Songwriting Workshop: Who Are We Singing To, Anyway?

God loves it when we sing to Him, and He loves it when we sing about Him, to each other. But while God always knows the intent of our hearts, our congregations don’t. If we give them a song that illogically switches the object/audience around (the person to whom we’re singing), we will make it harder for them to enter into worship.

If your song is about God, to the congregation, then make that clear throughout the song. Don’t switch from

• “His love is strong” to
• “You own the cattle on a thousand hills,”

or they will think you’re saying they own the cattle on a thousand hills. Which might be true if you’re singing to Wyoming ranchers, but not many other folk.

Your song can have more than one audience, but you must make the switch obvious. For instance, your verses can say, “Let’s sing to the Lord,” and then your chorus says, “We sing to you Lord, we love you.

Can you think of a song that switches audiences, in a way that isn’t confusing? Why does it work, even with the switch?

The Simple Trick To Writing Effective Song Melodies

Many songwriters compose melodies by strumming guitar chords, allowing chord changes to lead them to the notes that work with those chords. There is nothing wrong with this method, but people don’t sing chords. They sing melodies. If you play chord changes on guitar or keyboard, and then you impose melodies on top of the chord progressions, you may end up with a boring melody (or a melody that sounds like all your other melodies, if you tend to play the same chord progressions).

Chords are important, for sure. They “harmonize” with the melody, helping to evoke certain emotions. But melody is primary. So try this method of melody-writing:

• First, compose the catchiest, most delightful melody you can, a cappella (without instrumentation).
• Next, speak your lyrics aloud. This will help you hear the natural rhythm of the words, which may help you revise your melody as needed.
• Last, find chords that will best support your melody, and bring out the emotional tones you’re looking for.

If you’re not a musician, you may want to work with a musician to find the right chords. This can be a co-writer, or just a musician in your church or band. If this person isn’t a co-writer, consider paying the musician an upfront fee for their time.

Finally, make sure your song “works” with just one voice and one instrument. Vicky Beeching says,

“I believe that if a song is going to be useful to the global Church, it needs to work with one voice and one acoustic guitar (or one piano). Most churches are not huge and have a small handful of musicians. Often it’s just one person up front leading on one instrument. Make sure your song doesn’t hang on some big musical riff, or the drumbeat, or the fact that a huge choir is singing it. Does it work when it’s stripped right back to one guitar and one vocal? If not, I’d say the song is too reliant on instrumentation and probably isn’t ready yet. Keep working on it until it stands strong on just one instrument and one vocal. Try the song that way at a smaller meeting, or a home group. A great song will work just as well in that simple setting, as it does with a huge band.”

 

Prosody: When Music And Lyrics Hold Hands

The term “prosody” has several meanings in the fields of literature, poetry and music. When we speak of prosody in songwriting, we’re talking about the marriage of lyrics to music. In simplest form, we achieve prosody when we match triumphant lyrics to triumphant music, and when we match sad lyrics to sad music.

So if you write a lament based on Psalm 13 (“How long, O Lord …”) your music should be consistent with the message of the lyrics, and the emotion those lyrics are intended to convey. Sojourn did this on “How Long,” based on Isaac Watts’s version of Psalm 13:

Some of the common tunes for classic hymns are lacking in prosody. This is especially true of the American “gospel hymns” of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. According to hymnologist Paul Westermeyer in With Tongues Of Fire:

“The Dwight Moody-Ira Sankey campaigns in the last quarter of the 19th century produced a body of hymnody that … contained cheery compound triple and dotted rhythms, enticing mild chromaticism, the almost exclusive use of major keys rather than minor ones, and a lack of dissonance or musical argument to create tension. It developed into the even lighter, semi-sacred, and more commercial music of the Billy Sunday era after the turn of the century, such as … “Brighten The Corner Where You Are,” … It often took over Sunday schools altogether and made inroads into mainstream Protestant services as well. Sometimes songs in this style replaced an entire hymnic heritage …”

Other classic hymns pair jubilant lyrics with somber music. Sovereign Grace’s Devon Kauflin wrote new music for the Phillip Bliss hymn “What A Savior” for this reason, as he told me in an interview here at My Song In The Night:

“I was never particularly excited about the traditional melody associated with it. In our context it didn’t seem to fit the declaration: ‘Hallelujah! What a Savior!’ I really wanted to be able to respond to the truth in the verses, and the line combined with the melody just seemed like a total downer to me.”

