Category: worship

Should We Ban The Music Stands?

On By adamdolhanykIn Arrangment, band practice, church band, church culture, leadership, thoughts, worship6 Comments

 

This has become a conversation over the past few years in worship ministry. Possibly, it’s even become a battle in some chruches. Should we allow music stands on the stage?

For some, this will seem like a ridiculous idea; how can we know what songs to play without the music? What’s the big deal? Why is this even a question?

While others might say: “yes, and if you don’t get rid of the stands, you’re doing it wrong!” or some other hyperbolic rhetoric.

For this post, I’d like to address the reasons someone would want to ban Music Stands, the pros and cons of those reasons and some practical considerations for you to take into account. Maybe you’ve been wresting with this idea. Maybe this has been an issue in your ministry. Maybe you’ve never heard of such a thing and you can’t understand why someone would do it; but you are going to keep reading to find out.

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Thoughts About Credit Cards and Purchasing Equipment

On By adamdolhanykIn church culture, culture, thoughts, worship1 Comment

Can I Buy Equipment With A Credit Card?

I see this question a lot. Mostly on forums and gear groups but sometimes I’ll get an email or something about it. With the cost of musical gear and accessories such as PA or computer equipment being so high, doesn’t it make sense to use a credit card to make purchases on high cost items? Won’t it be too late to use it by the time I save up for it?

Sadly, the answers people give are often over-simplified or limited in their scope. People living in one context might not see that the person asking the question might exist in a different situation then they do. In this post I hope to address the central question and give some perspective that might be helpful, not only in deciding when or if to use credit, but how we buy our equipment in general.

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My Worship Pedalboard

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviews, thoughts, worship1 Comment

Every so often I get asked in the comments what kind of gear I use on a Sunday morning. While certain things change from time to time, I’ve been consistent over the years with a Fender Telecaster and a Tube Amp (currently my beloved Benson Monarch.)

Below is a quick rundown of my main rig. It’s a rig made up of compromises. Since it’s not the biggest in size, I can’t have everything I want, so these pedals are compromises that allow me to get the sounds I need within the constraints I have set before me.

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Backing Tracks: What I use and How I Got There

On By adamdolhanykIn band practice, church band, church culture, electric guitar, reviews, thoughts, worship4 Comments

What I use and How I Got There

Multi-tracks, Backing Tracks, and Pads have become more and more mainstream in music in recent years. It’s not just in the church, but its not uncommon to go to shows and concerts and see well known bands with Pads or Backing Tracks going on in the background. I remember 2004 hearing it with Coldplay and over the next few years later I started noticing it with smaller bands in at clubs in the Seattle area.

Programs like Abelton and the easy of Apple’s Garage band have put this technology in the hands of church musicians as well. But it’s not just the mega-churches that are doing this. Walk into churches of ranging in size from 50-150 and you could easily hear some form of backing track going on.

I started using ambient Pads in the background about 6 months ago. I want to walk you through my process, how I got here, and why I use what I use.

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Where Do I Put My Volume Pedal?

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviews, worship3 Comments

Where to Put the Volume Pedal?

Now, we’ve talked about signal chain before on the blog (HERE). There’s no right or wrong, only guidelines. Generally compression goes towards the front and reverb goes to the back. But some effects can find a home almost anywhere along the line. Where’s the best spot in your signal chain to put a Volume Pedal (VP)? What are the pros and cons? Is there one VP that’s better than the rest? Let’s talk about it.

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Spring Q&A: What’s the Best Thing and Other Questions

On By adamdolhanykIn band practice, church band, church culture, electric guitar, thoughts, worship5 Comments

Every so often I look over the search terms from engines like Google and Yahoo that lead people to this blog and turn them into a sort of Q&A. This one is pretty guitar and musical gear heavy but hopefully it’s helpful to someone. (warning, if some of my comments seem like I’m being snarky, it’s because I am 🙂 )

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Codes and Keys (How To Dress For The Modern Church)

On By adamdolhanykIn church culture, culture, leadership, worship3 Comments

CODES AND KEYS

I’ve been writing this blog for almost 4 years and this is the first time I’ve addressed how we dress on stage. The Bible has things to say about how Christians should present themselves. The Church Culture has things to say about how Christians should present themselves (not necessarily the same as the Bible). Even the Secular Culture has ideas about how Christians dress, or how everyone else should dress too.

So why should I add my thoughts to the mix? That’s actually not my goal. Of course I have opinions on this subject, but my goal isn’t to give you a list of things I think you should do. My goal is to break down some general keys to follow as you try to figure out what’s right in regards to you, your church, your cultural context and your convictions. As always, while our basis for these things must be found in God’s Word, working these things out can feel at times like a moving target so I’m going to try and focus on Dress Keys than Dress Codes.

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Should I Use Effects With My Acoustic Guitar

On By adamdolhanykIn Arrangment, church band, electric guitar, thoughts, worship5 Comments

Honestly, I wish this was the question being asked. Should I? But the question is usually phrased more along the lines of “which effects should I use?” This assumes that any should be used at all.

To that end, I want to first ask the question “should I?” and use that to answer the “which ones?” question.

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The Electric: How To Dial In Complicated Pedals

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, worship5 Comments

ChaseBlissAudio

THINGS AIN’T LIKE THEY USED TO BE

Some pedals are easy as pie to dial in. The MXR Phase 90 and it’s one control knob come to mind. The Tube Screamer is pretty straightforward: volume, tone, gain… that’s it. (Note: I love both of these pedals)

But as technology has advanced, pedals and their controls have become more advanced and complicated. Some people stay away from pedals with too many knobs or complicated controls. Some people have them, but don’t know what to do with them.

My goal is to walk you through some steps that should help you conquer your fears and expand your guitar tone!

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The Electric: Boss Vs Boutique

On By adamdolhanykIn electric guitar, reviews, thoughts, worship6 Comments

Boss effects pedals is the Ford Motor Company of the musical world. The Ford Focus is a great car, the Escape is incredibly popular, and the F-150 is an American institution. Yet on Car magazine covers and wall posters it’s the Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s and Porches’ that get all the love. The same is true with Boss pedals. The RV-5 is a iconic reverb sound found on records from all across the musical spectrum, yet Strymon get’s all the love. What’s the difference between Boss vs boutique pedals and how should affect how I spend my gear money?

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