cornerstonecreativeca

The Rundown: Pt. 2

Posted on October 14, 2015 by cornerstonecreativeca

Now for the fun stuff. Here’s what lies within my side rack:

From top to bottom:

Furman Power Conditioner
1U Pull-out Rack Shelf
1. M-Audio AIR 32 MIDI controller (Used for synth leads)
2. Novation Launchpad Mini (Used to fire and manage loops/ sequences)
3. Powered USB Hub

Shure In Ear Monitor System (This allows me to have a wireless mix (No cable hassle… YAY!)
Furman Power Conditioner
Focusrite 18i20 interface (Sends out a variety of sounds like click, voice countoffs, synths, pads, pianos, etc.)
(2) Radial Pro D8 Passive Rackmount DIs (Used to take signal from 18i20 and send it to the main house board

2U Rack Drawer (Used to store replacement sustain pedals and whatever else I may need to fix things on the fly)

Each power conditioner controls a specific set of tools to make sure no hum or buzz is generated. Anything connected to the first power conditioner is anything not musical equipment (Computer, USB hub fan, pedalboard power, power to separate pedals, wireless IEM, etc.

The second power conditioner powers things anything that is a musical instrument. So anything like my Prophet 08, or Moog Sub 37, audio interface, power for Radial SGI Boxes, and any other goodie I decide to run that weekend will be powered through this conditioner.

The reason why I mentioned a pedalboard and its need for power is because there is a back side to the rack:

This little pedalboard and its power is managed through the rack. It’s got two Shure guitar tuners that double as a wireless unit so there are no messy cables to deal with. The acoustic tuner goes out to a Radial J48 and the Electric Guitar setup goes to a Radial SGI Box that gets wired into a Morgan DAG 15. There’s also a JHS Morning Glory for some grit and a Strymon Bluesky for a shimmery reverb.

The Strymon Timeline is the special part of the board because it’s the one thing that is controlled by Ableton via the audio interface. To make things easier for our WL, we made it to where Ableton controls the delay as well as its programming. For example, for a fast song our WL would want a quick dotted eighth delay with a short trail, Ableton will switch to that setting once I trigger the song. When we go to a slower song, he may want a quarter note delay with a longer shimmery trail. Ableton makes these kinds of changes so he doesn’t have to think twice. The best part is Ableton will constantly make sure that the tempo doesn’t fluxate on the delay. The wonders of MIDI.

The Rundown: Pt. 1

Posted on October 13, 2015 by cornerstonecreativeca

Something I’ve been asked to do is to share what my MD rig looks like and to explain everything that Ableton is controlling and operating. Ready? Here we go.

First off, I’m running a late 2013 Macbook Pro.

It’s got a 2.6 GHz Intel Core I7 Processor and has 16 GB of RAM with a 1TB SSD. Plenty of juice, power and memory.

The software I’m currently using to do all my work is Ableton Live 9 Standard. It works incredibly with MIDI and is a great tool for creating loops and sequences. Others choose Mainstage, but I like the flexibility of being able to tweak loops on the fly because Ableton also happens to be a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) rather than just a live tool.

Another reason Ableton is my software of choice is because it allows you to divide your loops by section (intro, verse, chorus, etc.), which allows the WL to make on the fly calls and change the form if he is lead to do so.

Within Ableton are all my Plugins for all the loop and sequences I make. Here is a small list of the main ones I use:

Omnisphere by Spectrasonics
Komplete 9 Ultimate by Native Instruments (This includes instruments such as The Giant, Massive, Damage, The Mouth, Alicia’s Keys, Kontakt and Reaktor). So many goodies in this bundle.
PianoTeq5 Stage Piano by Modartt
Synth 1 by Daichi Labratory
Melodyne by Celemony
Various Waves plugins for mixing and mastering
Various no- name synths

Within these libraries are a massive selection of sounds ranging from strings, pads, synths, leads, drums, basses, pianos, horns and even some choir samples. Although I don’t recommend spending all your money on software, having a variety of sounds and samples can help take your loops to the next level.

In the next post, I’ll go into my actual rig that is controlled by this beast of a laptop. Prepare your hearts. It’s about to get deep.

White- Hot Why Pt. 2

Posted on August 8, 2015 by cornerstonecreativeca

Alright-

So in the WHW Pt. 1, I covered a really quick general outline of what my job consists of. Now for the nitty gritty. In this WHW, I will be going in depth with the responsibilities that are entailed within the in- office end of my job. You ready? I think I am.

Here we go.

One of the biggest and most important tasks I have with my job in- office is making sure I’m maintaining regular contact with my Worship Leader. This is crucial when you have an MD/ WL relationship because if we aren’t communicating, we aren’t developing our relationship, and without that development there is no trust. Without trust, My Worship Leader can’t truly enable me to do my job at its fullest.