Prosody also means matching words like “rise,” “sky,” and “high” with notes that “rise high in the sky.” We hear this in Elevation Worship’s “Be Lifted High,” written by Chris Brown, Jane Williams, Jess Cates, Matt Brock and Wade Joye. The melody soars on “higher” when they sing:

“You be lifted high; You be lifted HIGHER”

To make sure you understand the basics of prosody, answer this question: Should the melody go up or down if you sing “the depths of hell”?

If you guessed “Down,” congratulations – you get it.

Is it ever okay to write sad music for happy lyrics, or vice versa? Of course. Rules are made to be broken. Songwriters most often invert the rule of prosody when they want to achieve an ironic effect, or to convey a sense of “Something isn’t quite right.”

For instance, a singer-songwriter may write lyrics about loss and heartbreak, then compose happy music to create an “I’m ignoring my pain” effect or a “Don’t cry for me – I’m actually better off” effect. But this kind of writing doesn’t work as well in congregational worship music.

How To Compose Melodic Hooks For Worship Songs

How do songwriters emphasize their song title or major lyrical “hook” of their song? Besides the obvious fact that the words themselves should be compelling, the musical section needs to stand out from the rest of the song as well. One common way is to make some of the notes that accompany your title higher or lower than the rest of the melody. Contemporary worship writers most often choose to go higher, but either can work.

You can also create a melodic hook by changing the rhythm. For instance, if the lines before and after your hook line are primarily composed of eighth notes and quarter notes, you can use long, fluid half notes and whole notes for your hook line. Glenn Packiam and Paul Baloche do this on “Your Name.”

You can go the opposite direction as well – compose the lines around your hook with long notes, then craft short notes for your hook. Jeremy Riddle does this on Bethel Music’s “Furious.” He stretches the notes of his pre-chorus, leading into a machine gun-like intensity of shorter notes throughout the chorus.

Finally, don’t make listeners wait too long before you introduce your major hook. Most songs will hit their big hook within about 30 seconds from the beginning of the first verse. This is often true of hymns, too. Whereas the big hook in contemporary worship songs usually comes in the chorus, it often comes midway through each verse in the V-V-V hymn format. You can hear it on lines 5-6 of each verse in these Stuart Townend/Keith Getty hymns (each of which contain 8 lines per verse):

• In Christ Alone
• Resurrection Hymn (See What A Morning)
• O Church Arise

Top photo by Derek Garvey, used via Creative Commons license

How Low Can You Go, How High Can You Fly In Worship Song Melodies?

Most people in your congregation have a vocal range somewhere between one octave to one-and-a-third. Paul Baloche, Jimmy Owens and Carol Owens write,

“Congregational songs must be written in the common range. That’s the range of the average person, generally from low Bb up to D. You can stretch that a half step on either end if necessary, but preferably not if the notes are to be held out very long. It’s demoralizing not to be able to reach the long high or low notes.”

For this reason, a 1 1/3-octave range should be in the upper limits of our songwriting toolkit. Most worship songs should stick closer to an octave. A full octave is plenty of space for a tune.

Some tunes – particularly quiet, contemplative songs – may only need a few notes. “Here I Am To Worship” has a five-note range, and “The Heart Of Worship” has a range of a sixth. But these are exceptions. For most worship songs, feel free to use a full octave. This will give you something to build toward in your verses, and will make your chorus and/or bridge interesting or fun for your congregation.

So use a whole octave in composing your melody, moving up the scale as your song progresses. As you move up the scale in your verse and pre-chorus, the tension will increase, leading to a big hook in your chorus. Otherwise, if your verse is higher than your chorus, the melody will seem to deflate, and people will lose interest.

