tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:/blogs/the-grace
Story Behind the Song
2022-08-23T20:05:57+01:00
KDMusic
false
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6861415
2022-08-23T20:05:57+01:00
2023-10-16T16:02:50+01:00
The Grace ~ Part 1
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/e340d73ea07467ecc1baaf98ff4eaed881a1cb8e/original/copy-of-kdmusic.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>‘I don’t know why He chose me’ - The Love of God </p>
<p>As usual, I turned on the radio, and the BBC presenter was interviewing England football superstar, Ian Wright. By the end, thousands of people across the country were in tears. As a young black man growing up in South East London, Ian had lived through a troubled childhood. His father left when he was a baby. If he turned up, he was always a disappointment. His step-father frequently beat Ian and his alcoholic mother. It’s no surprise he grew up a restless, angry boy who eventually spent some time in prison. </p>
<p>But, as the interview went on, this top international goal scorer couldn’t hold back sobs of joy as he retold his story of transformation and hope. How a gentle, smiling older man, a spitfire pilot given a teacher’s job after World War 2, had taken him under his wing. Here’s what he said about his beloved teacher Mr. Pigden: </p>
<p>“I know He loved me. I don’t know why he chose me, but I’m glad he did. He gave me responsibility. He taught me how to play football, how to score beautiful goals. He wouldn’t let me play if I’d been naughty. He would sit me down and explain how to communicate and give people encouragement and respect. He taught me to read and write by himself outside of class.” </p>
<p>Later, he was being interviewed for TV about his early career at his first club’s stadium ~ </p>
<p>“They took me back to the football ground, and I didn’t know he was there. Someone told me he had died. They brought him out to meet me, and then he said, ‘Hello Ian, I’m very much alive.’ He said how proud he was of me (crying), and I hugged him. He was three or four steps up from me. I felt like I was 6 or 7 again”! </p>
<p>Those words pierced my heart; I hope they move you too. Like Ian Wright, I too had a troubled relationship with my Father, but at 15, had a dramatic experience of becoming a Christian. What the Bible teaches that we are adopted, no longer alone, is the experience and testimony of many Christians. </p>
<p>God’s word teaches us that He wants us to call Him Father. That his love is selfless, reliable, and secure, even better than the footballer’s wonderful teacher. Scripture is emphatic that God chooses us and doesn’t just take us under His wing but goes further. He adopts, He makes us His children! </p>
<p>Let’s be very clear if you have repented of your sin, asked for forgiveness, submitted to Jesus your Lord and Saviour, and declared it publicly - then you are 100% adopted as a child of God. That status is secure. His promise is rock solid and ‘CANNOT be undone’. He’s not going to abandon you like an unreliable dad. Even more remarkably, you are loved with the same love the Father has for Jesus - doesn’t that make you want to shout for joy? Don’t you want to tell the world?! </p>
<p>God, your Father, is not an austere tyrant, waiting for a reason to give you a random beating. God consistently disciplines us because he loves us and wants us to become more like Jesus (how we feel is less important to Him than who we are becoming). He is always delighted when you come to Him in prayer. You can approach the ‘Throne of Grace’ with supreme confidence. We are all equal, loved children, and co-heirs with Christ as Jesus. You are not an uncertain servant to an unpredictable master. </p>
<p>Lord, thank you that you love us so much. You want us to call you Father. You long for us to turn to you in every circumstance. Please help me to seek you first and everything else second. Show me how I can bring you glory today, how I can please you, my loving heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen. </p>
<p>Devotional ~ The Grace verse 1 </p>
<p>We have a Father, whose love endures, </p>
<p>Patient, forgiving, our hope secure, </p>
<p>You have adopted us as Your own, </p>
<p>Delight to see us approach your throne</p>
5:13
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/7004929
2022-05-31T18:29:52+01:00
2022-08-22T20:05:44+01:00
A Simple Checklist for Healthy Worship
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/64500a5f29358d0241c550ad05af5e6492d586be/original/dave.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />A little like a check-up with your Doctor, we know it’s worth stopping once a year or so to check the health of the music we bring to our church family for worship.<br>A good health assessment is as much an art as it is a science, so please use this checklist as a general rule of thumb rather than a law for choosing songs for your fellowship. There’s nothing new under the sun, so you’ll probably be quite familiar with most of the ideas in this article.</p>
<p>Way back at the start of the pandemic, our congregation decided to broaden the team, the ‘bench’ of musicians, and trainee worship leaders. That helped to have parters to fill in in case of quarantine and allowed us to grow and develop the team long-term.</p>
<p>As part of that initial training, we came up with the acronyms B.A.R.B. (for choosing individual songs) and C.A.C.T.U.S. (for leading a service). I know!</p>
<h4><strong>SONG SELECTION B (biblical) A (accessible) R (relevant) B (beautiful)</strong></h4>
<p><strong>Is it Biblical? –</strong> Before you recommend a new song to the church leadership, why not try this? Turn off the music, print out the lyrics, and see if they ‘stand on their own two feet’ without a great arrangement and performance. You should easily be reminded of something from scripture or be able to work out which parts of the bible it references. There’s no replacement for really getting to know God’s word yourself, but there are some great resources to help you. We use the excellent song review site, the Berean test. It has in-depth biblical reviews on over 500 songs. You don’t have to agree with every conclusion on the site, but it’ll give you a good starting perspective. Here’s an example https://www.thebereantest.com/kdmusic-the-grace</p>
<p>Please don’t think that a song must be wordy to be biblical. There are some beautiful, simple, devotional songs based on the psalms and parts of the new testament, not just deeply theological hymns. I’ve seen this simple test of looking at the words change my mind too. One of our leaders recommended the song ‘Worthy of it all’. I didn’t like the dreamy style of the recording he shared, and I was showing my prejudice! But when we stripped away the music and looked at the lyrics, they were word for word from Revelation 4. The song needs a little context, but it has worked well in our church alongside some meatier stuff. Looking at the words helps you set aside prejudice for or against musical styles. I should also say, we’ve quickly rejected some songs with excellent production but weak or confusing lyrics!</p>
<p><strong>Is it Accessible? –</strong> My favourite worship leader, Ian Hannah, was our Musical Director for a while. I remember asking how he was able to lead in such a wide variety of ways depending on which church he was invited to. The answer was that it’s our job to “Read the room.” Forget what you want to do on stage, the music or encounter you wish to evoke. Start thinking about the people in the room. Do you know them? If not, try what our pastor recently suggested to us. After every service, make a point of talking to someone you don’t know, someone a different age to you. I think that’s fantastic! Ask them what helps them to worship God. Is it a moment of silence? Is it music behind prayer? Is it an individual or group reading of scripture or a particular song? Is it songs all in the same key, or is it variety?<br>Being accessible also means having some simplicity and clarity in every service. A healthy church should be very diverse. If every song is very wordy, that will exclude people. If an arrangement is unpredictable, people will be uncertain and go for songs with a predictable shape. If a song is a bit vague, that will exclude people too. We recently decided not to use an excellent song for this reason. It didn’t name God directly, and you had to work out it was about an encounter with Him in the middle of the fiery furnace from the book of Daniel. Great song, but rightly or wrongly, we decided it wouldn’t be accessible. This decision is a grey area because the same criticism of accessibility can be levelled at complex hymns. The counterargument is that hymns have a longer shelf life, and people’s understanding develops over time. Wisdom required!</p>
<p><strong>Is it Relevant? –</strong> I can sense your radar pinging at this word! By relevant, I don’t mean desperate attempts to appear cooler than other churches or to compromise with the secular culture around you. (Although it’s surprising how often we focus on the sins of society and ignore the weeds of idolatry taking seed inside our churches!) Nope, I’m thinking about being relevant to the pastoral needs of our people. What’s been going on in their lives? Has there been unemployment, a shared experience of tragedy or joy? Has your church been through the trauma and division of a pandemic? Yes! So are we selecting songs that address this or just the next hit from a music industry conveyor belt ~ singing about a transcendent victorious Jesus but ignoring His incarnation and struggle? (that’s been the trend of the last decade and, in my view, correlates more with the American Dream than the Gospel, but that’s another blog!)</p>
<p>Does the new song you’d love to do say it better than something they already know? No, maybe leave it out. Does it give that story new life? Good, go for it! Finally, is it relevant to the teaching your pastors and elders want to deliver this year? If you can unearth those songs, you’ll do everyone a big favour! With the demise of hymnbooks and worship books, online resources have infinite numbers of songs. Wonderful for choice, not so hot for a shared experience and community cohesion. So, one thing we’re trying this year is compiling a longest of 600 songs that are part of our church heritage, and from this, a shortlist that each year cycles of 50 of these songs mixed with 6-12 new ones.</p>
<p><strong>Is it Beautiful? –</strong> It’s clear from scripture that when God breathed life into all of creation, He was pleased that it was good (and humanity very good). If you are at times deeply emotionally moved by the beauty of creation and the people around you, loving beautiful music is definitely part of that response of admiration and awe. God doesn’t just want us to worship him with truth in a way that’s intellectually accessible and relevant; we’re to bring our heart, soul, mind, and strength to the table. Grace & truth came through Jesus Christ. So, is the melody beautiful? Is the poetry rich in its simplicity or subtlety? This part is very subjective, but if you can agree with your team that a song ticks the beautiful box somehow, you’ll be acknowledging something intangible but significant about being a human, made in the image of God.</p>
<p>I hope you find some of those tips helpful for selecting songs (old and new) for your community. If individual songs are like ingredients, then a worship service is more like a meal, isn’t it? We’re told to ‘eat a rainbow’ for our health. Here’s a simple liturgy or checklist we use to ensure our worship isn’t either just ’a bowl of ice cream’ or ’a plate of liver & onions’!<br>This checklist is loosely based on the Lord’s Prayer.</p>
<h4>LEADING A SERVICE C (call to worship) A (Adoration) C (Confession) T (Thanksgiving) U. S. (Use scripture)</h4>
<p>Call to worship – Forgive me, but when a worship leader starts by focusing on logistics, sharing a personal story that’s not relevant to everyone in the room, or stating the blindly obvious, I get a bit grumpy! So, perhaps instead of “Stand with me, if you can please’, or “You know, this week I was…” let’s open with 3 or 4 verses from scripture that remind us of our God who transcends the news cycle. Let’s open with a brief prayer as we prepare to adore God’s character. Even better, stick the reading on the screen, and let the people call each other to worship!</p>
<p><strong>Adoration –</strong> The Lord’s prayer starts with honouring our Father in Heaven, so we try to begin our worship with 2 or 3 songs that celebrate God’s character in all its fullness. Song select, planning centre, and some good old hymnals have great thematic indexes for planning these songs.</p>
<p><strong>Confession –</strong> Jesus taught us to ask God for forgiveness. You can do this by singing a song about repentance or forgiveness, but leading worship isn’t just about singing songs it? Although I love music (and write worship songs for the church), Jesus taught a lot more about praying than he ever did about singing! So take some time to lead your people in a prayer of confession. You don’t necessarily have to be scripted, but if I at least have some scripture and some bullet points in front of me, it’s more likely to help people. Some people appreciate having space to pray individually, and others find their minds wandering and appreciate being led. So as a hybrid, we tend to ask our leaders to introduce a time of prayer and then lay out stepping stones or bullet points to guide them through periods of silent prayer.<br>I’ve noticed a tendency in some places to replace repentance and confession with a prayer focused on inviting God to make his presence felt. These prayers acknowledge God’s love and grace, but not His truth, holiness, and righteousness. If Jesus taught us to confess our sins, that’s what we should do. If He is “The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” let’s not gloss over that to keep from upsetting people with sin talk. The cross is our glory, not our shame.</p>
<p><strong>Thanksgiving –</strong> As an Irishman, I don’t need to tell Americans about thanksgiving. You have a better reputation for positivity than we do! Having focused on God’s character, confessed our sin, and accepted His faithfulness to forgive, it’s time to celebrate what He has done for us! Roll out those songs of joy! Retell the stories of what he has done for you. How about allowing some space for planned testimonies, reporting back on the church’s outreach, praying for a ministry, or using this part of the service for baptisms and thanksgiving?</p>
<p><strong>Use scripture –</strong> I’ve already alluded to this, but it’s just so much better to use scripture for our call to worship, in confession and prayer, in songs, and as we give thanks;<br>Firstly it honours God by putting Him at the centre and listening to His voice. Secondly, it protects the congregation from the whims & well-intentioned ramblings of an iffy worship leader! Finally, it saves you from the embarrassment of (heaven forbid!) wandering away from the truth. I’ve seen worship leaders get carried away and sometimes talk for up to 20 minutes before allowing us to participate. On the flip side, the two words “let’s stand’ don’t always help us focus either! Let God’s word talk and lead.</p>
<p>After this, we tend to leave space for the word, preaching, and finally, some sung responses. These are usually negotiated with the preacher to help reinforce or crystallise what they have been preaching about.</p>
<p><strong>A closing reflection:</strong> I’ve heard quite a few people in churches with great music and lots of resources say they’ve noticed their people are singing less. Part of the price of more impressive music can be that a congregation starts to think, ‘they want us to listen to them.’ It’s tough, isn’t it? As well as that, too much new stuff, especially songs with multiple, unpredictable bridges, can leave our people confused and disempowered. No new music and you can become stagnant and lose them as well. All of this means we need to pray for sensitivity and wisdom.</p>
<p>We had a training session recently. After two hours with a guest worship pastor, our youngest trainee worship leader asked something that floored us. ‘If we must decrease so that He can increase, ~ what do you do to make yourself more invisible when you lead worship?”</p>
<p>So maybe, I’m wondering if we need to redefine our role as worship leaders? Instead of being ‘up front,’ should we be ‘alongside,’ helping the congregation lead the praise?</p>
<p>Dave Whitcroft | KDMusic</p>
<p>Dave Whitcroft is a singer-songwriter, finger style guitarist, & worship writer from the sunny side of the Mourne Mountains, N.Ireland. Publishing under the moniker KDMusic, his new ModHymn’ The Grace’ is co-written with Ian Hannah of Keswick Bible week, (a Getty co-writer). The Grace is one of very few songs for singing the New Testament’ Grace’ or ‘Benediction’ from 2 Corinthians 13:14 so it should be very useful for closing regular services. He also has several other songs for use through the church year. Learn More: The Grace https://kdmusic.co.uk/epk-for-media</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog/in-church/worship/simple-checklist-for-healthy-worship/" rel="nofollow">A Simple Checklist for Healthy Worship</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog" rel="nofollow">Church Media Blog</a>.</p>
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6943719
2022-04-08T14:23:04+01:00
2022-04-08T18:00:01+01:00
Jesus Loves Me (He is Strong) ~ How do you cope with uncertainty?
