I don't like worship music. Now before you think I've completely gone off my rocker, let me clarify what I mean. I think worshiping God is one of the best ways to grow close to Him and music can be a great way to help facilitate that worship. I just don't like the praise and worship genre of music. I like quite a few songs that fit into that genre, but I am not a fan of the genre as a whole. Here are the main reasons why.
Too Restrictive
Most of the songs in this genre have a certain sound, and all of them talk about worshiping God. However, there are a plethora of songs that talk about worshiping God that are not included in this genre. In my opinion, a worship song is any song that is either directed toward God or talks about all that God has done for us. That means that Skillet's "What I Believe," Tenth Avenue North's "Strong Enough to Save," and Group 1 Crew's "He Said" are as much worship songs as anything written by Chris Tomlin. There are even songs with a similar sound to worship tunes, and are about worshiping God, but are not included in the genre. An example of this is Mandisa's "The Truth About Me," which is a cry to God to help us see ourselves the way He sees us.
I think the most telling example of this is the contrast between David Crowder Band's "Like a Lion" and Newsboys' "God's Not Dead." Lyrically and musically, they are almost the same song, but the David Crowder Band version is accepted as a worship song, while the Newsboys version is not. Why is this? My best guess is that David Crowder Band is considered a worship artist, while the Newsboys is not. Another thought is that "Like a Lion" fits the genre's sound, while "God's Not Dead" speeds up the tempo and is sung differently. I much prefer "God's Not Dead" because the faster tempo and more staccato singing communicates the core message more effectively. The same phrases are repeated in both, but in "God's Not Dead," the emphasis is changed each time and the dynamics change often, which helps the song progress. This contrast brings me to my next point.
Singable, not Powerful
One of the defining features of the genre is the singability of the songs. This normally manifests itself as a slow pace, repetitive phrases, fairly consistent dynamics, and a relatively narrow range of notes. There are some songs that work well using this formula. An example is Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise." The song's message involves marveling in all that God has done and how one day He will call us to Himself. The tone of the songs reflects the peaceful feeling of the lyrics.
Alas, there are also songs that flounder under this formula. For example, Matt Maher's "Come Awake" takes the greatest statement of our faith and presents it in a way that doesn't speak to the power we have because of it. Yes, the lyrics talk about how death is defeated, but to me, it doesn't sound as if Mr. Maher is really excited about this fact. The song sounds rote, and despite the title, sounds unlikely to wake anyone up.
Too Happy
I know that a song being peppy is not a bad thing, but sometimes the peppiness is unrealistic. Take Matt Maher's song "Hold Us Together." The message of the song is a good one. The song is all about how God's love is enough and is the only love we truly need. However, in troubling economic times, a song that starts with the line "It don't have a job, won't pay your bills" is bound to cause some people to despise it and immediately change the station. Personally, the first time I heard this song was after a semester of student teaching when my bank account held little more than half of the money I needed to pay my electric bill. Frankly, I was not interested in hearing any more after that opening line. I have since then actually listened to the whole song, and once I got past that first line, I found out it's really a good song. However, the memory of the pain caused by the first line the first time I heard it means that it will never be a song that I will like.
What I Do Like
Despite how hard I was on Matt Maher in the last two sections, I do like his music. In fact, the two songs I mentioned are the only two of his songs I've listened to and not liked. I also like most of Chris Tomlin's music, and quite a few of the worship songs from the 90s. As long as the song is realistic and the music matches the message, I'm almost assured to enjoy it. I just wish more songs like that were included in the worship music genre.
Songs mentioned in this post:
Chris Tomlin-"I Will Rise"
Matt Maher-"Come Awake"
Matt Maher-"Hold Us Together"
Too Restrictive
Most of the songs in this genre have a certain sound, and all of them talk about worshiping God. However, there are a plethora of songs that talk about worshiping God that are not included in this genre. In my opinion, a worship song is any song that is either directed toward God or talks about all that God has done for us. That means that Skillet's "What I Believe," Tenth Avenue North's "Strong Enough to Save," and Group 1 Crew's "He Said" are as much worship songs as anything written by Chris Tomlin. There are even songs with a similar sound to worship tunes, and are about worshiping God, but are not included in the genre. An example of this is Mandisa's "The Truth About Me," which is a cry to God to help us see ourselves the way He sees us.
I think the most telling example of this is the contrast between David Crowder Band's "Like a Lion" and Newsboys' "God's Not Dead." Lyrically and musically, they are almost the same song, but the David Crowder Band version is accepted as a worship song, while the Newsboys version is not. Why is this? My best guess is that David Crowder Band is considered a worship artist, while the Newsboys is not. Another thought is that "Like a Lion" fits the genre's sound, while "God's Not Dead" speeds up the tempo and is sung differently. I much prefer "God's Not Dead" because the faster tempo and more staccato singing communicates the core message more effectively. The same phrases are repeated in both, but in "God's Not Dead," the emphasis is changed each time and the dynamics change often, which helps the song progress. This contrast brings me to my next point.
Singable, not Powerful
One of the defining features of the genre is the singability of the songs. This normally manifests itself as a slow pace, repetitive phrases, fairly consistent dynamics, and a relatively narrow range of notes. There are some songs that work well using this formula. An example is Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise." The song's message involves marveling in all that God has done and how one day He will call us to Himself. The tone of the songs reflects the peaceful feeling of the lyrics.
Alas, there are also songs that flounder under this formula. For example, Matt Maher's "Come Awake" takes the greatest statement of our faith and presents it in a way that doesn't speak to the power we have because of it. Yes, the lyrics talk about how death is defeated, but to me, it doesn't sound as if Mr. Maher is really excited about this fact. The song sounds rote, and despite the title, sounds unlikely to wake anyone up.
Too Happy
I know that a song being peppy is not a bad thing, but sometimes the peppiness is unrealistic. Take Matt Maher's song "Hold Us Together." The message of the song is a good one. The song is all about how God's love is enough and is the only love we truly need. However, in troubling economic times, a song that starts with the line "It don't have a job, won't pay your bills" is bound to cause some people to despise it and immediately change the station. Personally, the first time I heard this song was after a semester of student teaching when my bank account held little more than half of the money I needed to pay my electric bill. Frankly, I was not interested in hearing any more after that opening line. I have since then actually listened to the whole song, and once I got past that first line, I found out it's really a good song. However, the memory of the pain caused by the first line the first time I heard it means that it will never be a song that I will like.
What I Do Like
Despite how hard I was on Matt Maher in the last two sections, I do like his music. In fact, the two songs I mentioned are the only two of his songs I've listened to and not liked. I also like most of Chris Tomlin's music, and quite a few of the worship songs from the 90s. As long as the song is realistic and the music matches the message, I'm almost assured to enjoy it. I just wish more songs like that were included in the worship music genre.
Songs mentioned in this post:
Skillet-"What I Believe"
Tenth Avenue North-"Strong Enough to Save"
Group 1 Crew-"He Said"
Mandisa-"The Truth About Me"
David Crowder Band-"Like a Lion"
Newsboys-"God's Not Dead"
Chris Tomlin-"I Will Rise"
Matt Maher-"Come Awake"
Matt Maher-"Hold Us Together"
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