We are now available on iTunes

Our sermon podcast is now listed in the iTunes store. If you have iTunes you can subscribe to our sermons using the following procedure.

1. Start iTunes



2. In the search field in the top right corner, type WHBC



3. Click on the Subscribe next to the WHBC Sermon Podcast
4. If you want to see the details, click on the arrow to the right of the WHBC Sermon Podcast.



5. Once you have subscribed the podcast will download yo your PC. You can then add it to the playlist for your IPOD.

Acoustic vs. Electric Guitar

After leading worship last week on the Spring Break trip I thought I'd add a post on the different roles for acoustic and electric guitar in a worship band setting. Both types of guitars are similar in that they share the same tuning, and chord fingerings but they are also different in terms of style of play and length of sustain. One way of looking at it is a balance between a rhythmic role and melodic role.

In a worship band an acoustic guitar has a primary rhythmic role and a secondary melodic role. Since an acoustic guitar has limited sustain, it must be strummed more frequently (and harder) than an electric guitar. So primarily it is driving the rhythm of the music and secondarily in terms of the chord changes. As a result an acoustic guitarist is pretty much playing 80-90% of the time during a song and the primary melodic contribution is via a change of chords or a finger picked section. A good example of this would be Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

An electric guitar is more balanced in terms of rhythmic/melodic roles. The guitar has greater sustain (the length of time that sound will ring out on a given strum) due to the pickups and amplification so it has to be strummed less often (and easier) than a acoustic guitar. The guitar is often used for single-note runs, partial chords, and arpeggios to add a melodic contribution to the song. In contemporary music the electric guitar may be played sparingly during the verse and then in a rhythmic way during the chorus. This often gives the chorus a sense of power due to the extra rhythmic content. A good example of the melodic contribution of an electric can be found in almost any U2 recording. For example, Pride, In the Name of Love illustrates a heavy melodic/rhythmic contribution mixed with some air-filled arpeggios that give the music a sense of space.

When leading worship in a solo environment the worship leader almost always either plays piano or acoustic guitar. An electric guitar only works if it has a sonic foundation of bass, drums and keys.

Keyboard instruments have this same type of split. A piano is similar to an acoustic guitar in that there is some sustain after the key is struck. An organ will produce sound for as long as the key is held down. It will stop as soon as the key is released.

Instruments are like spiritual gifts. Turn them loose, in the right combination and some beautiful music happens.

Taking the band on the road

Last week we took 32 students and adults to Garden City Beach, SC for a spring break retreat on the theme Faith - It's what you do!. We stayed at the Garden City Retreat Center and Chapel. It is a great place to host a retreat.

We took our youth worship band, The Exit, on the road as part of the retreat and I really want to thank Karen, Casey, Drew, Brianna and Kathy for their hard work in leading worship. I'd also like to thank one of our adult leaders John Harvey for his efforts as a band roadie and for leading us through some fun songs on the keyboard.

It takes a lot to take a band on the road. I thought I'd give you a quick listing of the items that we took with us for a couple of reasons:

1. The list of gear gives you an appreciation for the equipment needed by a praise band to do it's work. As WHBC restarts contemporary worship this list is indicative of equipment we will need
2. To demonstrate the amount of planning that is required to conduct a youth retreat and how it is a team effort.

So, here the list - in no particular order:

• Roland electronic drum kit
• Drum throne
• Drum sticks
• Drum foot pedal
• 16 channel powered mixer
• Two speakers
• Two speaker stands
• Two 50' speaker cables
• Two 25' speaker cables (as a backup)
• Bass guitar
• Bass guitar Amp
• Three guitar stands
• Electric guitar
• Acoustic/Electric guitar
• Keyboard
• Keyboard stand
• Keyboard foot pedal
• 100' stage snake
• Three microphones
• Five direct boxes plus two spares
• Six 1/4" instrument cables
• Three 1/4" patch cables
• Eight 25' XLR microphone cables plus three spares
• Three mic stands (including one boom stand)
• DVD player
• Guitar effects pedal board
• One RCA to 1/4" adapter
• One 1/8" to RCA adapter
• Six RCA patch cables
• Two VGA cables
• Video Projector
  
• One wireless remote for laptop
• Two laptop computers
• Eight pieces of poster board (for a makeshift video screen)
• Double sided tape
• Screwdrivers
• Sheet music
• One guitar A/B foot switch
• Video camera and blank media
• Copies of slides with song lyrics, etc.
• Four music stands
  

Things we wish we had had with us

• Monitor speakers to help singers hear themselves so we could play/sing in tune.
• An amp with more inputs

Later this week I will have some posts on my approach to picking music for worship.

Here's your brush, make your stroke

A few weeks ago Terri and I attended the CBF-Virginia general assembly in Waynesboro. As part of the closing worship we had a communion service that I have thought about several times since that weekend. FBC Waynesboro has a middle aisle in their sanctuary which we all used as we came forward to participate in communion. At the front of the sanctuary there was a canvas that was attended to by CBF missionaries Jonathon and Tina Bailey.


The handed each of us a brush that they had dipped in paint and we were invited to add a stroke to the painting. As we moved forward each participant added their individual expression to the art work.Once everyone had completed communion, Tina used a blending brush to blend each of the individual contributions together and then she and Jonathon removed some painter's masking tape that had masked part of the image revealing the cross, circle and communion cup layers of the painting.


When we attend corporate worship each of us plays a role: some teach, some sing, some play instruments, some hand out bulletins, some doodle, and some run the sound board. It is in the combinations of all of our participation that God can do something amazing. We might not see the design or master plan during the process, but there are those occasional, unexpected moments when we can see God at work.

We all come to worship from different places: some of us have the flair of an accomplished artist, some of us have a brush but no paint, some of us have paint on our fingers but brush. In our culture people choose churches based on what they "get out of it". I 'm encouraging you to consider what you can "bring to it". The world is an awfully big canvas and we're going to need some help decorating. Here's your brush

I hope to post some blog posts this week during the Spring Break trip. Check back Mon-Thur for updates.

Dave