Musical Identity
Because, in common with hymns, such music is sung communally, there can be a practical and theological emphasis on its accessibility, to enable every member of the congregation to participate in a corporate act of worship. This manifests in simple, easy-to-pick-up melodies in a mid-vocal range; repetition; familiar chord progressions and a restricted harmonic palette. Unlike hymns, the music notation may primarily be based around the chords, with the keyboard score being secondary. But throughout the history of CWM, some songs have used more complex rhythms and metres, and, to a lesser degree, harmonies.
This sound clip is a recent example of CWM and demonstrates the variety available within these boundaries: Strength will rise (Everlasting God). With the exception of one 2/4 bar shortly before the chorus, rhythmic variety is achieved by syncopation, most notably in the short section leading into the chorus, and in flowing one line into the next. The use of a pedal note at the opening secures the piece firmly in B flat major, and the whole piece uses only four chords: B flat (tonic), E flat (subdominant) and G minor (submediant), and just two references to F (dominant) as it leads into the chorus. Structurally, the form verse-chorus is adopted, each using repetition. In particular the use of a rising four-note figure, used in both melody and accompaniment, makes the song easy to learn.
Such techniques are common to CWM: the strong sense of home key, climactic chorus and repeated motifs. Though the styles have developed according to what is popular between 1950s and now, such music usually follows popular trends that are already well-established rather than the most current.
At more charismatic services, members of the congregation may harmonise freely during worship songs, perhaps singing in tongues (see glossolalia), and the worship leader seeks to be ‘led by the Holy Spirit’. There may also be role of improvisation, flowing from one song to the next and inserting musical material from one song into another.
Read more about this topic: Contemporary Worship Music
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