Ideas you can use to keep your worship service fresh.
John Pape, Jr
Imagine a situation in which everything you touch, smell, and see is brand
new and fresh. Go ahead an take a few moments and experience this place in
your mind. Now isn't that refreshing? When you worship it should
be fresh and exciting as possible. This article will explore several
ideas you can use to make your worship service more fresh and exciting.
Here is the first idea.
Tempo Variation
The tempo of songs relates to the speed in which they are performed. A song
can be slow or it can be fast. The thing you want to avoid is playing all
songs at the same tempo. The ears and the mind will get fatigued if every
songs is at the same tempo. You must create variety from one song to the
next. You may start out with a moderate tempo song and move toward a fast
uplifting song then transition to a slower tempo song. The tempo variations
can be either abrupt for emphasis or subtle. The key is to create a certain
level of variety.
Dynamics
Dynamics is the volume or intensity in which the songs are performed. You
can play one song really loud, strong and forceful then transition to a soft
quiet song. You could do the verse of a song very softly and then do the
chorus with greater volume. Changing the dynamics of the music give the listener
and participant a chance to avoid boredom.
Song Flow
There are many ways in which you can transition from one song to the next.
You can segue. This is where one song blends into the next song without any
pauses in between. You can brings a song to a final ending, then pause for
a moment then begin a new song. You may even take time to say something,
pray or even recite a pertinent bible verse. Again the key is to apply variety
in the transition from song to song.
Memorize (avoid the paper shuffle)
I would strongly suggest that everyone on your music team memorize their
parts. One of the most distracting things is where music minister is shuffling
papers between songs. When you stop to change pages you interrupt the flow
of songs. You interrupt the connection between you and the people you serve.
Your focus is diverted from God to changing the page. You become less effective
as a worship leader. The added benefit is that you can stop focusing on the
page and start focusing on the Spirit of God.
Being lead by the Holy Spirit
What I want to illustrate to you in the idea of being led by the Holy Spirit
is this. During your service you feel a prompting to do a particular song
at a particular time. Let me state that it is very important to plan and
prepare for your music service. But there are times when as the leader you
are called by God to do a song that is not on the song list. This can be
a tricky situation especially if you are part of a group. But if everyone
is in one accord God will be glorified. The thing to remember is to be ready
willing and prepared to be lead by the Holy Spirit. After all it is God whom
you desire to worship. He will definitly speak to you. One would hope that
He would. anyway
Song Selection
One of the best way to avoid boredom in your worship service is though the
selection of songs. Each song should build upon the next. If your songs are
related to a specific topic try to build to that topic. God is multi faceted.
His music to his people should reflect his will. God can show us about a
particular topic in many different ways. The thing to avoid is to have every
song with the same exact message as the previous song. Like a good story
that leads you to a final destination so should the song you select for your
congregation. Many song books and hymnals provide you with topical indexes.
Use them to help build a repitoire of songs.
Changing Keys.
I once heard a story about a famous opera singer that was gifted with a five
octave range. Absolutely incredible. She was working on a song in the studio
when she asked the musician’s to try another key. She was uncomfortable
in the key that the song was being done in. The musician were somewhat
flabbergasted that this talented singer was having trouble with the key.
Her response when something like this. "You can do a song in any key but
not every song sound good in every key." Please avoid doing to many songs
in the same key. Don’t be a "Johnny One Note". This is perhaps the epitome
of the Chinese Water Torture at its best. It get very tiring to the ears.
Again you must remember the goal of this section is to find ideas that create
variety that creates freshness in the way and sound of the music. This will
make your ministry much more effective. You should learn to transpose songs.
You may find that a different key works better with the voice in your group.
Now remember to keep it fresh
The worse thing you can do is to not keep your worship fresh. When
you think of fruit or vegetables you like to have them as fresh as possible. This is when they taste the best and give the greatest amout of nutrition. On the other hand fruit that is not fresh is usually spoiled. When
you minister to the people you serve please keep it fresh. Use the
ideas in this article to stimulate ideas on how you can keep the music and
ministry fresh.
RESOURCE BOX
This article is an excerpt for the new book by John Pape, Jr titled "Building
a House of Worship" For more information on how you can get your copy
of this book go to...
http://www.buildingahouseofworship.com
SPECIAL NOTICE: Please feel free to publish
this article in your e-zines, newsletters, on your website or in your
book. I only require that you publish the Resource Box and the end of the
article.
Copyright John Pape Jr. |
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