The iPad is quickly revolutionizing the way musicians work. Church musicians can benefit, too. Although iPads can be expensive, especially for small church budgets, the computing power and portability make it a convenient and helpful tool for worship ministry. Greater efficiency with service planning and administrative work means more time to connect with people and connect with God. Here are some of my favorite iPad apps for music ministry.
Worship Band in Hand. This powerful app provides professional background tracks for worship. Create a set list, fade in between songs, and choose or fade in and out only the instruments that you need to supplement your team. The interface is easy to use and tracks are reasonably priced. Visit worshpibandinhand.com or the app store for more info.
iSing Worship. This is another great app for small or large congregational worship. iSing Worship, for iPad or iPhone, offers flexibility and ease of use. This app provides chord charts, lyric projection, playlists, and fade-able vocals and guitars. The library of songs is still developing, but the prices are extremely affordable. A CCLI license is needed to project lyrics. Isingworship.com.
Virtual Organist. This app is great for more traditionally bent congregations who are in need of an organist. The app is free, but you must create an account with the company to download worship services. The app can play as a stand-alone music player or it can be used to control most organs. These are not just midi files, but live recordings of professional organists. For demos, visit http://www.churchmusicsolutions.com/VO.htm.
Baptist Hymnal. A terrific app for when you don’t want to lug around an entire hymnal! The Baptist hymnal, by Lifeway worship, is a complete hymnal in app form, for about the price you would pay for a book hymnal. You can search by title or hymn number and create set lists. I recently used this hymnal for a funeral service. Page turns take a little practice, just as they would in any sheet music app.
Music Notes. This app integrates seamlessly with your musicnotes.com account, allowing you to purchase or sync your previously purchased music. All of the great services you’ve come to expect from musicnotes.com in a portable format. Includes built in music viewer, tap or swipe page turns, and the ability to add notes. Visit airturn.com for information on a page-turning foot switch for your iPad.
Music Readers. There are a plethora of music readers to choose from. The best way to find one that suits you is to experiment until you find the one you like. piaScore can import PDF’s via iTunes. It’s best feature is gesture page turning – turn pages forwards and backwards at the nod of a head or the wave of a hand. The Gig Easy reader can also import PDF scores via iTunes, but boasts compatibility with the AirTurn foot pedal turning system. I also like SheetRack Lite and Perform for the price (free!) and ease of use.
Don’t forget the great functionality of apps on your iPad such as the calendar, free Kindle reader, iTunes, and free YouVersion Bible. And when you take a break, take a few minutes to get inspired through Worship Leader Magazine’s reader app. For all of these and more great apps to enhance your music ministry, just visit the app store.
