Making the Leap: Transitioning to Using Loops in Worship

“We’ve got loops. We’ve got the equipment. We’ve got musicians who say they’re ready to go. What now?”

Don’t worry, this seems to be an issue every worship leader deals with in the beginning stages. How do you begin to rehearse with loops–much less be ready to play with them during a service? What are some tips and tricks to putting everything in place? What should you look out for?

This post will discuss some of these issues and concerns, but hopefully leave room for your discussion in the comments section. First, using loops in worship is all about introducing ideas and concepts to a group of people who naturally resist change. Remember–people mostly agree that change is inevitable, yet when it comes down to the wire they will push back. Be ready and be prepared to start slowly, building your vision of loops into a timeframe that is reasonable for your church.

One thing to think about is introducing a click track or metronome to your drummer (or time-keeper). Since you should have the equipment needed to do this, start by running a click track from Reason, Ableton Live, or a simple metronome directly into the headphones. Have them play with it during their practice sessions, and have them start the band and play along with the click, keeping everyone else in time during rehearsals. When you feel comfortable with their tempo, move on to these steps:

1. Email out a loop that you’ve worked on and want to begin rehearsing. You may need to compress the file a bit to make it a reasonable email size, and be sure to give the band ample time to practice with it on their own. Also, you may consider recording a scratch vocal track for rehearsal purposes so everyone will know where in the song they are.
2. Set up the computer, headphone amp, interface, and sound system before rehearsal so the transition will be much smoother (“let’s try this loop stuff; let me just press play…”).
3. Warm up with a comfortable tune or chart, and then begin the loop rehearsal by playing through the loop once without playing/singing along, once through the song without the loop, and then finally all together.
4. Assess. It is adamant that you, as the worship leader, be able to assess how the band is reacting to and playing with the loop(s). What parts are they struggling with? Is it a tempo/musical/technical problem? Most of these questions are things you will already ask yourself during a normal rehearsal, but hone in on how they handle the loop overall.
5. Don’t overdo it. Obviously you don’t want everyone hating loops the first time you rehearse with them, so don’t push too hard the very first (or second or third…) time. Acknowledge some trouble-spots and specific areas to focus on, and let it go. You’ll have more time to rehearse next week.

What are some ways you’ve found to help get everything started with your band? Let us know in the comments section!