Transcript included below…

As I string these words together, I’ve just come from a musical rehearsal I’ve been leading, where I simply tried to do too much with the limited time I had.

I felt my emotional intensity rising as I glanced at the clock, knowing that there would not be enough time to do the remainder of the songs well.

What was I trying to do? Well, with my musical creativity, I brought several untested exercises and some creative musical tools into the mix, and really, the task list was already pretty long.

I knew, in the back of my mind, that things were much more hectic and rushed because I had tried to cram too much additional optional musical activity into the early part of the rehearsal.

How in the world could I have done this more effectively? Well, upon reflection, I am noticing two words: “untested” and “optional.” Both of those words need to be carefully examined.

The reality is that if something is untested, it can be super fun, but it might not be “wired tight,” so to speak. And before we know it, we’ve run long and have shortened the remaining time for other elements.

If something is “optional” it needs to be considered a possibility, but also a lower priority.

Perhaps I could have tested and timed the exercises, and then lined them up with the time that I knew would be taken up by other required activities for the rehearsal.

It’s really nothing that a simple stopwatch couldn’t have solved, along with a bit of repetition to hone in on what was possible and/or needed.

The Law of Diminishing Returns

Have you ever come across that phrase? In basic terms, if we keep everything constant (including a timeframe) but increase the amount of things we want to get done in that timeframe, we’ll eventually reach a point where we will be less productive.

We’ll hit a point on a graph where things will actually start to diminish, instead of increase.

So under those circumstances, “more” eventually results in “less.”

But here’s the thing. It can be hard to know where that point is, until we hit it.

It’s sort of like an invisible laser that triggers an alarm. Once we cross that point of trying to do too much in too short of an amount of time, we know it, but it can often be too late. Often, the resulting side effects are frustration and stress.

And not just for us. This can also happen for our collaborators.

If time had not been so limited in that rehearsal, we would have been able to get a lot more done, in an unhurried fashion, and those untested and optional elements I had brought to the conversation would likely have fit into the mix.

But as I mentioned, the timeframe was a constant – it was a limited amount of time where after a certain point, everyone needed to leave.

Something had to give. And it’s my opinion, having learned from this, that it makes more sense…to often do less. And what are some environments where we can err on the side of “Less is more?” Let’s talk about several.

The Worship Team Rehearsal

This is a group of people, paid or unpaid, who gather to rehearse in some worship tunes.

The important question to ask is, “Does the band know the tunes?”

I suppose there are varying degrees of how well a band knows songs. They could have a cursory knowledge, having listened to them on the way to rehearsal.

By contrast, they could have them memorized forwards and backwards, to where they could jump in at any point and find their way in seconds.

Let’s say the band is planning to rehearse songs that are pretty familiar to them.

In this scenario, they have 5 songs to prepare, and their rehearsal allows for 90 minutes. They would still have a 1-hour run-thru to look forward to on Sunday where they would finalize the songs, but the goal of this rehearsal is to help the band gel together.

There are all kinds of potential variables, but let’s say they know each other well and have played together a lot.

Let’s say that the songs are average length – 4 or 5 minutes, and that they don’t present too many potential pitfalls with odd keys or time signature changes, but that some of the band members haven’t played a few of the songs very much.

How much time to spend on these five songs? If I were leading that band, I’d budget a total of 15 minutes per song. 10 minutes for working out any elements that needed to be worked out, and 5 minutes for a final pass.

So with an opening prayer and a quick sound check, we’d be 10 minutes or so into the rehearsal, if everyone lands on time.

Then, we could spend about 50 minutes working the set, dialing in some of the subtleties.

That’s our first hour. I’d open it up for questions at that point, and then if everyone was all good, we’d run the set, maybe with some simple verbal cues as placeholders (announcements, sermon, etc.) and then as the set wraps up, we’d have a moment to close in prayer and pack up, keeping the rehearsal at an hour and a half.

But what has the potential to compromise this infrastructure so that we actually run out of time?

Well, there are all kinds of possibilities. Someone could arrive late, someone could be unprepared and need extra coaching, there could be a crisis that needed to be prayed over.

We could have a tech glitch – ever had one of those? Troubleshooting can eat into the rehearsal time. Or maybe there’s a totally new song that warrants extra time, like twice as much as any of the others.

If we only have enough time to get everything done if the scenario is perfect, we could be setting ourselves up for some frustration. Better to leave a little margin, or at least to know what the team is capable of, as we plan.

And if we need to run long with the rehearsal, we would do well to make sure everyone buys in on that.

