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About Songwriting
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Articles and Tips
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Songwriting Tools
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Training Opportunity
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When you like a worship song, you want to hear it and sing it over and over again. You can't get enough of it. You "feel" the song. It speaks to your soul. It connects your spirit with the Spirit of God, and helps you enter into the presence of a Most Holy God. And then sometimes you realize that somebody else also feels the same about that particular worship song. Before you know it, everybody's singing that song. It is recorded in a few different albums by different artistes and groups. I'm giving you an example from a "worship song" point of view. But then, you will now understand what I mean when I say "THIS IS THE KIND OF SONG EVERY SONGWRITER DREAMS OF WRITING!" A hit song, from a secular point of view. An anointed song, from a Christian point of view. Well, how do you write such a song??? Ask a songwriter who has written such a song, and their answer would likely be that the song came from their hearts, an expression of what they are going through or have gone through, or an aspiration of what they hope for. It comes from having met the Lord in a time of need, or a time of deep communion with Him. It may also be the expression of one's love for his Creator and Savior. Whatever it is, the element of divine inspiration is crucial. Why? Well, because we are not writing songs to win an Emmy. We are writing songs to draw people closer to God.
I'm going to include here 3 points that stuck with me from a songwriting seminar by Billy Funk 22 years ago. He said (I quote):
1. Anointed inspiration comes from the heart of God, anointed songs do not originate from talent or accumulated ability to put chords, rhythms, words and melody lines together. Anointed songs originate from the Spirit of God communicating and overflowing from your spirit.
2. Anointed songs are formed by combining anointed inspiration with God's gift of creativity; the creativity that which enables one to express this overflow is a gift from God called songwriting.
3. Anointed songs agree with God's Word. We reserve the right to judge songs with the word in order to establish their potential fruit, whether it be good or bad.
This is just to help lay the foundation for your songwriting journey. There are some really good articles on songwriting available on the internet, and I will start by recommending the following:
Songwriting Tools
Free notation softwares:
Finale Notepad
Musette Music Editor
Training opportunities...
Pastor Wah Lok, who has written over 100 songs, including the song "Every Time I Pray", and has released 3 albums titled "Every Time I Pray", "Shining Stars", and "Messiah King", offers songwriting seminars to churches all across Malaysia. This seminar is primarily for musicians and lyric writers who desire to learn how to write songs and improve on their songwriting skills. He believes that many have the ability to write but are not doing it. Topics covered are: 20 checklist for songwriters, 12 practical points for songwriters, writing lyrics, and creating melodies. To read more about the seminar and other worship seminars conducted by Pastor Wah Lok, please click here.
To read more about his testimonies with regards to his songwriting experience, please visit www.tabernaclemusic.net.
Ng Wah Lok
(Founder of Tabernacle Music and Author of Every Time I Pray)
(Founder of Tabernacle Music and Author of Every Time I Pray)
Writing Lyrics For A Praise And Worship Song
Mark Snyder
Worship Songwriting: What is the GQ (God Quotient) of Our Worship Songs?
Bob Kilpatrick
How to Write a Really Good Worship Song
Mark Snyder
Worship Songwriting: What is the GQ (God Quotient) of Our Worship Songs?
Bob Kilpatrick
How to Write a Really Good Worship Song
Chris Rice
Songwriting Tips
Paul Baloche
How to Stimulate Creativity
A Lyric or a Poem?
Visionary Songwriters
(These are excerpt from the book “God Songs” written by Paul Baloche and Jimmy and Carol Owens.)
Ray Watson
Songwriting
Dave Byers
Songwriting Tips
Songwriting Tips
Paul Baloche
How to Stimulate Creativity
A Lyric or a Poem?
Visionary Songwriters
(These are excerpt from the book “God Songs” written by Paul Baloche and Jimmy and Carol Owens.)
Ray Watson
Songwriting
Dave Byers
Songwriting Tips
The Cardinal Rule of Songwriting:
(Excerpted from God Songs: How to Write and Select Songs for Worship,
by Jimmy and Carol Owens and Paul Baloche)
Make all the elements work together to enhance the feeling of the message. The idea we’re striving for is to make every melody line, everyvoicing and chord progression, every choice of words appropriate to the feeling of the message; to create the “Perfect Wedding” of words and music that makes the message come alive. When all the elements are working together, each doing what it’s supposed to do, the song has life and warmth and emotion. We don’t just hear it, we experience it.
Songwriting Tools
Free notation softwares:
Finale Notepad
Musette Music Editor
Training opportunities...
Pastor Wah Lok, who has written over 100 songs, including the song "Every Time I Pray", and has released 3 albums titled "Every Time I Pray", "Shining Stars", and "Messiah King", offers songwriting seminars to churches all across Malaysia. This seminar is primarily for musicians and lyric writers who desire to learn how to write songs and improve on their songwriting skills. He believes that many have the ability to write but are not doing it. Topics covered are: 20 checklist for songwriters, 12 practical points for songwriters, writing lyrics, and creating melodies. To read more about the seminar and other worship seminars conducted by Pastor Wah Lok, please click here.
To read more about his testimonies with regards to his songwriting experience, please visit www.tabernaclemusic.net.
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