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/c16b79d4c5fbf286f325c04f238e39b53fdfb000/original/jesus-loves-me.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Jesus Loves Me (He is Strong) ~ is a study of the much loved classic children’s hymn<br>'Jesus loves Me This I Know" by Anna Bartlett Warner & William Batchelder Bradbury.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>So, how do you cope with uncertainty?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">It's been an interesting few years lately! Many of the things we took for granted have been rattled to the core. Doesn't it make you a bit nostalgic for 'simpler' more certain days? But of course that's a big lie too isn't it!<br>The past is only certain because it's fixed when we look back on it.<br>At the time, it was just as full of uncertainty and anxiety.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Dance of Doubt & Faith</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">I think part of having a grown up faith, is learning to live with uncertainty. The doubt belongs to us, and wavers with our emotions, "we are weak". But if we accept, and look past our doubts, we can see "He is strong", and commit ourselves to rely on that over and over. Doubt & faith are supposed to co-exist. Look at the classic example Thomas. Rightly wanting evidence that Jesus has risen from the grave rather than trusting the wildly erratic Peter. Ultimately, he gets to the point where he commits <em>"Lord I believe, help me overcome my unbelief"</em>. Believing, involves commitment, not just accepting intellectual propositions.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><em>"Now Faith … is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods “where they get off,” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion."</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><em>~ CS Lewis</em></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Jesus Loves me (He is Strong)</strong> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;">This version of 'Jesus Loves me' was written in January 2021, during the second covid lockdown.It introduces an epilogue focusing on the original line, "They are weak, but He is strong”. That phrase really hits home for those of us who have found it difficult to cope with our own powerlessness in the face of the pandemic, social unrest & international war.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Although the song was written in response to the uncertainty and isolation of lockdown, the recording was completed just as the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. As I write, there’s a flood of millions of refugees, mothers, children & the elderly. That human tragedy looks likely to continue. So this recording is particularly dedicated to Ukraine’s victims, but also to Russian families devastated by this unjust war.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Whoever you are, ‘Yes, Jesus loves you”. God’s love knows no flags.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Music downloads from our website are usually free. This time, we’re asking you to download the song, and make a donation towards the refugees. You can use the song and video in your church or school if you like. For media or commercial use email info@kdmusic.co.uk</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Thanks for giving.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a contents="DOWNLOAD &amp; DONATE" data-link-label="Jesus Loves Me (He Is Strong)" data-link-type="page" href="/jesus-loves-me-he-is-strong" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f1c40f;">DOWNLOAD & DONATE</span></a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><a contents="CHURCH &amp; LIVESTREAM" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://songselect.ccli.com/Songs/7184499/jesus-loves-me-he-is-strong/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#f1c40f;">CHURCH & LIVESTREAM</span></a></strong><span style="color:#f1c40f;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">[Funds will be sent to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s fund, in turn going to three frontline charities; Christian Aid & Tear Fund from the U.K. and Hungarian Reformed Church Aid. It’s an on the ground church in both Trans-Carpathian Ukraine & Hungary, providing refugee welcome, food, shelter, orientation and medical treatment].</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">MUSIC HINTS: To denote nostalgia for the simplicity of childhood and the adult struggle of faith in the middle of self-doubt we've used sounds reminiscent of 'Mars' from Holst's Planet Suite in the Cello, and Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' in the chord structures.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Doubt is a real thing, but I hope the melancholy in this doesn't come across as despair, "I am weak" but the last word goes to faith " He is strong".</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/c3d4c7a1d1768363d520a9f8fc06c09b8ab2ee55/original/jesus-loves-me-thumbnail.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>MUSICAL CREDITS:</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Vocals: Dave Whitcroft</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Harmonies: Gillian Brown, Michael McCluskey</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Guitars: Dave Whitcroft</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Cello: James C. McNally</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Mixing: Michael McCluskey zerohour.uk.com</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Mastering: Pete Maher petemaher.com</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>VIDEO CREDITS: </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Thanks to all open source contributors on Pexels & elsewhere.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>LYRICS: </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>1. Jesus loves me this I know, </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>For the bible tells me so, </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Little ones to Him belong, </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>They are weak but he is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>2.Jesus loves me He who died, </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Heaven’s gates to open wide,</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>he will wash away my sin </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Let His little child come in. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Chorus ~ </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yes, Jesus loves me </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yes, Jesus loves me </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yes, Jesus loves me </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>The Bible tells me so </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>3. Jesus loves me He will stay </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Close beside me all the way </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Then His little child will take </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Up to heaven for His dear sake </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Chorus ~</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yes, Jesus loves me </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yes, Jesus loves me </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Yes, Jesus loves me </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>The Bible tells me So….. </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Epilogue ~ </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>He is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>He is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>I am weak </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>But He is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>He is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>He is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>I am weak </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>But He is strong </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Strong……… </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Anna Warner Bartlett, William Batchelder Bradbury, Dave Whitcroft © 2021 KDMusic</em></p>
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/7004932
2022-03-08T15:15:48+00:00
2022-08-22T20:05:16+01:00
Church Stage Design 101: How to Create a Cohesive Presentation
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/64500a5f29358d0241c550ad05af5e6492d586be/original/dave.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" />When thinking about church stage design and church presentations, it can seem like there are endless elements you need to think about. It may even be overwhelming looking at the countless church stage design ideas and different possibilities online. But it’s important to remember that every church is different and if you start with the basics of what works for your church. It’s okay, to start with what’s simple to knock out first. Let’s look at a few key elements we’d consider to be “Church Stage Design 101.”</p>
<h4>Lighting Matters Possibly More Than Any Other Element</h4>
<p>One of the first (and simpler than you think) elements to get right in your worship environment is lighting. No element of church stage design or the physical space, in general, can affect the level of engagement your congregation has in worship more than lighting. Especially bad lighting. The great news is, it doesn’t take a huge budget or much technical knowledge to improve your existing room lighting by 100%.</p>
<h4><em>Practical Example:</em></h4>
<p>If you want to add budget lighting from the ground up before you dive into actual DMX-controlled stage lighting systems, a popular stage design for churches right now is the exposed light bulb look. You can find stand-up lamps and table lamps at your local super-center, or even a thrift store. Paint them black if needed, then get vintage-style bulbs for them (and a dimmer so you can make sure they’re not too hard on people’s eyes).</p>
<p>If you have fluorescent room lighting, find a way to stop using it for worship services. You can light your area with lamps placed along the edges of the room, fixtures that you hang, recessed lighting that you have installed, or even some PAR-can style lights aimed up at the ceiling.</p>
<p>If you’d like to add some color to your stage, you can find LED color strips that are now popular for backlighting home TV screens for under $15 for each strip. Attach them to some small wood pieces that are painted black and lay them across the back of your stage, or stand them upright in various places.</p>
<h4>Screen Visibility Is Important for Practical As Well As Aesthetic Reasons</h4>
<p>A big decision that often gets undervalued in church stage design and worship space planning is screen placement. It’s pretty common that most churches will have projectors or TVs to display media of some sort (even simply lyrics and scripture), but it’s sometimes not as well thought out as it should be as to where the screen or screens are placed. When properly sized and placed, your church presentation screens can add to your stage design aesthetically AND practically, when they serve the people who come to your services well by allowing them to easily see the content you’re presenting.</p>
<h4><em>Practical Example:</em></h4>
<p>If you use projector screens, make sure they’re not washed out by lighting that is directly over the projected image. Choose projectors that are powerful enough to display a bright image. Some smaller rooms may be able to benefit from TV screens as opposed to traditional projectors and screens. Just make sure the screen is large enough to be seen from the back row. You can manipulate the font size and how much text is on each slide to improve this if you must use a smaller screen. If your room is very wide or it’s difficult to pick one focal point that is visible from all the seats, use two screens (one on each side, or even get creative and use a TV on each side with one center projection screen).</p>
<h4>Consistency Between Stage and Tech Elements Is Necessary for a Cohesive Presentation</h4>
<p>It’s important to establish an identity that is consistent as you work towards creating a cohesive presentation with your stage design, church media presentations, and even your signage and branding for that matter. Deciding what direction to take that works for your unique church body is a good first step in determining what style of elements you’ll need to incorporate in your presentations and stage design.</p>
<h4><em>Practical Example:</em></h4>
<p>Let’s say you want to go for a warm or even “rustic” kind of look for your stage. Maybe you use string lights and vintage-style Edison bulbs with minimal colored lighting. This means when you choose backgrounds for your worship presentation screens, you’d want to pick ones that are cohesive with this style and energy level. It probably wouldn’t look natural to display high-energy motion backgrounds with fast-moving elements that bounce around and flash lots of colors quickly. Instead, you’d want to look for softer or more subtle worship backgrounds that fit the style of the lighting and stage elements in your room.</p>
<h4>Consider the Difference Between the Feel of the Room, In-Person & On Live Streams</h4>
<p>In this day and age, we have to consider the reality that for most churches, we either already have or want to have people watching our worship services online as well as in person. Even if your desire is to hopefully have them come to your services at your location, it’s inevitable that many people will want to check out what’s going on at your church online first.</p>
<h4><em>Practical Example:</em></h4>
<p>Check your camera angle and evaluate how it appears on screen. Even if you use a simple one-camera setup that you record or stream from a phone or tablet, be intentional about where you place the camera and what’s in its viewing area. If there are less visually pleasing things like extra gear piled up on the sides of your stage but they are in the camera shot, tighten up the shot to where this isn’t visible. Things like that may blend in and be easy to overlook in-person but will clutter up and poorly impact the camera shot for viewers watching online.</p>