If a rehearsal ends on time but there’s still work to do, I always take the measure of making sure everybody knows what they need to be working on in anticipation of Sunday.

If absolutely necessary, a song can be cut from the set at some point. We don’t need to chase perfectionism, but we do need to work within the time parameters.

The Worship Service

When we get to Sunday, I don’t like to add anything new. I’ve done this, and it has either resulted in the band struggling, or at the very least, technicians who feel put on the spot because they thought they had the whole picture handled.

Some people love a last-minute change, but not the technicians I’ve served with. They’re doing their best to accommodate multiple variables, and adding something last minute does not equip them well.

The only change I might make to a Sunday morning, as mentioned a moment ago, would be to cut a song. But I’d do this with the buy-in from everyone from pastoral leadership to technicians, so no one is surprised by the change.It’s much easier to remove an element than to add one.

The Professional Band Practice

This could refer to a cover band, a house band, or a bluegrass band, but you get the picture.

A professional band has a similar paradigm, but there’s a bit of a higher bar that’s set for preparation and execution. Given the same amount of time, they will likely get through more material.

But here’s the thing – there’s an additional level beyond technical proficiency with these songs; it’s the ability to perform the songs well.

Working the song set with transitions, angles, and all those things that help make a concert dynamic, and it’s something I learned from performance coach Tom Jackson.

Even some of the most seasoned bands out there don’t dedicate time to cultivating the nuances of their live show.

Sure, they play their songs, and often very, very well…but much of the audience, in the words of Tom Jackson, doesn’t know whether the performer is singing High C or drinking Hi-C. The audience just came to enjoy a great performance.

So, if the pro band has 90 minutes (which may only be a quick rehearsal), they may have 10 memorized songs in hand. If they run each song once, they may stay under an hour. But the remainder of the time could be spent working onstage interaction: visual handoffs, humorous moments, and more.It’s my conviction that a rehearsal is a great opportunity to do some next level work beyond the solo practice, so the better prepared the individuals can be, the further the group can go.

The Solo Practice Time

Speaking of, a solo practice time is a different paradigm. We’re not influenced by collaborators when we practice alone. And we may not choose to ask as much of ourselves as we work out our skills and repertoire in our “man cave” or studio.

Perhaps a beginning guitarist can commit to 15 minutes. I’ll ask a loaded question – would it make sense to try to get through four songs in that timeframe? Nope.I’d say a good strategy here would be a couple warmups or stretches (3 minutes) some skill-building exercises with strumming, chords, or fingerpicking (7 minutes), ending with a song that’s already gaining momentum (5 minutes.) Finishing with actual music is very rewarding and reminds us why we’re doing what we’re doing.

A more advanced guitarist could simply scale this approach to 30 or 60 minutes.

I would keep warmups and stretches at just a few minutes, but maybe focus more on technique (perhaps 20 minutes), ending with repertoire building.

Side note: it’s always good to expand our repertoire, but also good to work on our existing repertoire, to keep it fresh.

So, less can be more in a solo practice time.

The Concert

Depending on the number of performers, the variety of skills available, and the attention span of the audience, there can be a wide range of what is offered at a concert. I’ll speak personally from my shows in a few different settings.

When I had a band, it made sense to use the band for most of the time, but for one or two songs, a piano ballad could “cleanse the palate.”

My drummer was actually gifted with a very good tenor voice, so we surprised the audience when he set down his sticks and sang some harmonies.

But in general, the band show was pretty streamlined to be a three-piece with me on guitar, and then my bass player and my drummer.

In those years of touring, it made logistical sense to have that simple setup, and to use what we had to present some dynamic and groove contrasts.

But when I went solo, which has become the majority of my career, I broke into more sonorities, because I was just one man up there.

If I played for a focused adult audience with a long attention span, I’d use fewer instruments, like guitar, hammered dulcimer, and maybe piano.

But if I played for a young audience, like a school assembly or a group of wiggly young campers, I knew that I needed to be constantly changing the focus.

To this end, I used a loop station (a recording device for live performance) that involved multiple implements (percussion, Boomwhackers – which are pitched percussion tubes, and some hand rhythms on my guitar). I also sang into the sound hole of the guitar and stacked my voice.

Add to this the element of audience participation (whether with people “naming that tune” or actually coming up onstage for a musical exercise that was fun and message-driven), and I had quite the varied show.

But there was a price to be paid. And it was a car filled to the top with gear…sometimes including a portable sound system. And as I’ve learned, not only does equipment have a monetary cost, it also bears a set up and tear down cost, to say nothing of load-in and load-out.

