We all have our favorite songs – songs we sing over and over.
Songs that ignite a room.
Songs that make you cry, shout, rejoice, and sing at the top of your lungs.
When it comes to worship songs, what makes them great? If the formula for a great worship song can be quantified, can’t we write them all the time?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my songs to fall on deaf ears. I want them to connect.
I want them to take people by the heart and guide them into an experience with God.
But how do we get there?
5 Tips For Writing Unforgettable Worship Songs
I’m glad you asked. I can think of five characteristics of great worship songs:
1. Biblical – It doesn’t get more important than this. The best worship songs are songs that shout truth. They connect the human spirit to the divine. They lift our vision higher to the greatest realities in the universe.
2. Born from Worship – If you’re stuck in a rut with your worship songwriting, it’s probably because you’re missing the main ingredient.
Your songs need to be birthed from time spent in His Presence – seasons of deep longing for God. If you want your songs to connect with worshipers, you need to be a desperate worshiper yourself.
3. Melodic – Why does everyone love Chris Tomlin songs? Or Matt Redman? They’re masters of melody. Songs that jump into your brain and struggle to leave.
The problem with melody is that we settle too easily. Challenge yourself to push your melodies further. Find an idea you like? Try another one. Then test another. Don’t be content.
4. Simple – There’s a fine line between overthinking and thinking deeply. We want people to think deeply. But we don’t want them to get lost in their thoughts. Worship demands response but if your songs are too complicated, people will never fully respond.
This is where the hard work comes in – the second, third, and 40th draft. Take your complex idea and simplify it without losing its theological punch.
5. Unique – Before you settle on a song, ask yourself the question, “What will take this song to a new level?” Oftentimes trying a unique chord structure, lyric, or phrasing will take your song from good to great. The goal here is to be an experimenter.
Try something totally new. Take a risk that others haven’t tried.
You have the ability to write great worship songs. But you need to hold your ideas loosely. Don’t be afraid of reinventing, editing, and garnering feedback from other great writers.
Your songs have potential to encourage a lifeless heart, declare truth to a weary soul, and lead people to Jesus. I would say it demands your best effort.
We are awaiting your brilliance.
Question: What else would you add to the equation of a life changing worship song? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Photo Credit: Luz Adriana Villa A (Flickr)
I would add –
Inspiring – it expresses something fresh from he heart of God in a way that connects with an audience
Big Idea – it captures something that needs to be said in a very different way. Example “From The Inside Out”
Bro I think you’re inspiring me to write another post … stay awesome! How’s it going with your record?
Good stuff, Rob. Live recording went amazing. Now we’re in the post production phase which is where the real fun begins 🙂 Can’t wait for you guys to hear it!
A great worship song should be
– Sincere-
It should express what you feel towards God. Because in secular music the most popular songs have been those that express pain and hurt because they tell the true story of real motion. So if the secular music can make great songs then in our intimacy with God we should always be able to express those sincere emotions even deeper.
Joyful-
More than anything our worship songs should be happy joyful songs because in them we thank God for life. And in the same token why wouldn’t we want to be greatful to Jesus for the gift of eternal life thanks to His sacrifice on the cross. Joyful songs can be our songs of gratitude.
Keep up the inspiring posts David. As your new fan i look forward to what you share with us day by day. God bless and may God continue to use you.
Leo, these are great points! I think a lot of our worship songs don’t express joy very well – it’s either too serious or too simplistic. Thanks for commenting!
Simplistic? SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Sure David.
So lets get a new phase started…because yes we need to be simplistic n serious because we are representing a living God who deserves that much but we also know of a God who is pleased with a happy worshipper…David was the perfect example.
So lets put the resounding joy in our songs to God.
Thanks for these tips, David. I just recently ventured into songwriting with nicole. I write, she’ll add the music.
Great post.
It is so easy to just settle on a melody and never really push ourselves towards something better.
When writing for a local congregation I think it is important for songs to be timely. What is our church body going through, what is God showing us in this season.
