Church Music...

Go acappella! Starting lifting those hands to God! Start clapping those hands to God!

It is all about the attitude of your heart. Just keep trusting God and do the best with what you have to God's glory, and in the proper time, God will enlarge your borders.

 

Dear FBC -- are there any music readers in the church? what about those who don't know music, but can sing? are the folks in your church familiar with old hymns or some other songs? anything else you can think of related to music/singing? This might help others in giving advice. One of my first thoughts is to start with singing songs that are familiar.

 

Amen to what TCGreek wrote. Go acappella, and most importantly remember that the most important part is the heart praise to God, rather than what it sounds like to the listener. Make a joyful noise to the Lord.

 

They make keyboards that can record - anyone you know that could play some songs in for you during the week. Also there is a lot of music online you might find the songs you want and feed them into a small amplifier from a computer.

 

I'm not sure that going acappella is the answer to a lack of musical talent -- if anything, I'd think it would only make things worse.

 

I strongly recommend Evangelistic Congregational Hymns, Volume 1-4 by Faith Music Missions. These are instrumental CD's or only piano recorded by Faith Music Missions for the sole purpose of being used in churches without a piano player.
Surely you can find someone with a decent voice to lead the singing.

You can find these at: http://faithmusicmissions.com/list.php3?CategoryID=99&st=music&basketnumber=29676036

 

I would keep music minimal in such a case until someone comes who can do it. I would stay away from prerecorded stuff. That's karaoke that really has no place in worship. Using live music is always best. There is plenty that a church can do that does not involve music -- such as worship in preaching and teaching, fellowship, serve one another, and evangelize.

 

Many choruses and hymns are available on CD with minimal tracks and no vocals and some have minimals. I'd stick with the no vocals with music tracks.

 

If you have a keyboard or organ with MIDI, there is even a device called "George" which makes the keyboard play itself. The Metropolitan Tabernacle (where Spurgeon was once pastor) describes it like this on its bookshop web site, at http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org/?page=psalmshymns3

An automatic organist 'George', the electronic MIDI accompanist, available at manufacturer's price, is capable of playing any organ or keyboard fitted with a MIDI input socket. The unit comes complete with a 240V mains-operated power supply, MIDI lead, instruction sheet, and a cartridge of 430 hymn tunes.

The accompanist is small (8" x 5" x 3"), and does not itself produce any sound. Once connected to a keyboard or organ with the lead provided, it 'plays' that instrument. The person assigned to operate 'George' need only adjust the organ or keyboard for volume and tone as required.

The tunes come in plug-in cartridges about the size of a matchbox. The cartridge supplied with 'George' contains the entire tune selection of Psalms & Hymns of Reformed Worship music edition, Sunday School hymns and choruses, and voluntaries. This selection of tunes overlaps considerably with other traditional tunebooks, making the system useful with a variety of hymnbooks.

Cost (including tune cartridge): collected, UK £490.56 (inc VAT); posted, UK £495.81 (inc VAT). Words and music books available from www.tabernaclebookshop.org​

I imagine something similar would be available where you are.

 

Brother Williams,
Thanks for the information. We needed some piano music for a nursing home ministry. That was just perfect!

 

You are entirely welcome. As a song leader, I believe these to be exceptional. Thank the Lord I do have an excellent pianist at our church, but if I had to use something other than that, I would use these. Accapella is great, but there are some songs that are extremely hard to do accapella in a congregational setting. This is likely due to the lack of experience with such singing these days, but tis true.

Also, I do own Volume 1-4, if that adds to the credentials.

 

Another option is midi files. At the web site...
http://victrolla.homeip.net/hymns/
...are some great piano arrangements of hymns. I've used these from time to time myself.

With a decent midi player, they can be sped up or slowed down as needed. If you have the programs, they can be recoreded as .mp3 or .wav files and written to CD's.

 

Karaoke or not, music can add to the worship. Using pre-recorded tracks is not a sin, and there are many good sources out there.

Thankfully, our church has many gifted musicians. But, if it didn't, we would be using something along these lines.

 

Stay focused on your first task as a church, bible teaching, and such peripheral issues will be accepted more easily in their minimalist capacities. However, when you fret over such so-called "ministries" that have very mild and few references regarding what is most important in the spiritual growth of believers, well then you will have a congregation out of balance and focused on the wrong priorities.

Keep it minimal and functional until more talent arrives. However, remember that the office of Pastor/teacher is ordained by God as is the teaching of Scripture and a music ministry, as it is called, is simply a human creation. Follow the directive to sing indeed and offer praises to the Lord but the construct of such isn't critical.

 

Going with accapella will sound good only if you have, say, more than twenty people singing, that way, people with good voices can help define the sound. Maybe also stick with simple and popular songs, like Amazing Grace, that everyone is likely to at least have heard at some point. There are a few good quality piano recordings, not so much with organs, and no vocals because they sound a little ..um.."dead", but that might be a personal preference.

Sopranette

 

I agree. I must admit to being uneasy with terms like "music ministry", "worship leader" and the like. Worshipping God is not like putting on a concert. If it were, then we would have to say that a huge professional choir singing hymns, accompanied by a national Symphony Orchestra would be worshipping God more adequately than a handful of Christian believers, half of them tone-deaf, singing without accompaniment. But that is not so. God looks on the heart.

 

Small Church Music

With small church music and no vocalist, I would encourage you to ignore this fallicy of personal preference concerning prerecorded music. Get a laptop computer and a set of $20.00 WalMart computer speakers with the sub-woofer and sing to your hearts content. There is no such thing as right or wrong music or styles or types. It is all personal opinion.

Our church uses my laptop plugged into our sound system and I use a variety of music from a variety of sources. Spin360.com and Lifeway have been two of my biggest sources. I have also borrowed some music and taken good stuff from albums that I own. The most important thing is to make your music fit the culture of your people that you are attempting to reach, not some old stale traditionalism. Be relevant to your community and do all things with love and the people will respond.

 

Two other things at the moment:

On the midi files, a great site (if it hasn't already been mentioned) is www.cyberhymnal.org

I oft use it as a song leader to learn new songs when I can't get together with the musicians at the church and I also browse through it to get ideas for more songs and sometimes additional verses.


I will also state the obvious which I am sure you are actively doing, pray for a song leader! I agree that song ministers and worship leaders are not prescribed, but it is a helpful thing to have someone lead in singing for sure.

 

There is nothing old or stale about traditional music. That is what the majority of people know, so if your going with a capella, that would be easiest for people to follow along with! I resemble that remark!

Love,

Sopranette