This has made those multi-faceted performances a labor of love, because not only am I pivoting after every song to a different instrument or piece of technology, I also need to rehearse more at home to make sure those transitions are solid.

I now mix my live show from stage, so the 16-channel mixer is something I’d also classify as an instrument. I’m constantly muting and unmuting channels, depending on which instrument I’m playing. So I have to ride the wave and check myself.

In addition to playing the guitar, I also play piano, hammered dulcimer, banjo, and the Chapman Stick, and I can do some acappella songs as well with my looping technology. I don’t typically bring all my instruments to a show. I usually leave one or two out – but not my voice, of course.

I’m also always evaluating my performance to see which elements need to be added or taken away.

Why? So that I can bring something different to the venue next time and because…less is more.

It’s been possible for me to hold my audience’s attention with far less gear, when I haven’t had a choice. How do I know this? Because I’ve flown to some shows, where I could only bring a guitar case, a suitcase, and a shoulder bag. That’s a very different capacity from a full SUV.

The Lord gives us what we need to do His will.

We also need to be sensitive to what would be appropriate to the venue. And really, even some of my venues will have perpetual wigglers in the crowd, because they’re all sugared up with root beer floats they just consumed before my show, etc. Even all my gear and all my fast songs might not be enough to accommodate their attention span.

It doesn’t all rest on me, but I do try to find that fine line in a solo concert where I’m blessing the audience and not wearing myself out. I like to be “good tired” after a show.

The Showcase

Occasionally, I’ll be added to a mix where I get to play just one or two songs, and that’s it. My time slot is 5 or maybe 10 minutes because I’m sharing the stage with half a dozen other performers who have a similar allotment.

This could be at a conference where multiple presenters are part of a general session. I’ve done this many, many times.

I also know that there are college showcases where people register as performers, pay some good money and travel a good distance, so as to be up in front of college recruiters who are looking for talent to share with their students. I haven’t gone this route, because although I’ve played for a few colleges, it’s not my main target audience.

But the time slot for these kinds of things could be as little as one song, maybe two.

So, what’s my mindset for a showcase? Pack as much into those two songs as possible? Maybe. But a better thought would be contrast.

What could I do between those songs, or even in the middle of one of those songs, to show different sides of what I can offer?

Think about your songs for a moment, and consider which songs might exhibit different sides of your lyricism, technique, tongue-in-cheek humor, or whatever you think the audience might appreciate.

My most recent showcase was for the Christian Musician Summit, a conference that has been around since the early 2000s, and for which I’ve taught since 2007.

I had 15 minutes. And guess what? My audience was all musicians. Talk about intimidating. Many of them were professionals.

I started out with an original song called “Satisfied” to warm up the crowd, then played a tongue-in-cheek blues song I wrote called “Blues for Lazarus,” and then finished with my rendition of “The Little Drummer Boy,” mostly because Christmas was right around the corner.

My song choices allowed for different tones, tempos, techniques, and even looks. But they were all on the guitar.

By tones, I mean joyful, clever, and innovative.

By tempos, I mean upbeat, medium, and intense.

By techniques, I mean strumming with a partial capo and palm muting, then touch-style blues, then “August Rush”-style Christmas tapping.

As for looks, my first song began with me standing at a boom mic, and then I switched to a headset mic, for which I sat on a stool to play the second song, and then I stood with the headset mic for the third song.

Did you catch it? All three songs were with just one guitar. No instrument switching. I was very limited by time and instrumentation, but I offered a lot of contrast.

Each song felt totally different...all within the limitations of just my guitar and my voice.

And the audience was very appreciative.

So, the showcase seemed to be a great place where “less” was “more.”

The Artistic Interpretation

Several years ago, there was a viral video out there of a drummer who played on the Hillsong song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail).” Bless this guy – he could play those drums.

But there was something about how he played that seemed out of alignment with the script of the song. There’s an instra break about 2/3 of the way through where the band takes over, but this guy really took over. I mean, he played as many notes as he could.His interpretation, in my opinion, was too much.

I like when a musician plays less at times, because they can.

Brian Reding, my producer, who is also one of our guest experts in my online guitar experience called GuitarSuccess4U said in our interview that it actually takes more skill and experience not to play.

It takes more courage. It’s easy to just play a bunch of notes. Playing less sometimes takes more effort.

So, depending on the song, there could be room for “less” musical articulation, so as to let the song “breathe” a bit more. It depends on the song, but the first step is looking and listening for opportunities not to play. That way, when we do play, it means more.

