If the Leader Ain't Happy, Nobody Sings

Warning: What you're about to read is considered a heresy in schools that teach worship leadership. It is based on my personal experiences, both as a worshiper and as a worship leader, and is offered as a cautionary tale.

One size does not fit all

What they teach about arranging a song for the mean (average) vocal range doesn't work if the leader's range isn't average. Maybe like me, your range isn't average either. That means that when you're singing in the prescribed vocal range, like you might if singing melody from a hymn book, you're pretty much in pain the whole time. Not really conducive for a worshipful singing experience.

Anybody watching you, like the folks who are trying to follow your leadership and worship with you, will sense your pain, feel your pain, and they won't be able to sing either. Which pretty much defeats the purpose of leaving the song in the group's singable range. Even though they can sing the song, they won't sing the song. And all because you're not comfortable.

From time to time I doubt myself and try to lead worship in the hymnbook key. It always ends in an unfulfilling worship experience. The last time was a few weeks ago when I was leading worship at a small group Bible study in Berryville. I was running late so I decided to just play the songs as written, in the songbook keys. These folks are singers so I thought it would be alright.

It wasn't and I felt bad about cheating the group out of some great Godtime.

I mean the whole idea of leading worship is for folks to sing along, curl up in Jesus lap, put their head on His shoulder, give Him a high five, and worship. But they can't because what you mean to be a sacrifice is causing them pain. Silly you.

A Change Will Do Me Good

One of the first things I do when I'm setting up a worship set is choose the song keys, which is to say that I change the song keys. Since I have a low vocal range, I usually lower the key about a half an octave. The highest note in most song arrangements for group singing is usually a C or a D, about an octave above middle C. But the top of my lead range is only a G, so I change the song key pretty much every time. For example, if the song is published in C, I feel most comfortable when I move the song to F or G.

If I don't change the key, I can still sing the song but it sounds awful. I either sing it quietly in falsetto or I belt it out like Janis Joplin in the screaming range. Neither of these is very inspiring or inviting to those who might want to sing along.

Usually in a small group setting, I'll choose the highest key possible for me, with the highest note in the song capped at G. Since I do a lot of worshiping in small groups for women, this key is comfortable for them, too.

If the Worship Leader ain't happy, nobody sings

If the Worship Leader is comfortable, everyone feels safe. You gotta feel safe to worship. I blogged about some of this in my posts I Kiss with my Eyes Closed, Hey, Who Turned off the Water?, and 4 Musical Languages of Worship last year.

So be comfortable as the leader. Change the song key to match your vocal sweet spot. Get that out of the way so you can throw your head back, close your eyes, play your instrument and sing.

#STC12 The Rough Drafts Music Jam

This is a story best told in pictures. 

Before the gig . . .

Wrist bands for everyone to publicize and remember the event  

This sexy Fender P-Bass was mine for 2 whole nights 

The Rough Drafts with our amazing sponsor and host Chapter rep, Left to right: Dr. Thomas Barker - lead and rhythm guitar, vocals, set lists and charts; Viqui Dill - bass and vocals; Rich Maggiani - drums and more; Ann Grove - president at Logical Writing Solutions, Inc., our sponsor; Betsy Maaks - vocals, linedancing instructor, STC Chicago Chapter rep, equipment coordinator, jam participant juggler, table program developer; Robert is not pictured  

First set kicked off with the core band warming up the crowd and getting a soundcheck on the fly.

Left to right: Rich Maggiani on drums, Robert Hershenow on guitar and vocals, Viqui Dill on bass and vocals, and Tommy Barker on guitar and vocals 

The dance floor filled up fast, thanks to Tommy's great set list. We open with Elvis' "Good Rockin' Tonight" to get the party started.

Well I heard the news, there's good rockin' tonight 

Lucky me, I'm on bass.

The bass babe 

First jammers out of the box are Tristan Bishop on keys and vocals and Steven Jong singing lead. Was it "Honky Tonk Woman"?

Left to right: Robert Hershenow on guitar, Tristan Bishop on keys and vocals,  the bass babe, Steven Jong on vocals, and Tommy Barker on guitar 

The Weight features Kai Weber and Elizabeth Barteau on vocals with Ryan Williams on bass. 

Such a fun song and they sing it/play it so well 

Love Me Like a Man - I get to sing my favorite song, thanks to Bruce Poropat on bass. Also featured is Stephen Adler on guitar. "Darlin' I know you can."

