Sing. Sing a Song. Sing it...oh, forget it.
A few years ago I was sitting on the grass at beautiful Camp Yamhill in Yamhill, Oregon, oddly enough located in Yamhill County, at our annual Westside Church of Christ family camp. It was not too long after I had taken over as the worship leader at Westside and I was sitting with some friends and fellow Praise Teamers (those are the same people, you understand). My father was there as well and mentioned to us that it would be fun to have some songs that came from Westside and were in some way born out of our experience with this congregation. My overachieving friend Jennifer Davis and I understood these comments as if he had said, "you must now go and write songs we can sing at Westside because you must do everything that needs getting done here and anywhere in the world." Jennifer and I (along with my Wife and several other friends) suffer from the same misguided notion that everything at Church is some how our responsibility. We all need group therapy or an intervention or something.
Anyway, it worked in our favor this time. Unfettered by a conspicuous lack of experience, we set out seperately writing music without even knowing that the same event had sparked us both to try something new. The result so far is 5 different songs that we sing with our family at Westside. I should take a moment to mention that I am not a musician. I have virtually no formal musical training and my only musical "talent" if that word can be stretched is that I am a mediocre singer at best. I can not play a musical instrument and my sightreading skills are something like my ability to make a free throw with my left hand. It could happen, but it's mostly guess work and more likely than not to miss.
Now you may be asking yourself, "wait, didn't this guy just say he was a worship leader?" If you are, you have a very good point, but we'll just move on.
Anyway, my point is that I had no business trying to write music. Nevertheless, my Mom always told me I could do anything I set my mind to and don't think for a minute I will entertain the notion that she was wrong about this regardless of the mounding emperical data to the contrary. Then I found my inspiration in a song called "Get Right Church." We learned it and sang it at Westside and it is a fun song to sing. However, as I focused more and more on having our Sunday morning music hold to that morning's theme of worship, I began thinking more about the lyrics and was struck by something profound.
No song should have more than two verses which rely heavily on a train metaphor.
Ok, really, I was struck by how unprofound the lyrics were. I don't mean to stomp on anyone's favorite song, but the more I looked at it, the less I wanted to sing it just because the lyrics are so silly. For example, this is an actual verse from the song:
Back back train and get your load
Oh Oh Oh back back train and get your load
back back train, c'mon back back train
back back train and get your load.
....uhhhhh, what? What on earth does that mean? It doesn't matter. What matters is I couldn't get past the goofy words and get anything worshipful out of the song. So, I set out to write a replacement of sorts. At first, I just considered rewriting the lyrics to Get Right Church. But then I got to thinking, someone wrote those words and they mean something to someone and who am to think that I should change what someone else created. So, I quickly scrapped that idea and sat down (on MAX mostly) to write my own song.
I wanted to write something that was uptempo and fun to sing, but with lyrics that made a point unrelated to the rail industry. A melody appeared in my head and the words followed. So then I had a tune and the lyrics, but that does not a song make. Now I needed someone with actual musical talent and skill to write the music and arrange it for me.
Fortunately, the Church is full of talented people and I called on my brother Ike Graul. You may not know Ike, but chances are reasonably good that if you are in the CofC you might have sung something that he arranged. He's done a bunch and we use a lot of his arrangements at Westside. Ike is an incredibly talented guy and he graciously agreed to help me with my little project. The following process was established:
First, I wait until I am at home alone, shut the door to our office and sing the melody of my song into a microphone created to handle digital dictation. This records my singing onto the harddrive of my computer. How? I don't know. Probably magic....or perhaps magnets.
Second, I play back the song I just recorded and discover that it sounds mostly like a cat with a smokers cough in the spin cycle of a washing machine. Horrified, I quickly stop the playback and swear never to sing anything ever again.
Third, I mysteriously regain my courage and sit once again at the little microphone at my desk. This time, I have to do about 37 takes of myself singing to get one that might be close to how I actually want the song to sound. I brace myself and once again play the song back discovering that: (a) Nat King Cole could not create a pleasant recording with this microphone and (b) as a torture device, hearing myself sing would be more effective on me than Chinese water torture.
Fourth, I set asside all dignity and decide to email the recording to Ike with a few notes on what I'm looking for.
Fifth, moments later Ike has managed to translate my warblings into music and has the melody completely written out with musical notes and everything.
Sixth, I stare at my computer screen wondering how on earth he did that.
Seventh, Ike arranges the harmony parts and we go back and forth on different things until I think it must be close, the whole time marveling that my simple melody has actually started sounding like a song.
Eighth, I call in my house band, otherwise known as Tony and Jennifer Davis who happen to sing Tenor and Alto and my wife who is a Soprano. I can sing a little bass, but my true part is, as my best friend's Dad used to say, "barelytone." We sing through it and find a few things to change which Ike does easily in spite of instructions like, "you know that one part that kind of goes up and then down and then you hold it out? I think we should hold it out longer."
