The music blog of Mike Schmidt.
I will be working on getting some long overdue workshops up here soon. I just picked up a TASCAM DR-07 and will be working on a basic frailing lesson(banjo) and a syncopation/palm-muting lesson(guitar/uke). I will be taking the audio only approach since it will open more opportunities for me to record.
-Mike
I have found a new direction for this blog. I am going to promote as much free music teaching as I can. I was recently asked to make a video or audio workshop and I will be taking that vision farther.
I will be spending sometime completely changing the site around and doing things to promote what’s to come.
A common conception of Music Ministry in churches today is that it is synonymous with Worship Leading or a Worship Band. Why do we limit this outlet to such a small part of life? My goal with this post is to submit some ideas for other ways that we can use Music Ministry for more than our own worship services.
Outreach
Few things can grab the attention of people the way that live music can. Like I’ve said elsewhere on this site, I have never heard of someone looking at any musician of any skill level and saying, “Man, I’m glad I never wasted my time on music.” More often the response is more like, “Man, I wish I could play an instrument.” Sometimes, we don’t realize how little it takes to make an impression on someone. If we could get out in public and play anything, this is not limited to “Praise” songs or even “Christian” music(though we should probably not do songs supporting things contrary to our beliefs), we can make connections with others. I think if you can befriend someone first you will have a better chance witnessing to them, as well as keep in contact later. How can this be done? That is up to you to learn and try, I guess. But here’s one way that I have thought of and plan to try. I plan to go to a public bench along a sidewalk, we have a few here in Maquoketa, and just play. I might throw some change in my banjo or guitar case just to draw the attention, there’s no way to make anything decent by busking in Maquoketa. Though, I might scrape up enough to buy a new set of strings. My intention is to find someone interested in learning to play music. And then to develop a relationship by teaching them. Which brings me to my next topic…
Teaching
Music and teaching go hand in hand. One of the strong recommendations of Patrick Costello is that as soon as you learn something, find someone to teach it to. The idea is that, in order to teach, you will have to analyze what you are doing so that you can explain it. This applies to even something as basic as the basic frailing strum on the banjo or the Carter strum on the guitar. It not only solidifies your knowledge, but also invites someone into the world of music by showing them that it isn’t as difficult as many try and make it seem. As “Dear Old Dad” of Tangier Sound emphasizes(not a direct quote, but similar to actual sentiments, “You don’t need talent to play music, you just need basic applied principles and technique.” We should be doing this with the youth in our church communities. The musicians in the church should be training the next generation of music ministers. I refuse to limit them to worship leading. We need to be training our own replacements, even if that means we may need to step aside to let them pass us. Who cares what style of music they end up moving into. Punk, Rap, Rock, Country, Folk, Reggae, whatever. The key here is the connection and relationship that you can develop with them and have the chance to mentor them in their faith and not just in their musical skills. Those different types of music I listed…they lead to another opportunity.
Entertainment
Why not support the church youth by helping them with a concert of their own style? They will reach kids that the adults likely can’t. It is so important that we work with our youth to embrace outreach. It is okay to allow events which involve music that may not ordinarily be allowed or used in a church service environment. Again, the music should not be contrary to our faith, but doesn’t need to be blatantly “Christian.” This isn’t to be limited to the youth, but it provided a good segway. I am looking forward to starting a ministry that goes to nursing homes and hospitals. Just showing some of these people that someone cares is more than enough. This has been on my heart for a while, but has found new inspiration in the “Why I play banjo” section of A Book Of Five Strings.
Wrapping Up
While I don’t expect everyone to see things exactly the way that I do, my prayer is that I would at least be able to broaden the view of Music Ministry and it’s place in a church community. I am currently studying how music was used and how it is referenced in the Bible. My only goal is to understand more how God uses music. I think we have been deceived into believing that it has less significance than it really does.
Well, here is the third installment of my Beginning Music Theory series. I am not really sure where I will go next, but I have another series of lessons to get started on for Basic Rock Guitar. There are a few boys in my church with guitars and I wanted to help get them started. If you have questions let me know.
-Mike
Here is my second Beginning Music Theory Lesson #2. It is on the Nashville Number System. I hope you find it helpful. Again, feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Melodic Metanoia – Music Theory – Lesson 2 – Nashville Numbering
