Stretch Yourself! - Part 2
Hello again, good friends! Here is part 2 of the Stretch Yourself series of blog posts. Included here are excerpts from Watchfire Music's free Info PDF download included in Peter Link's new Solos For Sunday Morning Song Bundle.
The Informational PDF covers some of the issues in negotiating contemporary church music and its particular challenges.
At WFM, we have realized that we have not communicated nearly enough about the many wonderful Study Tools that a large majority of our WFM Composers are offering to church musicians to aid in their preparation of the music.
If you are a church musician or a passionate supporter of sacred music and musicians, I hope you will find this series helpful. Maybe it will spark some conversation around the music in your church!
If you are just discovering this series, click here to start from beginning to read Part 1.You can also download the whole PDF here.
If you are up to speed, here is Part 2:
Stretch Yourself! - Part 2
An Exercise In Expanding Your Approach To Music
Two QuestionsAbout 21st Century Music
Question #1:Why do contemporary composers write rhythmically the way they do?
A lot of those notes don’t land on the beat, do they? They anticipate or are delayed and tied over beats making it much more difficult to read. A lot of those notes fall on the off beats; hence, offbeat music.
Question #1:Why is offbeat music popular today? Many believe that offbeat music more genuinely reflects the rhythmic patterns of speech and is not “squared off” into a more simpler form. This is not just a type of Pop music, but derives from both the Jazz and big band standards of the forties, Broadway, and the Folk and Gospel songs of the great American songbook.
“Accessibility” is the key word here. Today’s music is more accessible to its audience because it derives from the music of our more recent heritage. So if you want to reach your audience with your content, first speak their language.
Once again, we are not closing the door on classical and traditional music. Rather, we have worked hard this last decade to expand the music of our church to include all ages.
Further Insight
Class-A professional session singers often are not provided with sheet music to read when they are in recording sessions. Time and again, they are presented with lyrics and a study track (Head Arrangements) with which to learn the tracks. So, they learn by ear.
That may be a little scary for some musicians who are highly skilled sight readers. Most of us who grew up training in classical music know that we must be good readers, and we are therefore very visual. Let’s face it, sheet music is an imperfect road map that cannot possibly express all of the elements of a great song or performance. Nonetheless, it is a series of first steps in the learning and development of a song and performance and thus, an important tool.
But what if you were able to combine that comforting road map with a further set of tools to aid and speed you on your way to singing and playing rhythmically sophisticated music in a very short time?
Well, you can! Learn to perform this beautiful new music and much more by downloading the Study Tools for your preparation.
It’s an investment in your growth as musicians -- as vocalists and instrumentalists.
Here are some links to explore study tools from just a few of our composers at Watchfire Music:
Peter LinkRebecca MinorCarolyn KardinalRobert CollisterSimon ClarkAmy DuncanRuth LambertAnn Stephan Michael AdamcyzkElizabeth Ragsdale
Enjoy the music!