Information about Worship Music

In general, worship for both the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic branch of the Western church is based on regular celebration of the "Lord's Supper", celebrated by a priest with more or less participation from the whole body of generally christian believers present. This tradition, variously known as the Mass, Eucharist or Communion, continues in the Anglican branch of the church and among some Protestants. A worship service in these traditions is centered on the sharing of bread (or bread and wine, or substitutes for them) and it includes prayer, the reading of Scripture, singing and some form of teaching or sermon. In many Protestant traditions, however, Communion is celebrated only occasionally, and corporate worship is centered on a formal sermon, which may resemble a lecture or a passionate exhortation. Worship in such a context also generally includes spoken prayer (either spontaneous or carefully prepared), liturgical recitations, Scripture, singing and an offering of money from members of the congregation.

The format of the worship service may either follow the rubrics set out by authority in a prayer book or similar guide or it may follow socially defined norms and the tastes of the minister or other individuals who are leading the service. In virtually all Christian traditions, this regular public worship is complemented by other forms of worship, such as individual meditation, prayer and study, small group prayer (often linked with Bible study), and formal ceremonies on special occasions such as weddings, funerals and events of Church or state.

Worship music

Worship music is a sub-genre of Christian music that is commonly used to denote songs that are used to worship God and set in a choral music style, often with repeating, short, easily sung "chorus" parts. Originally termed praise music (or praise song), then later praise and worship, worship music has become the more current phrase to refer to any music used by Christians as part of their devotional practices, whether in the confines of a local church, or elsewhere.

Other devotional music

There are many styles of music used in Christian devotional contexts. A broader review of those styles and their origins and history in church liturgy would incorporate the broader topic of church music. This includes all the forms of Christian devotional stylings such as gospel (including southern gospel, country gospel, and urban contemporary gospel), hymns, chants, blended music and choral music.

Worship leader

In some Christian churches, a worship leader (sometimes lead worshipper) is a musician or singer who leads the congregation in musical worship, typically in the style of contemporary worship music.

Types of worship leader

• A person who is leading a band (and the congregation) in worship by singing (usually playing an instrument, as well)
• A person who is leading/directing a choir and band (sometimes, organist/pianist, as well) in musical worship
• A person who is leading a small group in worship either by playing an instrument and singing or by singing with a CD/DVD
• Sometimes a person in charge of organizing the service and/or the songs (not necessarily musically gifted), although in most churches such a person is referred to as meeting leader

In some churches, every member of the choir or band is considered to be a worship leader, as it is the role of each person to help "lead" the congregation in worship by truly worshipping God with their voice or instrument. Other churches recognise the Holy Spirit as the only person qualified to lead the worship. In churches where these philosophies are promoted, the term "Lead Worshipper" is sometimes used for the person who is given leadership of the band or choir.

Worship band

A worship band is a band that leads singing in Christian worship. They are often known as a worship team or a praise band or a praise team. Worship bands often play contemporary choruses or praise songs. Many churches which use modern styles of music in their worship form their own worship bands. Some contemporary Christian music bands also act as worship bands for events, and may label themselves as such. As a trend within the Emerging Church phenomenon as well as contemporary and seeker-sensitive churches, there has been an evolution in the style of music employed in congregational or small group worship. This involves an increased use of modern worship music to either supplement or entirely replace traditional hymns. Worship bands are most common in evangelical groups, but can also be found in mainline Protestant churches as well as in Roman Catholic worship.

Along with the new styles of music is the incorporation of non-traditional church instruments. Typical band instruments such as guitars, both acoustic and electric, keyboards, bass, and drums have emerged as the instruments of choice in many churches, leaving out the more traditional organ or piano. A band usually has one main song leader, or two who alternate the role of leading a song, and one to several back-up singers. Worship bands usually lead congregational singing replacing the traditional church choir. A worship band can create a contemporary sound to the worship that younger worshipers can identify with. Worship bands can also be utilized in order for non-churchgoing visitors to feel more comfortable, whereas in traditional worship settings they may feel intimidated.

Worship presentation program

A worship presentation program is a computer software package used to present text (songs, scripture, announcements), images and/or video, normally in the form of a slide show. It typically includes a text editor, a system to manage song lyrics, background images and other media, database of various Bible translations, and a slide-show feature to display the content.

Purpose

Churches, or houses of worship, use hymns, or songs of praise to God, for participants to engage in corporate, or collaborative, worship. As both personal computers and video projectors increased in performance (and ease of use/cost), contemporary churches began to use presentation programs to not only display announcements, but song lyrics of hymns, praise songs and/or study notes to enhance sermons. Due to the dominant position of Microsoft in the "office suite" market, PowerPoint became, and remains, the most widely used presentation program in houses of worship.

Similar to a presentation for business purposes, a large projection screen (or multiple screens) is positioned in the front of the room (either fixed onto the wall or suspended from the ceiling) to display information for the participants. While the pastor, speaker or worship leader may control the display directly from a portable computer (or by using a remote control or Musical instrument digital interface (Midi) device) to advance the slides, houses of worship often have a computer operator who will control what is projected onto the screen(s). If the facility has a more permanent installation of media equipment, this computer operator will be positioned towards the back of the room, often alongside the sound technicians. If this is a temporary setup, the computer operator may be seated near the front of the audience. The computer operator may practice with the worship band or have developed a communication method to understand what order the slides are to appear. If this is carefully orchestrated, the audience will see the display of slides as a compliment to the speaker's presentation. During worship songs, the display of slides becomes more difficult because the audience relies on the displayed lyrics to sing along. As the Spirit moves the worship leader, the chorus and verses (see verse-chorus form) may not be performed in the same pattern each time.

Early personal computers did not support more than one video display, so the projected image was the same as the image that appeared on the computer's primary monitor. Early presentation software displayed slides and used the keyboard or mouse as the main control. As personal computers developed, the capability was added for an "extended desktop" or having multiple monitors with independent displays of information. Having a control interface on the primary screen and using the second screen (or attached projector) to display a selected slide for the audience became an enhancement of presentation software, but the ability to rapidly change the pattern of slides was still not necessary for most business presentations. Both the increased use of computers/projectors and the need for more control over the sequence of slides have lead to presentation software designed specifically for the worship environment. Some advantages over general presentation software often includes a management system of files or a database that contains songs, background images, Bible scriptures, video and audio files. Additional features might include the ability to display a movie clip using the computer's DVD player, displaying text over moving video, animations or live video, integration with distributors of copyrighted song lyrics (CCLI's SongSelect), the ability to either import or control PowerPoint files and the display of announcement slides in a looping sequence. Another useful feature is the ability to display discreet, text alerts (perhaps at the bottom edge or corner of the screen) to make non-disruptive announcements during the worship service. For example, this might be useful for alerting a driver who has left their headlights on in the parking lot or to summon the parent of a child in a separate child care area.

See also

• Christian worship
• List of notable praise and worship songs
• List of Christian worship music artists
• Praise song
• Hymn
• Contemporary Christian music
• List of Christian music videos
• CCLI

External links

• ProPresenter - Mac OS X Lyric and Media presentation software
• Christian Worship Network
• Screen Monkey - Free Windows presentation/show control software
• LiveWorship - Mac OS X and Windows presentation software
• EasiSlides - Free Professional Windows presentation software
• OpenSong - Free lyric & music presentation software for Windows, MAC & Linux.