Question:
What to do with songs that just feel dead? I think it's really complicated because on the one hand, the songs are not there to please us, but to please God, but on the other hand, it's hard to get youth group kids to worship to a song that just feels totally...unfresh. Is it my fault that the music gets boring, and that I feel it's harder to worship to? IS that fallout of my own shortcomings as a worshipper, or is it something else? What do you guys do with 'old' songs?
Answer:
Originally Posted by kupcguitarkid What to do with songs that just feel dead? I think it's really complicated because on the one hand, the songs are not there to please us, but to please God, but on the other hand, it's hard to get youth group kids to worship to a song that just feels totally...unfresh. Is it my fault that the music gets boring, and that I feel it's harder to worship to? IS that fallout of my own shortcomings as a worshipper, or is it something else? What do you guys do with 'old' songs? Kevin Twit ascribes this problem to the lack of depth of the songs themselves. Take that as you will.
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Hey
i have found that just leaving songs for a while, not using them for 6 months or something can bring a new life to them when you do them again. also try changing a few chords in them, for example My Jesus, My Saviour is a classic song that gets overdone however Mark Schultz has done a version (on one of the WOW worship CDs) which has just changed the chord sequence and it makes it feel so much fresher.
God Bless, Rich
Answer:
Originally Posted by Luke Kevin Twit ascribes this problem to the lack of depth of the songs themselves. Take that as you will.
funny i was gonna suggest that it was the same thing, though i've yet to figure out what to do about it
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Originally Posted by Luke Kevin Twit ascribes this problem to the lack of depth of the songs themselves. Take that as you will. I would tend to agree with this. I still like some songs that are old and dead whereas some songs I get sick of after hearing them three or four times.
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I might also suggest that some songs are only good for a season, then fade away. Hymnody is full of these, and we only see what is left in our hymnals.
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Well, first of all...I can't really tell you if it's your fault or not, 'cause, well...I dunno, it could be! But I doubt it. I doubt it mainly because we all experience this problem.
Basically, in order to preserve the freshness in your worship, you need change. Change in the chord progression, dynamics, instruments, tempo, style, and even the key! Changing anything about the song usually adds a little freshness.
I like to mix different songs together. For example, it's very easy to mix You Are My Rock with Trading My Sorrows and Everyday. Myself and a friend of mine actually combined the choruses to "Yes Lord, yes Lord, it's you I live for, you are my rock, you are my rock", as a single chorus. It sounds pretty cool, and with a bunch of vocalists singing different parts and harmonies, it boosts the "freshness" even further. Mix the verses together, the bridges, just mix everything up. Do this with other songs too.
Try taking old hymns and making them new. I know that's a bit of a fad these days, but I really love it. I'm a youth worship leader myself, and we use this concept in our services too.
For example, Come Thou Fount is a great song to do. There's an amazing electric guitar riff you can mix in with it too. This is probably my favorite hymn to "refresh", and the guitar riff plays a big part. If you want the tab for the riff, just PM me.
You can do this with any hymn though.
Those are just a few ideas. Get creative!
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What do you guys do with 'old' songs?
...we bury them in a hole...then dig 'em out after a few months or years...and see if they apply or seem fresh again...if not...cover them up again...sometimes old songs not played for awhile can be fresh to a congregation...added bonus: ya don't have to go through the pain of teaching a whole new song...
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For a bunch of songs that are often forgotten, look at alot of the praise choruses of the 70's-80's. Using one of them occasionally(yes, there are good ones) can freshen up a mix.
One method I have used to try to keep an element of freshness in worship is having a theme in the worship set. If a common thread of thought runs through the songs, people are more likely to focus on an aspect of God's nature, or on their need for Him.
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Great question. I am a newbie to this site, but not a newbie to God or worship leading. My comment would be a question. Fresh for who?
It has been my obervation that songs become stale for the worship team much sooner than for the congregation. The worship team are musicians (hopefully) and learn music/lyrics faster than the non-musician out in the congregation. It usually takes the congregation a few runs at a song just to be comfortable with the melody and structure of the song. By the time the congregation is comfortable with the song, the worship team is ready to move on.
