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Now that we have covered most of the vocal techniques let's move on to some performance basics. There will be several parts to this section. The first part that we want to discuss is preparation. As Christians we have a responsibility in many areas that non-Christian performers do not have and we want to start with spiritual preparation. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 23:7 "What is in your heart will come out of your mouth." Make sure the right preparation is being made by staying in the word. Put the word in so that it can come out in your program. You can't share something from your heart if it is not in your heart. Then spend time in quiet reflective prayer before you go to your program. If you are in a group make sure that everyone in that group is making spiritual preparation, too. This is the number one thing in any ministry is the preparation time and how you spend it. DO NOT neglect this part but make it a priority. The results will speak for themselves with decisions from your audience.

Rehearsal time is another area that lacks discipline. We want to have a good time with our fellow group members but our time is so limited. Plan your rehearsal time so that you will know the material that you want to cover. Set some goals so that you can mark your accomplishments and you will get more done in a shorter period of time. Be serious during your rehearsal time especially if you have other members in the group. Be willing to work hard and don't complain. And be consistent with your practice. You will see growth in your ability if you practice regularly. You can always spot a group that does not practice on a regular basis from the audience. It does show.

Our next topic is punctuality. Punctuality demonstrates that you take your ministry seriously. People are willing to support ministries that are serious about what they do. Make a habit of arriving early. This will help you relax and give you time to address a last-minute problem without being under pressure should one arise. Arriving early will also give you time to meet you audience personally and can open a door for ministry before the program starts. Make a habit of being early. The promoter will be very grateful and will use you again in the future.

Let's talk about program content for a moment. Always have a planned program before you arrive. God is not limited to on the spot song selections he can help you line up your program earlier. Your program will flow more smoothly for everyone if you know what you are going to do. But be flexible should special circumstances arise you can flow into plan B if that is what is needed. You always want to match your program to the audience or the worship atmosphere. All members of a group should to be flexible and not get upset if the program needs to change. That is one of the reasons practice time is important, so that you can work on flowing into different songs for different worship settings.

And the last thing we want to cover in preparation is what to do if you use tracks. If you are a soloist and are using the churches equipment and you are counting on the churches sound person to play your tapes for you make sure they have a copy of the order your tapes are to be played. Make sure you mark which side of the tape is to be played, on the tape. Always have the tapes queued to within a couple of seconds before the music begins.

Don't rewind your tape all the way to the beginning of the tape and don't expect the sound person to queue them for you. That is your responsibility to have your tapes ready to go. If you run your own tracks, you should consider using a CD or mini-disk with a remote control. It makes your song selection faster and smoother and less distracting than working with tapes.

Next month we will talk about relating to the audience. Until then, keep singing His praises!

Marti Ledford

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