Worship leading essentials 7 – Selecting musicians

As a follow up to the last article, let’s explore the selection process of musicians we use at exchange. Instead of using set bands, we have around 25 musicians and vocalists that we call the “musician’s pool.” Each week we draw from this pool and create a new band. The pool needs filled.

Somewhere along the way you have to settle on a process for selecting musicians. Get it lined out or when someone asks you if they can play in the band you will be stuck with the uncomfortable “Um, well, I, uh . . .hmmmm.” So, how do you screen and select musicians for the worship team? Here is
what we do:

  1. Have people e-mail requesting an audition packet. When people walk up and inquire about being in the band, I explain the process and have them e-mail me requesting an audition/interview packet. It’s the first step in a few hoops that we intentionally set up. Setting up a few simple obstacles weeds out those who are not serious. If you can’t take a few steps and be patient with the process, you won’t fit well in the musician’s pool.
  2. Send an audition packet. Once people contact me, I send them a packet that contains a cover letter as well as an audition form. Once they fill out and return the form, we move on to step three. If you would like a sample form and cover letter, just drop me an e-mail.
  3. Schedule the audition. Once the paperwork is turned in, I schedule the interview. Typically this is on a Sunday afternoon, prior to band rehearsal.
  4. Audition. This is the most important part of the process. I sit down with our vocal leader (Jeff) and together we conduct the audition. It is an informal deal, but I am looking for two things: to get to know them (1) spiritually and (2)musically. We talk openly about their relationship with Christ, their spiritual journey, musical experience, and life experience. It is also a time that we answer any questions that they have. Jeff also explains the process and workings of the musician’s pool and scheduling.
  5. The verdict.
  6. If no, we tell them they have little skill and should stick to playing at home or singing in the shower. We then scold them for wasting our time. If we make them cry, it’s a bonus. Actually we rarely say “no,” but we do say “not yet.” It is a tough arena to play with a band and some people are not ready. If they are not ready spiritually, we encourage them to be part of the exchange community for a bit longer and continue their journey with Christ. If they are not ready musically, we encourage them to get some lessons, improve their skills and come back for another audition when they feel they are ready.
  7. If yes, we invite the person to be part of a worship band for a worship gathering. When we began this process, we would give them a yes and they would be part of the pool. Experience has taught us that a person may do well in an audition but not be at the level needed to play with a band. The sure-fire way to find that out is to put them with a band for a night of worship leading. Put them in the fire and see how they do. After their first time with the band, we again talk and decide if the person will become part of the pool on a regular basis.

With everyone we interview, we explain that leading worship is a spiritual and musical issue. We lay out the expectations. We expect each team member to be a follower of Jesus, to Life Journal every day, practice their instrument, be honest, and to be a team player.

I feel fortunate that in several years of working with a musician’s pool, we have not had any significant issues. The success may be in part to this process, but I would guess it is that this whole thing is surrounded by prayer, honesty, and the grace of God.

There are numerous ways to screen and audition people for your worship team. What is your process?

[tags]worship, worship leading, worship team, musicians, vocalists, auditions[/tags]

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This post has 10 comments

  1. I think it\’s also a good idea to give each person a chance to play with the band. I don\’t mean throw someone straight in there, but there\’s a real difference between being technically and spiritually OK in an interview situation, and being capable of playing as part of a team.

    These are good articles. Thanks for taking the time to post them.

  2. I used to use the \”musician pool\” approach but found it hindered our ability to grow as a band. Each person has their own musical taste, playing style and they don\’t always mesh well with everyone else in the pool. Outside of the church bands don\’t operate like this for a reason.

    So I changed things in our church to organize bands as they do outside the church. Musicians play with those whom they mesh well with musically and relationally. My band has a vibe and style that is my own heart, something that is implanted in me and what I am able to use best to communicate God\’s greatness and love. If there is a need in my band for a particular instrument, I\’ll look for someone in the church who has similar musical taste and desires to get involved and is of course spiritually mature and being discipled in the church.

    So we go with the approach of building multiple bands, diverse stylistically, but unified in spirit. Instead of 1 band with a big rotating pool. This is tough because it involves not just bringing aboard more musician\’s but in training and raising up leaders. But I\’d much rather train leaders and have them train more leaders and so on to grow the vision. Multiplication instead of addition.

    I\’m really enjoying your blog. You have great insight here, glad I found ya. God bless.

  3. Hi, I would like a copy of the audition form if possible. Thank you. God Bless!

  4. Hi Scot,

    I\’ve just discovered the Resonate blog and I\’m really getting a lot of good information from it. Thank you. I would appreciate a sample of the audition packet that you mention here (Worship Leading Essentials 7 – Selecting Musicians) to aid in the development of my own. Thanks again… I\’ll be reading.

    Arron Archer
    Worship Leader
    Encounter Community Church
    http://www.encountercommunitychurch.org
    arron@encountecommunitychurch.org
    http://www.arronarcher.wordpress.com

  5. Great insight….would you please send me a copy of the audition packet and cover letter you use! I believe that will be very helpful…thanks!

    Shaun Martin

  6. We just started our edgy service in June of 07 and started with about 6 musicians. It was great. Slowly, we added more and more and now have a total of about 25 people or so. We tried just picking the various vocal and instrumentalists from the list, but that task became arduous at best. Plus, as the weeks went by, we figured out that some \”temperaments\” of the band worked better with other similar temperaments and so ultimately, we organized all the members into five teams, A through E. Some people serve in one team, some serve in two. And this has helped us so much. There is always one Worship Leader (we just added another) for every group and that has brought great unity to the service as well.

  7. Paul,
    Sounds like you are thinking through things well. Nice work!!

    Blessings!

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