The idea of incorporating pads into your worship leading has really been amped up over the past year. It's treated as a magic bullet. "Just add pads and it'll improve your worship team's sound." While there are major benefits to incorporating pads into your worship leading, there are several things that using them will not do.
Incorporating pads into your worship leading will not:
1 | Cover up poor playing
Pads by design are created to sit in the back of the mix. Pads do not cover up anything, they simply support what's already there. That means that pads have the ability to take a "good sounding band" and make them sound better. But it also means that pads have the ability to take a "band that doesn't sound good" and make them sound like a "band that doesn't sound good with pads playing behind them." No matter what - the fundamentals are the fundamentals. They're the things that your band's sound relies on and adding a free track from the internet won't improve your sound if you don't get the basics right.
2 | Replace a keyboardist
Don't expect your pads to replace a keyboard player. Replacing someone with a form of automation for the sake of automation is rarely a good idea in ministry anyways. God created PEOPLE to serve in the church. Taking away a position for the sake of ease is not a reliable ministry strategy. God said that our job as pastors is to "equip his people for the works of ministry" - not automate everything so no one has to serve in the church.
3 | Distract from worship
When it's just you and your acoustic guitar, it seems like pads would distract people from worship. "Where is that magical sound coming from?" they'll ask. While it might take a week or two for people to get used to, pads will naturally become part of your teams sound. Pads, by design, sit in the back of the mix so they will not distract people from worshiping.
Want to know what incorporating pads into your worship leading WILL do? Check this out!
To learn how to set up pads for your team, check out How to Run Pads at Your Church - a Simple Set-up.
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