<p>Lighting can also be very different on-camera vs. in-person, so be sure that your camera image brightness settings are set at a sweet spot where it’s not either too bright and washed out or too dark and hard to see the people on stage.</p>
<h4>Use Quality Backgrounds & Media for Your Presentations</h4>
<p>But it doesn’t have to be over the top.</p>
<h4>Don’t Forget Quality Sound in Your Efforts to Improve Your Worship Space</h4>
<p>If you have the nicest looking stage around but people can’t hear the message or engage in worship because of poor quality or distracting sound, it means much of the effort of improving your worship space has been wasted. After all, the most important thing is for people to be able to hear the Word of God being preached and participate in worship for Him.</p>
<h4><em>Practical Example:</em></h4>
<p>Make sure the speakers in your church’s audio system are adequately covering the room and that they’re dialed in properly for clear and pristine reproduction of voices and instruments. Turn the volume up to where people can hear well even in the back of the room. Find a good volume for worship where the sound fills the room and people can feel comfortable singing along with the worship team. Bring in professionals or invest in resources to train your sound engineers in how to use your soundboard to mix, bring out the clarity in voices and instruments, and remove the “muddiness” or low rumbly sounds that cause distractions.</p>
<p>While there ARE many things to consider when it comes to stage design and creating a cohesive presentation for your church, it’s easy to dive in and start making positive changes to your worship experience. You can make a huge impact in just a few hours worth of work. Before you know it, you’ll be moving from budget-friendly and basic “stage design 101” to more advanced equipment and tools. People will be expectant and excited to come to your church every week and feel at home in the beautiful environment you create for them!</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog/in-church/media/church-stage-design-101/" rel="nofollow">Church Stage Design 101: How to Create a Cohesive Presentation</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog" rel="nofollow">Church Media Blog</a>.</p>
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/7004933
2022-03-07T16:59:51+00:00
2022-06-30T14:17:47+01:00
10 Encouraging Podcasts for Worship Leaders
<p>One of the greatest things you can do as a worship leader is to encourage yourself and learn from other worship leaders. Just as the instructions for handling an emergency situation in an airplane require parents to grab the oxygen first so they’ll be able to then take care of their children, worship leaders must first be connected to God as their source of life and leadership.</p>
<p>And one of the easiest avenues of encouragement for worship leaders in 2022 is podcasts. There are many podcasts that are made to equip, encourage, and build up worship leaders as they serve tirelessly each and every week in their local churches.</p>
<p>Here are 10 of our favorite encouraging podcasts for worship leaders!</p>
<h4><strong>1) Redman & Riddle Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>The <a href="https://www.redmanandriddle.com">Redman & Riddle Podcast</a>, started just this past year by hugely popular worship leaders Matt Redman and Jeremy Riddle, is a real and raw source of encouragement for any worship leader. And while encouraging, it will also prove to be a challenging listen, as Matt and Jeremy even challenge their own ways of doing things against the ultimate standard of what’s fit to be done in worship for our most holy God.</p>
<p>With combined perspectives from Matt’s years of being considered a father in the worship ministry world, and Jeremy’s passionate, wild abandonment that has inspired so many worshippers, this podcast is a must-listen.</p>
<h4><strong>2) Worship Circle Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>The <a href="https://www.worshipcircle.com/podcast-1">Worship Circle Podcast</a> is a part of the Worship Circle ministry, started by Todd Fields. Todd Fields spent years as the worship pastor at North Point Church in Atlanta, Georgia under pastor Andy Stanley, and is now dedicated to building up other worship leaders through training, resourcing, and mentoring.</p>
<p>Worship Circle as a ministry (and their excellent podcast) is focused on leadership and personal growth– whether it be encouraging young worship leaders and equipping them with what they need to be successful in their calling or providing spaces of rest and revitalization for more seasoned worship leaders.</p>
<h4><strong>3) Hillsong Creative</strong></h4>
<p>There’s probably not a church you could be a part of that hasn’t been touched in some way by the hugely influential worship ministry of Hillsong Church in Australia. Hillsong has brought up worship leaders like Darlene Zschech (now with her own ministry at Hope UC), Brooke Frasier, and Joel Houston, and songs like “Shout to the Lord,” “What a Beautiful Name,” and “Mighty to Save,” along with a few hundred more.</p>
<p>There’s no shortage of knowledge, inspiration, and encouragement for worship leaders that can be gleaned from what God has done over the years at Hillsong. And luckily for all of us, the leaders at Hillsong are great at sharing their wisdom through annual conferences for creatives, a full-blown worship college, and resources like the <a href="https://hillsong.com/wcc/podcast/">Hillsong Creative Podcast</a>.</p>
<h4><strong>4) Worship Artistry Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>Another really fun, interesting, and encouraging podcast for worship leaders is the <a href="https://worshipartistry.com/greenroom/podcasts">Worship Artistry Podcast</a>. Having spent years instructing worship musicians and equipping worship teams with resources to grow in their craft, Jason Houtsma (guitar instructor and worship leader) and Daniel Ornellas (producer, bass player for worship bands including Tree63, and bass instructor) bring inspiration and teachable experience to the table in every episode of this podcast.</p>
<p>If you’re looking to expand your musical knowledge and also just hear from people that are doing what you do as a worship leader in various capacities all over the world, the Worship Artistry Podcast is a great listen, and a great resource to add to your collection.</p>
<h4><strong>5) Jonathan & Melissa Helser Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>A powerhouse couple in the worship world, Jonathan & Melissa Helser come together to pour out wisdom and leadership with incredibly humble and earnest hearts on their <a href="https://www.jonathanhelser.com/podcast">Jonathan & Melissa Helser Podcast</a>. With a mantra of the “18 Inch Journey” from the head to the heart (also a ministry of theirs), everything you hear from these worship leaders will be good and encouraging food for the soul.</p>
<p>Having the authority that comes with writing songs like “No Longer Slaves” and “Raise a Hallelujah” that are now anthems for the Church all over the world, Jonathan and Melissa contagiously express their hearts for pure and authentic worship in these podcast episodes which are true to their small roots in the woods of North Carolina.</p>
<h4><strong>6) Worship Together</strong></h4>
<p>Worship Together, a division of the Capitol Christian Music Group record label, has been a resource for worship leaders and worship teams for a long time. And on the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/worship-together/id1228445090">Worship Together Podcast</a>, you’ll get to hear some of your favorite worship artists discuss all aspects of leading worship, whether on the road or at their own local churches.</p>
<p>It’s great and encouraging for worship leaders to hear from others who are doing the same thing around the world. For getting a pulse on what God is doing in worship music and also being connected with resources like chord charts and song tutorial videos, you can’t beat the Worship Together website and podcast.</p>
<h4><strong>7) Jesus Culture Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>For the worship leader interested in growing in not only their leadership but also their personal relationship with Jesus, check out the <a href="https://jesusculture.com/podcasts/">Jesus Culture Podcast</a> with Banning Liebscher. Banning is the lead pastor of Jesus Culture, a movement and now a church in Sacramento, California.</p>
<p>Jesus Culture is well known for shaping much of the sound of modern worship music. Some of their early recordings, like the groundbreaking video of “How He Loves” by Kim Walker-Smith, have influenced worship leaders and worshippers around the world.</p>
<h4><strong>8) The Worship Initiative Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>One of the greatest resources for worship leaders of the past several years is The Worship Initiative. Supply chord charts, instructional how-to-play song videos, and even multi-track recordings, this one stop shop for many church worship teams was created by well-known worship leaders Shane & Shane (Shane Barnard and Shane Everett) with a heart to bring excellence and purity together.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worship-initiative-podcast/id1458913192">Worship Initiative Podcast</a> is no disappointment in providing the same resourcing by way of encouragement and perspectives, practical worship leading discussions, and useful exercises like vocal warm-ups. </p>
<h4><strong>9) Worship Central Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>The <a href="https://worshipcentral.org/podcast">Worship Central Podcast</a> is put together by the excellent team at the UK-based worship ministry, Worship Central. With worship leaders like Tim Hughes (writer of “Here I Am to Worship”) as a part of their team, there’s a wealth of knowledge available on their podcast episodes.</p>
<p>Worship leaders all over the world will benefit from hearing the leaders of Worship Central speak on character, creativity, songwriting, and letting the Holy Spirit move in worship sets, as just a few of the topics they’ve covered.</p>
<h4><strong>10) Beyond Sunday Worship Leader Podcast</strong></h4>
<p>Worship leader David Stantistevan interviews worship artists like Dante Bowe, Kari Jobe, and Red Rocks Worship on his <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-sunday-worship-leader-podcast/id627213933">Beyond Sunday Worship Leader Podcast</a>. Having a more general platform with his Beyond Sunday theme for broader aspects of church leadership and ministry, his worship leader-directed podcast has hugely helpful content for the entire creative process of worship leading.</p>
<p>As pastors and leaders, it’s important for worship leaders to be encouraged to operate in their anointing and authority as they lead. This podcast sheds light on what this process looks like for many worship leaders who are making a global impact. The episodes are filled with material we can all glean from as we seek to build and create in our local churches.</p>
<p>We hope these ten encouraging podcasts for worship leaders will supply you with much wisdom, creativity, and food for thought as you seek to lead your worship ministry and community well. Whether you need inspiration and encouragement going into a new season, or you’ve been sailing along in your current rhythm for a long time, or anywhere in between, these podcasts are a great start at breathing in fresh air that will feed your creative soul!</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog/in-church/media/10-encouraging-podcasts-for-worship-leaders/">10 Encouraging Podcasts for Worship Leaders</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog">Church Media Blog</a>.</p>
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/7004937
2022-01-18T16:11:13+00:00
2022-06-30T14:17:48+01:00
5 Best In-Ear Monitors for Worship Bands
<p>In-ear monitors for worship bands quickly went from something that felt new, to very common, to prevalent in almost every church and worship team setting. In fact, houses of worship were a huge part of in-ear monitors overtaking the music scene, in sync with other timely advancements like digital soundboards becoming more accessible and personal monitoring systems designed to interface with them.</p>
<p>If you’re just diving into in-ear monitors or looking to expand your existing setup, we hope to share some valuable information that will save you time picking the best in-ear monitors for your church.</p>
<h3>
<strong><br></strong><strong>A few different ways to set up in-ear monitors for church</strong>
</h3>
<p>Before we discuss some great in-ear monitors for your worship team, let’s look at three basic ways to set up and configure in-ears with your existing sound system. The great news is that in-ear monitors can fit in any budget. They are not only reserved for more technically advanced sound systems or stages.</p>
<ol><li>
<strong>Personal monitoring system</strong> – Complete systems like the <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/manufacturer/Aviom">Aviom</a> or <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P16Pack--behringer-p16m-personal-mixing-system-with-westone-in-ear-monitors">Behringer Powerplay P16</a> personal monitoring systems are designed to facilitate the entire process of routing audio from the soundboard to the individual musician and singer’s in-ears. These typically come with a rack-mounted unit that lives in the front-of-house tech booth or on stage and is connected either by physical patching from “aux mixes” from the soundboard or by a digital (ethernet) cable when compatible with a specific digital soundboard. Then there are individual mixer units on stage that each musician or singer will plug their in-ear monitors into and control their own mixes, using the built-in volume and other controls. With this setup, each team member will be wired to their mixer box, so you’ll need to purchase some extender cables to connect the in-ears to each box, so they will have enough length to move around the stage without being tethered to just a few feet from their mixer. This option is right in the middle in terms of cost and ease of setup.</li></ol>
<ol start="2"><li>
