THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED
An article in the Sydney Anglican newspaper Southern Cross under the above heading caught my eye. It described a survey that they had done across the Sydney Diocese and it revealed the "appalling dearth of musical resources hampering ministry at many Sydney Anglican churches'.
It went on saying " 'the majority of churches were not able to field a band and were relying on just a handful of musicians'. Some only had a single musician and there were a number who have to rely on Christian music CD's or backing tracks because they have no musicians at all.
In the last 10 years or so, my wife Wendy and I, with nearly 40 years involvement in Christian music, have noticed that, more and more young and not so young players of transposing* instruments ( that is trumpets, saxes, clarinets etc) have stopped taking part in church services. They have not dropped out of church but just disappeared from the music teams of all the congregations in our church. The article by Southern Cross demonstrated to me that this was not just a local Springwood phenomenon but a widespread problem.
Southern Cross posed the question, "WHY IS THIS SO?' " and I began pondering this question because it is true. I had some "theories' as to why this might be so. These thoughts focus around a ministry of discouragement which happens in many churches and in church music generally.
What I have tried to do below is to outline these "theories' as I see them " obviously the whole topic of church music is a complex topic, in fact it can be a minefield. Music touches everyone, everyone has their likes and dislikes in church music and I cannot hope to cover all the possible factors involved in the development of the present situation.
However I would like to throw into the arena for discussion, my thoughts, [as a church musician who plays an instrument other than a keyboard or a guitar,] as to why I think we have this problem in our churches in the Sydney Diocese. I suspect it is not only our diocese and it is not only our denomination who have this problem of lack of musicians.
BUT FIRST YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT"
NOT ALL INSTRUMENTS ARE CREATED EQUAL!
Before we discuss the possible reasons for the decline in musician numbers and before you can appreciate the problem facing musicians who might be available to congregations, you need to understand that not all instruments were created equal.
What I mean is that, for some strange reason, known only to musicologists and physicists, when instruments were developed, they didn't all end up playing in the same key. That is, if a piano plays C and a trumpet plays C and a French horn plays C and an Alto Sax plays C they are all playing different notes. Yes, it is crazy.
Instruments fall into different categories based on their respective keys, so you have:
"¢ "C' Instruments such as the piano and organ, guitars, bass guitars, flutes and oboes, violins, violas, cellos and double basses, trombone and various other instruments. When they play the note C, all these instruments play C.
"¢ "B flat' Instruments are so-called because to tune with an orchestra or piano, the C instrument plays the note B flat and the B flat instrument plays the note C (ie 2 semi-tones higher). Confusing isn't it? The instruments in this category include the "brass': trumpet, cornet, flugel horn, some trombones, and some other brass band instruments; and the woodwinds: clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax.
In othe words, when the C instruments play the note C, these B flat instruments must play up the scale 2 semi-tones so they will play D. Now you are really confused but stick with it " the table below will help you to see what we musicians struggle with in all those theory exams. [I often used to wonder why somebody didn't make it simpler in about the 17th century.]
"¢ Similarly "E Flat' instruments, like alto saxes and a few other instruments, are playing C when the piano is playing E Flat. That's how they got that name. But to apply that to our example here, when the C instruments play C, the E flat instruments play A. [Man, I too am confused and I have been a musician for a long time. It was helpful for me to actually work out the table below but I needed a friend with better theory to check that I had all the sharps and flats right. And those in the know will recognize that I have left out certain keys where one key, e.g. D sharp, can be written as a sharp key or as E flat which is the same sound but written in flats. But hey, it's getting too complicated so trust me or talk to a musician friend " ]
"¢ Finally, the French Horn is an "F' instrument! so work that one out for yourself.
WHY DO MUSICIANS DROP OUT OF CHURCH MUSIC?
COULD IT BE THE MANY FORMS OF " THE MINISTRY OF "DISCOURAGEMENT'
People generally stop doing something when they get discouraged. Everyone needs encouragement and discouragement can come to musicians from a number of quarters.
