to help fill out your string section, be sure to give preferential treatment to your regular volunteer orchestra members - have them sitting up at the front of each section. This helps tremendously with orchestra morale issues.
A good number of string players that some instrumental directors have found to work really well is the following combination:

4 1st Violins, 4 2nd Violins, 4 Violas, 4 Cellos, 3 Upright (Arco) Bass

or this combination:

6 1st Violins, 6 2nd Violins, 4 Violas, 4 Cellos, 3 Upright (Arco) Bass

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 Minutes (Post 1)

2008-02-26T15:48:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago, I started an orchestra newsletter series with my church orchestra called "Take 5." The main point of this new series is to take 5 minutes during rehearsal time to discuss important musical concepts that we all need reminders about.

So, as we go through 2008, I'll be posting my orchestra "Take 5" series each week. I hope you enjoy these posts!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Take 5 - Tuning/Intonation (Part 1)

Most people think that tuning their instrumental ensemble is as simple as pulling out an electronic tuner, playing a few notes, and doing what the tuner tells you to do. The reality is that while this is a starting point there are many more items that have to be considered in your ensemble's tuning ritual.

Remember these simple tips:

Different instruments react in different ways to heat and cold. If the venue your group is performing in is very cool to begin with and heats up as the night goes on, your instruments (especially brass, percussion, and woodwind instruments) will get more and more sharp as they heat up.
Some instruments (especially brass and woodwinds) must warm up through normal playing for at least ten minutes before they will remain on a stable pitch. If you tune your sax player as soon as his horn comes out of the case and then tune again ten minutes into his warm up you will often find a difference of as much as 10-20 cents (cents are the units by which frequencies are measured in music).
Your instruments MUST be clean and well maintained. String instruments must have good strings and their tuning gear mechanisms must be adjusted to hold the tension properly. Woodwind instruments must have their pads in good condition and their key heights properly adjusted as well as using a clean mouthpiece and good quality reed. Brass instruments should be cleaned regularly with warm soapy water inside and out (note: never wash a woodwind instrument). Not only does a clean horn play better in tune, it also plays easier! Also watch for dents in the tubes. A dent that blocks more than one quarter of the tube must be removed, especially if the dent is in the first few inches after the mouthpiece.
Once these three things have been taken into account you should be able to use an electronic tuner to adjust the instruments to the correct group pitch.

When You Have Two Good Choices

2008-02-25T11:31:00.006-06:00

When I arrived at the office this morning, I read the following article from Monday's regular ChurchStaffing.com newsletter. With my continuing discussion about God's Will, I though this article was appropriate for when you have more than one choice to choose between as related to God's "perfect" will and being in the "center" of His will. I hope you enjoy the article.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

When You Have Two Good Choices
by Ray Pritchard

An email arrived from a friend with a question that came up during a discussion time with some young women--most of them in their early 20s. All the young women are single. Here is the question that came up during the discussion:

"How do you make decisions in life when both roads seem to be good?" We were talking about having a "willing spirit", and I asked them if there was anything God was asking them to do and if their answer would be yes to whatever he was asking of them. Some of them are faced with future decisions and not sure how to come about with making those decisions, especially like I said before that both roads seem good. I think they just don't want to make a "wrong" decision. Thoughts?

This is a nice kind of question compared to a lot of things people ask me. The real answer is that with the Lord, when your heart is truly willing and open, there are no "wrong" decisions. Sometimes we get hung up on doing the "perfect" will of God and being in the "center" of his will. While I understand what those phrases mean, they are not describing a biblical perspective. The truth is, you can't know in advance how your decisions will turn out. Sometimes (often) we choose to go in one direction only to find out later that it didn't work out the way we expected. And sometimes we seem to foul up only to discover that God uses that difficult time to deepen our walk with him and ultimately to get us where he wants us to be.

The only thing God wants from us is an open heart to do his will. And if our hearts are open, when faced with two "good" choices, and when we have prayed, meditated, studied Scripture, considered the circumstances, weighed the pros and cons and sought godly counsel, when all of that is true and both options still seem good to you, well then, just close their eyes, take a deep breath, and then go and do whichever one you prefer. After all, God is perfectly able to lead us forward when we are willing to be led.

Sometimes we waste enormous energy seeking something God never promised. We want a guarantee. We want to know it's all going to work out. We want all the uncertainty taken away. After preaching on this a few years ago, a man came up and said, "What you're saying is, 'We've still got to choose.'" Bingo! We've still got to choose. It's going to be Wisconsin or Washington, dental school or the Army, Georgia Tech or Wheaton, Mike or John Mark, an SUV or a Mini-Cooper, a Mac or a PC, buying a new house or fixing up the one you have. You choose this doctor and that treatment and not some other doctor or some other treatment. And so it goes through all the decisions of life.

Knowing God's will can never remove the uncertainty--nor should it. The uncertainty is good for us because it keeps us trusting and praying, it keeps us from being overly self-confident.

When your heart is right and you are faced with two good choices, take either one you like. And trust God with the result. If the heart is willing, the decisions of life will take care of themselves because God will direct your steps exactly where he wants you to be.

Final word. It all goes back to your view of God.

Is he sovereign?
Is he good?
Can I trust him?

It's not about your decisions, and it's not about your future, and it's not even about you. It's all about God. When we start from that perspective, we can make our decisions even in times of doubt and uncertainty, and we can sleep well at night knowing that our God will put all the pieces together in exactly the right way.

Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries and author of And When You Pray. He has ministered extensively overseas and is a frequent conference speaker and guest on Christian radio and television talk shows. He has authored over 27 books, including Credo, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, An Anchor for the Soul, and Why Did This Happen to Me?

Please Click Here to visit Ray's Crosswalk.com blog.

TrafficJam.com

2008-02-21T10:04:00.003-06:00

I just found out about a great new site and resource that contains relevant, popular links to a variety of different blogs in the blogosophere.

If you want to read more about worship, music, and religious information, go on this new site and click on that specific category ranking in the upper right 'box' on TrafficJam.com. You can also type in a search such as "worship" and find all sorts of interesting blog posts.

Head on over to www.trafficjam.com and check it out!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

What's that in your hand?

2008-02-20T09:37:00.002-06:00

Over the last several weeks, I've been discussing God's Will for our lives and will probably continue the topic for the remainder of the year. I ran across this great article, somewhat related to this topic, written by Dan Miller, who is a Christian career counselor and author of 48 Days to the Work You Love and No More Mondays. I think you'll enjoy this.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Remember when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush? God told Moses he wanted him to go back to Egypt and lead the people out to the promised land. Moses looked and said – “You’ve got to be kidding – I’m not the person for a job like that.” God assured Moses he would prepare the way and he would provide some pretty convincing miracles. Still Moses had a hard time believing he was up to the task. He pleaded – “I can’t speak well, I don’t have a college degree, I’m a convicted felon – please, send anyone else!”

Now here we have someone with an obvious opportunity. Wouldn’t you like for God to lay out such a clear plan for you; and to promise success in advance. That wasn’t good enough for Moses. He kept trying to convince God he didn’t have any of the necessary requirements for accomplishing this big job. Moses said “they won’t believe me. I don’t have anything to qualify me for doing something great.” God said, “What is that in your hand?” If you don’t remember, it was his shepherd’s staff, which turned out to be a pretty significant part of his leadership. He turned it into a snake, parted the Red Sea with it and did some other pretty cool stuff.

If you think you’re stuck, don’t have any unusual talents, don’t have the right degrees, and don’t have the credibility to have people take you seriously – let me ask you a question: “What do you have in your hand?” What natural talents do you have? What is it that you do with excellence? Do you make beautiful candles? Delicious bread? Encourage the elderly? Grow stunning flowers? Handle your children with grace? You get the idea – just look at what you have right in front of you.

-from Dan Miller's newlsetter
www.48days.com

God's Will is not always a mystery (part 6)

2008-02-19T10:29:00.009-06:00

In my quiet time, I'm still working through my Scripture study on the subject/concept of God's will. Even though it's still incomplete, here's what I've gleaned so far - I've been working through the New Testament passages dealing with God's will, and the specific ideas so far seem to be pretty cyclical or repetative, such as:

Praying for God's will to be accomplished on earth (Matt. 6:10, Luke 11:2)
Doing God's will (or obedience) is evidence or "fruit" of your relationship with Christ (Matt 7:21; Matt. 12:50, Matt. 21:31, Mark 3:35)
Praying/asking for things according to His will (Matt 8:2-3, Mark 1:40-41, Luke 5:12)
God listens to those who do His will (John 9:31)
Salvation is God's will for mankind (Matt. 18:14, John 6:39-40)
God's will is more important than my own will [i.e. surrender] (Matt. 26:39 & 42, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, John 5:30, John 6:38)
My sustenance (food) is to do God's will and finish His work (John 4:34)

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Aviom In-Ear Monitors

2008-02-18T14:11:00.005-06:00

Over the last several days, I've been observing a discussion on my Metro Instrumental Director's e-mail list, regarding in-ear monitors.