<strong>Multi-channel or personal headphone amps</strong> – Arguably, the least expensive and easiest way to implement in-ear monitors in any sound system, regardless of the kind of mixer you have, is to use a headphone amplifier. A headphone amp simply takes audio signal from your soundboard and provides enough power to it to drive small in-ear monitors or headphones. It’s just like having a headphone jack on your laptop or smartphone, but with inputs from your soundboard. You would connect the “aux mixes” for each musician or singer to different inputs on your multi-channel headphone amp (like <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HA8000V2--behringer-ha8000-v2-8-ch-headphone-mixing-distribution-amplifier">this one</a> capable of eight different mixes) and then connect each musician or singer to their own channel. The headphone amp would need to be in a central location on stage so you could use extender cables to reach each team member in their area on stage. You could also use individual headphone amps nearer to each position, like <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PowerPlay1--behringer-powerplay-p1-personal-in-ear-monitor-amplifier">this one</a>. This setup works best with a digital soundboard, as each musician or singer would download the soundboard’s app on their smartphone or tablet to control their own in-ear monitor mix, as assigned by the sound person. (Otherwise, with an analog soundboard, the sound person would need to mix for each team member).</li></ol>
<ol start="3"><li>
<strong>Wireless in-ear monitor systems</strong> – If you’re able to invest more into your in-ear monitor setup, it is very popular to utilize wireless systems for your worship band’s in-ear monitors. The wireless system, in this case, would just replace the wired connections with a transmitter unit and then a wireless pack for each musician or singer. Wireless transmitters will typically be rack-mounted and would be connected from each “aux mix” from the soundboard and a pack assigned to each team member for that corresponding mix and transmitter. This means the musician or singer would need to control their own mix using an app on their phone or tablet, or the sound person could control their mixes for them. We advise that if you do choose to go wireless, you should invest in a higher quality wireless system (like <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P3TRA215T-G20--shure-psm300-pro-wireless-dual-in-ear-monitor-system-g20-band">this one</a> from Shure) to prevent any issues with odd sound compression or dropouts that can happen with less expensive wireless units. One great option to save on cost but still get the benefits of wireless would be to combine the wired headphone amp option above with the wireless option we’re discussing here. For instance, worship leaders and those who will move around more towards the front of the stage could be assigned wireless packs, but more stationary musicians like the drummer or keys player could be wired with a headphone amp near their spots on stage.</li></ol>
<h3><strong>What in-ear monitors should I choose for my worship band?</strong></h3>
<p>Now that we’ve looked at how to implement in-ears for your church band, here are five great in-ear monitors that make it onto our shortlist of great options to choose from.</p>
<ol><li>
<a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SE215--shure-se215-sound-isolating-earphones-clear"><strong>Shure SE215-CL</strong></a> – These in-ear monitors from Shure are very much industry standard entry-level to medium-grade earphones. Based on their older “E2” in-ears that were so popular when the wave of in-ear monitors first hit, they are tried and true. And with a relatively low price point, you can’t go wrong. It’s great to have some of these around to provide for your team, even if some of them have their own personal in-ears, as these would also make great backups. The SE215-CL’s are “single driver” earphones, which means that one tiny speaker handles all the frequencies in the audio spectrum, but it’s very efficient and sounds natural and pleasing to the musician or singer who is using it. Shure also offers models in this line with more drivers, which increases the quality and cost.</li></ol>
<ol start="2"><li>
<a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ProX20--westone-pro-x20-earphones-clear"><strong>Westone Pro X20</strong></a> – Stepping up just a bit in price range and in quality/features, we have the Westone Pro X20 earphones. These in-ears provide dual drivers, which means there are separate tiny speakers inside them to handle the lower frequencies and higher frequencies. This will allow for a cleaner volume and clarity across the frequency range. As with the Shure’s listed above, you can also upgrade to versions in this line of in-ears with more drivers for even more power and clarity, but it will increase the cost (or downgrade to a single driver version in this same product line).</li></ol>
<ol start="3"><li>
<a href="https://alclair.com/product/alclair-uv3-triple-driver-universal/"><strong>Alclair UV3</strong></a> – Known for their custom-molded in-ear monitors, Alclair has also introduced a universal fit line of in-ears called the UV3. The UV3 earphones are triple driver, which means there are three tiny speakers in these monitors, splitting up the low, mid, and higher frequency range for great clarity and headroom volume-wise. At only slightly more cost than the previous two options we’ve listed, these bring a great quality that is slightly less universal and more tailored to the professional musician, though they are still universal in fit so any musician or singer can use them if you purchase several for your team.</li></ol>
<ol start="4"><li>
<a href="https://alclair.com/product/spire/"><strong>Alclair Spire</strong></a> – Alclair Spire six driver custom in-ear monitors are just that– custom. These earphones require each musician or singer to have their actual ears imaged and the earphones will be created as a custom mold in the shape of their ear cavities. While this sounds like it would be complicated, custom molded in-ears are very popular in the music industry and most any audiologist will be able to complete the process (usually with a silicon like substance that takes the shape of your ears) and send it in to have custom in-ear monitors made. With a slightly higher price tag, these in-ears bring absolutely stunning quality to the musician or singer using them and offer utmost clean and clear volume across all frequencies with six different tiny drivers covering the frequency range. The detailed and dynamic sound makes these the perfect in-ear monitors for worship leaders who need to hear a more complete picture of the mix while still having their voice cut through the mix. Note that Alclair also offers custom in-ears with different configurations (less drivers, down to two driver models) which are priced even lower than some non-custom molded in-ears.</li></ol>
<ol start="5"><li>
<a href="https://www.64audio.com/collections/stage/products/a4s"><strong>64 Audio A4s</strong></a> – For an even more boutique set of in-ear monitors for your worship band if you have a higher budget, check out 64 Audio’s four driver set of custom in-ears called the A4s. These in-ear monitors are perfect for worship musicians, offering an immersive, full-spectrum sound with a dynamic mid-range and powerful bass. Like many other in-ear monitor manufacturers, 64 Audio has a ton of experience in the worship in-ear monitor arena and offers a wide range of products. So, if you want to upgrade to even more drivers, or go down to a fewer driver version to have the same 64 Audio quality but lower the cost, you can find a set of in-ears that will work for any worship leader or musician in their line-up. Some worship team musicians or worship leaders who lead very often may want to invest in their own in-ear monitors, even if more generic ones are available at the church. And for that, 64 Audio is definitely a brand to check out.</li></ol>
<p><strong>Honorable mention:</strong></p>
<p>One more brand that has made a huge impact in the market of in-ear monitors for worship bands and happens to offer other commercial product lines like Bluetooth speakers and accessories is <a href="https://custom.ultimateears.com/pages/ue-pro-iems">Ultimate Ears</a>. Be sure to check out their custom in-ears, universal fit options, or an in-between option of a custom but more general fit available via their ear mold impression kit that can be done at home.</p>
<p>The benefits of in-ear monitors for worship bands are countless, like lower stage volume, increased detail for each musician or singer, and sometimes an even lower cost than having an actual monitor wedge speaker for each person on stage. In-ears are the way to go for any worship team. The question is simply this: Which in-ear monitors will you choose for your church worship team?</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog/in-church/production/in-ear-monitors-for-worship/">5 Best In-Ear Monitors for Worship Bands</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.worshiphousemedia.com/church-media-blog">Church Media Blog</a>.</p>
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860768
2022-01-06T12:06:33+00:00
2022-01-06T16:07:25+00:00
Upside Down ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Orangefield, Belfast | N.Ireland</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">That last blog was pretty intense, so let’s lighten the tone a bit! There are 5 things that have defined my life. My Christian faith, music, the woman who married me (the greatest blessing God has sent my way), my 3 kids, & being part of a great church family at Orangefield in Belfast. So many good friends. So many opportunities to serve. It is without doubt my extended family, which is what it’s meant to be. A family, a body. We’ve had our moments, some wobbles and challenges, but it’s just chock full of good honest, ‘what you see is what you get’ Jesus loving brothers and sisters. </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/76e4df13472739c5d936b26027bc54a2c1e917f4/original/maxresdefault.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Don't mess with Zacchaeus! (Hints of 'Big Bad Boss' from Zootropolis?)</em></p>
<p>So when I was doing my stint in charge of the Sunday school, and someone asked could they have a song for a talk they were doing on Zaccheus, we rattled this one off within a few days. Being the son of someone in love with money, the lyrics came easily! It’s loosely styled on 'Minnie the Mooch' by Cab Calloway from the Blues Brothers movie. I wanted Zaccheus to come across as a sneaky prohibition era gangster, who rips everyone off. On the edge. Unloved. </p>
<p>Over the years this song has been performed by loads of kids in our church, local schools and other places in Europe and North America. It’s best sung with shades on & a fake scowl. Actions come easily on the chorus, it’s great fun! </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/f1e06e46f04f09aeb41a51de44df7c79258c0b86/original/ian-hannah.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong>Piano & Brass</strong></p>
<p>To finally add some dusty 'Speakeasy' piano from Ian Hannah, and backroom jazz trumpet from Rick Swann is a delight ~ real icing on the cake! Have fun with it, get your kids and church family singing it. To hear about Zaccheus getting his life turned upside down & his frozen heart set alight, hopefully will give you all a bit of a lift. A great one for the car on a long drive, or for a VBS (holiday bible club). </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/90eec494ecfd57f9cc8eb128067261ae0831eaac/original/rick-swann.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><strong>Notes for Musicians</strong></p>
<p>Musically this song is about walking down from A minor to F major and then up from D minor back to Am. So Guitarists, your 3 bass strings as where most the action is. Bass players, to stop that sounding really boring in a band, you can go in the opposite direction to the destination notes, much more interesting and fun! Drummers, there's a nice shift into double time for the first half of verse 3, enjoy that! Pianists and trumpet players, sorry I have no wisdom for you, other than, listen, notice where your space is, and experiment! </p>
<p>What do you think? More importantly, what do your kids think? Do let us know with a comment below, thanks!</p>
3:18
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860317
2022-01-06T00:22:16+00:00
2022-05-27T15:10:20+01:00
Freedom's Slave ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<p><strong>Kingston Jamaica | Newry, Co. Down | Shankill & New Lodge, N. Belfast </strong></p>
<p>Can you remember where you were during the first Gulf War? I was working in a church community project, the Mel Nathan institute, Hannah town, Kingston Jamaica. I loved Hannah Town. It was like the Shankill Estate with sunshine by day , street food & pumping music at night. By the orange street lights it was edgy, like a scene from Dante's inferno. Half derelict due to political gerrymandering, three letter tribal markings on the walls, a tired sort of intensity, lazy fat cops sitting in the station & 'gangstas' shooting each other up on the streets outside the church project, scaring us and the kids, it was so like 90's high density Belfast. </p>
<p>The people were kinda great. Everyone was an aspiring poet or songwriter. Community concerts would just 'happen' at night. I wrote songs with a guy called 'Chan Chan' Nevada Thompson, who made a living doing lignum vitae wood carvings. We were a mini hit, the white guy on guitar beside the local hero. Every day was a 90 minute bus journey each way from the suburbs to Hannah Town. I ended up bringing a spare shirt (and a guitar) on the bus, it was just so hot. And packed into those Jamaican Tata mini busses, you get really up close & personal. I used to write home to my sweetheart (now my wife) that I'd been closer to some Jamaican women on those busses than I had to her! </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/7ee14ea0d6f69c26e5a9de900a0018848e0c1d12/original/hannatownc20170508jb.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Bullet holes in a Hannah Town yard gate </em></p>
<p><strong>War, what is it good for?</strong></p>
<p>By the time I got home, after a shower and dinner, we'd watch the oil flares in Kuwait on TV each night. The news was ramping up the size of the Iraqi Army, & the western forces were talking about shock, awe & overwhelming force. And overwhelm they did. In two successive wars, the first justified as a liberation, the second infamous for the murky motives and lack of clear recovery plan. It was car crash TV, you couldn't help but watch and be appalled by war at the same time. </p>
