Tony Mellinger 6/16/17 Tony Mellinger 6/16/17

Limitations

"It's raining," "We don't have that kind of money for a stage display," "I only have a iPhone camera..."

"It's raining,"

"We don't have that kind of money for a stage display,"

"I only have a iPhone camera..."

There will always be limitations. Whether we are part of an organization or just trying to get through the day, we constantly can find roadblocks ready to stop us in our creativity. I am currently reading a great book "Created for more: 30 days to seeing your world in a new way" by Jonathan Malm. Every chapter has a theme to "help awaken the spiritual act of creativity within [us]." His main point in the second chapter: limitations force creative solutions. The second I read that it hit me. This has been true my entire creative life! AND typically when I run into a limitation, I have the freedom to be more creative! After spending some time with this idea, I thought I would share some major limitations I have come across and how we can overcome them.

Ah, Resources. Gear, Money, Budgets. "If only I had..." story of my life. No matter what creative channel I am working in, this limitation ALWAYS comes up. When I first started getting into electric guitar, I became obsessed with new pedals! I thought if I would only have "___" pedal, I could have an amazing sound. It got to the point where I had such a huge pedal board I could hardly carry it. I ended up downsizing and keeping what I really needed.

The best way to battle the limitation of not having the resources you need is to maximize the resources you have. If you have a budget you get to work with at your church, figure out how to stretch that budget into ways you never thought possible. Don't forget you can look around and, if possible, sell some of the resources you haven't used in years. I think this is being a good steward with what you have.

Another way to maximize your resources is to push their limits to the max. Going back to when I started building my pedal board, I actually was using an iPad to drive many of the pedals I needed. I built a bluetooth unit with pedals to send cues to my iPad so it was if I had the pedals on my pedalboard, but used all of the horsepower from the iPad to drive the sounds I needed. I was able to have an amazing amount of sound at my fingertips for the fraction of the cost if I were to buy all of the pedals individually. Eventually I was able to save up and purchase specific pedals for specific needs, but this was a great way to get me started without having to purchase several hundred dollars worth of pedals and use what I already had.

Another example of this is to use everyday items to fill the gap. Example: when we first started getting into video at Evident Church, we didn't have all the money upfront to dump into fancy equipment. If you know anything about video, there are several key components that are mandatory. One - a good camera, two - great sounding audio, three - lighting, lighting lighting! Obviously I wasn't able to purchase top of the line gear right away so we worked with what we had. I purchased a consumer DSLR camera with a kit lens, used an audio interface with an old mic we had laying around, and used some ikea lights we used for ambient lighting in our Headquarters. Believe it or not, we were able to create some pretty incredible videos without purchasing very much.

If you can perform at a professional level with amateur gear, just think what will happen when you have professional gear to work with! Every time I purchased a new pedal I tried to push that specific pedal to it's maximum potential. Every time I ran into a roadblock where I needed a new piece of equipment, I first used what I had. Maximize the resources you have available at your fingertips to jump over this limitation.

It's easy to get hung up on not having the people you need. I was just recently at a large church talking with the worship team and they said they didn't have the musicians they need so they bring in someone outside the church. People can absolutely be a limitation. So what do we do?

If we want to overcome the limitation of not having the people we need, use the people you have! I don't mean run the same few people you have into the ground. Look around at your people and think about who you can invest in.

When I started at Evident, the worship ministry was small.... like 3 people. That's too small. The same few people were playing every weekend and it still wasn't enough. The first thing we had to do was lower our standard of excellence. That doesn't mean we sacrifice quality for quantity, it just means we have to look at what is most important. For me, having more people involved in a worship ministry is more important than creating a rockstar band that never hits a wrong note.

As I started to get to know the people at Evident, I would hear of people who may have had some musical experience in their past. I would first start to build a friendship with them, then help them develop their skill, and then add them to the team! Within just a few short months our 3 people turned into about 10-12. On Christmas Eve we had a full stage of musicians!

No matter what your situation is, there are people you know you can develop and train. Don't look for the same people who do everything, try and find someone who is ready to get involved, and has potential. They are out there, waiting for their shoulder to be tapped.

This is my favorite limitation! I know that sounds funny, but I love running into a roadblock where I have no choice but to figure out how it works. Whether I am working on my motorcycle, trying to figure out how someone did a transition in Premiere Pro, or learning a new riff on electric guitar, we live in the age of information. We seriously have all the information we need to do anything!

