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Why turn a hymn into a rock-n-roll song? Rant
First, let me say that I don't have a problem with a rock beat in music. "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music" right? It seems to be a big rage in most progressive churches to tweak classic hymns to have a rock beat. My family has visited many non denominational churches. The top 40 praise and worship songs dominate and are all played to sound exactly the same. When a worship leader wants to do a classic hymn they must feel like they have to update the beat. Let me give you an example that I heard at a church. Think of the old rock song (female singer, cant remember her name) "I want candy, sweet sweet candy" with the beat that goes something like "bop-a-bop-a-bop-a-bop-bop" Now mix that beat with the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul". To me that totally ruins the spirit of the hymn. If you lost some of your dearest family members, as the hymn writer did, and the Lord inspired you to put your feelings in a song, would you chose "bop-a-bop-a-bop-a-bop-bop" for the rhythm?
I'm not much of a Beatles fan. Once during a phone call when I was stuck on hold, I was treated to the tune "Let It Be". It had been reduced to a series of electronic beeps in two part harmony. Whoever did that arrangement was probably a computer programmer that used a mathmatical formula of tones and timing to come up with their version of the song. It had about as much character and feeling as a bucket of toxic waste. I cant stand it when I hear a classic rock song that has been turned into Muzak. I feel it is even worse when somebody tries to turn a hymn into a rock-n-roll song.
Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" is the most demon inspired song I can think of. What would happen if someone like Hanna Montana recorded it? "There"s a lady who knows..... Boom Boom Clap, Boom De Clap, De Clap". Satan would spend the next thousand years puking his guts out all over the halls of hell. Why do this same thing to a song inspired by God?
Hey, If you only love modern praise and worship that's cool. If you don't like hymns that's OK too. If you like songs with a "bop-a-bop-a-bop-a-bop-bop" rhythm, find some that were written that way. I'm not saying hymns should only be played on an organ. Be respectful to hymn writers. Play their music the way they wrote it and tell their story's. In doing so you can treat your congregations to some of the best music ever written.
I'm not much of a Beatles fan. Once during a phone call when I was stuck on hold, I was treated to the tune "Let It Be". It had been reduced to a series of electronic beeps in two part harmony. Whoever did that arrangement was probably a computer programmer that used a mathmatical formula of tones and timing to come up with their version of the song. It had about as much character and feeling as a bucket of toxic waste. I cant stand it when I hear a classic rock song that has been turned into Muzak. I feel it is even worse when somebody tries to turn a hymn into a rock-n-roll song.
Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" is the most demon inspired song I can think of. What would happen if someone like Hanna Montana recorded it? "There"s a lady who knows..... Boom Boom Clap, Boom De Clap, De Clap". Satan would spend the next thousand years puking his guts out all over the halls of hell. Why do this same thing to a song inspired by God?
Hey, If you only love modern praise and worship that's cool. If you don't like hymns that's OK too. If you like songs with a "bop-a-bop-a-bop-a-bop-bop" rhythm, find some that were written that way. I'm not saying hymns should only be played on an organ. Be respectful to hymn writers. Play their music the way they wrote it and tell their story's. In doing so you can treat your congregations to some of the best music ever written.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert MacFarland on
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Junjie, try dropping it down to E, and do it with a gospel/blues feeling. When you get to ''my chains are gone", it will rock your socks off. It might not feel like it fits doing it like a 'white man', but throw a little soul into it brother and you will 'feel the power' of the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah!
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Permalink Reply by Russ Hutto on -
Different strokes for different folks.
This is purely a matter of personal preference and has no theological, doctrinal, or even scriptural basis. Which is fine, but don't expect every one else to share your personal preferences.
Music is a language. Languages evolve. So, it's not that hard to imagine that a song written 200 years ago could actually be interpreted and performed in a much different way than the original writer/composer intended. Much like our words and phrases change over time.
This can be both good and bad.
We've all heard rearrangements/remixes of songs/hymns that we cringe when we hear them (while the next person is moved beyond measure). We've all performed arrangements that we thought were great (while the people in the audience cringed).
The point isn't about taking one viewpoint and cramming it down throats of our audiences/congregations. The point is knowing our audiences well enough to write and arrange in such a way that moves them and ultimately serves them while bringing God honor and glory.
If that includes going back to a stripped down piano arrangement of Great Is Thy Faithfulness, then so be it. But it also means to be willing to grow and change with the times. It might mean playing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus on a banjo or maybe a djembe or maybe even a full rock band.
