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Solo Piano Sheet Music

Mar 31, 2009

Take a look at my new website, Worship88.com. I’ve created short one or two page Hymn Interludes that can be used in your worship service.

Try matching a Hymn Interlude with a favorite hymn or popular praise song. Play the Hymn Interlude for an offertory, then segue into the hymn or praise song and invite the congregation to sing along. For instance, use my “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” with Chris Tomlin’s “The Wonderful Cross.”

Each Hymn Interlude comes in ALL keys – C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B – play it in your favorite key or match the key of a hymn, praise song or classical piece.

Combine Hymn Interludes to make your own medleys that can be played as preludes, offertories, postludes and recital pieces.

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Singing Success

Nov 17, 2008

Take a look at Brett Manning’s Singing Success vocal training course. I used this at my last church and really enjoyed the program. I’m no singer but I added a full note to my limited range, and I only half-heartedly did the exercises. Brookwood worship leader Steve Smith says he added 5 notes to his range. When UK worship leader Tim Light was visiting over here one time we went up to Nashville and had a lesson with Brett – I’m very impressed.

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Contemporary Vocals

Nov 17, 2008

Last Friday night famed vocal coach Brett Manning (he coaches people like Taylor Swift and Keith Urban) came to Brookwood Church to do a seminar. He doesn’t do many but he’s an old friend of worship leader Steve Smith. You might have seen him on CMT’s “Can You Duet” show – it was kind of like a Country American Idol. Brett was a judge along with Naomi Judd and songwriter Aimee Mayo.

At the end of the seminar we had a question and answer time. I asked “Church music has changed so much in the past 20 years, could you talk about the difference between “legit,” traditional/operatic singing and contemporary vocal style?”

Brett said the main difference is… personality! Think of how much personality is injected into contemporary vocals… compare how distinctly different Randy Travis, Madonna, Scott Stapp and Billie Joe Armstrong of Greenday sound. He hilariously mimicked Celine Dion perfectly, demonstrating all the vocal tones and effects she can produce.

Contrast this with “legit” singing. The vocals are vowel to vowel, all produced in the same, even sounding way and all notes are held for their full duration.

This reminds me of something American Idol top ten finalist Chris Sligh recently told me. He was doing a concert at a church, and the music director said something like “my vocalists are good but something doesn’t seem quite right.” At the praise team rehearsal Chris heard the problem: the vocalists were singing “properly” and holding out notes for their full duration. Kind of sounds like the problem I talked about a few weeks ago at WorshipIdeas – the pressing problem in worship music today is not transitioning to contemporary from traditional, it’s in learning to do contemporary music in a contemporary way.

Depending on the song, a contemporary vocalist won’t hold out a full quarter note, even if it’s written as a quarter. Chris mimicked the vocalists he heard singing the popular praise song “Mighty to Save.” Instead of singing the song conversationally and casually as it was originally recorded, the vocalists were singing “mighty to saaaaaaaaaave” and stretching out that note with full vibrato.

How can you help your vocalists? It’s no different than trying to get a stubborn, dated guitarist to use a capo, only in this case you’re trying to convince a vocalist that they can lay off the vibrato. As I said in my article, it’s a pride issue. If your team has teachable, humble heart attitudes you just might have a chance.

Check out Brett Manning’s Singing Success vocal training course. I’ve used it myself and really enjoyed it

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Time for Change

Part 1 | Part 2

No, this isn’t an endorsement for Obama! It is time for change or will be time for change at some point in all our worship leading lives. Last week we talked about a worship leader I know who said his music didn’t “sound right” – the problem wasn’t that he was doing dated songs, the problem was his band of older musicians were playing modern music like it was 1982. They won’t change.

I’m hearing stories like this from churches everywhere. I know of one mid 40’s guitarist who refuses to use a capo and tried to get the worship leader fired because of it. Over a… capo? He thought it was beneath him, yet modern guitarists know it’s not necessarily a shortcut but a way of getting different chord voicings from the instrument. He won’t change.

Welcome to worship wars 2008. Wars start whenever a person or group feels displaced. Twenty years ago the traditionalists were at war with the contemporaries because they were starting to be displaced. Today, the 80’s rock musicians are at war with the 20-somethings for the same reason.

Let’s get right down to it: it’s a pride issue.