Ninth, I take the song to the full Praise Team and tell them that we will sing the song "Paradise Valley" as the only song sung every Sunday for a year unless they agree to learn and sing my new song. Once the shock and terror wears off, they all agree and we go through the song discovering that Ike has gotten it just right.
Tenth, finally since I am the worship leader, I schedule us to sing my new song every week for about 8 months and tell myself that people love it, otherwise why would they sing it every week?
And there you have it, there's how my first song came about. In truth, the Praise Team has always been very supportive and encouraging and required no actual threats, but other than that, that is pretty much the process.
Like trying to watch just one episode of the BBC's The Office on DVD, I found it impossible to end my songwriting career with one song.
The next couple songs I would write came at a time when Ike had less important things to do like spend time with his family, job and ministry, yet he prioritized those things over helping me write another song. Imagine that. Fortunately, I found Clarissa Cox. Carissa has done some of my favorite arrangements for some of my favorite songs for the Zoe Group. She is brilliant. No kidding around, she has more musical talent than I have talent in anything...unless sleeping while sitting upright at one's desk or in an airplane or even a park bench is a talent, and then maybe I have that.
Anyway, Clarissa was kind enough to endure the process I described above and beautifully arranged two songs for me.
Meanwhile, Jennifer wrote two songs of her own also using Clarissa to arrange one while our good friend Evie Toll used her many talents to arrange the other.
Not that it's a competition, but of the 5 songs we've completed, Jennifer's second song entitled "It's a Beautiful Day" is really the best. It is infectious and fun to sing and I just plain really like it. If you want the sheet music, you can bug Jennifer for it on her blog, a link to which can be found on this page. But more importantly, the whole process of writing worship music for our congregation has been the most powerful act of personal worship I can recall. It is meditation and worship and study and prayer all at once.
So, why am I writing all of this? Well, first so I can have a record for myself written down somewhere of how this all happened for when I start forgetting things which will probably be next week. And second, in hopes that someone reading this might think, "well, gosh, if that no-musical-talent-havin'-dude can write a song, I could too."
You really should. It is a great experience.
I have attached links to this post to each of my three completed songs that can be found at worshipforum.com. As I write more, I will post them there as well and mention them on this site.
Here is a brief description of each of the songs and the links to where you can see the sheet music.
"I've Got A Friend in Jesus"
I wrote this song with the help of Ike Graul and his immense musical talents. I set out to write an upbeat song that would be fun for a congregation to sing and still have meaninful lyrics. I found that many of our more "fun" songs had lyrics that were either nonsensical (at least to me) or just extremely repetitive. To be honest, I'm not sure I improved on what was out there, but in the end this song was the result. With the lyrics I wanted to express the idea that Christians can gain encouragement from looking back at their lives to see that Jesus has been with them always. In a moment of pain, we may not see Him and when tragedy strikes, we may not see Him, but it doesn't mean He's not there and looking back, we can gain strength from knowing that He was. In my past, in my present, in my weakness, and in my strength, it is always Jesus by my side.
"Fallen"
My father, who is a full time minister, loves the book of Job. It is his favorite for more reasons that I have time to list. So, I wrote this song, with the help of Clarissa Cox (who may very well be a musical genius as far as I'm concerned) for him inspired by one of his favorite verses, Job 13:15 - "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." So this song was inspired by the book of Job and specifically the 13th chapter and by my Dad's greatest gift to me, my faith. The last verse of the song borrows from my Dad's favorite hymn "Flee as a Bird" and also delivers the central message of Job and in some ways (in my opinion) all of scripture: God does not remove the pain and suffering from our lives, but only through God can even the greatest pain, indeed even the greatest evil be redeemed. It is that redemptive power that is our only real source of hope and salvation.
"May the Lord Be With You"
This song was arranged by Clarissa Cox who took a simple melody and turned into something I am very proud of despite the fact that it is mostly her creation. This song was taken entirely (in spirit at least) from the last verses of 2 Corinthians. It is Paul's blessing at the end of his second letter. I regret that the concept of Christians offering a blessing to their brothers and sisters has fallen out of fashion and this song seeks to extend Paul's blessing to the church in Corinth to anyone who might hear and sing this song. I think it is a song that would work well to end a worship service so as to leave a congregation with this wonderful blessing. What greater prayer could you pray for someone than that the grace of the Lord and the love of God and the fellowship of His Spirit be with them.
