Tag Archives: music

Becoming Visible.

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The one thing I consistently hear about my worship leading style is that I point the congregation in the direction of the song, then I get of the way and let them focus on God.

When translated into other terms, they’re saying I have a very comfortable and unassuming stage presence. As a worship leader, this would be considered a compliment, since it’s not about drawing attention to myself.

As I learn more about myself, I’m realizing that I don’t like attention. I’m the wallflower, the people-watcher, the quiet one in the group. Not at all the life of the party. I’ve never been an athlete because the little-girl Mandy was petrified of all the eyes in the stands. I’ve never been a performer for the same reasons.

Don’t notice me. Don’t evaluate me. Don’t pay attention to me.

As a musician that doesn’t want to be noticed, the worship leading role is a great fit.

But, now that I’m doing this band thing, I’m thinking through the fact that people are going to literally look at me.

gulp……….

So. I wanted to ask for your help and advice and all that. How do I shift my mentality? Better yet, how do I grow more comfortable with people actually watching me and all that blah blah?

Metamorphosis of a song

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I decided to go analog the other day, to jar my brain and get the juices flowing. No computer. No couch. No Masterwriter. Just floor & pen & paper & guitar & iPhone recorder. The effects, 3 hours later, were pleasantly surprising:

Whole point of this post? If you’re in a creative funk, try something drastically different… Change forces us to adjust/react/realign. And that takes creativity. Your brain, by force of change, will immediately jump into creative mode. Don’t believe me? Try it.

A chance to be in a video AND win free stuff. And the two are completely unrelated. But how can you say no?

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1) I’ve already gotten in a few video/picture entries for “I am _______.” But where’s yours? Send it to me (see below) by Friday. Remember when y’all all wished you’d been a part of the dance party after you saw the video? uh huh… This is much less embarrassing. So do it. Who’s in?

2) All you church people are gonna like this, because my buddies at Integrity and Logos are hosting this MASSIVE giveaway to celebrate a new software release called “Proclaim.” The prizes all center around one thing—creating powerful worship services. Raise your hand if you could use some of these prizes: a new and professionally church created website, hosted free for a year, a year of expert video and audio podcasting, $100s in gift cards for worship music, subscriptions to the top worship planning site, membership to top worship media sites, downloadable music lessons, an acoustic guitar (hello!!), tickets to some of the premier worship leader and music conference, and much more! To enter watch the video at http://proclaimonline.com and at the end there is a list of ways to enter the giveaway. There are several one-time ways to enter and a couple ways to enter every day!

Everybody likes free stuff, right? And, today you’ve got a chance to be in the latest greatest blog-community video [AHEM], AND win some cool stuff! Or just pick one of the two. They are highly unrelated. But equally fabulous.

Somebody oughta thank me–by sending in their part of the group video… ;)

Help bring out the rockstar in me…

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Disclaimer: I use the term “rockstar” very loosely. In my case, it implies the nervous jitters before practice. A long battle with my inner-critic about every song I decide to present to the guys. And butterflies over ANY imaginary future show that hasn’t-even-been-booked-yet. See? My heart is pounding just typing out that last sentence.

__________________

This is a purely selfish post on my part, but a lot of you are keenly more fashionable than I am–and I’ve just stuck my toe in the unfamiliar worlds of “entertainment” and “performance” and y’all know there’s a visual element to all this…..  And I intend to use your knowledge to my fullest advantage. :mrgreen: At least I’m honest about this, right?

So, how should I dress for this lead-singer-in-a-rockband scenario? If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a t-shirt/jeans kind of girl. I LOVE denim. And boots. slouchy cowboy boots. slick black knee-length boots. *not* army boots. ew.

I like accessories, but earrings make my lobes itch (Don’t ask me why the nose ring doesn’t make my nostril itch)…. Big rings, bracelets, scarves, hats (yum!), etc.

And I like layers.

And dark colors: blacks & grays.

But I have no money. (Typical for a “rockstar,” I’m learning)

I’m not too crazy about getting dolled up, either. The musician-in-me loses her edge when she’s in a dress. And, with our style of music, we can’t have that. Soooooooo…..

Help? Images? DIY rockstar-look videos? Articles? Fashion blogs? Magazine clippings? Links to Target’s jewelry/accessories? Anything you got?

My heart’s still pounding. Maybe it’s the coffee.