I love making music in the church, for the church, to the glory of God.
It’s one of the greatest joys of my life to craft songs, liturgies, services that tell the story of Gospel and help people find their place in it. There’s nothing like hearing the raised voice of a worshiping congregation and seeing the look on people’s faces when they are meeting Jesus.
It will never grow old.
However, I want to talk about another side of the coin if you are a worship musician. If you play music in the local church you’ve probably noticed a trend, at least I have.
Music has become a means to an end.
A great means and a great end, but still, music has become a tool to execute a worship service. I find myself only playing my instrument when I have to prepare for Sunday or when I’m writing a song.
Get Lost
Let me ask you this – when was the last time you simply got lost on your instrument? When was the last time you learned something new? When was the last time you slowed down to appreciate the beauty of sound and the music making process?
Every musician needs context to explore, to create, to learn outside the confines of learning worship songs for Sunday. If that’s all you’re doing, you’re selling yourself short.
I remember when I was learning how to play the piano. I never liked classical music. I felt like it was a waste of time because I wanted to play worship music. I played a handful of classical music from Bach to Mozart to Haydn to Beethoven to Brahms, Chopin, and Debussy. But I never took it seriously. Today, one of the most refreshing activities for me is to sit down with a composer and learn from them. Time stands still.
When I was younger, I had a small musical paradigm. And I notice many young musicians today do as well.
You know the conversation well.
“Dad, I want to play guitar.”
“OK, son, here’s an acoustic guitar to get you started.”
“No, I want to play electric guitar.”
When you expose yourself to music that is different than your preference or what you “think” you want to do, you actually develop a more original, unique sound. I remember the first time I heard Muse’s debut album. The way they combined classical piano with stadium rock was so refreshing. It’s when you combine two seemingly opposed sounds that magic can happen.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those “worship music is terrible” people. I love it. I love to listen to it. I feel that it has an incredible place in the life of a Christian beyond just sounding original or creative – it draws our attention to the Savior and what He’s done. That will always have a special place.
Many local church musicians are snobby when it comes to bashing the songs they’re playing on Sunday. There’s no need for that. The simplicity of worship music is an intentional simplicity in order to encourage participation rather than spectating.
A Varied Musical Diet
But hear me out: if your only musical diet is worship music, you will limit your development. There is a vast world of musicality, genre, tone, and sound to develop. There are chord progressions that have yet to be heard. There are new sounds to be created but we need you to develop yourself to make the creative connections others fail to see.
You are unique and when you sit at the piano something different happens that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. When you stand behind a mic with your guitar, something special happens. Copying is a great way to learn but a frustrating end to your musical story.
Study jazz, classical, and iconic riffs from music history. Immerse yourself in chord progressions beyond the I IV vi V. It’s amazing if all you do is play worship music for the rest of your life. Nothing wrong with that. But learning different styles will influence your worship music in refreshing ways.
Be a tenacious, curious, self-learner who never settles or arrives.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you musicians about this.
How do you keep yourself from settling and staying the same? How do you develop? Let us know in the comments!
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Coming out of the late-90s into the early-2000s, it seemed like a lot of CCM and worship music was becoming so homogenized and formulaic, like it was feeding on itself. It really seemed stale to me, to the point that I almost completely stopped listening. These days, it seems that Christian artists are at least trying to draw inspiration from a wider variety of influences, which is refreshing. I definitely think there can be something said for broadening our musical horizons and just enjoying music outside of just prep time for Sunday. I have noticed myself being challenged/encouraged to simply enjoy time alone, just singing to the Lord for no reason except to love on Him.
Good stuff, Bill. What music are you finding refreshing these days?
I’ve been digging Rivers & Robots since I discovered them on Noisetrade a couple of years ago. They’re an indie Christian band out of the UK. I haven’t really heard much like them come out of the Nashville CCM market. Here’s one of their jazzier tunes called “In the Family”: https://youtu.be/G_uGxHeSkXw
I’ve also been loving Audrey Assad’s last couple of independently produced albums.
