A is for “Acronym”:
- AOV = As One Voice (1,2 & NG ie Next Generation)
- SNS = The Source : New Songs
- NLMB = The National Liturgical Music Board
B is for “Board”
I have been somewhat critical of the whole idea of this board (the NLMB) having a “Yes” list because it implies a “No” list. I have been assured that this was not the intention but those who would wish it were so have got the wrong end of the stick and have been beating around the bush with it. For a defence from unlikely quarters try here.
Other than that, can I say again that I’m making these backings to learn for myself songs I don’t know, and to have a look at songs I play at lot at church afresh. I use Band in a Box because it is a fast way of doing that, but the quality of the backings will vary. BIAB is great for jazz and OK for rock and country and lousy at a lot of other things. It also repays the amount of work you put in, so my quick backings aren’t always fantastic and remain untouched by human hands so give the computer a break for the occasional howler. I haven’t put up a fail backing for a while but there are enough horrible old MIDIs in existence for which I have to claim responsibility so mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
I have a lot of overseas (ie not Australian) hits on the site. Can I suggest that even with the current strength of the Australian dollar, the As One Voice books are excellent value? They contain the cream of US and British material and you won’t find the Australian songs collected like this anywhere else. End of unsolicited sales pitch.
Please feel free to contact me with corrections and requests. From the search terms it is clear that a lot of people are still using MIDI backings in their churches. I suspect they play them through keyboards directly or through computers. It is an old technology that leaves a lot to be desired but seems to be fulfilling a need. All I would suggest is that people doing that at least learn how to change the tempo and key and to remix the tracks to your own requirements or you are going to be stuck with some horrors.