As worship leader, I track the songs we do (not just for CCLI) but for program content as well. I have a top 20 and bottom 20. I agree with the comments regarding putting songs out to pasture for awhile, rather than sending them to the glue factory. While it is not my aim to play a song to death, it is also my aim to make sure that the worship team fulfill our prime directive, (to facilitate worship in the body). I strive to keep very tuned in on how the body responds to songs, so I know when they seem to disconnect from a song.
My point is, I think we need to strike a balance between using songs that the congregation are intimate with, and keeping new material so as not to have them lose interest. I think the worship team will be bored with a song first. Part of my task is to keep my worship team's hearts in a right place, and keep them focused on their task, namely, to facilitate worship in the body. IMHO, they are to be servants, serving the body of Christ, not performers, looking to resonate with songs they like to play.
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Originally Posted by Geezerjohn . Fresh for who?
Welcome to the boards.
That question is a great distinction-by the time a worship team member listens to a song a few times, practices it a few times, and plays it for two or three sundays, its going to start feeling a little old to him or her. But to the congregation, it could still be a fresh song.
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This is a good point. You need to look at why the songs are becoming stale as well....in order to determine how to make them "fresh".
In this case, they're not even becoming stale, except to the band (which doesn't really matter, them being servants and all). So you don't even need to do anything to keep them fresh. Just stay well tuned-in to the congregation to see when it really does become stale.
And don't just focus on one or two people out there either. You might get into a bad habit of paying too close attention to the responses of certain people (youth pastor, girlfriend, buddies, etc), when theirs might not be the general response of the congregation.
You need to find more specifics of the problem before you can find specifics of the solution. If your problem is "the songs are becoming stale", then your solution is just as simple; "we need to make them fresh". Find out why they're becoming stale, and, like geezerjohn said, exactly who they're becoming stale for.
I found Brian McClaren's letter very informative and insightful, and since reading it, I've been noticing more and more how right he is, in just about everything I do, especially posting on the worship leader's forum.
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It's important (especially in my church) to keep new stuff coming. Instead of spending the time and energy trying to fix broken songs, find out whats fresh; follow good artists and what they're doing; get a good worship leading mentor. Anointed songwriting didn't stop with "Trading My Sorrows." I would like to suggest looking on the back of the CDs you pull songs from and see what year the titles were copyrighted. Worshippers don't have to be five years behind. They should have a mind to worship, not to sing their favorite song. If a song works, keep doing it. Please... don't do it for five years, unless it's "Amazing Grace."
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Originally Posted by Geezerjohn Great question. I am a newbie to this site, but not a newbie to God or worship leading. My comment would be a question. Fresh for who?
It has been my obervation that songs become stale for the worship team much sooner than for the congregation. The worship team are musicians (hopefully) and learn music/lyrics faster than the non-musician out in the congregation. It usually takes the congregation a few runs at a song just to be comfortable with the melody and structure of the song. By the time the congregation is comfortable with the song, the worship team is ready to move on.
As worship leader, I track the songs we do (not just for CCLI) but for program content as well. I have a top 20 and bottom 20. I agree with the comments regarding putting songs out to pasture for awhile, rather than sending them to the glue factory. While it is not my aim to play a song to death, it is also my aim to make sure that the worship team fulfill our prime directive, (to facilitate worship in the body). I strive to keep very tuned in on how the body responds to songs, so I know when they seem to disconnect from a song.
My point is, I think we need to strike a balance between using songs that the congregation are intimate with, and keeping new material so as not to have them lose interest. I think the worship team will be bored with a song first. Part of my task is to keep my worship team's hearts in a right place, and keep them focused on their task, namely, to facilitate worship in the body. IMHO, they are to be servants, serving the body of Christ, not performers, looking to resonate with songs they like to play.
I am sooooo in agreement with you geezerjohn........