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The June 2009 issue of Worship Leader Magazine reviewed both our WorshipFlow.com and HymnCharts.com websites.
Download this review as a PDF
Programming Resources
by Warren Anderson
The Internet is increasingly becoming a wellspring
of worship resources, with something for
churches of every style, structure, and theological
bent. Here are two sites that will prove
helpful to worship leaders facilitating corporate
worship in a wide range of diverse settings. |
WORSHIPFLOW.COM
Flow in worship is important. This can't
be reiterated enough. A worship set with
abrupt transitions can interfere with the
goal of proclaiming God's narrative through
the narrative arc of our corporate worship.
Of course, the Holy Spirit can and does work
despite such interference, but why make the
job more difficult
WorshipFlow.com takes the guesswork out of
getting smoothly from one song to the next
and alleviates the frustration of forsaking
an excellent sequence of songs that heretofore
would have been unthinkable (or at least
undesirable) because of awkward key changes.
The process works like this: Click on the
key you're coming from. Click on the key
you're going to. WorshipFlow spits out a
transition that makes sense, no matter how
wacky the modulation. You want to move from
"I Will Rise" in B to "A New
Hallelujah" in G? Click. Click. You're
there - with a lead sheet (chords and keyboard
score), chord chart (chords and rhythm),
MP3 file, and/or MIDI file to show you the
way. Better still, you can choose from 12
different underscore templates to help tailor
the transition to the mood you are establishing.
In the event that you're not sure what kind
of feel you need, the templates have suggestions
for what kinds of songs might work well with
each pattern (e.g. "use with songs like
'Above All'").
If that wasn't enough, creator Don Chapman's
site also offers small groups of short hymn
interludes, short audio transitions (MP3s),
that can be used as soundtracks if you'd
rather not or are unable to have the band
do the transitions and prayers and readings
to accompany popular worship choruses. (Here's
hoping he expands this part of the site in
the months to come; these sections could
be a real help to creative worship leaders.)
Granted, for some of us, this site will be
superfluous, as we have fabulously creative
keyboardists who can weave beautiful transitions
out of thin air, even if we're moving from
F-sharp to C. For all the rest of us - especially
those whose keyboard players function best
with printed music - Chapman's site will
prove invaluable. For churches that are wishing
to move toward contemporary worship but aren't
quite there yet, WorshipFlow.com could move
you along all the more quickly.
HYMNCHARTS.COM
WorshipFlow.com is the kid brother of HymnCharts.com.
This was Don Chapman's first foray into the
world of online worship resources, and, to
the best of my knowledge, the only worship
resource with a standing endorsement from
a late-rounds contestant of American Idol
(Chris Sligh, with whom Chapman has collaborated
on many occasions). HymnCharts.com grew out
of Chapman's church ministry and his desire
to bring hymns into the praise band mix.
By smoothing out some of the more complex
chord structures (utilizing usually no more
than two chords per measure) and by adding
some gentle pop-rock sensibilities and phrasings,
he has succeeded in finding middle ground
where well-intended efforts to make hymns
palatable to the modern ear occasionally
don't - for rhythmic or harmonic excesses
that prove too much for parishioners of a
certain age and/or disposition.
Chapman has amassed a collection of 120 classic
hymns (at the time of this writing), indexed
according to alphabet (both title and hymn-tune
name), tempo, key, meter, and season. There
is also a hymn-lyrics search engine, which
serves as a concordance of sorts. More charts
are added at the rate of one or two per month,
and Chapman does a good job of processing
user feedback and updating and improving
the site on a regular basis. Each chart comes
with several possible options for use, including
two, three, and four-part vocals, keyboard
score, parts for C and B-flat instruments,
rhythm charts, PowerPoint slides, and several
audio options. For example, "The Old
Rugged Cross," has vocal demo, stereo
track, drum loop, piano only track, and piano/orchestra
track. Many more-recent charts have additional
parts as well; for example, "The Old
Rugged Cross" has parts for synth strings
and sax.
HymnCharts.com is a second excellent resource,
one particularly well-suited for churches
that are moving toward blending the beset
of the old with the best of the new.
Start a quick tour of HymnCharts: Learn how our arrangements are the best sheet
music value on or off the Internet.
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Videos:
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| Video: Watch Epcot's Liberty Voices record
a HymnCharts arrangement. |
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| Video: HymnCharts arranger Don Chapman talks
with legendary Disney producer Derric Johnson
about vocal blend. |
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