Worship Team Auditions

Evaluation Process and Thoughts

Basically, I do this :

For any candidate -

1. give a sheet of 3-5 song names (and keys) about 2 weeks in adavance . I will draw from this in the audition. The songs will range in key (stretching vocal limits), speed (for tempo and rhythm variations), style (from soft rock to blues, hip/hop, etc). The songs will each let me see something differnet musically about the person. I also let folks substitute songs they know for the ones I give, but only to a point. I like to know they at least have an interest in some of the songs in our repetoire if they want to be on the team.
2. check whether they show up on time and prepared for audition.
3. give them the evaluation sheet so they know what we are doing. They also must answer one of the questions on the sheet- that is key. I like to give homework, so I find out if they have thought about what worship and worship ministry really means to them.

For vocalists -

1. have them warm up.
2. run through scales, and find their range.
3. ask them the questions on the evaluation sheet
4. then I ask them which song they would like to try first if the don't say, I start with the easiest one.
5. I have one of the team singers sing with us, and one other band member. This makes them feel safer and lets them fit into us without having everything start off scarey.
6. we are all listening, along. if the person is used to singing harmony, I see if they adjust to fit with us, or whether they even know how to do that.
7. obviously the most important music aspect here is pitch. if they don't hold pitch, that is pretty crucial.
8. then we move to having them sing alone through a song maybe I start with them and let the mtake a solo section.
9. I listen for volume, breathing, annunciation, pitch, I don't worry too much about any one thing except pitch, cause most can be corrected by pointing them out and practice vocal excercises for the weakness. Rarely, I will also note a persons timing. I leave lots of room here for unfamiliarity with the specific songs. etc..
10. I then have others join us again, and see if the person can improvise and worship with the gift beyond just the scripted words, notes of a given song. I find this is a rare person to come across who can do this well musically and still maintain a worship focus.

Instrumentalists-

1. warm up
2. select songs in similar fasion as above.
3. have them play scales, if applicable.
4. have them play various basic rhythms, for drums, percussion, and other rhythm section.
5. play first song with group.
6. try all styles of songs noting, timing (important here), pitch (the should still hit the right noes :)
7. change dynamics in songs, seeing if the person can "read" a leader or band when they play.
8. leave room in songs for a solo (well, I don't remember I ever heard a drum solo in a audition before, but that would be cool :)
9. the I lead through a song, and see if the person can follow mid-stream navigation :) like - back to chorus; go to end... modulate.. etc...
10. I listen to whether the person knows the music and what they do if they make a mistake (this is important to me, cause like in any music, we want to not be flustered by mistakes, but keep going).

I then sit down with the team and we all finish our sheets and they give them all to me. I have the person take the sheet home (their own copy) so they can fill out why they want to be on the worship team. I make sure I know the answers to the questions like "do you go to a home group at East Valley Vineyard" .. etc..[see the evaluation sheet for general info to ask]... all this is just to get a musical perspective..

at the same time, I am looking for clues about the persons attitude and demeanor in a group. how do they communicate to people there? some folks come right in and declare how we need them on the team and that their expereince and musicianship or seniority in the church earns them the "right" to be on the worship team...

I also ask for previous expereince stories and how it worked out on other teams... did you quit the last 8 worship teams because people didn't appreciate you and give you a "fair" share of time on stage?

here is something else I always look for... how did they come to the audition? did someone else suggest they go? did I have people without any vested interest plug the person to me (folks I know)? It is kind like what Brian Doerksen said about songwriting- he has never submitted songs, he let others do that.. folks ended up finding out about his music and persued him. God, in my opinion, always makes a way, for His ministry to be done.

***Now don't take all this wrong... these are just pieces to a puzzle.. often times even after al lthis.. all I know is that I have a person who sings ok, and seems committed to our church.. then I pray. I look over the evaluation sheets, and talk to the other team members about their impressions of the person... then I pray. after getting back the persons response to the "why do you want to be on the worship team" question, I usually have a sense as to whether they would fit on our team.

