Tony Z- Blues Piano Lesson 1

Tony Z breaks down some of the basics of playing blues piano in this talkback session with Oceans Edge Director, Douglas Farrar.

Modern Keyboard Techniques Tutorial – "Our God"

Alumni Christopher Dobson gives insight into his approach on playing keys in a more modern worship context.

Tony Z Blues Piano Shed

Alumni Update: Chance Riehl

Name: Chance Riehl

Where are you from? Temple, Texas

Age: 25

Primary Instrument: Voice, Guitar

What year did you graduate from Ocean’s Edge School? 2009

How did the Lord lead you to come to Ocean’s Edge? I was looking for a little extra training, both musically and spiritually, in worship specifically before looking for a full-time job. The schools web-page popped up in a google search one day and I instantly knew God wanted me to look in to it….so I did, and moved to Florida 2 months later!

What’s the number one thing you walked away with from your year here? Experience. After the school, I felt prepared to handle any situation, big or small, that being on staff as a worship leader might throw at me. Now that I am full-time at a church, it’s really easy to see how much the school helped me. I would have been blindsided big-time at my job if I hadn’t gone to Ocean’s Edge first….the experience I gained at the school really did make the difference at my current job.

What advice would you give future students? Take advantage of every opportunity you get to lead worship, practice, and glean wisdom from your teachers and fellow musicians. There is so much learning potential at Ocean’s Edge but you have to be willing to tap into it in order to benefit from it. The more you “go for it”, the more prepared you will be when you leave.

Where are you now? I am currently the head Worship Pastor at Rocky Mountain Calvary in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

How are you specifically applying what you learned here to your current position? Every day in every way. I mean, almost 100% of what I do at my job involves some skill, strategy or idea that I gained while at Ocean’s Edge. I can’t go through a single day without referencing, whether physically or mentally, a resource that the staff, students or experience at Oceans Edge gave me.

Favorite memory from your school year? My favorite memory from the school year was the final band I was placed with at the end of the year. I felt like our band really grew together over the weeks of rehearsal and I feel that all of us grew immensly as musicians, leaders, and worshippers together. There is no greater honor than to do the Lord’s work in worship with the people He places you with. The experiences we shared together will be forever etched in my memories.

Last Words? Ocean’s Edge School of Worship is the best school of it’s kind in the country (if not the world). If you are considering a career in Worship Leading or Christian Music, then add Ocean’s Edge to your consideration. Your preparation for work before and after Ocean’s Edge will be vastly different. Attending this school could be the exact thing that pushes your potential employer to hire you, like it was for me. You will immediately have an edge over all others applying for jobs. Do yourself a favor and attend Ocean’s Edge to bring out your full potential as a worship musician. God deserves your best and so do you.

Chance Riehl

Chance and his wife, Shelley

Hillsong "With Everything"

Get That Drummer on a Click!

The ability to play well with a click track is essential for any modern drummer. In fact, it’s not just the drummer’s job anymore. As in-ear monitoring becomes increasingly popular and affordable, more and more venues send a click track to the drummer and/or the whole band. Additionally, loops, sequences, and tracks are a standard part of many live performances (check out OES staff member Will Doggett’s site, www.loopsinworship.com for more info on using loops live). So  here is a video with some ideas on how to get better at playing along with a click.

Let me know if you have any questions or would like a video further explaining anything on drums. -Doug Farrar

Links from the video:
Rebirth for iPhone http://rebirthapp.com/
Boss Dr. Beat DB-88

Doug Farrar is the Director of Ocean’s Edge School. He founded the school along with Pastor Clay Hecocks five years ago. Doug Accepted Christ in 1993, and shortly after began serving in the worship ministry at Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale. He teaches leadership classes, ear training, music production, drumset lessons, as well as production of the OE recording projects.

Giver of Life

Ocean’s Edge School original song “Giver of Life” live recording.

Stutter Edit using Ableton Live

Hi Friends,

I’ve posted a video about how to do an audio stutter edit using Ableton Live. We cover some basic information about how to make a beat, quantize (move to time) and most importantly use the volume envelope tool to make that awesome stutter edit sound. You’ve heard this sound in almost every current genre of music today. I hope you enjoy this useful bit of information from the amazing and inspiring program, Ableton Live.

Sincerely, Jake the Jewler

Vocal Resonance using Desert Song

res·o·nance : the intensification and enriching of a musical tone by supplementary vibration b : a quality imparted to voiced sounds by vibration in anatomical resonating chambers or cavities (as the mouth or the nasal cavity)

Sure…..no problem.  Makes perfect sense, right?  I know vocal lingo can often times be confusing and intimidating, but I hope to break it down for you in a way that is easy to understand and apply.   This short vocal lesson gives you a few tips to help you know where to FEEL your voice.  One of the main goals of a vocal lesson is to help you gain control of your voice.  So, if you’ve never thought about where you feel your voice when you sing, then this is a perfect time to start!  Hope you enjoy!

Jessica Busboom is a worship leader,full time teacher and mentor at Oceans Edge School. She teaches music theory, ear training, voice lessons, and performance ensembles. She has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami in Vocal Studio Music and Jazz Performance.

Vision-Part Deux

One of the most important things a worship leader should grasp is this truth:

Your vision must fit together with your pastor’s vision.

I share this because I’ve seen this scenario too many times:

1.  Worship leader attends conference/seminar/event.

2.  Worship leader is creatively inspired by the passion and excellence of what they see.

3.  Worship leader returns to own church and tries to replicate what they saw.

4.  Pastor isn’t on board with direction the worship goes.

5.  Pastor and worship leader disagree on vision-the relationship is strained.

6.  Often this scenario ends with arguments, and sometimes with the worship leader leaving the church, usually grumbling about the pastor’s lack of vision, or that the church is “stuck” and isn’t willing to move forward.

This can play out in almost any church, in any denomination.  But, there’s hope!  Worship leaders can add a few steps into this process, and the whole thing turns out in a way that strengthens and edifies the local church.  Here are the keys.

Make sure your vision for worship aligns with the overall vision your Pastor has for the church. Like a puzzle, each piece must fit perfectly with the pieces around it, or chaos ensues.  We as worship leaders are prideful if we think we can do whatever we want and not have to submit to the vision of our overseers.  For more on that, read Hebrews 13:17.

Pray that your vision is birthed from God, and not simply copied from someone else’s vision. What God is doing in Australia, England, India or California may not be what He’s doing in your community.  He may not be interested in having you do what someone in Atlanta or Charlotte is doing.  God is creative and unique, and He reflects that in the fact that He makes us unique.  Pray and chase after God for the vision He wants to birth in you for your church.

What vision does God want to birth in and through you?  It’s up to you to find out.

-Andrew W

Andrew Wooddell has a B.S. in Religion from Liberty University and a Masters of Arts in Worship Studies from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.  He serves as the Assistant Worship Leader at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, and teaches several classes in Worship and Theology for Ocean’s Edge School of Worship.