We're groovin'...now what?

When the whole band is playing full-out...guitars are strumming, drums are groovin', synth is wailin'...how do you stop that train? More specifically, if it's a Gathering Song, how do you come out of it into the Opening Prayer? You wouldn't necessarily want to end with a big, loud chord, complete with tremolos in the piano left-hand, huge guitars, and a drum fill with a 'stinger'(crash) at the end. To me, that just says, "Good night everybody!!! Thanks for coming!"  Instead we should find a way that helps the song 'ramp down' naturally, setting up the next moment.

One way is to have the drums stop before you sing the last phrase, when they would normally keep playing. To illustrate this, first listen to this soundbyte from the song "At the Name of Jesus." This is the end of the song where there is a double refrain and the band plays out to the end.



Now listen to this same segment of the song played as a Gathering Song at Mass. Notice the ending.

See how the drums ended early and everyone else held out the chord?  It made for a natural-sounding ending that didn't require a long, drawn-out outro. Often times, that's all it really takes...one phrase to make it work. The drummer can still 'cymbal-out' (play cymbals lightly to keep some light rhythm happening) while the guitar, piano, and bass play only on the downbeat, letting the chord/note ring.  The vocals continue on like normal, maybe dropping out the harmonies or bringing down the volume.

This is one way to end a song gently that is going full-bore!

Let it ring!

One last thing on this topic: ever notice how choirs and orchestras have a conductor that keeps their hand raised at the end of a song so the musicians will know to hold out the last chord and then 'cut-off' together?  Of course!  We all have!  Our liturgical groups should not be any different. Even though there isn't necessarily a conductor standing in front, SOMEone needs to be the leader and indicate to the rest of the group when they should cut-off. It sounds more polished, professional, and musical when we do that.
Practice with a simple head-nod or some other clear sign that will let the band know when they should cut-off the last chord.

 

***I also want to let you know that the guitar edition of More Voices As One just arrived today!  Check it out...many, many new and recent songs from WLP!  A great addition to the Voices As One series.

January 13, 2013 – Baptism of the Lord

(These songs are off of my planning notes for this particular Sunday, which means I am strongly considering using them on these days. After each title I’ve added some thoughts to consider.)

(Click on titles for links to their respective pages.)

In addition to the traditional Christmas hymns which are often sung on this day, here are a few other suggestions:
 

Flowing River by Paul and Rita Baloche (Integrity) – the acoustic guitar really sets a nice rhythm in motion on this song, though it can be done on the piano as well. I've found that all ages respond to this melody and text with enthusiasm. The three part harmonies (especially on the Refrain) really add a nice touch. Listen to the version recorded on Voices As One vol. 2. CD "Come, Holy Spirit."

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Go Out in the World by Ed Bolduc (WLP) – gospel-style song with verses that can be sung straight or soloistic. An assembly part in the verse encourages even more participation.  Easy key change from F to G. (From the CD Awake to the Day)

Suggested use: Sending Forth/Dismissal

I Send You Out by John Angotti (WLP) – GREAT song to send forth your assembly. The Refrain is instantly memorable and the key changes feel so natural. Definitely consider this one! It's becoming a standard! (From the CD's Rise Up, My People and Angotti Live)

Suggested use: Sending Forth/Dismissal

Lord, Every Nation by Jesse Manibusan (spiritandsong.com) – (From the Spirit and Song CD set)

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Spirit of God by Michael Gleason (Gleasongs/CCLI) – the melody is beautiful and the chord changes are nice. The rhythm section keeps the pulse going through the refrain while the vocals and other instruments hold some longer notes at the end of the phrases. The music can be found in WLP's Voices As One vol. 2. on the CD "Come, Holy Spirit."

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Take Me to the Water arr. by W. Clifford Petty (WLP) – Cliff has crafted an upbeat gospel arrangement that has an easy Refrain for choir and assembly, with plenty of room for improvisation, especially on the verses.  (From the CD Touch Jesus)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Sending Forth/Dismissal

 

 

 You are the Voice by David Haas (GIA) – I love this song...so singable and beautiful. I take it a little slower than most, I've found. I guess I don't want to rush through it. At the end of the verse I always invite the assembly to sing that last phrase, which echos the one before it. I transpose this song to G sometimes...just a little easier on the vox (especially early in the morning  :-)  )  (From the CD Without Seeing You)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Sending Forth/Dismissal

 

 

Please share your song ideas with me and I will post as many as I can so we can all share our knowledge of resources. Remember, what works for one parish might not work for another. We should be open-minded to all styles and preferences of music. As long as the music serves the liturgy, it may be listed here.

