I'm posting this here because no one but me belongs to the "Make a Joyful Noise" group here yet :o).  Warning:  it's long.

Principles and Practices for Contemporary Worship

            Contemporary worship means different things to different people, and this diversity of meaning is reflected in a wide range of practices in churches.  This article is intended to lay out some core principles to guide contemporary worship music planning and leadership, and to offer specific suggestions concerning selection, arrangement, preparation, and presentation of different kinds of material

            First, some core principles.

            Principle 1:  Music serves the local mission, and the Great Commission.

Each church has an identity and a mission, and all churches will hopefully see themselves as serving the larger mission - the Great Commission, God’s plan to reach and bless the whole world through the Body of Christ, the fellowship of believers.  Music in church, whatever the style, either serves the mission of the particular church, or it has no reason to be there.  This makes it imperative that leaders and planners select music whose theological and thematic content, and presentation style, supports the particular facet of the mission that is being communicated and celebrated in a service.  Sometimes this will mean that the congregation is challenged in some way through the music, just as a sermon might seek to challenge the fellowship to go deeper in their faith.  But it is never a matter of difficulty or challenge for its own sake, nor is mere competence or surface beauty a valid measure of appropriateness.

            Principle 2: Presentation is “transparent.” 

            Both traditional and contemporary music are often delivered in a mannered or gesture-heavy fashion, which can keep the congregation from seeing through the music and the singing to the text, and to the Word which underlies and informs the text.  Examples: traditional singing that is overly stentorian, laden with heavy vibrato; contemporary singing that is cluttered with technically difficult embellishments such as melismas or other moves away from the basic tune; instrumental arrangements that distract from the central importance of the lyric and the corporate singing, by indulging in  noodling or cleverness for its own sake.  The goal is “transparency”:  the fellowship sees through the worship leaders, hears through the music, to the Word, the Cross, and the altar. 

            Principle 3: Hospitality is always part of music’s mission.

            We are inviting people to draw close to the Word, to welcome the presence of God.  We are not testing their musical skills, or their familiarity with church music (either new or old).  Hospitality, a core scriptural value, is in this context manifested by music that sets people up for success, by being singable, understandable, and meaningful.  This does not mean that the fellowship is never asked to learn new music or new styles.  It does mean that choices to introduce new things are necessary and well-considered, and that attention is given to the manner in which material is introduced.

            Now let’s consider the needs of specific types of material – keeping in mind that the above core values apply in each case; thus, rhythmic difficulty, vocal range, and appropriate and meaningful lyric content are concerns in approaching any style of song. 

            Hymns: Everything old was once new, and can be new again. 

            Hymnals are the product of a very long process of creativity, stylistic evolution, and selection, which has resulted in a seemingly unified body of material, of fairly consistent quality.  But in fact, each hymn is really the tip of an iceberg.   For each hymn in the hymnal, there are many that were rejected, and each hymn has a real, vital cultural context behind it, a moment in cultural history from which it emerged.   Some are based on Irish, Appalachian, or English folk tunes which originally had secular lyrics; others are imitations of classical music forms; a few are even derived from drinking songs of obscure origin.  In recent years, many “mainline” hymnals have begun to include adaptations of Christian songs from Africa, Latin America, or even Asia. 

The point here is that hymns did not come into existence so that we could have a tidy, convenient book to use in worship; rather, they were created in specific cultural milieus in response to the Spirit, and to serve the needs of believers in times and places other than our own.  We are the beneficiaries of this long process, and we should respect the hymns as living expressions of God’s work in the human heart, rather than insisting that they stay inside static conceptions of their potential and their “appropriate” presentation.

From this perspective, it is my view that the musical treatment of hymns is most respectful of their origin and purpose when it is open to the musical culture and techniques of our own time and place.  In this way, many hymns can be as fresh and powerful as they were when they were first written, rather than (sometimes) an exercise in preservation.  

Hymn Selection.

