Line of Sight is Key

When leading worship with others, whether it’s just you and another instrument or an entire band of musicians, it is crucial that the other players are able to see you. Even though you have most likely spent time rehearsing the songs and practicing specific arrangements, it is important to be able to communicate with the worship band during the worship service. To do this effectively, they need to be able to see you while on the stage. This means that you will need to arrange the physical placement of each musician on the platform so that they are not only able to hear each other well but to see each other as well.

Even with the best musicians and a well-rehearsed song set, there will be occasional changes that occur along the way. Some of these changes will be conscious decisions that you make while in the middle of worship, such as: adding a double chorus before the third verse, or skipping the third verse altogether. Other changes will be spontaneous driven by unforeseen happenstance, like your drummer forgetting the ending of a song or starting the drum role into the chorus too soon. Since leading worship is dynamic and focused on the flow of what God is doing in the moment, sometimes changes (on the fly) need to made to best facilitate what you sense God doing. To do this, you need to be able to cue the band of your intentions. Sometimes verbal cues are helpful but being able to make eye contact and/or give a hand signal is very effective as well. This can only be done if they can see you.

There may also be times when you’ll need to change an intro of a song, skip to a different song completely, or end a song differently than rehearsed. If the band is able to see you, then you’ll be more able to direct those changes smoothly and efficiently. Finally, there will be times when the dynamics of a song need to move up or down (quieter or louder) to better represent the authentic mood of worship in the moment. Again, if you can connect with the band quickly and visually then these dynamic changes can occur without incident.

Bottom line – make sure the band has a clear line of sight to the worship leader.