How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

next is melodies. To make up melodies you can embellish the melody, play in the scale of the key you're in, improvise with the chord tones, or associate scales with the chords. For example, major scale for a major chord, minor for a minor chord, dorian for a minor 7 chord, or mixolydian for a dom 7.

Many times if I am improvising and don't know where we are going I will play the relative minor scale and then improvise off of that. As long as I play notes in the relative minor of the root key most of the time I can stay in the pocket until something gels. I play straight spontaneous Improv many times in worship sets as none of us know where we are gonna end up. Key to playing worship is different that a normal gig it's more knowing what NOT to play than anything!!
Couple examples of me playng with friends and doing pure spontaneous Improv stuff that came out cool.

https://www.soundclick.com/html5/v4/player.cfm?songID=5513317

https://www.soundclick.com/html5/v4/player.cfm?songID=6790849

https://www.soundclick.com/html5/v4/player.cfm?songID=9154872

https://www.soundclick.com/html5/v4/player.cfm?songID=6637056

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

I’d recommend listening to some music. You’ll find examples of lead players adding to what a singer/rhythm player is doing on almost every rock song ever.

[dotsdad]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

What about major, minor, and suspended? If Johnny Acoustic plays an A minor, I'd play a D minor?

Yes that's it!

[dotsdad]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

If I get some time later today I'll try and make a chord list you can use

[dotsdad]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

Sounds like.....chord shape at capo u

A"............".....D
Bm.."..............Em
C....................F
D....................G
E................l....A
F.....................Bb
G...."..............C

Ok that should give a nice start...good luck!

[Lazarus1140]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

I always enjoyed the benefit of playing with top shelf keyboard players and learned most of what I know about music theory from them. In my opinion, if the music is already heavily focused on keys and acoustic, the best thing you can do is give every song a lot of space to breath. My approach was always what can I add without drawing the focus away from the purpose of the worship service. Less is usually more, and I suggest avoiding a lot of movement. Obviously, I'm not talking about physical body movements ... but you have a drummer providing rhythm (hopefully) and an acoustic player likely strumming away, and a keyboard player with 10 fingers dancing all over the place. What can you add to tie it all together without adding to the commotion? How can you be a stabilizing factor?

What do I know? I am years removed from that gig and don't recognize the songs you've mentioned ... at least not by title. Because of the pastor's roots we played about 15% old hymn based stuff, but mostly it was Hillsongs, old Christ for the Nations songs, and towards the end some Gateway songs.

Gateway worship, in my opinion, is absolutely great. The guitar players (all the musicians actually) are unbelievably good, but they all just play stuff that is very supportive of the song, but unless you're listening specifically for guitar it's as though it's buried in the mix. Everyone plays the song and no one ever draws a spotlight - as it should be.

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

the best thing you can do is give every song a lot of space to breath. My approach was always what can I add without drawing the focus away from the purpose of the worship service. Less is usually more, and I suggest avoiding a lot of movement. What can you add to tie it all together without adding to the commotion? How can you be a stabilizing factor?

Great suggestions. Here is an example of what you are talking from a song we picked up a few weeks ago.
First time we played it out I had not really gotten a feel for what I wanted to do and WAY overplayed the song here.

When I listened back to the song in this recording I was going YUCK man that sounds like POO!!

[ItsaBass]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

The question is really why, not how. What's wrong with playing them the way they are written? The purpose of religious music isn't to keep the musicians playing it from getting bored. I say just stick to what's there. If you have a style, it will become evident in everything you do, even if you're just following a basic chord chart.

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

Next time we played the song really went minimalistic and tried to add color and depth but not over play. Here is that clip and it sounded MUCH better!!

Most times in a worship setting less is more but sometimes I forget that lesson!

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

The question is really why, not how. What's wrong with playing them the way they are written? The purpose of religious music isn't to keep the musicians playing it from getting bored. I say just stick to what's there. If you have a style, it will become evident in everything you do, even if you're just following a basic chord chart.

Have NEVER just played a worship song just like a recording!! To me it's like why am I here if I'm just playing in a cover band? There is no heart no soul and no emotional connection playing like that. Just put the recording on as that is not WORSHIP that is not SINGING and playing a NEW SONG!
No you don't need to overplay be a star and over complicate in a worship setting but you also can not be just a machine following a chart as a worship player.
Here is In the river by Jesus Culture as an example.
Like the basic song but HATE that simplistic weedle deedle repeating guitar riff on every turn around to me it just didn't fit the flow of the song and was like nails on a blackboard!

SO we took the basic song and made it ours as a team!

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

No repeating jangely super simple riffs and the entire song became more organic and more flowing.

It took on the personality of US as a team and once it was out of the box became fresh for US!

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

Here is one where Jesus Culture took a song and made it theirs as a team. Original from Susie Wills it was an old Morning star Song.
Original song by the writer.

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

Jesus Culture they took the song made it their own to fit their team and it took on a much different feel and flow.

[Ascension]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

GREAT VIDEO about overplaying in a Worship setting! ALL these guys have MAD chops but play to the song and flow. My former pastor was the Bass player in Living sound with Moen BTW.

[Blille]

Re: How to Spice Up A Christian Rock Set

A lot of great tips here.

I started playing P&W a couple of years ago, coming from a fusion trio and classic rock background so there was a LOT I had to learn and adjust.

Some thoughts below, all IMHO so YMMV. Our church plays Hillsong, Bethel etc I'll number them in case anybody wants to reference them.

1) It's not about the music, it's about the worship. At the end of the day it's about leading the congregation in worship. The actual worship, the experience of people, whatever the worship leader or pastor has to say matters more than any line you want to play. Don't mess up but don't miss the point.
2) Electric guitar does not lead the songs. The keys provide the harmony, the singers the melodies and bass and drums the rhythm. Guitar is usually there to provide texture. Sure, there are some riffs and what we think are memorable lines but at the end of the day the guitar does not have the lead role it has in other genres. Even the "lead" guitar.
3) Tone maters more than chops. As a consequence of 2, the heavy reverbs, delays and overall tone play an important role. No need to fall into snobbery (very common btw), some cheap effects can work fine. I resisted this trying to push with my unique tone, no reverb etc. but it's pointless. Don't try to imitate necessarily but a dotted eighth note delay and long reverb will help you fit in the mix better and not be distracting.
4) There's just a few cliches, get comfortable with them. In many songs there are up to 7 recorded electrics even though the songs or hymns were designed to be for acoustic like you say. Some very recurring tools P&W guitar players use are, which may be the core of your question:
a) arpeggiated triads - I think the bridge of one of the Forever Reign versions has this
b) 8th/16th note strummed triads with normal chords underneath - Christ is enough from hillsong in chorus
b) muted (or not) 8th note picked lines - one note per chord, mostly chord tones - a lot of the Sons and daughters songs do this
b') a variation of b with more note variety and dotted eight note delay - never gonna stop singing from Jesus culture
c) distorted power chords - mostly whole notes or quarter notes - JC and elevation worship use this often. EW here as in heaven bridge
d) pentatonic or chord tone riff lines - lion and the lamb from bethel
e) SWELLS - Everybody and their mother all the time
f) Wet only reverb - what a beautiful name, hillsong - bridge?
You see these used over and over. I'm sure there's more I can't remember now but the point is that you can pick any hymn or basic song, add two or three of these and you got yourself an arrangement.

Best of luck!