I prepare music groups with two simple rules. What can you do with yours?
As a church music director, I rehearse teams for Sunday morning, including groups with developing musicians.
Two simple rules help the team get through the songs.
Performing in a group is a separate skill from performing alone.
The primary skill I instilled is responding to things when they don't go to plan:
- Vocalists missing an entrance
- Drummer filling at the wrong time
- Guitarist getting feedback on their pickup
All of these have happened during “the show” and usually we manage to end the song together.
I owe this to two very simple rules for the performance:
- “Band: The vocalists are always right.”
- “Vocalists: Be confident.”
These two rules worked surprisingly well when things went south.
How can you apply this?
1. Identify the goal
For me, it was helping the team recover during a performance.
For you, it could be running a sponsor meeting to fulfill funding obligations.
2. Tease out the top roadblocks
For me, it was identifying who was in charge during the performance.
For you, it could be keeping the meeting on schedule to hit the essential topics.
3. Express the rules crisply
For me, I expressed the rules as above.
For you, it could be “Mind the clock on the table.”
Thanks for reading!
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Photo by David Rangel