The Songwriting Session

There’s a rather intense phrase out there that says “Kill your darlings.” But where it gets its roots is in literature. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and Stephen King, both writers, basically said we need to get used to the idea that not everything we create needs to be shared…at least not in its current state.

It’s ok to create – don’t misunderstand this – we need to create as much as we feel called to create. But certain things need to be prioritized in terms of how much they are brought forward and presented to an audience…especially when they’re not ready.

Some of these creations need to be re-shaped. Someone once told me, “Great songs aren’t written; they are re-written.”

Imagine if some of the greatest songs out there had been recorded only in their first draft form. I reckon that the quality of these offerings might be significantly lower.

I know this, because as a songwriter, I know what it’s like to stare at a version of an original lyric or progression and say to myself, “It’s good…but I know the best version of this is not here yet.”I wrote a song for my father called “I’ll Tell You Now.” It’s a very reflective fingerstyle ballad about telling our loved ones that we love them…while there’s still time.

As I wrote this song, I went through revision after revision. I woke up at 3 a.m. with the third verse. When the song finally coalesced into its finished form, I had made 13 drafts to get it right.

I had to “kill” each of the previous revisions so that it could be recreated as a subsequent draft. But it was worth it.

I was in a songwriting workshop where the presenter said that some people have brought him their songs and said, “God gave me this song,” to which the songwriting coach has harshly responded, “I see why – He didn’t want it anymore.”Ouch.

But sometimes we need a bit of a reality check to realize that not everything we write comes out perfect at first.

And this can lead us to yet another instance where “less is more.”

The Album

I’m not sure if you aspire to record an album, but it can be the culmination of an artist’s efforts.

As of this episode, I’ve recorded and recouped four professional albums.

On an album, there can be wonderful contrasts where some songs have full textures and others are more minimal…and yet, they all still feel like they come from the same artist.

My latest album kicks off with an easy shuffle medium tempo tune, then moves into a full-tilt funk tune. Then, I have a world-beat reflective tune, and then the fingerstyle ballad, “I’ll Tell You Now,” which I alluded to earlier. All of these songs sound like me.

What has had the most impact on people? I’ve gotten a ton of positive feedback on the fingerstyle ballad. Brian Reding, whom I mentioned earlier, produced my album and provided all the instruments besides my guitar and piano.

He had to do very little with “I’ll Tell You Now”…mostly some gentle keys, cello, and a little synth. We didn’t even do background vocals. Less was more.

I’m always wary of producers who want to add instrumentation and extra vocals just to fill the texture. This can lead to over-producing.

James Taylor, a guitarist and singer/songwriter whom I’ve followed for many years, included some rather poignant liner notes in one of his albums as he expressed his gratitude to the players on the record.

He said: “Thanks for the notes you played, and for the notes you didn’t play.”

Again, for some of the songs, less was more.

So, if you’ve got a production mindset and want to record an album, do a lot of listening – to your own stuff, but also to the musicians whose music you admire.

And then look for ways to peel back layers and reengage the ears of your listener as you arrange the songs for recording, sometimes with full textures, sometimes with sparse textures.

When Less is Less and More is More

I realize that by closing this discussion with a contradictory argument, I may be undoing what I’ve been putting together today, but hear me out.

There’s something to be said for variety.

Some performances incorporate literally hundreds of onstage musicians, to say nothing of the vast technical support they need behind the scenes.

These people are capable of variety.

If all I do is play instrumental guitar, I can still present variety in my fingerstylings.

If I’m more of a ballad musician, I can still bring lighthearted moments to add variety my song sets.

But once in a while, it’s important to add something to the mix just to change it up. Remember how I mentioned that my drummer sang harmonies? That’s adding more.

Doing a multi-generational concert as a solo artist sometimes takes more – more gear, more transitions, more contrasts. But it does help keep the audience engaged.

It’s all about meeting the paradigm head on and doing what you do…well.

The German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “It is working within limitations that mastery reveals itself.” If we have limitations, perhaps that’s an opportunity for our mastery to be cultivated and revealed.

So, as you look at your scenario for music, whether it’s the worship team rehearsal, the worship service, the professional band practice, the solo practice time, the concert, the showcase, the artistic interpretation, the songwriting session, or the album, perhaps today’s discussion has helped shed some light on where you can focus.

And perhaps you’ll find darlings to kill, or at least words or notes to re-finesse, so that you can make things just right. Be ok with saying “no” to adding some things to the mix, so as to avoid the point of diminishing returns.

But don’t forget to have – you know it – serious fun.

Hey, leave me a comment if something about this episode rang true for you. I’d love to hear from you.

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