Should Worship Leaders Be Great Singers?

Beyond the basics…

It would be great if every worship leader could somehow be a well trained vocalist. The reason for this may seem obvious enough, but the fact is that most worship leaders are in charge of other vocalists! So when we have a worship leader without even a basic understanding of proper vocal/team techniques, there can easily be a breakdown in the overall vocal production.  Many churches will end up hiring a worship leader based on lots of different things-most of which don’t necessarily have much to do with his overall musical or vocal ability. Many times a worship leader may simply be unqualified to lead a vocal team at all.

Additionally, it would be great if our worship leaders could not only sing well themselves but also had a background in choral (ensemble) music and arranging–ha! I realize that’s only a dream, but having at least a minimum understanding of proper vocal technique AND so a rudimentary grasp of team vocals would go a long way to help insure that what comes across to the congregation on a Sunday morning is a blessing rather than a distraction.

Help!

There are lots of ways to get help these days for yourself, your worship leader and your worship team.  If you can afford the time and luxury of getting some vocal training, I highly recommend it. Start with your local community college.  It is much more affordable than a four year university and usually of fine quality.  But don’t be afraid to be picky with your choice of teacher. Not all teachers are great, do a little research and find one that suits you and your needs. Try some private voice lessons, ear training & sight-singing classes and anything you can find that has to do with choir!  Getting involved with a choir will teach you a lot about group vocals.

Additionally, countless worship conferences are springing up all over the country in an effort to fill this ever increasing need. In this year so far, I personally have taught at over 20 different conferences not to mention another 20 smaller workshops. These smaller workshops are generally held at individual churches and came about as the result of meeting folks (at the larger conferences) that opted for some specialized training for their own church and invited me to come.
For more information on booking some training for your church Click the facebook link on the side and keep up to date on where I am.

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