Songwriting In Worship

When it comes to the journey of songwriting, there are a few paths to travel.  In all honesty, HOW we write music is as important as WHAT we write, especially when it comes to “worship music.”  The term “worship music” describes music written specifically for the use of congregational worship.  There are many schools of thought on the technical aspect of worship songwriting.  Songwriters understand meter, rhyme, and imagery of their songs, and that’s cool.  At the same time, do worship songwriters understand songwriting within the act (or lifestyle) worship?  Of course, I’m asking myself the same question here.

Often times, I think of King David’s psalms.  Since David was a “man after God’s own heart,” I’m convinced he did not think things like “what can I write that best expresses the heart of the congregation?”  I’m pretty sure he did not concern himself with rocking the music business boat, motivating hearers to follow his vision, or ensuring his lyrics were theologically sound.  David wrote out of the overflow of worship.  This overflow of worship began with an active seeking of God’s heart.  As a result, his psalms prophesied about Jesus the Messiah centuries before he was born according to the Prophets.  In essence, David sang what God spoke.  Isn’t that POWERFUL?!?!

In a general sense, every songwriter writes as a result of worshiping someone or something.  What does this mean to us worship songwriters today?  Out of what overflow do our lyrics come?  What is God speaking?  How much prophecy flows from us when we worship?  How much of God’s heart flows from us when we worship?  Of course, these are simply reflective questions.

I’d love to hear from you.  Where are you in your songwriting journey?  How much does worship precede your songwriting?  How can we pray for you in your songwriting journey?

UPDATE:  To clarify more regarding the meaning behind the term "worship music," genre should not be a factor.  Going back to King David, when he wrote the psalms from the overflow of his heart, he also wrote according to his culture.  Same applies here.  When songwriters write worship music from the overflow of their moments with God, they also write from their culture.  So if your culture is jazz, write worship music in the jazz culture.  So, feel free to write songs in the music culture you're currently in.  Don't worry about trying to sound like Christian radio or the well-known worship artists.  In many cases, culture plays a big role in music.

We'd still love to hear from you!  So, please provide some feedback so the group will grow according to the needs of the group.  Blessings!

Developing a Worship Songwriting Community

For several years now, I’ve been mulling over the need for a network of Christian musicians in the Triad area.  After speaking with several worship leaders, one of the most common struggles is finding musicians to fill certain gaps in their teams.  The triad region (Winston Salem/High Point/Greensboro) has a vast array of musicians.  With colleges like UNC School of the Arts and UNCG School of Music, and the magnet high school in Greensboro that has a strong music program, I often wonder why many churches struggle with finding musicians for their worship teams.  So, after speaking with these worship leaders, I found out that by having such a network would bridge many gaps in the music community, especially among the church.

Several factors come into play here: relational gaps, generational gaps, denominational gaps, and genre gaps.  In the church world, we call this the “worship wars.”  The worship wars are more of a battle between mindsets that don’t want worship music to change, and mindsets that constantly push worship music to change.  It’s a vicious cycle, really.  One generation pushed the use of hymns when whatever-church-music-styles-before-hymns were the norm.  When hymns became the norm, another generation pushed for something more contemporary.  Now that contemporary music is the norm, another generation is pushing for change.  Is there a balance?  Is there a way to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary?  Who knows, but I’m willing to find out.

The most important question to ask is: what (rather who) does every Christian have in common?  The answer is obvious – Jesus Christ!  If every Christian worships the same savior, why are there so many divisions/denominations among us?  To put this in perspective, the triad region has roughly 1500 churches.  That’s A LOT of churches!  What statement does this make to non-Christians?  Is there something we can or should do about this division?  Is it a cultural issue or is it a spiritual issue?  So, I let my brain wonder a bit and seek some ideas to promote unity (not uniformity) among the denominations in the area.  Songwriting seems to be a very effective means of networking the denominations.

In my seeking, I asked myself these “what if” questions:

* What if local congregations shared musicians?

* What if local congregations wrote original worship songs together?

* What if local congregations exchanged each other’s original worship songs?

* What if local congregations gathered together for one evening periodically and worshiped together?

What would all of that look like?  If any of these “what if” scenarios come true, I believe it would have a huge impact on the church in the triad community.  With that said, I found some great insight from Bobby Gilles, a worship leader in Louisville, KY.  Bobby Gilles provides some incredible insight into community songwriting with a four-part article he wrote for TheWorshipCommunity.com:

            Part one provides a biblical and historical look at worship songwriting.

            Part two explains the foundation for worship songwriting

            Part three addresses the “shepherds” of the church

            Part four provides clear direction on developing the group

When reading this series, I’m encouraged and motivated to nurture something like this in the triad region.  It will take time, it will take prayer, and it will take like-vision among the group to see this group grow into its vast potential.  So, I continue to seek the Lord for guidance with this.  I recognize the need and the potential.  Time will tell what kind of worship music comes from the local church for the local church.  In the meantime, it’s a really good way to get to know people better and serve one another through creative means.

First Community Songwriting Day

Spring 2010 Songwriting Day

May 14, 2010 at Kernersville Community Church

Our day started off with a meet and greet where everyone got to know each other, then we went into a vision sharing moment.  The vision behind the community songwriting days is to connect local congregations fostering an environment of writing worship music that comes from the heart of God through the local churches.  Our prayer is that these events lead into deeper connections between local congregations where other visions are planted to bring denominations together in a collaborative effort.  The first seed was planted on this first day of songwriting.  We pray that God will breathe on it, and give life to the vision he inspired.

