Choosing the Right Songs for Worship Services

Choosing the Right Songs for Worship Services

by | Mar 5, 2020 | Blog, Worship & The Creative Arts

I have had the honor of leading worship for 20+ years in various worship contexts. One question I get asked frequently is how I select songs for worship services. Here’s some practical insight on how I choose the right songs for worship services.

The Big Idea

When I’m planning the worship set for a service, initially I try to get a sense of direction and how the Lord is leading me. I attempt to discern what the “big idea” is for the worship set. I’ll ask questions like:

  • What aspect of God’s nature or attributes are we emphasizing? (His power? Glory? Grace? Omnipresence? etc. etc… )
  • What is pastor’s message about? What songs will complement the pastor’s message so everything points in the same direction? Is the pastor in a teaching series?
  • What does God want to accomplish in this worship service?

Asking these kinds of questions help you pinpoint a direction and you can plan from there. I have lead worship sets that felt disjointed because the song themes were all over the place and didn’t complement each other. For instance, I would lead a song about God being an all consuming fire, then a song about Him being the water of life, then a song about His mercies, then a song about him fighting for us, then a song about surrender. All of these themes in one worship set don’t complement one another and it’s hard to build momentum in the atmosphere. You can utilize complementary themes like grace and mercy, truth and God’s promises, God’s faithfulness and His word in your worship set and that will set the stage for a seamless flow. When you establish the “big idea” first, it helps with song selection and in selecting scriptures you can incorporate into your worship sets to help the congregation connect with God.

Song Flow

I’ve learned over the years that songs need to be properly placed in the worship set in order for them to be effective. My philosophy as a worship leader is to initially get everyone in the room on the same page by “gathering” the people. That includes doing songs that are easier to sing and are familiar to the congregation. There are some songs that are inherently great opening songs. If you use songs that are great opening songs in the middle of the worship set, it may feel like you’re starting from scratch. There are some songs that are great “transition” songs to shift the tempo or into another theme. Then there are some songs that are most effective when a great flow has been established and they would be considered more “intimate” worship. When I’m planning a set, sometimes I sing the end of one song and see how it feels to transition to the next songs intro. Does the transition feel “natural” or forced? Do I have to rebuild momentum again when going to the next song? Becoming skillful in crafting the right song flow takes time to learn. Here are some things to consider regarding song flow:

  • What opening song will get everyone on the same page? What is that song that is a “quick win” for everyone in the congregation? Start with that kind of song.
  • What are the tempos of my worship set? Do the song tempos feel too choppy? (1 fast, 1 slow, 1 fast, 1 slow)
  • What keys are the songs in and can I connect any songs with the same key signature?
  • What’s a good song to use as a transition to a slower tempo (or faster tempo if you want to end on a high note)?

Prepardness

Let’s set aside what we would consider the “spiritual” aspect of song selection like prayer and look purely from a “natural” perspective. I really take into consideration how prepared my team is to execute the performance of the songs. If your team doesn’t sound prepared on a song, that is probably a song that you shouldn’t force into your worship set list. Some songs don’t go over well simply because they weren’t executed well by the worship team. If the musician’s are missing notes, the drummer’s timing is off on those accents, the singers can’t get the harmony on the bridge, etc., I highly recommend practicing that song until it’s ready. Every worship leader has had the experience of having their team nail a song at rehearsal, only to act like they never heard the song in Sunday’s soundcheck. I simply remove that song from the set list and call an audible. My advice would be to never perform a song that’s not ready because it kills momentum in a worship set, it can be embarrassing to the team, and…… most importantly….. your failed worship set can go viral on YouTube (*joke)

Theologically Sound

Some songs are just not biblically based. They sound good, have a great beat, wonderful melody, and beautiful lyrics that aren’t theologically sound. As worship leaders, it is our job to ensure that what the congregation is singing lines up with the Word of God. We never want to sing songs that can sow seeds of error or reinforce bad theology. This is dangerous and should be taken into consideration when choosing the right songs for worship.

Everything in this blog post has nuance to it and I encourage you to be lead by the Holy Spirit and to use your best judgement. I pray that you faithfully lead people to Jesus!

4 Tips to Learn a New Song by Ear

4 Tips to Learn a New Song by Ear

by | Jan 21, 2020 | Worship & The Creative Arts

Practice at home, rehearse together…

Andrae Ambrose

Over the years of teaching worship teams, choirs, and musicians, and having spent countless hours in rehearsals, I came up with a genius “hack” to save myself time and rigor in rehearsals. I figured if the music personnel have the songs in advance, they could learn their parts at their leisure and come to rehearsal ready. I know… I know…. “Andrae for President”. (lol) When I implemented this strategy I had high expectations. I mean, what could go wrong? If everyone learns their part, rehearsals will be smooth sailing. Well, pretty soon I would come to understand that everyone doesn’t know how to learn a song efficiently. It dawned on me that the crew I was working with was always given their parts and never had to learn a song on their own.

You may be one who isn’t confident in learning songs by ear. Maybe you can learn by ear, but when you sit down to play the song on your instrument, you’re lost and don’t seem to retain it. This blog is for you. Here are 4 tips to learn a new song by ear methodically:

Listen

Yes. Listen. As simple as this may sound, many people don’t truly listen to the song they’re learning. Most try to sing or play the song while learning the song and in the process they are missing so many details. Whenever I have a new song to learn, I listen to it 2-3 times (depending on the complexity of the song). My first time listening to the song is for enjoyment. I’m just listening to how the song flows, the performance of the artist and musicians, and mentally take notes if something jumps out at me. I recommend that you listen before performing.

Lock Down the Song Structure

My 2nd or 3rd listen is for information. I really pay attention to the song structure and look for patterns. How many times is the chorus performed? Is there a special bridge? How many verses are there? How many times do they repeat the vamp? I pay attention to these types of details so when I’m about to actually practice the song on my instrument, I’m well acquainted with the flow of the song.

Learn Your Part

Now that I really know how the song goes, I sit with my instrument and learn the part. It’s important that you practice with the reference track and listen to see if what you’re playing or singing is in sync with the reference track. On parts that you can’t get, just rewind and keep listening to see if you can nail the part. The more you practice, the better you will become. If you are a singer, I would encourage you to at least learn the lyrics to the song so the part comes easier during a rehearsal.

Play the Song without the reference.

You know you have the song down when you can play it without using the reference track. I have met so many musicians who have incredible ears and can actually learn the song without being at their instrument. The only issue is that they haven’t played the song without the reference track, so when they have to perform the song, they don’t remember how it goes. Sometimes when playing along with the reference track, you get accustomed to certain bass licks, drum chop, or keyboard hit and it cues you to go to the next section. When you are playing the song “naked” (with no other instrumentation), you are forced to remember how the song goes without any other cues. If you do this successfully, you have actually learned the song.

My philosophy to music teams is that we should practice at home, but rehearse together. Nothing kills the momentum of a rehearsal more than giving individual parts out to sections, or musicians who can’t nail the chop because they didn’t practice at home. When you practice the song at home and come ready to rehearse, the group can focus on their performance together rather than individual parts. I hope these tips help you learn songs more efficiently and empower your music journey!

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