When choosing songs from hymnals for a contemporary service, it’s important to consider vocabulary, poetic style, and the intelligibility of the underlying theology.  Some hymns have a high proportion of words which are obscure to most people now.  Others engage in “tortured syntax,” a continual twisting of sentence structure, to allow highly complex theological arguments to fit within a strict poetic rhyme scheme.  If possible, find hymns that any native English speaker can understand without significant difficulty . 

Of equal concern is the melodic difficulty of many hymns. Even in highly traditional churches, the percentage of people who can really read music (as opposed to following the general ups and down of a melody on paper) is much lower than in past generations.  Additionally, voices have become lower in pitch as people have gotten taller and bigger.  Thus, tunes which were quite reasonable a hundred years ago are now quite a daunting task for most congregations.  If projection is in use, and hymnals or bulletins are not relied on, this could be even more of an issue.

  The principles of hospitality and mission strongly suggest that hymn selection should take ease of singing into consideration.  In most hymnals, there is a wide range of difficulty.  It can be a real challenge to satisfy the demands of appropriate content, intelligibility, and musical accessibility if one is limited to a single source or style.  In my experience, this is a compelling argument for using a diversity of styles in a service.  But even if one were selecting only from a hymnal, the return in engagement and Spirit-led worship, when a congregation is not distracted by obscurity or unnecessary difficulty, is well worth the effort.

Hymn Treatment and Preparation.

Key factors in preparing a hymn for use with a band are: harmonic motion, rhythmic style, and vocal range.  

Many hymns change chords with every beat, as this is good practice for classical writing for a single keyboard instrument (without this continuous motion, a piano or organ would sound static and plodding).  However, with a band, the harmonic motion of these hymns is not only difficult to master, but also tends to sound choppy and rushed even if played accurately.  The solution, usually possible if a team member has good theory knowledge, is to re-harmonize the tune, using a progression which changes chords less often (every other beat, or every bar, or some combination thereof).  Most often when doing this, certain quick changes will need to be preserved to be true to the composition, but it is striking that most hymn tunes can be sung to much simpler chord progressions than are found in hymnal arrangements. 

Hymns tend to move by quarter notes (folk and spiritual songs will usually contain dotted and eighth-note rhythms; contemporary songs will often include more complex sixteenth-note and tied-over-the-barline phrases.).  It is often the ornamentation by an organist that prevents traditional hymn presentation from becoming dirge-like.  When a band plays a hymn, they should look in the other direction: simplicity of delivery, while finding a pulse that feels natural and alive.  The drummer and the bass player are very important here – they need to be ready to play very simply, but look for opportunities to connect the rhythm of the hymn to newer rhythmic forms.  If the team leader plays guitar, it will be important for that person to practice the hymn ahead of time (or work with the acoustic guitar player), in order to convey a playable, flowing rhythm for the rest of the team to pick up on and develop.

Finally, as mentioned before, vocal range has trended downwards over the generations.  So it will be very useful for a team member to know or learn how to transpose hymns (many organists are doing this already) down a whole-step or more.  A good rule of thumb is that the C above middle C (octave lower for men) is fine for most people who don’t sing a lot; a high note of D is okay for peak moments; above that you will be pushing the congregation into some degree of discomfort and distraction.

Hymn Presentation.

            One of the key discoveries of 20^th century musicianship was made by Bing Crosby.  Prior to Crosby, singers used microphones simply to reproduce their existing theatrical styles, singing with a loud, projecting, “bel canto” style originally developed to fill a large hall without amplification.  Crosby’s intimate, crooning delivery arose from his insight that microphones allowed him to sing as if he was in a living room rather than a theater.  He sang to an audience of one listener, conceived of as being right in front of him, not in a distant seat. 