<p>It struck me forcefully that the way God achieves victory is so different from the way human powers do it. It brought to mind the Thomas Moore Irish folk song 'The Minstrel Boy' from 1798. However, as you read the lyrics that doesn't fit how God does thing either. It's full of pathos all right, but it's all about the heroism of the lost cause, a young flag bearer being willing to go down with a 'sinking ship', - typical of the numerically small, fighting Irish! We can't win, but we'll make a scene to remember as we lose! </p>
<p>It took another 4 years and a first job as a youth worker in north Belfast, to push this song to completion. The Clifton Street Centre where I worked, drew in kids from the Shankill Estate (loyalist) & New Lodge (Nationalist). Running a mixed club on 'murder mile' was exhilarating. The backdrop of bombs, kidnappings, punishment beatings & kneecapping, meant most of the kids had seen some things no child should ever see. It was a building right on the front line. There were times just after the Shankill bomb, when we would flinch every time the door opened. That was enough to convince me unrestrained power means evil, and the song should be finished.</p>
<p><strong>The subversion of 'Might is right'</strong></p>
<p>So I started thinking, we need lyrics that capture that heroism, but takes us away from the notion of the noble lost cause, and debunks it. Jesus, was not some military mascot dying beside a flag for posterity. Heroic, noble, yes, but this was the king of the universe! He had all the power at his disposal to act like the western forces in Kuwait and obliterate his opponents. By stark contrast, He was neither of these notions of what either tragic heroism or victory looks like. </p>
<p>The lyrics below are full of deliberate juxtapositions of Jesus' death and ultimate victory, against the 'romantic tragedy' of The Minstrel Boy. It's a beautiful tune, that has been used by Irish, British & American regiments as part of their military identity. But I think think the bible tells an even more magnificent story of victory and hope in the darkest of circumstances. God's ways, are not our ways! </p>
<p>For the musicians among you, we've tried to reflect that high contrast in both the instrumentation & syncopation. Starts of verses are empty, ends are rich. First lines are straight, second lines are dotted or rushed to give the melody a bit more edge and drama. You may prefer to sing the tune the original 'undotted' way and that's fine by me that brings a more stately or dignified style. I just prefer a little urgency when singing about a fight. Either way the song has something to say to people trying to worship in the middle of bewilderment, loss, pain and frailty ~ not many of us 'feel victorious' all the time.</p>
<p><b>But is it 'commercial' ?</b></p>
<p>I submitted this song for review to a now defunct website. It was considered too lyrically dense, lacking a hook and needing a chorus. I have to admit, I was indignant, but maybe they were right? In defence of the song, I'm convinced it can ruin an unfolding story if you give away the punchline right after the first verse - so I don't think I'll add that chorus. As for a hook, well, the tune has been stuck in people's heads for about 250-300 years, I reckon it's pretty hooky! And then to complex lyrics, well, I love a simple song, but surely there's still room for some rich story-telling. I know some of my favourite songs have needed to be 're-read' like a classic book before I've understood all the riches in them?</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Anyway, I'll let you decide ~ I'd love to hear what you think, so do have a listen, & post your comments below.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Is this a good hymn about the cross for your church?</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Check out the 10/10 review by<a contents=" The Berean Test&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.thebereantest.com/kdmusic-freedoms-slave" target="_blank"> <strong>The Berean Test </strong></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/f3db1f90c073d65d3b464bffb439d0f7e26bb50e/original/freedoms-slave-the-son-of-god-to-the-cross-has-gone-1.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
4:22
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860772
2019-07-23T04:31:44+01:00
2022-01-06T16:07:52+00:00
Come Lord Come ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Kingston, Jamaica | Newry, N.Ireland</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_3662.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1200" width="1200" /></p>
<p>I recently heard a clip of Tom Hanks being interviewed. He was asked why he felt compelled to act. He cried. He was searching for a vocabulary, a way to express his ‘loneliness’.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03t5p63">https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03t5p63</a></p>
<p>There is a loneliness that's not boredom or isolation ~ it's closer to panic. I think the word is……desolation. Space movies explore this a lot. The horror of drifting off into eternity, waiting for your oxygen to run out. I’ve tasted that sort of ‘existential’ loneliness before I became a Christian (aren’t teenagers intense), and since then flirted with it the odd time when I was feeling sorry for myself!</p>
<h2>And <strong>it’s</strong> back to Jamaica….</h2>
<p>Mainly though, my experience of loneliness since faith became a factor, has been very different. Now it’s a sort of <em>homesickness</em>. This next example could have happened anywhere. I’d had a year of working in Craigavon, London. Next stop Jamaica. I had just briefly seen Lisa in London. Saying goodbye was not easy, and my first night in Kingston didn’t help.</p>
<p>A friend had suggested staying the first couple of days in her friend’s hotel, as a treat after the London hostel work. So I landed, got a taxi, checked in and went to the bar. A big, red faced, drunk white Jamaican guy with a pistol in a holster, came in & tried to pick a fight. Taking my glasses off playing with them, taunting me by drinking my coke etc. The barman had to talk him down, and I just sat very still, fuming, with my eyes on the sidearm he touched occasionally!</p>
<p>So I went to bed, & found cockroaches in my shoes. I cried. I felt so alone. I was praying desperately & felt consoled that God had recently brought the family through some very rough stuff. Even when I felt alone then, I sensed I was not really alone. God can be very close in those difficult moments.</p>
<p>I never saw my friend’s friend, the hotel owner. When I left, I was served a full ticket bill which was I think, 1/4 of my 4 month budget! Not a great start. There was one particularly resourceful week where I was down to my last 2 Jamaican dollars, (50p) but stretched it out a bit with music. For the record Jamaicans don’t seem that into tipping buskers, but I suppose I stood out a bit, so it was ok. God bless the few who did donate <img src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/1f602.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="😂" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />. All the same, Kingston was magical after that.</p>
<h2>A homesick world</h2>
<p>That intense spike of homesickness got me thinking, particularly when I came home and had time to process it. There is a huge amount in the bible about homesickness. It’s a longing not to return, but for the ‘returner’. The whole of the New Testament looks forward to the return of the king, the groom for the bride, the anticipation of a distressed creation, the vindicator for the oppressed, the Day of the Lord.</p>
<p>The first two verses of this song 'Come Lord Come' make sense of this ‘homesickness’ through Psalm 19 (the witness of nature) the doxology in Romans 11, (the wisdom of God), and Romans 8 (nature groaning in anticipation of liberation from decay, and us awaiting our adoption as God’s children).</p>
<p>The final verse is my personal experience of not being fully alone anymore. I hope it resonates.</p>
<h2>Notes for Musicians</h2>
<p>This is the richest piece of music on the album. The lyrics are intense & the song matches well. Often a final Master leaps out like the grain on a piece of french polished wood. It’s a testimony to Michael McCluskey’s mixing & production, that the Final Master is almost identical to the studio mix.</p>
<p>Musically, we go to town on the dropped D acoustic guitar & some of the lead instrumentals. John Hegarty adds some lovely tapped harmonics on his strat. The sound for Ian Hannah’s baffling piano arpeggios, is a Native Instruments steel piano, that’s had a reverse effect added to overstate the ‘anticipation’ theme of the song.</p>
<p>Finally, I love the sustained, slightly unexpected harmonies Gillian Brown has picked out. They’re quite haunting.</p>
<p>You can play this song on just an acoustic & it will work perfectly well, so long as you drop the D strings. Play the F&G chords barring the bottom two strings and let the top strings carry the drone instead.</p>
<h2>
<strong>Lyrics</strong> & Chords</h2>
<p>Dave Whitcroft © 2019 KDMusic</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_3663.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1054" width="750" /><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_3664.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1054" width="750" /><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_3665.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1013" width="727" /></p>
6:16
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860773
2019-07-18T02:38:05+01:00
2022-01-06T16:08:10+00:00
We Will See ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Dugort, Achill Island | Ireland</strong></p>
<p>I’ve always thought of misty, shadowy West of Ireland weather as gloomy or mysterious. It wasn’t until I read CS Lewis on the difference between half light (Nordic) & full light (Mediterranean) beauty that I broadened my perspective. He compares a northern landscape & light to water colours, bright southern light to oil paintings. One vivid & exuberant, the other subtle & nuanced. Ambivalent.</p>
<p><span class="font_small"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/achill-waves-1.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="902" width="902" /></span></p>
<p><em>Minaun cliffs and Keel surf, Achill, Co Mayo. © 2019 Sarah Whitcroft</em></p>
<p>Different beauties evoking different responses. One universal response to all beauty he talks about though, is longing. For Lewis, all earthly beauty is partial. A pale imitation or fore-taste of the true intense beauty, that can be found only when creation is in full harmony with its Creator. For Lewis, beauty is suppose to make us long for something greater, heaven, or when heaven re-invades creation to restore it.</p>
<p>Love on earth can be the same. There is simply no way that any of us can perfectly, selflessly love each other as we should. Even the best of parents, children, husbands, wives, lovers or friends, let each other down. There will be times in your life when you feel deeply disappointed that the efforts you make, the feelings you feel, are not returned like for like by other people.</p>
<p>Well, I reckon that just as beauty creates longing within in us for something more, the incompleteness of earthly love, for all its high points, inevitably leaves us seeking for the untiring, constant, intense love that can only be found at its source. John, the ‘beloved disciple’, who stayed with Jesus at the cross, tells us that God is love.</p>
<p>So this song laments the limits of our human love, mentions some joys of life, & looks beyond them both, to the rich peace of being in God’s presence.</p>
<p>I’ve shared this song with some friends who have been through traumatic times. You know who you are. You’re still in mind as I write this.</p>
<h2>Melody – <strong>Dugort</strong>
</h2>
<p>I’ve called this tune Dugort. For me, the melody perfectly matches the Achill Island village and the folk music that have been part of my life since I was 8. Dugort has a melancholy watercolour beauty, with the deepest of bittersweet histories.</p>
<p>It’s personally poignant, because my dad was driving there with a load of trees to plant, when he got wiped in his car accident in the 80’s. His good friends Pat Lavelle & Vi McDowell, arranged with John Sweeney for the trees to be planted while he was undergoing brain surgery.</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0532.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="768" width="1024" /></p>
<p><em>St.Thomas’ Church, Achill Mission, Dugort, looking west to Slievemore & the Settlement.</em></p>
<p>More significantly, Dugort was the site of the Achill Missionary Settlement started in the 1830’s. It was an ambitious & zealous project to bring the gospel to a place that evangelicals considered both overlooked by, & enthralled to, a mediaeval Catholicism. The idealism was real & poignant. Like the rest of the Islanders, the founding members of the settlement suffered great personal loss. There was no personal gain (although the mission as a project got sucked into exercising control as a landlord). In due course they were on the receiving end of an institutional backlash, from an equally formidable neighbouring bishop.</p>
<p><strong>Changing Hearts or changing culture?</strong></p>
<p>With hindsight you can see the mistakes that were made. Although the mission was Irish speaking, the founding minister, Edward Nangle, (himself a convert from Catholicism), spent too much of his time denouncing the ‘idolatry’ of catholicism, instead of focusing on the core message, that it’s a personal faith in Jesus not commitment to an institution that counts.</p>
<p>Also, you can see, they just assumed that modernising imperial methods were best. As well as bringing a message, the settlement dispossessed a number of tenant farmers in order to set up a model village. It championed modern farming techniques, had a printing press, hotel, school, coast guards, and constabulary, all centred around a picture postcard church & Rectory, St Thomas’. We’re all captives of the times we live in. 19th century Evangelicals were at times too wedded to the notions of cultural superiority & uncritical of the social improvement initiatives that went with the global British imperial project (think assumptions about exporting American culture, or the assumed superiority of secular atheism in Europe today).</p>
<p><strong>When tragedy strikes</strong></p>
<p>On top of the controversy, the mission faced the tidal wave of bigger, more tragic events in the 1840’s and 1850’s. The horrendous crop failures & political disaster of ‘The Famine’ struck.</p>
