(Re)writing a modern hymn

By Marie@Musicademy | April 20, 2015

  We ran a session at a recent training day called “Modern hymns: how are they different? How to (re)write one”. Here are a few snippets from the session together with some of the new verses composed by our delegates for the hymn “Breathe on me, breath of God”. 4 categories of modern hymn Modern […]

On the power of songs

By Guest Blogger | December 8, 2014

We all have our songs, our heart cries to God. We sing them in our cars, our homes, on the way to work. We sing them through pain and through joy. Sometimes they are audible and beautiful to the human ear. Often they may be silent, or lack musical expertise, but to God they are […]

Shake, rattles and roll: sourcing great children’s songs

By Guest Blogger | November 25, 2014

We asked for some help a while back on recommended songs for kids worship and promised to share the resultant article with you. The article was commissioned by CCLI in the UK so the resources are pretty UK-centric. That will likely mean some great discoveries here for those of you in the rest of the world. […]

Learn how to play by ear

By Marie@Musicademy | October 16, 2014

Ear training for song writers (and any other worship musician) For many people, the thought of playing “by ear” or being able to anticipate the chords, notes and musical charges in a song you’ve never heard before seems like an impossible task. It’s often considered a gift rather than a skill that can be learned […]

What makes a great worship song?

By Guest Blogger | September 25, 2014

Yesterday we asked on Facebook “What makes a great worship song?” As usual our subscribers had lots of great ideas which you can read by clicking through . But below that is an interview with a worship academic who reckons he is on the road to defining the science behind a great worship song. An […]

Oceans: lyrics for the persecuted church

By Guest Blogger | August 13, 2014

As the church worldwide responds to the terrible crises in the Middle East, we were sent this set of re-worked lyrics for the bridge in the song Oceans which you may want to use in your own churches in the coming weeks. Writer, Jeff Ling, encourages us to “Turn that personal statement of faith into […]

Anatomy of songs: a contemporary worship version

By Guest Blogger | August 6, 2014

So this little graphic has been doing the rounds the last few days. It’s originally from The Wrong Hands website and is a cartoon by John Atkinson. Our friend Ben Mizen decided to do a “back of an envelope” take on it for worship songs:   What other arrangements would you suggest?