1. The Temperament of musicians:
Creative people often need to be reassured that what they are doing is worth doing, that it is appreciated, that they aren't being taken for granted. Now we all know that we are doing this ministry as to the Lord but unless there is some encouragement by leaders and congregation people just drop out. A phone call from the leader, a greeting from the Pastor before the service "Everything all right guys. Thanks so much for what you do " it is really appreciated etc etc" is really appreciated by the musicians, especially if the Pastor greets and makes eye contact especially with the younger ones. Everyone likes to be noticed and appreciated.
2. The Congregation that they are playing and singing to:
Musicians and singers who minister at Katoomba Men's Convention invariably say how they are blown away with encouragement when they look out at 3000 men singing their hearts out. But take them back into their home congregations and if they are looking out onto a group of people who look like they are at a funeral, it is very discouraging. Some singers have felt like shaking members in the congregation to see if they are still alive. And this is worshipping the Lord. And the music is good. But sections of the congregation or the whole lot just aren't there with them. Or they come in late and talk amongst themselves or they have to go for toilet breaks right in the middle of an item or song.
3. Musicians not wanted.
Musicians are told bluntly or obliquely they are not wanted. Sometimes this is because it seems they don't fit the "style' wanted. Or they don't have the level of proficiency to produce a professional sound. Or there is already someone playing that particular instrument.
Example 1. I talked to a friend today who is part of the music team of a lively growing church (I won't say which denomination) and asked if her husband, a trumpet player, still played in church. No, she replied bluntly, they don't want him in the rock band. Why not? It's too hard " too much work to fit him in.
Example 2. A middle aged pianist was told by a young member of the music team while the minister was away, that her style of playing didn't fit. Some months later she left the church.
Example 3. A music leader in a family congregation was teaching a new song of a contemporary nature. An older member stood during the teaching with her fingers in her ears.
Example 4. A trumpeter playing at an 8am service with the hymns was told afterward that people had left the service and gone home because he had ruined the organ accompaniment. (Other members had been complimentary too.)
Example 5. A music leader in another denomination saw a woman pull out and wear safety earmuffs during the singing.
4. The musicians who play B flat and E flat instruments get discouraged by " THE MUSIC.
If you don't understand the following you will never understand why support instrument players ie B flat and E flat instruments drop out of playing in churches.
Let me explain from a trumpet player's point of view. The trumpet and all B flat and E flat instruments are called "transposing instruments'. That means when I get to church to rehearse, the music leader gives me the piano music. Now, as I said above, trumpets and pianos don't play the same note when they play the same note eg the note C. If the piano music has C, I must read that note as D ie one tone or 2 semi-tones up all the way through the music.
That is called "transposing'. And it is not easy " it takes years of practice to perfect so that when the music is put up in front of you, you can play it straight off without many mistakes. There are two young trumpet players who play at church. They can play reasonably but are inexperienced.
They can't transpose. What do you do with them?
Christian music is virtually the only music where if you get a group together you give these transposing players the wrong music or no music at all and expect them to keep up and play parts and sound good with as little as 30 minutes rehearsal before a service.
a) The Composer and how he can contribute to the "Ministry of Discouragement' and Musician Loss.
Picture the scene. A keen young Christian musician is trying to write a song. If he/she plays the piano then they will fiddle with chords and chord structure on the piano. It is easier to play with fewer black notes, so they might easily fall into the easier piano keys- ie C, F, G, B flat, maybe D, but generally they would pick what is the easiest to get their fingers around and the pitch that suits the voice they have (girls having higher voices therefore will pick a different key). [Have you noticed how the old hymns are really hard for men to sing? They are pitched too high and need to be lowered to enable men to sing more comfortably.] But the pitch is really important to how a song or hymn goes in church, i.e. how sing-able it is.
Since the 50's and 60's, with the rise in popularity of the guitar, there are a lot of muso's out there strumming away in their bedrooms in their favourite keys, and when they write a song it is probably going to be in C, G, D, E or A. Why? These are the first chords you learn on guitar because they are the easiest. F, though an easy key ie one flat, is harder to get your fingers around because you need to play "bar' chords. These chords are played with the index finger of the left hand laid across all 6 strings then the other fingers play the chord. As the index finger or "bar' moves up the neck of the guitar it changes the chord and gives a much wider range of chords. Usually bar chords for young musicians come later because it is harder to configure your fingers round them.