I love it when folks dance to our music 

Bruce Poropat also plays a mean electric guitar as we soon found out. 

Left to right: Bruce Poropat on guitar, Robert Hershenow on guitar, drums behind, Viqui on bass, and Tommy Barker on guitar and vocals 

Second set kicked it up a notch with a tribute to our host Chapter and Summit location. 

The second set kicked off with "Sweet Home Chicago" featuring the STC Chicago Chapter as Jake and Elwood Blues 

Finale set welcomed everybody back to the stage.

Mustang Sally featured many vocal talents, among them Ben Woelk and Marilyn Woelk  of the Rochester Chapter 

And the award for Educator, and badass sexiest tech comm musician ever! goes to our own Dr. Tommy Barker.

https://twitter.com/phylisebanner/status/204744840364294144/photo/1

At the after party we just could not let the evening stop. To quote Chris Kristofferson, Janis Joplin, and Betsy Maaks, "We sang every song that driver knew."

Philadelphia Chapter president Stephen Adler treats us to "Wild Horses"  and even a little singing  at the after party 

We just can't stop singing, so the party goes on well into the next morning , featuring Tommy Barker on that great big beautiful Taylor acoustic guitar 

More photos on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjl6955/sets/72157629920159352/   thanks to Richard Lippincott and http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhoughton/sets/72157629884857834/ thanks to Rachel Houghton.

A thousand thanks to our generous hosts and sponsors, especially Ann Grove and http://www.logicalwriters.com/ Love the shirts, love the party, and LOVE YOU!!!

Rough Drafts jam sets are on slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/viqui_dill/rough-drafts-stc-2012-jam-sets

Rough drafts stc 2012 jam sets

View more PowerPoint from Viqui Dill

Man in the Middle, Mom on the Sidelines

It is July 24th and I've been looking forward to this moment since the blizzard back in February. I've just sung two of my favorite songs, played bass like a man, and my husband, two microphones away, is about to sing a big crowd pleaser, "The Man in the Middle." The band is hot (I'm so lucky to be playing with these guys), the summer breeze is cool, the sound crew is skilled, the folks at Morgan Arts Council are wonderful. This is a terrific day and a terrific moment to be here and now.

And then in a flash of chance and gravity, things go horribly wrong.

I look up from the stage and see my son, Jim Dill, in horrible pain, and bleeding profusely from a gash in his shin.

A million thoughts and impulses fly through my head like a freight train. My heart leaps out of my chest, across the canal, and into the gaping wound. How did things go so bad so fast?

OK, let's go back in time.

It's February 2010. I'm snowed-in in what will be known as the Snowpocalypse. The phone rings and it's Gordon Macleod from the Morgan Arts Council. He says they want the Dill Pickers to play in their summer concert series. My friend Lynn Greer has helped us get this gig by hand carrying our press kit and I'm so happy for her support. Now, they say they like our sound and we discuss the business end (I'm terrible at this) and schedules and money and such. I grab my laptop and email the other pickers, who are as excited as I am. This is gonna be a great summer.

Fast forward a month or two and add the much prayed for springtime thaw. I'm cyber-chatting with my good buddy Ron Furgerson. Ron has been a Dill Picker supporter from the beginning and has even used our music in some of his youTube videos. Ron would really really really like to have a video of us performing "The Man in the Middle." I would, too, and I think that maybe this summer's gig in Berkeley Springs will be a great time to film it.

And that's how it happened.

At the gig, Jim was hired to be videographer and photographer. He was using my camera to take some stills and some video. I had asked him to be sure to get "The Man in the Middle" on video. Jim was not expecting to have to be filming so early in the set and was nowhere close to the stage when I asked him publicly and into the mic to start the video. Jim's a good photographer and he takes his job seriously so he rushed back to the stage to catch the song from the beginning. And he almost got it, too.

