We Will Not Reach The Lost If We Have Normal Hair

This made me laugh out loud several times - "You need to worship like Adam Clayton"

Thanks to Mark Graham - an awesome bass player who ALWAYS plays 8th notes while looking worshipful.

Download all my 2011 songs for free!!!
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Other free songs by Matt Blick


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You Have Nothing To Lose But Your Cay-Pos

Jamie Brown has posted and excellent video about using a capo in keys you wouldn't normally think of. Go watch it now!!!

...but...as this is the Internet allow me a little rant.

I know England and America are two nations separated by a common language.

I'm prepared to cut our US brothers all kinds of slack when they feel the need to remove letters from words to make 'em easier to spell.

I'll turn a deaf ear to the stumbling over UK place names (Lie-sester-sheer?).

I'll even grit my teeth and remain silent when they invent new words with exactly the same meaning as a perfectly good words that already exists.

But I can't take hearing another worship leader say they use a CAYPO!

A CAYPO! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!

It's a Ca - Po. Hard 'A'.

Please understand me my transatlantic brethren. It's not a UK vs US disagreement. Other nations are upset too.

The root of the word is Italian. It comes from Capo tasto meaning 'head fret,' sometimes also known as capo d'astro/capodastro. 

That's "capo tasto". Go on, say it with hard a's in your best Italian accent. 

"Ca-po Tas-to!"

 Even the name sounds musical! Isn't it beautiful. Fantastico!

Now say it in American.

"Caypo-taysto"

Sounds like a really bad fast food chain, doesn't it.

I rest my case.

Jamie could you please re-dub a version for the UK market?

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Free songs by Matt Blick

Bob Kauflin: Ineffective Tunes

Here's Bob Kauflin at last year's Desiring God conference having some fun with inappropriate music settings. The whole session is well worth a look.

Watch, listen, or download the whole thing here.

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Band on the run

Jamie Brown saw it first

I Wanna Be Like You - oo - oo

Is it just me or does anyone else feel a migraine coming on just watching this thing, let alone using it?


I have this crazy, out of the box, blue sky alternative -

JUST LEARN TO PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT!

Get some CD's or some sheet music and try to figure it out with out someone chewing it all and pre-digesting it for you. Who know? You might even up sounding like yourself.

'Sigh!'

I remember Steve Taylor singing a long time ago about how 'Cloneliness is next to Godliness'





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How High & How Wide (Finding The Right Key)

Bob Kauflin is always right on the money. Here he says just about everything you'd need to know about finding the right key to pitch songs in.

There’s a wide variety of opinions when it comes to what’s an “appropriate” key for congregational singing. My basic approach is to keep songs from a low A to a high D, but there are certainly exceptions and other aspects to consider. The strongest range for the congregation seems to be between G and D.

other considerations he looks at are;

Can you hear the men straining? Or the women dropping down to the men's range?

People often need to sing fast songs at the upper end of their range in order to 'belt it out'. Slow and low works fine.

Range is important but there's a big difference between a song hitting a D once in the chorus and one hitting it 6 or 7 times.

If you use the option of modulation in hymns or hymn-like songs the final verse or two can be a little 'too high' as the people will only sing the top notes a couple of time rather than getting fatigued over 5 minutes.

"If your church naturally sings in four parts, it’s possible for the melody to go up to an E or F without a problem, because the guys who can’t hit those notes will generally be singing the bass part".

Bob's conclusion is that we ought to primarily serve the Church and sing songs in keys that are comfortable for the congregation, not just the leader. If you're more comfortable in a higher range add harmony or vocal fills.

Read the rest - Finding The right key to sing in.

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Small Band Arrangements

Brenton Brown has some great advice on how to arrange songs when you only have a few musicians.



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