The acoustic guitar can be a big and powerful sounding instrument, and often a centerpiece to the worship band. Much of todays contemproary worship requires a solid acoustic guitar presence. In this breakout, Cory will walk through the basics of the acoustic guitar, techniques, tricks and licks, and important things to consider and prepare for as an acoustic guitarists on a worship team.

In this breakout session, we will dive a little deeper into acoustic guitar as a solo instrument for worship, using capos, advanced picking techniques, chords, basics of the Nashville number system, and dynamics.

In many of today’s more contemporary worship music expressions, the heartbeat of the music, the foundation and the groove are established with the drummer and bassist. If they play well together and in time, you have the basics to a really good sounding piece of music. If the drums and bass are off, either with each other or with tempo in general, the results can be very distracting. Come hang with Joshua and Tony as they demostrate this bass guitar drummer relationship.

Cory Knowland and Aaron Doerr show how to use technique, tone, and musical cooperation to maximize the strengths of these complementary instruments without stepping on each toes. Learn how to share leads, make room for the other, and bring out the best in your EG or Keys teammate. This is a hands on class, that may involve opportunitites to play!

This breakout session will focus on rhythm guitar technique, approach and skills to implement and develop when playing Electric 2.

The electric guitar has so many possibilities and sounds. In this breakout, Ausdin, an experienced lead worshiper and musician will cover skill development, techniques used in contemporary worship, and highlight popular guitar tones, sounds and FX. Bring your guitar, your FX and your questions.

Being on stage leading worship is a big responsibility. Knowing our parts and having the skill and technique to play them is important, but leading with our hearts is even more crucial. What are some things we can do to master our instrument in a way that enables us to open up and worship more freely without having to focus as much on playing the music?

So, you have the band scheduled, you have the songs picked, you have a vision for the service and everyone is there and ready to rehearse. Now what? How do you take this team and the song selection to a well rehearsed and powerful presentation of music, and facilitate worship moments that can change lives? We’ll walk through a rehearsal of familiar worship songs and see them develop into a congregational worship experience.

Drums are the foundation for the band and lead the atmosphere in worship. Behind the kit you’re actually setting the tone for the congregation and leading dynamically through your instrument. So often, new worship drummers play with too much complexity and lack dynamics. How can we simplify our parts to focus more on timing, consistency and dynamic playing to set the foundation for everyone?

In this breakout session, we'll be scratching the surface on the topic of "substitutions." We play a lot of the same songs Sunday to Sunday, but a way we can make old songs new again is by using different chord substitutions and extensions. While these techniques and principles apply to many instruments, Reuben will bring specific training that keyboardists can apply whether they’re advanced or just getting started.

Experienced bassists not only play notes with precision, but understand music theory enough to construct interesting patterns and riffs. In this more advanced bass guitar breakout, we will go over more riffs and patterns common for bass guitar in contemporary worship music. We’ll also talk about the machinery, different pickup configurations, effects pedals, and amp settings that shape your core tone. Tony will also share how to improve listening skills to best hear and "feel" the music, and how the bass uniquely interacts with the other instruments in the band. If you want to know how to best contribute to your music team in the worship experience, come join Tony in this session!

It's been said the bass and the drums are the engine of the band. As a bassist, our job is to make the band sound strong and steady. We will discuss and demonstrate different playing techniques and tonal qualities for different song styles in and out of a worship environment. We will go over riffs and patterns and how to improve our listening skills to "feel" the music. If you're a bassist and want to know how to best contribute to your worship team in the worship environment, come join me in this session! It's going to be fun!

In this breakout, we'll be learning about the amazing Number System. This is a way we can teach and communicate with other musicians in a universal way. Worship Teams of all sizes and abilities are adapting this way to learn, play and memorize songs. This is an essential skill to learn! While these techniques and principles apply to many instruments, Reuben will bring specific training that keyboardists can apply whether they’re advanced or just getting started.

Whether it’s in a song or a time of prayer, using different chord voicings that aren’t typical triads can have a powerful impact on the emotional connection our church has. Learn how to have a bigger impact with fewer notes. We may also have time for some fun chord substitutions as well! There will be opportunities for participants to play and try things out.