But on the way, he had to cross the stone waterway. One leg makes it, the other leg slams shin first into the edge of the stone retaining wall. *Expletive*

And we got the aftermath on video, because even badly hurt, Jim does what he says he will do. So as the camera runs, you can hear Jim react to the fall, the blood, the wound, and the feeling that his leg may be broken. The video is very hard to watch. For the first 10 seconds, Jim is breathing heavily and groaning in pain. And yet, somehow he continues to hold the camera and continue with the video. At 0:55, he says calmly "That was a mistake." At 1:38, someone off camera comes to help and offers to bring some ice. At 2:14, the folks getting ice alert the wonderful Dr. Matt. Yes, there's a doctor in the house. Hallelujah. The ice arrives at 2:24 and Jim asks for medical attention, initially asking for an ambulance, but getting a better solution with Dr. Matt just a few feet away. Dr. Matt and my friend Kathryn Rack arrive at 3:00, one to check out the situation and then retrieve his black bag, and the other to check out the situation and offer help with the video camera. At 3:30, Jim utters the understatement "I tried to jump the gap."

From 3:30 on, the video looks normal. Kat frames the band, even getting happy footage of the dancing girl on the front row.

Looks normal from the outside, but I know what's happening on the inside. My child is in terrible pain, maybe even terrible danger, and my heart is breaking with worry and guilt. But on the tape, I look fine, sing fine, play fine. You can't tell what's going on inside me. I suppose that's a good thing.

At 4:40, before the song is over, I turn to Frank and ask him to talk for 30 seconds so I can run off stage and check it out. I drop my bass and scurry off to see about Jim. By that time, Dr. Matt is in motion, Jim has shown that he can walk on the leg, and I'm a little bit calmer. Frank is wonderful, chatting happily with the crowd about anything and everything. I'm back on stage a few seconds after that and the show must go on.

Now that it's over, a few words of heart-felt thanks.

Now that it's over and the gig still went well, now that we know that Jim's leg is not broken and he didn't need stitches or an ambulance ride or a tetanus shot, now that we got that Berkeley Springs crowd to dance a little in the 99 degree heat, now is the time for me to express my gratitude to the folks who were so fabulous.

Thanks to my fellow band members, Keith Dill and Jamie Leonard, and especially to Frank Nanna, for holding it together and covering for me while I freaked out inside. I definitely lost my mojo that day and these guys made it all fine with their amazing musical skills and supportive attitudes. Frank's banter while I ran off stage is just another example of what a great entertainer and improvisor he is. I am so lucky to be playing with you all.

Thanks to my friend Kat Rack, who was wearing a MOMS ROCK piece of flair, for stepping in to quietly fill in the mama role. You rock, indeed my friend. I don't think you had to do much, but seeing you there and knowing that you had your eye and your love on things is so greatly appreciated.

Thanks to the Morgan Arts Council for their support, in particular to Dr. Matt Hahn for answering "yes" to "Is there a doctor in the house?"

And thanks to all the kind folks who came out to the gig. We had so much fun and you guys make our work all play. You rock our worlds and we love you like nothing else. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hope to see you again, maybe next year.

Flying in a BGV Formation - I love harmony vocals!

This blog post is for all of you who love singing backup vocal, which we in the biz call BGV for BackGround Vocals.

I love singing with you guys. We fit together in a tightly controlled and yet totally organic formation, like a flock of geese flying in a V. Our lead vocalist goes up, we go up. Our lead vocalist goes down, we go down. Our lead vocalist crescendos (that's fancy music talk for getting louder), we crescendo. Our lead vocalist decrescendos, we back off slightly, too, staying just a hair behind so that the lead is still out in front, in the point position of the V formation. It's magic and yet it's reproducible, both an art and a science.

So let's teach the others how to fly along with us. Feel free to add comments if I miss anything. I'd love to grow our numbers because well-sung harmonies are so rare and so wonderful.

Flying in your zone, it's like soccer or basketball

So if you don't like the flying geese analogy, let's look at the zone analogy.

In soccer and basketball, each player has a zone. You get in your zone and you stay in your zone. If you go into another player's zone two bad things happen: nobody is now in your zone (say, right forward) and your team now has 2 players in another zone.

In singing harmony, finding and staying in your zone is also important. For example, if your job is to sing just a little higher than the melody or lead (we call this position the "tenor" position) then you should find your position and stay there. Don't venture lower, either into the melody/lead position or farther down into the "baritone" position. Don't venture higher, up into the "high baritone" position a full 5th above the melody. There are already players in those positions, so you'll color that position too darkly and worse, nobody is singing tenor now.

Find your zone. Embrace your zone. We need you there. We sound full and warm with all of us in our zones.