Remember leading worship isn't about performing songs the way you think they should be performed, or even how the author of the song thinks they should be performed...it's about serving your congregation. Know them, know what best serves them, and you'll find that balance in this area.
peace.
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Permalink Reply by Lee Gunter on -
Brilliant. Well said. We are so quick to take our eye off the prize, aren't we?
you made me think. I would wager that even when we attempt to do a song as much like it was originally, we are still doing something dramatcially different than what the first hearers of the song heard. It simply cannot be helped, nor should it.
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Permalink Reply by Stevo on -
Yes and no. There are some arrangements and cheesy re-works that are just pure bouncing-ball bad. Yes, a few folks like them, but it really has to be said. Further, there is a certain range of what's "appropriate" for a given message. That is, the mood and mode of the song should match the message. You wouldn't match a funeral dirge to "Great Is Thy Faithfulness". So it comes down to personal preference, but within a certain range.
I also semi-agree with your last paragraph. One of the reasons I'm in a leadership position currently is because the assembly that I serve has been challenged to stretch. They look to our band to take them somewhere new. I do create the arrangements with them in mind and don't go too far out of the box, but it is quite a bit about "how I think it should be performed".
S
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Permalink Reply by Russ Hutto on
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Right. My point wasn't that every rearrangement is a good thing.
And I'm in total agreement that there are probably parameters we should stay within when reworking classic hymns so as not to ruin them. That being said, those parameters are not set in stone and while they may look similar from congregation to congregation, the very fact that times are changing and technology's rapid evolution changes the way we perform, consume, and even approach music.
There was a time when the piano and organ was thought way too revolutionary for sacred music. Then the guitar, then drums, etc. etc.
Some of the BEST arrangements I've ever heard of Great Is Thy Faithfulness are on piano alone and then also with a full band rocked to the max. The point isn't WHAT instruments we use, but how we use them.
I'm a composition/theory geek so this is right up my alley. One of my exercises back in school was to take familiar songs and rework them. Over and over and over. Not every rework was immediately usable, but the point is, they were possible and in some cases extreme departures from the original (yet usable).
If "how I think it should be performed" stops at you and your preference, then you're dead wrong. period.
If "how I think it should be performed" is well informed, others' focused, and about being the best arrangement for the moment and for the people gathered, then you're "alive" right! Ha.
I think that's what you're saying though, right?
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Permalink Reply by Stevo on
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A time when piano and organ were too revolutionary? When was that?
As for the last part, generally yes. But there is that "preference" thing that comes into play, I do end up with lots of different ideas from people and I just can't pick them all. I have to weigh everything and make the choice. A prayer for wisdom doesn't hurt either.
I've never been approached by anyone saying we were in the wrong or should do something differently. I did get a copy of an article from one of the Christian magazines that said "Turn it down! Modern worship groups are too loud!" We are so far from that I had to laugh and disregard it. My leadership was a bit amused as well.
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Permalink Reply by Joey Colson on -
I think "modernizing" hymns can be a great way to introduce fantastic, scripture-based lyrics to a new generation of worshipers. I have found new ways to play the same music and keep it recognizable as the same hymn, but adding instrumentation and sometimes changing tempos, etc. However, I have never set the lyrics of a well written hymn to a familiar melody. Hymn or not, that's way too Weird Al Yankovich and, in my opinion, probably pretty distracting from the worship. Draws more attention to the worship than the one being worshiped.
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Permalink Reply by Todd Evans on -
I apologize in advance for rehashing what appears to be an old topic. I actually found this topic when I did a google search for "Rock n Roll Hyms." I'm a guitarist/bass player, and looking to take over the reigns of our praise team ad church. Our pastor has been doing it, but he's admitted that he's not as good a band leader as a spiritual leader.
In any case. I was looking for versions of hyms as described in the original post, the ndecided to read the entire thread to educate myself a bit.
a little background for you. My wife was a member of a pentacostal (see I don't even know how to spell it) church, that had a worship team, playing contemporary Christian tunes, with piano, drums, guitar, bass, and backup singers. I was really confused when I first went with her. Once we were married, we decided to attend my presby church out of convenience. She hated it...old hyms, nothing but organ, most had a funeral durge type tempo, and it just wasn't something she could get into. Come to find out, my pastor disliked it just as much as she did. Teh only reason it's still that way to this day is because of the older folks in the congregation. They are definitely a vocal minority, complianing to the presbetary every chance they get. If our pastor does something even remotely "new" then they will make a call.