Anyway, it worked in our favor this time. Unfettered by a conspicuous lack of experience, we set out seperately writing music without even knowing that the same event had sparked us both to try something new. The result so far is 5 different songs that we sing with our family at Westside. I should take a moment to mention that I am not a musician. I have virtually no formal musical training and my only musical "talent" if that word can be stretched is that I am a mediocre singer at best. I can not play a musical instrument and my sightreading skills are something like my ability to make a free throw with my left hand. It could happen, but it's mostly guess work and more likely than not to miss.
Now you may be asking yourself, "wait, didn't this guy just say he was a worship leader?" If you are, you have a very good point, but we'll just move on.
Anyway, my point is that I had no business trying to write music. Nevertheless, my Mom always told me I could do anything I set my mind to and don't think for a minute I will entertain the notion that she was wrong about this regardless of the mounding emperical data to the contrary. Then I found my inspiration in a song called "Get Right Church." We learned it and sang it at Westside and it is a fun song to sing. However, as I focused more and more on having our Sunday morning music hold to that morning's theme of worship, I began thinking more about the lyrics and was struck by something profound.
No song should have more than two verses which rely heavily on a train metaphor.
Ok, really, I was struck by how unprofound the lyrics were. I don't mean to stomp on anyone's favorite song, but the more I looked at it, the less I wanted to sing it just because the lyrics are so silly. For example, this is an actual verse from the song:
Back back train and get your load
Oh Oh Oh back back train and get your load
back back train, c'mon back back train
back back train and get your load.
....uhhhhh, what? What on earth does that mean? It doesn't matter. What matters is I couldn't get past the goofy words and get anything worshipful out of the song. So, I set out to write a replacement of sorts. At first, I just considered rewriting the lyrics to Get Right Church. But then I got to thinking, someone wrote those words and they mean something to someone and who am to think that I should change what someone else created. So, I quickly scrapped that idea and sat down (on MAX mostly) to write my own song.
I wanted to write something that was uptempo and fun to sing, but with lyrics that made a point unrelated to the rail industry. A melody appeared in my head and the words followed. So then I had a tune and the lyrics, but that does not a song make. Now I needed someone with actual musical talent and skill to write the music and arrange it for me.
Fortunately, the Church is full of talented people and I called on my brother Ike Graul. You may not know Ike, but chances are reasonably good that if you are in the CofC you might have sung something that he arranged. He's done a bunch and we use a lot of his arrangements at Westside. Ike is an incredibly talented guy and he graciously agreed to help me with my little project. The following process was established:
First, I wait until I am at home alone, shut the door to our office and sing the melody of my song into a microphone created to handle digital dictation. This records my singing onto the harddrive of my computer. How? I don't know. Probably magic....or perhaps magnets.
Second, I play back the song I just recorded and discover that it sounds mostly like a cat with a smokers cough in the spin cycle of a washing machine. Horrified, I quickly stop the playback and swear never to sing anything ever again.
Third, I mysteriously regain my courage and sit once again at the little microphone at my desk. This time, I have to do about 37 takes of myself singing to get one that might be close to how I actually want the song to sound. I brace myself and once again play the song back discovering that: (a) Nat King Cole could not create a pleasant recording with this microphone and (b) as a torture device, hearing myself sing would be more effective on me than Chinese water torture.
Fourth, I set asside all dignity and decide to email the recording to Ike with a few notes on what I'm looking for.
Fifth, moments later Ike has managed to translate my warblings into music and has the melody completely written out with musical notes and everything.
Sixth, I stare at my computer screen wondering how on earth he did that.
Seventh, Ike arranges the harmony parts and we go back and forth on different things until I think it must be close, the whole time marveling that my simple melody has actually started sounding like a song.
Eighth, I call in my house band, otherwise known as Tony and Jennifer Davis who happen to sing Tenor and Alto and my wife who is a Soprano. I can sing a little bass, but my true part is, as my best friend's Dad used to say, "barelytone." We sing through it and find a few things to change which Ike does easily in spite of instructions like, "you know that one part that kind of goes up and then down and then you hold it out? I think we should hold it out longer."
Ninth, I take the song to the full Praise Team and tell them that we will sing the song "Paradise Valley" as the only song sung every Sunday for a year unless they agree to learn and sing my new song. Once the shock and terror wears off, they all agree and we go through the song discovering that Ike has gotten it just right.
Tenth, finally since I am the worship leader, I schedule us to sing my new song every week for about 8 months and tell myself that people love it, otherwise why would they sing it every week?
And there you have it, there's how my first song came about. In truth, the Praise Team has always been very supportive and encouraging and required no actual threats, but other than that, that is pretty much the process.
Like trying to watch just one episode of the BBC's The Office on DVD, I found it impossible to end my songwriting career with one song.