            The significance of this discovery, and its impact on singing style and song composition, cannot be overstated.  It has affected every aspect of musical culture.  The importance of this to contemporary worship is this: anyone born in the last 50 years, unless they deliberately avoid contemporary culture, is steeped in an aesthetic of singing that is in stark contrast to traditional hymn presentation.  While there are some recorded popular singers who rely on intense vibrato and highly projected singing, the vast majority of songs are now written for, and assume as a given, a delivery that is intimate, conversational, and more varied in timbre from singer to singer.  The large, stentorian voice of traditional upfront hymn-singing is perceived as stuffy and pretentious.  This is not a fair characterization, as this style is simply from a time when amplification was not possible, so leadership meant volume, projection, and vibrato (Vibrato is an artifact of the technique required to sing loudly without being harsh, or damaging one’s larynx, which developed into an aesthetic preference in classical vocal style).  However, the perception is there, and can’t be undone by insisting that pop-singing is somehow lesser or vulgar.  It is simply different – it has important strengths available to it, and it is incapable of some effects. 

            A side effect of the newer, more conversational delivery is that rhythmic writing for voice is more complex and “across the beat,” suggesting the rhythms of talking rather than the steady march rhythms of the hymns.  This has implications for learning newer songs which will be taken up in the last section, but for now what it suggests is that to get hymns to breathe and come alive in a contemporary setting, the first thing to do is to lighten the vocal tone and delivery.  Allow more breath to escape, avoid vibrato and long note-holding.  Sing more quietly, allow room for the congregation to hear themselves and to notice the text.  The central term here is understatement.  This approach also refers back to the notion of transparency.  The sound should be one that can be “heard through,” so that the focus remains on the Word, the Cross and the Meal.

            Hymns are a vital and valuable part of our Christian heritage.  Practicing contemporary worship does not mean walking away from that legacy.  It does require that we think in new and fresh ways about where the hymns came from, and how they can be truly meaningful today, particularly to those who have not grown up in church culture.

Folk Songs, “Revival” Songs, and “Spirituals”.

            North America has a rich history of diversity in Christian faith and its music.  The full story is beyond the scope of this discussion.   For a detailed history of American sacred music traditions, you might wish to read Music in American Religious Experience (Bohlman, Blumhofer, and Chow; Oxford University Press USA, 2005) or Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music, and Public Culture (Stephen A. Marini, Public Express Religion America), or any of a number of similar studies (hint: search on Amazon.com for “religious music America”).   What follows is a very simplified and general summary based on my own experience with the music. 

            For the purposes of contemporary worship design, we can speak of three primary categories of “folk” source material, occasional examples of which are found in many hymnals. 

1. European folk music is the basis for many well-known songs, both anonymous and of known authorship.  It is characterized by modal scales, which often convey to modern ears a kind of timeless melancholy.  Shape note singers draw their material from this tradition, and each denomination has certain favorites which persist, such as What Wondrous Love Is This.

2.  Periodic revival movements throughout America, particularly in the South, gave   rise to huge numbers of evangelistic songs.   The first half of the 20^th century saw a particular style of song gain prominence (This Little Light of Mine, I Saw the Light, On the Wings of a Dove).   Baptists have included many of these in

     hymnals.  The songs are mostly major key, musically related to the development    

     of country and bluegrass music, and often very energetic in delivery. They are not

     truly folk songs, as the authors are usually known, but they are derived from non-

     classical, folk materials.

1. African-American “spirituals” have found a place in many hymnals, usually in simplified (or misleading) arrangements.  One common corporate pattern is the call and response, where a leader sings a unique line, and the group answers with a repeated phrase.  Other songs are more intimate and prayerful.  There is a

prevalent minor pentatonic scale (e.g., the black keys on the piano), with the original performances involving a great deal of bending, free harmonization, and embellishment of the basic tune.

 Selection and preparation from folk sources.

            In this area of music for worship, selection, preparation and presentation tend to overlap quite a bit, so let’s look at them together.  The word “believable” always comes to mind when I’m considering a song from this area of material.  Can it be sung in a way that doesn’t sound too imitative, or in some way insulting to the cultural source?  The best way to find out is to sing it out loud in front of other people. Can the band play it in a way that is convincing and not too difficult?  Each of these various compositional traditions has a corresponding instrumental tradition, and no band is going to be expert in everything.  The challenge is to simplify without removing the essential character and spirit of the song, so when you’re considering a song, test it out:

–        Try singing it with an acoustic guitar or piano away from the full band.  If you feel like you’re playing pretend, then either you need to spend more time with the song, or it may not translate well. 

