LOOP COMMUNITY
THE SONGWRITING MUSCLE W / 29:11 WORSHIP | Matt McCoy
Zion Rempel of 29:11 Worship sat down with Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to talk about free writing , mental health and their latest album .
[ Matt ] What is the songwriting process like at your church ?
[ Zion ] Generally songwriting is pretty organic for us . We have songs submitted all the time , and as a worship ministry , we look at what songs we think will fit with where we ’ re going as a church . Sometimes our lead pastor will say where he thinks we ’ re headed as a church or an upcoming series and we ’ ll right for that . We just finished a songwriting retreat . Locked ourselves in a cabin up north and wrote . It was really special .
[ Matt ] How many songwriters go on a retreat like that ?
[ Zion ] This retreat was five people . A small team of people , but it ’ s not only these five that write our music . We talk about songwriting often with our team . Songwriting is like a muscle that you ’ re always working out .
[ Matt ] It ’ s definitely a muscle . You have to exercise it or it stays weak . The more you write the better you get .
[ Zion ] One thing we do is encourage trusted people that can handle the vision of our house , to do free writes . You ’ re not really writing a song , you ’ re just writing . Your pen doesn ’ t stop moving . Write , write , write . It exercises that muscle of how to put into words what the Holy Spirit is doing . We ’ ll do this together as a worship team . Then we ’ ll share about what the Holy Spirit is doing in us .
It ’ s typically just 3-4 minutes . The goal is to not stop writing . At points it may sound a bit like jargon . But I ’ ve found the more that I do it in my life the more it has a rhythm . The goal isn ’ t to come up with something that ’ s usable elsewhere . Sometimes it can birth song ideas .
But the goal is to exercise the muscle of putting into words what the Lord is saying . It helps you not get caught up in not being able to describe what you ’ re trying to say .
[ Matt ] Do you do this with an instrument ?
[ Zion ] Not the free writing , but sometimes I will sit at a piano and “ free worship ”, and that ’ s a great melodic exercise . But in a free write , it ’ s practicing using the words .
Click HERE to watch the full interview .
You can get the Master Tracks for 29:11 Worship ’ s new album All Broken Things on LoopCommunity . com to lead their songs at your church !
Matt McCoy Matt is a worship leader , songwriter and Ableton Certified Trainer from Chicago , IL . He has been using Ableton and tracks in worship since 2002 . He ’ s passionate about creating new products and teaching worship leaders and artists how to use technology in live performance . www . LoopCommunity . com 38 September 2024 Subscribe for Free ...