more – I want to live in the center of your love , walking in your love and carrying that love with me every day . I love that , I love those songs that take on multiple dimensions as you sing them . They just mean different things and bring about different feelings and messages in the song .
[ WM ] As I was watching the video for “ Living with a Fire ” on Worship Together ’ s New Song Café ( linked in our Song Spotlight with Chris Quilala ), I was struck by how awesome the background vocals were , including yours . What tips do you have for worship leaders in terms of singing great BGVs when they aren ’ t leading a song ?
[ Kim ] I think it ’ s really important to remember that your voice is an instrument as well . The other instrument players in the band are considering the dynamics within the song . So , it ’ s not everyone playing the exact same rhythm in the exact same moment . It ’ s everyone listening to each other , and feeling it out . Knowing when to play a lot or when to play a little . When to play quarter notes , half notes , or whatever it is . Considering the dynamics and adding to that . It ’ s the same thing with the background vocals . I love a really strong and confident background vocal . I think the best BGV ’ s are the ones where you consider everything – the sound , the dynamic , and the message .
If there ’ s a spot on a song , say in the second verse , and the last two lines are just really strong with a powerful message and you want people to hear that , I may not sing any background vocals on the entire second verse until I get to those two lines . Then I ’ d bring in a really strong background vocal to just bring emphasis to that message and those lines .
Same thing with a chorus . If the band is playing the first chorus kind of soft , make sure your vocals are soft and blend , and maybe do a lower harmony . But when that chorus gets to be big , that ’ s when you want to jump up on the higher harmony and really belt it out along with the leader . I just think it ’ s important to think of the dynamics and how you ’ re adding , and it ’ s not just musically . I think it ’ s also the message and the lyrics and where you want to add emphasis . Just as if you were reading through your Bible and something stands out and you want to highlight it – you grab your highlighter ! In that same way , in a song there are points or words that you want to highlight . You want to bring emphasis to that because it ’ s so good and so strong !
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September 2018 WorshipMusician . com
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