–        Be careful about trusting published sheet music, as it can often force a song into an awkward or stiff piano arrangement.  Recordings can be helpful, keeping in mind that reproduction is not the goal, rather you’re looking for a way to make the song real and alive where you are, with the skills you have.  One way is to listen to a recording while playing along to a lyric and chord sheet in the same key (which you might have to create, but sometimes Google-ing “(song title) lyrics chords” will offer helpful transcriptions). 

–        Many similar songs will require similar rhythm section work, so practicing a given type of song frequently along with the bassist and drummer – without expecting it to be ready for that week’s service - can gradually build confidence in new styles, opening up more and more possible songs for use. 

–        In general, seek an arrangement that is as easy as possible to play, and that allows the focus to rest on singing – this can help to avoid attempts to fake traditions of musicianship such as bluegrass or gospel.

–        Find a relaxed groove, try different simple patterns of strumming or chording until it feels natural. 

–        Sing with, not at, the congregation; discover your own corporate passion in the tune and text, rather than forcing energy through borrowed mannerisms.

–        You may want to encourage the congregation to clap on the backbeat (2 and 4), perhaps led by singers who don’t play instruments, or by a singer who simply waits to start playing until the beat is established.

Songs written since ca.1970.

            Modern praise songs reflect radical changes which have taken place in popular music since the late 1950’s. 

-         Electric guitars and other amplified instruments have broadened the palette

      tremendously.  Despite caricatures to the contrary, this change in technology has

      not simply led to an increase in volume, or a lack of devotion to instrumental

      skill.  In fact, in some ways the emergence of the electric guitar mirrors the story

      of the microphone:  players discovered that things which could never be heard

      before could now be made audible.  Small gestures, delicate changes in touch,

      precise attention to tone and density - these are really the hallmark of most

      electric guitar playing, notwithstanding the visual theatrics of many players.  An

      open-minded listen to the top few dozen pop songs at any given time reveals that    

            there are quiet and atmospheric songs, and  there are loud and aggressive songs;

            there are warm and friendly songs, there are cold and forbidding songs. And those

            categories don’t line up in obvious ways   –  some songs are quiet and cold, others

            are loud and warm. 

-         The subject matter of pop lyrics, and the approach to point of view, exploded in diversity.  Where there once were almost exclusively songs about romance, now it would be hard to find a topic that has not been touched on by a recorded pop songwriter somewhere.  This has relevance for us because Christian songwriting has shared in this expansion of lyrical content and narrative strategy.  It is easy to find modern praise songs that are thin or shallow.  It perhaps requires more time and attention to notice that the range of approaches to scripture and theology has multiplied tremendously.  This is a result of the availability of a more vernacular, story-telling or conversational vocabulary, as well as a greater acceptance of different points of view within and between songs.

-     While Christian rock and pop have seen explosive growth in the last two decades, African-American gospel music has not stood still.  There are many great songs being written for “mass choir” and band (e.g. It’s In Jesus by Donnie Harper).  This body of work has tended to be neglected by predominantly white churches, mirroring the social segregation of the church as a whole.  It’s well worth the effort to seek out the best of these songs.  For selection and preparation in this genre, many of the same principles apply as noted in the discussion of “spirituals” and revival songs.

Selection.

Many modern praise songs are deeply scriptural and theologically sound (e.g., Here I Am to Worship, Days of Elijah, Trading My Sorrows).  Many are not.  These songs, as a genre, have not been through the decades or even centuries of filtering for quality and content to which older material has been subjected.  It is therefore especially important to be choosy, and to match songs carefully with themes and local mission.  (You may find that there are those with lyric writing ability in your congregation.  If their material is right for recurring or thematic needs, consider setting their words to very simple, sing-able music.) 