I must know. What is “worship music”?
The definition may help explain your comment, “Music has become a means to an end.”
I was simply referring to how many of us apply our musicality solely in pulling off music for Sunday. We don’t take time to enjoy music for music’s sake, which can help us develop in new ways.
Yes. I would say especially vocally!
This is definitely what we’re experiencing in my church. We’ve pigeon holed worship genre and so this new generation of Hillsongs Young and Free or Gungor isn’t being fed artistically if we stay with Tomlin and Redman.
I actually don’t think our corporate worship music needs to get more complex or unique. Some music can be so creative that it creates distraction in worship. But I think musicians need to personally stretch themselves on a continual basis.
I appreciate this response, David. Sometimes it seems that in order to avoid the worship music homogeneity writers/musicians go so far in the other direction to make the music so different and unconventional that it isn’t quite accessible enough to really serve the Church, kind of like a locked communion tray that the people have to know the combination to unlock and partake. That’s not to say all “Christian” music has to be three chords and singable for Sunday morning. There are artists who are Christian and make some very creative music that is enjoyable, but it may have limited application in the context of a corporate worship service.
This is a great, challenging article. I’m a music student in school, studying primarily jazz and classical. I’ve found that as I listen to more music that doesn’t fit into the “jazz or classical” genres I’m growing more as a musician and my music is becoming better as a result of that, for some odd reason. But it totally makes sense and we can apply the exact same thought process to worship music. Good thoughts.
Hey Noah, awesome. What school are you going to?
I go to Oklahoma State, there are really good things happening in the music school.
Hey David,
This is a great post. I am a guitar and bass player, and my musical palate includes everything from blues to rockabilly country to classic rock, funk and jazz. In my 15+ years of ministry, everything I’ve learned from my time playing in blues/classic rock bands has influenced my Sunday morning style.
I am finding so much contemporary Christian style has artificial boundaries prescribed by the industry giants like Tomlin and Hillsong. For example, most of the big-name tutorials basically say ‘to play worship guitar, you have to play like The Edge (U2)’- minimalist clean picking with a boatload of delay. Worship bass lines are *this*. Worship drums are *that*. Because these icons said it in Worship Leader Magazine, it became a “Thus Saith the Lord” mandate that everybody ran with. Thankfully this upcoming generation is starting to break away from that formula.
Music wise, I get lost in the music playing bass in my blues band all the time. It’s a little harder in mainstream worship music we play in church because there usually isn’t the musical space (no 12-bar guitar /instrumental sections). Not that it hasn’t happened in church, just not as regular. I find influence in everything from Pink Floyd to Rush, to Alan Parsons to Kansas to The Eagles to Clarence Spady and Robert Cray and scores of others. That doesn’t mean I agree with all their sociopolitical stances, but their music is great and it gives me ideas and tools I can use on Sunday. For the record, I’ve been listening to a lot of Rick Pino, Jesus Culture and David Crowder lately. Crowder has quite a variety, and his folk-tronica stuff is a unique approach. Pino can rock out pretty hard, which I like.
Having this broader palate to chose from allows me to bring a unique approach to my Sunday AM style. My team likes it ,and people in my congregation young and old give me positive feedback, I’m flowing in the anointing God placed on me. A big part of that is because of techniques and styles I’ve learned over 15 years of being a musician with a wide range of influence- not just a church player.
Great thoughts, Mike. I understand the frustration of the “Chris Tomlin style” worship. It all sounds the same. But I also understand why it works. It’s simple, catchy, and easy for people to engage with. It’s also of the musical caliber that a lot of beginner to average musicians can sink their teeth into, which I also love.
Great article. Have been stretching out genres for awhile as I incorporate different instruments into the praise band mix.
We’ve been applying some different styles to some of the standard songs as well as bringing I not so standard stuff. The freshness is appreciated by all, as we get compliments from the congregation which really makes it feel worthwhile.
MAybe the stretching out of your P&W has a correlation to why your people are not singing anymore…..
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;