TWLL #52: Being Intentional About Musical Growth

read time: 3 minutes

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The real game-changer in my worship leading has been discovering how my offstage connection with Jesus impacts my onstage connection with Him.  But years before that epiphany, I was investing in my musical skills.  I started piano lessons when I was young, and studied piano and voice in college.

To be honest, for a long time I wasn't pursuing musical growth to benefit me as a worship leader.  In fact for several years I looked at worship leading as a "second-rate" musical vocation.  In other words, I was all about the music and really nothing else.

Over time the Lord showed me that worship is about so much more than music.  I began to understand the centrality of the worth of Jesus in worship, and the opportunity we have in worship to corporately step into a living moment with Him.  But with all that said- I never regretted the musical training.

The Value

When we as worship leaders have some skill and experience with our voices (and our instruments, for those of us who lead from an instrument), it frees up extra mental and emotional space when we lead worship.

That extra space is valuable, because it's mental and emotional space we can re-direct toward engaging with Jesus at a deeper level as we lead worship.

Musical skill and experience also makes it easier to communicate with and lead the musicians on our team.  Musical flow is huge, and if we're comfortable and confident musically, we're increasing our ability to create and maintain that musical flow- both for ourselves and our band.

The Challenge

It's easy to appreciate and see the benefits of musical skill and experience, but the challenge for a lot of worship leaders is the growing in musical skill part.  Why?  Because our plates are already full with multiple worship-leading responsibilities!

We've got church leadership meetings, worship set preparation, team practice, pastoral care for team members, planning and coordinating...and the list goes on.

Plus, we've got family commitments and additional work or school responsibilities- and when you add it all up, the idea of throwing on something extra like trying to grow vocally or instrumentally- it just feels daunting.  It feels like too much.  Where do we find the time for lessons, training, or practice?

The Key

I think the key for us, especially when we're already feeling overwhelmed from a time/schedule standpoint, is aiming for simplicity and consistency- not size and scale.

I think sometimes we assume that in order to really grow vocally, or grow on keyboard/guitar, we have to have weekly 1:1 lessons with an instructor and 60-minutes a day of practice, not to mention the energy it takes to pull off that kind of a musical growth plan.

But the reality is actually different.  One of the biggest keys to growing musically is consistency.  In other words, if you can find even 10 or 15 minutes a day to spend on vocal or instrumental practice- you definitely will improve.  

If you have more time, that's great- but don't throw practice out the window because it feels like you don't have time.  Shorter but still consistent practice times will bear good fruit over time.

Another key is simplicity.  Sure, it can be great to have a vocal or piano teacher/coach that you meet with for an hour each week- but if you don't have the time, finances, or accessibility to a teacher, you can still grow through online instruction.  Yes, some of it is paid, but some of it is free. 

You can literally go on YouTube and type in vocal, keys, or guitar instruction, and you will actually learn and grow from the free material.

Yes, it requires self-discipline and time management- and if you're like me those categories may not be your power alley.  But it is possible, and it's worth it to buckle down and put together a simple plan to start growing vocally or instrumentally.

Conclusion

So the take away in all this is 3 things:

1- Remember and see the value of your personal vocal/instrumental growth as a worship leader, and how it will help you.

2- Start simple when it comes to instruction.  Start with free YouTube videos if you need to, build up to a paid online training, or even aim for private instruction when the time and budget is there.

3- Aim for quality more than idealized quantity, when it comes to personal practice.  If you can do 30+ minutes a day of practice that's great, but if you can't it's okay.  Take the 10 or 15 minute window you do have each day, and show up.

Remember that it's worth it to be intentional about pursuing your musical growth as a worship leader.

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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you: 

1. The Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship Course.  If spontaneous worship has been a struggle, you might want to check out Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  It's a self-guided, self-paced course that empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enables your musicians to flow with you, and helps your room engage.  

2- Join A Zoom Group.  Every 3 months I host small zoom groups- one focused on worship leading and one on songwriting.  Each group meets once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of learning to leading worship/write songs out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about the next upcoming zoom group, including schedule & cost, email me at [email protected]