To find material: borrow or buy sheet music collections (with the same caveats as above about the problems with published arrangements); use internet searches; buy CD collections such as the WOW series; listen to contemporary Christian radio (if you have satellite radio, there are three or four different channels on each major provider) or subscribe to a streaming audio service online; network with other churches who are doing contemporary music – you may or may not like what they are doing, but you’re bound to learn something.  Encourage one or more people in your team to learn how to make chord and lyric sheets, and how to transpose material into keys that are friendly to corporate singing. 

Distinguish carefully between songs that are adaptable for corporate worship, and those that are really only useful as solo pieces (hints: are there LOTS of sixteenth notes, tied notes, rests in irregular places?  These songs can work, but may take longer for some to learn; vocal range should be fairly narrow – within an octave if possible – and without too many difficult leaps.)

Consider congregational readiness – how much do you need to challenge expectations and how quickly; how necessary are your choices?  For example, point of view can be complex in some of these songs, and quite different from the typical hymn or folk praise song.  The singer may be addressing Jesus directly; there may be an aspect of story-telling or witness; there may be a lighter, to some a seemingly flippant tone (e.g., Big House, by Audio Adrenaline); in some cases, there is a redemptive narrative which nonetheless includes some fairly dark material (e.g. Save Me by Casting Crowns).    Your choices will be different depending on context: is it a youth service, or a mixed-age group?   How long has your church been using contemporary songs?  What material are people familiar with already – in other words, what are new songs being implicitly compared to?

Preparation, Arrangement, and Presentation.

Arranging:

            The most common problem for praise bands is that everyone wants to play all the time, leading to ear fatigue and a lack of dynamic freshness and depth.  A band may be filled with perfectly competent players, but if each person is unable or unwilling to learn when to play less (or when not to play at all), the music will be incapable of responding appropriately to the needs of different texts, different themes, different moments in a service.  So a key quality of leadership will be the ability to get people to recognize this issue and respond selflessly.  Developing the expectation that not everyone will play on every song may be a good place to start: do some songs with just piano, some with just acoustic guitar, and combinations of two or three instruments.  This may be humbling and difficult for some, but soon the band may begin to appreciate the opportunities to do different things at different times, and may begin to enjoy the diversity of tone and texture which can result.

            Arranging a song that has been recorded by a band requires attention to what is essential and what is superfluous.   It’s vital to create an arrangement that is technically feasible, in fact as easy as possible for the band to play, rather than to recreate the sound of a recording.   This can often be accomplished best by providing lyric sheets with chords and playing the song several times without much interruption or discussion.  If the band is working in good faith, ideas for improvement will usually emerge.  A good band leader will be ready with suggestions, but open to ideas.  Micro-managing, always having the answer, is often counter-productive, as you want to achieve a situation in which the band takes responsibility for arranging itself in response to the material and its needs. 

If this approach rarely or never works, you may need to consider reopening the selection process for players (In starting a new band, you may wish to get to know the abilities of a larger number of players than you need, in informal settings, and be honest in setting expectations of long term participation. You may find that players of some experience but “middling” skill are actually best suited to this work, as they will be pleased to be part of a good band sound, and usually mature enough in their playing to listen to others).

            You may ask: aren’t there published arrangements to work from?  The answer is – yes and no.  You can spend a lot of money on charts, and get very unsatisfying results, for two reasons.  First, you are unlikely to have a band filled with L.A. session players who can sight read parts; second, the charts may be of dubious quality or appropriateness, and you won’t know until you have invested a great deal of time in learning them.  Far better to develop a creative process that meets the band where it is as much as possible, while cultivating an atmosphere of learning, listening, and responsive musicianship.

The goal is to support congregational singing and worship, not to be impressive.  Taking things away – less noodling, less instruments, less volume, less harmonies – will usually work better than adding things. 

A very simple technique for achieving freshness and variety of texture within a song (which will tend to keep the focus on the text and avoid attention fatigue) is the use of “terrace dynamics.”  This means simply changing the volume, or the number or density of instrumental parts, with each transition in a song.  So the electric guitar might not enter until the chorus; or the singer/acoustic guitar player might start the song solo, with the bass and drums entering at a second stanza; or if there are multiple singers, have them take turns.  There are many possibilities. 

