.

Pleasing God, Not Man - Darlene Zschech

Two weeks prior to the recording of our new album For This Cause, a number of different people came up to me and said things like, "I bet you're feeling under pressure ...", or "How are you going to outdo the last album ..." or "Glad it's you and not me!"

That got me thinking about the high pressure and extreme expectations placed on myself and the team to come up with the goods! We can all feel this type of pressure in life - a very "performance measured" pressure that I find was never birthed in God and can so easily wind "off course" if we strive to please the heart of man and not the heart of God.
Let me encourage you, dear worshippers, from Paul's letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2:

Know Your Mission - Be In Unity (Verse 1&2)
"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the (Holy) Spirit, and by whatever depth of affection and compassionate sympathy, then make my joy complete by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention.

Let Nothing Be Done Through Strife Or Vain Glory (Verse 3)
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition (through contentiousness, strife, unworthy ends of factional motives) or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance or vain conceit."

Obey (Verse 5, 12 & 13)
"Let this attitude of humility be in you which was in Christ Jesus. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed - continue to work out your salvation with reverence, awe and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

Be Blameless (Vese 14)
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe ..."

You Do Not Labour In Vain (Verse 16)
"Holding out and offering all men the Word of Life, in order that I may boast that I did not run or labour in vain."

Open Your Mouth With The Praises Of God And Close Your Ears To The Praises Of Men! (Verse 10, 11)

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Seek first the Kingdom of God ... there is nothing more rewarding in life than to use your God given creativity and gifts to promote the King and to further the cause of the Kingdom.

The work that was started by Him will be completed by Him.

"There is nothing more rewarding than using your God-given creativity and gifts to promote the King."

Great Guitar and Bass Sound - John J. DiModica

How do you get that quality sound in the studio? Producer John J. DiModica explains how...

Ever listen to some of your favorite recordings, including those produced by Integrity Music, and wonder why the bass and guitar sound so good? There are a number of factors involved. Many reasons for a great tone are found in the player. Obviously, you can't have a great sounding part if the player is not doing his/her job. One of the most important skills to develop to prepare to play in the studio (or live, for that matter) is to learn to play consistently with a metronome! Beyond that, assuming you have a measure of ability on your instrument, the following should be helpful in getting that much desired "studio sound."

Let's look at your instrument first. Recording reveals any flaws you or your instrument may have. Instruments of less quality will have buzzes and poor tone which degrade the sound. If you want a professional sound, you must start with a professional instrument. Once you have secured one, here is a checklist to follow before recording:

1. Put on a fresh set of strings (I prefer nickel for my basses).
2. Adjust each string height so that you eliminate all buzzes and fret noise.
3. Make sure your instrument is intonated meaning that it is in tune with itself. This often requires making subtle adjustments at the bridge. If you are unsure of how to do this, call your local music store and either consult with their guitar/bass tech or have them do it. It is not that difficult or expensive and it should be done every time you change strings. Using the same type and gauge of strings will minimize the adjustments you may have to make every time you change strings.
4. Install a fresh battery if you have active electronics.
5. Use an electronic tuner and check your tuning during every stoppage of recording (between takes).

Audio Engineers can have a great deal of influence over the sound of a recorded instrument, too. There exists a number of tools usually found in the recording studio to enhance and change the sound of a bass and guitar. Some of the most basic tools are compressors, equalizers and preamps. These tools are available to bass players and guitars players as well as audio engineers.

Without getting into a lengthy explanation of each, I will touch on the use of each one when recording a bass and/or guitar. Simply put, compressors even out the sound of an instrument eliminating notes from "popping out" and becoming a distraction in the mix. Ratio, attack time and release time are the main variables in a compressor. With the proper adjustments, a compressor can be a great asset in getting a smooth track. Start experimenting with a ratio between 2:1-4:1, attack time of 1-10ms and release time of 100ms-500ms. These are just a starting point. Your ears are always the best judge!

Equalization is another tool available. By getting rid of unwanted frequencies and/or accentuating desired ones, you can help get a great sound out of your instrument. For example, getting rid of "thump" in the bass track can be attained by lowering (rolling off) frequencies below 50Hz. If too "boomy" try cutting frequencies between 125-200Hz. Experienced engineers should both have a good idea of a musical bass sound and the know how to achieve it using compression and EQ.

