Seriously, Leave More Space

We all want to play.  We all want to praise.  We all want to praise and pray.

Good.

We all want to praise and play together. That's great, but not always at once.

As musicians, being professional means leaving LOTS of space. My high school orchestra conductor at Padua Franciscan H.S. in Parma, OH, Mr. Wayne F. Miller, put it best: "Never, never, ever play a rest."

This is more easily done with thorough composed music, especially on my bass clarinet with only the random whole-note to add.  When faced with chords charts and a band full of ideas and improvisational chops, our ingenuity quickly turns into noise every week on every song. 

Be the big, brave one and sit out until the final refrain, or the bridge.  Let the piano or the acoustic guitar do all the heavy lifting for the entire first verse. Let only the drums and bass play on the second verse of "Let the River Flow".

You'll hear the vocals better.

You'll sound more like the CD.

People will hear themselves better.

You'll be able to praise better.

You'll be able to clap your hands and lead by example!

And when you come back in, the professional difference you make by both playing and not playing will be obvious!