Bass Lessons
I've been humbled this week. Music is starting to be a good tool for learning about God and about life.
Last Sunday, I found out that I would be playing for a young adult service tonight. Of course it's an extended set - over an hour of worship total...slightly different than my normal Cru sets of 20 minutes. :-) Seeing this as my opportunity to "impress people", I've practiced diligently, almost every night. Worship at my church has been a goal of mine since I started playing bass.
Wednesdays are Cru worship practice, and it was fun (as usual). The next day, I was getting ready to practice bass, and was deciding what to play. The thought that went through my head was "Well, I've gotten this Cru worship thing figured out pretty well. I don't really need to practice that, I'll just sorta 'wing it'." (and I did practice, but only other music) Yeah, so pride goes before a fall - a little pride, a little fall. I know my expectations for myself are rising, but I was still disappointed in how I played. I think my worship set this Thursday was one of the worse sets I've played in some time. And mostly because I thought I was all that, and could get away with very little practice. It gets better, though. After Cru, more people than usual came up to me and said that worship and particularly bass sounded really good.
You would think I would learn. But, no, I'm kinda slow on the uptake. So God has to teach me again. Saturday comes, and I know I've got this set down. There's a lot of songs, some of which I don't know very well, but I've practiced them like crazy. I've even figured out places where I can fill in extra notes that sound pretty good. I kinda figured that I was provisionally playing based on how the immediately preceding practice goes, so I play well. Not perfect, but definitely well. Julia (the worship leader tonight) says I sound good, and I'm good to go.
The first set goes well. The monitors are set up so that I can hear everything I need to, and even I know it sounds good. The attendance is much smaller than a normal Cru meeting, but that's OK. I play because I want to and because it worships God. Then the second set starts, and suddenly stuff is different. Feedback in the PA, monitor levels are different, and I can tell it's rattling Julia. I know what's wrong and how to fix it, but that requires me to be in the sound booth, not up front strapped into a bass guitar. The second set is half as long as the first, and I know what I'm doing, but it's just not as cool. And of course, this is when a guitar-playing friend of mine gets to church, so he doesn't hear me really at all. So much for "impressing people". I was a little bummed when the set ended, because I knew I was capable of better. Then I overheard one of the leaders talking to the worship leader, and saying that worship was great and people were meeting Jesus.
Moral of the story: Kenton needs to always watch his priorities. Do I play to play, or do I play for attention/praise? The first is fine, but the second will quickly lead me astray. Every time. Twice in a week if I'm not paying attention.
And that's all for now.
Last Sunday, I found out that I would be playing for a young adult service tonight. Of course it's an extended set - over an hour of worship total...slightly different than my normal Cru sets of 20 minutes. :-) Seeing this as my opportunity to "impress people", I've practiced diligently, almost every night. Worship at my church has been a goal of mine since I started playing bass.
Wednesdays are Cru worship practice, and it was fun (as usual). The next day, I was getting ready to practice bass, and was deciding what to play. The thought that went through my head was "Well, I've gotten this Cru worship thing figured out pretty well. I don't really need to practice that, I'll just sorta 'wing it'." (and I did practice, but only other music) Yeah, so pride goes before a fall - a little pride, a little fall. I know my expectations for myself are rising, but I was still disappointed in how I played. I think my worship set this Thursday was one of the worse sets I've played in some time. And mostly because I thought I was all that, and could get away with very little practice. It gets better, though. After Cru, more people than usual came up to me and said that worship and particularly bass sounded really good.
You would think I would learn. But, no, I'm kinda slow on the uptake. So God has to teach me again. Saturday comes, and I know I've got this set down. There's a lot of songs, some of which I don't know very well, but I've practiced them like crazy. I've even figured out places where I can fill in extra notes that sound pretty good. I kinda figured that I was provisionally playing based on how the immediately preceding practice goes, so I play well. Not perfect, but definitely well. Julia (the worship leader tonight) says I sound good, and I'm good to go.
The first set goes well. The monitors are set up so that I can hear everything I need to, and even I know it sounds good. The attendance is much smaller than a normal Cru meeting, but that's OK. I play because I want to and because it worships God. Then the second set starts, and suddenly stuff is different. Feedback in the PA, monitor levels are different, and I can tell it's rattling Julia. I know what's wrong and how to fix it, but that requires me to be in the sound booth, not up front strapped into a bass guitar. The second set is half as long as the first, and I know what I'm doing, but it's just not as cool. And of course, this is when a guitar-playing friend of mine gets to church, so he doesn't hear me really at all. So much for "impressing people". I was a little bummed when the set ended, because I knew I was capable of better. Then I overheard one of the leaders talking to the worship leader, and saying that worship was great and people were meeting Jesus.
Moral of the story: Kenton needs to always watch his priorities. Do I play to play, or do I play for attention/praise? The first is fine, but the second will quickly lead me astray. Every time. Twice in a week if I'm not paying attention.
And that's all for now.
posted by The student of life at 11:17 PM
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