I took my new Kodak Zi8 mini HD video recorder with me just in case I saw something interesting. I was with CBN News producer Tracy Winborn - she shot my video introduction as well as helped produce the clip. It even ended up on CBN News last week. Read more about it.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Earliest American Church
Last weekend I was in Jamestown (the first permanent English settlement) and saw a huge building - a church! The settlers were instructed to initially construct 3 public buildings inside the fort: a storehouse, a guardhouse and a church, so religion was very important to these people.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Worship Leader Kristian Stanfill
I recently had a chance to chat with worship leader Kristian Stanfill about the song "Jesus Paid It All."
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Hip Hop Senior Adult Choir
Today I led worship with Brookwood worship leader Steve Smith for the South Carolina SBC music director's luncheon in Columbia, SC. We had a great time meeting music directors from all across the state.
In the buffet line (of course, Baptists have a buffet at every gathering) I looked at a music director and said "how do I know you, you look so familiar!" He replied "you probably recognize me from YouTube."
I couldn't believe it!!! He's Keith Watson, the choir director in the famous YouTube video of the hip hop senior adult choir. These videos have been viewed over 1 MILLION times! Isn't it amazing that you can become famous enough to be recognized in public by a YouTube appearance!
My favorite part is around 3:07 - their rendition of the Pussycat Doll's "Don't Cha" (Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me.) If you haven't wet your pants yet, wait until 4:06 when they sing Nelly's "It's Getting Hot in Here."
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Solo Piano Sheet Music
Take a look at my new website, Worship88.com. I've created short one or two page Hymn Interludes that can be used in your worship service.
Try matching a Hymn Interlude with a favorite hymn or popular praise song. Play the Hymn Interlude for an offertory, then segue into the hymn or praise song and invite the congregation to sing along. For instance, use my "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" with Chris Tomlin's "The Wonderful Cross."
Each Hymn Interlude comes in ALL keys - C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B - play it in your favorite key or match the key of a hymn, praise song or classical piece.
Combine Hymn Interludes to make your own medleys that can be played as preludes, offertories, postludes and recital pieces.
Try matching a Hymn Interlude with a favorite hymn or popular praise song. Play the Hymn Interlude for an offertory, then segue into the hymn or praise song and invite the congregation to sing along. For instance, use my "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" with Chris Tomlin's "The Wonderful Cross."
Each Hymn Interlude comes in ALL keys - C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A Bb B - play it in your favorite key or match the key of a hymn, praise song or classical piece.
Combine Hymn Interludes to make your own medleys that can be played as preludes, offertories, postludes and recital pieces.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Singing Success
Take a look at Brett Manning's Singing Success vocal training course. I used this at my last church and really enjoyed the program. I'm no singer but I added a full note to my limited range, and I only half-heartedly did the exercises. Brookwood worship leader Steve Smith says he added 5 notes to his range. When UK worship leader Tim Light was visiting over here one time we went up to Nashville and had a lesson with Brett - I'm very impressed.
Contemporary Vocals
Last Friday night famed vocal coach Brett Manning (he coaches people like Taylor Swift and Keith Urban) came to Brookwood Church to do a seminar. He doesn't do many but he's an old friend of worship leader Steve Smith. You might have seen him on CMT's "Can You Duet" show - it was kind of like a Country American Idol. Brett was a judge along with Naomi Judd and songwriter Aimee Mayo.
At the end of the seminar we had a question and answer time. I asked "Church music has changed so much in the past 20 years, could you talk about the difference between "legit," traditional/operatic singing and contemporary vocal style?"
Brett said the main difference is... personality! Think of how much personality is injected into contemporary vocals... compare how distinctly different Randy Travis, Madonna, Scott Stapp and Billie Joe Armstrong of Greenday sound. He hilariously mimicked Celine Dion perfectly, demonstrating all the vocal tones and effects she can produce.
Contrast this with "legit" singing. The vocals are vowel to vowel, all produced in the same, even sounding way and all notes are held for their full duration.
This reminds me of something American Idol top ten finalist Chris Sligh recently told me. He was doing a concert at a church, and the music director said something like "my vocalists are good but something doesn't seem quite right." At the praise team rehearsal Chris heard the problem: the vocalists were singing "properly" and holding out notes for their full duration. Kind of sounds like the problem I talked about a few weeks ago at WorshipIdeas - the pressing problem in worship music today is not transitioning to contemporary from traditional, it's in learning to do contemporary music in a contemporary way.
Depending on the song, a contemporary vocalist won't hold out a full quarter note, even if it's written as a quarter. Chris mimicked the vocalists he heard singing the popular praise song "Mighty to Save." Instead of singing the song conversationally and casually as it was originally recorded, the vocalists were singing "mighty to saaaaaaaaaave" and stretching out that note with full vibrato.
How can you help your vocalists? It's no different than trying to get a stubborn, dated guitarist to use a capo, only in this case you're trying to convince a vocalist that they can lay off the vibrato. As I said in my article, it's a pride issue. If your team has teachable, humble heart attitudes you just might have a chance.
Check out Brett Manning's Singing Success vocal training course. I've used it myself and really enjoyed it.