Tempo...tempo...tempo...

(Sorry this is a little late today...anniversary, kids out of school, vacation, etc...)

One of the ways contemporary worship bands play songs consistently is through the use of loops or click tracks. The drummer will have a laptop or something similar nearby and will start and stop the loops or click when it's time to start or end a song. Often times the loop track can contain additional synth parts, vocal parts...whatever is needed to fill out the song and, perhaps, make it sound like the original album recording.
For me, we would have to be editing those tracks all the time because we don't often do a song 'as recorded' from beginning to end. We usually play some custom version where we start with a refrain or repeat the bridge, skip a verse...whatever. But there IS one facet of these loop tracks that can be an advantage to everyone if we took the time to get used to it: setting the tempo.

Starting a song at the correct tempo can sometimes make or break its success. Starting a song too slowly can make it feel like it's just dragging/plodding. Starting too fast can make it lose all sense of 'feel' or 'groove.'

Take a popular song like 'Everlasting God' by Brenton Brown. I've heard two popular versions: one by Chris Tomlin and one by Lincoln Brewster. Both have completely different tempos and 'feels.' Both are effective and appropriate for different points in the liturgy or worship experiences. It's important to choose the correct tempo and feel for what you want to accomplish.

Try this: find a recording that feels right to you: correct tempo , correct feel, etc. When you listen to it, it feels perfect. Then, at rehearsal, play it through your monitors and have the band play along. Chances are it will be hard to keep the same tempo as the recording. We all tend to rush, believing that faster is better. Sometimes it's okay to push it faster a little bit for 'live' performances, but just remember that it felt RIGHT the way it was recorded. You could sing along, it had a great feel, etc. Challenge yourself and your band to replicate the tempo on the recording, at least as a place to start.

January 6, 2013 – Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

(These songs are off of my planning notes for this particular Sunday, which means I am strongly considering using them on these days. After each title I’ve added some thoughts to consider.)

(Click on titles for links to their respective pages.)

In addition to the traditional Christmas hymns which are often sung on this day, here are a few other suggestions:

Every Nation on Earth by Aaron Thompson (WLP) – beautiful Psalm setting fo today.  Listen to the nice off-beat guitar strumming on this tune.  (From the Voices As One vol. 2 CD Forever Will I Sing.)

Suggested use: Responsorial Psalm

 

Lord, Every Nation by Jesse Manibusan (spiritandsong.com) – another beautiful Psalm setting for today. (From the Spirit and Song CD set)

Suggested use: Responsorial Psalm

 

Offering by Paul Baloche (Integrity) – one of my favorite songs EVER. Paul Baloche took a beautiful song he had written and added a Christmas/Epiphany verse to it. Clicking on the song title will take you to a brief article he wrote about this song, as well as some free downloads for it as well.

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Rise Up In Splendor by Aaron Thompson – a very upbeat setting of this text. I've heard it done with just percussion and vocals or with a full band. Your choir can easily learn the refrain, which changes key several times. The music can be found in WLP's Voices As One vol. 2. (From the CD 10,000 Angels.)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Song of Thanksgiving/Dismissal

Rise Up In Splendor by Tom Booth (OCP) – This recording starts out with a beautifully arranged brass introduction. (Thank you Phil Perkins.) It's not necessary when playing this song, but nice if you can pull it off. A wonderfully singable refrain that could almost be treated like a call/response if desired with the cantor singing the first half ("Rise up in splendor! Your light has come!") and the choir assembly responding with "We sing God's praises, our light has come!" (From the CD Cry the Gospel)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory

 

Shine On Us by Michael W. Smith (CCLI) – I look forward to singing this song every year. We even include it in our Advent/Christmas concerts. I encourage you to click on the song title and listen to the recording by Phillips, Craig, and Dean an imagine your assembly and choir singing it.

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Please share your song ideas with me and I will post as many as I can so we can all share our knowledge of resources. Remember, what works for one parish might not work for another. We should be open-minded to all styles and preferences of music. As long as the music serves the liturgy, it may be listed here.

 

Hearing voices...

