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Post by andrewthompson on Apr 26, 2014 15:43:41 GMT
When I hit "writer's block" I come back to this list as an idea generator. What would you add to it?
Invoke the presence of God
Declare the glory, authority and power of God
Acknowledge the faithful provision of God to every need
Acknowledge the work of the cross for reconciliation and access to God
Respond to the claims of the cross with all that we have and are
Ask for God's blessing on and intervention in our nation
Ask for God's blessing on and intervention in the nations of the world
Declare our position and authority in Christ and wage spiritual warfare
Remember our identity in Christ
Commit ourselves to God's kingdom work in the world
Align our heart with God's priorities
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Post by andrewthompson on Sept 25, 2014 18:34:23 GMT
I've also been thinking about this as an idea for writing project. You know how as worship planners we're often looking for songs that will serve particular sections of the worship service. For example, gathering songs, or response songs, or sending songs... that kind of thing.
I was thinking it would be good to use that as a starting point for writing. What is the congregation needing to, meaning to, or ought to be expressing to God as they initially gather? What are the sentiments that the congregation is meaning to express to God as they are sent? Or as they ready to hear God's Word... or as they respond.
Anyway, is anyone else interested in pursuing this as a writing challenge? Let's share some ideas here.
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aaron
New Member
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Post by aaron on Oct 1, 2014 15:56:59 GMT
Hey Andrew,
New to the boards here. Love the direction of the question, and thank you for starting the discussion.
I think starting with the needs of the congregation is a great paradigm to get some songs written that will be useful.
I challenge our songwriting students to be prolific as possible. For me this includes one-song-a-day "sprints" of a month or more to get things moving.
So I like the nature of the challenge to write for the needs list above. I'd be interested in pursuing it with you.
Aaron Armstrong
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Post by andrewthompson on Oct 2, 2014 14:05:25 GMT
Thanks Aaron. What is the "spirits" of a month idea? Tell me more. It sounds interesting.
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aaron
New Member
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Post by aaron on Oct 9, 2014 17:42:42 GMT
Hi Andrew! The "sprints" (not "spirits")  It's a period of time where I (or our students) write one or more songs per day. A month is a good length so far. I've toyed around with up to a year, but the commitment is harder to keep. I get up early and do the songs first thing, before anything can squeeze out the time. If I don't, it's the garden that never gets tended. Topics vary from worship, to Christian edification, and just life in general. So day by day, that gives me the ability to get writing everyday and be consistent. The "finished" song has: 1. Completed Lyrics / Chord Sheet. I'll do more complete lead sheets later as I assimilate the better songs. 2. Recording of voice and guitar or keys. Sometimes I'll throw a quick beat on it for feel, but usually simple and fast. 20-60 min tops. I leave it open to amend the songs and touch them up, but they have to be full and complete. They need to have a clear topic, clear point of view, and a communicate the emotional tone. This way if I would have had 1 song per week normally, instead I can pick from 7 songs. And there's almost always more usable songs every time this way. In my experience, songwriting is like a muscle, use it and it get stronger. One of my good friends is a highly accomplished painter. And he always reminds me: "Aaron, an artist is the worst judge of their best works." So I think it would be great to get together, sure some songs, and get some feedback on what's working for each of us in our songwriting. Thanks again for having the discussion! |
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Post by andrewthompson on Oct 10, 2014 14:30:45 GMT
Yeah attention to the spleen mkes a diffrnese doesn't it? :-) Thanks for clearing that up.
What a great idea! Tough discipline, but I can see how it would help greatly in building up the songwriting muscle!
A similar"ish" thing I've done is though some work I do for an educational company for time to time. Writing on the clock. They will have a basic idea for a song they are needing. Five bears go on a picnic and one by one the bears disappear - kind of thing. Often going along with a particular graphic, or other piece that part of a lesson plan. And I have 1 or 2 hours to complete the song and build up a reasonably full recording of it. Often there's someone else in the room or via Skype giving quick feedback - yeah I like that, no I want more of a "happy sound" - type of thing.
It forces me to go through the mechanics of songwriting and arranging without feeling emotionally tied to the results. When your first grader is singing along with the song at school while learning subtraction, they have no idea it's me and I don't really care that they do. But it's kind of fun, the pay is nice too, and it forces me to be creative in a hurry.
Sometime we just have to write a bunch of decent songs we don't really care much about in order to learn how to write better songs we DO care about.
Thanks for the discussion! Love the ideas!
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