At the forefront of a creation that praises its Creator (Psalm 148) stands a people purchased from every tribe and tongue and nation, filled with the Word of Christ, singing songs with thankfulness in their hearts to their God for what He has done. That call of worship is no small command or privilege. It is worth every ounce of practicing, protecting, preserving, and passing on faithfully to the next generation.
To discourage in any way that mandate of praise would be akin to placing a stumbling block in the way of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, a barrier to participating fully in the communion of the saints as they fellowship and worship together.
There have been plenty of disagreements regarding the usefulness or appropriateness of musical style, instrumentation, and lyrical content in corporate worship over the course of church history. Every church will have its own musical preferences or convictions. That God’s people should sing, however, is a non-negotiable essential of Christian practice and a near universal area of ecclesiological agreement.
With that I mind, how can every church best prepare its people for that day when we all stand together in one heavenly choir?
This question isn’t about theology or musical composition; it’s about how we’re encouraging (or discouraging) God’s people from giving their whole selves – body, soul, mind, strength – to their Lord in worship song. This assessment is concerned with participation, not perfection. And this hard look at the practical basics of our singing might reveal some profoundly simple solutions. For those who desire a church that sings well, the following suggestions are worth serious consideration.
Trade secret: Not all great worship songs are the most singable songs. Many church leaders who believe every song they choose is a “hit,” live with an ongoing frustration that their people sing some songs noticeably well but not others. This is because choosing a song that is singable for the masses requires taking inventory of melody, key, rhythm, tempo, diction, and more. Certain tunes are intuitive to the musically untrained, and others are not. Some songs sound easy on the radio but clumsy on Sunday morning. For a church to sing well, they ought to be given every opportunity to succeed. For that to happen, those persons with the high responsibility of curating song selection ought to be observant students of singing, not simply of performance.
There are vast catalogues of time-worn songs, from sea shanties to Take Me Out the Ballgame, that can teach us an important lesson in simplicity. A song does not have to be boring or juvenile to be simple. Some of the greatest songs ever composed are incredibly simple. The best song leaders seek out these characteristics for the sake of their congregation when they choose songs, as well. They choose songs to encourage maximum participation. They choose songs that are memorable. They choose songs that are not time-bound but instead transcend generational and cultural trends. They choose songs that anyone can sing from cradle to grave. They choose songs that are singable.
In the pursuit of singability, the biggest bang for the buck has got to be a song’s key. In other words, we must ask ourselves, “how high or low can the singers go?” Most songs and arrangements these days are culled from popular recordings of our favorite worship leaders and songwriters. Those recordings are custom-tailored for that artist’s particular voice, not necessarily the masses. So even though the latest and greatest worship song sung in the exact key of the recording might seem like the best default, it is woefully naïve to think that it’s within the singing comfort-zone of common men and women.
A similar problem can arise for those churches singing with a hymnal or printed music. Four-part singing compositions can be beautiful, but if most of the congregation only knows or is able to sing the melody, then they too will be singing in a key either much too high or low for the natural range of their voice.
Instead of automatically defaulting to the key chosen by songwriters or to a vocal range we as leaders sound the best in, we ought to take stock of what is reasonable for most of our people and choose a key that meets the majority in the middle of their comfort zone. Singing melodies from “C to shining C” (C3 to C4) is one tried and true method. For songs written outside of one octave, A2 to D4 might be the ultimate guardrail for maintaining the fullest participation and enthusiasm in the average singing congregation.
Song leaders: if you have never even considered this idea, now is the time to reckon with reality. Don’t fight God on biology. Instead, pick a key that will help your congregation sing their best.
This is a two-for-one deal. Songs worth singing have both great lyrics and great melodies. Our churches will sing better if they are taught both. Even a brief explanation to our people about a song lyric’s meaning can provide a world of appreciation and understanding if we’ll simply take the time to invest in it. Sometimes the context in which a song was written is helpful, too. Even better, why not point to the very scripture(s) that a song was inspired by? Take time to teach why singing these words is so important.
But here’s a real challenge: what if song leaders literally taught their singing congregation how to sing? Imagine the benefit to everyone if someone took the time to teach them how to sing the songs we love so much. No song would be considered too complex if a congregation had a leader willing to teach it to them slowly and methodically. Song leaders: basically, you are choir directors. Don’t expect the choir to nail that new song if you’ve not taught them their parts. Instead, use your own musical skill, vocal training, and experience to benefit your congregation by making them better singers. All will be blessed by richer and more engaged singing in worship.
Every Little Leaguer must learn at some point that swinging harder does not equal swinging more accurately. Of first importance is keeping one’s eye on the ball. Likewise, many churches are swinging for the fences in their musical efforts but seeing little progress in participation when it comes to singing. In that case, getting back to the basics is the answer. “Sing to one another” is the clearest musical command that the church has been given. It is also profoundly simple. It compels us to make our song choices and musical techniques expertly crafted to serve that end: congregations singing well together. May the Lord make it so by giving us all wisdom to lead His people to sing well. We will, after all, be singing together forever.