Flying slightly behind the leader

This concept is easy to explain. We need the melody to be prominent, easy to pick out and recognize. So we BGVs stay just a little behind, both in volume and in timing.

As far as volume goes, much of this is up to our sound techs. Pray for them, that God will guide their fingers and open their ears. I mean, we gotta all hear each other or this thing doesn't work. So we all need to be strong in the monitors, if we're going electric. And never underestimate the power of a good compressor to balance and shape the vocals. If we're going acoustic, we need to stand close together, so everyone is within earshot, even if the banjo is banjo-loud.

Now timing is an art, almost a psychic connection. We all need to make our attacks (fancy musical term that means how we start the note) and decays in formation. Us BGVs need to be just a nanosecond behind the lead on the attack, and just a smidgen ahead in the decay. This way, the melody/lead is the first and last thing heard in the vocal blend. This letting go of the note in submission to the leader's lead is hard for us diva types. We love to embrace that note and hold it for all it's worth. Resist this impulse, it's of the devil.

Flying with the leader

Here's the last little instruction: follow the leader. If the leader goes up a small interval (fancy musical term for the number of pitches between notes in a passage), then we go up a small interval, staying within the chord and holding our positions. If the leader goes up a large interval, then we also go up a large interval, not a small one, not holding the same note we just embraced.

When the leader makes a big leap, you need to make a big leap, too. If you don't make an equally big leap, you'll be doubling somebody else's part, either your other BGV team mate, or the melody, making that part too dark and leaving a big hole where your part should be in the blend. So make that leap. Whee, it's musical bungee fun!

Now, let me take just a moment to rant about counter-melody. Don't do it. Don't even think about it. Counter-melody is similar to harmony because it's something that fits in the chord and is not the melody. But it's not harmony. Counter-melody draws attention to itself. It says "Hey, I'm singing over here. Look at me!" and draws attention away from the melody, messing up the nice warm blend of a tightly flying harmony. If you want to sing out front, sing the melody role for goodness sake. Then you can be the goose out front for all the world to see and admire. I hope I've made my point. Counter-melody, like refusing to decay in time, is of the devil.

Harmony Evangelism

So there you have it. My small bit of musical evangelism. Singing harmony is for anybody who can sing. It's simple but it's not easy. But you can do it. I believe in you.

Please join us. We'd love to sing with you!

I Kiss with my Eyes Closed

I kiss with my eyes closed. I also take a shower with my eyes closed and I worship that way, too.


This post is #2 in a series about worship. Also see my previous post, 4 Musical Languages of Worship.

I think worship is a lot like kissing and showering. Worship is an experiential activity and when it's good, I want to put my whole self into it. I close my eyes and I let go, just like kissing and showering. To do that, I need to be into it, I need to feel safe, and I need to know what I'm doing.

Let me explain.

I'm into it.

When I'm into it, I'm connected and engaged. I'm kissing a guy I like, the very one I have a crush on, and to whom I want to say "I love you" in a language without words. Maybe I've been waiting for hours or days for him to kiss me, and now the moment has arrived and I'm so very glad it's finally happening. Nothing feels as good as this moment right here and now. I close my eyes and pretend the world is only me and him. I'm into it.

Or perhaps I'm taking a shower to get myself ready for a wonderful day, a big date, or a special event. Maybe I'm showering away the dirt of a day well spent, sweat I poured out persevering through a tough time. Nothing feels so good as that warm water on my skin. I feel my muscles relax as the stress of my day goes down the drain. I close my eyes and relax. I'm into it.


In worship, there are times when I arrive badly in need of time with God. I'm battled and bruised from the week behind me, I'm fearful about things that might happen in the week ahead. I want to run into God's throne room, crawl up in His lap, bury my face in His shoulder and disappear into Him. I raise my hands in the air saying "Lift me up, I've fallen down." Or maybe I've had such a great week that I can't wait to thank God about it. I want to kneel at His feet and pour out my gratitude to Him. I raise my hands in the air for a big high five with God. This is an intimate moment and my heart aches for quality time with Jesus. Nothing feels as good as this moment of Just me and Him, that's all there is in the world and that's all I need. I'm into it.

I'm safe.

