"Hosanna"--what would you do with this song?

[smoggrocks]

Hosanna? Wasn't that the song with the shuffle Jeff Porcaro was famous for? :P

LOL!

i was thinking the same thing.

[Robyn]

Well here's the latest...after Bart mentioned that the 16th notes are looped, I passed this on to the music director, and that it's possible to program the e-kit to play a loop, altho I don't know how to do it. (He's the one who's the tech-head, not me! ;D)  He thought it was a good idea and so will try to program the 16th note loop in and see how that works. So it's back to woodshedding for me, to see what to play on top. I've never played w/ a loop before, so this ought to be interesting.

robyn

[David Jung]

Speaking of the David Crowder Band ... they are in Waco, TX this very moment recording their next album ... in a converted barn. True.

Ah, Waco, Texas...I must comment.<G>   I think David's house is on a historic registry.  My brother-in-law did some cabinets for him and said his wife was real nice (for which we ribbed my BIL quite a bit.)  My daughters have been over to his church a few times...the older one likes him and the younger thinks he's kind of freaky.  I had the pleasure of eating with his drummer and a couple of other band members at Luby's cafeteria...unfortunately my daughter didn't mention who was in the next booth until after we had left.  :'(

To keep this on topic...we also do Hosanna on a semi-regular basis.  Actually not one of my preferred songs, but its OK. :)  We're rather fortunate in that the worship leader expects us to put our stamp on a song rather than do them as covers.  Typically we'll listen to the song a couple of times when first learning it and then whatever we end up doing is our version...key, dynamic and tempo differences from a recorded version are not uncommon. 

As Bart mentioned, the studio production stuff (and even some of the live shenanigans) can prohibit doing them exactly as recorded without electronics and/or more warm bodies.

--David

[Dave Heim]

Well here's the latest...after Bart mentioned that the 16th notes are looped, I passed this on to the music director, and that it's possible to program the e-kit to play a loop, altho I don't know how to do it. (He's the one who's the tech-head, not me! ;D)  He thought it was a good idea and so will try to program the 16th note loop in and see how that works. So it's back to woodshedding for me, to see what to play on top. I've never played w/ a loop before, so this ought to be interesting.

robyn

How good is the rest of the group at playing with a "click" or a loop?  That's pretty much what they'll be doing.

[Matt Self (Gaddabout)]

How good is the rest of the group at playing with a "click" or a loop?  That's pretty much what they'll be doing.

That can be a trick, but I don't think song should pose major problems for the average musician. You just hope whomever's doing the programming has the right tempo in his head. Most importantly, there's no need for a tempo upkick on the chorus. The song is almost hypnotic in the way it's written. On of my biggest criticisms of modern worship music is the lack of distinctive chorus, but very static tempos are the norm these days: Open the Eyes of My Heart, Let My Life Be Like a Love Song, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, etc. In some of those songs the chords don't even change from verse to chorus.

[Dave Heim]

That can be a trick, but I don't think song should pose major problems for the average musician. . .

Agreed.  Just wondering about robyn's take on them as musicians.

[amoacristo]

On of my biggest criticisms of modern worship music is the lack of distinctive chorus, but very static tempos are the norm these days: Open the Eyes of My Heart, Let My Life Be Like a Love Song, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, etc. In some of those songs the chords don't even change from verse to chorus.

I agree completely. I am all about dynamics and have distinct sections of songs. One of my favorite things is to hear a band use extremes in dynamics. That is something often overlooked by many musicians these days, in praise and worship and in other genres as well.

[Mister Acrolite]

Unless you're set up so you can hear the loop really well, and everybody can hear you well enough to follow you, a loop might be more trouble than help.

[Bart Elliott]

Unless you're set up so you can hear the loop really well, and everybody can hear you well enough to follow you, a loop might be more trouble than help.

I agree.

My solution has been to make sure that I can really hear the loop, and that's all that matters. As long as I hear the loop, and people are following me, which they would/should have to do in any other situation ... even without a loop ... everything is okay. It's up to the sound engineer to make sure the mix out front is good. The rest of the band doesn't have to hear the finished product .... and they usually don't in most large churches.

So, as Mister Acrolite said ... it may be trouble waiting to happen. Why? Because you and the band are not used to YOU or anyone else playing to a click or metronome. If they've not experienced that, they may not be listening and following you as much as they should or that you'd like them to. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. Playing to a loop is one way to find out ... but I sure would make sure that it works in rehearsal before committing to it.

