SONG-LEADING TIPS

Kellie Walker Hart 

January 21, 2020

 

A song-leader’s main job is to model the kind of energy and mood you want them to bring to the song.  Let your joy shine through (or other appropriate emotion the song is communicating).  Be soulful.

 

LOVE the congregation -be inspired by them, feed off their energy, too, and give it back. Your face, eyes, body shows how the music should sound, in tempo and mood.  Ask yourself if it needs to be legato/smooth or bouncy/energetic?  Find a way to model this within your own comfort and style.  Encourage letting the sound out and singing freely.

 

Invite others to sing through your personality and your love of the song -perfection is NOT necessary.  Make participation absolutely infectious!   This is way more important than the quality of your voice.  Operatic voices are almost never appropriate for congregational singing.

 

Sing with, not at the congregation.  Worship bands can be fun and energetic, but too much solo vocal music doesn’t create congregations that can sing and feel the power of the group voice.  Back off the mic once they know a piece, or add some layers of harmony.

 

Nurture community and opening the heart through singing, not performance per se.  Use humor, authentic praise, encouragement.  Make singing a vital & soulful experience- it’s not a “sing-a-long,” which can be corny or half-hearted. Do some songs off-book and off-projection.

 

Breathe with the congregation (accompanists do this too). Make sure even slow songs have forward motion -an accompanist always has to move ahead of the congregation, for instance.

 

Make sure there is no question as to when to come in at the beginning, each verse, or after a tricky pause.  Welcoming arms are great, and the song-leader needs to be confident and really know the song! Practice in a mirror.  Actually “conducting” patterns are usually not helpful, although showing the relative pitch for a new song can be.

 

We are a highly visual culture so giving visual as well as auditory cues helps.  And kinesthetic people need to engage their bodies, although giving permission NOT to move helps those who are not that way. Ironically, giving people permission NOT to sing, but have the music wash over them and be what they need it to be can be reassuring and may give them courage to sing!

 

Add variety through clapping and model clapping on 2 & 4 (not on a mic though) when appropriate (especially for jazz, gospel, often pop-anything with African American roots. Music from European roots has a stronger down-beat feel, such as marching music, shape-note singing, and music of the British Isles).

 

Experiment with body percussion, drums, other instruments, swaying, bobbing, improvisation, layered harmony, rounds.  Layering harmony organically is often easier and better than more formal rounds, which may need 2-3 leaders.  Take risks, experiment, use humor, and model that it is OK to make mistakes!  Stop if people are confused or it isn’t working!!!

 

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Tips for introducing new songs:

 

Plan intentionally and ahead.  The choir, accompanist, or instrumental soloist could sing/play the new hymn several weeks before the congregation first sings it.  Have a soloist play the melody along with the congregational singing.  Have the accompanist play it all the way through first (once they know the song well, often just a 4-measure intro is fine, or have the pianist play quietly during a verbal intro or transition).  Have the choir director go over the hymns with the choir and accompanist every week in rehearsal.  Teach it in chunks -weave it as a “common thread” throughout a service or series.

 

Point out the melody line or anything unusual (such as repeats, long pauses).  Give some historical context if this feels right, or write this in some music notes in the Order of Worship or in the newsletter.  Often just confidently modeling/singing it is best, without any intro.

 

Repeat, repeat, repeat!  Better to have a small repertoire that becomes their “Living Tradition” than different songs each week.  It took me years to move from two to almost always at least FIVE congregational songs in a service!

 

Use soloists or choir on verses, congregation on easier choruses at first.  Choose songs that are mostly easy to sing, and often repetitive.  This is what I call “Circular Music” (not usually rounds, which can be complicated) and are the back-bone of congregational singing.  Be aware of tricky rhythms, wide ranges, solo-type lines -ask your musicians for advice if you can’t tell.

 

It’s often best to teach new songs or give background info before the service.  Or even start the service with 3-4 songs which build into the energy/mood you want to begin the service with. Don’t be afraid to experiment, break up the verses with prayers, poetry, silence, solos.  Repeat certain lines to reinforce the theme, as a mantra, to more easily go-off book.

 

Repeat, repeat, repeat!  Better to have a small repertoire that becomes their “Living Tradition” than different songs each week.  It took me years to move from two to almost always at least FIVE congregational songs in a service!  Try a “Hymn of the Month.” PEOPLE LOVE WHAT THEY KNOW!!!  If you use projection, consider still having some songs read from music so people have that occasional experience and remember upward lines of music means the pitch goes up!

 

 

Choose hymns for mood & energy as much (or more than) the text -ask what the function of the music is for a particular place in the service?  Ask what feeling tone you want to leave them with at the end of the service?

 

No matter how great the text matches a sermon theme, if they don’t know it, it won’t have the desired effect.

 

Thank your musicians regularly (but usually later, during a service can make it sound like a variety show or a lounge act!) and ask for their input.  Pay them for time to plan & collaborate and rehearse before the service.  Experiment with “under-scoring” (like in a film) so transitions are smooth -be specific with cues for musicians.  If you are quoting songs in your sermon please give them some heads-up so that a song or motif might be worked into the service somewhere, if appropriate!

 

Have FUN!  Make sure they know mistakes are OK, and that everyone can sing (although they may only have a two-note range). Singing is a gift of being human!

 

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Songs I have used in Song-Leading Workshops:

 

Come and Fill our Hearts with your Peace (I learned via Carolyn Price)

When I Am Frightened

Healing Rain (from a larger work by Michael Smith)

Sleep My Child

 I Know I Can

Spirit of Life

Come and Find the Quiet Center (words by Shirley Erena Murray, this arr. is Beach Tune)

Where do we Come From? (I always start with the “mystery” line -it’s only 2 notes!)

From This House (by a larger work by Ben Alloway)

Hush

We’re Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table