I am an instrumentalist. I have never been to artsy about writing lyrics, but I write a lot of music. I know this though, what is in your heart and head comes out. Feed your heart and head with God’s word.
One of David’s connecting blogs about “failure” said something I have heard in a lot of different ways. We think each effort should be a gem. Art is like mining. We get an ounce of gold per ton of sludge. But we get better at it, and we save the nuggets and find a place for them later. A writer told me this once, we are responsible for the volume of our work, the muse (don’t get hung up over mythology) is responsible for inspiration.
What makes a song memorable? Music and lyrics that avoid the mundane. How many songs can we wright using only G,C,D, and Em.
How many times can you say Hallelujah, or Praise or Worship. No story line, no word pictures, nothing distinct about the music, nothing special about the lyrics, not likely to be very interesting just because it came from you. That doesn’t mean it isn’t true, it’s just not memorable as a song.
There are lots of good and even great worship songs being written but there is also too much sludge being presented. Save your nuggets til you have a few. If you have not studied the Word of God deeply, if you have not studied creative writing and music seriously, are you going to be a good worship song writer? Be responsible for your own improvement in those areas. I know we are human and our work is imperfect, but the God of ALL Creation gave us acoustics, music, language and art. God gave us canvas and a world of colors, are we giving Him back stick figures as we subject the congregation to insipid boring songs? If you can’t write good songs, pick great ones. They are out there.
One more plug for formal study. It makes you do things you are not good at, it stretches you and makes you grow. Left to our own devices, we usually take the easy way out. If you are writing songs, present them to some sort of peer evaluation group,like the choir, the praise band, a small bible study or home group. Let others do the same. If the songs don’t fly there, don’t give up, but they are not ready for the full congregation.
Don Simpson
“…if you have not studied creative writing and music seriously, are you going to be a good worship song writer?”
I’m inclined to disagree whole heartedly about this. I think this is problem with mainstream worship music. I have never agreed with sitting down to “write” a song. If God doesn’t give it to us by his Holy Spirit then we shouldn’t be writing it. Period.
My answer to your question, though, is YES! If God has gifted and called you to sing and write or play then you can do that without a formal education. When he gives something to us, it is our job to be sure that we are writing biblically and are running it past other people for vocal and musical arrangement. But to only be able to approach it academically would leave a lot of great song writers out.
Hi Glenda, I am glad you responded. I have said in other posts that some people are just talented, or “gifted” by God. No amount of training can make someone talented. Does that work for doctors and engineers? I see music and Church music as a noble profession. Some people who are gifted by God do very well without a lot of training. Most of us are a combination of natural talent, gifted by God, and training. I am not as mystical about music and art as you seem to be. If I am talented in some area , I see that as a gift I am responsible to God for. I am a steward of it. Reference the parable of the talents. Does a Pastor get a sermon downloaded in his sleep, or does he diligently study the Bible sometimes for years searching Gods truth. It can happen either way.If God “gives” someone a song, that is great. But I hear people say that all the time, and it sounds just like the last song they wrote with the same 4 chords in G. How long would you stay at a church if the Pastor preached the same sermon over an over? You can’t say with any more assurance that God gave you a song via your way than my way, nor I the other way around. But,I have NEVER heard anyone without training produce something like the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel or Adagio for Strings by S. Barber. I guess it is my problem. I get board with simplicity all the time. It is after all art. After all, there is no accounting for taste. It is all personal preference. God loves you and God loves me and Christ died for us all. BUT, the post was about writing worship songs. Let me cut and paste this one over to “How to write a Forgettable worship song”. As caustic as all this may sound,I don’t disagree with you completely.If God gives you a song, I hope He uses it to build His Kingdom, bring lost souls to Christ, and bring glory to Himself. That is what we all have been called to participate in.