Also, you can employ a preamp to help shape your sound. Some of the new amp modelers are very good in imitating the sound of vintage and contemporary bass and guitar amplifiers. There are many to choose from. Many people including myself like the Line 6 bass pod and guitar pod.

Many preamps include effects to add "spice" to the sound. Often, the bass sound is hampered rather than helped with an effect. Sometimes a chorus can work in a slower (fretless) part and a little distortion can be appropriate for more aggressive "alternative or pop" kinds of tracks. Remember, however, what happens to food when too much spice is added!

There are a couple of factors to consider when placing a mic on an amp to record rather than taking a signal direct into the mixing board. Here are some very basic steps:

1. Put the bass amp in the biggest room. Avoid putting it next to a wall. Moving an amp 6"-12" can change its sound in a room so experiment.
2. Isolate the amp as much as possible to avoid issues when fixing mistakes (Punch-ins).
3. Place mix 1'-2' from the speaker on axis. Move the mic 45 degrees to the side to eliminate buzzes, fret noise, etc.

When striving for great tone recording (and live playing), ultimately, it starts with the player... then the instrument. The sound engineer is a factor, too. When all three of these components are optimized, there is no reason not to have a great sounding bass and/or guitar track that compliments both the song and the mix.
For more detailed information about getting a great bass sound please refer to Electronic Musician Magazine, August 2000, "The Bottom Line" article by Michael Cooper.

John J. DiModica served as Worship Leader and Assistant Pastor at a thriving church in Miami, Florida for nine years. Now living in Tennessee, he has been touring and teaching with Integrity Music since 1995 including performing with Don Moen, Paul Wilbur, Lenny leBlanc, Ron Kenoly and Alvin Slaughter. John has a music degree from the University of Miami (FL), and additional studies at the Eastman School of Music (NY) and Berklee College of Music (MA). Currently, his activities include composing, music production, session musician and private bass instructor. For help in producing a recording or to schedule John to speak, visit his website. www.InFocusMusic.com

Worship Graphics

Don Chapman

As I've said many times, contemporary worship is >not< business as usual! Gone are the days of three hymns and a sermon. Today's worship leader must know a little bit about everything: pop music, praise bands, worship flow...

and design.

There's a bunch of bad PowerPoint out there. But you don't do art, you say? If you have enough creative energy in you to be involved with worship, you have enough creativity to maintain decent graphics. You might not be able to produce the graphics yourself (although I believe anyone can learn to create good, basic graphics) but you should at least be able to recognize graphics that >aren't< good.

More and more churches are combining worship with video and presentation software for wonderfully professional results that would have cost a fortune a few years ago.

However, I'm afraid the technology is getting ahead of us. We have the latest bells and whistles, yet with this incredible technology I've seen the most horrific cheesiness projected on some church screens!

Let's start with a few basics. Of all places, I ran into a nice, quick and concise art lesson at the US Post Office in the form of a pamphlet. They've put a copy online, take a look:

http://www.zairmail.com/articles/simpleformula7.asp

There are a few things here we can apply to church graphics.

1. One thing dominates the page (or screen.) Don't try to cram the entire song/sermon on one slide.

2. Minimize typeface variety. Don't mix and match 5 fonts just because you can. Stay away from weird type styles - you don't want your worship to resemble a used car commercial.

Choose one or two nice, readable fonts and stick with them throughout your service. Times Roman is bland - start with Helvetica, Arial or Verdana. Whenever you use a new font, try it out on the screen before worship. What looks good on your computer monitor might not look so hot enlarged.

3. Easy to read text. Tiny text is hard to read on screen. Centering lyrics is the trend, but in my Art 101 college class I learned that this tires the eye - lyrics should be "flush left" - like a newspaper column. See how hard it is to read the following. The eye has to search for the beginning of each line:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.


4. Use relevant illustrations. Avoid cartoonish, goofy clip art (unless you're preparing slides for a junior high lock- in!)

Take a look at your PowerPoint or overhead master for this coming week. What can you tweak that would make the presentation cleaner and more professional?

>Bottom Line: Avoid graphic cheese in church!

This article originally appeared in the 09.02.03 issue of WorshipIdeas.com. Read an archive of past articles at the paid website WorshipMax.com


Article Source: http://www.worshipideas.com/Worship-Graphics.shtml