Passages: Romans 5:1-5 and Psalm 43

When we walked into the building, a bible was already opened up on the foyer table.  My eyes were drawn to Romans 5:1-5.  Here, Paul encourages the church to rejoice in their sufferings because their sufferings will lead to perseverance, which will lead to character, which will lead to hope.  The hope that develops never disappoints because that hope comes from God alone.  So, the group connected with the hope theme, and began looking at other verses about hope.  Psalm 43 resonated with the group.  We then discussed how King David was very raw in his expressions to God.  David expressed his deepest struggle and still praised God despite his deepest struggles.

Musically, the idea was proposed to make the verses in a minor key to express the raw struggles we all face, and make the chorus major to express the hope we have.  One person suggested a chord progression that had that raw feel we were looking for.  Then another guitar player continued into a major chord progression for the chorus, which fit quite nicely.

As the musicians played, the singers sang what came to mind expressing the hope we have.  Some phrases work, and some did not.  So, we recorded the ideas from two musicians, uploaded to a collaboration website, and the group will go back later and upload tracks that come to mind as we work on the song individually.

Overall, it was a really good day.  The group’s unity led to some effective songwriting.  Even though we did not complete a song, it was still productive.  As a group, we agreed to begin using Kompoz.com to construct the song outside the songwriting events.  We also agreed to meet once a season to keep the momentum going.  Our prayer is for other congregations to see the value in these songwriting events, and join in on what God is doing through worship songwriting in the North Carolina Triad region.

"Image"

The July challenge for The Worship Community songwriters group is based on Colossians 1:15-20.  The part that stuck out to me is how all believers are growing more into Christ's image.  As the Lord refines us, we grow closer and closer to Christ's image whom is the visible nature of the unseen God.  How do we grow into the image of Christ?  It all starts with repentance.  We must always be humble if we are willing to open our lives up for God to change us.  Our hearts must be revived to love like Christ.  As our hearts are revived, we are restored.  This is a constant cycle until we are all transformed into Christ's perfect image.  This process is difficult.  It requires a constant refining.  This is why believers must be diligent in the process.

"Image" was written by Tom Kline, Melanie Siewert, Mark Snyder, and Earl Reed.  This version is the first draft.  As we collaborate more on the song, we hope to have it ready for the songwriters group soon.  In the meantime, please feel free to share your comments about the song here.  Input is always valuable when writing a song.  It will only make it better.  :-)

"Comfort"

I wrote a new song for the month of April for The Worship Community.  The song is called "Comfort" and it is based on Isaiah 40.  The part of the passage that stuck out to me was how the Lord comforts us.  Our sin is forgiven, our suffering because of our sin is done because of what Christ did on the cross, and the same God that created the universe wants to carry me under his arm.  What a God I serve!!!

If you would like to join in the collab effort, please feel free to join us in the Worship Community forums.  God bless!

TWCSW Apr - "Comfort"
MOST RECENT UPDATE (July 18, 2010): "Comfort" (Take 2 with Sync Tone) 

Melanie

Music Collaboration

For the last few months, I've been collaborating with other musicians from around the country on music projects.  It's really been a blessing.  Each month, I try to write a song based on predetermined scripture passages from The Worship Community (TWC).  I must be honest and say that it is tough.  Songwriting is not easy by any stretch.  The process becomes a bible study and a time to actively seek God on how the scriptures speak to me as a Christ follower.  Personally, I am blessed with this kind of opportunity.  I'm finding joy in every aspect.  Praise God!!!

If you have acquired a passion for songwriting, feel free to collaborate with other musicians through TWC or Kompoze.  Get feedback, strengthen your skill, and be open to learn what the Lord wants to teach you in the process.  My contributions to the songwriting process are provided below through both sites.  Feel free to join me in the collaborative effort on either site.  It's all about Jesus and making him known.  Jesus is Lord!

The Worship Community Collaborative Threads
February Collab - Into Your Hands
March Collab - Riches of Grace
April Collab - (In Progress)


Kompoz.com Collaborative Projects
Into Your Hands
Riches of Grace (In Progress)
Hold On To Me, Baby (Note: Song written as a lullaby for a newborn baby)

Renewed Songwriting

Lately, the Lord has revived a desire in me to write music.  I must admit that I have written songs since I was in high school, but not too many worship songs.  Over the past several months, I have enjoyed learning from other worship arts folks at The Worship Community.  These people have insight beyond insight, and I have much to learn from them.  Beginning in February 2010, a challenge was offered to songwriters to write a song once a month based on scripture provided.  Although I do not consider myself a "songwriter," I thought I might use it as an opportunity to sharpen my songwriting skills especially in praise and worship.  I'm finding my biggest challenge in songwriting (aside from coming up with a "hook" melody) is finding the words that present the scriptures in a fresh perspective.  It has challenged me to read supporting scriptures, review commentaries, and seek God more on fresh insights into his Word.  Songwriting is not easy by any stretch.  My prayer is that whatever music the Lord puts on my heart may be used for his glory and encourage others to develop a deeper relationship with Him.

To catch you up to speed, here are the links to the collaborative efforts on the songs.  If you are a member of The Worship Community, I encourage you to feel free to post your comments in the thread.  If not, please become part of the community so we can all grow and learn together.

Songwriting Rules

March - "Riches of Grace"
February - "Into Your Hands"