Are You Overplaying?
By Joshua Taliaferro, Social Media & Copywriting Associate for MultiTracks.com
We’ve all been there. You come to a worship service ready to focus on worshipping Jesus, but you end up distracted by the band because they're overplaying.
This is more common than we think, so I sat down with Cristiano Rede to get the perspective of a Music Director when it comes to musicians overplaying in worship.
Joshua: Cristiano, thank you so much for sitting down with me today. It’s always great to sit down with someone else who's in the space of leading worship—and, in your case, directing worship teams! I'd love to hear about your experience as a Music Director. How long have you been an MD?
Cristiano: First of all, Joshua, thank you for having me. It's such an honor to collaborate with you and exchange some cards around this topic which I’m passionate about. I have been an MD for about 9 years now. I started at the Bethel Ministry School. I grew up around that, and as I got better, I got to go on trips and play in different places beyond the church. I count myself very fortunate and I love it. It's still amazing.
Joshua: Describe to me a little bit more about the relationship between an MD and a worship leader. What's that like?
Cristiano: Well that’s a great question. Everybody could tell you a different answer. I see the MD as a stage shepherd. The MD guides the band to follow the direction and will of the Worship Leader. As an MD, you need to come in with a heart ready to serve whoever is leading the team.
Joshua: What an insightful way to view that! I found that one of the callings we have as a worship team is providing a space for the congregation to experience Jesus through the music we create on a Sunday morning. What are some practicals on how a Worship Team can accomplish this?
Cristiano: Well I always think of two things. First off, the entire worship team should be going after excellence and learning their craft. They have to ask themselves, what is their role in these holy moments? When you're educated in this, you can create genuine moments with your team that aren’t overproduced. The second one is community. Community plays an important part when we recognize the need to create history between the people in the room so you can actually usher and launch the church into worship because there is trust built from the platform. You can tell the strength of the connection between the congregation and the worship team based on the moments you create.
Joshua: Wow, that's so practical. I love it. So much of our job is about creating a space of worship that people can count on every Sunday. However, Cristiano, I do find that one of the easiest pitfalls worship teams can fall into is overplaying. When the team “overplays,” it can really rip away the holy moment for the congregation. Why do you think that is? Why do we overplay?
Cristiano: Whew, yeah. It could come from excitement to insecurity, you know? Overplaying comes down to a lack of education and lack of self-awareness. When you’re on the platform you have to remember that this is not your personal musical environment—it’s a worship environment. Insecure musicians have this need to overplay so maybe the pastor notices they’re good. This need can derail what the Holy Spirit wants to do and can throw the entire band off. Not to mention, you rob members of your congregation of something that was meant to serve them—and instead, you make it about yourself. There are serious repercussions to overplaying, but it all stems from a lack of maturity. Yeah.
Joshua: Wow. That was some truth! Cristiano; how can a music director tell if their team is overplaying? Maybe they’re so invested in the music that they’ve lost track of the sound they’re creating.
Cristiano: Well, if you're a well-experienced MD, it just doesn't fit. You can tell that it’s just not sounding right. Like, at Bethel, you have to sound like the record. There's no other option. Because Bethel Music is writing and producing the songs, we have to be disciplined and play like the record. So, that already limits your desire to overplay.
Joshua: In regards to the musicians on a team that tend to overplay—do you think it's a heart issue of the musician or a leadership problem?
Cristiano: I think it could be both. I'm part of a worship community where we communicate about all of this when we meet together. So I would ask the MD: Do you communicate these things? Do you give feedback? If you see that it’s a heart issue, go deeper: maybe they’re insecure. Maybe they're jealous. On a relational level, you will be able to find these things out.
Joshua: That’s so true. So how do we balance creating engaging music while stewarding a worshipful environment?
Cristiano: I'll go back to something I said before. I think it's about serving the moment. There’s a balance of knowing what’s needed on Sunday and finding a flexible formula. I would ask yourself, where does leadership feel like the spirit is taking us that day? At Dwelling Place, we're playing some songs that are difficult to play. We have creative and engaging arrangements, but it’s all about serving the moment. Again, you have to ask yourself, what does the church need?
Joshua: More amazing truth! How have you helped lead your team to find that unique sound at Dwelling Place?
Cristiano: Hmm. Well, you know how I play bass? Well, we had a bass player at our church who came with his own style, his own tone, he came with all the freedom one can have. So I took him through a journey of maturity. First, he had to learn how to copy what somebody else did. I didn’t want him to come up with his own arrangements just yet. I wanted him to master the source. Then, from that discipline, he could find his overflow. I could tell him to start adding his own flair. He just needed to learn: ‘This is why I'm here. I'm here to serve this holy moment.’
Joshua: That's fantastic. I mean, we're talking about helping the entire team create a full sound! Because if every player brings 100% of their ability to fill the sound, then the band isn’t playing at 100%—they’re playing at 500%. The whole platform becomes overloaded with sound and we lose our purpose. The whole point of the band playing is about lifting the name of Jesus.
On the subject of creating a full sound for your team—every team wants to sound full and create a beautiful sonic landscape. But maybe they don't have a 20-person band, so what are some resources that are available to Music Directors and Worship Leaders so they can create a full sound?
Cristiano: With technology these days, you can have a full band literally in your pocket! Resources have come so far, you know. I feel like MultiTracks.com does a beautiful job with Playback 8. I would argue it’s the only iOS-based tracks player that is made to truly serve the moment. You can arrange the song however you want it to feel and also fill the gaps your worship team needs to find a full sound. Oh my gosh, that's the beauty of Playback, even if it's just you playing an acoustic—you have access to an incredible and dynamic pad player. It’s a great resource to have in place wherever you find yourself leading worship. From the massive conference to the morning prayer room—Playback is the only iOS-based tracks player created to meet the needs of the worship moment. I’m a big fan.
Joshua: Yes I totally agree! Playback was created so you could truly flow and fill out every worship moment. As an MD you've probably used a myriad of resources and options for all sorts of things. So why should other MDs consider using Playback to fill out the sound of their team?
Cristiano: I think from an interface aspect, it’s the best out there, so just go with that. It’s created for accessibility and the user experience. I know I can throw Playback in front of any volunteer and they can start running tracks that same Sunday. It's unheard of!
Joshua: I think in the end, it’s about knowing your craft and using the tools we have to create worship moments that change lives. Playback to me is such an obvious resource to use so the entire band can focus their energy on leading the moment, rather than worrying about having a full sound. The key to curbing overplaying is having a leader who shepherds the team and stewards those moments. I know I’m proud to work for a company that is dedicated to helping teams accomplish this every Sunday. Cristiano, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today.
Cristiano: I was happy to, thank you!
