Solos on Keyboard for a Church Band

Video Transcript

"TOM SMITH: Hi. This is Tom. This is for ExpertVillage.com. We're talking about how to play keyboards in a worship team at a church. We've talked about some basic sounds. It's nice to have a couple of solo sounds in your background too 'cause although you're playing in a team, you're trying to blend in, there'll be times where maybe you want to bring out what you're playing; maybe it's the melody of the song, maybe it's a counter melody, but you want to break through so you should have three or four sounds. Like for instance, on this particular thing, I can get a nice--almost like a flute-type sound. So, if I'm trying to bring a particular part through the mix of the other people around me, I'll use a solo sound, something like that. Make sure on those solos, its not harsh. I mean, check with the other band members. Listen to your own ear but this shouldn't be piercing. It's got to be kinda soft. In most choruses and all that, you want to be careful that you're not making people's ears bleed. So, pick some solos that blend in, bring themselves out but aren't too harsh. When I'm trying to decide what sound to use, usually what I'll do is listen again to the people around me, figure out if they're percussive or a more smooth texture and then I'll try and counterbalance that."