As with any songwriting “rule,” this need not always be the case. Some songs seem to promise a melodic jump at the start of the chorus, only to tease us by dipping to a lower note than the final pre-chorus note. As the chorus progresses, we do finally hit the higher melodic notes. Jason Ingram, Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman do this on “White Flag.” It works because the chorus is short and the high “payoff” lines are worth it.

Next week I’ll write more about “melodic hooks,” the part of a song that people hum and sing over and over.

The First Principle Of Melody-Writing For Worship Songs

Nothing in the songwriter’s craft is more mysterious than the creation of a good melody. It’s not an exact science – its art. And yet without a strong melody, most people won’t pay attention to your lyrics. In an interview with me here at My Song In The Night, John Mark McMillan said,

“The words and the music have to work together to create that vibe, that overall experience.

“Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase ‘The medium is the message.’ Christian music and the church as a whole could pay attention to that. We forget that the words are the last little piece of the message. The real story is told in the things you do and the way you do it.

“I want to put everything into my music so that the music and the lyrics tell a story together — the same story.”

I can’t guarantee that you’ll write a good melody by following “the rules.” Nor can I promise that people will hate your melody if you disregard “the rules.” But there are basic principles that have worked for numerous worship songs. We’ll talk about these principles in a series of posts over the next several weeks. You will increase your odds of composing singable, interesting melodies if you allow these principles to shape most of your songs.

Principle #1: Simple And Singable

Worship songwriters have a responsibility that is foreign to many of the most well respected singer-songwriters and bands you’ll hear on the radio, TV and live shows. Our melodies must not only be interesting, they must be simple enough for the average person to sing. If church congregations can’t sing along after hearing our song just one or two times, we lose.

John Witvliet is director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and professor of worship, theology, and congregational & ministry studies at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary. In a podcast interview with Mike Cosper, Witvliet said he asks this question of songwriters and worship leaders,

“Is this song genuinely singable by a congregation? That’s not a consideration for radio or concerts, but it must be for congregational worship songs.

“You must understand that question. You must love that question. You must thrill to hear a congregation singing together. Do you have a passion for it?”

This is why the most lasting hymns and praise songs tend to contain concise, symmetrical phrases, simple melodic lines and plenty of melodic repetition. It’s easy for a congregation to feel an emotional connection to a melody they can easily sing on Sunday and remember during the week.

Also pay attention to the intervals in your melody (the number of scale steps from one note to the next). If your intervals leap all over the place, your song will have a herky-jerky feel that is difficult or unpleasant to sing, even if the entire melody is confined to one octave. Most of your intervals should be step intervals (up or down one scale step). Save your leap intervals for spare moments when you need the music to swell.

Finally, remember that you’re writing for both genders, not just your own. As Vicky Beeching has written:

“Make sure it works for the male and female vocal range – if the song is meant to be sung in church, it needs to be singable by both men and women (who have very different vocal ranges). Gather some guy and girl friends and have them all sing it with you. See if it works for everyone’s voices. If not, try and find a melody everyone can join in with. It’s really tricky to make this work, but many worship songs don’t – and half the congregation will be struggling to join in, or desperately trying to harmonize, to find a melody they can actually reach! “

Next time I’ll write specifically about the melodic range you should aim for in your songs.

Rhyme Schemes – The Technique All Songwriters Should Master

Every songwriter knows that “rhyme” is a big deal. And it seems so simple — make your songs rhyme. But there is danger on the tracks, especially for beginning songwriters who don’t think about the overall structure of their songs at the beginning.

Let’s look at the most popular “rhyme schemes” in modern songs. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes in your song (rhymes that occur at the end of your lines). We show this pattern by creating diagrams based on the alphabet.

To create a rhyme scheme diagram for a verse, label the first line “A.” Then label every line that rhymes with that first line with an “A.” Label the next non-rhyming line with a “B.” Then assign the letter “B” to every other line that rhymes with it. If this seems confusing, don’t worry. You’ll see the pattern when we begin to look at sample verses, below.