Sound:

            The issue of equipment can be very tricky.  Churches that have spent many thousands of dollars on one organ may be reluctant to invest in quality sound reproduction and decent instruments for a band.  On the other hand,  simply spending money will rarely solve real and perceived problems. The particular needs of different spaces and musical goals are very specific.  An example:   it can be tempting to try and run a complex mixing system in a small or medium sized room – EQ’s, compressors, large mixers, wireless microphones, etc.; but the solution to problems of feedback, difficulty in hearing each other, and harsh tone, might be as simple as changing the positions of players, singers, and amplifiers. And often just turning down the volume will reduce many technical problems – if you’re going to play loud, better to do it once or twice a service than on every song.  It will be important to develop responsible leadership in this area.   Contemporary worship music – for that matter, good contemporary music of any kind – does not mean loud and fast and busy.  It means using the resources of a recently developed body of artistic and technical knowledge in intelligent, responsive, and appropriate ways. 

Vocal Presentation:

The discoveries of Bing Crosby and his cohort have been extended by successive generations of singers.  The diversity of effective approaches to the microphone is now staggering.  This presents both advantages and problems.  On the one hand, singing has become more accessible and communicative, in the sense that singers often no longer present a daunting, polished technique, preferring an intimate, humanized delivery which is as much acting or story-telling as it is musical performance.  On the other hand, there are new mannerisms and artificial gestures which have replaced the older, “bel canto” vocal calisthenics.  An experienced or talented pop singer may have just as much work to do as a traditional church singer in dropping the mask, letting go of performance artifacts, becoming “transparent.”  The key here is recognizing the purpose of worship, seeing leadership within it as an act of ministry done with, not to, a congregation.

Understatement in vocal presentation is of critical importance.  Lengthy notes and figures at ends of phrases, or frequent interjections between phrases, quickly pull the focus away from the corporate worship and onto the worship leader.  The passion of worship is not something a singing leader is required to drum up.  Attempts to do this may reflect a desire for attention; or it may point to a lack of trust in the text, in the congregation, or in the ability of the Spirit to move in worship of His own accord.  This does not mean that quality is irrelevant.  Equally distracting and attention-drawing are sour notes, or poorly rehearsed phrasing.  Again, the core value is transparency – the worship leader seeks to present the text in such a way that the congregation sees through them to the Word, the table and the Cross.

  As discussed, pop and traditional singers may have equal trouble in this area. That said, it may be difficult for some who have grown up singing in church to effectively present modern praise songs.  It can be a powerful transformative experience when someone learns how, but this will require sensitivity combined with honesty on the part of leadership, and tension is highly possible. 

If you are developing or reworking a praise band team, seek people who truly love band music while possessing some healthy respect for where the church has been - it may be necessary to say no if people want to participate in leadership, but seem to be “slumming,” or not truly understanding and respecting the material; or if they are thrilled to be in the band, but unwilling to learn about and respond to the continuing importance of the essential elements of a worship service pattern – confession, prayer, scripture, teaching, meal, mission.  Chances are all of this will be taking place in an atmosphere of challenging change, so remember to pray and pray, asking for the Spirit to move in your own heart and others’ to exemplify the grace and patience and love that is only possible through Christ.

Final notes:

            Lastly, let me suggest that complacency and settling for a routine are the enemies of good worship planning and leadership.  If you are doing it faithfully, it shouldn’t ever be easy or predictable, unless the church and its leadership have no Spirit-led direction.  If you feel you are doing the same things, the same songs, the same arrangements, the same gestures, over and over, I want to encourage you NOT to think of this as analogous to the hosts of angels singing Holy Holy Holy for all eternity.  We are not angels, we are humans, in dire need of healing transformation through the work of the Spirit.  Our journey as a global fellowship, and as local faith communities, is far from over, though we have found the one true leader of that journey in Jesus Christ.  Leading contemporary worship is not a task for the faint of heart, or for anyone wishing a comfy chair that stays where you put it last.  The potential for Spirit-led adventure and healing, however, is well worth the risk and the effort.