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Nov 17
Articles, Music melody, Music, worshipmatters 1 Comment
Ever try to lead a song that either the congregation, or worse, the worship team, just didn’t pick up on? Bob Kauflin has a great article on teaching such songs over at worshipmatters.com. Here’s an excerpt:
A friend recently emailed me and expressed a dilemma he was facing when teaching new songs performed by an artist who varies the way he or she sings the melody. My friend asked:
When do we go with the lead sheet, and when do we go with the CD melody? And when do we go with what is simple and consistent and when do we go with what is sung on the CD?
I’ve faced the same dilemma. While I’m grateful for many of the new congregational songs that have emerged in recent years, they’re not always sung in a way that makes it easy for a congregation to pick them up. Phrases are elongated in one verse and not the other, melodies are changed, and sometimes the melody becomes hard to identify or unsingable by a normal congregation. Here are a few of the thoughts I consider when figuring out what to do.
Read the full article at worshipmatters.com.
How about you? What are your strategies for teaching difficult music? And what are some of those songs that your worship team or congregation just doesn’t click with?
Dec 12, 2008 @ 13:18:31
When there’s a song with difficult phrasing like that, I often avoid doing it. But if it is really good, I try to straighten it out or remove some of the syncopation. One song I’ve avoided for this reason is “Every Day” by Joel Houston. There’s also “Kindness” by Chris Tomlin; we tried this one once and didn’t try it again. Great songs for personal worship, not so great for corporate, multi-generational settings.