I had planned to have more posts on general issues on Church Music, but I seem to have been caught up in trying to do backings for all of As One Voice: the Next Generation. I may get back to more general topics at some stage but as I am more than half way through I thought I should restate some things I probably mentioned last year.
- Buy the book.
- You can listen to samples on the website of all the songs but it helps to listen to whole song on the CD if you get a chance.
- The backings are really more for learning than use in a mass, as the melody line is mixed a little high for usual use in a backing, but there is nothing other than copyright permissions (which your church already has) preventing their use in a mass.
- Buy the book.
- All the backings are made on Band in a Box and involve no human playing at all. This is mainly to save time and simplify the process. I could add human musicianship, and singing for that matter, but I don’t think it is necessary for this purpose.
- I see no reason that a church short of musicians could not buy Band in a Box and make their own backings. It is simpler than recording and endlessly modifiable -rpts, key, +/- melody line etc.
- On the other hand some song styles don’t lend themselves to BIAB, especially chants, so it’s not the answer for everything. Unaccompanied singing is suggested in those cases.
- I have yet to overcome my unreasonable prejudice against Hillsongs.
- I have yet to overcome my distaste for a certain style of choir singing that turns up on mainly American church music.
- Despite that, I have found little to complain about in the selections made at Willow for this collection, other than that they had made a deliberate choice to include a lesser number of strictly liturgical songs than in AOV Vol 1&2.
- Buy the book!
- Try to get everyone interested in new material (ie your liturgists)
- Don’t give up on the assembly, but remember that some don’t easily cope with the syncopation that is in nearly every song in AOV NG.
- By all means sit at your computer and sing along loudly. If anyone complains, invite them to sing too.
…and buy the book.