Worship Musician June 2019 | Page 93

LYRICAL INTEGRITY would like to sing the song if I were performing, For comparison, please check out my Nashville
Do the words of the song sit well with my best the key of E is the way to go. E makes the band’s version of “Great Are You Lord”. But
understanding of the Gospel? Are the song vocal range easily achievable for (just about) please keep in mind - we are not trying to
words aligned with the theological emphases everyone. present yet another cover version for your
of my church leadership? For “Great Are You
listening pleasure. Instead, we have made
Lord” my answers to these questions were all PLAYABLE,MELODY-SUPPORTING musical choices with the expressed intention of
yeses. INSTRUMENTATION inviting a regular Sunday Church congregation
With the musical and technical limitations to sing.
SINGABLE MELODY of the situation in which I find myself, will my
Is this melody catchy and easily sing-able? team be able to produce a version of this
Will my congregation - a motley collection song that will invite our congregation to sing?
of people, many of whom do not consider While I encourage my team to be inspired
themselves at all musical - find this melody and even influenced by the original version’s
simple and repetitive enough to be able to sing arrangement, I make it clear that we need not
along easily yet not find it so repetitive as to try to reproduce every element we can hear. It’s
become monotonous? Again, for “Great Are unlikely that we could! One of the beauties of
You Lord”, it’s a yes. “Great Are You Lord” is its simplicity, so yes,
Can you list the differences? Over the next
we can.
several months in [WM] we will be continuing
KEY CHOICE
Can I find a key for this song so that the melody From there, we’re ready to create our version
is comfortably within the range of (almost) every for our congregation.
to use “Great Are You Lord” as the example
song - I will be sharing the what and the why
of the changes we made as we moved away
man, woman and child in my congregation?
Yes, I can! For “Great Are You Lord” I chose I think you’ll get a lot out of this listening from a performance-oriented version to a
the key of E even though the original version exercise. First, watch and listen to All Sons & congregational version.
is much higher in A. To make that choice, I Daughters wonderful, original version of “Great confess that I was slightly influenced by the joy Are You Lord”.
of playing my guitar in E. But far more by the
Stay tuned!
“Great Are You Lord”
Words & Music by David Leonard, Jason Ingram, Leslie
Jordan (© 2012 Integrity's Alleluia! Music)
fact that, in E, the highest note in the melody
is a C# - occurring only briefly in the chorus.
Unlike a pro recording and touring lead singer
Grant Norsworthy
Founder of More Than Music Mentor, providing
online and onsite training for the heart and the art
of worshipping musicians.
www.MoreThanMusicMentor.com
(who must choose a key to highlight the best
register of their voice) I must choose a key
for my congregation. While much lower than I
June 2019
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