SONGWRITING
WHAT 149 MILLION YOUTUBE VIEWS CAN TEACH YOU [ ABOUT WRITING WORSHIP SONGS ] | John Chisum
Hillsong ’ s “ What a Beautiful Name ” ( Ligertwood / Fielding ) has taken the worship world by storm . We sing it a lot at our church , and I bet you do too , because it ’ s way up on CCLI ’ s Top 100 chart , and that means this song is being used by a lot of believers right now . It ’ s just one of “ those ” songs that seem to burst into the church unannounced like a hailstorm cropping up on a scorching West Texas summer day .
At this writing , “ What a Beautiful Name ” has had over 149,312,091 views on Youtube alone , not counting all of the shares and likes and repostings of this song worldwide . I talk a lot about “ successful Christian songwriting ,” and this is a glimmering example of that idea because it ’ s obviously hitting home with millions of people and it ’ s only been out about a year . Very impressive .
So what can we learn from a song like this ?
First , this is an exquisite hook / phrase that every Jesus-worshiper on the planet is happy to utter . “ What a beautiful name it is ” is one of those composite phrases that fuses classic titles like “ There ’ s Just Something About That Name ” ( Wm . J . and Gloria Gaither ) and “ How Beautiful ” ( Twila Paris ), or “ Beautiful One ” ( Tim Hughes ), and “ Your Name ” ( Glenn Packiam and Paul Baloche ). I ’ m not saying the writers did this on purpose , but , however it happened , their blending of these phrases put one of the freshest and most endearing worship phrases into the mouths of worshipers worldwide , capturing the essence of our heart ’ s desire to express such a thing .
( think Tomlin ’ s “ Amazing Grace / Chains Are Gone ” here ).
“ prosody ” ... has to do with the marriage of the lyric and melody . If it ’ s a great marriage , it ’ s probably a great song .
Second , these writers kept it simple . Simplicity is one the greatest keys and most difficult challenges to hit songwriting . For me , a “ hit ” is something that connects with the greatest number of listeners / users , regardless of the genre . In worship music , that means people want to sing this song over and over again in their churches . “ In Christ Alone ” ( Townend / Getty ) is a hit . “ How Great is Our God ” ( Tomlin , Cash , Reeves ) is a hit . “ 10,000 Reasons ” ( Redman / Myrin ) is a hit , too , but none of these just because they were promoted by big record companies or were played on the radio . These songs connect with the greatest number of worshipers because the writers kept the songs deceptively simple in a way that helps you want to sing them . song out of reach for the average worshiper , keeping it pretty much in a six-note range throughout , which is quite comfortable for most people .
Along with range is the quite memorable , worshipful , and emotional chorus melody coupled so beautifully with the lyric . In songwriting language this is called “ prosody ” and has to do with the marriage of the lyric and melody . If it ’ s a great marriage , it ’ s probably a great song . Sometimes a song can have a great lyric and a less-than-great melody or vice versa and it tanks the whole thing . You want great prosody , and these guys certainly captured it in this song .
If you can find a phrase as beautiful , worshipful , and universally applicable to worshipers as “ What a Beautiful Name It Is ,” for goodness ’ sake , keep it simple and singable . Don ’ t overthink it or complicate it just to show how crafty you can be in your songwriting . Keep the range easy for the average guy and make sure the melody and lyric have a blissful marriage , and you ’ ll be on your way to blessing a whole lot of people .
I ’ d be pretty happy with just one-million views on one of my songs , and probably go into a coma if I had 149 million and climbing . Ligertwood and Fielding deserve the accolades and the royalties . They ’ ve given us a new classic that is deserving of great rewards in heaven and on this earth . Now it ’ s your turn .
So , this is a hint for all aspiring songwriters . Research hymns and every song title you can find to look for fresh combinations of phrases
Third , the sheer singability of this song makes it immediately accessible to everyone . This means that they didn ’ t make the range of the
John Chisum Managing Partner of Nashville Christian Songwriters , a coaching and resource company for Christian songwriters at ... www . NashvilleChristianSongwriters . com
62 June 2018 WorshipMusician . com