Here's a few resources I use to learn:

Youtube.... duh... Seriously. so. much. information. Sort through the junk and learn like crazy!

Skillshare - This is a great resource for creatives. There's a small fee, but you can usually find a code. I think I paid $50 for a whole year. I would recommend this website. There's lots of classes for specific skills. Invest a little and harvest much.

PremiumBeat - This is a great website for video and editing. Lots of great blog posts and links to free content. This blog may not be for you but there are several out there for your specific need. search google for what you need.

facebook - Believe it or not... Facebook has a great support of creative people who want to do more than share photos of their kids or silly memes. There's a million different groups on Facebook full of others who have the same passions as you. I am in a group called "Canon 80D." This group is devoted to people who have the same camera I do and they share what they are doing with it. These groups have a wealth of information, all you have to do is join the group that suits you and use Facebook to learn.

Pinterest - I use Pinterest for two things: 1. learning information about a specific topic or 2. find creative ideas to help me overcome limitations. This site originally was designed primarily for females, but it has changed. I suggest it for every creative!

Time. Time is amazing. No matter what, I don't have enough time. I currently am unemployed and somehow STILL don't have enough time to do what I want to do. There is only one way to overcome the limitation of time: fit the big rocks in first. Have you ever seen the example of someone filling half a bottle full of sand, then stones, and then large rocks? The rocks never fit. BUT if you fit the big rocks in first, add the small stones in between, add sand in AND pour water in after the sand, you actually fit more in than before!

Figure out what your priorities are and get them on your schedule. If you really want to overcome the limitation of time, you have to prioritize what is important in your life. Once you get what's important in your schedule, everything else will fit in between.

At the end of every chapter, Malm adds a challenge. Here it is:

“Choose one project you’re working on. Then cut your resources for that project in half. Move your deadline closer. Cut the budget. Remove some technological resources. Create some limitations. Now think creatively. Look for unique ways to accomplish the same goal. Decide what’s really necessary for the project. You’ll find many of the resources were unnecessary for accomplishing your goal.”

At the end of the day, you can overcome any limitation if it means enough to you. In every area of our life we run into limitations and you have to choose what is most important to you.

What limitations have you ran into that I didn't discuss? How do you overcome them?

Tony Mellinger 4/23/17 Tony Mellinger 4/23/17

Apps for Worship

This week I went to the Apple Store and bought a gigantic 12.9" iPad for Evident Church. I may have a problem. When I walk in the Apple Store, the employees recognize me! Needless to say, I am a huge fan of using technology to its fullest when it comes to leading worship. When the iPad was first released, I was skeptical. I didn't see why I would need one if I had a computer and an iPhone. The advantage of having a tablet has been a game changer for me. The reason: developers have created apps for specific purposes of my life. Because of my iPad, I no longer have to carry additional books or chord charts along... and I have every single one with me!

Here's a few of the apps I use specifically for leading worship. Without these apps, life would be much more difficult!

OnSong - Chord Chart Management App

When I purchased this app several years ago it was only a few bucks. Now, it's closer to $20. Although it comes with a pretty hefty price tag, for me it's totally worth it. This app is essentially my chart book. It's able to handle chord pro style, or you can download pdfs right into it. I store all of my music charts and I'm able to create set lists each week. I play through the first song and swipe to the right and the next song is in order for me. If we need to change a key or add a capo, it's just a click away. No need to ever print out music again! I use a looptimus foot pedal connected with a USB cable to control my iPad through midi signals. This let's me control the iPad hands free. I can add sticky notes, rearrange charts and even sync the iPad with others on the stage. This app continues to improve and become more stable. I can't imagine trying to go back to sheet music.

Planning Center - Church Management Software

If you are living under a rock, planning center is a mega organization these days. More than just an app, this service allows you to schedule musicians and set lists, store content, check in your kids, send emails and much more. This app easily allows me to communicate with my team leaving notes for the service order and pretty much anything else I can think of. Most churches I work with these days use planning center. There is a subscription fee for the service but this app is free. This is the industry standard when it comes to church service organization.

YouVersion Bible App

You can't list apps to lead worship without mentioning a bible app. The YouVersion Bible app is a great tool with pretty much any version you like. You can take notes, highlight, find reading plans and more. Our church actually has a YouVersion event you can even follow along with the sermon notes. I love always having the Bible with me, no matter where I am. The best part, it's free! Everyone should have this app on their phone. Everyone.