Monday, July 28, 2008
GigaChurch
I heard a cool term the other day: GigaChurch. It's a word for a church of 10,000 people or more. This guy claims to have coined the term in a Washington Post article.
As the article mentions, I too heard a few years ago that MegaChurches were on the decline, and would soon be replaced by smaller, more intimate churches from the emerging church movement.
But as everything seems to be fragmenting these days, so too has the church world fragmented. I don't intend a negative connotation with "fragmentation" but a good one - fragmentation means we have a multitude of choices today. Read my article on fragmentation at WorshipIdeas. MegaChurches and GigaChurches are springing up all over, far from dead, but you can also attend a small group, a house church, a video venue or watch a service on the Internet.
Another thing I've noticed that the article mentions is that when a MegaChurch reaches 5,000, growth begins to speed up and it often morphs into a GigaChurch. I've seen this happen in two local MegaChurches. One of them had been hovering around 4,000-5,000 last year this time and shot up over 10,000 during the holidays. And Newspring has been on a steady growth curve for years and will soon be at the weekly 10,000 mark.
The author sees smaller, thriving, mission-minded churches under 600 people co-existing with the Mega and Gigachurches.
However, if your church just doesn't care anymore or is wrapped up in political church drama it may not around much longer.
This so parallels the Wal-Mart effect in business that it isn't funny. Dumb little stores that do dumb little things will get clobbered by Wal-Mart who will do most things smarter, cheaper and better.
You can't compete with Wal-Mart if you're cheap and boring. Why go to your local, boring grocery store when Super Wal-Mart has everything they do, only cheaper? But Whole Foods thrives because they offer what Wal-Mart's grocery doesn't: class, ambiance, wireless and yummy, gourmet food items. Have you ever taken home a meal from their hotbar? Wow!
Little churches can't even begin to compete with the talent and programs of a MegaChurch, nor should they try. So what can they offer that the MegaChurch can't?
As the article mentions, I too heard a few years ago that MegaChurches were on the decline, and would soon be replaced by smaller, more intimate churches from the emerging church movement.
But as everything seems to be fragmenting these days, so too has the church world fragmented. I don't intend a negative connotation with "fragmentation" but a good one - fragmentation means we have a multitude of choices today. Read my article on fragmentation at WorshipIdeas. MegaChurches and GigaChurches are springing up all over, far from dead, but you can also attend a small group, a house church, a video venue or watch a service on the Internet.
Another thing I've noticed that the article mentions is that when a MegaChurch reaches 5,000, growth begins to speed up and it often morphs into a GigaChurch. I've seen this happen in two local MegaChurches. One of them had been hovering around 4,000-5,000 last year this time and shot up over 10,000 during the holidays. And Newspring has been on a steady growth curve for years and will soon be at the weekly 10,000 mark.
The author sees smaller, thriving, mission-minded churches under 600 people co-existing with the Mega and Gigachurches.
However, if your church just doesn't care anymore or is wrapped up in political church drama it may not around much longer.
This so parallels the Wal-Mart effect in business that it isn't funny. Dumb little stores that do dumb little things will get clobbered by Wal-Mart who will do most things smarter, cheaper and better.
You can't compete with Wal-Mart if you're cheap and boring. Why go to your local, boring grocery store when Super Wal-Mart has everything they do, only cheaper? But Whole Foods thrives because they offer what Wal-Mart's grocery doesn't: class, ambiance, wireless and yummy, gourmet food items. Have you ever taken home a meal from their hotbar? Wow!
Little churches can't even begin to compete with the talent and programs of a MegaChurch, nor should they try. So what can they offer that the MegaChurch can't?
Loud Music
On Sunday, Newspring worship leader Tom Pellerin read us an email from the old man I mentioned in the previous post, the guy who approached the stage and wanted the music turned down seconds before the service started.
He was indeed a visitor from another (presumably traditional) church in town, and the email wasn't too bad. He enjoyed the service but was just worried that the music was at a level that could damage hearing. I wrote an article about this at WorshipIdeas.
However, I think the problem here is that the typical non-musician can't always comprehend what they're hearing, especially a visitor with traditional tastes. The drums and bass are very well mixed and punchy at Newspring and this probably alarms a traditionalists, causing them to think the music is louder than it actually is simply because they can feel the low end.
In the aforementioned article I have a link to a gadget you can get at your local Radio Shack for around $50 that lets you measure the decibels in your room. It's good protection against pesky deacons and elders who are constantly harping on the sound levels.
He was indeed a visitor from another (presumably traditional) church in town, and the email wasn't too bad. He enjoyed the service but was just worried that the music was at a level that could damage hearing. I wrote an article about this at WorshipIdeas.
However, I think the problem here is that the typical non-musician can't always comprehend what they're hearing, especially a visitor with traditional tastes. The drums and bass are very well mixed and punchy at Newspring and this probably alarms a traditionalists, causing them to think the music is louder than it actually is simply because they can feel the low end.
In the aforementioned article I have a link to a gadget you can get at your local Radio Shack for around $50 that lets you measure the decibels in your room. It's good protection against pesky deacons and elders who are constantly harping on the sound levels.