The next couple songs I would write came at a time when Ike had less important things to do like spend time with his family, job and ministry, yet he prioritized those things over helping me write another song. Imagine that. Fortunately, I found Clarissa Cox. Carissa has done some of my favorite arrangements for some of my favorite songs for the Zoe Group. She is brilliant. No kidding around, she has more musical talent than I have talent in anything...unless sleeping while sitting upright at one's desk or in an airplane or even a park bench is a talent, and then maybe I have that.
Anyway, Clarissa was kind enough to endure the process I described above and beautifully arranged two songs for me.
Meanwhile, Jennifer wrote two songs of her own also using Clarissa to arrange one while our good friend Evie Toll used her many talents to arrange the other.
Not that it's a competition, but of the 5 songs we've completed, Jennifer's second song entitled "It's a Beautiful Day" is really the best. It is infectious and fun to sing and I just plain really like it. If you want the sheet music, you can bug Jennifer for it on her blog, a link to which can be found on this page. But more importantly, the whole process of writing worship music for our congregation has been the most powerful act of personal worship I can recall. It is meditation and worship and study and prayer all at once.
So, why am I writing all of this? Well, first so I can have a record for myself written down somewhere of how this all happened for when I start forgetting things which will probably be next week. And second, in hopes that someone reading this might think, "well, gosh, if that no-musical-talent-havin'-dude can write a song, I could too."
You really should. It is a great experience.
I have attached links to this post to each of my three completed songs that can be found at worshipforum.com. As I write more, I will post them there as well and mention them on this site.
Here is a brief description of each of the songs and the links to where you can see the sheet music.
"I've Got A Friend in Jesus"
I wrote this song with the help of Ike Graul and his immense musical talents. I set out to write an upbeat song that would be fun for a congregation to sing and still have meaninful lyrics. I found that many of our more "fun" songs had lyrics that were either nonsensical (at least to me) or just extremely repetitive. To be honest, I'm not sure I improved on what was out there, but in the end this song was the result. With the lyrics I wanted to express the idea that Christians can gain encouragement from looking back at their lives to see that Jesus has been with them always. In a moment of pain, we may not see Him and when tragedy strikes, we may not see Him, but it doesn't mean He's not there and looking back, we can gain strength from knowing that He was. In my past, in my present, in my weakness, and in my strength, it is always Jesus by my side.
"Fallen"
My father, who is a full time minister, loves the book of Job. It is his favorite for more reasons that I have time to list. So, I wrote this song, with the help of Clarissa Cox (who may very well be a musical genius as far as I'm concerned) for him inspired by one of his favorite verses, Job 13:15 - "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." So this song was inspired by the book of Job and specifically the 13th chapter and by my Dad's greatest gift to me, my faith. The last verse of the song borrows from my Dad's favorite hymn "Flee as a Bird" and also delivers the central message of Job and in some ways (in my opinion) all of scripture: God does not remove the pain and suffering from our lives, but only through God can even the greatest pain, indeed even the greatest evil be redeemed. It is that redemptive power that is our only real source of hope and salvation.
"May the Lord Be With You"
This song was arranged by Clarissa Cox who took a simple melody and turned into something I am very proud of despite the fact that it is mostly her creation. This song was taken entirely (in spirit at least) from the last verses of 2 Corinthians. It is Paul's blessing at the end of his second letter. I regret that the concept of Christians offering a blessing to their brothers and sisters has fallen out of fashion and this song seeks to extend Paul's blessing to the church in Corinth to anyone who might hear and sing this song. I think it is a song that would work well to end a worship service so as to leave a congregation with this wonderful blessing. What greater prayer could you pray for someone than that the grace of the Lord and the love of God and the fellowship of His Spirit be with them.
Comments
New songs are always a sign of revival too.
Just stopping by to say hello once again.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
Milwaukee, WI
http://stoned-campbelldisciple.blogspot.com/
That is wonderful, Josh. I know you have no doubt told him this, but how wonderful that you wrote about it, and publicly acknowledged his strong and positive impact on your life.
Make sure he reads this.
Think how it would make you feel to hear that statement from your sons. It is all that matters.
See you around. Hope you stop by Stoned-Campbell Disciple blog.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
Both of my parents are very faithful Christians and always made it clear to me that they were passing along their faith as a gift to me. Something that would make my life richer and better and eternal.
To this day they both still teach and inspire me to keep working to improve my relationship with God. They have done everything I could have asked of them as parents and if I provide a fraction of the love and support and wisdom to my sons that I got from my parents, they will have every opportunity to succeed and thrive.
Thanks for the kind words about the "Beautiful Day" song. I'm blushing.
For anyone who is looking for some new music that is fun to sing and has meaningful lyrics you really do need to check out Josh's songs. They are great and will bless you!
Jennifer
If you say "Bear" that is enough, :-)
BTW I know some good lawyers too. I was picking up on popular mythology on my blog rather than making a value judgement.
Thanks for coming by and commenting. I hope to c u again soon.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
You should.