There are a bunch of worship songs that don’t really have much to them. They might be a line or two or might contain a few short sections. Songs like this could potentially work really well in the Taize style, where they’re just repeated over and over again, either the whole song or just one section of it. Prepare the Way is one example of a song that can be used in this fashion. The words of the song are “Prepare the way. Prepare the way. Prepare the way of the Lord.” And then there is a refrain that just repeats the name of Jesus several times. And that’s the song. It’s great for Advent with John the Baptist and it works well to just repeat those two parts a bunch of times, as per the Taize style.
Repeating these songs helps people learn them and get comfortable with them and be able to move past that and really use them to pray with. You don’t have to be tied up with notes or lots of words while singing and can focus on the meaning of what you’re singing and just concentrate on that. The words of the song can become something of a prayer themselves.
Another example is Come and Listen. This song is made up of several short sections which can either all be sung or just one part sung in repetition. One of the parts says “Come and listen, come and listen to what He’s done”. Since it points to the stories of the gospel, this part could be used well sung several times as a gospel acclamation.
The chorus to the song How Great is Our God is another little chunk of a song that can be sung repetitively. Or it can be used at the end of different song, like a tag. One last tune I’ll mention in this post is the song Center. Like the others this song is made up of several short sections, any or all of which can be treated in the style of Taize music. “Oh Christ, be the center of our lives. Be the place we fix our eyes.” What a prayer.
Center- Charlie Hall and Matt Redman
Where to find it:
- ccli.com (#4665261)
- praisecharts.com
- worshiptogether.com
Notable recordings:
- Charlie Hall – Flying into Daybreak
Hear it now:
Download on iTunes
Come and Listen- David Crowder
Where to find it:
- ccli.com (#2482178)
- praisecharts.com
- worshiptogether.com
Notable recordings:
- David Crowder Band – A Collision
- Steve Fee – North Point Live
Hear it now:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb_sWzNEhPA&feature=related
Download on iTunes
How Great is Our God- Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, and Jesse Reeves
Where to find it:
- ccli.com (#4348399)
- praisecharts.com
- worshiptogether.com
Notable recordings:
- Chris Tomlin – Arriving
- Seventh Day Slumber – Take Everything
- Bethany Dillon – Sing Over Me: Worship Songs and Lullabies
Hear it now:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OsyiGgSlqY
Download on iTunes
Prepare the Way- Charlie Hall and Louie Giglio
Where to find it:
- ccli.com (#3441008)
- worshiptogether.com
Notable recordings:
- Passion – Passion: Our Love is Loud
Hear it now:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKcGhpBTTvo
Download on iTunes
You can do this with so many songs. Sometimes, there is just a piece of a song that gets to the heart of what you wish to communicate in worship. Singing just the chorus is a great way to do this. We like to mix these together in a way that flow form one to the next, or perhaps singing the piece in between reading scripture and singing. We did this with Robbie Seay’s “Peace” (A song I love, by the way) and reading the verses to “Where Cross the Crowded Streams of Life” and it is way way powerful.
Some other shorties I like:
Justin Rimbo’s “Come, Lord Quicky, Come”, COTA’s Invocation, Ceilia Whitler’s “I see the Lord High and Lifted Up”, and the first verse and chorus to Revelation Song by Jenny Riddle, the best version for all it’s bombast by Gateway Church in Dallas. I like my own, “Return” as a great confession song.
We’ll have to cover a few of your suggestions Jay (I like all of those a lot).
Never underestimate the magic of good transitions…
I love to start worship with a simple, quick tune like one of these and then bring it back in later during communion or some such thing. It’s nice because people are already comfortable with the tune, and it also makes for some cool transitions between songs.
Until we actually post about them, another good one is Come To Me by Aaron Shust.