The record is not the key you play

Songs are often recorded higher than a congregation can sing comfortably, so teams play them lower. If your team plays a song a whole step down, practicing against the original recording teaches your ears the wrong key. Shift the recording down by the same amount instead.

A number for every song

Work out the shift for each song once: if the record is in A and you play it in G, that is −2. Write the number in your set list, and tell the rest of the team, so that each member sets the same number on their own computer.

It remembers, on each computer

PitchShed remembers the key, speed and loop points for each song on the device where you set them, so at your next rehearsal one click on the icon puts the song in your church’s key. It does not sync between computers, so each person sets the number on their own.

Loop the part that is new

A new bridge, a tag or a key change in the last chorus is where a team stumbles. Put A and B around that bar and let it repeat, slowing the recording while you learn the chords or the harmony.

For the singers

If you lead vocals, press − or + until the tune lies comfortably in your voice, and tell the band the key you ended up with, so that the whole team plays in the same one.

A set list that carries the numbers

Add a column to the set list with the shift for each song. A glance at the list tells the keys player, who needs the number, and the drummer, who needs only the tempo, what to do before the first song begins.