OK, let's get to a confession. I'm afraid of being judged. Judgment is just a precursor to condemnation and I fear it like nothing else. What if I'm not good enough or smart enough? What if other people stare at me or laugh at me? If I'm kissing or showering or worshiping, I want complete freedom to enjoy myself. I want complete privacy, even invisibility. We know how this plays out with kissing and showering. In worship, it might take some explanation.

I want dark.

I want the room to be as dark as possible. In the dark, I think you can't see me and I'm safe in the dark. I have complete privacy in the dark. I can make faces of joy or I can weep quietly and only God will know if I'm here in the dark. I'm free from any embarrassment about how silly I might look. I'm safe here in the dark to worship.

I want loud.

Loud is to being overheard as dark is to being seen. I want the music to be loud for the same reason I want the room to be dark. I don't want you to be able to hear me because I'm afraid you might judge my singing. Think about a rock concert held in an arena. It's so loud, I can't hear my friend screaming right next to me. It's the perfect environment for total all out top of my lungs singing along. It won't matter if I sing the wrong words, the wrong tune, at the wrong time or during a big solo. Nobody hears me but God. And that's just how I want it. I throw my head back and belt out my heart to God. I'm safe here where the music's loud and I can worship with total abandon.

This desire for a really loud worship experience might offend some of my friends who complain when it gets loud in church. I know you want the volume of the music to be close to what it is at your home listening to your stereo. I understand that's a comfortable listening level. But that's the point - you're not supposed to be listening. You're supposed to be worshiping, singing along at the top of your lungs, too. This is a different experience than the experience of listening and the music level has to be different to make it happen. We want to be safe to participate without embarrassment or judgment and that takes really loud music. With loud music, we're safe.

I want lots of other worshipers.

Think "rock concert" for a second. The stadium is packed with lots and lots of us, getting into the music, having an awesome time. The sound and excitement in the air are so thick, you can see them. Nobody is looking around. All the attention is focused elsewhere. In a concert, we are focusing on what's happening on stage: the music, the lights, the performance. In worship, we are reaching for the spirit of God in the room. It's a paradox of worship that the more crowded it is, the more privacy the individual worshipers have. Other folks, in the dark, surrounded by the sounds, raising their hands, raising their voices, closing our eyes, kneeling, dancing, worshiping. It's a picture of heaven.

I know just what to do.

So I'm in my happy place, worshiping with all my heart because I'm totally into it and I'm totally safe. This will go well as long as I know just what to do.

Knowing what to do means I'm familiar with the music. I blogged about that in a previous post, 4 Musical Languages of Worship.

I know the next word coming up without having to open my eyes and read the slide. Maybe it's a familiar song I've sung a hundred times before. This song comes alive in a new way for me right here, right now because I'm truly immersed in it. Even an old song becomes new when I'm offering it up in a new way. Eyes closed, alone with God and enjoying my time in the throne room, pouring out my broken heart to my loving Father, or singing out my thanks for the great things He has done for me. I don't have to think, I don't have to see, I just open up my heart and let Him fill it up.


How about you? Are you like me? Do you kiss and shower and worship with your eyes closed? Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this blog and let me know.

4 Musical Languages of Worship

Hey, it's Viqui Dill again. I haven't blogged in a while and now I have something to say. I want to hear your thoughts about it, too. So please please please leave a comment.

Today I want to talk about the 4 Musical Languages of Worship.

We don't all speak the same language. The language or languages you speak depend on the places you've been, how you grew up, and the languages you heard as a kid.

The same is true for music. Music is language and we don't all speak the same one. The music that moves you, makes it possible for you to worship, will depend on the music of the places you've been, the music you enjoyed in happy times, the music that comforted you in tough times, the musical language of your walk though history.

The quickest way to get somebody in the worship mood is to speak their musical language. The quickest way to disconnect them is to urge them out of their musical comfort zone. So I think it's important to try to speak each person's musical language at some time during the worship experience.

I think there are 4 such languages, and the languages correspond to the group of folks that speak that language. There are four groups: the regulars, the n00bs, the shoppers, and the traditionals. Let me explain.

The regulars
The regulars are the folks who come out to worship regularly. Like Homer having a beer at Moe's Tavern, the regulars want things to be pretty much the same as they were last week. They loved the way things were last week or they wouldn't be coming back week after week. The regulars like to worship to songs that they know, songs from the top 10 or 20 songs on your CCLI play list, the songs you play week after week. The regulars love the hits from past Sundays. The regulars love those contemporary worship songs that you sing regularly. The regulars love what you play already.