Loop Community Prime MultiTracks App

For the past several years we have been using loops/tracks in worship with a click track (metronome). We've tried many different apps to run our loops and tracks, and have recently landed on using Loop Community's Prime App. The beauty of this app is the simplicity. We can store all of our loops in the app and when there's no loop, we can load just a click track. Ableton Live is our preference, but when it comes to simplicity, this app is hard to beat to run our loops. You can upload your own loops, or purchase loops from a community base online at loopcommunity.com. They usually have a free app of the month, so make sure to check that out!

GarageBand Music Creation app

Don't write this one off because it's a free app from Apple. This app is very powerful. Loaded with great sounds and loops, we've used this app live and for recording parts we need to add to our sound. We've even plugged the iPad into a midi controller and used this to run keyboard synths and pads. I've used this app with my looptimus pedal as well. This one is free, download it, play around and have fun with it. If you are going to use your app for live performance I suggest you get an interface that works with iOS devices and a USB cable adaptor. Someday I will discuss this in detail.

Novation LaunchPad Music Creation App

I use this one for a few things. This is an EDM style music creation app. There's a grid of squares and each grid is a different sample. you can play one square in each column making an unlimited amount of different sounds. I use this app to create backing tracks, music for worship videos, or just to hype up the atmosphere in the room. You can buy different packs and they have a few different ones. You can make your own pack by uploading new samples or combining samples from different packs. You can even play along with these samples if you can find some that aren't so hardcore. This is a fun app with lots of possibilities for music creation. You can also use this app to fire off loops you've created as well. They've had some great updates over the years making this a powerful app.

Polytune Guitar Tuner App

In a pinch, this app has saved me. I have a polytune tuner on my electric guitar pedal board and a Polytune clip in my acoustic case. As far as tuners, they don't get much better. On occasion, like in Guitar Center, and I am fighting a stubborn guitar, or just need to get the root E tuned in cause it's so messed up from some 12 year old playing it, I always have a guitar tuner with me. This is basically all this app does, but it does it well.

ProRemote ProPresenter Controller

If you use ProPresenter, you can leave your computer plugged in near the projector in a portable situation and control your presentation software from an app. I was leading worship up in Northern Michigan and this was the exact situation. The computer and projector were in the middle of the room and it was very annoying to have to wire the laptop across the room so we set the laptop on the projector crate and used this app to control the lyrics and fire off slides. Very useful. I would highly recommend this to anyone using ProPresenter in a portable situation.

Dropbox, & iBooks, Notes, Reminders Apple Apps

The beauty of an iPad is you always have your work and thoughts with you. Productivity apps are great tools to help you stay organized and keep you on track with what needs to get done. I use a mixture of Apple Notes, Reminders and email to stay on top of what needs to get done. Having a dropbox account lets me share and sync documents with others. All of my books are now digital, always with me. I lose the smell of the freshly printed pages, but having every book I read with me at all times, being able to search words or phrases in every book all at once, taking notes within the books... and then being able to search the notes, it amazes me enough to get over having to lug around a stack of books I need to read. Find a system that works for you an pump out work on your iPad. I have a mac and an iPhone and all of of devices are completely synced. It's a beautiful thing.

At the end of the day, are any of these apps necessary to live? Nope, but they make life easier for me, especially in worship. After using an iPad and these apps for years now, it would be hard to imagine doing ministry without them. It's not impossible, but I am blessed with the right tools to equip me to do my job the best I can.

What apps do you love??

Tony Mellinger 4/19/17 Tony Mellinger 4/19/17

Care: Acoustic Guitar

It seems a bunch of my friends currently are in the market for a new acoustic guitar. If you have spent any time at all with me, you know my love for Taylor Guitars. I know they are not for everyone, but I personally feel Taylor puts money where they need to and although they are pretty expensive, it is a tool that will last you decades. Here's a few tips on how to get the best sound from your guitar and care for your acoustic, whether or not it's a beloved Taylor.

Tip #1 - Play your acoustic!