The post Our Call to Worship: Is It Well with Our Singing? appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...
To discourage in any way that mandate of praise would be akin to placing a stumbling block in the way of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, a barrier to participating fully in the communion of the saints as they fellowship and worship together.
There have been plenty of disagreements regarding the usefulness or appropriateness of musical style, instrumentation, and lyrical content in corporate worship over the course of church history. Every church will have its own musical preferences or convictions. That God’s people should sing, however, is a non-negotiable essential of Christian practice and a near universal area of ecclesiological agreement.
With that I mind, how can every church best prepare its people for that day when we all stand together in one heavenly choir?
This question isn’t about theology or musical composition; it’s about how we’re encouraging (or discouraging) God’s people from giving their whole selves – body, soul, mind, strength – to their Lord in worship song. This assessment is concerned with participation, not perfection. And this hard look at the practical basics of our singing might reveal some profoundly simple solutions. For those who desire a church that sings well, the following suggestions are worth serious consideration.
1. Sing singable songs
Trade secret: Not all great worship songs are the most singable songs. Many church leaders who believe every song they choose is a “hit,” live with an ongoing frustration that their people sing some songs noticeably well but not others. This is because choosing a song that is singable for the masses requires taking inventory of melody, key, rhythm, tempo, diction, and more. Certain tunes are intuitive to the musically untrained, and others are not. Some songs sound easy on the radio but clumsy on Sunday morning. For a church to sing well, they ought to be given every opportunity to succeed. For that to happen, those persons with the high responsibility of curating song selection ought to be observant students of singing, not simply of performance.
There are vast catalogues of time-worn songs, from sea shanties to Take Me Out the Ballgame, that can teach us an important lesson in simplicity. A song does not have to be boring or juvenile to be simple. Some of the greatest songs ever composed are incredibly simple. The best song leaders seek out these characteristics for the sake of their congregation when they choose songs, as well. They choose songs to encourage maximum participation. They choose songs that are memorable. They choose songs that are not time-bound but instead transcend generational and cultural trends. They choose songs that anyone can sing from cradle to grave. They choose songs that are singable.
2. Keep the key reasonable
In the pursuit of singability, the biggest bang for the buck has got to be a song’s key. In other words, we must ask ourselves, “how high or low can the singers go?” Most songs and arrangements these days are culled from popular recordings of our favorite worship leaders and songwriters. Those recordings are custom-tailored for that artist’s particular voice, not necessarily the masses. So even though the latest and greatest worship song sung in the exact key of the recording might seem like the best default, it is woefully naïve to think that it’s within the singing comfort-zone of common men and women.
A similar problem can arise for those churches singing with a hymnal or printed music. Four-part singing compositions can be beautiful, but if most of the congregation only knows or is able to sing the melody, then they too will be singing in a key either much too high or low for the natural range of their voice.
Instead of automatically defaulting to the key chosen by songwriters or to a vocal range we as leaders sound the best in, we ought to take stock of what is reasonable for most of our people and choose a key that meets the majority in the middle of their comfort zone. Singing melodies from “C to shining C” (C3 to C4) is one tried and true method. For songs written outside of one octave, A2 to D4 might be the ultimate guardrail for maintaining the fullest participation and enthusiasm in the average singing congregation.
Song leaders: if you have never even considered this idea, now is the time to reckon with reality. Don’t fight God on biology. Instead, pick a key that will help your congregation sing their best.
3. Teach well, sing well
This is a two-for-one deal. Songs worth singing have both great lyrics and great melodies. Our churches will sing better if they are taught both. Even a brief explanation to our people about a song lyric’s meaning can provide a world of appreciation and understanding if we’ll simply take the time to invest in it. Sometimes the context in which a song was written is helpful, too. Even better, why not point to the very scripture(s) that a song was inspired by? Take time to teach why singing these words is so important.
But here’s a real challenge: what if song leaders literally taught their singing congregation how to sing? Imagine the benefit to everyone if someone took the time to teach them how to sing the songs we love so much. No song would be considered too complex if a congregation had a leader willing to teach it to them slowly and methodically. Song leaders: basically, you are choir directors. Don’t expect the choir to nail that new song if you’ve not taught them their parts. Instead, use your own musical skill, vocal training, and experience to benefit your congregation by making them better singers. All will be blessed by richer and more engaged singing in worship.
Back to the basics
Every Little Leaguer must learn at some point that swinging harder does not equal swinging more accurately. Of first importance is keeping one’s eye on the ball. Likewise, many churches are swinging for the fences in their musical efforts but seeing little progress in participation when it comes to singing. In that case, getting back to the basics is the answer. “Sing to one another” is the clearest musical command that the church has been given. It is also profoundly simple. It compels us to make our song choices and musical techniques expertly crafted to serve that end: congregations singing well together. May the Lord make it so by giving us all wisdom to lead His people to sing well. We will, after all, be singing together forever.
The post Our Call to Worship: Is It Well with Our Singing? appeared first on Focus on the Family.
Continue reading...