"Simple" Beats "Detailed," Every Time

Our team had a great set last Sunday, but what made the morning even more special was helping one of our members unlock more growth.

And it paid off, big time. 

Scene: Rehearsal

On this particular morning, we were singing several hymns. Hymns are kind of a funny thing; on one hand, if you're well-versed (pun intended 😉), then harmonizing is fairly straightforward, but if you approach it from a contemporary way, then sometimes, you might end up hitting the wrong notes. 

What makes these hymns special (and sometimes a challenge to harmonize) is that they use a wider vocabulary of chords, full of color and notes that lie outside of the established key of the song. And to make it even more complicated, some hymn arrangers either opt to use simpler harmonies OR make them more complicated. 

This means that you might grow up with one way of performing a hymn, but then, when you encounter a slightly more complex arrangement, you'll need to make adjustments. This was the case for one of our selections for Sunday morning. (The song was "How Great Thou Art.") 

Like most churchgoers (and even non-attenders), everybody on the team knew this song. BUT we all knew slightly different versions of it, some with different rhythmic phrases, others with different chords, etc. The instrumentalists were able to adjust fairly easily, but for singers, some of the chords ended up being slightly more challenging because each singer needed to find their part "by ear." With complex chords that lie outside of the established key of the song, there's some uncertainty created, which results in hesitancy or silence altogether. 

For one of our singers, they were really confident on the harmony up until one of these so called "color chords," and they struggled finding the part to follow the changes. 

Coming from an extensive music theory background, I almost went with this advice:

"Just move the note up chromatically, that's what this chromatic passing chord is doing."

Eh–WRONG ANSWER. 

Instead, I caught myself, and I said, "Here's the line you need to sing, it just stair-steps up with the chord. You'll hear it, I promise!" I sang the line, and just like that, the singer pulled it off and did it over and over as we looped it in rehearsal. By the time we got to that song in the service, the harmony line was absolutely perfect. 

The Bigger Lesson Learned

It's easy for directors to give details in language that, while precise in an academic setting, doesn't translate to the everyday person, especially when it comes to hashing out musical arrangements. 

In the case from this past Sunday, it would've been correct for me to detail out how the singer needed to match the chromaticism in their harmony line to that of the chord structures. But, it wouldn't have been helpful, and that is the most important thing: TO BE HELPFUL! 

As a music director, it's your job to help connect the dots for your team in the simplest way, or rather, the most efficient and understandable way. Sometimes, it DOES mean digging into the nitty gritty and getting a bit technical, but most of the time, it's far easier to give the need-to-know. After all, the end result is what counts, and for this case, it was just nailing the right harmony line, regardless of understanding exactly how it worked. 

Find ways to communicate more simply, and remember to pour on the encouragement. That way, your team can follow you without confusion and instead, move forward with you in confidence and clarity. 

Be blessed 👊✌️