WORSHIP LEADERS
ORGANIC TOMATOES AND CANNED WORSHIP | Mitch Bohannon
Have you been surprised at the number of “ organic ” foods available in the grocery these days ? I have . Organic ( whatever ) has simply become a major part of our culture . It ’ s also an adjective that has come to describe musical attributes we use in worship … like organic pads or organic guitar swells . But how organic is our worship … really ? What does it mean to have “ organic ” worship ? I believe describing worship as “ organic ” refers to flow and freedom in worship .
Most of us ( readers of Worship Musician Magazine ) serve on platforms where we are running backing tracks . There are several software options for the way you run tracks and most give choices to the amount of backing instruments used . Disclaimer : I am not at all opposed to using backing tracks ! I have used them myself for many years . However , does the use of backing tracks turn worship into karaoke ? I ’ ve seen such a debate online many times .
Let ’ s evaluate with Phil Wickham ’ s “ Battle Belongs .” If you ’ re using tracks , are you playing measure one to measure last exactly like the recording ? How much do you want to sound like the recording for that matter ? Look at your band . Do you have an electric guitar player ? Are you going to let them be the only electric or are you going to use the five different electric guitar stems in the backing track ? Do you have a keys player ? Are you going to only use your keys sound , or will you blend in the six different piano / pad / organ stems ? In other words , how heavy do you lean into your backing tracks ?
My opinion ? If my keys player was playing a piano sound , I would personally turn off the piano stems and keep some of the pad stems and maybe yes , maybe no for the organ . If my electric guitar player could only play rhythm , I might only keep one or two of the more melodic electric guitar parts from the tracks . Personally , I would prefer to have the backing tracks only enhance the music rather than take-over the music .
Let ’ s expand that question above … how much do you want to sound like the recording ? I love Phil Wickham and the recording of “ Battle Belongs ” is amazing , but is there a way to interpret or arrange the song so that it better
26 October 2024 Subscribe for Free ...