Pride is saying “this is the way I’ve (we’ve) always done it, I know what I’m doing, you don’t, and I refuse to change.” Last week I suggested you might want to look for a new guitarist if yours has this attitude. Not because he can’t play the music, but as all the worship leader devotionals I’ve read say, we supposedly don’t want people on our praise teams with pride issues. How much better instead to have an open heart and mind and be willing to try something new that might be a bit out of our comfort zones?

Last week a reader emailed me to lovingly point out that, at 42 years old, I’m no “spring chicken” myself so who am I to talk! Which leads me to my next point: if I can change, anyone can change.

I’ve reinvented myself more times than Madonna. Here’s a brief rundown of my various incarnations and styles of keyboard playing:

1. Old time congregational Gospel hymn playing (running octaves in the right hand.) 1986. Coat and tie.

2. Steve Green (I can remember going to a Steve Green concert years ago and thinking “this music is so… worldly!” For those who don’t know, Steve Green was in the era of Sandi Patti and his music basically sounded like a typical orchestrated LifeWay choir anthem.) 1989. Coat and tie.

3. Don Moen and “God With Us.” Remember when that worship musical was all the rage? 1994. Worship leader vest.

4. Matt Redman and Passion. 1999. I started wearing jeans to church, but in a business-casual sort of way (shirt tucked in.)

5. Hillsong United and everything else that’s guitar driven. 2007. My shirt’s untucked, I don’t comb my hair and I look younger than I did at #3.

You have to admit that’s quite an impressive leap from the keyboard glissandos of #1 to the distorted guitar riffs of #5. And your guitarist can’t find it within himself to use a delay pedal? Please.

My point is where do you think I’d be today if I was still playing like it was 1986? I’ve found that musical change is not painful but quite fun and challenging. I remember hearing Matt Redman for the first time in the late 90’s, towards the end of the Don Moen/Integrity heyday. I thought “yuck – it’s all guitars and those chord progressions are so weird.” I went to one of WorshipTogether’s first worship conferences in Nashville, heard Matt speak, bought a CD and fell in love with it on the ride home. The same thing happened years before when I heard Steve Green – I bought his CD after the concert and started to like it. Learning about the artist and seeing him/her in concert can give you a window into a musical style and help change your taste. If your guitarists don’t want to play like Starfield then maybe you should take them to a Starfield concert and buy them some CDs.

The music at my last church was predominately an 80’s rock sound with some Paul Baloche thrown in. When I left the music director job to focus on my websites a few years ago I morphed again: I spent a wonderful year at Seacoast Greenville and basically got a crash course in rock playing from Chris Sligh, Adam Fisher and Chris Surratt. I play keyboards completely different now than I did 3 years ago and can fit into a modern rock band as well as playing more churchy stuff like I previously have.

I guess that’s one fear musicians have: they don’t want to lose their musical identity. This isn’t the case at all – you stay the same and can do whatever you did before, it’s just that you can now do so much more. You’re versatile.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of playing at a very contemporary, cutting edge church. After rehearsal, the mid 20’s rock-starish worship leader came up to me and gushed over my keyboard playing. I took this as one of the greatest compliments of my life – a contemporary rocker complimenting a… dork like me! If I can change, anyone can change.

This goes for all musical walks of life. I was talking to a songwriter recently who hopes to have her songs recorded and published. The problem is they all sound like old time Gospel songs. I told her if she seriously wants a publisher to look at her material she needs to write like it’s 2008. “Do you ever listen to Christian radio?” I asked. She wrinkled her nose. I gave her an assignment: start listening to the radio and buy Christian CDs. Don’t just listen but analyze the songs – what makes a modern tune sound differently from a Gospel song from the 60’s?

At a recent worship conference I noticed that a workshop on contemporary singing was jammed with hundreds of people. Evidently another new worship war centers around displaced, operatic housewives who no longer are asked to sing solos or be on the praise team because their warbling won’t fit the modern worship songs.

The choice is yours. If you don’t want to change the world won’t stop turning, but do you really want to be…

…a bitter guitarist who doesn’t get to play with the band as much because he can’t part with those dated effects?

…a vibrato vocalist who doesn’t get to sing as many solos because her voice doesn’t fit contemporary styles?

…a grouchy keyboardist who wonders why he’s only asked to play hymns at the nursing home and not play with the praise band?

Did I mention if I can change, anyone can change? It’s really fun, you ought to try it.

Part 1 | Part 2

What’s Wrong With Your Music

Part 1 | Part 2

I was talking to a worship leader about his music. He couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something wrong. It just didn’t sound right. Not contemporary enough or something.

