SANCTUARY JAZZ : "Creative Uses of Music..."

Creative Uses of Music in the Worship Service

by Chuck Marohnic & Sanctuary Jazz

Gathering Music
Something upbeat always works well. It creates energy, loosens people up and encourages them to leave inhibitions behind.
Suggestion: Play a blues with a good beat. Swing, funk, rhythm, rock, hip-hop all work well provided the music is played well and with a good steady, convincing rhythmic feel.

Welcoming Music
Play something upbeat but lighter, maintaining a positive energy without direct focus on the music. It should be more of a background nature. Here a vamp will do, a repeating chord progression. Jazz or funk work well. The length of the music will depend on the length of time necessary for people to shake hands or hug each other to say hello.

Music for Prayer/Scripture Readings
This should be essentially quiet and unobtrusive. Pay particular attention to the spoken word and try to stay out of the way. Listen to the timbre of the person’s voice that is speaking and try to play things that are contrary in sound to their voice. Pick a simple melodic and/or harmonic idea and play it sequentially.

Congregational Involvement with Music
Aside from the traditional way of accompanying congregational singing, here are some alternative ways to involve them with your music:

1. Antiphonal - Play a phrase and have the congregation repeat it
2. Trade 4’s or 8’s with them - band plays 4 or 8 bars, congregation does same
3. Chanting – have congregation chant a simple musical phrase and have the band play against it
4. Creative hand claps with different rhythms
5. Call and Response – cantor establishes the call and congregation responds
6. Change the orchestration – have the band play in different ensemble configurations backing up the congregation singing. This can vary from full ensemble to a capella. This will help to sensitize the congregation to the music by increasing their awareness.

Free improvisations
This technique resembles movie scoring. Some possible applications include:

1. Backgrounds to visual images, Scala, movie clips, slides, etc.
2. Meditations - this can be effective after a particular reading
3. Interaction with a speaker - this is for the bold at heart but can be very effective with a speaker who likes to improvise and is sensitive to the music.

Original Compositions
Effective uses include:

1. Music for special themes
2. Liturgical dance
3. Used anywhere traditional music is played. This almost always has a positive response. Please tend to hear this as “fresh” and different from the norm.