<p>How do you stay true to your vision of spreading a faith, & respond to needs of starving people at the same time? The mission had had some early success in seeing people come to a genuine faith. Inevitably this was seen by some as cultural & religious betrayal. Perhaps the mission could have built a community with an alternative vision of Christianity, but if you have trained people up with marketable skills on an island, & famine hits, the sensible thing to do is to take those skills somewhere without famine. The momentum dissipated.</p>
<p><strong>Mission Creep</strong></p>
<p>In addition, the mission ended up being the institution that distributed food relief to 2,000 people. If you pastor a church, you have a responsibility to your neighbours, & in particular to your ‘flock’ in the middle of a crisis. It became almost inevitable that the tension between the original aim of the mission, and the duty to feed starving people, led to allegations of ‘souperism’ – (using the prospect of food, as an incentive to conversion).</p>
<p>If it occurred, it was despicable. It’s unproven & I have significant doubts about it. If your worldview is that belonging to institutions makes a difference, then ‘souperism’ might appear to people looking in, as an effective (if reprehensible) strategy by the Achill Mission. But Evangelical Christianity is all about preaching that joining clubs doesn’t save your soul. It’s a personal faith in Jesus that makes the difference. For Nangle and the mission, getting people on the church register under false pretences would have been a fake outcome, an external symbol without a heart reality.</p>
<p>Whatever the real (or confused) motives in those dreadful times, mud sticks. If I were desperate and starving, I would have changed ‘club’ if I thought it increased the chance of saving my family’s life. The desperate circumstances caused deep resentment. The Mission had aligned itself with the Imperial civilising project. The free market, non-interventionist policy of the British government, was an unmitigated disaster that left people to die. The Famine devastated rural Ireland, and the Mission became just another well intentioned but unsustainable project on marginal land, destined for decay.</p>
<p><strong>History is written by</strong></p>
<p>If you look on the map today, the Missionary Settlement, has been renamed The Colony. I find this a little sad, if understandable. However flawed, I think the self-sacrifice & outward looking intentions of the Mission were about building a new community around a different understanding of faith, in the Irish Language. Perhaps with the passage of time, & a little generosity, they can be honoured with the name they originally chose for themselves. A Mission of idealists, rather than a Colony of outsiders. The little church still operates, serving a small congregation & summer visitors.</p>
<p><strong>And so to the music ~ sorry that was so long!</strong></p>
<p>‘We will see’, is a classic 3/4 lament in Am. You have to play it quite delicately, picking out the lilting melody as you change chords.</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/841c57ab-8672-49a6-8987-ab82288c86a4.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="960" width="960" /></p>
<p>If '<strong>Still Only One Way'</strong> is the most powerful, then I think this is the most beautiful song on the album (Sunshine for Rainy Days). Gillian Brown’s voice is haunting & delightfully pure for the main melody. Gillian’s is a voice that deserves to be heard much more widely, particularly in this genre.</p>
<p>I love the contrast of the 3 part harmony she & Sarah sing in the middle of the song for the punchline. The fuller, ‘otherness of heaven’, is further implied by an echoing counter melody, thanks to Gwyneth Reid’s cello part.</p>
<p>I’m not going to suggest you try this one, but I hope you like it!</p>
<h2>Lyrics and chords</h2>
<h6>We Will See <strong>©</strong> 2019 KDMusic</h6>
<h6><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0533.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1888" width="1488" /></h6>
2:49
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860774
2019-07-17T18:12:51+01:00
2022-01-06T16:08:23+00:00
Pentecost! ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<p><strong>Orangefield, Belfast | N.Ireland</strong></p>
<p>Probably the most fun part of my church life has been doing youth work. I love kids’ work, but youth work was my primary degree & first paid job. So, when I stepped away from that to look after family interests, I got a real kick out of being a youth leader, and eventually ended of keeping an eye on all the youth work for our church in East Belfast. </p>
<p>There’s a lot going on. I think we estimated we were dealing with 550 children & teens on an average week, or maybe that was numbers on the books. </p>
<p>My particular favourite was our Sunday Night Youth Fellowship or S N Y F (its a church that suffers from Acronym addiction)! Anyway, SNYF was an opportunity to get alongside people at their most brilliant, most questioning, most mixed up, most hopeful or despairing. It’s an intense, fun, irritating, inspirational stage of life to be working with. All that potential, all those hormones!</p>
<p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/2NTXWOpw52VxnrhctEkdoK?si=nwm78o0SQ3G7blpTG3hS_g"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_3287.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="400" width="320" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Make songs that reflect your people</strong></p>
<p>We always tried to make up our own songs, it was great for forging the group’s identity. A couple of favourites were a Christian rip off of I’m a Believer by Neil Diamond (revitalised by Smashmouth in the Shrek movie), and then we also came up with this Latin tune, Pentecost. I’d been going through a Santana phase with my cover band, plus both Sting & Clapton has dabbled with Latin music, so it was a genre I really enjoyed. Three of the kids in the group at the time, the magnificent McCarthy sisters, had just come back from being missionary kids in Spain. So it was a fun way to acknowledge their arrival, by rattling out this tune, I think there’s a Spanish version somewhere!</p>
<p>Here’s a playlist with loads of upbeat Latin & gospel tunes to get you going for Pentecost season (the time we send missionaries out to tell the world the good news )</p>
<p><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/11185952109/playlist/7yEzWqAL5WNTJhM09226p1?si=-YVevQlpTca-8NlNYS1GNQ"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_3205-1.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="400" width="320" /></a></p>
<p><em>Rose petals sprinkled through the Oculus of the Pantheon, Rome, signifying the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. It implies the beauty & gentleness of the Spirit, as well as the power & cleansing we normally associate with flames. This tradition was started in the early 600’s</em> AD.</p>
<p><strong>Pentecost ~ The Lyrics</strong></p>
<p>The lyrics are line for line, straight out of Acts 2. It struck me reading the passage that Luke was describing a unique experience that couldn’t quite fit words. A sound ‘like’ wind, a sign ‘like’ flames. Speaking in the many real languages of the world’s Jewish peoples gathered into Jerusalem.</p>
<p>It kind of annoys me that some of us in the modern church ignore the frankly weird stuff going on, & focus entirely on the ‘birthday of the church’, the huge number of people who responded to Peter’s preaching.</p>
<p>On the other hand some of us seem to focus entirely on the experience & the speaking in tongues, to the extent that you’d think the experience was the point, not people hearing and believing.</p>
<p>So this song acknowledges both the supernatural events of Pentecost & the purpose of them. To endorse & empower a very small bunch of fearful people to open the door, go outside, take a risk & as they share the good news, realise God is giving them the words they need to be understood. John Piper has a habit of describing preaching as a miracle. That was certainly the case on Pentecost. Peter punched way above his weight in a way that was clearly inspired.</p>
<p>As far as the song goes then, it should be acceptable to both ‘cessationists’ and ‘continuationsists’, if not, please accept I’ve done my best just to stick to the bible on it.</p>
<p><strong>Lessons From The East</strong></p>
<p>Some Eastern churches have an additional take on Pentecost that’s worth thinking about. As well as the gift of God’s Spirit and the birth of the church, they see it as a reversal of Gods curse at the Tower of Babel. At Babel, humans were arrogant and trying to ‘Bring God down a ritual staircase’ so they could be His equal. The curse on them was cultural & linguistic division. At Pentecost, the barrier of language was transcended, and unity was restored, through each believer receiving a share of God’s Spirit. No more special nations, special priests, special prophets. Everyone who believes, great or humble, having direct relationship, with God living in them.</p>
<p>I like that idea, it certainly fits the grand sweep of the bible narrative; curses being reversed, unity being restored, elites being bypassed. It’s been my experience meeting English, Dutch, German, American, Spanish, Argentinian, South African Christians, that nation, language & denomination are so secondary to the delight of discovering we share the same faith, in the same Jesus. We’re united by the same Spirit. That’s pretty brilliant!</p>
<p><strong>Notes for Musicians - It's a group song honest!</strong></p>
<p>Ok, I get it, if you’ve only heard the studio version of Pentecost, you probably think it has a snowball’s chance of getting sung in a church context, but that’s exactly how it started out – I have witnesses! It was a guitar, lots of voices & clapping, that’s all. And they really did get into it, so trust me and give it a go, what have you got to lose!</p>
<p>To be fair, we did go a bit nuts on the studio version, so it’s quite OTT. But can you imagine our surprise when we kept adding layer after layer & it tightened up instead of losing definition:</p>
<p>Drums, percussion, guitars, bass, 16 layers of brass (Rick Swann is prolific), then those great Cuban Mutandos/arpeggios by Ian Hannah, followed by lead by John Hegarty. They’re all outstanding players who understand how to listen & interweave.</p>
<p>The outcome is a very complex layer cake, but each layer is simple, laid on top of a relatively straightforward chord structure that’s in constant tension with the samba percussion. Strip it back & it’s just a simple, call & response song.</p>
<p>For anyone that doesn’t like this track, I have some sympathy. It’s been really well executed, but it’s so polished it can be emotionally un-engaging. I have a good friend who thinks the tune needs lighter more fun lyrics. I can see what he’s saying, but for me it was about trying to communicate surprise, energy & cross-culturalism. So, fair enough, let’s call it the ‘Marmite track’ of the album. Such fun to make though! As a recording showpiece, special kudos to Michael McCluskey for mixing in a way that gives everything its place.</p>
<p><strong>Lyrics sheet music and chords</strong></p>
<p>Are on the home page, go there to check them out, you can download everything for your church.</p>
<h6>Pentecost! © KDMusic 2019</h6>
<p> </p>
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860775
2019-07-11T00:18:49+01:00
2022-01-06T16:08:41+00:00
Christmas on the Beach ~ Sunshine For Rainy Days
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Victoria Falls, Zambia | Lisnabreeny, Belfast</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>She: Why are all your songs so serious? Couldn’t you just write something fun for a change? <em>(If you’re happily married after 25 years, you can have a level of candour that would have caused a major domestic in the first decade!)</em></p>
<p>Me: All serious! I think that unfair! What about all the kids songs, and youth songs, they’re fun?</p>
<p>She: Well ok, but do they ALL have to be about church? Why can’t you write a hit that we can retire on – something just for fun, please!!!<em> (For the record this woman is WAY holier than me, but she has zero tolerance for dreary, self serious worship songs with no zip in them. It’s a personality thing. Can’t sit still. Can’t stop running. Always changing things. Drives me mad. Can’t get enough of her!)</em></p>
<h2>Out of the blue…</h2>
<p>We got an invite to cousin Patricia’s wedding in Zambia, her mum Anne was wondering if I could play at it. It was going to be down at Victoria Falls at the end of August. It was a big journey that involved leaving our eldest (20) in charge of our youngest(7) while the middle kid was in Canada. We would be spread over 3 continents if anything went wrong. But it was just the right thing to do. We’ve a particular friendship with our Zambian/Irish cousins the Kapolyos, Anne & Joe were particularly supportive at some key moments, and I look up to them a lot.</p>
<p>Also from a selfish point of view, what an adventure, we could use the trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary. so we went, a bit anxious about leaving the ‘kids’, but really excited about meeting everyone and seeing the falls.</p>
<p>It was the most magical trip. Being there with friends and family we hadn’t seen in ages, meeting Yabs’ family, being part of the pre-wedding outdoor Boma meal they arranged and the wedding day itself. The sense of occasion was just unbeatable.</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0872.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1152" width="2048" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Playing for Patricia's wedding on the banks of the Zambezi</em><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0864.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1356" width="2048" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Mose O Tunya (Victoria Falls) from Zimbabwe</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0859.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1356" width="2048" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Mose O Tunya (Victoria Falls) from Zambia</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0867.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1356" width="2048" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>On Board ~ our 'African Queen' moment!</em></p>