If the issue is musical, it is relatively easy to feedback, I always encourage folks to grow and come back and try out as they work on the areas that might not be workable right now. We also offer training in various areas to help folks get some of the basic skills for this, although, for worhsip team level stuff we don't do that much. I ask the person if they want honest feedback musically, whether they are asked to join the team or not. That way, if they know they ned to work on maintaining pitch, it doesn't have to be a mystery to them any longer. A lot of well meaning Christians have done a dis-service to their brothers or sisters by using "spiritual" reasons for things that could have been simply just saying (for example) :

"umm, you just don't hold pitch consistently enough right now... I like the tone of your voice, and think you really demonstrate a worshipers heart, so if you are willing to work on developing consistant pitch, I'd love to see you come back and audition again"

Or to a drummer:

"I know you have some desire to play, but really the most important thing we need a drummer for is as a time piece... consistant rhythm.. you seem to have trouble with that.. I can show you some techniques to practice to help that if you are interested... if you can do that, I would be delighted to have you come back and audition again.."

The one comment I hear from folks who have trouble singing or playing properly (IE. proper pitch, more musicianship, bad rhythm) is this : "I just have my own style, it really works during worship". Most often their own style is meant for their own benefit too, not for the benefit of the congregation to be "led" askew as the band splinters in multiple musical directions on the first song...

Also, I sometimes hear folks say "I don't like to perform or get too into the technicalities of music, worship is more important". That is a truth masked in a lie, IMO. Worship is the most important thing, absolutely. No questions there. But what good is a opportunity to worship musically, if the music is crippling the unity of the gathered body from joining together to make "one voice" in worship to him? none.

Sometimes worshipers with moderate or good ability musically will ask, "what would you like me to do?" or "what do you need?" I love these questions... they show me the person is willing to stretch and fit into the team, not "carve" out their own legacy :)

All that said, I almost always have a sense from the Lord BEFORE I hear the person play or sing as to whether God is saying "yes" or "not now" for this person. BUT, I always wait for all the other things and people I mention above to confirm or not confirm what I sense God is saying.. and I talk to my pastor if I feel I am getting mixed signals...

This is one of the most crucial things. Talk to your pastor before assigning someone to the worhsip team. That will help immensely. I have tons of horror stories when this wasn't done and it isn't prettty..

Now it might sound like it is impossible to make the worship team from what I have said, but really it isn't as scary as it sounds on paper.. many of the things I list are only FACTORS in evaluation, not answers...we have trained up many musicians in the process, because they had worshiping hearts and they demonstrated a willingness to learn.. I put them on the team on the basisi that they only come to practices.. then released them when they were ready... we have a girl on our team that plays flute that is either 12 or 13, and she does GREAT.. she works hard at her instrument and is mature in it.. she learns and has an attitude of finding out what fits, and isn't put off by suggestions from myself (the leader) or others.

So from my perspective it is pretty easy to be on our team.. but you must come with a usable gift and a willing heart (or at least displayed attitude and commitment, since it is impossible to really know the issues of the heart apart from the Holy Spirit).... somethings though, just can't be described in any of these terms...

A person might have gifting in kazooo playing that wouldn't work with our musical style.. that is ok, it just isn't what we are looking for.. or people might really want to find a place for doing a musical "solo" ministry. that is ok, it just isn't what I am looking for on our team.. or a person might be aggressive and pushy.. again for performance bands some personalities work well in that environment.. I know that is not what I want to grow in our worship team so I don't promote it by putting people on the team who work that way...

Our core value at East Valley Vineyard is relationship... above everything else I look for how the person fits relationally. This is on a couple levels :

1. what is their relationship with God
2. what kind of relationships do they have with the Body (members of the team), and other leadership. By their communication and actions, do they tear down or build up those they know or have contact with?

Man, I have rambled long enough... sorry.. that was a brain dump for me. of about 5 years of trying to do this thing...

One thing to keep all this in check is this - would I be able to make it through the recruiting process now if I were in East Valley Vineyard, starting in worship ministry? I look at that to determine if I am fostering or squelching the growth of worship in our church...

well, I better go... God bless...

Kim