FredMcKinnon.Com

Hey Ya’ll!

So the much-anticipated album from Kari Jobe released a few weeks ago – and instantly was #1 in the Christian Music charts on iTunes.  Once again, a team of worship leaders came together to present a 4-person “ReVue” of the album.  This is a concept that Joel Klampert helped dream up and has been a big hit over at TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

So, if you haven’t seen it already – head over to TheWorshipCommunity.Com and check out the ReVue.  If you’ve already purchased this CD, we’d love to hear your comments on it as well.  You can comment here, over at TWC, or both!

Hey Everyone,

This is a busy week as I prepare to get everything in order for not only the re:create conference next week, but for a Women’s Conference that I’ll be leading next weekend as well.  So, rather than type a long post on worship leadership, I’d like to start a discussion today.

This past weekend, guest speaker Tom Tanner shared about corporate prayer.  He discussed times when everyone prays out loud – at the same time.  His point was “you aren’t praying to each other, you are praying to God”.  He also said “if you take turns and go around the circle, and let each person pray, you don’t really get much praying done, but if everyone prays, it’s different”.

Granted, I *LOVE* corporate prayer like that.  I get out of my seat, walk the floor, and go for it.  On the other hand, there are certainly times when it’s appropriate to listen to someone else pray, and agree with them in prayer.

I’d like to take that though process over into the act of singing.  I grew up in the United Methodist Church the first 16 years of my life, then was involved in Charismatic churches from my high school years throughout college and the first dozen years of my professional “full-time” ministry.  Though the church I’m a part of now isn’t necessarily “charismatic”, it’s definitely filled with people who have experienced God’s Holy Spirit in powerful ways and that power is displayed in changed lives every week.

What I call “free worship” is when the congregation has a time to just “sing” out loud … but whatever they want.  It’s the most beautiful “unorganized order” I’ve ever heard.  Have you ever experienced it?  The sound of hundreds  – or thousands of voices, singing out individually in praise to God?  Though there are individual voices, I believe it rises to God as a “corporate” praise.

For some of you, that thought probably makes you very uncomfortable.  For some of you, it’s your favorite place of worship.  We don’t really experience that in my church now, and I miss it.

Take a listen to the first 15 seconds or so of “Hosanna” from the Paul Baloche album, “A Greater Song” … this is an example of what I’m talking about:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Let the discussion begin!

Hey Everybody,

I spent the entire day (well, except for a couple of hours around lunch time for worship and prayer) in my studio today creating my “first official loop” for use in corporate worship.

The loop is to “Hosanna” by Paul Baloche and Brenton Brown.  I’ve loved this song since I first heard it a couple of years ago but have yet to incorporate it into personal worship.  I haven’t even owned it until I bought the CD yesterday.

I’d like to introduce this to our congregation on Sunday but thought the added loops and synth would give it a bigger sound.  So, here’s my first stab at making loops.

A couple of program notes:

1. I couldn’t lock into the tempo on the album (A Greater Song) for anything – it was somewhere between 112-114 bpm.  I wanted it a little bit faster so created my loop at 118 bpm.
2. There is a 4-bar countoff, then a 4-bar intro where the acoustic guitar should come in.
3. I cut the electric guitar solo in the middle of the song in half.  Instead of a full pass through the Chorus, I only did a half chorus (8 bars) plus the sustained 9th bar.  Don’t shoot me electric players – I’d love to have the full solo, but I’m trying to balance the solo time so that my congregation stays with us.

There are two three versions.  Click is in the Right Side, but the Voice version adds vocal instructions in the South Georgia Redneck accent that only I could bring.  Download links are now available – if you download, all I ask is that you leave a comment below, letting me know.

Hosanna – 118 bpm with click and voice instructions:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(download with click and voice instructions)

Hosanna – 118 bpm with click

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(download with click only)

Hosanna – 118 bpm with no click or voice instructions

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(download – no click or voice)

Now Available – Ableton Live Set

Download (267 MB – .zip format)

Updates since first published:
1.  added third version with no click or voice instructions
2.  re-bounced click and click with voice – I realized that by stopping the song right after the last note (so avoid hearing extra clicks) I’d chopped off the delayed synth which is on a 188 bpm delay, matching the tempo, which should sustain for about 3 counts.

Bar/Measure Map:
m. 5:  4 bar intro (bring in acoustic, drummer’s HH)
m. 9:  Verse 1 (Praise is rising …)
m. 33:  Chorus a
m. 41:  Chorus b
m. 50:  Verse 2 (Hear the sound of …)
m. 74:  Chorus a
m. 82:  Chorus b
m. 91: Instrumental Solo (only 8 bars, plus 1)
m. 100:  Pre-Chorus (when we see You …) – instruments out
m. 108:  Pre-Chorus (when we see You …)
m. 117:  Chorus a
m. 125:  Chorus b
m. 133:  Repeat Chorus a
m. 141:  Repeat Chorus b
m. 150:  4-bar Instrumental Vamp
m. 154 – Hosanna (4x) to end

Ok all you loopsters … suggestions, comments, feedback?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hey Everyone,

Today’s post is a continuation of an ongoing, yet erratic series that started several weeks ago with my original post where I asked the question, “What Makes a Great Worship Song”?

Since then, we’ve discussed the #1, #2, and #3 top worship songs as reported by CCLI in the USA as of August 2008. Over the next week or two, I’d like for us to come together here on the blog and discuss more of the “Top Worship Songs” according to the most recent, August 2008 CCLI Survey.

