I don’t have to remind you that Christmas is just a few sleeps away and if you are a musician or you lead worship, this can stir up a cocktail of both joy and fear.
For musicians, the fear can be around trying to play carols in such a way that people can recognise them, and participate. Carols are written very differently to the songs of worship that we normally play. We even call them by a different name – carols – go figure!
Most carols were written centuries ago, when an organ and choir lead the worship. So, for those who play guitar, and many keyboard players, playing carols are a huge challenge because there seems to be a chord change every other beat. This can be a nightmare for guitarists who will end up with cramps trying to get their fingers around them. And when they do, they don’t always sound that great. So here are a few hints when it comes to playing carols…
- Leave the bulk of the playing to keyboard players… no seriously! After all, carols were written to be sung and played on a keyboard instrument in the most part. Instead, feature in the ones that suit guitar better (eg. Away in a manger, Silent Night, O Holy Night).
- Play fewer chords (guitarists). Play the first chord of each bar and leave the rest. Play the key changes (please!) and don’t worry too much about passing chords. Your ear, or your music director will tell you whether the chords work or not, and make the appropriate adjustments.
- Go “traditional”. If there is any season where traditional works best, Christmas is it (ie. piano, organ, orchestra [synth] etc). Just watch how many carols are sung with orchestra on TV this year.
- If you are a drummer, think more “orchestrally”. It’s less about the groove, and more about the accents. Your cymbals and floor toms may get more of a workout, but be careful not to overdo it.
- If you are a bass player – yep – play those pesky inversions (e.g. C/G – play the “G”! – please) because they all add to the make up of each carol.
- Practice hard. At the end of the day, Christmas Carols simply take more work to get your head and fingers around them.
Note: Be sure to give a clear & confident introduction to each carol. I missed a carol intro this year and it was a nightmare!! But I figure I’m allowed 1 every decade! Thankfully our lead singer did an amazing job of picking it and leading through “The First Noel” – probably my last Noel!
For worship leaders… Christmas can be a time when we are tempted to just “sing the songs” and be done with it. Too many people just sing carols without giving much thought to them – because that is what you do at Christmas. Yet many carols – indeed most – have incredible theology and life changing truth, that can empower worship at Christmas. I believe with all my heart, that Christmas must be a time of passionate, head, heart and hands worship.
How might you help others engage in worship this Christmas? Here’s a few very simply thoughts which require little to no extra work…
- Be a worshipper yourself. Give people permission by worshipping during this season and set an example for them to follow.
- If you pray as part of your worship, connect your prayers to a line, a thought, or a truth in a carol eg.
God and sinner reconciled”
– one could pray a prayer of thanksgiving that this Christ child, our Saviour has brought us back into relationship with our Heavenly Father.
- You may wish to extend part of a carol (perhaps just one) for people to worship through. We did this recently with “O Come Let us Adore Him” by singing that chorus only at the end of the carol, but changing the first line (repeated) to … “For You alone are worthy” then “We give You all the glory” and finally “We’ll praise His name forever”. Very simple, yet very effective. We have done a similar thing with the chorus of “O Holy Night”.
Why not make this Christmas Celebration a time of incredible worship to our Saviour King, and who knows, maybe a guest might just engage, and meet Jesus for the first time. Wouldn’t that be the best Christmas Worship ever !?
Hope you have a worshipful Christmas this year.
If you have any other ideas to help make Christmas a time of worship, share them below and join the conversation.