We create song diagrams to discover inconsistent rhyme schemes, so we can make them consistent. This is because when we begin a song, we make certain promises to the congregation (we could consider it a contract). In this case, the promise is:

Whatever end-rhyme pattern we establish in the first verse will remain through subsequent verses.

Let’s look at the three most popular rhyme schemes:

ABAB (and its variant, ABCB)

Early English hymnwriters often wrote in a rhyme scheme called “ABAB.” Augustus M. Toplady used the ABAB rhyme scheme in “A Debtor To Mercy Alone.” Watch:

“The terrors of law and of God (A)
With me can have nothing to do; (B)
My Savior’s obedience and blood (A)
Hide all my transgressions from view.” (B)

He rhymes “God/blood” on lines 1 and 3, and “do/view” on lines 2 and 4. This is a tight rhyme scheme. ABAB songs are often fun to sing and easy to remember.

ABCB is a popular variation of ABAB. It gives the writer a little more freedom to concentrate on things like plot and theme instead of being too beholden to rhyme, but it still provides rhyme where our ears most expect it – on the even-numbered lines.

Contemporary ABCB songs include “Forever Reign” by Jason Ingram and Reuben Morgan, “You Are My King (Amazing Love)” by Billy James Foote, and “Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)” by Scott and Brooke (Fraser) Ligertwood. Let’s diagram the first verse of “Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise):

“This is my revelation (A)
Christ Jesus crucified (B)
Salvation through repentance (C)
At the cross on which He died” (B)

Unlike the ABAB rhyme scheme, lines one and three don’t rhyme here (revelation/repentance). But note that “revelation” rhymes with “salvation,” the first word of line three. So we have a nice instance of internal rhyme (rhymes that occur within the body of your verse, rather than at the end of your lines).

Still, less-experienced songwriters than Brooke and Scott Ligertwood might have thought “We need to revise our third line so it rhymes at the end with revelation. Let’s change the third line to:

“Repentance leads to salvation”

This would have given them a “perfect” ABAB scheme, but what a clunker.

AABB

AABB is the easiest scheme for beginners to write. When a poet ends his first line, it feels natural to immediately find a word that will end the next line with a rhyme.

The problem is that this can encourage writers to put too much emphasis on rhyming and not enough on developing a sustained thought across multiple lines. This can lead to songs that are more like a series of individual two-line platitudes than a compelling narrative or exposition. Nevertheless, many great hymns of the faith use AABB well. See Charles Wesley’s classic Christmas carol:

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (A)
Glory to the newborn King (A)
Peace on earth, and mercy mild, (B)
God and sinner reconciled” (B)

Many contemporary praise songs use this scheme well, too, including “Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)” by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown, and “Our God” by Matt Redman, Jonas Myrin, Jesse Reeves and Chris Tomlin.

When Tomlin and Louie Giglio adapted John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” into “Amazing Grace (Chains Are Gone)” they kept Newton’s ABAB rhyme scheme in the verses. But they switched to AABB in their chorus:

“My chains are gone, I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood, His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace”

Did they “break contract” with us? No – although you should use the same rhyme scheme in your verses, you can switch to a different scheme for your chorus and bridge. In fact, doing so may help you distinguish those elements of your song. Most contemporary songs use different rhyme schemes for the distinct elements of their songs (verse-chorus-bridge).

Diagram your own songs. Not only may you discover inconsistent rhyme schemes, you may find out that you rely too much on one or two rhyme schemes. If so, give yourself assignments to write songs in alternate rhyme schemes. Doing so will help you avoid creative dry spells. And it may just give you your best song yet.

Top photo used via Creative Commons license

Songwriting Toolkit: The Verse-Verse-Verse Hymn Structure

After an article defining the common song elements  (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, refrain, bridge), we’ve looked at the Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus (V-C-V-C) songwriting structure and the V-C-V-C-B-C structure (where “B” stands for “bridge”).

Today we examine Verse-Verse-Verse (V-V-V). This last major structure isn’t used as often today but is still the most-repeated structure in the history of Christian song, because it is the structure used in nearly all hymns until the 19^th century, when refrains (and later, choruses) began to grow in popularity.