Previous Songs:

#1. How Great is our God
#2. Blessed Be Your Name
#3. Here I Am To Worship

CCLI Top 25 Songs

#4: “Open the Eyes of My Heart”
by Paul Baloche

This is definitely one of the most popular songs worldwide. It’s lower #4 spot is reflective in my own thoughts as this one is definitely used the least of the Top 4 in our worship services.

Singable?
Paul Baloche is an incredibly gifted songwriter and knows how to craft a singable melody.  The opening lines are simple and repetitive.

“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.  Open the eyes of my heart.  I want to see You.  I want to see You.”

The Chorus and Bridge are similarly repetitive and the melodic line is easy to sing.

Theology and Lyrics
This song isn’t saturated with deep theology, but two truths about God are presented clearly:
1.  His being “high and lifted up”
2.  His being “holy”

(see Isaiah 6:1-3 @ YouVersion.Com)

This song brings these two theological statements together with a personal declaration of our desire to have our “eyes opened to see” … a prayer that should always be present in our hearts.

Lyrically the song offers a personal plea … that our eyes be opened.  Even the “high and lifted up” Chorus is a continuation of this personal plea.  With the exception of the Bridge which declares “Holy, Holy, Holy”, the song is more of a personal request than adoration or worship directly to God.  There are some that argue songs like this have no place in our corporate worship … that our music should be full of theology.  Although I agree theology is important, I believe a song like this is vital in ‘preparing’ a worshiper’s heart and helping them engage with God on a more personal level.  The song could be considered a prayer, actually, and I’ve not heard anyone proclaiming that we need to remove prayer from our worship services.  Balance is the key.

Accessibility?
As I’ve said before, I don’t think many songs will make the Top 5 that aren’t accessible.  A few easy chords and easy arrangement make this song special whether it’s a full praise band or a simple guitar or keyboard version.

Personal Arrangement:

As many have discovered, the Bridge segues perfectly into the traditional hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy”, though you may want to start “Open the Eyes of My Heart” a whole step lower to prevent the hymn from being too high.

Singable? Theology? Lyrics? Simplicity? Accessibility?
What are YOUR thoughts?

Hey Everybody,

What an incredible couple of days I’ve had at the National Worship Leader Conference. Yeah, originally the “shuttle” schedule was pretty lousy, but thanks to a new blog/twitter/worship buddy, Jim Drake, we’ve hitched some rides with his clan which has made transportation much easier.

So right now, as I type this … I’m sitting in the Speakers’ Green Room. Laura Story (author of the huge song, “Indescribable” is sitting on the couch to my left. A Pastor and some other friends from Franklin, TN are to my right. Across the rug is legend, Ron Kenoly. Can I tell you that sitting in this room off and on all day with Ron Kenoly is like sitting under a wise man who is chock-full of Godly wisdom. He’s like a grandfather. I could sit and listen to Ron all day long. He’s so authentic, and his heart bleeds for God and His Kingdom.

Truth be told, I’m just too tired to give you all the dozens of pages of notes I’ve taken in the many sessions over the last two days. This conference schedule starts with us leaving the hotel before 8:00 AM, and not getting back to the hotel until after 10:00 PM.

Here are some highlights:

Extravagant Worship in the main sessions with some of the most influential, gifted worship leaders on the planet. I’ve been led in worship by Matt Redman, Paul Baloche, Sarah Kelly, Jonathan Noel, Rush of Fools, Leeland, Matt Maher, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Rita Springer, and in about an hour, Lincoln Brewster, Kathryn Scott, Don Moen, and Gateway Worship. Tomorrow night we’ll be led in worsip by Buddy Owens, CeCe Winans, Phil Sillas & Lily Cruz, Israel Houghton, and Tommy Walker. Yes – in the same week. Can you believe that?

Today:

I took Shaun Groves‘ Advanced Blogging class. It was awesome. Shaun is the real deal. I didn’t have the adapter to make my Lappie work with their projector, so he’s loaned me his … he trusts me to return it to him, and gave to me when I was in need. That’s huge for me. I learned a lot about blogging from him today.

Earlier today I took a powerful class by Ross Parsley. It was about Multi-Generational worship. Let’s face it, most churches have “multiple generations” represented and I was really looking forward to this class. Ross didn’t disappoint – he comes across as very humble, incredibly authentic, and laid back. He’s got tons of wisdom, and I consider it an honor to sit under his teaching. The folks at New Life Worship should count their blessings to have this gift.

Gordan MacDonald was the afternoon speaker and he was really great. It was during that “sluggish time” of day where my body was distracted, fatigued, yet I knew in my spirit that what he was saying was important. Plus, I’ve learned that when these guys who have been in ministry for 40+ years speak, I should shut up and listen. Gordon delivered big-time, and opened my eyes to further understanding what’s going on as a Worship Pastor, and how to navigate that with multiple age groups.

Bishop Joseph Garlington spoke this morning. His keyboard player accompanied his sermon, playing strings, keys, hits, sound effects, and various nuances that made the entire presentation a vivid, interactive session. I thought to myself how these little music “things” throughout the sermon kept me engaged, and heightened my emotions during the talk … thought about how movies always keep a soundtrack growing, and found myself wondering why we don’t do this more?

Yesterday we had more incredible sessions, other classes by Paul Baloche and Ross Parsley, and dynamic teaching by Dr. Leonard Sweet.

Wish I could share more, and I should – I’m on information overload right now, but wanted to get a blog out. Thanks to everyone who is taking this journey with me!

For the Kingdom,
Fred