Thursday, October 20, 2011

"Translating" recordings to your church context

I love the multi-track studio process - you have all these tools and tricks at your disposal to be creative with. Want to fix up that vocal phrase? You can go back and record it again. Want a fat stereo guitar part? Just track it again and pan them hard... Want to sound like you’re banging two rocks together in a large, cold and slightly wet cavern? Just tweak this reverb a bit...! In the studio, you have the time to go back over the songs again and again and refine and polish them until you’re happy. I hope with all this studio-wizardry that I have managed to produce songs that you love to listen to.

But my real hope is that these will be songs you will love to sing and play at church - and that’s a whole different ball game. Often, what you hear on the CD, and what you can do at church are two very different things. Kirkplace used to meet in a community dance hall - with a sprung wooden floor and mirrors everywhere...not the ideal acoustic environment! Rocking out wasn't an option. You may have a small team...or it may just be you by yourself? You might have an unusual combination of instruments? How do you take these songs and make them work in your context? Here’s some tips - in no specific order - that I hope might help you make this translation...

Pitch / key

It’s really important that you sing in a key that is comfortable for your congregation - in the end, it doesn’t matter how great you sound if no one can sing with you! But often, singers will record in a key that's best for their voice and the recording - often on the high side for guys (think Chris Tomlin) or on the low side for girls (Brooke Fraser). A good guide for a mixed group is no lower than B and no higher than D.

Also, if you are in a “stripped back” setting - it’s better to do the songs a bit lower...it’s hard to reach for those big top notes if there isn’t the support of full band behind you.


Melody

Recorded versions of songs usually add variations to the melody - especially when it is a repeated verse or chorus. It helps add some variety and interest to the recording. But when you singing the song at church, its better - especially when everyone is learning the song - to keep to the original melody (the one written on the chart, and usually sung the first time through the verse and chorus) throughout the song. Don’t try and emulate the recording with every vocal lick and inflection, as it often makes learning the song a lot harder

Volume and dynamics

Dynamics are an important tool in helping express the sentiments and truths in the songs. “He is exalted - Name above all names!” is something you want to shout out, not whisper! But in a lot of recordings (including mine) a lot of the dynamic interest comes with big drums and loud electric guitars. What if you don’t have that at your disposal? Here’s a few things I think about when it’s just me and my guitar (same goes for piano / keys)...

  • If at all possible, run through a PA, and have enough volume to be able to play and sing quietly, and still be able to be heard. This means you can bring down the intensity and volume in the verses, but still be able to lead. Then, when you hit the build up, you have reserves of volume in store.
  • Lead the dynamics with your singing - our voices are an incredibly expressive instrument - don’t just sing the words, but sing the emotions and sentiments held in the words.
  • Create levels of dynamics or intensity in your playing ‘arrangement’. For guitarists, that might mean palm muting or picking in the verses, and strumming in the chorus. For piano players, think how you might be able to use register - how high or low you play - to create variations in intensity.


Open chords on guitar
This is something that I use a lot (sometimes maybe too much!). Rather than using bar chords, I generally have a few ‘go to’ shapes to play with - usually those associated with playing in Emaj, Gmaj or Dmaj. If the songs aren’t in these keys, I’ll just adjust with a capo. The advantage of these chords are they are easy to find and move between (especially for fat fingered bass players trying to play guitar like me) and will let you sustain notes between chords. It’s great when you are playing and singing, as it lets you focus on the singing more than finding that chord. I also really like sustaining the root and 5th of the key above the chord movements when possible - it gives a really full sound (also sounds really nice on piano parts). This is a hard one to explain, easier to watch the video...

Don’t try and sound like...(insert name of band or recording)

It’s best to try and do the best with the unique group of instruments or voices that you might have, rather than try and get what you have to try and sound like something else. For example, rather than trying to get your solo piano to recreate the sound of detuned distorted guitar riffs - such as in Bring You Praise, it’s probably better to try and take the essence of the song and adapt it to what you have.

The essence of the song

I frequently have conversations that go something like this “I love your song ‘You Loved Me’...but at our church they do it SO fast!” Fast doesn’t equal contemporary or hip or cool....it’s just fast! The problem here is missing the essence of the song. Try and get to the core of what the song lyrics and music are expressing (Is the song upbeat and celebratory? Intimate and reflective? etc), and then figure out how to best express that in your setting or with your instruments.

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