For our orchestra here at First Baptist, Raytown, MO, we use the Aviom A-16 system for our rhythm section only (conductor, piano, keys, guitar, bass, and drums). The rest of the instrumentalists just have hot spot monitors controlled from a monitor board and separate engineer.

I have really grown to love my Aviom system. The features I like (for me) is the ability to send click tracks to control tempos with the rhythm section. I also like the ability to talk to the rhythm section through a separate microphone line.

One thing you do need to be cautious of is wearing one ear in and one ear out. This can cause permanent hearing damage because of the tendency to turn up the volume in one ear when listening to ambient sound in the other ear. A better solution would be to have an ambient mic line to pick-up the room sound, enabling you to wear both ears "in."

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Announcing another blog...Stupid With Zeros

2008-02-15T13:52:00.009-06:00

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you have probably already figured out that personal finances is one of my other serious interests other than church music.

Over the last 2-3 weeks, I have been busy putting together an additional blog devoted to personal finances. I'm pleased to announce that my new blog is now open for viewing at

Stupid With Zeros...

There's a smarter way to do personal finances

If you're interested in personal finances and how to be a better money manager, swing on over to my new blog. See you there.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Stupid With Zeros Blog

More Conductor Humor

2008-02-14T12:07:00.003-06:00

A few days ago, I received this list of Eugene Ormandy quotes that are pretty funny. I hope I haven't said ridiculous stuff like this in front of my orchestra! Enjoy and share with your friends!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Eugene Ormandy Quotes

Eugene Ormandy was one of the most famous conductors in history. From 1938
until 1980, he served as musical director for the Philadelphia Orchestra. He
became famous for his inspired direction and style...and also for his verbal
blunders. These remarks, made by Ormandy, were collected by the Philadelphia
Orchestra.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Congratulations to each and every one of you for the concert last night in
New York and vice versa."

"Thank you for your cooperation and vice versa."

"Who is sitting in that empty chair?"

"I'm conducting slowly because I don't know the tempo."

"I conduct faster so you can see my beat."

"I cannot give it to you, so try to watch me."

"I was trying to help you, so I was beating wrong."

"I am thinking it right but beating it wrong."

"I told him he'd have a heart attack a year ago, but unfortunately he lived
a year longer." -- On the occasion of the death of David Oistrakh.

"The next movement is still in the factory."

"Think of your girlfriend or boyfriend or whomever you want to."

"Suddenly I was in the right tempo -- but it wasn't."

"I can conduct better than I count."

"Why do you always insist on playing while I'm trying to conduct?"

"Even when you are not playing you are holding me back."

"Don't ever follow me, because I am difficult."

"It is not as difficult as I thought it was, but it is harder than it is."

"The notes are right, but if I listened they would be wrong."

"I wrote it the right way, so it was copied the wrong way right. I mean the
right way wrong."

"At every concert I've sensed a certain insecurity about the tempo. It's
clearly marked 80...uh, 69."

"It is not together, but the ensemble is perfect."

"Someone came too sooner."

"Start beforty-two."

"Start three bars before something."

"Start at B. Yes. No. Yes. No."

"Did you play? It sounded very good."

"After two minutes after this time, and I am already there."

"This is one bar you should take home."

"Something went wrong. It was correct when I studied it."

"That's the way it was every time I studied it."

"There was confusion since I stood here 35 years ago."

"During the rests -- pray."

"It has no rhythm, but it will because it's so much faster."

"I don't get into politics, general or musical, but just call me if you get
jury duty. Even in New Jersey I was able to help somebody."

"It's hot as hell as can be."

"Watch me closely -- only one can spoil it."

"It's so legato it's difficult to splice. Sibelius was famous for that."

"I can see none of you are smugglers; that's why it's so loud."

"We do not know when he is coming. He is coming tomorrow."

"We have to play it longer because there are no numbers or letters."

"Don't think you are looking at me because you are not."

"He was listening so I don't remember."

"I know this music from memory, not from the music."

"I always feel I do it too slow, but then others do it faster."

"Beauty is less important than quality."

"There is a number missing. I can see it."

"That was perfect. It was just the opposite from what I said yesterday."

"Yes, the mutes are already on. You took them off in the beginning."

"Why do you always start after my beat then rush to catch up? Do you want us
to stay behind?"

"Tonight I'm going to listen with my ears."

"Muti is going to do the Alpine Symphony this year. He will do it well
because it is not very well known."

"Death is an awful thing. I don't believe in it myself."

"Bizet was a very young man when he composed this symphony, so play it
softly."

"Write it down in your own handwriting."

"Let's start at 35 because I don't know where it is."

"If you don't have it in your part, leave it out, because there is enough
missing already."

"More basses, because you are so far away."

"I need one more bass less."

"Long note? Yes. Make it seem short."

"Brass, stay down all summer."

"Accelerando means in tempo. Don't rush."

"It's difficult to remember when you haven't played it before."

"We can't hear the balance yet because the soloist is still on the
airplane."

"Please follow me because I have to follow him and he isn't here."

"Without him here, it is impossible to know how fast he will play it,
approximately."

"With us tonight is William Warfield, who is with us tonight. He is a
wonderful man, and so is his wife."

"Bizet was a very young man when he composed this symphony, so play it
soft."

"Mahler wrote it as the third movement of his Fourth Symphony. I mean the
fourth movement of his First Symphony. We play it third. The trumpet solo
will be played by our solo trumpet player. It's named 'Blumine,' which has
something to do with flowers."

"That's the way Stravinsky was. Bup, bup, bup, bup. The poor guy's dead now.
Play it legato."

"Serkin was so sick he almost died for three days."

"It's all very well to have principles, but when it comes to money you have
to be flexible."

"I mean what I meant."

"I never say what I mean, but I always manage to say something similar."

"Let me explain what I do here. I don't want to confuse you any more than
absolutely necessary."

"I don't mean to make you nervous, but unfortunately I have to."

"Percussion, a little louder." / "We don't have anything." / "That's right,
play it louder."

HP Office Orchestra

2008-02-14T11:56:00.003-06:00

I saw this humorous video today of an HP commerical called HP Office Orchestra. All the conductors will enjoy it!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Cart Me, Baby, One Last Time!

2008-02-13T11:21:00.010-06:00

OK, I want to finish up this current thread on our orchestra cart system with one final post about my conductor cart.

The main challenge our tech director had with this one was the fact that I needed so many things to go on this cart. So, he just constructed a large, flat, rolling base with 2 side handles. Then we just loaded my cart down with everything I needed, and it worked perfectly!

In the picture above (click on it for a larger view), you can see everything I need to direct on a weekly basis. In the middle of the cart, you see a raised box platform for me to stand on, and then from left to right moving in a semi-circle around my podium we have the following necessary equipment:

Digital clock (on the cart floor) to keep track of time.
Yamaha ClickStation. I use this as a click track to give tempos in-ear to my rhythm section.
TV monitor on a slanted stand. I use this to read our choir prompter for lyrics and cues.
My music stand with stand light.
Aviom personal in-ear mixer station. Love it; can't live without it!
Finally, a stool to sit on if I have a moment to rest my legs.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Cart Me, Baby, Again!

2008-02-12T10:43:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote this post and displayed a couple of pictures of our newly constructed moveable orchestra carts to aid in the transition from blended worship service to contemporary worship service (this is a 15 minute turnaround time!).

That post has generated a little bit of interest out in the church music blogosphere, so I thought I would create another post with a few more pics of some of our additional carts: harp and rhythm section. I apologize in advance for the dark rhythm section pics. Enjoy!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

God's Will is not always a mystery (part 5)

2008-02-07T11:04:00.000-06:00

In a previous post, I had mentioned that I was taking the next several months to do an indepth study in the Word and other books concerning God's will.

Over the last few weeks, I did a word search on the word "will" as it is used in Scripture, specifically related to the will of God. I found out some interesting facts.

In the Old Testament, God's will as a concept is mentioned only 6 times!
In the New Testament, God's will is mentioned approximately 60 times! In the New Testament we have an increase of 10 times over the Old Testament.

