RE: ARRANGEMENT

I’m sitting in my office, at a desk which I’ve recently moved to the other side of the room.  Funny thing is, this is about where it was when I first moved into this office.  If you’re like me, sometimes you just need a change of scenery.  Every once in a while don’t you just need to do some rearranging?

Well, that’s kind of a weak way to introduce an idea but I needed a way to get the word “rearranging” in there somehow.  Thanks for continuing to read.

Recently when I was preparing an upcoming service, I was going over some song choices.  I found myself thematically drawn towards a certain song that was a great fit lyrically with where we were going.  My first reaction was to dismiss it because of where it would be located in the flow of the service.  “I can’t use that one, it’s a “fast” song and I need something more reflective here.”

Needless to say, I caught myself and gave my head a shake.

Sometimes I think we get bound by an arrangement of a song as we first heard it or learned it.  Or maybe it’s how the song appears on an album.  Whatever it is, how often do you revisit a song’s arrangement with “no holds barred”, so to speak?

We’ve probably all worked or played with a worship leader or musician who’s got one arrangement stuck in their head and can’t seem to let it go.  “Wait, stop.  That’s not how it goes on the CD.”  That can be pretty frustrating.  Don’t get me wrong, album arrangements are great most of the time.  They’re usually done by professionals and most times they’re worth emulating.  The problem lies in letting them become untouchable and sacred.  Then they become handcuffs instead of help.

When we’re putting a set together or creating a worship time/service, flow is certainly important.  Hopefully that’s a given.  I’m also a firm believer that that includes some sort of theme or direction on some level.  Though we’re not looking to play on or control any emotions by any means, it certainly behooves us to be aware of some ups and downs in the pace of our sets.  We want to offer people the opportunity to go on a bit of journey in the context of the worship set, and the tempo and feel of a song or songs are all part of that.  That being said, if we limit the songs we have at our disposal to their preexisting arrangements, well then we’ve certainly limited our choices haven’t we?

If you find yourself stuck to the arrangements you’re presented with, I want to encourage you…nay, challenge you.  Take a risk and try something new.  I think you’ll find yourself freed up in your service planning when you’re not bound by intros, outros and tempos.

Start simple.  Maybe it’s something like starting a song with it’s chorus instead of your typical intro or verse 1.  Maybe just start right into the chorus with just an acoustic guitar or piano.  Maybe the same applies to your ending instead.  Try finishing an upbeat song with a slower and more mellow reprise of the chorus to give it some fresh attention and room for reflection.

From there you might want to play with the style or feel of the entire song.  Just as an example, one thing I’ve done in the past was with a song like Brian Doerksen’s “I Lift My Eyes Up”.  I’ve used slightly more upbeat and rootsy arrangement of that song, basically picking up the tempo a bit and pushing it way behind the beat to give it almost a shuffly vibe (think “My Stupid Mouth” by John Mayer).  I’ve used the same trick to breathe some life into an oldie like “As the Deer”.

Don’t worry if this stuff doesn’t come naturally to you.  Just start trying some things and don’t be afraid that it won’t work.  That’s what preparation and rehearsals are for.  One thing you’ll find valuable is listening critically to a lot of music.  Listen to things you like and try to find out why.  What’s the drummer doing?  What are they doing with dynamics – is it the same pace the whole way through or does the arrangement rise and fall?  If this kind of thing is new to you, here’s a few things you could try applying to different songs to get you started.

Time Signature
If the song is in 4/4, try seeing what happens if you play it over 6/8 instead, and vice versa.  I often use this sort of thing when trying to come up with a contemporized version of a given hymn.  (ie “I Stand Amazed/How Marvelous” – this one works great as a flowing 6/8, though written in more of a 4/4 march.)

Tempo/Feel
A song can often come alive in a new way just by altering its typical tempo or feel.  Try playing some of your fast and furious anthems as a slower, more reflective piano-driven piece.  What would happen to David Crowder’s “There is No One Like You” if it was a ballad?  I once heard Canadian songstress Emm Gryner on stage with just her keyboard, and she did a slow and sweeping piano ballad version of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”.  You can imagine how different the song came across!  I noticed things about it that I hadn’t before, certain lyrical ideas were more prominent than in the original version and so on.  Not that Ozzy is the best example of anything, but think about that effect translated to our worship sets.  A song that may go by unnoticed due to familiarity comes to life simply by a different take.  Lines jump out that we never noticed a certain way before.  It’s an entirely different experience to shout the words “There is no one like You” as it is to whisper them.

Sound Alike
Sometimes when we’re struggling to breathe some freshness into an arrangement of a given song, I find it a helpful exercise to imagine how the song would sound were it performed or recorded by another artist.  Pick someone you like (or someone you don’t, for that matter) and try and play through the song how you’d imagine them playing it.  What would “From the Inside Out” sound like if it were a Tom Petty song?  How would Coldplay interpret “Here I Am to Worship”?  Maybe these initial versions don’t make the cut, but they force us to break out of the loop of what we’re used to hearing and playing for a given song.

Look Around
Sometimes there are already a number of different versions of a given song out there, we just haven’t heard ‘em (think of the differences in Brenton Brown’s “Everlasting God” by both Chris Tomlin and Lincoln Brewster).  It’s a quick and easy step to simply plug a song title into iTunes and see what comes up.  Sometimes another interpretation of a song is just a click away.

What’s the Point?

I hope some of this stuff is helpful.  I know it’s not rocket science.  I want to wrap up by making sure the “why” behind all of this is clear.  This isn’t just about trying to sound cool or to find a way to play that same song for the 50th time without getting bored or resenting it.  This is about putting you as a leader in the driver’s seat and not being led and dictated to by a certain song arrangement.  It’s about freeing up your worship planning process to take people clearly through a journey to where you believe God is inviting them on that day.

If we’re freed up to arrange songs to fit our goals in a worship set then we’re relieved of the yucky task of shoe-horning songs in that don’t fit or being led away from our focus by an irrelevant arrangement.  We’re able to truly outline a time of worship that flows together as one movement rather than a list of songs. If you’re arranging a set and building towards a quiet reflective moment centered on God’s grace and you’ve got a song that fits great thematically but not musically, don’t get knocked off the trail by slavery to a predetermined arrangement.  Wrestle with it, work at it, pursue to the craft and try to take the song to a place where it does fit.

It’s not a science and it doesn’t always work.  That being said, I think some steps towards a little more freedom in our interpretations of songs will translate to even greater freedom in our planning processes.  Give it a try.

Now, how would Matt Redman have written this blog…?….

- Jeff