{"id":15455,"date":"2015-01-15T09:42:58","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T09:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/?p=15455"},"modified":"2019-07-29T16:18:46","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T16:18:46","slug":"music-theory-can-create-worship-moment-guest-post-jon-nicol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/music-theory-can-create-worship-moment-guest-post-jon-nicol\/","title":{"rendered":"How music theory can create a worship moment. Guest post by Jon Nicol."},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever gotten to that place in a worship song where you just wanted to linger for a\u00a0moment? It might be as a song ends, or during an interlude within the song, but the arrangement you\u2019re using doesn\u2019t seem to give you that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because\u00a0many of the worship songs we use in our service come from recordings that\u00a0are arranged to sell CDs and downloads on iTunes.<\/p>\n

These\u00a0arrangements are\u00a0more for\u00a0listening than participating.<\/p>\n

And even when a recording includes an extended time of repeats, response, or spontaneous\u00a0worship, it still might not fit what would work in your church.<\/p>\n

So how do you create the space to just\u00a0linger\u00a0in the moment?<\/p>\n

Create Space<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are a lot a ways to do that, but I want to give you one technique that you can use to create an extended moment. And just like the title says, it\u00a0requires a little music theory.<\/p>\n

I call it \u201cThe Lingering Four Chord.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make sure we\u2019re all know what the Four Chord is, let\u2019s take\u00a0a crash course in the chord number system.\u00a0(Hang with me here, because even if you don\u2019t know a stitch of the music theory, I can walk you through it.)<\/i><\/p>\n

Crash Course In Theory<\/b><\/h2>\n

In every major key there is an identical pattern of naturally occurring major and minor chords. The pattern is easiest to understand in the key of C, since there are no sharps or flats.<\/p>\n

First, the naturally occurring notes in the key of C are:<\/p>\n

\"numbers-key-of-C_opt\"<\/p>\n

If we build the naturally\u00a0occurring triad on each of these notes, we will see our patterns of chords.<\/p>\n

(If you\u2019re near a keyboard, this is easy. Just start with the scale tone and skip a white key to add the third of the chord. Then skip another white key to play the fifth.)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what the C triad looks like on the piano.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"c-triad-keyboard\"<\/p>\n

If you do this pattern for every scale tone, you will build out all the naturally occurring triads, or basic three-note\u00a0chords. Since this is just a crash course, I\u2019m just going to tell you WHAT<\/i> kind of chords these three notes form rather than explain WHY<\/i>\u00a0they are like that.<\/p>\n

So the naturally occurring chords\/triads in the key of C are:<\/p>\n

C, E, G = C major<\/p>\n

D, F, A = D minor<\/p>\n

E, G, B = E minor<\/p>\n

F, A, C = F major<\/p>\n

G, B, D = G major<\/p>\n

A, C, E = A\u00a0minor<\/p>\n

B, D, F = B diminished<\/p>\n

Applying The Numbers<\/b><\/h2>\n

Now here\u2019s where the numbers come in. We apply the scale numbers to the chords\u00a0with one distinction. When\u00a0we\u2019re talking about intervals, we refer to them as the degree\u00a0they are away from the root: second, third, fourth, fifth, etc..<\/p>\n

When we refer to the chord, we simply call it by the scale\u00a0number, not the interval degree: One, Two, Three, Four, Five,\u00a0etc.<\/p>\n

So the C chord is called the One, or One Major. The D chord is called the Two, or Two Minor, and so on.\u00a0In traditional music theory, this is designated with Roman Number\u2014uppercase for major, lowercase for minor:\u00a0C = I, Dm = ii, etc.<\/p>\n

But a system that\u2019s gained popularity in modern music is referred to as \u201cNashville Numbers<\/a>.\u201d Instead of messing around with Roman numerals, the session players in Nashville use\u00a0our\u00a0more accessible\u00a0Arabic numbers to form their own shorthand to create charts*\u00a0based on the chord numbers of the song. 1, 2m, 3m, 4, 5, etc.<\/p>\n

So here are the chord numbers with both the Nashville Numbers and the traditional\u00a0Roman numerals:<\/p>\n

\"key-of-G-numbers\"<\/p>\n

And so since we originally started talking about \u201cThe Lingering Four Chord\u201d, we can see that the Four in the key of C is F.<\/p>\n

You might be thinking, \u201cHoly cow, Nicol, why didn\u2019t you just lead with that?!<\/i><\/p>\n

Yeah, that probably would have been easier. But it\u2019s helpful to know how to figure out what the Four Chord is\u00a0in any key.<\/p>\n