Here's my hypothesis or theory of this massive shift in the emphasis on God's will between the Old and New Testament.

In the Old Testament, the Nation of Israel learned God's will through prophets, the High Priest, Judges, then Kings. Jehovah spoke to individual leaders through direct revelation.
In the New Testament, we have a major shift with the priesthood of the believer as the focal point of discerning God's will. Because the Holy Spirit indwells each believer through the atonement of Christ, we have to each discern as individuals what His will is for our lives through the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Of course, we always use Scripture as the foundation of discerning His will.

I welcome your comments, questions, and theories below!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

What exciting things are happening in your church right now?

2008-02-06T11:14:00.000-06:00

For those of you that have been reading my blog for a while, you're aware of my church's situation over the last two and a half years. We've gone through a messy church split and over this time, we have still seen God at work in spite of the circumstances. The biggest challenges we have had are church attendance and finances. Over the last couple of months, though, we have seen some encouraging signs. Here's a rundown of what has been happening:

We are off to a great start the last 3 weeks with the launch of our 2 worship services, 3 Bible Study hours, and Kids, Inc. (children's church).
Our combined worship attendance between our blended and contemporary services has been consistently over 2,000 for the last several weeks.
Jesse, our young contemporary worship leader, and our new contemporary worship band are doing an incredible job.
Our Bible Study average is going back up once again, around 1,700.
The numbers in our Fitness Center are just incredible. In the month of January, our fitness center has signed up over 500 people! That number right there just blows my mind (our fitness center has been open now for 3 years, and it has had many challenges to overcome during this time).
I feel blessed to be able to coordinate Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I have people contacting me daily to sign-up. I’ll probably have at the very least 20-30 families going through this life changing course.

As you can see, exciting things are happening in our church right now! As a staff, we feel that momentum is definitely building once again in our church. The year 2008 looks to be an incredible year in the life of First, Raytown!

Feel free to leave some comments and let me know what the Lord is doing in your church.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Choir and Orchestra Retreats

2008-02-05T13:06:00.000-06:00

I've been watching an interesting e-mail discussion today on my Metro Instrumental Directors e-mail list regarding choir and orchestra retreats. When we use the word retreats, what we mean is taking 1-2 days over a weekend (such as a Friday night and Saturday morning) to hold a concentrated time of rehearsal, prayer, spiritual teaching, and social activities. Many times these retreats would revolve around an upcoming large event, such as a Christmas production.

Here are some of the interesting points I've gleaned from this e-mail discussion, as well as my own experience with retreats:

Make sure they are focused and purpose driven. Orchestra and choir members are not going to necessarily commit to a retreat unless there is a Big reason to do it (again, such as a Christmas or Easter production, concert, recording, etc.)
Choir retreats should have a lot of activities that are social in nature.
Choir retreats are easier to pull off. If two-thirds of the choir show-up with good representation in all 4 sections, you can have quality, meaningful rehearsals.
Orchestra retreats are more difficult to pull off. You probably need a turn out of 80-90% to make it a worth while time for everyone.
Orchestra retreats need to be geared with more playing time than fellowship time. Instrumentalists just seem to have a mindset of let's "play until I bleed!"
Even though instrumentalists may want to play more than socialize, still build in activities that cover the social and spiritual needs as well.
Both orchestra and choir retreats are becoming more and more difficult to accomplish, due to member's work, social, and family schedules (I personally can testify to this point). Our world is moving so fast right now, that it is getting more and more difficult to do events like this.
Retreats (at least for orchestra) are better held in your own rehearsal space or at least a well-equipped band or orchestra room off site, due to equipment considerations (such as chairs, stands, amps, rhythm equipment, percussion equipment, etc.)
If you decide to hold a retreat, be sure to give everyone at least 2 months lead time to plan schedules around the date.
Bringing in a guest artist or clinician can help get members to attend the retreat.

I hope you've found this list helpful. If you would like to add additional points or join the discussion, feel free to add your comments below.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Financial Peace University is coming to our church!

2008-02-04T10:58:00.000-06:00

Money and personal finances are my second personal passion and misson next to music and worship. Over the last 18 months, I've become known as the church staff expert in personal finances because my wife and I have been aggressively working the Dave Ramsey baby steps over the last 2 years. You can "see" my debt free scream post here.

In the last 6 months, I've been working with our Director of Education to get Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University as a class offering, and I'm happy to announce that we're well underway to holding preview meetings and signing people up within the church and outside the church. Our first class will be on Sunday, February 24.

I am so blessed to be my church's FPU coordinator and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do within and also outside our church with this great program.

Debt free, working on Baby Step #3 (Emergency Fund of 3-6 months expenses), and loving it!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Finale 2008 Tips and Tricks - adding staves to a previously created score

2008-02-01T13:04:00.000-06:00

Last week, my boss programmed for last Sunday morning an older arrangement that we used to play on Sunday evenings. A number of years ago, I had written a 3 horn arrangement (trumpet, sax, bone) to go with the initial piano/rhythm chart that worked extremely well. I had the thought that I could easily expand the arrangement for full orchestra without investing an incredible amount of time into the orchestration.

In Finale, there's a couple of ways to accomplish this task:

Construct a new score, then copy and paste the trumpet, sax, and bone parts from the original charts.
Or, take the original 3 horn score, and easily add new staves to create a full orchestra score. This method is a little quicker.

OK, so how do you accomplish this addition of new staves into an already created score? I'm glad you asked! Here's the process:

Open up your previous Finale score.

Select the staff tool.

Click on the Staff Menu.

Select New Staves (with Setup Wizard)

Add the instrumentation that you need.

Once Finale has added your new staves, you can use the small handles at the beginning of the staves to move staves around in score order, then respace the staves using the Staff Menu.

Larry
MystaffArranger.com

Client Testimonial

2008-01-31T18:27:00.000-06:00

Last week, I completed a quick transcription of some horn charts for Eddie Minnifield (also known as Eddie M, incredible studio sax player!) for Christ Community Church of Milpitas, CA. Here was Eddie's response:

Hey, Larry.

Thanks for the charts they came out very nice. We [will] keep in touch for upcoming arrangements.

Eddie Minnifield, music associate
Christ Community Church of Milpitas, CA

Client Testimonial

2008-01-27T22:53:00.000-06:00

Here's another recent testimonial from Anton Nel out at Menlo Park Presbyterian.

Hi Larry,

Happy New year to you. Just to let you know that Christmas Eve went off really well. I know that Debbie did not show much interest in the "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" arrangement but loved it when she heard the full orchestration... When the orchestra played it, it confirmed that it was an amazing orchestration. There was one Fm6 that you captured a real Jewish sounding vibe - it was lovely... I had a South African colleague of mine visiting... and commented how much she loved the orchestration on "O Come, O Come..."

My boss however was overly impressed with your work plus your work ethic and he really is a great musician with great musical taste...

Thank you for your lovely card and I look forward to working on more arrangements. I already have some Thanksgiving repertoire in mind.

Anton

God's Will is not always a mystery (part 4)

2008-01-25T11:42:00.000-06:00

In this post, I continue with excerpts from the book What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles. Mr. Bolles goes into lengthy detail regarding career changes as related to God's will. Excellent material. Excellent book. I highly recommend your getting a hold of this book. It's a classic that is updated annually.

In this excerpt, Mr. Bolles discusses the two rhythms of the "Dance of the Mission": unlearning and learning.

The distinctive characteristic of these three stages is that in each we are forced to let go of some fundamental assumptions which the world has falsely taught us, about the nature of our Mission. In other words, throughout this quest and at each stage we find ourselves engaged not merely in the process of Learning. We are also engaged in a process of Unlearning. Thus, we can restate the above three Learnings, in terms of what we also need to unlearn at each stage:

We need in the first Stage to unlearn the idea that our Mission is primarily to keep busy doing something (here on earth), and learn instead that our Mission is first of all to keep being something (here on earth)....
In the second stage, "Being" issues into "Doing." At this stage, we need to unlearn the idea that everything about our Mission must be unique to us, and learn instead that some parts of our Mission here on Earth are shared by all human beings...We share this Mission because the task is too large to be accomplished by just one individual.
We need in the third stage to unlearn the idea that part of our Mission which is truly unique, and most truly ours, is something Our Creator just orders us to do, without any agreement from our spirit, mind, and heart. (On the other hand, neither is it something that each of us chooses and then merely asks God to bless.) We need to learn that God so honors our free will, that He has ordained our unique Mission be something which we have some part in choosing.
In this third stage we need also to unlearn the idea that our unique Mission must consist of some achievement which all the world will see - and learn instead that as the stone does not always know what ripples it has caused in the pond whose surface it impacts, so neither we nor those who watch our life will always know what we have achieved by our life and by our Mission. It may be that by the grace of God we helped bring about a profound change for the better in the lives of other souls around us, but it also may be that this takes place beyond our sight, or after we have gone on. And we may never know what we have accomplished, until we see Him face-to-face after this life is past.
Most finally, we need to unlearn the idea that we have accomplished is our doing, and ours alone. It is God's Spirit breathing in us and through us which helps us to do whatever we do, and so the singular first person pronoun is never appropriate, but only the plural. Not "I accomplished this" but "We accomplished this, God and I, working together..."

