The Greenroom

How To Record Worship Sets At Home

A Simple Guide

With the stay at home order in place it’s becoming increasingly difficult to live stream and create a full band experience. Personally, I’ve gone to recording sets at home and have tried a number of different things that I thought I’d pass along.

How To Think Like A Drummer

Part 1: Playing To The Room

You can learn every kick pattern and cymbal crash, but music should and always will be an art. In this series we are talking about what it takes to go from playing drums to being a drummer.

How To Play Auxiliary Keys

Strategically Supportive Sounds

There’s more to being an auxiliary keyboard player than you think. All too often, keyboardists approach playing a secondary part like the primary, but if we’re not careful, this could be detrimental to what’s happening musically. So what should an aux keys player play? What sounds should they use? And what advice is there for playing ‘second fiddle?' Check it out here in this video blog.

5 Ways To Get Inspired

Get out of that funk!

Summer is one of my most inspired times. I write half my songs for the year during these few sunny months. While I think the weather has something to do with it, I’ve noticed a few other factors that I think contribute. Here are 5 things to inspire your music this summer and every season after. 

How To Memorize Your Grooves

Keep it consistent

Last month I had the opportunity to play drums for a night of worship that was recorded for a live record. There's not a lot of room for issues or mistakes on something like that, and we wanted everything to run flawlessly. It would have been much more challenging if I didn't play consistently. 

Play Like A Synth Bass

Wake Up

So many songs in modern worship either replace the bass or augment the bass with keyboard. Fear not! We can create a similar tone by using octaves. In this video I'll show you how. Once you've got the idea try using it in the lesson for Wake by Hillsong Young And Free. 

Environment Matters

Get out and play.

Sometimes we just forget to pay attention and let habits keep us in the dark. It's time to turn practice time into play time. 

How To Create Stacks In Omnisphere

Customize your zones in both standard and 'live/stack' modes.

Combine sounds and customize complex regions on your keyboard. Ryan walks us through the process of creating stacks to shape your unique tone using Omnisphere and the OmniTR app.

 

How To Be Your Own Metronome

Calibrate your inner clock

When we chose drums as our instrument, we signed up to be the leader of the rhythm section and that’s a vital role. As we go so the band goes. So how do imperfect people play in perfect time? Using a metronome or click track is a great place to start but it’s no substitute for developing your “internal click.” Here are a couple of training exercises to help you develop your internal metronome.

Fifth Note Lead-In

Subtle but Spicy

Add a little spice to your chord progression with this simple note.  Daniel shows us where to slip it in.  

How To Beat The Bass Amp Blues

Get the volume without blowing the sound mix.

One of the most difficult things to navigate when playing bass in church is that it is often difficult to hear yourself play without getting so loud that it ruins your sound for the sound guy. Here is how to beat the bass amp blues.

Strengthen Your Non-Dominant Hand

Try this exercise this week

It never hurts to work on the fundamentals and this little exercise can help. Get control of your non-dominant hand.

A Bit on Slap Technique

A quirky little bass trick, demystified.

Daniel demystifies the slap technique for bass guitar.

Fix Your Chord Changes With This One Simple Tip

Master your guitar chord transitions. (Hint: it's not about speed.)

Nearly every guitar beginner struggles with chord transitions, but mastering your changes might be easier than you think.  Here's the tip every guitar player you know forgot to tell you.

Playing With Patience

Extending Dynamics

Surrounded (Fight My Battles) is a song that builds forever. Jason shows you some ways you can extend songs like that with a solo acoustic leader.

Subdivisions Simplified, Part 1

Maximize the Effect of a Single Bass Note

Depending on how you subdivide a bass note within a measure, you can subtly add energy to a phrase or bring it down. Daniel shows us how to utilize note subdivisions effectively within a song.

How to Really Listen to a Song

Develop Your Musical Ear

Most people listen to music when they are doing something else.  If we musicians want to become better at our craft, we need to learn the art of critical listening.