Where's the line? (music styles)

[liko81]

Originally Posted by osborn4

Re: vision problems. Several people have ended up being thanked by older members of the congregation, because the words on the screen are actually easier to read than the small type in they hymnal.

Visually, fitting a large enough screen into a liturgical sanctuary can be very challenging. For a Baptist church, we have a very Angelican/Lutheran style building.

We have a very Lutheran-style building too; we're Lutherans. However, our sanctuary has two HUGE, slightly curved brick walls to either side of the altar. The only fixture currently on either one is the Everlasting Light which can easily be moved or worked around. I estimate you could very easily put a 10- to 12-foot screen on both sides. A "confidence monitor" on the back wall is not an option because that's the choir loft with a big organ in the middle; if we went for presenter screens, they likely would be a couple of LCD TVs mounted below the the modesty rail.

The main logistical problem for us is projector location; we can either fly them in front of the screens where they would distract aesthetically from other hanging architectural touches, or we could go long-distance mounting them in front of the choir loft (spending big $$$ on the lens required). Either way, it's certainly technically feasible, but probably not financially practical.

As for readability, maybe, maybe not. It would depend on what we put up there. Usually it's just lyrics, but that limits us to songs that most of the congregation knows well enough to sing with just the words. If we put a "lead chart" up there, so people could at least follow the shape of the melody if they didn't really read music (we're blessed with a congregation that at least tries), that will reduce the available space for lyrics, causing more screen switches, and it drastically reduces graphical options.

[zactommo]

Like others have said, provided the lyrics are theologically sound (which is the no 1 condition for songs in our church) then the style of music could go anywhere. But, of course, because we are there to serve the congregation, we really need to choose songs that are most likely to engage the congregation into worship. So, in most churches, the Drop-D tuned mental guitar lines, and the dimb5#9 chords are probably a no go area.

(Warning, rant below)
On a personal note, I've been search for new songs for our youth band to do, and have been getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of inspiration and creativity, in the musical sense, in modern worship songs. For me, listening to hillsongs and the like, is like listening to secular top ten pop hits. Its just formula, textbook, and musically dull and boring. I've always been of the opinion that, for the band, the music they play is their worship, so the band should strive to do the best they can, musically, as on offering of praise to God. When looking through secular music, I don't find it hard to find music that is new, innovative, and musically exciting, but finding Christian music like that, is like the old needle in the hay stack.
Ah, feels good to get that off my chest.

[liko81]

Originally Posted by zactommo

(Warning, rant below)
On a personal note, I've been search for new songs for our youth band to do, and have been getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of inspiration and creativity, in the musical sense, in modern worship songs. For me, listening to hillsongs and the like, is like listening to secular top ten pop hits. Its just formula, textbook, and musically dull and boring. I've always been of the opinion that, for the band, the music they play is their worship, so the band should strive to do the best they can, musically, as on offering of praise to God. When looking through secular music, I don't find it hard to find music that is new, innovative, and musically exciting, but finding Christian music like that, is like the old needle in the hay stack.
Ah, feels good to get that off my chest.

I'm already starting to feel that way. I get a lot of my inspiration for praise band songs from the local light rock station (94.9 for those in D/FW). I just haven't been inspired lately; it's all the same. The last time I was really moved by something I felt we just had to do, it was when the Francesca Battistelli CD came out. There isn't a bum note on that CD, and "Beautiful, Beautiful" was my favorite long before it hit the radio. I still want to cover "My Paper Heart", but they haven't released the sheet score yet. Even then, musically the song isn't all that adventurous; it just works. I haven't heard anything since then that really got my attention.

What's really been a shot in the arm is the stuff on 89.7, the harder Christian rock like Flyleaf, Fireflight and The Letter Black. Again, nothing new, but it's refreshing to be able to point to this music, that some in our congregation would dismiss from the first note as "devil worship", as an example of theologically sound, powerful, uplifting music. I could also make the cogent argument that in some ways, the "Christian Rock" genre is more Biblically rooted than the "CCW" genre (compare the lyrics of "Hanging On By a Thread" to, say, Psalm 17-18 ). But, like I said in my OP, the genre as a whole goes a little far for a congregation that only started incorporating a praise band into worship 2 years ago.

[TheWordSpreader]

This is a old thread but it could use new life! There are a lot of newer contemporary songs that really nail the worship status quo... One of my favorites lately is 10,000 reasons! Just a really great prayer! And seems to really connect with the congregation, of coarse most of our congregation is filled with then 25-35 age group so contemporary songs really work well for us. I play guitar for both the youth and adult praise band and for Sunday mornings I haven't pulled out the electric guitar yet but the music leader and I have been discussing it (in youth I play the electric almost weekly) we will probably start adding the electric soon but keep things smooth light on the gain/effects for awhile (we also took this approach when we added drums a few years back) the idea is to show the congregation the ability to liven things up especially for faster upbeat songs... And as far as it becoming a concert well we tend to stay away from solos for that reason... Not saying we can't "rock out" but we never put the focus as one musician in front of the others. We always try to play where everything compliments the rest of the song and adds to worship, if it adds focus to the musician we cut it, this goes for vocals to... We (as a band) are there to lead others and if we start going places where others are simply not able to follow the we lose our effectiveness as leaders, for this reason we play skillfully but do not showboat