No Canned Music Allowed

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

With so many people today singing with tracks and not wanting a live band, I have some good news. I go to church with an elderly couple who sponsor a Gospel singing once a month. They allow Country Gospel and Bluegrass Gospel. The good news is no one is allowd to sing unless they have live music to sing with. People call wanting to come sing with their tracks and are told "No". It is good to see somebody these days tired of all the tracks that will not allow it in what they are sponsoring with their own money.

Les Anderson · From: The Great White North

It's great to see that another church is doing this Paul.

The church that I used to play at lost most of their band members because of a self centered music director. This fellow started using canned backup to his piano but the church board gave him an option.

In short, he is gone, the original band members are back at the church and I will be back with this local Christian band in early Oct.

There is no replacement for the live sound.

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

Webb Kline · From: Orangeville, PA

One thing about it, if we're preaching that Jesus is alive, we'd best be singing it and playing it live. No room for canned music when the Holy Ghost gets a dancin'!

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

Let me clear one thing up. The singing is held in a city auditorium and is not sponsored by our church. At our church if a visitor comes in and wants to sing with a track the pastor will let them. It rubs me the wrong way but I am not in charge. Live music is better and like the one comment from Webb sure is true. When the taped ends the song is over but with live music yoy can go another round.

Webb Kline · From: Orangeville, PA

Paul, we allow tracks for special music, too, although it personally makes me cringe. But, I know some churches who sing to tracks. Cringe does not adequately define the effect this has on me.

John Bechtel · From: Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.

Can anyone remember when Radio used to be ‘Live’ too?

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“Big John” Bechtel
’04 SD–10 Black Derby w/3 & 5 & Pad
’65 Re-Issue Fender Twin–Reverb Custom™ 15” Eminence
web site

Sonny Priddy · From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.

Yes John I Can. SONNY.

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Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

I've been guilty of using tracks myself. What do you do if you sing at a church that has one piano player and a guitar player that knows 2 1/2 chords and don't know your songs? I have tracks of my CD project I did a couple of years ago, I played all the instruments but the drums and its kind of hard to do that live anyway. I played an acoustic guitar and used the tracks. The people loved it.

The band I play with is probably as good as any Praise band in Texas, but we still have some good singers that are not comfortable with singing with anything but a track. Thats up to them, I'm not going to criticize them for it. We're doing this to glorify God anyway, not to glorify the band or individual musicians. If you want this kind of glory for yourself, maybe you should be playing somewhere besides church.

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

Mark Eaton · Posted 30 Sep 2005 7:53 am

Good point Darvin, but on the other hand...if the band is at least at a respectable level as far as the players go-there is no reason that the vocalists can't be trained to sing with the band instead of relying on tracks.

This just requires more effort. Yes, we play in these bands to glorify God-not to be seen as performers, but in all of our earthly work we are to put our best foot forward. In our church band, everyone has the opportunity in the congregation to participate if they feel led-but we make it clear to them in a gentle manner that it IS a commitment and we are serious about it. So if one is not willing to roll up their sleeves and really put some work into it, there are no shortage of other ways to serve the church body.

I should probably ask, Darvin, the singers that are only comfortable with tracks-do they just occasionally participate, or are they singing with the band on a regular basis?

I was checking out your website-you work in the music business professionally whereas I don't. We have an outstanding band out here with a number of sometime and former professionals. Sounds like with the quality of your band-you guys should be able to bring those "track singers" up to speed with a live band!

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Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 30 September 2005 at 09:30 AM.]

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 30 September 2005 at 09:33 AM.]

Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

Mark,

Most of the singers that use tracks in our church only sing occasionally. The biggest problem with our band is getting everyone together. I realize it is a commitment, but we do have some professional musicians in our group that never know when they will be working, and the church gig is gratis. Sometimes the singers are guests from out of town and there just isn't time to get together with the band.

No matter how good a musician is, with todays style of contemporary christian music, its very hard to just sit down and play it without making mistakes and making the singer look bad. Most Country Gospel and older gospel music is not as hard to do cold, but as you know, most of todays music is Pop and Rock oriented and some writers try to see how many incidentals they can throw in.

BTW I am not in the music business full time, the studio it a part time thing. I am a Mechanical Engineer by profession, I design big, specialty construction equipment. How else do you think I can afford all this musical stuff? LOL

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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

[This message was edited by Darvin Willhoite on 30 September 2005 at 11:37 AM.]

Mark Eaton · Posted 30 Sep 2005 11:28 am

I get your drift, Darvin.

Actually though, I find a lot of the Contemporary Christian stuff easier to play then many of the old hymns. You ever notice how many chord changes there are in some of those hymns? Thank goodness our keyboard player is a former concert pianist!

Much as I try, they only let me put in just so much country and bluegrass gospel-so I have to "pick my battles" carefully.

The keyboard player is our director and she also sang in the San Francisco Opera and gives professional voice lessons, and has helped me a lot with my singing. I feel really blessed to be surrounded by some of the talent in our group.

I'm one of the rotating leaders, which means once a month I choose all the songs for the service, work on arrangements, get chord charts together, decide on vocal and instrumental solos, etc. This takes some serious time out of the week but I really enjoy it.

One of the most difficult things I have to figure out is which key to pitch a song in if it's newer or we haven't done it very often. If it's a higher pitched song for the men, where I might be more comfortable-it can be pitched too high for the women, as an octave above.

Or if we pitch it lower-it might be in the middle of the women's range-but too "Johhnny Cash-like" for the men.

We do a lot of songs by one of your fellow Texans from Austin, Chris Tomlin. He's my favorite of the Contemp. Christian guys.

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Mark

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 30 September 2005 at 12:28 PM.]

[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 30 September 2005 at 12:31 PM.]

JAMES BANKS · From: Mineola,TX USA

Hey Paul, I started a once per month show in April featuring southern and country gospel and we do the same thing NO TRACKS! It pushes the band a bit to learn new songs every month but we all love the challenge and so far we have met it each time. The guest singers have expressed how much more fun it is to sing with a band as opposed to tracks. I admit, I have missed some good singers being guests because they prefer tracks, but the people attending tell us they are glad we don't use tracks. Our Gospel Opry is the 3 rd Saturday of each month, March thru November. Check out our web site www.jamcatsound.com, click on JC Gospel Opry.

Thanks
James

Mark Eaton · Posted 30 Sep 2005 1:54 pm

Man, this tracks thing must be a Texas phenomenon.

And I always respected Texas for giving us some of the top singers and musicians, gospel or secular!

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Mark

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

If people want to sing with a track anywhere that is their right as long as those in authority allow it. The singing I am talking about is not held in a church even though it is gospel. While it is true we are supposed to be playing to glorify God I for one am trying to be the best I can be. If I can do something that grabs someones attention and they comment on it I do not feel like I have done wrong. It just gives me the opportunity to tell them God blessed me to play what they like. I can understand an evangelist coming in and singing with a track especially if the music is not satisfactory. I do not like it but he has the right if it is allowed by the pastor. After all music is a big part of church but the preaching is what we must have. There are some nights I wish we did not even have any music. Those are the nights when the body and mind are tired and ready to go to bed.

Webb Kline · From: Orangeville, PA

Yes Paul, but being a preacher, I can assure you that sometimes it would also be better if we just sang and I kept my mouth shut.

James Cann · From: Phoenix, AZ

No canned music allowed, eh? Well, eat your heart out! You'll never know what you missed!

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