I think you make a few assumptions about God giving someone a song. You assume that the person has no knowledge of music or writing as a whole and that the song will be only a few chords. Your knowledge of people’s giftings and talents juxtaposed with skill may possibly be skewed. You assume simplicity when the Holy spirit can create something within you, if you’re open to it, that Handel could only have hoped to compose. We are talking about writing worship songs. That’s what my post was about. I’m also not sure that mystical is the word I’d use for the Holy Spirit gifting someone with a musical composition or lyrics. You also assume that a person who trusts the Holy Spirit’s leading is not acting responsibly or reverently, as if, as I stated, they would not be sure that what they wrote is biblical, makes grammatical sense, is singable, is teachable, and is a catalyst for worship. Can the Holy Spirit give a pastor a sermon in his sleep? Of course he can. He visits and speaks to us and reveals things to us in whatever forum he chooses, if we believe and allow that type of communication.
Hey Glenda, I enjoy good exchanges. Lets provide some context. Most of these discussions are about what to do if something is not working. The old people don’t like it. The young people don’t like it. I thought it was a great song but no one responded. How to wright a better song etc. That is where the application to most of my commentary belongs. I am absolutely CERTAIN that my views are skewed, and you should be certain that yours are as well. That is part of being human. That is one way God uses each of us. One of my views on “church” music is that quality has deteriorated in the last decade. It is not because it has gone too contemporary. I absolutely enjoy contemporary music. I have a music degree in guitar performance and fought an uphill battle for decades to simply get it included when it was shunned. It has gone too far the other way. The worship leader is often chosen because of their appeal to the young people, and their jeans are stylish and they look good holding a guitar. But they know little about music, or theology. They were chosen because leadership is desperate to keep up with something. It is a trend that is not necessarily productive. I know several really good worship leaders, that were excellent keyboard players, that did just fine leading worship from the keyboard. They put aside there keyboards and became novice guitar players trying to lead worship with guitar. It did not work well. Why did they feel the need to do that? Some sort of trend or pressure.
Next point of context. What is a worship leader? Well, for me it is the person leading worship at this very moment. It is a temporary position. There could be 5 people in the room or 5 thousand. The person that sings and strums a little guitar could be fantastic for the room of 5. Now contrast with a congregation of 5 thousand, that has several near professional praise bands, an adult choir and orchestra, youth praise bands, a graded choir system, sound board and lights team, video team, graphics team and drama team. I am not making this up! I have seen several times in the last 2 years where the worship leader for 5 was called to lead the 5 thousand. Their appeal does not translate into ability or results. Given enough time, they could have learned it, I am sure. But would you take the same congregation and call someone as a pastor who just graduated high school and say take the helm, we shall endure you for 10 to 20 years while you get educated and experienced. A “worship leader” does not have the same job description as a “minister of music”. Even in these blogs the lines are blurred. Even within my own comments they are blurred. I can tell they are blurred in the minds of other commentators. Someone that can command a row boat with 6 people in it is not necessarily qualified to command an aircraft carrier. All these comments I make are intended to be thought provoking to someone who is asking the question:
“Why didn’t this work”. I myself am not above failure. But,improvement requires constant self evaluation, continuing education, and study of God’s word. But, If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I hope my “skew” is absolutely clear, and I make all my comments with good-natured sincerity.
May God and Christ be Glorified even in our failures.
David S. reads this stuff and thinks “WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?”
I see your points, so I digress after the following: the worship leader you describe above is mostly seen in one, homogenous context, but it does not describe “the worship leader” or the “trends of worship leading” as a whole. What you may see in a diverse church will look and sound very different. I think that the dominant culture has a view of a worship leader (male, spiked hair, skinny jeans, tshirt, and guitar) but that’s the not the full church view of a worship leader. Though this has nothing to do with our initial discourse, I just wanted to raise your awareness to that fact.
G
Glenda, I really do enjoy the exchanges. Your description of the dominant culture worship leader is exactly what I was looking for. Doesn’t Lincoln Brewster look like that? I think he is a good song writer and an excellent guitarist.You are very kind to hang in there with me. One thing I am not good at is compartmentalizing. Say music,and you get my life story. My life , my work, my hobby, and Worship, all rolled into one with good and bad experiences and everyone I have ever known in music. My gracious, loving wife keeps me semi-sane and marginally connected to reality. I look forward to future blogs and posts, and your opinion.