V-V-V is often called the “storytelling” or “balladeer” structure because the form allows for more room to tell a story than other forms. Let’s say you have a three-verse hymn, with eight lines per verse. That’s 24 lines in which to tell your story. Compare that to a V-C-V-C-B-C song in which the verses each contain four lines, the chorus contains four more and the bridge adds two. That’s a total of fourteen lines – ten less than the hymn.

Of course the verses of some hymns contain just four lines, like “Amazing Grace,” while others contain six, like “Rock of Ages.” And many hymns have more than three verses (the most common is four verses, so that’s V-V-V-V). The more verses a hymn has, however, the more likely that churches will omit one or more of the verses.

Since V-V-V has no chorus, the title often comes from the first line of the song. Consider “When I Survey The Wond’rous Cross,” “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “In Christ Alone.”

“For me, (and I’m borrowing from the great hymn writer James Montgomery here), a good hymn text has a striking first line.  It needs to be immediately accessible the first time you sing it, not too poetically obtuse and opaque.  But it needs to bring new insights when you sing it over and over again.  This is a very tricky balance to achieve by the way.  It’s very rare for a great poet to be a great hymn writer.”

— Kevin Twit, founder of Indelible Grace, in an interview with me here at My Song In The Night

The hook may also be the last line of each verse. Brooks Ritter and I did this on the contemporary hymn “Lead Us Back,” ending each verse with “Lead us back to life in You.”

Since few current songwriting blogs and books mention this form, and since even fewer dive into the depths of hymn-text writing, we discuss it quite a bit here. You can get started by visiting our Modern Hymns page.

Songwriting Toolkit: The Verse-Chorus-Bridge Structure

Last week we looked at the Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus (V-C-V-C) songwriting structure. This followed on the heels of an article defining the common song elements  (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, refrain, bridge). This week, we add bridges to the mix, as we look at the V-C-V-C-B-C structure.

This might be the most popular structure in 21^st century worship songwriting. Follow the V-C-V-C guidelines, then insert your bridge (usually two to four lines) following the second chorus.

We’ve noted that the second verse should not simply repeat the information of the first verse, but should advance the story or help us understand the message of the chorus in a new way. This is true of a bridge, too. But while you “cover new ground” with your second verse and bridge, remember that we are talking about the development of a theme, not the presence of another theme. Vicky Beeching says, 

“Most songs cover way too many ideas or themes, and the lyrics lack the punch of one focused idea. When you’ve written a verse and a chorus, the temptation is to move on to a different theme for verse two, and maybe a different theme again for the bridge! Stay true to your initial focus/idea and go deeper into it during verse two and the bridge. Resist the urge to pack ten themes into one song – aim for one theme!”

Allie LaPointe stresses the need to say something new in each part of the song, while sticking to one theme: When I interviewed Allie here at My Song In The Night, she said,

“I challenge myself to make sure every line points to the thesis, and that every word counts.  Verse two must say something new, and must progress from verse one.  But everything points back to the title.”

Contemporary worship songs that follow the V-C-V-C-B-C pattern include “Here I Am To Worship” by Tim Hughes, “Mighty To Save” by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan, “Christ Has Risen” by Matt Maher, “Forever Reign” by Reuben Morgan and Jason Ingram, “Happy Day” by Tim Hughes and Ben Cantelon, and “Beneath The Waters (I Will Rise)” by Brooke Fraser and Scott Ligertwood. Daniel Bashta’s “Like A Lion” plays with the structure by ending the song on the bridge, leaving us without a resolution – perhaps to indicate an ongoing “sound of revival” in our hearts.

Alternate Route – Some of the best loved worship songs dispense with the chorus altogether, so the formula is V-V-B-V. Since there is no chorus, the hook line comes at the beginning or end of the verses. The bridge, unlike a chorus, usually doesn’t state the main idea but it brings in fresh material to support it. Songs that fit this pattern include “Give Thanks” by Henry Smith, “Come, Now Is The Time To Worship” by Brian Doerksen, “As The Deer” by Martin Nystrom, and “Majesty” by Jack Hayford.