<p>The wedding venue was a beautiful hotel right on the Zambezi, above the falls within view of the mist beyond the falls edge. You could sit and watch the sun set over the river under a huge amber sky. Words do not come close. I was so moved by the beauty of the sunset. People hushed in reverence at it.</p>
<p>The wedding itself was conducted outside on the hotel lawn at the river bank. A gospel choir from a local church sang, and three of us played – flute, acoustic, and jazz guitar. Patricia & Yabs had their wedding photos down at the falls, and the reception inside the hotel was great fun. It was such an honour to share in everyone’s happiness, and we were able to ‘borrow’ the celebrations for our anniversary.</p>
<h2>An epic journey</h2>
<p>My younger cousin Simon and his wife Olivia had arrived at the falls by bike. They had decided to build an expedition around the wedding, cycling through 7 countries over 4 months to make the beach in CapeTown in time for Christmas. It was causing quite a stir, one or two thought it was a bit rash. But they were seasoned travellers, and had prepared their kit meticulously. As we followed their trip by blog, <a href="https://logansbiking.blog/2017/08/16/gearing-up-for-africa/">https://logansbiking.blog/2017/08/16/gearing-up-for-africa/</a>. it dawned on me that the seasons were upside down and they’d be hitting that CapeTown beach in high summer. Anne & Patricia rightly pointed out that most of the world’s population celebrate Christmas at the height of summer, no pine trees or snow in sight.</p>
<p>So, we had our subject matter for a fun Christmas Song. It’s not entirely brain dead! It makes the simple point that HOW we celebrate Christmas is cultural, but what it’s about is love, joy & peace. It’s finishes with a riff from the traditional carol -Joy to the world.</p>
<p>The video is probably more captivating than the song, although it has a lovely gentle relaxed groove like you’d expect for a beach song. It follows their 4 month cycle expedition and their overwhelmingly positive encounters along the way.</p>
<p><strong><u><a href="https://youtu.be/P-EtjGUWSvM" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/P-EtjGUWSvM</a></u></strong></p>
<p>It hasn’t made that fortune Lisa jokingly hoped for from a less churchy song, but there’s always next Christmas!</p>
3:45
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860777
2019-07-08T15:47:34+01:00
2022-01-06T16:06:16+00:00
Laughing & Crying ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<figure class="wp-block-image"><p><strong>Newry, Co. Down | N.Ireland</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/kdmusic-artist-icon.png/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.png" class="size_m justify_inline border_none" alt="" /></p>
<figcaption>Writing songs starts here….<br> </figcaption></figure>
<h2><em>Sunshine for rainy days</em></h2>
<p>I’ve been songwriting since I was 15, maybe earlier. My mum used to say I was singing complete songs before my second birthday, before I could structure full sentences! So I rolled out in a pushchair to sing for adults as a novelty act. It’s probably not as rare as it seemed to them. Music touches the depths of us in a special way doesn’t it? I'm sure when our eyes have faded, and our short term memory mists over, it’s music that will provide the trail of breadcrumbs back out of the dark, to the familiarity of home.</p>
<p><strong>Family trauma</strong></p>
<p>I’d always sung at church, school and community events, but didn’t really feel compelled to write songs until we faced a family crisis in our teen years. Both our parents suffered severe brain injury in two car crashes, within 6 months. Here’s the brutal truth, it would’ve been easier in the long run, but more traumatic at the time, if dad died on the road that day. An already difficult and overbearing (but brilliant) father became a caged beast. He became completely dependent, & as someone who had built a firm with 600 staff with no money from scratch, naturally was incensed at needing someone to shower him, drive him, dress him. Mum, ever in the shadows, wore her brain injury like a crown of confused daisies, wandering through imaginary fields of oil paintings, antiques & collectibles, ephemera. Pleasant, sad.</p>
<p><strong>Domestic Violence, lets hear the sermons please</strong></p>
<p>Dad, the fatally wounded business warrior, had lost self control (frontal lobe damage does that), so the anger, Vodka & Gaviscon milkshakes, & the co-codamol & hobnob biscuit addictions, raged on unrestrained. The detail of domestic violence can be a bit boring, but the important thing I want to get across is that it’s all consuming. You don’t feel you can escape it, responding to it largely defines you. Anticipating violence, avoiding it, fearing it, wondering which dad will come down the stairs, is more exhausting than the surreal adrenaline rush of having to respond to a moment of rage. I’ve two standout memories of it, but there are so, so many.</p>
<p>On a holiday in Spain I was 8 & my brother was 4. We were in bed and dad came in drunk. He dragged mum by the hair into the bathroom, and started smashing her head against the toilet. He was very strong. Pete was crying & whimpering beside me. I hugged him, and closed my eyes tight and just kept saying, “it’s going to be alright, it’s going to be alright”. Mum was screaming & I thought she was going to die. To be scared, but have to be brave for your wee brother is what you do, but its not fair. Mum suffered a burst ear drum & fractured jaw that night. She wore sunglasses and a scarf for the rest of the holiday. It wasn’t the first or last time. It all came to a head a decade later (post brain injury) when he had a couple of shotguns & a Berreta automatic pistol lined up to shoot the three of us. At that point it was time to leave, under police escort.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/5dd2ab8f2256c4c50fe8567b43d85011ba37b150/original/scan-4215145535-1.jpeg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpeg" class="size_m justify_right border_none" alt="" /><figcaption><p style="text-align: right;"><em>SMILE ~ NOW!</em></p></figcaption></figure>
<p><strong>Pastoral Care</strong></p>
<p>I have a bizarre side memory from that night, of a police sergeant & future Presbyterian moderator, our friend & pastor Roy Patton, both wrestling with a pump action shotgun in the pouring rain outside the house, trying to remove jammed cartridges. I laughed! It was just weird! It’s what you do sometimes if you’re a bit scared. Still, top notch pastoral care Roy, thank you!</p>
<p>I have to confess, a couple of months before this, I had broken dad’s nose when he tried to throw a pot of boiling water over mum. He was still scarily strong, but his reactions were dead slow. I’m not sorry I stopped him, but I deeply regret how much I enjoyed it. Almost immediately, I realised that he was a wounded animal lashing out, and I wasn’t that far from turning into something similar. I’d just become a Christian, it wasn’t great timing for a first punch up with your father, and I spent a lot of time talking it over with Roy and apologising to dad.</p>
<p>Anyway, after the guns episode, we went to a caravan for a while, got a restraining order, and eventually moved into a wee house a mile away. He used to turn up at the door, shout and try to force his way in…….great way to meet the new neighbours. Thankfully, no, providentially, our next door neighbours turned out to be David & Dorothy McMillan from Newry Baptist church. Their friendship, sympathy, and mentorship was an extra lifeline at just the right time. I think God doesn’t often line stuff up early, He’s pretty good at just in time deliveries!</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/570660/d4b279e59dedf096942592e49f2acc4ee8c053f7/original/2013-05-29-11-54-26-pdf004.jpg/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="" /><p><em> first of two cars wiped in the same year</em></p></figure>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>A song for the Invisible</strong></p>
<p>This song hasn’t been shared publicly before. The perspective of time makes it ok now. Also, I reckon there are a lot of people inside or outside of church who have lived through some sort of family trauma, or witnessed abuse at an early age. I was talking about what we & mum went through with a dear relative recently, she hadn’t realised what was going on. I genuinely couldn’t believe it. I suppose I thought it was obvious just from looking at us, like some sort of gloomy version of the ‘Ready brek glow’ or a sign over our heads. But no, to everyone outside the family ‘Freddie’ was the perfect gentleman, a pillar of the community, that dashing innovator and successful businessman. And of course he was.</p>
<p>No one is ever just a monster. The dad who scared and dominated us all, was also exciting, interesting, fun & generous (on his own terms). We were proud of him, and we hated him in equal measure. All the stats show that although Christian marriages are generally much happier, violence and oppression is still going on in & around church communities. I haven’t heard a sermon on it EVER in 50 years. (dad wasn’t a Christian, but he was a ‘respectable church goer’ with some sort of abstract belief in God, who enjoyed the community side of it).</p>
<p>I couldn’t have believed then, that after my first post-graduate job as youth worker for PCI in the Shankill & New Lodge Estates, I’d end up looking after the family affairs, and dad on the side ~ for 25 years.</p>
<p><strong>Reconciliation </strong></p>
<p>That’s the other reason I can share this song now. The story ends well. The man who I genuinely hated and wanted dead, I ended up loving. It wasn’t perfect. I didn’t always handle it well. Sometimes you try, sometimes you pull the pillow over your ears. He was still stinking & inappropriate & struggling with minor addictions, but he died as someone with a more personal than notional faith, who prayed for us every day. The man who smashed my first guitar into bits in the kitchen, eventually prayed for me every day. That’s precious to me. There a little success here surely, two hearts changed for good?</p>
<p>Close friends say there’s a book in it. Maybe, but for now, all I can muster the energy for is this short song – a snapshot from when we moved into that wee ‘safe house’, just after the hammering on the door had stopped.</p>
<h2>Laughing & crying</h2>
<p>© KDMusic 2019</p>
<p>Laughing and crying,</p>
<p>were two things you were always afraid to do,</p>
<p>so proud to be a self-made man.</p>
<p>To wrap your bleeding heart in paper money</p>
<p>will not ease the pain-ful memories of an empty life.</p>
<p>Helpless and needy were two things</p>
<p>you were always afraid to be</p>
<p>Yet now they dominate your life</p>
<p>For by your fear and violence</p>
<p>You’ve chased away those closest few</p>
<p>Who sometimes….</p>
<p>Saw love twinkle…..</p>
<p>In your eyes………</p>
<p> </p>
<p>#laughingandcrying, #helplessandneedy, #fear, #violence, #closestfew, #love, #domesticviolence, #braininjury, #addiction, #longtermcare, #redemption, #prayer, #family, #pastoralcare,</p>
2:35
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860778
2019-07-05T17:30:54+01:00
2022-01-06T16:19:37+00:00
Jacob’s Ladder ~ Sunshine For Rainy Days
<p><strong>Orangefield, Belfast | N.Ireland</strong></p>
<p>Most musicians have a tune they unconsciously turn to if they’re bored waiting for a practice to start. Or maybe they’re a bit nervous and need to auto pilot to reassure themselves they can still play. You know, like something you catch yourself singing in the shower, or humming when you walk the dog?</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/pexels-photo-96872.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="1253" width="1880" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>John Hegarty, Lead Guitarist</em></p>
<p><strong>We're allowed to have fun, right?</strong></p>
<p>For a while, my ‘unthinking twiddle tune’ was the main riff for this song. It’s combines 9th’s & 7th’s with a walking bass line that puts some of the notes back to front when you climb from E to A. Like a wee tongue twister. The sort of thing that makes you say, “what was that, rewind a second?”</p>
<p>So this song is mainly a bit of cheerful fun. The walking/climbing bass line suits the idea of climbing Jacob’s ladder. That’s the story from Genesis, where Jacob had a vision of a close link between heaven & earth, when he was on the run from his family as he slept on rocks at place he called Bethel. Imagine being on the run, and then discovering that even if your family hate you, God cares. It’s a story that’s been covered a lot in spirituals, and there’s a fairly famous old song about it.</p>
<p><strong>Music for Memory</strong></p>
<p>So Jacob’s ladder because it matched the climbing riff, and from there it was open the bible at Revelation 4/5 to unpack the imagery of perfect worship, cleansing, and purity in the heaven Jacob caught a glimpse of. This is a bible passage that been majestically translated to song by Kari Job and Andrew Peterson recently. My song does not compare! But what it maybe adds to the conversation, is a bit of the sense of excitement and energy from that picture in Revelation. If it helps your kids remember the bible verses and enjoy singing, maybe that’s achievement enough!</p>
<p>The middle 8 bars of the song are about remembering to trust God in your challenges, that if you fall, He’s always waiting to catch you. That’s about it. High energy to communicate excitement, and some call and response to get those bible verses well stuck in your head.</p>
<p><strong>Notes for Musicians</strong></p>
<p>To stop it getting really boring musically, there are lots of ‘hits, runs and hangs’ in Jacob’s Ladder (there’s a nice C9 chord for the hangs).</p>
<p>I’ve always performed this on just an acoustic guitar going round churches or playing outdoors. It was lovely to switch to my strat on a nice crunchy 50’s setting for recording this. A few years after writing this song, I discovered the rockabilly big band music of Brian Setzer (formerly Stray Cats), and we covered a few of their songs in our band. So it was an ambition to add big band brass, backing vocals (for the angels), that crunchy rhythm sound for the riff, and get my friend & favourite lead guitarist John Hegarty in. <em> A bit of John Hegarty lead guita</em>r…….<strong><u>.<a href="https://youtu.be/vxIp7me4lNo" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/vxIp7me4lNo</a></u></strong><br>Rick Swann (all the brass) & John have really hit a groove. My only regret, it’s so full, we didn’t quite get round to adding Ian Hannah on a bit of Hammond, (next time Ian)!</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/img_0528.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="400" width="400" /></p>
