10 Common Hindrances To Worship - Part 2
"There’s nothing wrong with good playing, but sometimes good playing, if too "good", can become a great distraction from the real focus of worshipping and praising God."
Last week, we began looking at some common hindrances to worship we should be aware of, so that we can avoid or minimise them.
We covered busy playing, bad timing, and wrong notes.
Let's continue then with the fourth common hindrance...
Bad intros (or no intros)
This is a common error I find with church piano players. Sometimes, it might be because they know the song well, they think everyone else does, or that somehow, people can guess when you are going to start playing.
It's certainly not the end of the world to have a bad intro. However, we’ve probably all been in those services where, in too many songs, the congregation comes in gradually with a few slightly stunted voices at a time. Or worse still, there's the embarrassment for the poor person who sang out loudly when they thought you were coming in, but you didn’t for another beat or so, and they were left hanging.
Another example I've heard is when the intro is played at a certain speed, and then slowed down to about half that when the congregation comes in. And this definitely throws people off a bit!
So, that being said, bad intros or no intros are often a distraction.
Sudden Endings
I’m sure we’ve all heard these before! One moment, you’re happily singing the last verse or chorus of the song, and then the next, the music suddenly stops as you're uttering the last syllable of the last word. Despite knowing it's near the end, as there aren’t many more words to sing, the stop is too abrupt, and it goes from a melodious chorus of worship to deafening silence.
When this happens, the congregation can suddenly go from praising the Lord to thinking, “wow that ended quick!" Or some might even be wondering, “Did the pianist just die and fall off his stool?”
Songs In A Key That's Too High
Now the truth is, this is mostly an issue for men. This is because so many of the newer songs we sing in our churches are in keys that are great for women, but they are really hard for the men to sing. The older songs tend to not be such a problem, but it is good to have a mix.
I personally think this has a lot to do with the fact that men often don’t sing out in churches like they used to. So, I always find it a huge encouragement when I’m in a church, and I can hear men’s voices.
Wives love it when their husband is singing along with them. However, when the key of that song is so high that he keeps jumping from low to high, sounding like his voice is just starting to break, he’s not going to be too motivated to sing with all his heart.
It’s good to be mindful of the keys our songs are in, and if you get feedback on this, you really should respond by making the necessary adjustments.
Songs That Are Too Polished
This is when a song sounds more like a recital performance in a school exam or a chorus from a famous musical than it does a worship song.
There’s nothing wrong with good playing, but sometimes good playing, if too "good", can become a great distraction from the real focus of worshipping and praising God.
I hope these points have been helpful. Next week, we'll look at the last few common hindrances to worship.
[Return to The Church Piano Player Website]
This blog post was written by pastor and pianist Kris Baines, from The Church Piano Player. Kris lives in the UK with his family, having recently moved back from New Zealand where he worked as a pastor for the past 26 years (also leading worship/worship teams). Kris has also spent over 35 years writing, recording, and performing music and is now bringing all that combined experience together to help equip church piano/keyboard players.
Check out the church piano player website for more information on online courses by Kris Baines.
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