Get On the Same Page With Your Worship Team

One area of debate among worship team members and leaders is: which system of musical communication is most effective? Leaders tend to stay within their own comfort zones, and usually supply the team with their preferred system. The three most common are: chord-over-word-style sheets, charts and the Nashville Number System.

Frankly, I use each of these methods at certain times, and I especially make use of the Nashville Number System while writing, figuring out chords to a new song, or creating an arrangement. But I prefer to use charts, either created myself in Finale®, or from resources like Praise Charts.

Below is a quick description, along with pros and cons, of each method. I'm sure that proponents of any particular system will want to staunchly defend it's use. I understand. Musicians are passionate, and the debate over written forms of music continues to stir up heated conversation!

Chord-Over-Word Sheets

This system is the most common among guitar-based worship teams. With the words written out and chords situated directly above, each player can easily reference a song's structure with little difficulty. It's easy for someone with limited musical training to create their own arrangements and use this system.

The Pros:

1. Easy to read and write (no music reading skills necessary)
2. Most songs can be typed or written out in their entirety on a single sheet of paper
3. The song's layout (roadmap) can be written in shorthand at the top of the page
4. A good, quick reference guide to the song during performance

The Cons:

1. Doesn't accurately include time durations between chord changes
2. Doesn't offer intricate details of musical rhythm, dynamic expression, written melodies or specific instrumental cues
3. Chords must be rewritten if a key change is necessary
4. Not an effective detailed representation of a song, especially when cataloging and creating a formal library of worship music

Charts

As charts and lead sheets utilize formal musical notation, they take some skill to read and compose. By nature, this system proves to be the most comprehensive of all for use of its specific musical information.

It's up to the writer of each chart to determine just how much “detail” is necessary for a song. For practical means, the arranger may want to limit information in order to cut down on page turns. Typically, a lead sheet will include the melody and lyrics of a song, but sometimes a basic chord chart is all that is necessary to document chord changes with rhythms and durations, the roadmap, and notes to indicate dynamics and expression. I prefer to limit a chart to two pages, if possible.

Even though a worship team doesn't require a detailed lead sheet all of the time, it's good to have a written melody available for reference purposes. A chord chart will usually suffice on a weekly basis.

The Pros:

1. Offers a comprehensive, detailed representation of a song
2. If composed with a software program like Finale®, a song's key can be quickly and easily transposed on the fly; several songs can be put together by cutting and pasting different documents into one single chart
3. Instrumental cues can be documented and written out for quick reference
4. The proper lyric and melody can be notated together on the chart—eliminating disputes
5. Everyone on the team can reference the song, including sections and measure numbers
6. A single master chart is used for each song during rehearsal and performance, representing the “DNA” of the song

The Cons:

1. Takes some musical training to read and compose charts
2. Notation software is expensive and involves a significant amount of time and effort to learn
3. Many songs require more than one page
4. Difficult for worship leaders to use during performance

Nashville Number System

This system was developed in the 1950s by Nashville session singer and member of the famed Jordanaires, Neal Matthews, Jr., and was further developed by multi-instrumental session wiz, Charlie McCoy. The simple system replaces letter symbols for numbers when referring to chords in a song. In the key of G, for instance, the seven chords of the basic progression are:

G (1)    Am (2m)    Bm (3m)    C (4)    D (5)    Em (6m)    F#dim (7dim)

Most chord progressions in country and pop-styles of music use a variation of the above sequence. Outside of using differing keys, most songs contain similar chord patterns. Take the common chord progression of G to C to D. By referring to the corresponding numbers next to the letters in the above diagram, the progression can also be written: 1 to 4 to 5. In the case of number system creator Neal Matthews, Jr., it was often necessary to change keys on the fly to suit the singer during a recording session. Instead of re-writing the charts, and using letters for chord symbols, the leader would provide number charts, making it easier, if necessary, to transpose to any key. That way, the chord progression of 1 to 4 to 5 in the key of A, is the equivalent of A to D to E; or in the key of D, D to G to A, and so forth (see example at end of section).