<h2> </h2>
<h2>Lyrics: Jacob’s Ladder</h2>
<h5>© 2019 KDMusic</h5>
<p>1. We’re gonna climb up Jacob’s Ladder,</p>
<p>We’re gonna climb up Jacob’s ladder,</p>
<p>Jesus has redeemed us and our chains are shattered,</p>
<p>Jesus has redeemed us and our chains are shattered,</p>
<p>We’re gonna climb up Jacob’s ladder,</p>
<p>So come on up where the saints are gathered to Him, gathered to Him.</p>
<p>2. We’re gonna wear white robes, washed in the blood of the lamb,</p>
<p>White robes washed in the blood of the lamb,</p>
<p>Gonna gaze in awe and wonder in the presence of The Great I Am,</p>
<p>Gonna gaze in awe and wonder in the presence of The Great I Am.</p>
<p>We’re gonna climb up Jacob’s ladder,</p>
<p>so come on up where the saints are gathered to Him, gathered to Him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><u>Bridge</u></p>
<p>There’s no way that he is gonna let you fall to ground,</p>
<p>Cos he’ll catch you up in his ever waiting arms.</p>
<p>There’s no way that He is gonna let you fall to ground,</p>
<p>So raise that chin!</p>
<p>Keep lookin’ up not down<u>!</u></p>
<p> </p>
<p>3. Hear the angels sing “worthy is the lamb that once was slain,</p>
<p>Hear the angels sing “worthy is the lamb that once was slain,</p>
<p>To receive power and wealth</p>
<p>And wisdom and strength,</p>
<p>And glory and honour and praise”</p>
<p>I wanna be there! I wanna be amazed!</p>
<p>We’re gonna climb up Jacob’s ladder</p>
<p>So come on up where the saints are gathered to Him, gathered to Him x3</p>
<p>Gathered to Him.</p>
<p>#jacobsladder, #Kdmusic, #rickswannofficial #johnhegartybluesband #zerohourstudio, #katp19, #revelationhymn, #karijobe, #andrewpeterson, #briansetzerorchestra,</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
2:58
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860779
2019-07-04T01:54:31+01:00
2022-09-16T13:50:07+01:00
Sun & Rain ~ Sunshine for Rainy Days
<p><strong>Le Pas Opton, Vendee | France</strong></p>
<p>I L-O-V-E summer in France, they really are a blessed nation.</p>
<p>They’ve got the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees, the Alps, great rivers, varied countryside, magnificent villages & chateaux, rich street music, style, speciality foods, sun ripened fruit & veg, and of course, the language of love.</p>
<p>Our own special wee place there has been the Spring Harvest Christian campsite, Le Pas Opton, near St Gilles Croix de Vie, in the Vendee ( between Nantes & Bordeaux).</p>
<p>Christian campsite? I hear you say. Yep, unashamedly. It is not naff, it is not like being stuck in church after a year of being stuck in church. It is simply, wholesomely, lovely. Not perfect, but lovely.</p>
<p>It has been a safe place for our kids to learn to ride bikes, disappear with friends for hours on end in freedom & safety, and for us to dip into or ignore the either wonderful or passable Christian content. It is a place for International friendships, friendly sporting competition, and big meals outside long into the evening.</p>
<p>Our eldest son has a love of learning exotic new words & then scattering them inappropriately & gratuitously through every sentence. I have no idea where he got it from. Must be his ma <img src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/1f609.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="😉" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<h2>‘Petrichor!’</h2>
<p>"Hey dad! You know that smell you get when the rain hits hot dusty ground, there’s a name for that….. Pet-ri-chor! How I adore Petrichor! Can’t wait for more Petrichor! Do you deplore Petrichor? Etc. Etc. It made for a long evening……"</p>
<p>Still he had a point, there’s something special about that combination. Intense heat, dust, & the a sudden quick drying downpour of rain. The closest you get in Irish summers is the smell of freshly cut grass in the fields, but that’s sweeter & gentler. Sun, dust & rain make a scent like my wife’s freshly conditioned hair, only more intense. Less like perfume, more like aftershave or truffles if that makes sense? I know I could do better here, so I think you’ll just have to go somewhere hot & dry to experience it yourself!</p>
<p><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/girl-4.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="2584" width="3544" /></p>
<p>It got me thinking, there’s something Jesus said about sun & rain in the sermon on the mount isn’t there? And sure enough, there it was, in Matthew 5:45. Jesus talking about forgiveness as universal as God blessing good & bad people with sun & rain. so I wrote this song with a bible, croissant & a dark roast coffee looking out through an open caravan door at rain hitting the hot ground.</p>
<p><em>“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”</em></p>
<p><em>Matthew 5:44-45 NIV</em></p>
<p><em><strong>Good theology is not always systematic...</strong></em></p>
<p>Just in case some spiky headed theology numpty (I’m sorry, but such people do exist) wants to have a pop at me for implying universalism or ignoring God’s judgment, this is an example of one of Jesus’ many one liners designed to stick in your head. It’s not meant to be a systematic theology. He sometimes speaks in snapshots, not movies, choruses not hymns. This particular one liner is comparing the outpouring of God’s ‘common grace’ with God’s forgiveness. It doesn’t comment on whether people on the receiving end respond in faith.</p>
<p>I love the fact that whatever our circumstances, God’s love really is being poured out on you & me, on everyone, good or bad, day, upon day, upon day. His forgiveness is there for us in the same way, all the time, like refreshing rain or warming sun. It even smells good and has a special name ……</p>
<p>Perhaps from now on, the definition could be <strong>Petrichor</strong> “The smell designed to remind you of God’s constant blessing, love & forgiveness….often found in close proximity to its visual counterpart, the rainbow” (Yip, he still owns that too).</p>
<p>This wee song is probably the closest to a title track for our album ‘Sunshine For Rainy Days’. It’s simple, but it catches the spirit of what we’re trying to communicate. Life can be pretty dark at times, but there is ALWAYS light. Please don’t confuse light or fun songs you hear in this album with shallowness. Someone very important once said we have to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven…….</p>
<h3>Note for musicians</h3>
<p>This song uses a lot of plucked strings and 3 note slides to imply the weather. Think raindrops and rays of sun. Hopefully it creates the right impression! There’s some lovely warm cello for the sun from Gwyneth Reid of <a contents="New Irish Arts" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.newirisharts.com" target="_blank"><strong>New Irish Arts</strong></a>, and great 4 part harmonies & sung chords from Sarah, Gillian and Michael when it gets to the bit about “all men” (sorry ‘people’ just didn’t rhyme, but you know it’s a generic ‘men’ right?)</p>
<h3>Sun & Rain – Lyrics</h3>
<h6>© 2019 KDMusic</h6>
<p><u>Verse</u></p>
<p>” Storms come, clouds go, but,</p>
<p>God’s love lasts forever,</p>
<p>Life can be, all pain & no gain, but,</p>
<p>God’s love last forever.</p>
<p><u>Pre-chorus</u></p>
<p>For just as the sun shines on the bad & good,</p>
<p>Your promise to make us new is for all men,</p>
<p>And just as the rain blesses the right & wrong,</p>
<p>Your love is for everyone, day upon day.</p>
<p><u>Chorus</u></p>
<p>You pour your blessings on a-all men,</p>
<p>You pour your blessings on all men,</p>
<p>You pour your blessings on a-a-a-all men,</p>
<p>You pour your blessings on all men. ”</p>
<p>#sun, #rain, #blessing, #forgiveness, #madenew, #stormsoflife, #allpainnogain, #Godslove, #forever, #allmen, #goodandbad,</p>
4:22
KDMusic
tag:kdmusic.co.uk,2005:Post/6860780
2019-06-29T09:53:36+01:00
2022-01-06T17:01:53+00:00
Still Only One Way ~ Sunshine for Rainy days
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/front-cover-album-cymk-300-1.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_inline border_none" alt="" /><figcaption>Track 2: ‘Sunshine for Rainy Days’, Our debut album cover,<br>from an anonymous encourager on a Glasgow street wall.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Life is great, BUT, there are a few things about the cultural momentum in ‘The West’ that irritate me, one or two that scare me, and several that fill me with bottled rage. I think this says more about me gaining perspective as I get older, than this snapshot in time being particularly worse.</p>
<p><strong>It's just another fashion honest!</strong></p>
<p>For instance, fashion was really bad in the 70’s when I was a kid. My teen years in the 80’s, had ska, skinhead, mods, punk, modern romantic (yes I was a Duran Duran fan) and the early stages of goth, all of it now dated, but class. I’ll skim over the run up to the millennium and noughties brit pop (so optimistic), to now. Now, everything is ‘authentic’ no fashion just ‘authentic’. It’s important not just to stock ethically, you have to carefully market the fact that the produce has a unique provenance. Every new event, church or non-church has to have been ‘life changing & amazing’. Frankly, I now consider it an achievement if what I’m involved in manages to scrape up to ‘quite good’ or ‘helpful’! <img src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/1f642.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="🙂" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<p>It’s all about establishing credibility, and it is, of course, trapped in the same cycle of changing fashion as every previous generation. I don’t mind that, what depresses me slightly is the current lack of irony. Maybe the latest 'cause celebré' of your favourite Christian charity deserves a little critique? Maybe what we take so seriously in church & society would be all the better for laughing at ourselves a bit? Because, when someone is so earnest about their own credibility & ‘authenticity’, you’re not allowed to laugh. How, very, very, depressing <img src="https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wpcom-smileys/twemoji/2/72x72/1f626.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="😦" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<p>After thought: Yes, punks, goths & millennium bug worriers took themselves a bit too seriously as well.</p>
<h2>Cultural Amnesia</h2>
<p>Probably the more serious concern is the lack of self awareness in our runaway train of a secular atheist culture, and of course you’ve heard this sort of critique before. There is no truth, there’s just meaning. If it works for you great! But the big sin, is to say, out loud, that some things are right & some things are wrong. Some things are true, some things are lies. Worse still, is pointing out those lies.</p>
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/c722cec7-1868-4519-a3f6-7974ead7e3d1.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_inline border_none" alt="" /><figcaption>The famous 2017 teeshirt slogan. <em>I agree with most of these individual statements, but they’re abused here to publicly intimidate & close down discussion about what the words really mean. ‘If you disagree with me, you’re participating in hate crime’.</em></figcaption></figure></div>
<p>I want to be clear, this is much bigger than the identity politics and sexual ethics highlighted above, they’re just an example. Here’s the thing, when society closes down minority viewpoints, be it a Christian world view, or the promotion of a Caliphate, or genetic modification, anything, with no debate the truth becomes a victim. It becomes impossible to learn, or critique dominant and minority ideas. So let’s protect our secular system (a Christian invention that allows all ideas to compete & have influence in the marketplace), and resist the imposition of a secular atheist culture. And that’s what we’re getting right now.</p>
<p><strong>Truth Matters</strong></p>
<p>So, for the sake of both a healthy society and the historical and personal truth of Jesus of nazareth, <em>we’re just going to have to get in trouble the odd time aren’t we? </em> Jesus made it very clear there is such a thing as truth, and a right way, and an only source of real life & purpose. It’s Him. A person. Everything, distilled down, resolves in Him. Concepts, lifestyle, purpose, all boil down to Him. Really.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I don’t want my kids to grow and up say, “You had a chance to speak out dad, but you kept your head down & hoped the thought police would go away.” The bible teaches Christians should ‘Be at peace with all men” as far as it is up to us. That doesn’t mean ‘keep schtum’ and hope no one notices you! There comes a time you’ve just gotta say it…….</p>
<p>Jesus is still the way, the truth & the life, and that hasn't changed. He hasn’t gone away you know………</p>
<p>This is one of my favourite songs on the album. It’s visceral & direct, like Jesus’ statement. It’s defiant & countercultural like a protest song, and I can worship through it because it’s full of scripture & personal testimony.</p>
<p><strong>Note for musicians</strong></p>
<p>This song is played on a Lowden fanfret guitar. There’s a second take playing a single strum at the start of each bar to let the chord ring out while the notes are picked in the first take.</p>
<p>It was written in 3/4 to reinforce the three verses, Way, Truth, Life. It’s played in dropped D (both E strings down to D to create a drone, which is great for implying both constancy & musical tension between it and the chords you play over it). The biggest point of anticipation is the lead into the chorus. There’s an Asus over B flat chord that changes to Asus before landing back in the chorus at the word STILL on a big open D. From memory it’s Capo 5 or so. I love that it’s just a guitar and voices, we were able to build some rich harmonies and sustains to add to the tension into the chorus.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://kdmusichome.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/still-only-one-way-lyrics-c2a92019.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /></figure>
<p>#waytruthlife, #onlyoneway, #way, #truth, #life, #hope, #purpose, #free, #Christsetmefree, #angelsoflight #path,</p>
4:45
KDMusic