Back to the guitarist composing a song. They pick the chords and the key which suit them, their fingers and their voice. Now around those keys are other keys, just a semi-tone away which would suit their vocal range but they are harder to play because they are bar chords. There is a gadget called a capo which So they use what comes easiest. It's natural. Why not? They may not think at the time they have a Christian classic (if they are composing for the first time); but they play it at church and people like it so it becomes a "regular'. Visitors hear it or buy the CD which by now he/she has made, and it is off into the Christian marketplace. The next thing you know the sheet music is out and it is entrenched in people's repertoire as a D, E and A song.
RULE OF THUMB: Guitarists and other stringed instruments find keys with flats harder to play "
and transposing instruments in Bb or Eb find sharps harder to play.
And you can compose a brilliant song with just 5 chords. "The Power of your Love' is a great example. A great song in a playable key. That's the key " the key. You can have a great tune in a bad key and musicians have trouble playing it and come to hate it even though it is a great tune. The example here that comes straight to mind is the new tune for "Rock of Ages'. (Sorry Ruth, not trying to be nasty but why did you pick this key?)
Written in B ie 5 sharps " which even for keyboards is a hard key. But for the transposing instruments playing off piano parts it is impossible for the beginner and unpleasant for the experienced player who can improvise or transpose (this will be explained soon- perservere.) And it could so easily have been written down one semi-tone in B flat (see chart below) or up one semi-tone in C and everyone would have been happy.
Let me say that as an experienced trumpeter who improvises and doesn't need music (because I can play by ear), when you are trying to play by ear to a key with 7 or 8 sharps it reduces your facility to the point of playing like a beginner because it messes up your ability to hear the pitch of the note and it makes the fingering of the piece on the trumpet really difficult.
But if you are a beginner or a musician who can't play by ear, you have to learn how to transpose piano music. This means you either have to write out the melody 2 semi-tones above the melody line in the music (some enhanced CD's oe music programs do this for you) but more likely with young or busy players they arrive at rehearsal before a service and are given the piano part and are expected to transpose it on the spot - a technique that takes years to perfect and often doesn't get achieved. If every song at church was in "B'. I too would drop out of the music team too! I feel very strongly about this. Sorry.
You can see in the table below the problem created for transposing instruments when the songs are written by guitarists.
The End Point of the Ministry of Discouragement: THE D.E.A.T.H. OF MUSICAL INTEREST AT CHURCH
What does that do to the young transposing musician who just got a trumpet or a sax from the school band but is keen to play at church? It precludes him from playing because the transposed key is too difficult. You can't play the music unless Mum or Dad or the Music leader spends a lot of time transposing each song they are doing in the service this Sunday. The parent or music leader might be keen for the young player to play but with busyness all around, there isn't really time to do all the transpositions.
During a recent church service at Springwood, 5 songs were played. For the Bb instruments there was a total of 33 sharps " and if we had an alto sax, it would have been 38 sharps. This is too difficult, and as I said above, what do the younger players do?" They get discouraged and drop out. They don't know it, but their interest has been killed by the key. To D.E.A. has been added T.H. (too hard)
MUSICAL SOUP
When these young muso's play in the school band or local amateur orchestra they have charts to play. If they practice they can improve and the band sounds better. In Christian music it is often "make it up on the spot as we only have piano parts' plus there is often not much time to prepare before a service. And when you have several musicians, good or bad, doing their own thing what you have is "soup'.
b) The lack of music parts ( or charts) is the second major discouragement to musicians contributing
There is hardly any Christian, user-friendly music available with transposed parts for instruments other than pianos and guitars. This includes all the excellent Christian music that has been written in Australia over the past 15 years or so. Songs sung regularly in churches only have the piano part or a chord chart for guitars. In some cases church music producers provide an enhanced CD where you can transpose the melody line. However this really doesn't address the problem as you can't have all instruments in church band playing the melody as the sound will be "muddy'.
