By: Pro Lessons

As much fun as learning to play guitar can be, there comes a time when you want to join other musicians and create a band or join a worship team.

For many people that can be an exciting, but daunting, idea.

Let’s say you’ve been playing guitar for a while now. After countless lessons, song tutorials, and practice sessions, you’re ready to put your talents to good use. You’re not only thinking about starting a band, but a worship team.

Before you can be the next big artist winning Dove Awards and cranking out worship anthems, you’ve got to do the hard work of putting a band together.

Here are a few words of wisdom that we’ve compiled to get you started.

Step 1 - Find Other Musicians

Depending on where you live or what church you’re a part of, it may be kinda hard for you to find fellow musicians that want to start a praise and worship band.

High school and college students may find it easiest to look among their peers to find the necessary components for a band.

You may want to seek help from your church’s music minister. If you happen to go to a church big enough to support it, there may even be a steady supply of musicians available from some sort of music academy.

So what are you supposed to do if your church doesn’t have the resources to hook you up with some other musicians?

It’s time to do a little advertising.

Advertising for Worship Band Members

We’ve all been in coffee shops or schools where a bulletin board covered in fliers advertises for musicians. Those posters have been a tried and true method for bringing bands together over the years, but it’s not the only way for you to find band members.

The appeal of the coffee shop poster is that it’s placed in a common area where people who play or enjoy music are often gathered. Plus, you’re going to need somebody local so that practices don’t have to be held an hour outside of town.

Since this is the 21st century, the internet also provides outlets like Craigslist and other posting sites where you can find musicians. As with any time you’re doing business on these websites, make sure you don’t fall prey to anyone seeking to waste your time or cause you harm.

As we mentioned before, one of the best ways to put your feelers out there is to get in touch with music ministers at your church or in your city. These are people who know the different kinds of music that fall under the heading of “Christian” and probably know several musicians with pertinent information for you.

Holding Auditions for Your Worship Band

Once you find enough people to audition, you can find out what they’re made of.

Now, you’re probably going to want to find a central location that you can rent for cheap/free to hold these auditions. You may have a music room at your house that can suffice, but an independent location makes it easier for your band hopefuls to find. You’d hate to pass on a great drummer or vocalist because they couldn’t find your house on a rainy night.

An audition space also allows you to freely work without having to give your address out to strangers. Just because they want to play in your Christian band doesn’t mean you’ll want them stopping by from time to time.

For the audition itself, you’re going to be looking for talent, style, and chemistry. After deciding on the musician’s skill level, you’ll need to think about whether the kind of music he/she plays is what you’re looking for. This shouldn’t be as big of a deal as it might be for bands in other genres, but it’s still something to keep in mind.

Step 2 - Establish a Rehearsal Time/Place for Your Worship Team

Another reason why you’ll want to set up an audition space away from your home is that it will give you practice for finding rehearsal areas around town for the band.

Seeing as how we’re discussing a worship team, the first place you may want to ask is a local church. If you happen to attend a church that has a lot of room not being used throughout the week, you might have a great opportunity to set up a free practice space (or at least very cheap).

If you can’t seem to find an opening at a nearby church, now might be the time to move the operation to your house. Whether you have an empty garage or you’re in a financial situation that allows you to soundproof a spare bedroom, your house is always available at a good rate. At this point, you’re probably better acquainted with your band members and an invitation to your home isn’t nearly as weird.

As for a rehearsal time, you’re going to want to work around the venue’s hours as well as your own. If you’re practicing at a church, that means no late nights. At someone’s house, you’ll want to avoid keeping the neighbors awake and being courteous to any family or roommates also residing there.

Worship Team: Start One With These 4 Easy Steps

Step 3 - Find Your Worship Team’s Sound

Through your rehearsal times, the band will start to flow better as you collectively work through any issues that arise.

Praise and worship music may seem like it’s all roughly the same, but the band will have to decide what its style is. Will you be going for more of a Sunday morning sound or would you rather aim for the arena sound of bands like Hillsong? How important is atmosphere to your worship team? These are the kinds of questions to ask yourself in the early days.

Online Resources for Your Worship Team

The great thing about online resources is that they are constantly evolving and readily available. You can find information on the latest songs, trends, or artists in a matter of moments.

While information may keep your worship band ahead of the curve, there are also a large number of websites and apps that are aimed at praise bands across the globe. Websites like Worship Artistry allow bands to get together and learn a song all from the same source. They offer tutorials on guitar, drums, keys, and more.

If you’re a worship leader who also has to plan the service, Worship Team is a resource that allows you to schedule a service down to the minute. These and many other websites offer the worship teams of tomorrow the opportunity to organize better and maximize their potential.

Step 4 - Build Up Your Band’s Portfolio

As you get more organized and learn to play better together, you’re going to want to start playing in public. There are many different ways to do this.

First, if you are using a church building for your practice space, they will more than likely want you to play for some kind of event. They like you enough to give you space to practice in so it probably wouldn’t be a stretch to ask if there are any future openings where you could play.

Even if you are using your own home for band practice, churches are going to be the lifeline for your band to see any stage time. Summer camps, married couple retreats, ice cream socials, etc. Whatever opportunity is available, it wouldn’t hurt to play in front of people. Of course, you’ll have to tailor the performance around the event. (The senior adults luncheon probably doesn’t need a fog machine or crazy stage lights.)

Another opportunity for playing might be a coffee shop (Christian-owned or not) or Christian music festivals if you’ve really laid the groundwork.

Lastly, some kind of social media presence certainly wouldn’t hurt your chances in finding new gigs. Post some live performances on facebook, update your Instagram with inspirational Christian lyrics, or even just tweet some observational comedy. Name recognition never hurt a band, no matter what kind of music it played.

If you’re a beginner guitar player looking to get a little better before starting your own worship team, Pro Lessons has professional musicians from bands like Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, and MercyMe that are eager to help you hone your skills. Learn how to make your own music from the guys who have played the most popular worship songs for years.

Intermediate and advanced guitarists also have the opportunity to learn from our affordable online guitar lessons. If you’d like more information on how to get started, click on the link below.

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