WORSHIP LEADERS
FROM SLAMMIN’ TO SINGABLE:“ I THANK GOD” KEY CHOICE & MELODIC CONSOLIDATION | Grant Norsworthy
“ I Thank God” is a vibrant testimony of a life transformed by Jesus and a passionate declaration of thankfulness to Almighty God. It’ s a song drenched in kinetic, rhythmic celebration and packed with stage energy. But stage energy and congregational singability are not the same thing. thumbnail below to watch and hear Maverick City Music & UPPERROOM’ s official music video for“ I Thank God” on YouTube. congregation should be able to follow easily, the melody of the verses and pre-choruses features:
• high rhythmic density
• asymmetrical phrase lengths
• unpredictable syncopation
• melodic contour that shifts from line to line If, like me, you’ re adding Maverick City Music and UPPERROOM’ s“ I Thank God” to your repertoire, some tough choices will need to be made.
So first, a few questions worth asking:
• Are we aiming for our version of“ I Thank God” to sound as close as possible to the MCM & UR slammin’ version— reproducing as much of the original recording’ s amazing musicality and high energy as possible?
• Or are we willing to make some sacrifices— absorb some small musical sadnesses— in order to better facilitate singability for the people we lead in sung worship?
In short: Am I aiming for a version that’ s enthralling listening( like MCM & UR’ s version definitely is), or will I aim for every man, woman, and child in my congregation to be able to sing along?
To put it another way: Do I want the people I lead to be swept up in the worshipfulness of the team on the platform playing and singing“ I Thank God,” or by singing“ I Thank God” with us?
If, like me, you’ ve made the vocal participation of the congregation your humanly observable musical goal, allow me to share my“ From Slammin’ to Singable” process for“ I Thank God.”
And if you’ re unfamiliar with the song, click the
STEP 1: SONG SELECTION To be totally transparent, I have chosen to add“ I Thank God” to my repertoire mainly because it is very popular right now.
Yes, it’ s a good song with energy and solid lyrics. It’ s helping believers worship— or express the worth of— God. But it’ s also a song that is connecting widely and deeply with many Christians in churches.
It will be a useful“ vehicle” in my song garage as I lead sung worship in a variety of different contexts.
STEP 2: IDENTIFYING THE ROADBLOCKS Like a very high proportion of newer“ worship songs,” the original MCM & UR version of“ I Thank God” makes for great listening( and watching), but in its original form presents some problems for congregational participation.
While the vocal range demonstrated by our award-winning professional soloists and the wonderful, highly skilled, harmonizing choir is impressive, it’ s well outside the“ C to shining C” ideal for congregational participation. I’ ll need to change the key.
But I will also need to consolidate the melody.
While the often-repeated chorus and bridge follow predictable melodic patterns that a
All that to say: Aaron Moses and Dante Bowe( our two featured tenor soloists) are expressing themselves as they sing— as they should! It sounds great. But that level of solo selfexpression and vocal“ jamming” cannot be followed by first-time singers.
I don’ t think I can match their vocal prowess anyway, even if I sunk some serious time into trying. How can I expect my congregation to? I doubt even Aaron and Dante will sing their solo sections identically the next time they perform them!
STEP 3 & 4: KEY CHOICE AND MELODIC CONSOLIDATION The melodic register of the MCM & UR version of“ I Thank God” is far wider than a congregation can easily handle. But with some careful consideration and gentle adjustment, it is possible to pitch the song in a way that most congregants can follow and sing reasonably comfortably.
I’ ll be moving the song from its original slammin’ performance key of C♯ Major( D♭ Major) to a more congregationally singable key of F Major. I’ ll also need to do some— what I call— melodic consolidation.
Melodic consolidation is the process of reducing unnecessary variations in the vocal melody so that similar lyrical ideas are carried by similar melodic shapes.
• Congregations do not learn melodies analytically
• They learn by prediction.
34 March 2026 Subscribe for Free...