Re: Is boring church music caused by fear?
Posted by: basswulf <basswulf@...>
> P&W music is boring because the musicians are afraid of offending people.
Possibly in part but I think there are some other dynamics at play
too. Some of them are commendable and some are pretty egregious but
there's a whole mess of things going into the stew. Off the top of my
head and in no particular order:
1. We largely rely on a branch of the music industry for nurturing the
artists who write new worship material, including getting it recorded
and distributed. Songs that get establish tend to get plays on the
conference scene, have a cool video online (and, eventually loads of
copyright-dubious lyrics over pretty pictures versions on Youtube) and
those who aspire to use the song can download chords and, for those
who care, sheet music too. That industry is driven by lots of
hyperbolic marketing and an innate conservatism that seeks assured
sales and ends up churning out more filler than masterpieces.
2. Many church bands (certainly in the UK context) are almost
completely made of amateur volunteers. Some are brilliant musicians
and some (not necessarily quite the same set) are regularly involved
in other music outside the church setting but a high proportion rarely
practise and almost never play in other settings. Another I IV V vi
song might seem approachable rather than daunting (or boring) if you
only pick up your instrument once every few Sunday mornings.
3. When do congregations ever show up to the rehearsals? They rely on
things which are familiar and relatively easy - so not wide-ranging
vocal parts with complex syncopations and outside harmonies. If you
tried to introduce a song worthy of Rush, you'd probably upset people
but not because so many of them think rock music is an anathema.
Rather, you would be requiring them to respond in a way that lay
outside their ability and people don't like to feel like failures,
particularly when the message (hopefully) is that God loves and
accepts them, drawing them in, rather than expecting them to do
something impossible to enter his courts with praise.
By listening to complex music, you raise yourself above the plateau;
by learning how to play it, you ascend heights were most of the
congregation cannot follow. So, what is a musician to do, to work out
their calling without ending up isolated? Again, some suggestions:
1. Go to church to serve. Look for other places to play that will
stretch and develop you. Every now and then, you will might find a
sublime moment in the sanctuary but, when the congregation is in the
house, that isn't the thing to be seeking.
2. Keep listening to and learning music from all sorts of sources.
Creatively look for the things that can be applied back to the music
in church to polish it without derailing it - like places that would
suit a riff or where you can change the bass note or the rhythmic
placement. There might even be scope for rearranging some passages;
same tune on a different ground.
3. Sing along even if you haven't got a mic. Sometimes (sadly not
always) the words carry the life of the song even when the music is
boring.
Finally, here is a moving post from a friend of mine:
emilyintheworld.wordpress.com/2018/03/31/easter-saturday-the-day-in-between/
It isn't specifically about music but look for the reference to
"10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord O My Soul)" by Matt Redman. Musically,
it is pretty much the same old, same old, but Emily's story reminded
me of how life and truth can be found even in new and widely popular
songs that have been churned through the Christian music industry and
dragged down by 10,000 amateur worship bands.
Every blessing,
Wulf
--
Wulf Forrester-Barker
blog.webden.org.uk/