One of my favorite classes in college was 18th Century Counterpoint. Loved it! Here, finally, were the rules I wanted to learn to follow and live by when writing parts for choirs, instruments, etc.  As a young student I was determined NEVER to stray from these 'proper' techniques.  Everything I would write or arrange would be correctly voiced from here on out.

Yep. Sure.

Well, aside from not having enough voices in my parish choir to carry full SATB on a regular basis, or the ability for all the singers to learn it quickly enough (especially for weekly liturgical songs), or simply because the song didn't require it...I had to learn how to adjust, and fast.

A lot of contemporary liturgical and worship music, for example, is voiced for SAT, leaving the basses wondering what they are supposed to be doing. Often times we are looking at a lead sheet with 2 or 3 voices written in. The first few times you give that to your choir the basses think they are part-less, and the tenors complain that their part is on the treble clef!  However, I think this can actually work to our advantage when singing and learning liturgical music.

The following excerpt from "O Saving Lamb" by Tom Booth can help me illustrate a few points. Here we have a beautiful melody with some simple, nice, harmonies surrounding it:

If I were to use this arrangement (and I do very often) I would teach it to my singers like this: sopranos sing the melody, altos take the bottom harmony, and the tenors take the top harmony an octave lower. It would look like this in lead-sheet format:

I would tell the basses to sing the melody in their octave/range. It would look like this on two staves:

Or like this in actual choral format:

Now that breaks a lot of 18th Century Counterpoint rules.  There is a lot of parallel motion, improper doubling, etc. But what are we trying to accomplish?  For me, this does a few things:

1. Having the basses sing melody instead of writing a separate bass 'part' adds the lower register to the melody, which makes it stronger and easier to hear, which makes it easier for the assembly to sing along. I want the assembly to sing with the choir on this song. If that's what we are trying to accomplish, this really helps. The melody is now sung by the highest and lowest voices.

2. Often times we find ourselves with fewer men in the choir on Sunday mornings. Asking for full 4-part singing is often difficult. Singing/arranging in the way I've described helps the guys 'hold their own', while helping out the assembly as well.

3. Having the tenors sing the upper harmony in their range (instead of the sopranos) keeps the voices closer together. If the sopranos sang that part in their range, they would be 'out-voicing' the melody, making it difficult to hear.

I am, in no way, suggesting that we abandon all classical training and skills in singing OR arranging SATB for choir.  I am merely saying that sometimes simplifying the arrangement can be very helpful for both the choir and the assembly.

SATB in 18th Century Counterpoint is awesome, but is not always the best method to apply. It depends on the song, and, perhaps what you trying to accomplish.

DECEMBER 30, 2012 – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 

(These songs are off of my planning notes for this particular Sunday, which means I am strongly considering using them on these days. After each title I’ve added some thoughts to consider.)

(Click on titles for links to their respective pages.)

In addition to the traditional Christmas hymns which are often sung on this day, here are a few other suggestions:
 

Better Is One Day by Matt Redman (CCLI) – A must-learn standard in contemporary worship music, easily singable by the assembly. In addition to worshiptogether.com's website, this music can be found in WLP's Voices As One vol. 2 and OCP's Spirit and Song 2. 

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Build a Family by Ed Bolduc (WLP) – "May we be holy in our lives." Originally written as a theme song for my own parish of Saint Ann's, this song has found place in many parishes as a theme song, and especially on the Feast of the Holy Family.

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Dismissal

Holy Family by Danielle Rose (WLP) – beautiful song from Danielle that speaks right to the heart of the Holy Family. "Mary, be our Mother, Joseph, be our guide...Jesus may your name be glorified." (From the CD I Thirst.) The assembly could learn the whole song, or just join in on the refrain.

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Lord, Bring Me Home to Your Temple by Paul Tate (WLP) – a beautiful bilingual setting with a very simple, recurring melody in the refrain. (From the CD Forever Will I Sing.)

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Love One Another by Feargal King (WLP) (From the Wedding Collection CD Love One Another)

Suggested use: Song of Gathering/Entrance, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

 

No Greater Love by Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, and Audrey Assad (CCLI) - "To the city, to the world we go...There is no greater love than this." An upbeat and engaging song of dismissal with a very 'catchy' refrain. A soloist could lead the verses, but all will catch on eventually if you use it often enough. (From the CD Alive Again.)