Looking at his set list, I figured he was probably trying to do contemporary worship with golden oldies like “He Is Exalted” and “I Love You, Lord.” I was shocked to see he was doing current worship hits from Hillsong United and Lincoln Brewster.

“You’re doing all the current songs, what’s wrong?” I asked. He just couldn’t articulate the problem.

After I visited his rehearsal, I heard the problem: 40 and 50 year olds trying to play music written by 20 year olds with synth patches and guitar effects from the 80’s. They were playing modern songs in an old-fashioned way and it just didn’t sound right.

Over six years ago when I started WorshipIdeas.com the main question churches had was “how do I start doing contemporary worship?” Most churches were in transition from traditional to contemporary.

In 2008, the vast majority of churches have made the transition. People who come to my worship conference classes reflect this. They no longer are wanting to know HOW to transition from traditional to contemporary, they want to know how to DO contemporary.

For instance, at my worship leader friend’s rehearsal was a mid 40’s guitarist who had the cheesiest 80’s chorus and reverb on his guitar. He still thought that was cool, and it was back in the 80’s. It just doesn’t work on a modern worship tune.

As a keyboardist, I grumblingly admit that guitars are where it’s at in the current worship style (in a few years things will probably shift back to keyboards – it’s all a big cycle.) This is a big issue. Guitars are vitally important to your sound. I’m amazed at how much my HymnCharts arrangements change when my guitarist friend Adam Fisher lays down some guitar tracks.

So what do you do with an out of touch guitarist?

Option 1: You keep the guy in your band and settle for music that doesn’t sound right. Nobody’s feelings get hurt. You probably won’t attract many people under 30 to the church as they are so tuned into music, and you probably won’t get modern players in your band, either. In fact, the pastor of the aforementioned church was frustrated that most of the congregation were over 40.

Option 2: You kick the guy out of the band and find a 25 year old to take his place.

Maybe there’s a 3rd option where the ball is in the court of the mid 40s guitarist. Kindly explain that you would like him to play the guitar EXACTLY as he hears it on the recording. He may not even own the proper pedals: if budget allows, buy the proper pedals or borrow them. Once he has the pedals, he may not know how to use them: show him how, and if you don’t know, find someone who does. Partner with a local music store and have a modern guitar workshop for your praise band. Make every effort to equip those in your ministry. It wouldn’t hurt to find a 25 year old modern guitarist anyway and have him share the stage with the 40 year old.

It’s all about change, and we worship leaders, of all people, know how people luvvv to change, don’t we! If the 40s guitarist is willing to grow, learn and change he’ll continue to be a valued member of the praise band. If he stubbornly refuses, maybe it’s time to look for a new player.

Part 1 | Part 2

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GigaChurch

Jul 28, 2008

I heard a cool term the other day: GigaChurch. It’s a word for a church of 10,000 people or more. The term was coined in a now deleted Washington Post article.

As the article mentions, I too heard a few years ago that MegaChurches were on the decline, and would soon be replaced by smaller, more intimate churches from the emerging church movement.

But as everything seems to be fragmenting these days, so too has the church world fragmented. I don’t intend a negative connotation with “fragmentation” but a good one – fragmentation means we have a multitude of choices today. Read my article on fragmentation at WorshipIdeas. MegaChurches and GigaChurches are springing up all over, far from dead, but you can also attend a small group, a house church, a video venue or watch a service on the Internet.

Another thing I’ve noticed that the article mentions is that when a MegaChurch reaches 5,000, growth begins to speed up and it often morphs into a GigaChurch. I’ve seen this happen in two local MegaChurches. One of them had been hovering around 4,000-5,000 last year this time and shot up over 10,000 during the holidays. And Newspring has been on a steady growth curve for years and will soon be at the weekly 10,000 mark.

The author sees smaller, thriving, mission-minded churches under 600 people co-existing with the Mega and Gigachurches.

However, if your church just doesn’t care anymore or is wrapped up in political church drama it may not around much longer.

This so parallels the Wal-Mart effect in business that it isn’t funny. Dumb little stores that do dumb little things will get clobbered by Wal-Mart who will do most things smarter, cheaper and better.

You can’t compete with Wal-Mart if you’re cheap and boring. Why go to your local, boring grocery store when Super Wal-Mart has everything they do, only cheaper? But Whole Foods thrives because they offer what Wal-Mart’s grocery doesn’t: class, ambiance, wireless and yummy, gourmet food items. Have you ever taken home a meal from their hotbar? Wow!