You may have noticed your guitar can sound different at times. Sometimes when you play it, you are amazed! Other times, the same guitar leaves you wishing for more. It's not your ears playing tricks on you, it's true, the guitar sounds different! One of the best things you can do for your acoustic guitar is play it! Wood is actually very responsive. When you don't play your guitar, it closes up and tightens. When you play it frequently, the sounds resonate and open up the wood, making the guitar sound brighter, deeper, and more full. I try and play my acoustic at LEAST 3 times per week. Lately, I've been making it a goal to play it every other day to keep it open. If it sits in it's case for a few months, it isn't ruined, but it will take awhile to open back up. Do your best to show some love to your acoustic.

Tip #2 - change your strings, when they need it

Strings can make or break the sound of your guitar. Whenever I feel like my guitar is sounding dull, or unresponsive, even though I have regularly been playing it, it usually is time for new strings. There isn't a certain time frame strings last. I've had some strings last over 6 months, even though I was putting in 40-50 hours/week on them. Other times, they don't last 2 weeks. You need to be the judge of when you need to change your strings. Usually if I break a string (unless it's the next gig after I change them), I will go ahead and swap the whole set out instead of just the one that broke.

Most manufactures will indicate on their website what the original strings were installed on your guitar. Most of the time, those are going to be the best strings for your guitar. They spend a lot of time and money finding what strings sound best so make sure to take their advice. BUT, changing the strings on the guitar will help you shape the sound of your guitar, making it your own. If you would like more bass, try a thicker gauge string. If you want it to sound brighter, maybe switch from a bronze to 80/20 mix. I am a big fan of Elixir strings, which fortunately is what my guitar originally came with. For me, the coated strings last longer, sound better, and feel better. Here's a video on the best way to change your strings.

Tip #3 - use a humidifier

I haven't always used a humidifier in my acoustic guitars. When I got my first acoustic, I didn't... and it has lots of cracks. It looks really cool, but I wouldn't wish a giant crack down the top of a guitar on anyone. A humidifier will help keep your guitar from cracking, but will also help your guitar sound better. When it has the proper moisture it is able to breathe the way it needs to. I use the Oasis Guitar Humidifier. $20 on amazon and I fill it with water when it shrinks. The best part of this humidifier is it will humidify the guitar even if it isn't stored in it's case. In my office, my guitar is hanging on the wall. It's still working even though it's out of the case. Also, it will never touch the wood. Some humidifiers have bags in which you put crystals. The bags end up leaning on the wood, which can cause rubbing, or uneven humidity. Just buy the Oasis once a year and be done with it.

Also, make sure to have a way to read your humidity in your case! I recently purchased the TaylorSense monitor which updates on my iPhone. Yep, there's an app for that...

Tip #4 - Plug it in

So you just got your new guitar and you want to test out it's electronics! Good! First of all, always keep a few extra batteries on hand. I've found duracell batteries work the best with my guitar. Don't assume every 9V battery will work... I tried to use a cheap one and it didn't fit!

Also, spend money on a decent direct box. A direct box converts the signal from unbalanced to balanced. You need one. Don't just get a cable that goes from 1/4" to XLR and plug into a mic line. You just spend $2000 on a legit guitar, don't skimp and bottleneck your beautiful guitar's sound with a cheap direct box or cable. I highly recommend the Radial Stage Bug SB-2. There is a difference between direct boxes. Some cause noise, or weird phasing issues. I've never had trouble with the stage bugs. This one in particular is labeled for bass & keyboards, but I prefer it over the stage bug labels for acoustics. If you want to spend even more money, you can upgrade to the industry leading Radial JDI.

If you want to get creative, you can use some guitar pedals to color your sound. I've used preamps, reverbs, compressors, and delays on my acoustics. Right now, I am currently running straight into the board. You can get as creative as you want with your sound. (Pro Tip: Chorus pedals on acoustic guitars were a hit in the 90s & early 2000's. Today, reverb is the iconic sound. Stay away from chorus on your acoustic unless you are going for a retro sound.)

Tip #5 - Find some friends

One of the best things you can do to improve the sound of your guitar is find people you can spend time with and learn from. You can practice by yourself all day long, but when you spend time with others, you become a better musician. If you don't have a network of musicians, you can't expect to grow. I've been on staff at Evident Church for the past 5 years and I view these people as my family. When I am making music with a group of people, there's a special connection, unexplainable. These people help me grow as a musician, a Christian and as a human. They will always have a special place in my heart.

Your music you create is more than just for you. Share it with the world! Music is powerful.

“Where words fail, music speaks.
- Hans Christian Andersen”

What are some ways you have found help take care of your acoustic? Feel free to comment below!