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Cart Me, Baby!

2008-01-22T13:05:00.000-06:00

A few days ago in an earlier post, I mentioned that this past week our church transitioned to 2 services with the addition of a contemporary service at 11:00. We already had a blended service in place using choir and orchestra at 9:30.

The challenge for our technical crew was to figure out a way that we could quickly transition from full orchestra on a crowded stage to intimate praise band. I mentioned in my previous post that our brilliant technical/media director came up with the best solution - orchestra carts. Above you can see a couple of pictures of these carts. Now these are just not wooden platforms on wheels! These are custom built, steel tube, carpeted, everything you need mounted to the front kind of carts. First class!

And, they worked like a charm! We were able to quickly transform the stage in 12-15 minutes, and that was the first time we even did it - no rehearsal! I'm sure it will get even better when we get a little more organized.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Don't shoot your mouth off!

2008-01-21T13:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning, I was once again reminded about the need to be careful on how I talk to lay people within the church about a spiritual/church subject.

It's really hard to remember as a church staff member that the people you serve view you in a different light and weigh your words differently than other people within the church. It's also hard to remember that your people are at different spiritual levels in various areas, especially when you have developed relationships with them. You can see that they are spiritually mature in some areas of their lives, and it's easy to assume that they are mature in all areas.

Money and giving was the topic, and it's probably the one area of our lives that always takes the longest to mature. I messed up, big time. So here's the story:

I was talking to one of my orchestra members about another topic and the topic of giving came up within that conversation. Because I really respect this individual and view him as a mature believer, I naturally assumed that he was a "storehouse tither" and I felt confident enough to say that all of us as believers and church members should be giving at least 10% of our incomes to the local church. You can probably guess the rest. Yeah, I stuck my foot in my mouth.

Probably due to debt and other circumstances, this individual is so financially strapped that he feels like he can't give at that level. So, I shot my mouth off in a somewhat condescending manner and offended this valued orchestra member.

My own personal interpretation of Scripture is that we are required to give of the "first fruits" before all else and (at the very least) at the 10% (tithe) level. I also believe that we should give even above that 10% amount as the Lord leads. The problem is that too many people have believed the lies that the banks and media have told us about debt, plus the fact that everyone is trying to "keep up with the Joneses." Even before my experience with Dave Ramsey and my family becoming debt free last year, we always gave at least the 10% minimum, having faith that the Lord would see us through the lean times. And He has!

The lessons learned through this experience are this:

Never assume the people you lead and shepherd are where you're at spiritually in all areas, even if they act spiritually mature in many areas.
Always remember that the people you lead and shepherd are "friends," but at a different level then a buddy from college. You have to weigh your words very carefully as well as the manner in which you speak those words. Church members can get offended pretty quickly.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

We're going contemporary!

2008-01-15T11:32:00.000-06:00

Beginning this Sunday, January 20th, our church will begin a contemporary worship service at 11:00. Currently, we have blended worship at 9:30 with choir, orchestra, and praise team, but for the last 6-8 months, our senior staff has been praying and seeking the Lord's face as to what direction our church should move, in order to grow as a body. They feel our church would benefit with the addition of a contemporary service to reach younger people.

The interesting thing (that I just found out about yesterday) is that the Raytown area is the fastest growing area in the 20-30 year old demographic in the Kansas City Metro area. To read and see this interesting news story click here. The growth in younger families appears to be due to affordable housing in our area.

The biggest challenge we have as a church staff will be facilitating the transformation of our worship center from "Big church" (choir and full orchestra) to contemporary worship band and a smaller, more intimate stage feel in 15 minutes or less! We will accomplish this mainly through the addition of "orchestra carts." These carts will fit from 2-4 players, and will contain all the gear necessary to do the service - the music stands, stand lights, microphones, hot spot monitors - everything will be mounted to these carts. All we have to do is unplug the cables and roll the carts out. This system should make life a lot easier on our tech crew!

We've also hired a part-time worship leader for that service and assembled a really excellent team of volunteer musicians to assist him in leading the worship. This is a very exciting time in the life of our church. We're looking forward to seeing what God is going to do through our church in 2008.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

God's Will is not always a mystery (part 3)

2008-01-15T11:00:00.000-06:00

Your first Mission here on Earth is one which you share with the rest of the human race, but it is no less your individual Mission for the fact that it is shared: and it is, to seek to stand hour by hour in the conscious presence of God, the One from whom your Mission is derived. The Missioner before the Mission, is the rule. In religious language, your Mission here is: to know God, and enjoy Him forever, and to see His hand in all His works.

Second, once you have begun doing that in an earnest way, your second Mission here on Earth is also one which you share with the rest of the human race, but it is no less your individual mission for the fact that it is shared: and that is, to do what you can, moment by moment, day by day, step by step, to make this world a better place, following the leading and guidance of God's Spirit within you and around you.

Third, once you have begun doing that in a serious way, your third Mission here on Earth is one which is uniquely yours, and that is:

to exercise that Talent which you particularly came to Earth to use - your greatest gift, which you most delight to use,

in the place(s) or setting(s) which God has caused to appeal to you the most,

and for those purposes which God most needs to have done in the world.

When fleshed out, and spelled out, I think you will find that there you have the definition of your Mission in life. Or, to put it another way, these are the three Missions which you have in life.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

God's Will is not always a mystery (part 2)

2008-01-15T10:40:00.000-06:00

In this post, I continue with excerpts from the book What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles. Mr. Bolles goes into lengthy detail regarding career changes as related to God's will. Excellent material. Excellent book. I highly recommend your getting a hold of this book. It's a classic that is updated annually.

In this excerpt, Mr. Bolles discusses the secret of finding your life mission.

THE SECRET OF FINDING YOUR MISSION IN LIFE: TAKING IT IN STAGES

I have learned that if you want to figure out what your Mission in life is, it will likely take some time. It is not a problem to be solved in a day and a night. It is a learning process which has steps to it, much like the process by which we all learned to eat. As a baby we did not tackle adult food right off. As we all recall, there were three stages: first there had to be the mother's milk or bottle, then strained baby foods, and finally - after teeth and time - the stuff that grown-ups chew. Three stages - and the two earlier stages were not to be disparaged. It was all Eating, just different forms of eating - appropriate to our development all the time. But each stage had to be mastered, in turn, before the next could be approached.

There are usually three stages also to learning what your Mission in life is, and the two earlier stages are likewise not to be disparaged. It is all "Mission" - just different forms of Mission, appropriate to your development at the time. But each stage has to be mastered, in turn, before the next can be approached.

Of course, there is a sense in which you never master any of these stages, but are always growing in understanding and mastery of them, throughout your whole life on Earth.

Tomorrow, we will look at the three stages of Mission as outlined by Mr. Bolles. Until then, have a blessed day.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

God's Will is not always a mystery (part 1)

2008-01-14T14:58:00.000-06:00

For the next several months and possibly for all of 2008, I plan on writing a series of posts regarding God's will for our lives. I feel led to do this for 2 reasons:

1. I'm going through my own current struggle with God's will/plan for my life related to my ministry, business, and life in general. Maybe I'm just going through some kind of mid-life crisis!

2. Reading the end of the famed book What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles. Mr. Bolles goes into lengthy detail regarding career changes as related to God's will. Excellent material. Excellent book. I highly recommend your getting a hold of this book. It's a classic that is updated annually.

What I would like to do in this post is to begin providing excerpts for this final section of Parachute as related to God's will. Here's the first excerpt I would like to look at regarding the meaning of the word "Mission:"

When used with respect to our life and work Mission has always been a religious concept, from beginning to end. It is defined by Webster's as a "continuing task or responsibility that one is destined or fitted to do or specially called upon to undertake," and historically has had two major synonyms: Calling and Vocation. These, of course, are the same word in two different languages, English and Latin. Both imply God. to be given a Vocation or Calling implies Someone who calls. To have a Destiny implies Someone who determined the destination for us. Thus, the concept of Mission lands us inevitably in the lap of God, before we have hardly begun...

