It's Just a Church - What Does That Mean?
I played at the Grand Bay Wesleyan Church yesterday with a group of Bluegrass Friends. I was commenting on the high temperature in the church and about how I don't handle the heat very well. At some point during the conversation the question of how can we become a tighter group came up. Of course, that left the door wide open for me to do some more complaining about how this could be better and how that could be better, especially when speaking about myself.
At some point during the conversation however, someone said "don't worry about it, it's just a church." If the person who made that statement just happens to be reading this blog, don't get too upset with me for mentioning it. I'm not singling you out. You are just one of MANY people that have made the exact same remark, which is why I decided to write about it. I have a question that relates to it, and it's this: what does that mean?
I think I know what it means alright! I hear the same comment being made with regard to other places as well, such as nursing homes for instance. Translated, I think it means who would bother putting in enough practice time in order to get good to play at one of these lowly places? Maybe lowly is a bad choice of words here, I just can't think of another way to convey my thoughts about it.
It's as if to say all of the "old folks" that generally attend the kinds of events that we play at wouldn't know the difference between good, bad or indifference when it comes to the music we are trying to play. But I'm here to tell you differently, or at least I disagree with that way of thinking. To be certain, there probably are some people that fit this line of thinking, but it's not everyone. A lot of people may not know why something sounds good or bad, but they know the difference between a so-so band, a pretty good band and a fantastic band. They can't explain it, but they know.
I have one question to ask. If we're always willing to fall short of our best simply because the venue doesn't warrant the practice time, what venue WOULD actually warrant putting in the required amount of practice? Are there any? I guess that's two questions.
At some point during the conversation however, someone said "don't worry about it, it's just a church." If the person who made that statement just happens to be reading this blog, don't get too upset with me for mentioning it. I'm not singling you out. You are just one of MANY people that have made the exact same remark, which is why I decided to write about it. I have a question that relates to it, and it's this: what does that mean?
I think I know what it means alright! I hear the same comment being made with regard to other places as well, such as nursing homes for instance. Translated, I think it means who would bother putting in enough practice time in order to get good to play at one of these lowly places? Maybe lowly is a bad choice of words here, I just can't think of another way to convey my thoughts about it.
It's as if to say all of the "old folks" that generally attend the kinds of events that we play at wouldn't know the difference between good, bad or indifference when it comes to the music we are trying to play. But I'm here to tell you differently, or at least I disagree with that way of thinking. To be certain, there probably are some people that fit this line of thinking, but it's not everyone. A lot of people may not know why something sounds good or bad, but they know the difference between a so-so band, a pretty good band and a fantastic band. They can't explain it, but they know.
I have one question to ask. If we're always willing to fall short of our best simply because the venue doesn't warrant the practice time, what venue WOULD actually warrant putting in the required amount of practice? Are there any? I guess that's two questions.
Labels: poor playing
posted by Michael Floyd at 1:45 AM
4 Comments:
Well Mike youve opened another can of worms.I for one believe that no matter where we are playing,we should give out best effort to get the best job done.I firmly will not settle for anyone thinking that just because its only a unimportant venue t, that we shouldnt worry about doing our best.I may not always come out sounding my best,but at least Ill try to do my best..I hope that my fellow musicians believe in this approach too.I would hate to think that they would not try to do their best just because of the venue...Big,Small or indifferent it doesnt matter...we should always strive to do the best job that we can do...Thanks for reminding me about this..,Kenny
I'm very good at opening cans. Lately, all of the cans I open contain worms.
I hope you don't mean when I said "it's a church", the word "just" wasn't part of the meaning. What I meant was "lose the ego, your in a church." While a good performance is important, it's more important to show respect for where you are. While in a church you try not to overemphasize your importance as a performer, because in a church you are NEVER the reason people came. Your job is to add to the experience with whatever ability God has given you. The time to practice and perfect your performance ISN'T right before you go on stage, that usually causes panic amongst the other performers. Every one should work together to remain calm and support each other to get the job done. It makes a more pleasant experience for performer and audience alike.
Lilangel,
It wasn't your comment that sparked me to write the blog entry. Someone else said "it's just a church," and because I hear comments of that nature so often, I thought I would blog about it.
Switching topics to your comment "in a church you are NEVER the reason people came," I would say one might like to think that is true, but I know MANY people that would never set foot in a church unless a musical event was taking place, so I would have to disagree with that statement in general.
Have you ever noticed how many people show up for an evening service when music is involved compared to the numbers that show up for a normal service when preaching is involved?
I do realize that playing "gospel" music is a form of ministry, and that's how we like to think about it, but I certainly don't think all of the people in the pews at a musical event are there to necessarily be inspired by the word, whether preached or sung.
Ideally, people are going to church to worship God, but that's not always the reason the pews get filled. Through musical events however, you can hope the message will get through to some.
Those are just some observations I have made in the past. In any event, just getting someone through a church door is a good thing.
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