Easy Ways To Get Started With Worship Pads For Your Worship Ministry

Easy Ways To Get Started With Worship Pads For Your Worship Ministry

Are you looking to get started using worship pads at your church but don't know where to begin?

Then you're in the right place.

Adding that ambient "special something" to your sound with pads is super easy, but it's good to have a rough idea of how to get using them.

So without further ado, here's a couple practical and technical tips for you to get started using worship pads to transform your worship sound.

 

First, get some pads to work with!

If you haven't done so already, download our free Pads Sample Pack.  Or you can buy  our Deluxe Bundle or other stuff in the Pads Shop.  (Hint: You can even get the entire Deluxe Bundle today and pay only $9 monthly!)

It's important to get used to playing with pads so you can become aware of how your personal playing style can change (for the better!) when you suddenly have a gorgeous atmosphere underneath your sound.

Since these pad loops are universal MP3 files, they can be played on any device, in any app that plays music.  It's so easy!

Download your pads and open them in your regular music-listening app (iTunes, etc).  Then all you need to do is press PLAY.  Get your guitar or keyboard, and play along in the right key.  As the pad is coming out of your speakers, you'll instantly hear how great it sounds!

(There are fancier music apps to use pads with as well, but the point is that you don't need anything fancy to get going with pads.  A simple approach is often the best to get started.)

 

Secondly, plug your pads into your sound system.

This is easy if you already play music through your sound system via computer or iPhone.  Just press PLAY on the device, and your gorgeous-sounding pads will come through your sound system speakers!

If you don't play music through your sound system, don't fret.  All you need are these 3 things -

1. A direct box (I use Radial, but something as inexpensive as this Behringer one would do just fine)

2. A normal microphone (or XLR) cable - like this one - to connect your direct box to your sound system.  Plug one end into the direct box, and the other end into your sound system.

3. An 1/8" to 1/4" cable - something simple like this one - to connect your device to the direct box.  Plug the 1/4" end into the direct box, and the 1/8" end into the headphone jack of your device.  

You can certainly invest into super-high-quality direct boxes & cables, and I would recommend doing so someday... but the point is, you can get started with pads for not a ton of money.  A simple mic cable, direct box, and 1/8"-to-1/4" cable will run you less than $40.  That's not a lot of money for a HUGE upgrade in how your team sounds with pads!

 

Finally, build a playlist.

This sounds tricky, but it's no more difficult than putting together a normal everyday playlist together.  If you have a 5-song worship set, make sure you know what keys each of those songs are in... and build a playlist with one pad per key change.  

(Hint: If you have 5 songs all in different keys, you'll need 5 pads.  If you have two songs back-to-back in the same key, you don't necessarily need a new pad for the new song.  Your pick!)

Here's a photo of a playlist I set up in iTunes with pads from the Deluxe Bundle.

 

 It took me less than a minute to put this together, and now I am completely ready to have pads in my worship set!  

As you can see, my first song is in G, so I'm using the Organ Drone pad in the key of G for that song.  My next song is in E, so I'm using Rich Sparkle in the key of E for that one.  And so on.

It's really that easy.

By the way, in the photo above, iTunes on your laptop can be set to "cross-fade" which does a nice job of blending from one pad to the next very gently.  If you're trying to cross-fade on a tablet or phone, try the Worship Team Director app or something similar that has crossfading capabilities.  For some reason, iTunes doesn't do cross-fading on iOS.  Go figure.  :)

 

That's it!  3 steps.

Find some pads to work with.

Plug them into your sound system.

Build a playlist.

And GO WORSHIP with a transformed sound.


How about you?  What methods or apps do you use?  What tips would you give someone who's never tried this?  What tips do you still need to be answered?  Comment below!



Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.


Also in Coresound Pads Blog

Worship Team Problems?  Get Worship Team Solutions.
Worship Team Problems? Get Worship Team Solutions.

August 08, 2019

My dear friend Jon Nicol at WorshipTeamCoach.com has an incredible set of resources that might be something that would help you.

This guy is the real deal, folks. We’ve become friends over the last few years and Jon is kind, funny, and extremely gifted when it comes to taking care of practical problems in your worship ministry.

Jon has a few amazing training resources that could instantly help you out.

Read More

Podcast Interview - Using Backing Pads - Worship Leader Training Podcast
Podcast Interview - Using Backing Pads - Worship Leader Training Podcast

July 01, 2017

Mike Graff, our chief creative at Coresound Pads, did an interview with Alex Enfiedjian on the Worship Leader Training Podcast all about the "What", "Why", and "How" of using pads in your worship sets. There's lots of great tips & content to grab from this interview - you don't want to miss it!

Read More

The Complete Guide To Using Worship Pads!
The Complete Guide To Using Worship Pads!

May 15, 2017

Using pads doesn't have to be complicated!  Here's how to fill out your worship team's live sound using only a smartphone. Our friend Tim Lucas at WorshipDeeper.com wrote a fabulous article explaining all the ins & outs of what pads are, why they matter, and how to use them.

Read More