Here is our second installment of answers to questions on the post, “Why should I consider using loops in my worship service?”

How easy/difficult do you find it to break out of the song/set when using loops?

This was one of my main concerns when I started using loops. How was I going to be able to leave room for spontaneity? What if we absolutely needed to repeat the chorus again? Am I going to feel chained to some arrangement and wish I could break out of it live?

I’m going to use an oxymoron to describe what I’ve done but it’s the most descriptive phrase I have.

Planned Spontaneity

If you’re done laughing I’ll explain. There are typically two camps on the topic of spontaneity in worship.

1. Very little practice or preparation goes into the worship set and the band just follows the worship leader wherever he goes in the song.
2. Every part of the song is rehearsed and there is no room for improvisation vocally or instrumentally.

I try to find some balance between the two. I think you must have a mindset and heart that God will speak and lead you in the planning, preparation and practice just as He would during the actual worship set. When you get out of balance on this you over emphasize one place to the exclusion of the other and you act as if the Spirit leads only in preparation or only in execution. So if we believe God can and does do both how do we accommodate this musically and specifically when using loops?

I’ll play, practice and most importantly pray over songs and see where there are good spots for instrumentals, breakdowns, extended refrains, etc… If it’s a slow song that may be used in ministry time it would most likely be the end of the song that can loop over a few bars until ministry time is coming to an end. There are a few ways to so this in Ableton, I won’t get into the technical details in this post, but it can be done dynamically where a section loops until you tell it to stop.

If it’s a song being used in the middle of the set it’s more likely a breakdown in the middle of the song where there’s an opportunity to sing out what God has put on your heart, but that time is more strategically assigned. Perhaps it’s a 12 bar breakdown, so you got that amount of time to say whatever you felt led to say. Putting these kind of parameters I’ve found is very helpful for the band and congregation. I think a lot of times bands don’t realize that their extended spontaneous riff moments don’t come across nearly as good as they think. Quite often they are confusing, uninteresting, repetitive to the point of exhaustion and it can cause a disconnect between the band and congregation.

The more planning you do around these times the better. The Holy Spirit won’t leave you because you’ve tried to put some musical structure around your “spontaneous” moments. Many times my band will practice the breakdowns musically so we know exactly what’s happening, what we’re all playing and get the instrumental side real tight. But I’ll give my vocalist freedom to sing what she feels led to sing, or I’ll lead it or we’ll both kind of weave our vocals together. Many times a melody we’ve done spontaneously will get incorporated into the song as a permanent piece if it went over well.

Rarely if ever, will I give instrumental freedom to the band, that is just ripe for disaster. It’s not that I don’t trust my band’s taste or ability, I just want us to put the work in practice where we find what sounds best and we can all count on each other to play just that live, don’t surprise me. My bass player isn’t going to be happy if the drummer all of a sudden surprises him with a new groove he just fell in love with. If it’s that great of a part, then prove it in practice and let the band work off it.

Thanks for the question. I hope I answered it at a strategic level. I’m going to start a series soon on how to get started looping that takes care of the technical side. Stay tuned.

Related posts

• Loop available: “Our God Reigns – Delirious” (Updated) (6)
• Why should I consider using loops in my worship service? (5)
• What do you lose when using loops in worship? (4)