Lately, though, we've begun having a Saturday service once a month...for a more upbeat, CELEBRATION of our lord and savior. Most of hte hyms we sing in church on Sundays tend to have a depressing attitude at times. The old folks love it, but we shouldn't leave church feeling worse than when we went in, should we?
As far as the interpretation of the older hyms, with more modern arrangements goes, I'm assuming that this website itself is to celebrate a gift that we've been given by God...we can creat music, we can play music, we can let the feelings of our hearts eminate from the strings, drum heads, piano keys, or our own voices. We are to use these gifts to get out the message in whatever way we can. If it means rearranging a classic piece to reach more people the nso be it. After all, those older folks that love the durges are going to come every week anyway...and they've (hopefully) made there piece with God. It's the people that don't come that need encouragement to go in. Perhaps walking by a church that sounds like there is a FREE rock concert going on inside is the encouragement they need...after all, they probably don't even know the original version of the song.
in any case....to get on the off topic topic, I used to laugh when I watched ewtn type programming late at night as a child, and they would do the shows about "satanic music." They actually claimed that "Blasphemous rumors" by Depeche Mode was a "satanic" song. Was it criticism of God, absolutely, but was it all out satanic, I hardley think so. Especially when considering the context of the song. It was Written by Martin Gore, the band's guitarist, in response to him questioning life, sprituality, and his beliefs after his sister had recently committed suicide. The song was written with deep emotion and loss...and you cant' tell me that not one person on this Earth had ever questioned the intent of God, can you?
As far as AC/CD...I've listened to them since I was a child...can't get enough of it...that was another topic on that show that made me laugh...they claimed that AC/DC stood for "All Children Defy Christ." HAHA...considering that there first album was called "High Voltage," and there is a lightning bolt in there logo, it couldn't mean "Alternate Current, Direct Current" could it? I read a book about them, where it actually stated that the Bon Scott's Sister cae up with the name when she looked at the back of a portable stereo, and it had "AC/DC" on it...the band name was born.
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Permalink Reply by Wayne Pau on -
Great reply. =) I echo much of this sentiment. One wise ministry worker once emoted to me:
>> I will pray for more patience, the trouble is we only hear complaints and not satisfaction or when things are OK.
Our pastor is regularly challenging the worship leaders to use more (in his word's) "celebratory" songs. We have great traditional roots with organ and hymns, *but* we can't handicap ourselves with tradition (and I am talking about tradition, which is different from doctrine). Some of the oldest hymns we sing today were written nearly 1600+ years after Jesus died. I don't think anyone is singing any of the songs that the first churches used, even those mentioned in the early church (ie. references by St. Augstine's Confessions). At some point, even what we view as traditional hymns were radical too.
I recently had to take a younger christian aside that "subversively" undermining a worship team with comments like "I don't know that song. I don't listen to that secular music. I only listen to Christian Music." (I believe the implication was that we should all only listen to music from Christian Labels.) It was a blow to some younger members who felt 'lesser' because they did like to listen to general 'music' and I needed to challenge him on it. It made me quite sad, as this young person really thought this was the 'right' thing to do and core part of christianity (small "c").
Amen. Worship is worship. Period. Much of the other so called "issues" are man-made, not God-made.
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Permalink Reply by Matt Allison on -
Shocking statement about Stairway - the lyrics don't really have any relevance to anything. One of the best rock songs ever written! I can think of a lot worse demon inspired songs! (sorry - ranting back)
Yeah, not always completely inspired playing a hymn in a rock style, but some work really well and I can see why some people want to update the style of a hymns which might suit certain congregations more. Old style hymns don't inspire everyone into worship, and often have no meaning when people have to try and translate the old King James language. Songs should be arranged to bring the congregation into heartfelt worship as appropriate, whether old style or new.
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Permalink Reply by Shane Goh on -
The thing that comes to mind when I read this original post is a story I heard of a worship leader in some church. If I'm not wrong it was Matt Redman, and his church banned music at one point because it was getting too big. It apparently inspired the song, "Heart of Worship"
Heaven and Earth all fade, but in the end only the Word of the Lord remains. I think this truth implies that songs(lyrics, melodies, and rhythm) are all inconsequential. If we don't like a song or how its arranged, then it's a matter of tastes and preferences. In the end the heart of worship, the true reason for singing, is apart from music, it's apart from lyrics. It's Jesus.
Remixing these powerful hymns to expose them to Youths who like rap, for example, may be a powerful tool for evangelism in the end. Who knows? I believe the Lord works through those who seek to do His will, that His will is to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth
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