OK, first song. I can't get over how young the worship pastor looks. I know he's 28, but he could pass for 19. Interesting: he had the female vocalist sing this verse. It is in the same octave but for some reason it sounds higher. Funny how most of the men drop out when a woman leads. I bet it's because of of the timbre difference. That is probably why Castrotti were used in Italian opera so much in the late 17th century... Wow, this is way out of my singing range. Its too low if I take it down an octave, so let's try harmony. OK, that's not cool - the female vocalist is singing my tenor part, but up an octave. Now what should I sing? Clearly the text was never meant for this rhythm and chord setting. I have a degree in music, and I'm finding it hard to follow this guy. Looking around, there are several people who aren't singing and haven't sung the whole time, including the people behind me. I wonder why? Is it because they haven't been exposed to music growing up? Do they not know the words?Maybe they don't like singing, so this part of the service is totally superfluous to them. Maybe they find that to be a very difficult venue to experience God. I mean, it isn't exactly a meditative environment. I can't help but wonder: what must it be like for someone who has never sung much in his life and never been to church to attend one of these services for the first time? Or even for the twentieth? It probably feels alien to them.
Plus, I am often singing words my heart does not necessarily agree with. I end up making a lot of lofty claims and promises about my desires for God that may just be a pack of lies. I guess my point is that sometimes it is hard to be honest with God in worship. I wish we would sing songs that had simple but pleasing melodies that were in a decent range with easy rhythms that weren't too syncopated. I wish we could sing songs with words that were not so extreme but simply spoke out of a heart that wants to experience God's love and peace and forgiveness. As I remember back on the most popular choruses in contemporary Christian worship, they were the most simple ones. They maybe had three to five words and were easy to harmonize.
Sometimes I wish that I could switch off my four semesters of aural skills training and my two semesters of theoretical part-writing and harmonization training. I wish I could stop evaluating musical performances and compositions and get to experience God more. I've felt the closest to God in the past through musical experiences I've had, so its tough when that is no longer happening.
4 comments:
Man, do I ever relate to this blog entry. You are not alone in your experience. I find it really difficult to worship when someone else is leading. They just don't do things the way I would. And it SO common for the key to be too high for most people to sing along with at the same pitch. Songs like "Exalt the Lord" are so much better than most of what's out there now.
dude,
these days the only thing that might stir me to worship is to hear you play Debussey.
love,
mom
Hi! Just happened upon your blog today and can totally relate to this post. I, too, have a hard time when someone else is leading. I find myself wondering why they did that verse twice or why they changed the key or why are they letting him/her sing. Gosh, I sound like a snot!
I really try to keep it singable for the majority, even if it might not be the prettiest for my voice. And, yes, a lot of songs today are way too complicated. Wes and I find ourselves cutting out chunks of songs to make them better suited for worship.
For the record, a compliment from you always meant a lot to me since I know how much music means to you. And that goes for your whole sweet family, whose faces I totally miss!
Good to *hear* from you. And belated congrats on the wedding! :)
Thanks for the "me too"s. Its very encouraging that I am not the only snob out there.
Welcome, Devan! Thanks for the kind words and confidence. Trust me, my musical prowess is way over-rated. I'm just now finding out that my sister is about 10 years ahead me when it comes her musical tastes. I'm loving the music she listened to when we were teenagers, and I'm just now finding out about it, since I resented all popular music then.
Post a Comment