...What is not so clear is whether we think about God in connection with our work. Often these two subjects - spiritual beliefs and work - live in separate mental ghettos within the same person's head.

But unemployment offers us a chance to fix all that: to marry our work and our religious beliefs together, to talk about Calling, and Vocation, and Mission in life - to think out why we are here, and what plans God has for us.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Finale 2008 Tips and Tricks - Changing the page size

2008-01-11T10:09:00.000-06:00

There are times when you may need to increase the size of your page from the standard Letter size of 8.5" x 11," or you need to change from a Portrait to Landscape view/printing . I have found changing the size of the page extremely helpful when dealing with large orchestral scores with a lot of instrumentation that just won't fit on the standard Letter size. This is very easy to accomplish by following these steps:

Select the Page Layout Tool
Select the Page Layout Menu
In the Page Layout Menu at the top of the screen, select Page Size
In the Page Size dialog box that comes up, you can select a number of different sizes of pages to fit your needs. You can also change the view/layout to Portrait or Landscape.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Hey church staff member, work less! Accomplish more.

2008-01-09T09:51:00.000-06:00

I read a great blog post this morning from Scot Longyear at blog.worship.com regarding the importance of a pastor working less for his overall health, his family, and performance. You can read Scot's entire post here. I personally agree with everything he has written, and I wish more senior pastors, executive pastors, and church leaders across the country had the same mindset as Scot.

Here's the second half of Scot's post, where he blogs about the practical steps he has put in place to protect himself, his family, and his ministry. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Blessings, today!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

...After almost 20 years of ministry I can tell you that I am in this for the long haul. It's a marathon and we have to pace ourselves. Here are some practical things I have put into place to make sure I am a healthy leader:

1. I take days off each week. That's right dayS. At MCC, our staff get two days off a week. I'll be honest, some weeks we have things that creep into those days off, but they are the exception, not the rule. I know your argument: "You ask people to work a full-time job and then volunteer at church. It seems unfair for Pastors to have two days off per week." My short response is: "Deal with it." My long response is that I work 5 days and clock in 45+ hours. Plus I am extremely productive. It's not about the hours punching the clock, it's about the output; the results. I'll save that for another post.

2. I call my wife every afternoon. I have been doing this for 20 years. Am I whipped? Nope. I love my wife, I have a great marriage, and am beating the stats.

3. I schedule dates with my wife, kids, and have family nights. I have some work to do in this area, but I am intentional about three of the most important people in my congregation.

4. I take every vacation day coming to me. It is my goal each year to use every single vacation day I have. As a matter of fact, I recently told our staff that they are required to use all of their vacation days every year. If they fail to use them by the end of the year, they rollover. To me. "Hey Carl, this is Scot. I'm on the beach in Grand Cayman on your vacation. Too bad you are not here."

5. I Life Journal every day. My day begins with time reading the Bible and writing out thoughts and prayers. It keeps me centered.

Don't brag to me about how you work like a dog and never take vacations. Be like the rest of the world if you like. I'm not impressed with the number of hours you work. Neither is God. We work like the church depends on us. Last time I checked, Jesus said that he would build His church (Mt 16:18).

It is possible to have days off, date nights, vacations, AND advance the kingdom.

It's time to get busy living.

Copyright 2007 by Scot Longyear at Resonate

Worship Confessional - first Sunday of 2008

2008-01-07T15:23:00.000-06:00

Last week, I posted my first worship confessional. I mentioned in this post that I normally only lead worship for my boss when he is out of town, on vacation, or sick. So, I led worship for Gene last week while he was away for the holidays, and then I led for him one more week this past Sunday while he completed his vacation.

On Sunday, we celebrated the Lord's Supper, so when I put the order of service together a few weeks ago, I used the Supper as the main theme for the worship music. The "funny" thing (Holy Spirit directed) was that the music also worked thematically with the Pastor's message, which was more centered on the New Year ahead of us.

Anyway, we had a great day of worship. Our people sang with all of their hearts, and the Lord's Supper was truly a moving time for our entire church. Here was the order of service this past Sunday:

THAT’S WHY WE PRAISE HIM (G3 Worship arrangement)
AMAZING GRACE with MY CHAINS ARE GONE (Praisecharts arrangement)
(BAPTISM)
HERE I AM TO WORSHIP with I SURRENDER ALL (G3 Worship arrangement)

LORD’S SUPPER SERVICE
NEW COVENANT (arrangement by Bradley Knight) Note: we used this song for the Lord's Supper scene for our Christmas Pageant and it was very effective; I had to shorten it down a lot to work for Sunday morning, but it still worked extremely well. We sang and played the song as our deacon's passed the bread and wine

WINNING THE GAME OF LIFE - sermon

I SURRENDER ALL (e-HITS arrangement) - Invitation song

ABOVE ALL (PC) - Offertory
THAT’S WHY WE PRAISE HIM (G3 Worship arrangement) - Closing Chorus

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

My Spiritual Gifts - another reminder of why I started MyStaffArranger.com

2008-01-07T15:05:00.000-06:00

In a previous post, I mentioned that our church is in the process of putting together an Equipping Ministry. Our church staff has been undergoing training the last several months in how to better equip our people to do the work of the ministry.

This morning in staff meeting, we began a 4 week series of being taught a class called "Finding Your Niche," in which our church members will start attending at the end of February.

A part of "Finding Your Niche" is figuring out the Spiritual gifts of each individual that goes through the class. I've taken these tests before, but I took one more today for the class, and I was reminded of my top 3 Spiritual Gifts which are:

Serving
Administration
Giving

These 3 gifts really serve me well in the area of my church, as well as the development and running MyStaffArranger.com. I love serving and giving back to others in leadership at other churches across the country. I also love the details/administration of a small business such as this. A perfect fit for my personality.

If you and your church decide to partner with me for help in music arranging, orchestration, transcription, etc., just know that I'm going to serve you as if I were on your staff, and I'm going to work out the "nitty-gritty" details of your project at a fair price. I enjoy working behind the scenes to help you!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

"The Air I Breathe" (Part 11 - Conclusion)

2008-01-04T11:41:00.000-06:00

In this post, I continue with another excerpt from the book entitled “The Air I Breathe” by Louie Giglio. This book has some excellent material on worshiping as a way of life. Over the past several weeks, I have shared with you some excellent excerpts that I think relate really well with us involved in worship ministry as worship leaders. OK, here’s the final excerpt #11 (from Chapter 11).

"As we worship with others, it's important that we find Him, because our attention aims our affection...That means we have to think carefully about what we're saying, what we're singing. And who we're singing to. Sometimes we would better off saying nothing rather than standing there lying to the face of God. Our worship would honor Him more if we just stopped singing and realigned our hearts with His.

I believe that for this to happen we have to connect with God before we arrive. Because worship, in the end, is an intentional thing. Something we set our hearts to do.

So the next time you come to worship with other believers, take a deep breath as you cross the parking lot. Think about the vastness of the God you're coming to meet. Think about His love and grace as you pass through the doors. And before the worship service begins, begin to worship in your heart.

The key is to come prepared. To come worshiping. To connect with God. To keep our eyes on Him."

This week, as we go about our daily Christian walk, meditate on this truth: Worship is an intentional thing. We need to connect with God before we meet each week for corporate worship, especially since we are lead worshipers! Come prepared to worship, each and every week!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

This time...with feeling!

2008-01-02T09:50:00.000-06:00

I recently read a great article from Steve Amerson about not only playing a musical instrument with feeling but also living with the feeling of the word.

You can visit Steve's website at SteveAmerson.com. Enjoy Steve's article below:

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

A few weeks back, Kristine and I attended a wonderful orchestra concert in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The outdoor setting was spectacular and the music from the New York Philharmonic inspiring. The concert included a piano concerto with a 20 year-old pianist playing Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor with the New York Philharmonic. As she played one couldn't help but see her total involvement in the piece. She was not just playing the piano with her hands. She was using her entire mind, soul, spirit and body as the music was flowing from deep within her being.

Inside one of the printed pieces at the concert was a quote from renowned cellist, Pablo Casals. "Don't play the notes. Play the meaning of the notes." It was clear to all of us in the audience that this performer wasn't just playing the notes. She was playing the feeling of the notes and it was reaching everyone in the audience.

