everything that's on my mind
(as if there's not already enough people doing this)Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Acappella...well, it sounds good to me
My church heritage is Churches of Christ - specifically, the acappella-singing Churches of Christ you find an abundance of here in the southern United States. I grew up singing in church with no instrumental backup. It was all us. Our voices - good or bad - were all that would be heard in our gatherings. It was in church that I learned to sing, and learned that there were different parts to be sung. I started at a Christian high school in 9th grade, where I was in the school choir for all four years, singing bass. I learned much more about music and singing from my choir director and favorite high school teacher, Craig Jones. In recent years, I have also participated most Sunday mornings as a part of the worship team (generally 8 or so people) at my two previous churches, first here in Little Rock, and then in Huntsville, Alabama.
I mentioned a few months ago about our church search since we've been back in Little Rock. We'd hoped to have planted ourselves before now - actually well before now - but it hasn't happpened yet. This is due in part to it being more difficult than we expected, and also due to sickness of various family members in November and December, which kept us from attending all together as often during that time. So, the process has been slowed down a little recently. In my previous post, one of the things I mentioned is that there would be things we would miss about our tradition if we, in the end, choose a church family that is outside of it. One of those things would be acappella music.
This weekend I went to a basketball game at my alma mater, Harding University. The "pep band" was there, playing fight songs and other songs to get the crowd excited as the tip-off drew near. However, when it came time to sing the national anthem, the band stood silent. A lone voice began singing "Oh say can you see..." and then was joined by everyone else in the building (or so it seemed). The gym was full, and, at a school affiliated with Churches of Christ, there were a lot of folks there like me - people who'd been singing acappella all of their lives, and people who knew how to do it, and do it well. I've heard the anthem many times in 38 years, but not many times was it better than Saturday night. You could hear all of the parts being sung. It was really cool. We also attended the College Church of Christ Sunday morning, where the singing is also always good. They don't sing many of the same songs I've grown accustomed to singing over the last 10 years, but they sing many of the songs I grew up with, songs I sang there in college, and they sing them well.
It's sort of a strange feeling, quite honestly, because I've always looked forward to a day where I would be a part of worship that included both voices and instruments. I love music of all types, and I wanted to experience that on Sunday morning, too. There were those rare occasions where I visited an instrumental gathering, or a worship event of some type, and I longed to experience more of that. But the following Sunday I'd be back at my home church singing acappella again. And so I would wait with anticipation for the next opportunity.
We've visited only one acappella church since we've been back in Little Rock, and we haven't been there since mid-October. So, after three months of praise bands on Sunday mornings (and usually singing the melody), I opened my mouth to sing bass notes again on Sunday. As I sang the first line of the first song, I realized at that very moment that it had been three months since I'd done that. And I realized for the first time that I missed it, and more so than I would have thought.
If I had my choice, I'd attend a church where both instrumental and acappella music were available weekly. Either in separate gatherings, so that I could experience either one on a given week, or, ideally, a mix of both in the same gathering. However, I'm not aware of such a place in this area. (And even if there were, it might not be the best place for us anyway. There's far more to consider than musical styles.)
Now, worship gatherings are not all about me. I realize that. They are not designed and executed to please me. Hopefully, they're designed and executed to encourage one another and give glory to God. But, we all have preferences, and I'm not exempt from that. It's unlikely that there exists a place for any given person where all of their preferences for worship gatherings (or anything else, for that matter) are found. So, I know that whatever family we choose in the end will not be "perfect", so to speak, in that way. And that's probably a good thing. There will be something that I could have found somewhere else that I would have preferred (at the expense, of course, of some other preference.) And in the end, I'm not concerned about that because if it's only that - a preference - then it's not really that important.
Wherever we land, the music will be what it is. There will be singing, and there may or may not be accompanying instruments. I know that I will enjoy it either way, and, at the same time, long for the other on some days. I know that, at least for this coming Sunday, there'll be a band where we attend, and I won't be singing bass. There could be another long wait until it happens again, I don't know. But I know now that I appreciate both accappella and accompanied music on Sunday morning, and that they are both blessings in their own way. Above all, though, I pray that my heart is truly "making music" to God, music that only he will hear, regardless of the musical style heard by our human ears. I feel certain that's his preference.
