Church of Today, San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California 

Gregg Akkerman created an outstanding, highly professional music program at the Church of Today, and offers below some of the things he’s learned as a result of his experience. 

·             Get a good sound system

This one step will help solve many problems.  Congregants will enjoy the service much more if they find the music and voices pleasant to listen to.  Better quality musicians and vocalists will look forward to coming back if they get to perform through nice equipment.

·             Get someone qualified to run the sound system

At Church of Today, we're fortunate to have volunteers for most all our needs. But running sound equipment is a highly skilled job that involves more than knowing where the "on" switch is.   So we have a professional sound technician, whom we pay to come in and operate the sound system for both services each week.

 Try to find someone you can rely on to do the sound every week, who will learn all the intricacies of the system.  If you can eventually pay this person, you will see a wonderful return on your investment.  How many times have you been unable to enjoy a speaker/performer because they were too loud/soft/shrill/muffled?  A skilled sound technician keeps people from even noticing the sound system. Instead, they only hear the message. 

·             Lose the hymnals

Project the words to group songs up on a screen where they can be seen using a projection system.  This can be done inexpensively by using a slide projector.  Your local graphic-service store can make custom slides of whatever you need.  By putting the words on a screen, you ensure the congregation will keep their heads up and be more interactive with the room instead of buried and mumbling into a hymnal.   

·             Use background music during the service

If you have live musicians, have them play quietly through spoken portions of the service.  At Church of Today, I play the piano non-stop through the seating music, opening solo, the minister's welcome prayer, first group song, newcomer acknowledgements, and meditation. I also play during transitional moments when people are approaching or leaving the stage.  This constant back-ground music provides a live "sound-track" for the service and smoothes out the presentation.  

·             Schedule performers/songs well in advance

I usually have my performers and songs chosen anywhere from 1 to 4 months in advance.  This is made much easier by knowing what our minister's lessons will cover.  It's no accident when people tell me "The songs you performed today were just perfect for the lesson."  By keeping track of when songs are performed, I can also be sure not to use them again until plenty of time has gone by.  Scheduling ahead also gives the performers enough time to memorize their music.  This always looks much more professional. 

·             Find good songs

This is a never-ending challenge and the hardest part of my job.   Besides asking the soloists if they have suggestions, I'm always looking for songs on my own that I will assign a soloist to sing.   Sources that have proven helpful include movie sound-tracks (they often feature one "feel-good" song while the credits are rolling); sound-tracks to TV shows (Touched By An Angel, concerts on PBS,); contemporary country music, which features a lot of "gonna get my life together" songs; and the internet where you never know what you might find.  I've also developed a relationship with a few other music directors, and we e-mail song requests and suggestions to each other. 

·              Find good performers

Once again, volunteers are wonderful to give of their time, but not always qualified for the job.  Part of the success of our music program at Church of Today is due to hiring professional musicians who maintain consistently high standards of performance.   In San Diego, professional singers expect at least $40-50 for one service and $75+ for two.  We've been paying more than that for quite some time, and as a result, I now have singers regularly approach me about performing because they've heard we pay a fair wage and we have an excellent sound system.  I prefer the diversity often found with "pop" singers instead of traditional church operatic singers. I suggest looking for pop singers performing at other churches or in piano bars, coffee shops, and musical theater groups. 

·             Conclusions

          Some of the above suggestions involve spending money, but to have a
          professional music program, you have to hire professionals and use professional
          equipment. 

          You might be one of the fortunate churches that has a pool of incredibly talented
          musicians willing to give of their time, but most churches aren't.   A leap of faith is
          certainly called for to make the transition from a small congregation singing along
          with a tape player to a large congregation enjoying professional quality musicians
          and a good sound system.   Building and maintaining an excellent music program
          takes time, effort and money, but you’ll reap the benefits in increased attendance
          and an enthusiastic,  “turned-on” congregation. 

Should you need tips on equipment, musicians, running rehearsals, song suggestions, etc., please feel free to contact me through the Church of Today at (858)689-6500, or better yet, e-mail me at gakkerman@aol.com and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Visit Gregg's Website and receive great support for your music program!

The purpose of the website at www.newthoughtmusic.com is to provide an on-line community 

where musicians can find and share resources for New Thought Music Ministries.

