WorshipCentral

Writing Worship Songs - Martyn Layzell

Leonard Cohen, a famous composer and poet once said, “If I knew where all the good songs were, I’d go there more often”! As with most things in life these days we’re often looking for a “quick fix” solution with a cheap price tag. In the realm of song writing this will just never happen. Unfortunately good songs cannot be bought on ebay. They have to be born in a place of revelation, overflow and real life. The biggest thing I have learnt over the last couple of years in the area of song writing is that one must carve out time and space for creativity. For most of us, and perhaps all of us this doesn’t come without a cost.

Recently I heard someone describing songwriters as ‘architects’. As writers we need to have a ‘big idea’ or a ‘theme’ that is worth working on. Often however we try and skip this architectural/planning stage and plunge straight in to building. If this was the method for structural buildings, most constructions would be lopsided, unfinished and without foundations. This is often the case for most of our songs! Strive to be a craftsman not a DIY enthusiast. Think before you start. What has God been saying to you recently? What has struck you from His word? What is he doing in your own life? What is God saying to your church? Have someone in mind when you’re writing a song. Who will want to sing it when it is finished? What type of structure of song will best marry melody with lyrics? Don’t just steam in with a bulldozer (or a plectrum). Sometimes it can even be helpful to leave your instrument aside to save you going down the same ‘chord rat runs’ and rhythms.

The structure of a song is very important and is the skeleton that holds the different parts of the music together. It gives the song shape and order. Most modern songs are constructed on simple variations of a verse followed by a chorus, followed by another verse, followed by another chorus and so on. For example,

Intro
Verse 1
Chorus 1
Verse 2
Chorus 2
Middle 8
Verse 3
Chorus 3
Chorus 4
Ending

An example of this would be “Beautiful One”.

One of the useful things about this song structure is that you get a natural sense of light and shade between verses and choruses. Verses tend to be quieter than choruses, which are often quite musically intense. This can be a great structure for anthems or high praise.

Other songs such as “Lost in Wonder” might incorporate a pre chorus into this progression acting like a gun that fires off the chorus. Sometimes this can ‘set up’ the chorus and help us ‘lift off’, giving us more time to build tension and reinforce the theme of the verses:

And though your soul was overwhelmed with pain,
Obedient to death you overcame…I’m lost in wonder

or

The sorrow that surrounded you was mine,
Yet not my will but yours be done you cried… I’m lost in wonder

Some songs have no distinct choruses or verses at all. For example, 'Come now is the time to worship' by Brian Doerkson which follows a quite different structure, consisting of two musically distinct sections:

A section:
Come now is the time to worship
Come now is the time to give your heart of worship
Come just as you are to worship
Come just as you are before your God

B section:
One day every tongue will confess you are God
One day every knee will bow
Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose you now

Other examples of songs with this structure might be “Salvation spring up from the ground” Charlie Hall or “I lift you high (You must increase)” Matt Redman

An unstructured song will be messy, difficult to listen to and impossible to remember, so try listening to one of your favourite songs, mapping out its structure and using it as the skeleton for a new song.

Returning to the issue of “Big Ideas” or themes it’s important that we put ourselves in a good position to get inspiration. What comes in must go out and this flow is characteristic of “life”. A stagnant body of water has no ‘flow’, but a river with an inlet and an outlet breads life and vitality. Once we get that seed of original inspiration it’s important that we chase it with our craft. Like a jeweller, we have to set up the theme (diamond) on an appropriate and equally precious setting (band). These components have a distinctive function but both contribute to the overall finish of the song. A Diamond set on paper clip twisted round your finger is not quite the same as a perfectly made platinum ring!

When writing your own songs, make sure that your verses draw the listener into your song, define who is talking, where the situation or story is taking place and give some idea of where you are going with your song. Making sure that you stay true to your original idea is very important. Often the strongest songs have one universal theme that grows with every line climaxing in the chorus

Martyn Layzell

Martyn Layzell is the Worship Pastor at St. Aldates, Oxford. He has written many wonderful songs including, ‘Lost in Wonder,’ and ‘Sovereign Lord.’ He is married to Emily and they have 2 sons Jack and Harry.