I mentioned a few months ago about our church search since we've been back in Little Rock. We'd hoped to have planted ourselves before now - actually well before now - but it hasn't happpened yet. This is due in part to it being more difficult than we expected, and also due to sickness of various family members in November and December, which kept us from attending all together as often during that time. So, the process has been slowed down a little recently. In my previous post, one of the things I mentioned is that there would be things we would miss about our tradition if we, in the end, choose a church family that is outside of it. One of those things would be acappella music.
This weekend I went to a basketball game at my alma mater, Harding University. The "pep band" was there, playing fight songs and other songs to get the crowd excited as the tip-off drew near. However, when it came time to sing the national anthem, the band stood silent. A lone voice began singing "Oh say can you see..." and then was joined by everyone else in the building (or so it seemed). The gym was full, and, at a school affiliated with Churches of Christ, there were a lot of folks there like me - people who'd been singing acappella all of their lives, and people who knew how to do it, and do it well. I've heard the anthem many times in 38 years, but not many times was it better than Saturday night. You could hear all of the parts being sung. It was really cool. We also attended the College Church of Christ Sunday morning, where the singing is also always good. They don't sing many of the same songs I've grown accustomed to singing over the last 10 years, but they sing many of the songs I grew up with, songs I sang there in college, and they sing them well.
It's sort of a strange feeling, quite honestly, because I've always looked forward to a day where I would be a part of worship that included both voices and instruments. I love music of all types, and I wanted to experience that on Sunday morning, too. There were those rare occasions where I visited an instrumental gathering, or a worship event of some type, and I longed to experience more of that. But the following Sunday I'd be back at my home church singing acappella again. And so I would wait with anticipation for the next opportunity.
We've visited only one acappella church since we've been back in Little Rock, and we haven't been there since mid-October. So, after three months of praise bands on Sunday mornings (and usually singing the melody), I opened my mouth to sing bass notes again on Sunday. As I sang the first line of the first song, I realized at that very moment that it had been three months since I'd done that. And I realized for the first time that I missed it, and more so than I would have thought.
If I had my choice, I'd attend a church where both instrumental and acappella music were available weekly. Either in separate gatherings, so that I could experience either one on a given week, or, ideally, a mix of both in the same gathering. However, I'm not aware of such a place in this area. (And even if there were, it might not be the best place for us anyway. There's far more to consider than musical styles.)
Now, worship gatherings are not all about me. I realize that. They are not designed and executed to please me. Hopefully, they're designed and executed to encourage one another and give glory to God. But, we all have preferences, and I'm not exempt from that. It's unlikely that there exists a place for any given person where all of their preferences for worship gatherings (or anything else, for that matter) are found. So, I know that whatever family we choose in the end will not be "perfect", so to speak, in that way. And that's probably a good thing. There will be something that I could have found somewhere else that I would have preferred (at the expense, of course, of some other preference.) And in the end, I'm not concerned about that because if it's only that - a preference - then it's not really that important.
Wherever we land, the music will be what it is. There will be singing, and there may or may not be accompanying instruments. I know that I will enjoy it either way, and, at the same time, long for the other on some days. I know that, at least for this coming Sunday, there'll be a band where we attend, and I won't be singing bass. There could be another long wait until it happens again, I don't know. But I know now that I appreciate both accappella and accompanied music on Sunday morning, and that they are both blessings in their own way. Above all, though, I pray that my heart is truly "making music" to God, music that only he will hear, regardless of the musical style heard by our human ears. I feel certain that's his preference.
Comments:
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CoachK, aka Greg,
Enjoyed reading your thought about music and your church search.
Did you design this site? Looks great and works well too.
Tom Christian
txian@msn.com
Enjoyed reading your thought about music and your church search.
Did you design this site? Looks great and works well too.
Tom Christian
txian@msn.com
# posted by 
: February 03, 2006 12:04 PM
: February 03, 2006 12:04 PM
Greg,
I can't say this is a pattern for them, but when I visited Little Rock Church last summer their praise band / voice team seemed very sensitive to the moment and its needs. At one point, they began playing in accompaniment to a communion song, and with a single hand motion, their leader backed them off and the church sang that song a capella. It was the right thing to do, for that moment, for that song. They never tried to dominate the voices.
- K
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I can't say this is a pattern for them, but when I visited Little Rock Church last summer their praise band / voice team seemed very sensitive to the moment and its needs. At one point, they began playing in accompaniment to a communion song, and with a single hand motion, their leader backed them off and the church sang that song a capella. It was the right thing to do, for that moment, for that song. They never tried to dominate the voices.
- K
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