Junko: Blog

John Mayer.
Adele.
Keith Urban.
Julie Andrews.
Celine Dion.
Junko.

What do these people all have in common besides the fact that they are world-class (ahem, all but one) vocalists? They've all had vocal trouble. The first four on the list have gone under the knife for vocal surgery. The first three have only done so recently so we don't quite know the outcome yet, but we do know that unfortunately for one of them -- Julie Andrews -- the surgery was unsuccessful and she never did recover after getting her polyps removed from her vocal cords. Both Celine and I (isn't it rather audacious of me to mention myself in the same breath as Celine?) were fortunate to recover after some rest, but we are some of the very fortunate ones. Fortunate in that we realized before the problem got worse that we needed help! And not just medical help--we're talking proper singing technique.

I read the press releases from the artists who are going off the road due to vocal trouble, and I notice that they [...]

Many smaller churches, like the ethnic Asian churches where I often make my rounds, lack the personnel to make up a full band. Sometimes it's the drums they're missing. Sometimes male vocalists. There just seems to be an abundance of female singers and male guitar players in the church! What I see most often, though, is the absence of bass players. When there is no bass on the worship team, you can really feel a void. After all, bass pretty much holds everything else up. If you're doing a very sparse, acoustic set, perhaps with just vocals with guitar and/or piano, then you could get away with not having bass. However, if you have drums, bass is pretty much a must. Things sound unbalanced and just plain...weird. If you're wondering why your worship leading and congregation singing lack energy, this might be the very reason why.

I've often pondered why this is the case and why there aren't more bass players. Maybe it's because bass is not a flashy instrument. It's close enough [...]

So, I'm going to my first bass lesson tomorrow. I'm going back to the same instructor I've had for my guitar for the last 2 years, Dave Lopez. I like his teaching style, and I'm sure I'll like his bass teaching too. In the past decade, I've learned the drums, guitar, jazz piano, back to guitar, and now bass. Oh, and of course, voice. I'm always taking voice lessons, although I don't actually go see my voice teacher Guy much more than 3 or 4 times a year these days. For about 3 years, I was going to him once every other week to really get my voice in tune, and a few years ago he declared that I was ready to just go for "maintenance mode," so that's what i do now. We always record our lessons so that I can practice along with the CD as I drive around town. In actuality, I have a lesson with Guy every day!

I wish every person on the worship team took music lessons.

I know, I know, you're thinking that I'm a "professional musician" and you're a working professional with no spare time [...]

Dear Soundperson,

First of all, let me say on behalf of worship leaders everywhere that we love you. You work tirelessly to provide great sound for us, and nobody notices until there is a feedback or the microphone goes dead. You come an hour before anybody shows up for sound check, and you are the last one to leave, usually an hour after the service or rehearsal ends. You do all this for no pay (well, most of you volunteers, anyway). We don't know how you manage to do this in the evening or the weekends after you've worked long hours at your engineering/programming/accounting jobs. You're a real servant.

You are just as integral of a part of our team as anyone else in the band. Sure, you're not up front so the congregation doesn't normally see you, but your existence is crucial. Again, on behalf of other worship leaders, let me apologize for not giving you your credit due for all your efforts. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I do want to talk over some things with you today, [...]

Today, I want to speak to the drummers in the house. As a worship leader, I have only one request for you drummers. No, it's not for you to play more softly, although it is always a good idea to be aware of appropriate sound levels in a small sanctuary. It's not for you to get the finest gear -- just an ordinary drum set will do, acoustic or electronic. It's not even for you to learn the fanciest rhythm patterns and some amazing fills, although it's always a good idea to improve your craft. No, my request for you is really pretty simple:

Play the right tempo.

Yes, that's right. Start us out in the right tempo and keep it there. We all depend on you. Please don't speed up and certainly don't slow down. Simple, right?

I say this partially to preach to myself, because I am a drummer too. Well, I'm only a scratch drummer in that I've only taken a few years of drum lessons and can play enough to keep a band together, but I am not a professional by any means. I'm probably good enough [...]