In the Studio

I had the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to travel to Evansville, Indiana with our Joy Trio to record their first CD.  These ladies are no "fly by night" group, they've been singing together for over twenty-five years.  As their pianist, I know all of the hard work, rehearsal time, and sacrifice these ladies have made to serve the Lord with song.  Our pastor and each of our husbands made this trip possible and took care of the travel, making it an enjoyable trip, and keeping us on the road through snow and icy weather.
After we arrived at the studio we got right to work.  The ladies warmed up for a few minutes and then the recording began. Of course, they made it look easy, recording ten songs in one working day.  The wonderful musicians and sound engineers at the studio made the experience so enjoyable.  They were very encouraging and helpful.  Knowing that they were experts in their fields made us relax and focus on our music.
The fear I had about having to be a perfect musician melted away since mistakes can be corrected without starting over from the beginning.  It made me realize that it's a possibility that most of the recordings we hear are not perfect from the start, unless they're "live from Carnegie Hall".  Don't let your feelings of shortcomings as a musician keep you from playing for the Lord or from attempting to record a CD.  I would love to go back and record another CD!!!

I learned A LOT from this experience:
1. Practice time is not in vain.
2. Take care of the little problems for each song as you prepare it for church.
3. Organize your music, mark problem areas, and choose music that touches your heart.
4. Do not focus on learning songs for a CD, but for the service of the house of God.
5. God answers prayer and goes above and beyond.
6. Regardless of the CD sales, we now have a professionally recorded collection of songs for our church and families.