 London Bridge photo by Sojourn deacon Chuck Heeke

Songwriting Toolkit – The Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus Structure

Last week I defined the standard elements of contemporary songs: verse (including pre-chorus), chorus, bridge and refrain. Now let’s see how songwriters put these elements together to create the structures of various praise and worship songs.

This week, we’ll look at the most basic, popular structure in 21^st century music: V-C-V-C. Remember as we noted last week, when we speak of the verse (V), it may or may not include a pre-chorus/climb at the end, leading into the chorus.

The first verse begins a story or thesis, introduces the characters and ideas, and leads the congregation (lyrically and musically) into the chorus. The verse doesn’t usually include your song’s title. When it does, the title is often the first line of the verse.

The chorus typically follows the first verse, although songwriters occasionally begin with the chorus. Matt Redman’s “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)” is a good example of this alternative pattern.

Remember, the chorus usually includes your song title and main melodic hook, and summarizes the idea of your song. In God Songs, Paul Baloche and Jimmy and Carol Owens describe the relation of verse to chorus like this:

“The verses develop the theme, and the choruses celebrate it. Each verse sets up the chorus and leads logically into it. The chorus with its repeated hook capsulizes the main point of the song.” [i]

Tim Hughes says, “I like choruses that are quite anthemic – I love to really scream out a chorus.” [ii]

For this to happen, you must do more than just make your melody soar. The lyrics must be simple, and the phrasing should allow worshipers to hang onto words and syllables – short words, long notes.

In an interview with me here at My Song In The Night, Aaron Ivey of The Austin Stone Community Church illustrates this when discussing his song “Love Shines”:

“The idea for this song came from a Valley of Vision prayer entitled, “Love Lustres At Calvary.” Every since I stumbled across the Valley of Vision (a collection of Puritan prayers from the 18th and 19th century), I have been mesmerized by the way in which they describe the gospel.

“So, with this song, my co-writing friend Philip Edsel and I wanted to uphold the integrity of the Puritan prayer in the verses with intricate, hymn-like, and weighty lyrics. But, we also wanted the congregation to be able to belt out an anthemic and simple chorus celebrating the truths of the gospel. Since the verses were a little more complex in content, we felt like the chorus called for simplicity.”

The second verse continues your story, provides additional information and leads back into the chorus. When we get to the chorus, we should understand its message on a deeper level.

Some songs contain a third verse (so the structure would be V-C-V-C-V-C). Indeed, there is no end to the number of verses you could write, although each subsequent verse after the second will decrease the chances of your song “making it” (whether “making it” means your church’s catalog, a publishing deal, radio airplay, or downloads/sales). It’s harder to maintain interest with each verse.

Still, good writers can occasionally write songs that maintain interest through three verses. Jennie Riddle does it in “Revelation Song.” Each verse is only four lines long, and the story develops through vivid scenic description and a melody that makes us want to keep “going along for the ride” as we build to the powerful chorus.

Examples of V-C-V-C worship songs include “Everlasting God” by Brenton Brown and Ken Riley, “Hosanna (Praise Is Rising)” by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown, “How Great Is The Love” by Meredith Andrews, Jacob Sooter and Paul Baloche, “Refiner’s Fire” by Brian Doerksen and “How He Loves” by John Mark McMillan (this is a three-verse song, although most churches and recording artists only sing the first two verses).

One popular variation to V-C-V-C is “V-C,” in which the first — and only — verse is repeated a second (and sometimes third) time, as in “Shout To The Lord” by Darlene Zschech. Is this bad? No – if you’ve said all you want to say after the first verse, why add a second? Just make sure your verse is strong enough that worshipers will want to repeat it.

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[i] Paul Baloche, Jimmy and Carol Owens, God Songs: How To Write And Select Songs for Worship, (Lindale, TX: leadworship.com, 2004), p. 55

[ii] Matt Redman, Redman Interviews Tim Hughes (2009), http://www.worshipcentral.org/forum/topic/song-writing-interview-with-matt-redman-and-tim-hughes