Recently in Making Music Category

We are heading into a big music weekend. It starts Saturday morning, I've got a morning rehearsal for Sunday's worship. Hopefully, my dad will be there for the rehearsal. We've got a massive band with 2 keys, 2 guitars, drums, bass, perc. and 8 singers (I love working for the church!) We'll be doing a lot of my dad's music Sunday, so it should be a fun service.

Saturday night the jam continues. We've got the International Worship and Prayer Service. The should be a fun time with a really open feel. We're going in sans-rehearsal. A rehearsal wouldn't be worth it anyway since 3/4ths of the music will be provided by various groups of immigrants and refugees from our church and those of us in the band will just be playing by ear. Good times! I'm excited about being able to play with Mike Ramsey and Jules Gikundiro from our South City worship site and being able to hear some music from our Nepalese folks.

Sunday we have our 2 worship services of course. J-dub sitting in.

Then Sunday night, Dad and I will be at Covenant Presbyterian leading the worship music there. We'll be doing a few of his classic tunes like "Rock of Ages" and "Morning Sun" but we'll also be doing a few more of his unique tunes so come on out and worship with us.

The music doesn't stop Sunday! On Monday, we will hopefully be completing the last session for my new CD. I'll be meeting with Michelle Higgins at Jacob Detering's studio to cut some back ground vocals (BGVs). With my dad being in town, we might have him replace some of my tenor parts too if time permits.

Speaking of the recording, I've been interacting a lot this week with my graphic designer, Ken to get the layout ready. We are getting very close to a finished product ready for the holiday shopping season.

Tip #8: Share the song with a group you can worship with. This is where I take the step of sharing the song with my church. If you are not a church musician with the luxury of a captive audience, then you could share the song with a prayer group, house church, or a group of friends. The point is to give the song away to the community. I don't mean you give up your copyright ownership; I mean you let go of control of the song and give it like a gift to the people you care about. The artists work is a gift from the Spirit to be given away. It's a little terrifying to open up yourself up to being vulnerable, but just consider how vulnerable the Lord Jesus was to subject himself to the incarnation, to become a baby. You are not your song. If the song fails, you are still a valid artist. Just toss it out and keep writing. My dad once told me that for every 30 songs, you get one keeper. Good writing comes from the same thing that makes a good musician: discipline, practice, and performance experience.

Tip #7: Share the song with someone you trust with the role of editor.
Ask a friend to listen to the song and give them permission to be honest. I like to share my song with a fellow musician and a non-musician. I usually share song ideas with my Dad and my wife. Dad helps me refine the idea or gives me new ideas for developing the song more. My wife first showers me with affirmation (which is wonderful); then when she knows my ego won't be crushed, she gives me very good feedback of how the song makes her feel. It's a difficult step, but letting your song into the light of day will show you whether it has merit to continue working on it.

Tip #6: Look for the hook
A hook is a musical phrase captures the attention of the listener and "hooks" them into listening and remembering the song. A hook should be clearly presented, then repeated and developed throughout the song. A song without a hook is like a boat without a rudder; it floats around different ideas without any direction or goal. Build the song around the hook. If the hook is "I am Delivered" then the rest of the song should develop the idea. Delivered from what? Delivered by whom? Delivered into what? Delivered how?

Tip #5: Rip-off stuff you like
No composer exists in a vacuum. Listen to artists you want to emulate, and look for characteristics that you can draw from. How do they create a good hook? What is the groove like? How does the chord progression work together? What forms do they use? Sometimes when you start out by ripping off an idea, the idea evolves into something new. I once wrote a song based on the chord progression from "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys. I don't think that you would ever guess it because the final product sounds nothing like them; it sounds like me. If you try to compose completely original, never-before experienced music, not only are you being naive about the way other music influences you, you are also setting up a goal of creating gibberish music. Music is a language. If you don't learn to speak the language, then you can only communicate non-sense. Ripping-off is just a form of being rooted in a community and a tradition.

Tip #3: Turning text into melody.
Read your poetry over and over. Look for the natural meter and beat of the phrases. Look for the natural cadences, and punctuations. Is it a minor key sound or major? Try both and see how your own sense of aesthetics responds. It helps to be able to play the guitar or piano and find some chords, but it's not necessary to writing a melody. Sing your song in the shower or while you're driving. I've actually gotten a lot of good ideas while washing dishes. Get a tape recorder or digital voice recorder and capture your ideas even if you don't know if you like it or not. I rarely complete a song in one sitting, and recording it can be a form of musical journaling. Sometimes going back to old tapes, I find an idea that forgot about and it inspires more more on the idea that would have been lost in shuffle of life.

Tip #2: Go back to what your high school english comp teacher taught you.
Start with free writing. Let your thoughts flow onto a page without criticism. Don't think too much. After that, viciously edit and revise. Move parts around to see if it works better. Don't be afraid to toss out any phrase or idea if it's not working with the rest of the song. As a worship song, you should edit with the church in mind. So make sure it's singable, simple, passionate and clear. Ambiguous metaphors are not really good for worship songs.