“ Ummm … ok ? I don ’ t think our pastor is going to appreciate me mixing the worship band like a 1940 ’ s Dixieland band .” Good point . I ’ m not suggesting that you jump to extremes and completely change your Sunday morning mix , but it is a valuable ( and enjoyable !) exercise to treat your ears to sonic palettes that are completely different . I ’ m also not suggesting that you throw out your current top five faves and toss those albums aside , either . The point here is to acknowledge where those favorites and your listening tendencies might reside - and purposely explore in new areas now and then .
Let ’ s take that Dixieland example . Note how the acoustic guitar ( or banjo ) usually acts much more like a percussion instrument in the mix ? Hear how the bass ( or tuba ) is generally mixed waaaay back and almost seems to be subtly bringing a faint pitch to the bass drum verses standing out as its own instrument ? How cool would it be to try approaching the blend and balance of your rhythm acoustic guitarist in more of this manner ? Maybe the concept of side-chain compression ( and what you could do with it ) starts to solidify a bit more for you as you ponder this Dixieland bass / bass drum melding ?
When is the last time you had to balance a choir , rap vocals and solo soprano saxophone in the same track ? As I write this article , the 2021 Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian album was just awarded to Kanye West for his ‘ JESUS IS KING ’ album . Cue the album track ‘ Use This Gospel ( featuring Clipse & Kenny G )’ and turn it up . While Kanye and his Sunday
Service Choir may not be visiting your church any time soon , it does seem like the definition of what is readily accepted as being in scope for Contemporary Christian musical styles and approaches continues to grow . In the early 1700 ’ s there were particular musical intervals that many in the church deemed off limits as diabolus in musica - yet today we readily welcome the ‘ goes up to 11 ’ overdriven electric guitar and 4-on-the-floor driving bass drum to kick up the energy and close out the worship set . The times they are a-changin ’ - and we are expected to keep up .
So how do we seek out new mixing styles and keep our ears fresh and our musical mind open ? Well , I ’ d certainly invite you to check out the songs and albums that I referenced as my favorites above . Nothing too far off the beaten