Composing Music For Worship

Excellence is not a negotiable quality for church music: our worship of God demands our very best. This premise extends to the complex art of composing music for use in worship. This article outlines liturgical, textual, and musical guidelines for composers who seek excellence in composing music for the church. Quality music for the church is a little like a "good Christian chair. " If such an entity as a good Christian chair existed, it would first of all be a well-designed, well-built chair; a cross carved into its back would not, by itself, make it "good". The analogy breaks down fairly quickly but perhaps serves to clarify what, for me, is a basic premise: church music of quality is first of all music of quality: compositionally solid, well-crafted, written with an understanding of the performing medium. Sincerity and zeal, while desirable, cannot substitute for well-honed compositional skills and a well-developed musical imagination. But the modifier church does add another di…