MCSN

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 14 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 ones listed on the right.

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.

If you would like to be included in our mailing list, please write to mcsn_05@yahoo.com.

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, every
voicing 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 Resources

Christian Songwriter's Network

Christian Songwriting

Songwriting Education Resource

Ultimate Songwriting

Songwriting Tips

new! Tommy Walker

Interesting Articles on Songwriting

Paul Baloche

Graham Kendrick

Ray Watson

Songwriting Tools

Music Theory for Songwriters

Chords Find on Guitar/Piano

Rhyming Dictionary & Thesaurus

new! Free Notation Software

Finale Notepad 2007

Notation Player

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