Part 2

Planning the Sunday Music

By Gregg Akkerman

 Former Music Director

Church of Today ~ San Diego

1.   Get the lesson topics from the minister

The sooner the better but this, of course, depends on the preparation habits of the minister

 2.  Find potential songs to support the lesson topic

         To help me do this, I created a song data-base in my computer of every song I had (sheet-music or recordings).  I eventually plan on having this data-base available on-line, but until then, you can email me and I'll give you suggestions.  You might also ask your scheduled singers if they have any songs that fit.

 3.  Schedule vocalists and musicians

          Hopefully your vocalist will have a voice that is suitable for the songs you've selected.   Look for new vocalists/musicians performing in piano bars, coffee shops, musicals and night-clubs.  The managers of these businesses often have high standards and this is the kind of professional stage experience you should be looking for.

 4.   Prepare all materials

          This might include photocopies of sheet-music, lyric sheets, chord charts, accompaniment backing-tracks, and practice tapes.  Get the materials out to who- ever needs them so that they are practiced before the rehearsal and memorized by the time of the performance.   By doing all this homework for the performers, they have almost no excuse left for not being prepared.  You can quickly identify who is holding you back and who is worth keeping involved.

 5.   Conduct a rehearsal

         Make sure that you know all your parts before the rehearsal.   You can't expect the others to know their parts if you don't show the same effort.  Real artists will rise to the level of artistry that surrounds them.

 6.   Make necessary revisions

          Be prepared to re-arrange the songs, transpose to a key that better suits the singer, or choose a back-up song if things just don't sound right.  If you lack some of these music/arranging skills, you should learn them.  They will help you create a better music program for your church.

7.   Conduct a Sunday morning run-through

          This should be more of a sound-check than a rehearsal.  In conducting the rehearsal, I might give a simple suggestion or two, but usually by this point, I just let it happen.  Things are usually fine, but if not, I make mental notes as to what I will do differently the next time.  If you've done all the homework during the previous weeks, you'll find that Sunday mornings run quite smoothly, so you can play your music and have some fun. 

I take it as a high complement when someone tells me the music we present looks almost effortless.  This means that the hours of research, planning, scheduling, arranging, rehearsing, re-arranging, and re-rehearsing were entirely worth it.  Congregants shouldn't have to know about all the hassle.  They just want to relax, hear the message and enjoy the music, and it's an honor to be able to give them that.

 8.   After the services

         Relax for 10 minutes and then start the process all over again for the next week!

From Fred Jackson and Jim Fisher

 Some of our favorite songs, chants, and anthems.

 1.  Mind Action/consciousness/ belief

       Amazing Grace, The Jim Lucas Choral Series, Thomas House Publications, Intrada
      Music

      Let The River Run, Carly Simon, Arr. John Higgins, Hal Leonard Publishing

 2.  Surrender/willingness

       Here I Am, Lord,  Daniel L. Schutte, Arranged Anna Laura Page, Alfred Publishing.

 3.  Christmas

       Gloria In Excelsis Deo,  Part IX, ‘Gloria’  A Christmas Work for Choir, Soloist and
      Instruments, arranged by Tom Fettke, Lillenas Publishing , available CD
      accompaniment, & rehearsal tapes.

 4.  Easter

       Messiah True And Faithful, Beverly Darnall, Genevox Publishing, performance CD and
     rehearsal tapes available.

 5.  Giving/tithing/serving

        How Beautiful words and music by Twila Paris, From A Song to Sing, Clydesdale
        Classics.

 6.  Willingness

      I Will Be The One, words and Music Babbie Mason, from A Song To Sing, Clydesdale
    Classics

 6.  Compassion/kindness/love

      Heroes and Dreams,  A medley of Blockbuster Ballads, Warner Bros. Publications, Hal
      Leonard Publishing.

 7.  Other Holidays

       Patriotic

       Battle Hymn of the Republic, Arr. Camp Kirkland, Word Music

      Blowin’ In The Wind/America, Bob Dylan, Arr. Len Thomas, Shawnee Press

8.  Angels/miracles

       Holy Ground, by Geron Davis, Arr. Tim Fettke, Allegis Publishing

       Angels Through The Night, Arr. Phillip Kern, Alfred Publishing

      There Are Miracles in the Presence of God, Music by Fred Jackson, Unity of Lehigh
      Valley.

 9.   Trust/courage/faith

      ‘Though Ten Thousand Fall, Music by Fred Jackson, Unity of Lehigh Valley.

       Gentle Loving God, Mother of My Soul, Available  from Fred Jackson, Unity of Lehigh
      Valley, composer unknown

10.  Prayer/meditation

       Peace I Leave With You, Music by Fred Jackson,