The n00bs
The n00bs have never been to your worship, in fact they may not have ever been to any worship of any kind in their adult life, so they won't know much contemporary church music. They'll know and like the music they hear in their regular lives, music that gets airplay, music that gets downloaded, ambient music played at the gym and the grocery store, music from movies, music from tv, music of the street.

The shoppers
The shoppers have a background of regular worship attendance but for some reason, they're not plugged in to your specific community. They are looking for a new place to plug in, with all of the things that they loved about the old place, just none of the things that made them decide to make a change. This group includes college students away from home, kids at a new summer camp, family members visiting relatives from out of town, committed worshipers who are new to the area, as well as folks looking for a change because they just don't like where they've been going. What kind of musical language do the shoppers speak? They like the hits, the songs from the CCLI top 25 for the last year, the songs chosen for compilation CDs and WOW Worship. Like the n00bs, the shoppers listen to some kind of radio station, and like the songs played on the radio, downloads, movies and tv. But this time, the stations, downloads, tv shows and movies are playing Christian music. For the shoppers, we should choose those popular worship songs that worship leaders love to hate. Yes, we've played "Shout to the Lord" a zillion times, and yes, we're tired of it and want to play newer cooler songs, but the older reliable songs are the ones that will touch the heart of worshipers who are not familiar yet with your current favorites.

The traditionals
Traditionals love that old time religion and are still looking for a place to get some. They like those old hymns, and some of the new hymns too. The more traditional the hymn, the more comfortable the traditional worshiper will be. n00bs might like traditional hymns, too if they had an older relative that loved them very much and brought them to church. I have seen small group worship experiences dissolve into happy tears whenever I'd play a traditional hymn. Afterward, folks would come up and tell me "That was my grandmother's favorite hymn. She used to let me sit on her lap when we visited her church. I cried just thinking about her."

So, there are the four groups of people with their preferred musical languages, the songs they prefer to hear in a worship experience:

• regulars like what you already play
• n00bs like what's popular on secular radio, on tv, or downloaded
• shoppers like the top worship hits, what's popular nationwide
• traditionals like those old hymns
  

So why not speak all four languages when you're choosing songs for worship? You'll be helping more folks plug in to the worship service because they'll hear the gospel spoken in their own language at sometime during the service.

Need a scripture reference for this? Try these. God asks us to speak in the language of the listener, not in our preferred language. Check these out.

Acts 2:7-9 (New International Version)

⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

1 Corinthians 14:16-17 (New International Version)

¹⁶If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.

So let's learn to speak the language of our worshipers. Let's learn some music that may be not our favorite, but will speak love into the world of those who hear it. Let's learn some songs that may be new to us, but will speak comfort and love into the ears of the listener, whether they're regulars, shoppers, n00bs, or even traditionals.

An Unusual Gig for the Dill Pickers

3/10/2009 @ 11:30 am, the Dill Pickers play at the Oasis Fellowship in Columbia, SC.

The Oasis, an outreach and Bible study for 55+ age folks, meets each Tuesday in the Fellowship Hall. 11:30-1:00PM. Light meal served, cost $2.00.

There is singing, fellowship and a life application Bible study by Dr. Tim Phillips. The Dill Pickers were guest song leaders.

Riverland Hills Oasis Fellowship at Riverland Hills Baptist Church
201 Lake Murray Blvd.
Irmo, SC 29063

Viqui on 12 String, Keith on Fiddle, Jim on Djembe, playing some tunes for the folks at the Oasis.

Opening song is The Man in the Middle
http://home.earthlink.net/~viquidill/lyrics/three_men_on_the_mountain.pdf

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing #15 in the hymn book
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/Come_Thou_Fount_G.html

Just as I Am #307 in the hymn book
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/Just_As_I_Am_Bb.html

What a Friend We Have in Jesus #182 in the hymn book
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/What_A_Friend.html

I'll Fly Away as our closing song, not in the hymn book, but they sang along any way
http://emmausofclarke.com/worship_song_charts_as_html/Circle Be Unbroken Fly Away.html

How it went: terrific. The congregation was very appreciative of us and sang, even when there was nothing in the hymn book from which to go.

Thank you to everyone who frolicked with me!

This is part of the Sunday Set List blog carnival on Fred McKinnon's blog. It's a wonderful group of people who share and care about the worship experience. Make sure you visit today.