As she played the thought struck me that as believers, we oftentimes know the Word, but we don't play or live with the feeling of the word. Scripture commands us to worship in spirit and in truth. I believe that we should live our lives in the same way. You can apply this thought to your own life in any way that you choose. Let's not just play the notes of the melody of the Word, but let us play and live with the feeling of the Word embracing the Word in it's fullness, in it's Spirit and in it's Truth.

Happy New Year - 2008!

2007-12-31T14:45:00.000-06:00

From my family and the staff at MyStaffArranger.com, we wish you a Happy New Year! May it be full of God's riches blessings for you, your family, and your ministry.

God bless you!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Worship Confessional - final Sunday of 2007

2007-12-31T14:20:00.000-06:00

My family and I made it back into Kansas City on Friday night without incident. We had beautiful weather for the return trip and made it back in record time! I had to be back to lead worship at our church, yesterday, since my boss was out of town.

I normally lead worship for my boss the last Sunday of the year. During the holiday season, I always try to put together worship music "sets" that include no new music, only familiar music for our choir, orchestra, and praise team. I do this for 2 reasons:

We give our worship teams time off from rehearsals during the holidays, so we don't have time to learn new music. It just makes sense to do "idiot-proof" orders of service.
Since our team is only used to me leading worship 5-6 times of year, I've learned that if I try to lead music that is not very familiar, I am possibly taking a big risk that could lead to major challenges in the service.

So, yesterday, we had a great day of worship, with our people singing and playing some great worship choruses and hymns. Here's the list of music we did:

BEAUTIFUL ONE (Prism Music arrangement)

YOU’RE WORTHY OF MY PRAISE (my own arrangement/orchestration)

MEMORIAL SERVICE & PRAYER

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD with HOW GREAT THOU ART (my own arrangement/orchestration)

YOU ARE GOD ALONE (this was our choir and orchestra feature)

Message - A GREAT NEW YEAR

Invitation - I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

Offertory - THANK YOU, LORD (written by Dennis Jernigan)

Closing Chorus - BEAUTIFUL ONE

Larry Jones
MyStaffArranger.com

Travelling through a blizzard!

2007-12-24T23:20:00.000-06:00

On Saturday morning, we left our home in Kansas City at 8:00 am to head for Ft. Worth, Texas. We got 45 minutes down the road, when we began to encounter rain, then freezing rain, followed by sleet, then finally snow. I was driving my family right into a blizzard without really realizing how bad this storm was going to be! I knew before we got on the highway that we would be running into a little bit of snow, but I failed to realize how much freezing precipitation there was going to be, plus how strong the winds were going to be. There were white out conditions. The average speed on I-35 southbound was about 35-40 mph!

The average drive from Kansas City to Oklahoma City takes around 5.5 hours. For us driving through this blizzard with the addition of a couple of stops, it took us 10.5 hours! We ended up getting a hotel in Oklahoma City because we were just so exhausted from driving through the storm. Praise the Lord that he took us safely through it without incident.

When we woke up on Sunday morning, it was a new day, with bright Sunny skies and clean, dry roads all the way to Fort Worth.

We have enjoyed time with the various sides of my wife's family the last two days. Tonight, we were even able to enjoy a Christmas Eve candlelight service at the First Baptist Church of Carollton, TX.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Christmas 2007 at the Jones' House

2007-12-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2007

Santa arrived early at our home yesterday as he traditionally does. Since we have family spread out across the country, we are always travelling around Christmas to visit them, hence the reason to have our family Christmas time a few days early. Here are a couple of pictures of my daughters Jasmine (7) and Nora (5) opening their gifts.

Even though my family is not "rich" in material things, I am so thankful for a blessed year. Some of the highlights include:

Becoming debt free on June 15 with the Lord's help and Dave Ramsey! Praise the Lord! This was not a small task, due to being the sole provider for a family of 4. It took us approximately 18 months to achieve this, plus the sale of our home. But that's OK; there's always more houses out there to be purchased the right way according to Dave's baby steps. Our financial picture gets better each and every month.
My little brother Evan was remarried in October to my wonderful new sister-in-law Jane.
MyStaffArranger.com celebrated it's 5th anniversary this year, and we had a banner year!
Our church has gone through the difficult trial of a church split, but the Lord continues to see us through. Praise His holy name!
My wife and daughters are healthy and thriving.
God has provided for us in so many ways that it can be hard to remember them all!

I pray God's riches blessings on you and your family this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Prepare your minds for action

2007-12-21T09:30:00.000-06:00

In I Peter 1:13, we read the following phrase, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action..."

As I was having my quiet time this morning, I was reflecting on that phrase from Peter's pen. With December 2007 coming to a close and a brand new year about to arrive, this is the perfect time to reflect on the good, bad, and the ugly of the past year. And, not only reflect on the past, but also think about and plan for a new year. Asking questions of yourself is a great way to get started:

What went great in our ministry in 2007?
What was a failure in our ministry in 2007?
What successes in ministry can we build on in 2008?
What failures, ineffective programs, or problems can we dump in 2008?
If we can't dump them, how can we improve them in 2008?
How can I build on my strengths in the new year?
How can I minimize my weaknesses in the new year?
How can I challenge my leaders and those I shepherd in ministry in 2008?
Where in our ministry can we improve in 2008?
What steps are we going to take in order to improve in 2008?
What challenges will we need to overcome?

There are many more questions we could ask. Be creative and come up with a good list to work from. Once you have answered all of your questions, come up with an action plan, with the Lord's help, and share it with your leaders. Get their thoughts and input. Then, as a team, prepare your minds for action in January.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

"The Air I Breathe" (Part 10)

2007-12-20T12:48:00.000-06:00

Client Testimonial - another word from Matt

2007-12-19T23:16:00.000-06:00

In a couple of earlier posts, I mentioned a new client, Matt Podschweit, that gave two great testimonials after completing his projects.

Well, today, Matt sent me a note in the mail, expressing his gratitude once more for the service we were able to provide for him and his church. Here's what Matt wrote:

Larry,

Your help with transcriptions for the show was obviously God ordained. Thank you so much for being a willing servant. I am blessed to have you as a partner in ministry.

Your Brother,

Matt
Heritage Wesleyan Church

Matt is just one of many satisfied clients that we have served this Christmas season with tight production deadlines to meet. If we can help you in any way - music transcription, arranging, orchestration, typesetting, etc., please let us know. We're here to help.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Keep Your Head

2007-12-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

As I was reading through the Word this morning, I ran across a couple of other "nuggets" from the Apostle Paul that I know can be applicable to those of us in worship ministry.

In 2 Timothy 4:2 & 5 we read Paul's words of encouragement to Timothy:

2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction...

5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

I have italicized the two phrases that jumped out at me in this passage that I can definitely relate to in worship ministry. Both are interrelated. Here are my thoughts on these words of wisdom from Paul:

As we interact with our worship teams (choirs, orchestras, praise bands, praise teams, etc.) each week during rehearsals and services, we really need to be patient and loving with the people we lead. We need to keep our cool when things don't go exactly as planned. People will make mistakes. We all make mistakes. Most of us probably lead teams of ministry volunteers and lay people. We just need to constantly remind ourselves that these folks aren't necessarily professional musicians, but believers with a heart for using their gifts to serve the Kingdom.
As we work with our worship teams, we need to give them careful instruction. As we rehearse our teams of lay musicians, always be thinking about how you are communicating and teaching spiritual and musical truths. Are you being clear? Are the words you're using over their heads? Are you just running through music each week, or are you really teaching them to become better believers and musicians?

Food for thought as we enter a fresh start and a clean slate of sorts with a new year in January. Have a blessed day in Him.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Do Not Neglect Your Gift!

2007-12-18T10:01:00.000-06:00

As I was reading through the Scriptures this morning, I ran across a passage in I Timothy 4:14-16, where the Apostle Paul is admonishing his young protege Timothy not to neglect his gifts of teaching and preaching. Here's the condensed version:

Do not neglect your gift...Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress...Persevere in them...

I don't know about you, but for me, reading that passage is convicting! The Lord has given me gifts in the areas of trumpet playing, conducting, arranging, orchestrating, and leadership that I could definitely be more diligent in my growth and progress.