Any Key<\/b><\/h2>\n

So let\u2019s look at the Key\u00a0of G\u00a0and figure out what the Four Chord is for that. Here are the notes in the G scale:<\/p>\n

G, A, B, C, D, E, F#<\/p>\n

Now, since we\u2019ve already learned our pattern, we\u00a0don\u2019t need to go through the pain of building out the triads. We simply apply the pattern of major and minor chords that we saw above in the key of C.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s that pattern again:<\/p>\n

major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished<\/i><\/p>\n

This pattern occurs in EVERY major key when you\u2019re building diatonic (in the key) triads. So here\u2019s that pattern in the key of G:<\/p>\n

\"key-of-G-numbers\"<\/p>\n

So our Four Chord in the key of G is C.<\/p>\n

OK, enough theory. If you\u2019re still with me, you\u2019re either A) a tenacious learner\u00a0or B) already a theory geek (and are picking apart my explanation).<\/p>\n

Why The Four Chord?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Each chord in a key has a unique function and a feel. When it comes to\u00a0the three major chords in a key,\u00a0the One Chord feels final\u2014it\u2019s home\u00a0base. The Five Chord feels like it wants to move back to the One Chord. Add the dominant seventh to it and it\u2019s begging to go back to the One.<\/p>\n

But the Four Chord feels neither final nor like it urgently needs to get anywhere.\u00a0And that\u2019s what makes it perfect to linger\u00a0in a moment.<\/p>\n

Here I Am To Linger<\/b><\/h2>\n

One song that does this is Here I Am to Worship<\/i>. In the key of E, the chorus ends on an A, which is the Four Chord.\u00a0As you\u2019re singing and playing that, you can hang out there for a while and the song doesn\u2019t feel done. But it also isn\u2019t dying to be resolved.<\/p>\n

You can just linger<\/i>.<\/p>\n

And pray. Or exhort. Or read scripture. Or whatever you feel the Lord calling you\u00a0to do in that moment.<\/p>\n

But even if this isn\u2019t neatly arranged into a song like it is in Here I Am to Worship<\/i>, you can just\u00a0replace the final One Chord with the Four Chord to extend out the ending. You can also use it internally if there\u2019s a certain part of the song you want to hang out on\u00a0before moving on.<\/p>\n

Less Is More<\/b><\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s something to keep in mind. When you\u2019re creating these lingering\u00a0moments, it\u2019s best to move to one instrument like acoustic\u00a0guitar or piano\/keys. A lot of musicians tend to overplay in these moments. You can teach your musicians to play during these times, but they need to grasp the concept of ambience and\u00a0\u201cless is more.”<\/p>\n

Another thing to keep in mind is that you may not want to hang out on the Four Chord for too long. After lingering on the Four for a bit, you can begin to move to other chords in\u00a0the key. Just feel it out.<\/p>\n

And this is another reason to drop it to just one instrument. You can freely move from chord to the next\u00a0without worrying if the\u00a0team is following you.<\/p>\n

So as you\u2019re planning your songs and segues for this upcoming Sunday, look at using the Four Chord as a way to create a moment where people can\u00a0linger in worship. And if you\u2019re interested in more ways to segues between songs, check out this post:<\/p>\n

Segues: The On and Off Ramps In Worship<\/p>\n

*With the Nashville Number\u00a0System, there\u2019s a whole unofficial charting system for songs. But for right now, we\u2019re just worried about the chord numbers.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Jon Nicol is a worship pastor in Lexington, Ohio. He coaches and trains worship leaders and teams at WorshipTeamCoach.com.<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a>Musicademy’s Playing By Ear in Worship DVDs and Downloads<\/a>\u00a0(currently at a great SALE price) are a crash course in music theory for contemporary musicians. They cover the above and more besides. All guaranteed to improve your musicianship.<\/p>\n

Other posts you may find helpful<\/strong><\/p>\n

Playing by ear part 1<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Playing by ear part 2 \u2013 Nashville Numbering explained<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

What chord comes next in a song?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The failsafe method of working out which chords fit in a key<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever gotten to that place in a worship song where you just wanted to linger for a\u00a0moment? It might be as a song ends, or during an interlude within the song, but the arrangement you\u2019re using doesn\u2019t seem to give you that.\u00a0 That\u2019s because\u00a0many of the worship songs we use in our service […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5303,"featured_media":15456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[131,7,27,1510],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow music theory can create a worship moment. Guest post by Jon Nicol.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you ever gotten to that place in a song where you just wanted to linger for a moment? 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