The Apple-users community displays brand loyalty that borders on the fanatic, but even they winced at the drop in price of the iPhone a few months after its first release.  It wasn’t bad enough to get them to switch back to Blackberries, but they made sure the Apple management knew they were displeased.

Even if the product is a good one, there is wisdom in holding back for a few months to give manufacturers the time to work out the bugs and lower prices.  It may be the early bird who gets the worm, but it’s the second mouse who gets the cheese.

Experience has taught me that it is unwise to be on either the “bleeding edge” or the “trailing edge” when it comes to technology.  Wait too long, and you find that technology has passed you by.  Churches are far more likely to suffer this fate than the problems faced by early adopters.  While the committee argues over whether to get a computer with a serial or parallel printing port, the rest of the world has moved on to USB, Firewire, and Wireless interfaces.

Most books written about the history of classical music take the chronological approach.  The material is split up into chapters based on eras of time when music of a certain style was common.  Specific beginning and ending years may be arguable, but it is interesting to note the rough length of the historical periods.

* Medieval, 900 years
* Renaissance, 200 years
* Baroque, 160 years
* Classical, 90 years
* Romantic, 95 years
* Impressionist, 50 years

The periods of music history have obviously compressed as time wore on.  This is not isolated to just “art” music.  If advances in technology and communication have shrunk the length of trends in music throughout history, we can count on even more compression in the future.  Churches that want to stay relevant in today’s culture don’t have the luxury of 900 year adoption periods.

It’s wise for the church to avoid the “bleeding edge” in adopting new styles of music, but just as important to avoid waiting so long to adopt worthwhile trends that they are no longer “contemporary”.  The degree to which we are successful in managing that balance is a great measure of our success as contemporary worship leaders.

Rob Pearce

Traditional Church- Contemporary Worship

Rob Pearce is the founder of WorshipBasics.com, a website created for the support and encouragement of others starting contemporary worship services in traditional churches. Visit at http://www.worshipbasics.com and signup for a free mini-course – Solutions to the 7 Roadblocks to Contemporary Worship.

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If you get an opportunity to play piano for your church or any church, remember who is giving you the chance to play in the first place. It’s not by accident that you are in the position that you’re in. I’ve seen to many pianists who play for the church thinking they are the best piano players that ever graced the face of the earth. Eventually they are brought back down to earth, hard. They no longer play the piano for anyone and they wish they had their position back. Pride comes before the fall. It’s true. God can put anyone who is willing and has the right heart in place of you if you are not humble. I tell you this because I don’t want you mess things up for yourself. Even if you are brand new to the piano, keep what I have said in the back of your mind.

Never think that you are at a concert performing. People may cheer or clap and you might feel like your putting on a show. You’re not in show business when your playing worship piano for the church. You are there only to benefit the body and glorify God. I said that twice because you have to know this. Of course you can have fun with songs. You can ad your own musical spin to songs but don’t be self centered. If the worship leader wants a certain thing played, don’t argue with them. If you are the worship leader, be sensitive to what God wants you to play. Yes, God speaks through his Holy Spirit. If you feel strongly about something you don’t always have to make it known. Sometimes you may have to play song that you don’t particularly like. If found that these things have built character, improved my piano playing and even helped my have a deeper relationship with God.

visit http://www.lifesmusic.com. My name is Bryan and I’ve been playing the piano for over ten years. To learn to play the piano by ear go to http://www.lifesmusic.com.

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Express Your Interest

Most churches make it easy to get started in their music ministries, and musicians are always in demand. Most worship leaders are looking for musicians with experience, but if you express a strong interest, chances are you can find a place to start even if you are a beginner. Look on the church’s website for a staff directory to contact the staff member in charge of music.

Take Lessons

One of the fastest ways to learn guitar for any purpose is to take lessons. Fortunately, modern worship music is very straightforward. Even with three or four chords under your belt you can begin to take on many of the songs in your church’s repertoire. Contact a local music store, or better yet, one of the guitarists on the worship team to get started.

Join a Worship Team

If you are new to the guitar, serving in a children’s ministry or a bible study can be a good place to start. Ask about sitting in through some rehearsals until you are up to speed. You can play unplugged if necessary, then once your skill level has increased, you can plug in and join the band. While you are practicing on your own, try playing along with CDs of worship music. Once you can keep up with the recordings you will be ready to join the worship team.

Serving in a worship team can be a great opportunity to give of yourself, build relationships and grow as a musician. Just get started and you will likely find music ministry to be a life-giving and rewarding experience.

Find Out More About Play Guitar For Church? Get Professional Learn Guitar Lessons Here.

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If you know how to play the piano already, you probably already know how different chords relate to each other. If you don’t play the piano, it doesn’t matter. You can learn to play. Just knowing how chords relate to each other is not enough. For instance instead of playing a basic C major chord, why not play a C in the bass (left hand) and play an E minor chord on your right hand. You can play a C major 7 chord if you want. I don’t like this chord. There is so much you can do on the piano. To play worship piano you should know not only basic chords but how to combine different chords to produce different sounds. This is one key to effectively play worship piano.

Another vital thing about worship piano is dynamics. By dynamics I mean when to play loud or soft. For some people this comes naturally. For others, you are going have to listen to worship music. To play worship piano you need to listen to worship music. It’s as simple as that. You need to learn when you are supposed to quiet down. Maybe someone may be talking and you don’t want to play over top of them. You also need to learn techniques to playing worship piano when playing louder. Remember there is always something you can still learn.

You don’t have to be extremely talented to play worship piano for your church. All need to do is work hard. Hard work is the answer. I’m not talking about playing the piano until you are sweating bullets and your fingers are cramping up. I just mean that you need to practice everyday. If you do, you will not only be able to play worship music but any other type of music you put your mind to.

Visit http://www.lifesmusic.com My name is Bryan and I’ve been playing the piano for over ten years. To learn to play the piano by ear go to http://www.lifesmusic.com.

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