Since 2007 is coming to a close, now is the traditional time to start reflecting on what has gone right and wrong in our lives and ministries over the past year, and also looking forward to new goals and plans for the coming new year. As you contemplate this new year, perhaps one of the biggest goals you can make as a worship pastor is building on the gifts and strengths God has given you.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Client Testimonial

2007-12-18T09:21:00.000-06:00

A couple of months ago I completed a transcription of an arrangement to the song I'll Be Home For Christmas. This was a request from the legendary instrumental director John Gage out at Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, California. John has been a friend of mine for 10 years now, and actually helped me get my present position at First Baptist Raytown, MO.

John and his orchestra performed this arrangement this past Sunday night for their annual Christmas concert, and John sent me this e-mail letting me know how the arrangement worked out for them.

Here's John's e-mail:

Larry,

We did “your” chart in our concert last night, and it was a HUGE hit! Just a beautiful job of orchestrating that off the CD, Bro! thank you SO much for the effort,. And for getting it done so quickly! I had a collage of all of our Valley Baptist missionaries behind Rick and the Orchestra as Rick sang the solo, and prefaced the tune by saying that most of our missionary families WOULDN’T be home for Christmas, and as their pictures were displayed, pray for them and their ministries..was a neat moment. THANKS, man! You are the BEST!

Love ya bro,

John

Concert moments and e-mails like John's are all about the "why" in what we do each and every week here at MyStaffArranger.com.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

The Stomach God!

2007-12-17T14:30:00.000-06:00

I was reading through the Word in my quiet time today, and I ran across a slightly humorous statement from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:19. In this passage, Paul is admonishing the church at Philippi to stay away from worldly practices. Most of us are probably aware that back in the Roman Empire, a common practice of people was to over-indulge in their eating, purge, and then eat some more.

So, Paul addresses this practice through the following statement, "...their god is their stomach."

As we go through this Christmas and New Years, let's just be careful that we don't let our stomach become our god the next few weeks!

I'm hungry, now! Let's eat :)

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Fully Competent Volunteers

2007-12-17T13:28:00.000-06:00

I just read a great blog post from Chris Moncus titled "The Path to a Fully Competent Volunteer." You can read the post from his blog here.

It's always interesting to view your own ministry and the ministries of other staff members by thinking in terms of reproducing yourself. I encourage you to thoughtfully consider the points that Chris makes in his post.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Here's Chris's post from his blog:

In the post I wrote yesterday on a volunteer reproducing himself, Fred left a comment that I wanted to pass on. He said…

Let them sit with you while YOU do it …YOU sit with THEM while THEY do it …YOU get out of the booth, and let them DO IT ALONE.

My mom later commented with a quote she heard. It’s how she taught me and I KNOW it worked. Thanks mom. LOVE YA!

Tell me and I’ll know
Show me and I’ll remember
Involve me and I’ll understand

Though Fred was applying this to media during a church service, I believe this works everywhere - nursery, receptionist, youth, etc. Think about it. How can we apply this to our ministry areas?

Just remember that it should be our goal to train our replacements. Anytime we do a ministry task, we are potentially removing the opportunity for someone else to do that ministry. Feeling overworked? Reproduce yourself.

Not sure it will get done without you? Stop right now and pray for God to give you a dose of humbleness and ask Him to forgive your pride. Remember, you once were not very good at the thing you are now holding so tightly to. Think of the multiplication and the potential of having two of you in a sense. Or even ten of you.

I was the kid who got to sit with some great people who then let me try with them who then let me fly solo. I wasn’t good at sound for the longest time. I used to be horrible at graphic design. But people gave me a chance. Thanks to Adam, Adam, Adam, Lynn, Anthony, Curtis, Scott, and Larry - who right now I can think of did just that. Ten years later I am doing those things professionally in the church. Had I not had the chance who knows where I would be?

Have you experienced that?

Friends, be fruitful and multiply.

Struggling with all His Energy!

2007-12-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

I'm sure for all of us out there in the church world, we are physically exhausted and emotionally drained right now due to extra rehearsals, special services, Christmas productions, and so on. I know I am! I feel like I can hardly roll out of bed in the morning!

As I was reading through the Word this morning, I ran across a great line from the Apostle Paul (comment: I love Paul; he's a great writer, and a nerd like me) in Colossians 1:29 which reads:

"We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

I love the way Paul phrases the end of that verse - he labors, struggling with the energy of Christ, which works powerfully. So, as we labor intensely this holiday season, be of good cheer! Pray that the Lord will empower you with His energy.

Be energized today!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

More testimonials from Anton Nel at Menlo Park Presbyterian

2007-12-12T15:55:00.000-06:00

Here are 2 more recent e-mail testimonials from Anton Nel, music associate at the prestigious Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.

December 7, 2007

I've just looked over the part - ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS - I love the different dimensions you have brought to "O Come, O Come" - you have surpassed yourself yet again. I can hardly wait to hear it. Many, many thanks!

December 12, 2007

Hi Larry,

I LOVE what you did - very hip! That's great. Wow - you finished everything. What a great job. I was remarking to my boss how inexpensive your rates were for the quality you provided ... You are a God send as it allows us not to have to resort to using bought out arrangements that we have plenty of. It was great to do new fresh repertoire.

Thank you so much for your wonderful workmanship and talent.

Regards,
Anton

Here at MyStaffArranger.com, we have been blessed with a busy, productive Christmas season. Many thanks to all of our clients who have sent us projects the last couple of months. Have a Merry Christmas, and may your Christmas productions be a success!

Larry
MyStaffarranger.com

Five Qualities of a Worship Pastor

2007-12-12T09:54:00.000-06:00

In an earlier post, I mentioned some notes that I still have from a music conference from which I was going to share some more helpful information.

In that conference, we had a discussion regarding five important qualities of a worship pastor. Here they are:

Get close to God and stay there. Full devotion to Christ should be normal to every believer. There is no other option.
Give God your absolute best, whatever that is. Excellence is doing the best you can with what you have. Don't do perfectionism!
Love one another! We need to be "Jesus" to each other.
Be more concerned about who you are and what you do offstage than onstage. We need to be real and authentic to those we serve.
Look for ways to "be Jesus" to your teammates. Have a servant attitude.

I pray that you will receive encouragement from this list of qualities, today. Be blessed!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

"The Air I Breathe" (Part 9)

2007-12-11T14:20:00.000-06:00

“…What do you think moves God more? Our singing ‘Shout to the north and the south, sing to the east and the west, Jesus is Savior to all, Lord of heaven and earth’ a hundred more times? Or, one undignified worshiper walking the streets of Afghanistan, touching the world’s ‘least’ in Jesus’ name…

The song has a place in the worship of the church, spurring us on in God’s mission of mercy to the world. But at some point we’ve got to live the song, being willing to go to people everywhere who are waiting to hear about a grace that’s free. God loves the world. Every soul in it. He wants all nations to know His name. All people to taste His goodness. Every heart to sing His praise.

But those who have not yet heard of this seeking God will never awaken to worship in truth until we do. Until we worship with our words and our lives. Until we reflect His wonder and grace in every corner of the world.”

This week, as we go about our daily Christian walk, meditate on this fact: worshiping through music is great and necessary, but at some point, we need to be willing to worship through action!

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

"The Air I Breathe" (Part 8)

2007-12-05T10:12:00.000-06:00

We always come to worship through the doorway of Jesus Christ. But check out what comes next in that Hebrews passage [Heb. 13:15]:’Through Jesus then, let us offer a sacrifice of praise to God.’ Hello! Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Continually! God’s got to be kidding, right?

Continually offer Him a sacrifice of praise? Like 24/7? Day and night? All the time? How is that even possible? Maybe we should all join a monastery after all. Or maybe we should just take a deep breath and consider what the writer of these verses is suggesting.

For one, he’s making a massive point with his first-century readers who were quite familiar with the smells and sights of animal sacrifices. They knew what it meant to come once a week or once a year, bringing some animal as an offering to God.

But it’s not like that anymore. We’re not talking about a once-a-week or twice-a-year thing. We’re talking about a new relationship that allows us to praise God at any moment, in any setting. On the freeway. In a restaurant. In our dorm room. On a soccer field. In a boardroom. Continually means that any time is the right time to praise God.”

This week, as we go about our daily Christian walk, meditate on this fact: Any time is the right time to praise God!

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Excel in your gifting

2007-12-04T09:24:00.000-06:00

As I was having my quiet time this morning, I ran across a couple of verses that I thought were great devotional material for worship teams.

In I Corinthians 14:12 we read "Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church."

And in I Corinthians 15:58 we read "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Even though the context of these verses is not directly related to worship/music ministry, I think the underlying principles within these verses can be applied to our ministry area.

