Vern Sanders

Stepping Into the Light… The title of this article perhaps made more sense in 2011 when it was originally written. You’ll get the reference (at least the non-musical one) further on in the article. Many years ago, I was sitting in my office, when a phone conversation with a friend brought…

One of the difficulties in worship ministry is that as a leader, one must be rehearsing for the current season, preparing for the upcoming season, and planning for the seasons to come (I talk about that in more detail here). While we think it is normal, it seems strange to an…

You Said What? If you are reading this in disbelief or as a skeptic, please bear with me…this is actually a neat thing. But first, the set up… As a worship music professional, my idea of rehearsal is get as much work done in as short a time as possible.…

At a recent choir rehearsal, I worked on, among other things, Since By Man Came Death from Messiah. Most of you now have that running in your heads, I know, but as you replay it, how long is the space between the slow part and the fast part? How long…

You’ve done all your score study, and you’ve got your rehearsal plan outlined to the minute. Your group sounds great. But one piece of the puzzle is missing. You always (and I mean always) have trouble when the time comes to put your choir together with the band or orchestra.…

Long time readers know the second half of the headline mantra: for Local Situations. It has been my professional advice, and practice, for more than 50 years now. At the heart of this saying is the absolute fact that no two programs, or ministries, or choirs, or directors, or churches,…

It’s time to remind everyone that everything is not always what it seems. For instance, one of the most read articles at the Creator Magazine website is David Music’s Top 10 Reasons to NOT Sing Hymns. If you haven’t read it, you should. But when social media got hold of…

I have talked elsewhere about how you needed to fix some musical problems in an ensemble before they became chronic. One of my readers, who trains horses for rodeo events like barrel racing, wrote me to say that the same is true in training horses. If you let something go,…

I have long thought that pastoral care as a “calendared” part of the job description of a church musician or worship leader is what separates a part time position from a full time position. As Hugh Ballou points out here, pastoral care is an important part of what we do.…

I just finished reading a pre-release copy of a new book that is releasing to the public today. Written by one of my blogger heros, Chris Guillebeau, the title is The Happiness of Pursuit. In the book, Chris chronicles, and gleans lessons from, a number of people pursuing (or having…