Music vs. Lyrics, Part 1

Let's carry on the songwriting theme by considering three questions.  These questions will help you to discover your priorities as a songwriter, and understand worship language best spoken by your heart.

One. As you listen to any kind of music, what jumps out most prominently in your ears?  Is it the instrumentation, or is it the message?

Two. As you write your songs, what typically comes to you first?  The chords or the lyrics?

Three. As you personally worship in a church setting, what stands out as the catalyst that draws your focus heavenward?  The sounds or the words?

Now, let's take it one step further in the direction of healthy congregational worship.  Engage others with these questions.  Learn your church's spiritual makeup when it comes to calling them to worship God.  My current church tends to fall more regularly on the lyric-side of the spectrum, while other churches might find it impossible to worship without 8-minute songs and 4-minute instrumentals.  As worship songwriters, we always have to consider the audience.  The music we create can very well have a positive, sanctifying, lasting effect on the lives of those who sing them.

My worship teammates and friends land all over this continuum, which can make co-writing and co-producing quite challenging and yet effective.  We really do have to struggle to find the right balance, not just for us as creatives and worshipers, but also for our churches.

On the Beyond Sunday Podcast's interview with Chris Tomlin, Chris shares some of his guiding principles of songwriting.  "I come from a simple place, musically...I'm not trying to make the most unbelievably, super-creative, most interesting chord structures of all time, to get people's respect.  I'm trying to write for the common person."  He goes on to say that his guiding question is, "What is it that causes a person sitting in their pew, who doesn't think about music all week, who can't clap on 2 and 4, to sing?"  That's a worthwhile question for us all to consider in our own settings.  You know you have some 1/3 clappers in your crew.

I would encourage you to listen to the full interview to hear his words first-hand as he unpacks his thoughts a bit more.  In my next post, I'll touch on the power of musicality in congregational worship songs.