Think of it from a parental view point- When you see your child failing, what do you do? You want to jump in and fix everything they’re doing wrong, right? NO! You’ve got to let them fall/ fail in order for them to grow (also, think of how annoying it is when someone is trying to tell you what you already know how to do. Irritating right?) In that sense, The Worship Leader has to be able to trust me as well as me trust him/ her.

It all comes down to trust.

Next, I’m responsible for the management of our volunteer/ stipend player database as well as recruiting. Although this is a collaborative effort between the WL and I (and sometimes a fortunate intern), it is yet another thing the WL and I work together on to make sure our teams continue to be cohesive units.

Making sure our teams continue to be cohesive is HUGE. We believe in building a solid, consistent bi/ tri- weekly teams because it boils down to this simple thought- Not only is it important for there to be a consistent leader to develop trust with the congregation, but having consistent teams also helps build another layer of trust as well as maintain a level of quality. Does this mean you should stop recruiting and get comfortable? NO! We should always be scouting and raising up the next generation!

One of the more fun things is getting to arrange the set lists. Again, this is working with the WL in order to keep that streamline communication going. What this consists of is anything from choosing the keys, vocalists for any of the songs as well as making sure we stay under a certain time limit (can’t get TOO crazy). Arrangement and sequences are also discussed. This is like the storyboarding section when it comes to making a movie. Some people hate it, but you have to do it in order to see the big picture.

I know I didn’t get to talk about my preference of why I would rather use created in- house loops compared to buying them because that as well as recruiting are blog posts all their own. So stay tuned as those topics will be discussed very soon!

God Bless

White- Hot Why Pt. 1

Posted on August 7, 2015 by cornerstonecreativeca

So here’s a serious question I get asked:

“What exactly do you do back there?”

Fair point. One of the Pastors at my church once joked that I control the air conditioning. If only that was true… It’d be an icebox in there! But seriously, to answer this question once and for all, this is exactly what I do:

On stage, I lead the band. From chord changes, to hits/ breaks all the way down to road mapping and loop control, that is my job. I essentially take that responsibility from the Worship Leader so they can focus solely on leading the congregation in worship. This allows the WL to really focus on the needs of the congregation and create any necessary moments to deepen the worship experience.

Off stage, I’m responsible for managing our volunteer and stipend players database. From scheduling to recruiting, I work with the WL to set up set lists, band arrangements as well as conduct any auditions. Everything is done through Planning Center Online (a great resource I cannot recommend enough), so things like chord chart creation and set list/ band planning is super easy and well organized.

Aside from all the administrative duties, I also have the blessing of creating all of our loops. To have in- house loops is important to me because it really allows us to create/ modify/ cue tracks and sequences that are unique to our house of worship.

A question less commonly asked is “Why?”

To answer this plain and simply, it takes a team at our church (any church really) to create the weekend worship experience for the congregation.

Like any good company or organization, you have to function as a team in order to get where you want to be. If the work load was put solely on one person to make the weekend worship experience happen, that person would be stretched so thin to the point of resignation (unless you’re crazy… then I wanna meet you).

All in all, when it comes to being a musical director, it’s about establishing trust with your WL to the point where they trust your call (at least 85-90% of the time) and don’t have to think twice about whether or not you have things taken care of.

If you have any further questions, feel free to comment below or contact me!

An Introduction

Posted on July 29, 2015 by cornerstonecreativeca

Some say I’m crazy. Others say I’m a genius. Certain individuals actually believe I run my church’s air conditioning during the worship service… (Crazy right?) To me, I call it home and my God- given career. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

A little about me- I’m 25, born and raised in sunny San Diego, Ca. I started playing music at the age of 7 and haven’t been able to get away from it (despite my parents boldest efforts). I started on piano, ventured to guitar and bass, but ultimately ended back behind the ivory where I direct my killer worship team week in and week out.

I graduated from North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance on Bass Guitar. However, my second year in, I slowly moved back to piano due to a need at my church and thus started my career as a musical director.

I was mentored in the ways of Ableton, Omnisphere and production and volunteered as a music director/ keys player at one of my church’s many campuses. After some time, I started producing songs for my church’s children and youth ministry as well as playing at the main campus where my skills were stretched and developed.

Through networking and building a relationship with my good friend Charles Lane Norman, I was able to land my dream job and have him as my Music Pastor at a local church in Wildomar, California. I serve as his musical director producing tracks, original music, as well as leading the team on the weekends.

This blog will serve as an open source to other churches to learn as well as gain resources from the things we have learned and are continuing to learn.

Thanks for reading and I hope to teach as well as learn from whoever stumbles upon this blog!

God Bless.