Choosing New Songs

This topic has possibly been written about more than anything else related to leading worship. The are so many wonderful and extensive thoughts on this subject, that it would be easy to write a giant list for you to memorize. However, this site is intended to be an experiment in offering simple, practical advise. With that in mind, I’m going to try to limit my philosophical asides and stay concrete.

When I really boil down all of the lists and nuances and keep-in-minds, I’m left with the following list when I’m trying to find a new worship song: 1.) Is it true? 2.) Is it beautiful? 3.) Is it sing-able?

This list is made up of one objective standard (truth), and two subjective standards (beauty and sing-ability). As leaders, we need to own that. Some of the reasons that we choose the songs we do will always be based on preference. That’s part of the job. And that’s okay. The Bible, as the inspired word of God, should always be our absolute standard of truth. Beauty and sing-ability must be sought with humility, prayer, God-given wisdom, Godly counsel, and yes, your own sense of taste.

1. Is it True (Biblical)?

As musicians and singers seeking to lead others to worship the Biblical God, we need to love His Word. We need to spend regular time soaking in and studying this Truth along with other believers. We do this most importantly to have fellowship with Him and with others. But we also do this so that we will be able to hold on to Godly wisdom and avoid counterfeit, earth-bound wisdom.

When I’m analyzing a new song, I like to ask questions like this:

• Is this song God-centered? (If it’s not, it’s probably not a worship song.)
• What Bible verses or passages back this up? (Are there any?)
• If I read this as a poem, would it teach me to know and love the true God more? Would it teach me Biblical truth about the sate of mankind?
• Where would this song fit in a Gospel Liturgy? (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Recreation)

Questions like this can really help to analyze the truth-value of a song.

2. Is it Beautiful?

Do I Like It?

Again, this is a subjective measure, and that’s okay. It seems to be a sort of dirty little secret that leading worship music involves a large amount of personal preference. But somewhere along the way you’re going to run up against a pretty basic truth about choosing new songs: at the very least, you have to like the song. I have yet to meet a worship leader that consistently sings songs that are true and singable, but they don’t enjoy. God has built you with the skills, tastes, and experiences that you have, and he’s placed you in a leadership role to use them— with humility and wisdom.

Does the Church Like It?

At the same time, we’re called to be servant-leaders following in the footsteps of Jesus. our role involves gently shepherding and feeding our sheep. Don’t drown your opinions in the voice of others, but also remember that you are here to serve others and facilitate gathered worship. Get to know the styles of music that the people in your church enjoy. If it’s different than what you like, take time to try to learn and appreciate some aspects of it. Try to find songs that you resonate with, and also ask for feedback to try to find our if they’re resonating with others as well.

3. Is it Singable?

Sing-ability is a standard that comes with a few more objective standards than beauty. Here are some things I listen for:

Group-Friendly Lyrics

I try to look for lyrics that make sense to sing in a group. This is a little bit hard to define, but let me try to explain. For instance, it wouldn’t make much sense to sing a song from Christian radio that talked about someone landing on a plane in Atlanta and having some sort of personal spiritual experience there. “Personal testimony” songs are great for radio, but usually don’t translate well to group worship settings.

Melodic Range

In general, I try to follow the “Rule of D” principle, which is based on the average male vocal range. This just means that the highest note of the song shouldn’t go much above a high D (B string on a guitar, third fret). Unfortunately, a lot of modern worship songwriters have been adding octave (and even higher) jumps in their songs, which is really tough to pull off for an average guy.

Melodic Complexity

I’ve received feedback that it can be harder to learn and follow songs that are “melodically complex”. I think there are basically three key factors to listen for as a rule of thumb. The easiest to sing melodies have:

• Steady, Intuitive Rhythms
  While stop-and-start, syncopated melodies can be exciting musically, they’re also harder to sing. Repetitive, easily-anticipated rhythms are much easier follow and stay on top of.
• Smooth, Step-based Melody Lines
  Melodies that run along a scale from note to note rather than skipping multiple notes are usually easier to sing.
• Few Melodic Sections
  One final thing I listen for in a new song is to determine how many melodic “sections” are in it. If  a song has more than three melodic patterns, it’s probably going to take a while to learn. Most most popular hymns have two melodic sections: either the first and second half of each verse, or the verses and the refrains. Many modern worship songs have three patterns: verse, chorus, and bridge. A harder example would be a song that has a verse section, a prechorus section, a chorus section, a modified verse section, a bridge section, and a modified chorus section.

The “Acoustic Test”

Truth, beauty, and sing-ability are definitely the biggest things I’m looking for when I’m searching for new songs. One final litmus test that I usually employ as well is what I call the “Acoustic Test”. All this means is that I try to play and sing the song by myself, and gauge whether or not I would be comfortable leading the congregation if it was down to just one person leading. This doesn’t apply to all songs, especially drum-heavy or ethereal songs. What it really helps with, is to get down to the heart of the song and not be distracted by the arrangement.

Sometimes we can be convinced to love a song just because of the layers and layers of incredible production that have been lovingly crafted into the recorded version. But will the song still work without that killer guitar lick? Will it work without a full crew of professional studio musicians and top-dollar, veteran audio engineer? If the merit of a song lies only in the production, it’s probably a good idea not to add it to your repertoire. We need songs that our congregation can sing in the shower, with their kids at bedtime, in the dark of the night, or at the side of a hospital bed. If the truth of the lyrics and the quality of the melody and chord structure can’t stand on their own, most likely this won’t be a song that will stand the test of time and make a lasting impact.

Thoughts? Questions? Additions? I’d love to hear from you. Either post a comment below or