Something Different This Week

This week at Emmaus Church in Berryville, VA, our regular worship leader was out of town, leaving me free to sing a few different songs and do a few different styles. Here's what we did:

♥ Opening song ♥
Victory Chant (with hand jive motions)

♥ Worship set: ♥
I Saw the Light by Hank Senior
Better Is One Day by Matt Redmond
Enough by Chris Tomlin

♥ Offeratory ♥
All Who Are Thirsty by Brenton Brown

♥ Closing Song ♥
I'll Fly Away and Will the Circle Be Unbroken (both are Public Domain)

Our wonderful drummer, Ethan, was sick this morning so Keith filled in, playing BOTH fiddle and drums. It was kind of amazing.

The other amazing thing that happened this morning is about basketball. Emmaus Church meets in a school building and this morning, while we were worshiping in the auditorium, another group was playing basketball in the gym. Their happy sounds of bouncing balls and sneakers-on-wood-floor mingled with our music and made a joyful noise. Maybe some day our 2 groups will share more than a building.

This morning's worship team (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Guitar - Viqui (also vocals and handmotions)
Bass - Erin (also vocals)
Drums & Fiddle - Keith (also vocals)
Electric Guitar - Seth
Sound and Tech - Walravens
Vocals - Diane (also hand motions)

Thank you to everyone who frolicked with me!

This is part of the Sunday Set List blog carnival on Fred McKinnon's blog. It's a wonderful group of people who share and care about the worship experience. Make sure you visit today.

Best October Ever!

I'm just taking a minute to enjoy the events of the last month.


It started out great. A crashed laptop gave me an excuse to travel to Blacksburg to visit Jim at Tech, buy a cool new desktop system, and go to Outback for slabs of delicious beef. Beef cattle: delicious and slow. Mmmm. Here's a picture of Jim and me after we fired up and loaded up the system.


On 10/5, I got to lead worship at Emmaus. I had the awesome team of Erin on Bass, Ethan on drums, Seth on Electric, and Diane running sound. Caleb was out of town and I had the freedom to make my own mistakes and bad choices. Like forgetting to change the key to one of the songs so that it was so high, I had to scream it. But we had a winner with "Victory Chant" with hand motions. We had fun, God showed up. What could be better?

Then lickety split after church, I got to teach Caleb's guitar class how to do bar chords. We had fun and then our hands got sore, so we took pictures.



The next weekend, we picked and sang with the Turner Clan at their annual Octoberfest. Most appreciative crowd ever. They dance and sing and hoot and holler like we're Lynyrd Skynyrd or something. Once again, the weather was awesome and so was the company. Keith played a set with Flint Hollow Bluegrass after dinner, then played some folkie rock until the wee hours.


Next weekend, I was thrilled to be invited up to Highland County for back-to-back fun. I attempted to entertain the attendees at the fundraising Spaghetti Dinner for the Highland Logos group. Chris and Heather Scott are the best hosts ever. New Directions sang some wonderful worship songs and then I got up to do some more music. Since my entire front row was preschoolers, we did all the hits: B-I-N-G-O, Eensy Weensy Spider, E-I-E-I-O up to 5 animals, Chicken Dance, If You're Happy and You Know It, all the hits. Then we ate their awesome Spaghetti and cleaned up. Then it was off to the Laurel Point Bed and Breakfast, up to watch the sunrise over the breathtaking mountains, and on to McDowell United Methodist Church. Such a pleasure to lead worship with such a worshipping crew in that beautiful location. We had fun, God showed up. What could be better?

Delaware only has one Fiddle Championship and we try to go there every year. Another great trip for the Dill Pickers on 10/25. Did I mention that we're in Rehoboth Beach? We got there a day early and caught some of that great ocean air.

At the contest, Keith took 2nd in Fiddle and 3rd in Banjo and our band, featuring Ray Hesson on Banjo, took 2nd. Check out the video of his fiddle tune below. Our buddy, Frank Nanna MCs the event. He's not just great on the Banjo, he's great with a crowd.

After the contest, we had a fun evening jamming with the Prairie Dog Band and Route 40 at a local venue.





Ending out the month of October with a strangely good Hallowe'en, I took my guitar to work and played a little bit at our break. My coworkers are perhaps the most supportive ever, yelling out requests for songs from our CD and even letting me do 2 encores. Go Freight Team. Carry my LOVE, boys.