Little churches can’t even begin to compete with the talent and programs of a MegaChurch, nor should they try. So what can they offer that the MegaChurch can’t?

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Instant Church

Jul 14, 2008

Can you imagine arriving in a town, renovating an old grocery store into a church, opening the front doors and hoping people show up? Then, what if 1700 did show up? (and several got saved on top of it!) That’s exactly what happened to NewSpring Greenville last Sunday in Greenville, SC – the largest satellite church launch in the country to date.

I had the opportunity to play in the band on this historic Sunday. What a pleasure to see a church that wants to be excellent (if you read this blog you’ll find this isn’t the norm!) and receive God’s blessing.

NewSpring Greenville is doing the video satellite thing – a live simulcast of pastor Perry Noble‘s sermon is beamed through the Internet from Anderson to Greenville (and also to future plants in other cities.) NewSpring Greenville has a campus pastor, youth pastor, children’s director and other staff as well as a live worship band led by worship leader Tom Pellerin (of the band Overflow.)

When the technology is in place in a few weeks, the sermon broadcast will go a step further. A huge screen the length of the stage will drop after the music and an almost holographic, high definition image of Perry will be projected from Anderson. In other words, there won’t be different camera angles – there will be a single, fixed camera filming Perry and this wide angle image will be projected on the wide screen in Greenville. Perry will walk across the stage in Anderson and also appear to be walking across the stage in Greenville!

I was so excited about the launch I had trouble sleeping Saturday night – it was like Christmas morning. What I was eager to see was just how many people would attend. The whole thing is a no-brainer – at least 1,000 people drive from Greenville each week to Anderson, and most pledged to attend the Greenville campus (amazingly, the Anderson campus did NOT lose 1,000 people, but were actually UP 800 from the previous week.) It’s an instant church. Now people will start coming to Greenville from nearby Spartanburg and Gaffney. I don’t know NewSpring’s plans, but it certainly would make sense to leapfrog church plants – plant another church in Spartanburg in a year or two, and on and on.

What I’m finding perplexing and sad is how snippy some of my friends who go to other local churches are reacting. One friend blew up and told me how “stupid” NewSpring is and wondered why people go there. I pointed out there sure are a lot of stupid people at the church – 8,948 at both campuses. I took another on a tour of the new building and he criticized everything he saw. Another friend, a pastor of a tiny church in Anderson, so ranted and raved over lunch about what a terrible place NewSpring is that I lost my appetite.

It looks like my blog post from 2006 is coming true. In that post, I wrote “The multi-site revolution will be a call for churches to get their act together. If you insist on operating like it’s 1963, you might not be too long for this world. If you’re just now considering using contemporary music in your worship, you’re 20 years behind. If your church is full of politics that strangle your ministry, you just might be put “out of business” by churches who are more concerned with seeing people reached for Christ.”

It’s high time churches stop being so petty and start moving. No, you don’t have to be like NewSpring, but mixing excellence with Godliness might be a good place to start.

Watch a video about NewSpring Greenville on a local news channel.

Greenville Newspring blog.

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Church & Movies

Jun 30, 2008

A while back I wrote the article at WorshipIdeas.com called “Music=Growth?” I used to think that good music grows a church. While it doesn’t hurt, I don’t believe that anymore. Here’s another example.

When was the last time you went to a movie or watched a TV show because of the music? Probably never.

Sure, some movies/TV shows are notable for their music. John Williams is famous for his lush orchestral scores, but did you rush to see the latest Indiana Jones flick because he scored the film?

The Matrix was not only renowned for special effects (bullet time) but also for Don Davis’s unique score, but that’s not why the film was so popular.

You go to a movie or watch your favorite show because of the message, the storyline. Maybe you like the actor and watch all his movies.

People go to church because of the message, the storyline. They probably like the preacher.

A stirring movie score sure helps set the mood of the film, doesn’t it? You might even leave the theater humming the theme. Great music helps set the mood of your worship service, and people will leave with a catchy praise song or hymn on their lips.

When a movie is hitting on all cylinders – great actors, great storyline, great director, great music – what a blockbuster, and what a viewing pleasure. Only a handful of the many movies made each year hits this stride.

And when a church hits on all cylinders with a great preacher, great staff and great music, you hear about it, too.

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