bars would go by before any new movement was added . Of course you could add other band members at bar 9 , but I ’ m going to suggest you develop this simple voice with some movement below the melody . Figure 2
If you have an acoustic guitar player on your team who ’ s comfortable finger picking , they could play this new activity in Figure 3
Or , you could let this activity be what ’ s first heard in your reimagined arrangement . Something like Figure 4 as a keyboard part .
This example has something important going on in measures 3 and 4 . It ’ s something that is heard often in worship recordings . It ’ s the
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
add4 chord . When I reach the A chord , which is spelled A C # E , I have right hand activity that ’ s playing D a lot . When I hold my sustain pedal down the starts to be a dissonance heard between this D and the C # being held as the top note in my left hand . Your instinct might be to try and clear your pedal so that this dissonance isn ’ t heard . Let that dissonance sparkle there . When it resolves into the upcoming G in the progression , the sense of release is beautiful . Take advantage of that dissonace . It ’ s beautiful part of the musical palette you and I have as keyboard players .
One of the most important elements of songwriting and arranging is the element of repetition . In this right hand figure I ’ ve developed , you see the same 8 th note activity in each measure . Check out what happens when I leave out the last two 8ths in measure 4 . Figure 5
It ’ s a very subtle difference but one I like to take advantage of . By leaving out those two 8 th notes , I believe momentum increases for the listener into the next bar . Many times in my keyboard workshops I ’ ve let people know that I ’ ve never had someone come up to me after a worship service and say , “ I was so drawn in by that momentum you created by intentionally omitting certain activity from your keyboard parts ”. Nope . Never gonna happen . That doesn ’ t mean the musical device doesn ’ t have an impact . Try it yourself . Try it with your band . Experiment with leaving out parts of a repeated pattern . It can be really effective . Just don ’ t wait for your congregation to ‘ high five ’ you about it after your service .
If you were to start your arrangement with what I ’ ve shown in figure 5 , you could play it twice and then introduce the melody that I presented in Figure 1 . Like what you see in Figure 6 .
Saving this significant melody until bar 9 rather than playing it in the first measure can give your intro section more substance musically .
Speaking of repetition , one of the most significant places we can incorporate repetition into our keyboard parts and our worship song arrangements is after our first chorus . Recording after recording that you and I love has repeated their intro activity at this spot . I call this section a reintro . Clever name , right ? It ’ s a reuse of the intro material . If you ’ re using the material I ’ ve suggested in this article , at this reintro you might have your drums come in with a duple figure on the toms , you might have your electric guitar player play the top note of example 1 .
However you present it , the beauty of using your intro activity as a reintro is that it gives your listener a sense of the musical journey they ’ re taking . The statement of the intro ’ s melody sets this section apart from the chorus that ’ s just been sung . The conspicuous instrumental melody gives the section significance , and the instrumental melody is familiar , rather than being new material they haven ’ t heard before .
Please visit this link to listen to each of these examples . You ’ ll hear how much influence the character of the sound being played has over the part I ’ ve developed . If you haven ’ t yet checked out Sunday Keys 2022 do it soon . It can be an important addition to your sonic palette .
My hope is that through the concepts I ’ ve shared with you here , you and your worship team can find a way to reimagine a song whose message is especially timely for what you and your congregation are going through . Your song choices matter , and sometimes the right song will be one that you thought you ’ d never play again .
Ed Kerr Ed Kerr lives in Seattle with his family . He serves as worship arts director at First Free Methodist Church , teaches keyboards in Paul Baloche ’ s leadworship workshops and is a clinician with Yamaha ’ s House of Worship . He also manages the Yamaha Worship Facebook group and invites you to join the group . www . KerrTunes . com