As a first technical topic, I want to discuss this basic function of the music ministry, the Teaching of songs. Almost all our assemblies require at least a song or two to be taught before the opening worship.
So to start with, here are some tips when teaching a new song:
1. Give a short background of the song.
It is very important to relay to our brothers and sisters what the meaning of the song is. Having a good knowledge of what the song conveys will definitely set the hearts of our community once we sing it in our worship.
It's also much better if we have personal experiences or sharings that you can relate to the song. That way, people will be able to feel the power of the song and eventually lead them in seeking the word of God through its lyrics.
2. Play and sing the new song.
Let our brothers and sisters hear the song with the complete sequence as how we should sing it in worship. Since we're offering our service to God, make sure that we practice the song well so we can play/sing it with excellence. (performance level ika nga :P)
3. Teach line by line or by logical parts
Do you know the strategy Divide and Conquer? To put it simply, you teach the song where people can recall the melody easily. You try to sing in logical parts and let the people repeat it. For example in this song, Fix My Eyes, the stanza goes like this:
Amazing Lord of all,
the one and true divine
Who came and died for me
So I can be as free
When teaching you can break it into:
Amazing Lord of all, the one and true divine
AND
Who came and died for me so I can be as free
If based from these lines, people easily get the tune OR we don't have enough time, then you can adjust by teaching both lines immediately.
4. Repeat difficult parts of the song
If there are parts of the song that you know will be difficult to recall, it is a good practice to make the people repeat that particular sequence. One example could be the stanza of Forever:
I'll Worship at Your Throne
Whisper my own love song
With all my heart I'll sing
For You my Dad and King
I'll live for all my days
To Put a smile on Your face
And when we finally meet
It'll be for eternity
Whisper my own love song
With all my heart I'll sing
For You my Dad and King
I'll live for all my days
To Put a smile on Your face
And when we finally meet
It'll be for eternity
Notice that this song has a lot of words and variety in melody that ordinary people cannot get immediately. So a good way to teach this is go to step #3 (break into at least two parts) and then repeat repeat and repeat until people get used to the tune.
5. Sing the whole song at least twice if time permits.
Sing the song for the last time so as to recall it before going into worship.
Essentially, our main goal is to make it easier for our brothers and sisters to worship once we use the song in prayer since the more we're familiar with the song, the more we can relate it in our lives and use it to speak to God.
