Remember Rage Against the Machine? Political issues aside, they were a fantastic band. What I always liked about the band was the disclaimer on the CD's. It read something like this:
"All the sounds made on this record were made by actual human beings."
Okay, that sounds a little silly. But that's essentially the point. And it made them cool, in my opinion - to hear all of these really weird, cool sounds coming from the speakers and realizing that it wasn't the product of loops or samples.
I think we're going to start having to use these disclaimers with worship. The advent of loops (drums and synth) in live worship is quickly turning a set played by all humans a rarity. Listen, I like programming on records, but in my experience, I cannot find one good reason to use loops in a live setting.
I've tried it. I've had by guys build stuff in Reason or some other looping software and we've kicked it up in our in-ears to stay on tempo and worked our tails off to stay with the loop so the song sounds like it's supposed to.
You know what's happened every time I've used loops?
Nothing.
I'm serious. Nothing. In every single situation where I've used loops, my crowds didn't act like they even knew it was happening. It was a ton of work and stress for a musical texture that didn't work. Now, compare that to the option of using a percussionist to do that same loop on some sort of hand-drum? Which works? Which is cooler? That's in the eye of the beholder, I guess, but the live music fan in me finds it way better to hear an amazing song produced by humans and not computers.
It's a little different for synth applications. In some situations, with smaller musical combos, I think worship has benefited from having a small midi controller or even a dedicated keyboard setup to hold some cool, ambient droning notes.
But for me personally, the loop thing's never paid off. Maybe I don't play cool enough places, but it's always seemed really lame. (Hey, y'all, we got us a computer playin' drums!)
What do you think of loops? Like 'em? Hate 'em? Think they're cool but also find they rarely do anything in live setups?
Monday, June 25, 2007
Rage Against the (Worship) Machine
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7 comments:
They are cool, but nothing is like the live sound! Remember, seeing is believing!
I've really dug on them when done professionally ala tomlin, hall, crowder, deyo, U2, peter gabriel, switchfoot, etc.
I'd like to try them when we get there...
I would imagine that as long as the loop is not the focus, as long as the band is used to it and it is not like OMG we are using a loop - then it might be a little more fluid. I understand what you are saying and it scares me.
You must use it properly. There should never be the use of loops when the equipment is not up to par (no playing loops from iPods Todd...)
I have no problem with them if you can pull them off and not get caught up in the glory of using it.
With that said, I can honestly say I will never use loops because they are too hard at this moment...
But do people care? I get what you guys are saying, but if you weren't coming at it from the perspective of a musician, are they worth it?
See, I like them. I like hearing them live when I go hear some band I like. But does average joe? Too often I think it's a case of us sticking to the things WE like and not really considering whether this new element of worship is going to actually make worship better.
I don't really think it matters if people care or not. I would ask, is it transparent? We'd probably be suprised at what our congregations don't care about when it comes to worship music!
As a worship leader, I want to use music and technology to enhance the worship experience. If loops are transparent, then they're not enhancing anything, right?
I am pro-machines all the way (I'm a rabid NIN fan, after all). IF: using them gets the point across.
Getting the point across does not mean being "culturally relevant" because that is not a desirable thing to be. It also doesn't mean evoking an entertainment-reaction (say, the irresistable urge to boogie) by matching the sound or production of entertainment-music.
It does mean showing the parishoners where the words go, and aiding them in becoming invested in the words they are singing, say by generating excitement through rhythmic tension for particularly celebratory lyrics.
I usually do not prefer to have a percussionist, because he is usually a drummer who bangs a constant stream of random 16th notes on congas or a jembe he can't play, causing me to politely ask if I can have a space for my notes, too, please.
Or he doubles my kick and snare, equally annoying. I hate when the loop does that, too.
Machines must only be used if everyone in the band is hearing them, including the click and they can be killed immediately if things go wrong.
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