Suggested use: Dismissal/Sending Forth

 

Please share your song ideas with me and I will post as many as I can so we can all share our knowledge of resources. Remember, what works for one parish might not work for another. We should be open-minded to all styles and preferences of music. As long as the music serves the liturgy, it may be listed here.

 

If we never had new music, we wouldn't have old music...right?

How 'current' do we need to be with our song choices?

I've blogged about this before, but this subject has come up more and more recently in talking with other music directors and musicians. The question is: deciding when and where to introduce new music, how often, and how much of it, whether in the course of one liturgy or over a period of time.

Every time I open up SongSelect on CCLI, or visit spiritandsong.com, voicesasone.com, or worshiptogether.com there are announcements about new songs, new albums, new artists, free music downloads...etc. It's wonderful, but somewhat overwhelming at times. I find I'm asking myself, "How can I keep up with all of this?  And am I doing a disservice to my parish by not using more of this new music?"

Obviously, if we didn't have NEW music, we would never have OLD music! 'Old' music was once 'new' music, right?  And think about some of the powerful...absolutely powerful... worship songs that have been written in the last few years. They are such a treasure to our musical repertoire and a gift to the praying church.

Still, there is so much of it being written and recorded everyday!  How do we sort through it all and how much of it can we use in our parishes and in our liturgies and still be effective at engaging the assembly, not overwhelming them with unfamiliar songs?

We have to always remember what we are doing and why we are doing it.

I don't think it is our goal to present our assembly with the latest, newest worship songs every week, as if we are trying to 'keep up' with something. We would be missing the boat.  Our goal is not to show how current we are for fear of being called stale. 

That being said, I think there is a balance of old and new that can keep the music 'fresh.' A new song that has 'staying power' can really breathe some fresh air into the existing repertoire. 

But our goal is to choose music that serves the liturgy...old or new. Find a balance of music your assembly knows well, and new music that will touch their hearts and become a new part of your repertoire.

Put yourself in the pew. Would you, as a non-musician-average-parishioner feel like there is too much new music? Or would you long for something new? Would you rather see a better balance of both? These are the questions you need to ask yourself.

By all means, don't be afraid to use some new music. There's a lot of good music out there. But, at the same time, don't be afraid to regularly sing songs people know and love!

(Remember, most people come once a week. A song that was introduced last Sunday is still going to be considered "new" for quite some time!)

DECEMBER 23, 2012 – FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (C)

(These songs are off of my planning notes for this particular Sunday, which means I am strongly considering using them on these days. After each title I’ve added some thoughts to consider.)

(Click on titles for links to their respective pages.)

Awake, O Sleeper by Ike Ndolo (spiritandsong) – (From the CD We are the Beggars.)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Dismissal

Awake to the Day by Ed Bolduc (WLP) – (From the CD Awake to the Day.)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Dismissal

Blessed One by Aaron Thompson (WLP) – One of my favorite Marian songs...thank you Aaron. Written in a hymn style with a very, very singable, memorable, simple refrain. The assembly can learn this refrain the moment you start singing it. (From the CD 10,000 Angels.)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Come, Emmanuel by Deanna Light and Paul Tate (WLP) – (From the CD Hope in the Lord.)

Suggested use: Song of Gathering/Entrance, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Emmanuel by Steve Angrisano (OCP) -  (From the CD Never Too Young)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Dismissal

Emmanuel, Come to Set Us Free by Jolanda Robertson (WLP)

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Traditional)

Suggested use: Song of Gathering/Entrance, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Lord, Make Us Turn to You by John Angotti (WLP) – (From the CD Common Ground)

Suggested use: Psalm

My Soul Rejoices by Jackie Francois (spiritandsong) - A nice contemporary setting of the Magnificat. A female soloist can lead the verses, and the assembly can join in on the refrain.

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Prepare the Way by Tom Booth (OCP)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Prepare the Way by Charlie Hall (worshiptogether.com)

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Ready the Way by Curtis Stephan (spiritandsong) – (From the CD Amid Passing Things)

 Suggested use: Song of Gathering/Entrance, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

We Await You, O Lord by John Angotti (WLP) – (From the CD Welcome Home for Christmas)

 Suggested use: Song of Gathering/Entrance, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

Please share your song ideas with me and I will post as many as I can so we can all share our knowledge of resources. Remember, what works for one parish might not work for another. We should be open-minded to all styles and preferences of music. As long as the music serves the liturgy, it may be listed here.