On Saturday 11/1, we played at our church's Square Dance. Now before you go judging our Square Dance, I have to say that it was the best church event ever. We ate. We sang. We Square Danced. We Line Danced. We did the Hokie Pokie. The weather was PERFECT, high 60's and no wind. Wonderful.

The month of fun closed out fantastically with Bluegrass Worship at Round Hill United Methodist just West of Winchester. We sang "I Saw the Light" and "In the Garden." Keith played the Fiddle so sweetly and so fiercely. It was great. Then, for All Saints Day, we closed out the service with "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and "I'll Fly Away." We had fun, God showed up. What could be better?


How great is my life??? So great!!!

Come Dance Zydeco

Keith Dill is a fast, efficient, and good record producer. While we were visiting family in South Carolina this week, his father gave him a Boss BR 1180, "World's easiest digital recorder," still not easy. The others must be wickedly difficult.

Anyway, Keith learned quickly how to use the thing and produced a usable version of a song I wrote. You can download the song from www.myspace.com/dillpickers. Check it out.

Here are the words, sing along...

Come Dance Zydeco
Written by Viqui Dill
Published by CompassMom Productions (BMI) ©2002

Well the girls in the city got a lot of fine shoes
But they don't got a thing on me
While they're sitting in traffic and cryin' the blues
I am goin' to a big party
It's out under the stars on the banks of the bayou
Where they've play the zydeco sound
Instead of sittin' in traffic, we're makin' such a racket
Every evening when the sun goes down

Chorus
They got a fiddle in the cajun band
And we go dancin' to it hand in hand
Moonlight as bright as day
Just hear that squeeze box play
City worries getting out of hand
Give them all to the cajun band
They got the salt for your snap beans, Joe
Come dance zydeco

Verse 2
Well the girls in the city drive a lot of fast cars
But it don't mean a thing on me
'Cause I got the moon and I got the stars
Underneath a big live oak tree
Now we don't talk pretty and we don't talk smooth
But we mean every word that we say
There's no reason to hide what we feel inside
When the cajun band starts to play

Top 5 Reasons I Love Gigging the Baby Shower Circuit

Top 5 Reasons I Love Gigging the Baby Shower Circuit
Yesterday, I got to bring worship to another Baby Shower. What a great gig. It's got to be the best gig in the world. This was my second baby shower gig and I want to do a zillion more.

Here are my top 5 reasons I really really really love gigging the Baby Shower circuit:

Reason 5: The HOURS
When I used to play in bars, I'd work from 7 pm until 2 am, setting up, playing, tearing down, waiting to get paid. With a baby shower, it's just a few hours in the afternoon. And the crowd is friendly. They don't smell like cigarettes and beer. There's hardly ever a fight.

Reason 4: EASY Set Up
Since the music is acapella, except for my guitar, there's no PA to haul around, load or set up. The set up and tear down are simple. Which means you get to enjoy yourself at the gig. No squeeling feedback to worry about. No power cords to untangle. No amplifiers to lift over your head. Easy.

Reason 3: The FOOD
The food at a baby shower is fantastic. When women cook for women, especially when women cook for pregnant women, the results are incredible. Each bite is oohed and ahhed over. Each cut veggie stick is praised for its healthfulness. And the prize winning Chocolate cake, first place at the Clarke County Fair, gets a special place of honor.

Reason 2: The MUSIC
The women, the girls, and the babies that show up for a baby shower are the best audience and the best performers you could ever hope to find. Each singer knows what to sing and when to sing it. Nobody is too shy. Nobody is too much of a show-off. We sing, laugh, cry, close our eyes and let the music come out. From the heart to God's ears. Sweet and honest. Awesome.

Reason 1: I'm NOT PREGNANT
When I stand next to a pregnant woman, I look and feel thinner. I can enjoy myself because the baby thing is in my long past. I know I can sleep late on weekends. Nobody follows me into the bathroom now. It's nice to cuddle a little baby. And it's nice to give him back to his mommy.

So thanks to you, wonderful women of Emmaus Church, for letting me bring worship to both of your baby showers. And thanks to you, babies Dominic and Hope, for joining our group and giving us a reason to celebrate. And most of all, thank you Lord Jesus, for always being willing to show up and party.