[eardrum]

Robyn,
IMHO Don't even consider using the loop unless you have time with all the rhythm section to work at it for a while and to work out the loop in and out. If the musicians are not used to doing this as a group it could be disastrous.

[Dave Heim]

Robyn,
IMHO Don't even consider using the loop unless you have time with all the rhythm section to work at it for a while and to work out the loop in and out. If the musicians are not used to doing this as a group it could be disastrous.

Yep.  That was the reason for my question about the rest of the players.  The whole thing could go all pear-shaped really quickly.   :-\

[Mister Acrolite]

Try this groove.

[Robyn]

It will be something to definitely double check in rehearsal. We can always back off to Plan B. I have played to a click before w/ the band, and they are good about following me. I've started playing w/ headphones now, plugged into the console of the e-kit, and fortunately I can hear my bandmates as well as myself w/ these headphones. I can't hear the congregation singing, but I can hear the band and singers. We programmed the loop this pm, tweaked until we got it to the right volume, and figured out how we will stop and start it w/o it sounding too abrupt. I can hear it fine thru my headphones (along w/ what I play), and my plan is to do some practicing w/ the kit over the next couple days to get comfortable w/ it. Now I've found w/ the loop I need to back off and just play quarter notes on my cymbal, or it ends up sounding muddy if I play 8ths. 

All we can do is try it out, see how it works. If everyone hates it, then we'll can it. But if we can pull it off, I think it will really add to the song.

robyn

[Todd Norris]

My point with this is that you should just use the recording as a guide ... and just do your own thing. I'm suggesting that you change the style, although you can certainly do that as long as the worship leader is keen to the idea, but rather make the drum/percussion parts be what YOU want to say in the song. That's what God wants anyway ... what you have to say about Him through your music, voice, instrument.

I'm coming late to this thread, but I like what Bart said here.  I just catch the vibe of the song and do whatever comes to me.  For this song I'd be doing mostly 8th note driven hats, 4 on the floor and embellishments as needed.  On the chorus, I'd be on the ride adding some 16ths similar to what Mr. A provided. 

[amoacristo]

I can't hear the congregation singing.

That's a good thing. I, by design, can't hear the congregation singing either. Most of the time I'm able to drown out the tambourine (Satan's greatest tool).

[David Jung]

Well of all things, we're doing Hosanna this Sunday so I got a chance to run through it last night.... 

The only time I try to approximate the loop (with 16ths on the HH) is during the intro as the song gets cranked up.  A strong 4 on kick with 8ths on the HH through much of the song after that, but I try to remember to give an emphasis on the +'s during the verse and the downbeat during the chorus. (Sometimes I remember.)  I'm also kind of remembering a turn where I switch to ride while things are winding down towards the end and then finish up big, but I've slept since rehearsal.

I usually at least listen to the songs several times before Sunday (play along if its something new or just because I want to), make a few notes on the song list to remind me what I intend to do (since I'm getting old and never can remember who's starting a song) and then play whatever seems right for that morning.

[Robyn]

I usually at least listen to the songs several times before Sunday (play along if its something new or just because I want to), make a few notes on the song list to remind me what I intend to do  and then play whatever seems right for that morning.

I wish I was good enough to do this. ::) I've been sweating about this all week. I have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D... ::)

robyn

[David Jung]

Speaking of the David Crowder Band ... they are in Waco, TX this very moment recording their next album ... in a converted barn. True.

In another weird coincidence to this thread, my older daughter just stuck her head in and said Ted Nugent played on one of the songs.  I'm not sure how he got connected up with Crowder, but Nugent has a house here which I drive by every day on the way home from work...maybe those prayers haven't fallen on deaf ears after all.  ;)

[David Jung]

I've been sweating about this all week. I have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D...

I rather suspect you'll do just fine and then wonder what the big deal was. :)  If the congregation has to hear the song as recorded, just play the CD for them.  What they need are worship leaders up front leading them in worship--playing or not playing the song as recorded is fairly unimportant in that context.

[Dave Heim]

I wish I was good enough to do this. ::) I've been sweating about this all week. I have Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D... ::)

robyn

Just play what feels right to you.  Nice and easy - stick with what you know.  You'll do fine.