Many churches in and around Nashville use this method to chart out songs for the worship band. The numbers can easily be called out in groups of four measures at a time, and in a period of minutes, a band leader can call out an entire song. The limitation with this system is that, again, it's difficult to call out rhythms and document melodies and instrumental cues.

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There is no formal system of writing out Nashville numbers, but each player sticks to a few rules that keep the system organized on one page. It's a great system to use as a quick reference.

The Pros:

1. Great system for calling out chords for a new song
2. Song can be contained on a single sheet of paper
3. Ideal for making key changes
4. Useful for jotting down chords from a recording

The Cons

1. Takes effort to mentally transpose from key to key
2. Lack of synchronized rhythmic notation further complicates the simplicity of the system
3. Alternate chords, outside of the normal seven, can prove to be challenging, especially on the fly, with flat-6 and flat-7
4. Like the chord-over-word charts, its not the most effective detailed representation of a song, especially for the purpose of creating a formal library of worship music

A Beautiful Sculptured Image

I came across an interesting passage regarding this subject recently. In the the book, Behind The Boards: The Making of Rock 'n' Roll's Greatest Records Revealed, author Jake Brown interviews famed record producer Daniel Lanois about his work with the Irish mega-group, U2.

Brown asks what Lanois considers to be an important tool as a music producer. “Note-taking,” he answers. In the interview, Lanois explains that he records, in great detail, each recording session with notes on instruments used in a particular song, along with effects, EQ, compressor and fader markings.

For each song, Lanois prefers “writing out an arrangement, which is a very big part of what I do. I use graph paper for that; sometimes I use very big books, like a 12 x 18 graph page, and I start on the left and right of the pad—the long part which is horizontal—and I just write out the arrangement., and everything gets included on that page: all lyrics, all tempo shifts, all rises and falls and dynamics, notations about what needs to be reminded of at the next meeting. So by this one page, you see a complete graphic display of the song—the way it's structured. So when you get in the band room, you can speak and connect it well because you know what you're talking about relative to a beautiful sculptured image” (p. 359).

Getting On the The Same Page

Like Lanois, I prefer to have an overall view of the song , stretched out before me. When I lead worship, though, I must do some memorization, since having a music stand between me and the audience can be a bit cumbersome and distracting. In a situation where I'll need to reference a chart while leading worship, I attach my iPad to the mic stand at a low enough level to where it's not a distraction, and connect a Bluetooth pedal to turn pages while I play. If I am playing guitar, but not on the front line, I use my iPad, loaded with the master chord charts for the service.

I find it frustrating when a band reads from differing charts for the same song. The point of a good chart is to bring everyone together on common ground. In some cases, its necessary for drummers to create a more manageable chart to reduce page-tuning while playing. When doing so, its best to always refer to the master chart and make notes to match sections and measures. That way, the leader can address things at specific places on the master chart.

To introduce the more sophisticated chart system to your team, it will require training, patience and discipline. Plus, it will require commitment in both time and resources to create charts yourself, or by someone else on your team. Praise Charts is an excellent resource for supplying sheet music to your favorite worship songs, if you aren't able to commit to doing your own custom charts.

Ways to get on the same page:

1. Forsake chords-over-word sheets and make the transition to chord charts and lead sheets
2. Offer training for a team member, or learn how to use notation software in order to make custom charts for your team
3. Offer musical training for those who cannot read music. At the very least, train your team how to read rhythms and chord changes on a staff
4. Many popular songs have several versions, so clearly list the name of the artist and the CD from which the recording originates on the chart and other corresponding resources
5. Encourage players to use master charts for songs in rehearsal, and discard outdated resources attached to songs that don't match the master chart and recording (this includes lyrics)
6. Use a great resource like Planning Center Online, where all your resources are conveniently available in one location
7. Go to the next level with your team! Pursue excellence
   
   
   
   
   
   
   I'm busy writing an instructional book for worship leaders, and I hope you enjoyed this installment from one of the sections. Please stay tuned as I round the bend toward it's completion. Thanks for reading!