“ Hmmm. Maybe. But did you notice what happened when you did that?”
I thought for a moment. I had not noticed anything in particular. I may have been totally wrapped up in my own vocal and emotional moment. I assumed that the congregation was right there with me.
“ Ummm. What happened?” I asked, more than a little sheepishly.
“ Well, we all stopped singing. No-one knew how to follow that.”
I was surprised. A little shocked even.
“ Really?” I asked, struggling to believe what I was hearing.
“ Yes, really. Are you planning to do that song again?”“ Well, yes, I would like to. I think it’ s great.”“ Okay. Well, if you do, please remove that octave jump thing so we can follow.”
Memory of this decade-or-more-old conversation is getting a little hazy. I think I may have offered a loving rebuttal. Maybe I suggested that Brooke might be mistaken. Surely people were still singing. If they weren’ t, they’ d get it next time. I may or may not have uttered the words …
“ Perhaps you just need to try a bit harder.”
I can’ t be certain.( Thankfully, our marriage has survived my foot / mouth moment.)
Brooke was patient, yet adamant. If I really wanted the congregation to be able to sing“ Lord I Need You” rather than just listen to me singing it for them, I would remove the octave jump.
The next time I was rostered to lead sung worship, I quickly added“ Lord I Need You”. Remembering what Brooke had said, I explored a different key and the removal of the octave jump. It seemed to work okay in the key of E.
But, in E and without the octave jump,“ Lord I Need You” felt terrible to me. Like its right arm had been amputated! It was still the same song, but without an element that I had grown accustomed to, really enjoyed and felt was important.
With“ Lord I Need You” in E, I felt what I now call a deep musical sadness. So much so, that during the pre-service rehearsal, I switched it back to A and reintroduced the octave jump.( You can read more about musical sadness here).
But this time, I tried to listen more to the“ voice” of the congregation. I heard what Brooke had been referring to. I confessed as much during the inevitable post-service inquisition.
She was right.
I thought people were singing, but they weren’ t. Not well anyway.
The third time I led with“ Lord I Need You”, I absorbed the musical sadness, stuck to the key of E and did not use the octave jump. It still felt sad— very sad— but I pushed through.
That morning, I heard my congregation sing- really sing-“ Lord I Need You” for the first time. I thought- sincerely believed- that they were singing on the previous occasions, but I was wrong. The difference in the level of participation from the congregation was like night and day. Even from the beginning of the song, now with the men singing the melody in my register and with the women and children comfortably singing the melody one octave higher than the men, the room launched!
To me, here is the higher joy. This is worth absorbing small musical sadnesses for.
Through this experience, and several other similar experiences, I am learning that my role is to serve the“ voice” of the congregation. I am not a“ lead singer”. My voice is merely a guide for theirs.
The question isn’ t whether the octave jump is musically good or bad. The question is: Who is the musical arrangement designed to serve? A listening audience? Or a singing congregation? The same song can be arranged effectively for either purpose, but the musical decisions may need to be quite different.
Songs can be sung in ways that are designed to be listened to. Songs can be sung in a way that guides the“ voice” of the congregation. Both are valid. Both can be worshipful.
But if I am tasked with leading a congregation to sing together as their expression of worship, I will choose the second approach. Every time.
I am never going back!
Numerous“ worship songs” have included an octave jump in their popular, original version.“ Cornerstone”,“ Who You Say I Am”,“ Glorious Day” and“ I Speak Jesus,” to name only a few. The octave jump is not wrong. In the context of the wonderful, original versions of these songs, it is a great choice. In fact, the octave jump in those original recordings is a contributing factor— perhaps a major contributing factor— to why we deeply resonate with them in the first place.
But it’ s my strong opinion that no congregation, comprised of a mixed group of people— men, women and children— with a wide range of vocal abilities can follow the octave jump.
Remove the octave jump. Absorb the small musical sadness. Taste the higher joy of your congregation worshipping Almighty God through song.
Grant Norsworthy Grant is the founder of More Than Music Mentor- providing online & onsite training for the heart & the art of worshipping singers, instrumentalists & technicians. Grant’ a passion is to IMPROVE musicality, INCREASE participation, INSTILL unity & INSPIRE worship in The Church worldwide. An Aussie who also lived in Nashville, TN, USA for 17 years as a pro CCM muso, today Grant lives and works from his Nelson New Zealand home base.
MoreThanMusicMentor. com Facebook. com / GrantNorsworthy
56 October 2026 Subscribe for Free...