First principle: Excel in your gifting. We need to encourage our instrumentalists and vocals to excel on their individual instruments or voices. It's not enough to just show up for rehearsals and services. We may need to take some private instruction to unlearn some bad performance habits. We may need to possibly take some time out away from the church to practice our part, listen to demo recordings, look over and mark our music, etc.

Second principle: Give yourself fully to God's work. There are some similarities between the first and second principles, but when I read I Cor. 15:58, the first word that jumps into my head is "enthusiasm." Are we happy, joyful, and enthusiastic to be involved in God's work? Do we whine and complain about the worship music we're playing and singing? Do we complain about others on the worship team? Are we just filling a spot on the team out of obligation? Giving ourselves fully to God's work requires more than obligation or commitment. It requires the joyful surrender of our will to His will, knowing that our labor for the Lord is not in vain. God has a purpose for you being a part of the worship team.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Making the tough call

2007-11-30T14:44:00.001-06:00

This past week, I experienced what every church leader goes through from time to time: having to make a tough call, and ask a volunteer lay person to step out of a position, task, assignment for which they are not completely qualified for the ultimate benefit of the team.

Many of you know by now that I am the instrumental music director at the First Baptist Church in Raytown, MO. My primary responsibilities include directing the adult orchestra. Those of you in worship/music ministry know that in both instrumental and vocal areas, we get musicians of varying degrees of ability. We have professional musicians all the way to amateur "weekend warriors." My main concern has always been the heart and attitude of our instrumentalists. I can usually work around the musical abilities (or inabilities) if they have great attitudes.

At this time of year, our church produces a large Christmas Pageant in which we use live orchestra. The majority of the pageant orchestra is comprised of the regular Sunday morning adult orchestra with the addition of paid professionals to help fill out the rest of the group.

To make a long story short, I had given one of our instrumentalists the go ahead to prepare a very difficult solo in which I had strong doubts she would be able to play it. During rehearsal a few weeks ago, I heard her play it once "passably," after I coached her on it a couple of times. Once we entered dress rehearsal last week, though, it was not good - the solo sounded stiff, unmusical, and out of tune, all of the things I feared from the outset. I gave her 2 rehearsals to work it out, but there was no improvement. I was also getting a little pressure to take her off the solo and pass it on to someone else that could play it better. This wasn't for the sake of musical perfection, but rather to not bring embarrassment on this one individual and also for the musical quality of the Christmas production as a whole. So, before the third rehearsal began, I asked her to meet me in my office and discuss the situation. It's one of the hardest conversations I've ever had to have with an individual musician, because of the heart and attitude of this particular individual. I may even lose this one individual from the orchestra as a result of the entire incident.

In any case, I know I made the right decision, and I'm leaving it to the Lord to sort out all the hurt feelings and anger. I know that my motives, language, and attitude were one of love and concern. If I could go back in time, though, would I have done things differently? You bet! Hindsight is always 20/20, but here's how I would approach the situation now and possibly in the future:

Possibly hold an audition to see who could actually play the solo in the first place.
Rewrite the music for that section, eliminating the solo altogether!
Explain to her the expectations of performance from the very beginning and the consequences of not meeting those expectations.
Reinforce those expectations with regular feedback during the rehearsal period.
During dress rehearsal week prior to the second rehearsal, explaining to her that she has one more opportunity to show us she can deliver on the solo and explain the consequences of not meeting expectations.

I just pray the next time I run into a situation like this, I will remember what I have learned through this experience. I never want to go through another situation like this, again, but I know it's always a possibility.

Larry

MyStaffArranger.com

Set times and Exact places

2007-11-30T14:24:00.000-06:00

I was reading through the Word this afternoon, and I ran across this passage in Acts 17:22-31. The Apostle Paul is speaking to the philosophers of the Areopagus in Athens, Greece, and makes the following statement:

"...From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'"

Go back and re-read the section in bold type and take a moment to reflect on that statement.

Do you truly believe that the Lord has determined the times set for you and the exact places where you should live?! When I look back over the course of my life, even from early childhood, I can see God's hand in placing me in unique churches, cities, schools, colleges and in addition, also crossing paths with specific individuals that have shaped me and helped me on the path the Lord has called me. Was this all just by chance or an accident? No way! The Lord knew from the beginning of time who I was, what my unique gifting would be, and who and what I would need to fulfill my calling. God has blessed me so much. I just pray that I am sensitive to His leading in the next set time and exact place He has for me.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Thanksgiving for the Jones family

2007-11-27T16:18:00.000-06:00

I trust every one of you out there that keeps up with my blog on a regular basis had a great Thanksgiving last week. We just returned a few days ago from meeting my family at my cousin's beautiful home in Dayton, Ohio. Above you can see some pictures of me with my oldest daughter Jasmine, along with our family eating our Thanksgiving meal, and finally posing for a family group photo. We had a great time visiting my side of the family.

When I returned from our trip, I read this great e-mail titled "Thanks and Thankful" from Paul Clark with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. I hope you enjoy it.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Eph. 5:19-20

After I have done a good deed, given a gift, or served through ministry, it is always good to hear a genuine "thank you." I say "genuine," because I have received some that I felt might not be real, often followed closely by a request, or criticism. Ever happened to you? But that's an article for a later time. It is encouraging to hear words of genuine thanks expressed.

In the scripture included in the heading for this e-newsletter you may note a phrase that sometimes disturbs me. The phrase is "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything..." The disturbing part is "for everything." I tried to get away from that "for" part. I looked in all five translations I have on my computer Bible software. They all say "for." I can go with "in" everything, which is still tough but at least it gives me that "we're in this together" thing where God is a kind of cheerleader spurring me on. I could even feel a little more comfortable if the comma was gone and it said, "giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," which would kinda indicate that I only need to give thanks for those things that are obviously in the name of Christ, or that I might interpret as being in keeping with things Christ would want. It's different, though, to give thanks for all things.

There is a difference in saying, "thank you" for something and being genuinely thankful. One is an individual response, and a very positive one. It is an important response to be able to make in life. My mom and dad taught me to say, "thank you" in response to everything from a graduation gift to someone passing the mashed potatoes. Like you, I have received and sent thank you notes and they can sure be meaningful. It is good to say, "thank you."

Let's bump it up a notch, though. It is something else to "be thankful." In the passage parallel to the Ephesians 5, there is a little different slant:
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Col 3:15 NIV

I am sure that "being thankful," includes saying, "thanks," but I see a whole disposition toward life indicated in the instruction, "and be thankful." How can I "be" thankful? I wonder if I am thankful if I can then give thanks "for everything." I believe the key to "be thankful" is found in the first of the verse. He says "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." The "peace" is in charge, presides, runs the show. I am anxious, Christ is not. I become worried about family, health, finances, Christ does not. I sometimes want recognition for me, Christ does not. In the Ephesians and the Colossians passages you know what comes next, don't you? That's right...."sing to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs..." Thankful people sing! Thankful people worship! Hebrews says:

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Heb 12:28-29

I have had friends who have gone through very difficult things in their lives and somehow continued to be thankful. It was just who they were. I could conclude but one thing; Christ ruled in their hearts. The Prince of Peace was in charge. I was somehow made aware not of pitty, but of the sufficiency of God's grace. Their peace put me at peace. I want to be like that.

O Lord, help me to be truly thankful.

I pray the same for all of you. And the way I pray it is this:

The peace of Christ be with you.

Client Testimonials

2007-11-19T11:40:00.000-06:00

The kind words keep coming in from clients on the services we have been able to provide for them during this busy Christmas production season.

Here are two that just came in to us this morning:

"Wow - the service you provide is absolutely incredible. GREAT WORK!!!!"

Anton Nel
Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

"Larry, just received the pdf files. Thanks for such great service...Looking forward to sending more business your way."

Barry Bouchillon
First Baptist Church - Greenwood, MS

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com

Client Testimonial

2007-11-16T00:13:00.000-06:00

In an earlier post, I mentioned a new client, Matt Podschweit, that gave a great testimonial after only completing a small portion of his project.

Well, I completed the remainder of it a few days ago, and here was Matt's response:

Larry,

Mission accomplished! You did stellar work and I am very thankful for that...Again, thanks for the awesome work you’ve done – I look forward to working with you again... Have a great holiday season, and I wish you many blessings in your endeavors.

Matt

Matt is just one of many satisfied clients that we have served this Christmas season with tight production deadlines to meet. If we can help you in any way - music transcription, arranging, orchestration, typesetting, etc., please let us know. We're here to help.

Larry
MyStaffArranger.com