Poll: how to sing this worship song

There’s one song I started singing for worship, Desert Song. It was introduced by one of the other youth staff workers this year. It’s very catchy with very good lyrics. I like it.

However, on the recording, there is one phrase that doesn’t match the other phrases in the chorus. Rather than being on beat, one note is syncopated instead.

If you listen to the recording, on the chorus, you can hear that the words “praise,” “praise,” and the second syllable of “declare” are on the beat, but the second syllable for “rejoice” is not. The second syllable of the word is sung syncopated rather than on beat.

I am torn between singing the chorus exactly like the MP3 recording, or not syncopating that one note in order to make the chorus just simpler to learn and to sing for my church congregation.

So what do you think? Should I sing it according to the recording, or should I sing it a little differently to make it easier for my church congregation?

Comments

Kelli said…

I can hear what you mean, but am not sure I have the answer. :). It sounds like the word rejoice is said more naturally, which ends it sooner than if it was more separated into two distinct syllables like they sing declare.

Either way would sound fine, so I guess you could choose based upon what you and any others leading it would sing more naturally.

Tue Jun 26, 04:20:00 PM 2012

Camy Tang said…

That's a good point. When I sing it, since "praise" was sung on the beat, I typically sing the second syllable of "rejoice" on the beat, also. I'd have to make an effort to remember to sing it off beat if I sing it like the CD.

Wed Jun 27, 03:57:00 AM 2012

Marian said…

I vote for singing on beat. Praise music can be hard for the congregation to learn (speaking as a congregation member) so anything that makes it easier is a no-brainer in my book.

Wed Jun 27, 10:18:00 AM 2012

Camy Tang said…

Thanks for the vote! That's really helpful since I don't often get feedback from my congregation. Not many of them are musical so it's hard for me to gauge if the songs are too easy or too hard.

Wed Jun 27, 07:14:00 PM 2012

"Sincerely" by TRUE (from Violet Evergarden)

I’ve been watching the anime Violet Evergarden on Netflix and it is possibly the most beautiful anime series I’ve ever seen. The animation by Kyoto Animation is top notch, the storyline (based on the light novel series ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン by Kana Akatsuki (暁佳奈)) is emotional and unique, and the original soundtrack by Evan Call is out of this world. The vocal songs in the series are also really beautiful, but the best one is the opening song, “Sincerely” by TRUE. She not only has a beautiful voice, but the melody and lyrics are absolutely gorgeous. I can’t rave about this song enough. 知らない言葉を　覚えていくたびおもかげのなか　手を伸ばすの Each time unknown words come to mind, I reach my hand toward the traces they leave. だけど一人では　分からない言葉もあるのかもしれない But there may be words That I can’t comprehend all alone. さよならは　苦くてアイシテルは　遠いにおいがした例えようのない　この想いはとても怖くて　だけど　とても愛おしくて “Goodbye” is so bitter, While “I love you” carries a far-off scent. This incomparable feeling Is so very frightening… bu...

Window shopping

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.14.2005 Knee update: I went to the doctor today for a checkup, and saw his assistant. I’ve been concerned because there’s still inflammation in my knee joint, and it’s been almost 4 months since the surgery. She said she’d talk to the doctor about it tomorrow and call me. Sometimes he suggests laying off the PT to see if that causes the inflammation to go away, but I don’t know if that will work because lately I’ve been pretty active outside of PT. At PT today, the therapist did ultrasound and some sort of electrical current on the joint. Hopefully that will make the inflammation start to go down. I’ll know by tomorrow, probably. Writing: Mt. Hermon conference starts this Friday! On Thursday night, I’ll be at the Santana Row Borders bookstore to help out (and hopefully learn a bit, too) at a booksigning for several of the ACFW authors who are attending Mt. Hermon . That should be lots of fun. I had a good brainstorming time at ...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Captivating, chapter 3

Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.30.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is CONSIDER LILY by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. My Thursday book giveaway is LOVE ONLINE by Kristin Billerbeck and Nancy Toback . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for CONSIDER LILY and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. Haunted by a Question: Sorry, this is really long again. As before, some things I liked and some questions. Eve—What Happened? The authors say: “[Eve] brought strength to the world, but not a striving, sharp-edged strength. She was inviting, alluring, captivating.” I don’t know if I buy that. I don’t know if I really see how being inviting, alluring, or captivating is a strength. I understand how restfulness (restful inner beauty?) can be a strength, or solidity like a rock. To me, that’s strength. But being alluring? Captivating? Then they talk about “Why do so few wom...

Search This Blog