What I’m about to share with you is rather humbling, but I’ve come to believe the best teaching is informed by actual experience. That said… I’m going to teach you a fresh lesson I learned this weekend about musical performance. In this case, the voice was that of my bowed psaltry. It’s a German variation of the ancient plucked psaltry. This one is laid out like a mini-piano keyboard, and I play between the pegs with two bows. I place it on a tripod (mine has a screw hole in the back) so the wooden sound board can vibrate freely.
- To prepare my instrument or voice and rehearse so I know the music like the back of my hand.
- When performing, to focus on and deliver the message in the music. Period.
Ron Calabrese says
Judy, whoever first said " Pride precedes the fall."was truly a genius. I recall, ( with much pain) the time I was singing the Out Father, and was reveling in my mind about how well it was going. Everything was there, dynamic range, floating notes, All of a sudden, the good Lord decided to bless me with some deserved humility. I forgot the words! Since I had sung this piece at least 75 times on Sundays and at weddings, forgetting the words was definitely divine intervention. Luckily, my accompanist quickly realized my plight, and repeated the portion filled with my silence. I guess the lesson is to put ONLY your audience in a trance!
Rita Pearce says
Thoroughly appreciated your message. We've all had the experience of providing music–be it vocal or instrumental–in church. While we wish mainly to serve, our performer's mindset kicks in. I think God blesses the use of His gifts when we serve. He speaks in ways we are not even aware of to those who are there to hear. I'm always thankful for His accompaniment to any of my efforts.
Blessings to you and yours…Happy Easter.
Judy Rodman says
Ron and Rita… thank you so much for sharing your thoughtful comments on this post! Your experience and insight is much appreciated!
Dawn Kent says
Thank you for sharing!
Natalie says
At first, I will tell you that Very Best of Luck! You've written a very thoughtful post on the music. This is informative and researched. This will work as a tonic to the peoples. I know that you have written all of the things from your real life experience. So, thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Judy Rodman says
Glad I'm not the only one:) Thx so much for your message, I'm glad you found this helpful!
Anonymous says
Thanks for being transparent AND for the encouragement I just received from you! Been the worship pastor at Calvary Chapel in Nederland,Co. for almost 30 yrs. and often go through all the emotions of "not good enough,who am I kidding,my singing sucks,will I ever get any better, I think that was actually good!"etc. and forget the MESSAGE. Been working more on that and trying to forget about myself…God bless!!