MENTOR AS ANYTHING!
We experienced musicians need to be mentoring younger musicians. I think that it is fair to say that the strength of the music in our night service started around 15 years ago when my wife Wendy started encouraging young musicians who were just beginners and very nervous. She rehearsed with them, she spent time with them, she phoned them, wrote out simple parts, whispered encouragement in their ears and many of those muso's, now adults, are still using their skills, now developed, in churches across Sydney and perhaps further afield. The players are out there. They may be young, they may be middle-aged, they may be elderly but with some creative mentoring they will play for services if they had the chance and " if they had some music.
RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL "
The only parts available are what is in the piano music.
What are the musicians meant to play? They have to make up their own parts each time. This might be reasonably easy if you have competent musicians but what if a church only has beginners? What do they do? The leader has to "re-invent the wheel' each time you play that song working out who will play what in which verse.
So if a church discovers that they have strings, woodwinds or brass, and they want them to be playing in their services, the music leader has to work out an arrangement utilizing the musicians who are available " every time it's played! This is not really a satisfactory situation, especially considering the multiplication of congregations occurring because of the Mission. Music resources are being spread far too thinly.
IT'S A REALLY DIFFICULT PROBLEM " DOING ARRANGEMENTS
This problem of no music arrangements is made even more complicated because the potential arranger is not working with an orchestra or a big band where there are specific numbers of instruments in the various strings, woodwind, brass, rhythm and percussion sections. As the Southern Cross survey discovered, there is a big problem with the distribution of musicians between congregations. For instance the night service may have a glut of musicians amongst the young people because the local schools have good music programs whereas the morning service might have a bassoon, guitar and a flute. What do you do then?
THE WAY FORWARD
However there are some things which could help arrest the decline in musician numbers.
1. All Christian composers should try to compose "Christianly': Christianly' Composers should consider the other members of the music teams) and present their music to the church music scene in a form that enables all instruments to worship God (eg as in Psalm 150).
2. Where are the "Lone Arrangers'? " . There must be some musos out there who have done simple, intermediate and advanced arrangements that could be used by musicians of all instruments and of differing standards of ability in our churches (and conventions) to the glory of God and for the building up of His Church. Is there not a way these arrangements can be pooled and shared amongst our churches?
Could we not get a Southern Cross Music Arrangement Shareware website going that people could contribute their efforts at arrangements and PLEASE WAIVE THE COPYRIGHT OR MAKE IT SIMPLE TO SHARE.
3. Music Leaders are hard to find " if you have a good one don't let them go. Encourage them " don't be a discourager who goes up after a service and points out what you don't like. If they leave it's not easy to replace them.
4. Musicians are in your congregations" you just have to find them and encourage them.
5. Organise a Saturday morning to have a team meeting and encouragement time " listen to new Christian songs, listen to the way others are doing new versions of old hymns.
6. Look out for members of your congregations who play in school bands or amateur orchestras.
7. Don't crowd your music practices between services if at all possible. Muso's need time to hang out and fool around to get creative things going.
8. Give the young ones a go once or twice a month " they need to play alongside more experienced players where they can "hide' if they make mistakes. If there are no experienced players congregations be gracious and overlook the mistakes and compliment anyway you can.
Graham Toulmin has played trumpet, flugel horn and cornet for 50 years. He has played and recorded in various bands, brass, swing, jazz and Christian, amateur orchestras and church orchestra's including the All Souls Orchestra London, under the leadership of Noel Tredinnick. He and his wife, Wendy, returned from All Souls in 1978 and formed the Epping Combined Christian Orchestra which Wendy conducted. They did the first Prom Praise's in Australia in the early 80's after experiencing them at All Souls. He has spent many years involved in the musical program at Katoomba Christian Conventions and is part of the music team at Springwood Anglican Church. He and his wife Wendy have produced and sold 20,000 CD's over the past 15 years to raise money for the Democratic Republic of Congo through "Brass For Africa' as well as raising money for other projects closer to home, including the Sydney Missionary and Bible College Library.
