Why can’t we all just get along… musically? I refuse to take part in the generational music style debate. I just want good music. I happen to enjoy a variety of styles. One of the most beautiful parts of the Church is the rich history of effort put into its worship. I love Handel’s oratorios, traditional Wesleyan hymns, old Southern spirituals, and David Crowder’s new stuff that doesn’t really have a designation.
What I do not love is the vast majority of contemporary choruses. I find them shallow both theologically and technically. I miss the blessed assurance of a tune everyone knows and the Gospel truth that “though Satan should buffet, Though trials should come… Christ has regarded my helpless estate and… It is well with my soul!”
True worship takes work and good music is no different. The unity of the Church is in its harmony: multiple parts working together to create a stronger, more beautiful anthem. Not everybody has to sing the exact same thing at the exact same time. That’s just boring and the strain is weak. Nobody wants that.
Give me a complex harmony that has been structured around a strong melody! Listen, as it first swells, then soars! No offense to Chris Tomlin et. al, but a few meandering notes do not constitute a melody, no matter how many times you repeat them. I do NOT want to spend the rest of my life repeating the chorus with a key change.
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