United Through Worship

Dance in Worship – Its Origins and Use in Church

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:13:45 +0000

Dance actually gets a very good press in the scriptures. The inclusion of dance in worship today is nothing new, indeed it is a throw back to times over 2000 or 3000 years ago. In Psalm 149 we read:

Praise him with dancing; Play drums and harps in praise of him.

After the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh’s army, we read a passage usually referred to as “Miriam’s Song”:

The prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took her tambourine, And all the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang for them: “Sing to the Lord, because he has won a glorious victory; he has thrown the horses and their riders into the sea.”

In the famous passage from chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes:

“- a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Dance and music go together. To express ourselves in movement is a very natural human instinct and it has always been thus. In human social life, dance has always played a huge part. Many a successful marriage has begun on the dance-floor of the local palais de danse or at the village Saturday night ‘hop’ in the church hall.

Almost every nation in the world has a culture of folk dancing in one form or another. In England we have the traditions of Morris Dancing and Maypole Dancing which are very ancient traditions coming almost certainly from pagan origins. Other regional forms such as Clog Dancing also have a preserved tradition. There are strong folk dance traditions in the other home countries of Scotland, Ireland and Wales too.

Every generation of popular music brings its own style of dancing enabling people to respond to the music in a physical way rather than by just sitting and listening. It is something which comes naturally to most people. It is only logical to assume that such expression can be used in a worship situation too.

The purpose of dance in worship is to enhance or reinforce the liturgy using movement and gesture to express the thoughts and feelings of all involved. This, of course, echoes the use of worship music which is designed to do exactly that same thing. To add the physical expression of dance to the use of music in worship makes perfect sense. However, dance, like music, must not distract or misdirect the minds of the worshippers but enliven, clarify or lead the message being interpreted.

One word of warning with regard to dance in worship is that the space for performance must be appropriate to the number of dancers and to the choreography. The danger is that a group of dancers who have rehearsed in a large hall where they can leap around and gesture on a large scale, find themselves performing in a tiny area more appropriate for a pas de deux. I mention this because I have seen this problem occur in reality. It does not enhance worship to see a group of dancers colliding with one another, squeezing past one another as they move and whose arm gestures threaten the eyes and teeth of their fellow dancers. As a musician I have often been shoehorned into small performance areas which have been a bit difficult to cope with, but at least I didn’t need to move around. Playing the oboe is usually a sedentary activity.

We are seeing more and more use of dance in worship these days. When used with sensitivity and careful preparation, liturgical dance can add a valuable dimension to worship as it has done for, quite literally, thousands of years.

Copyright (c) 2010 Robert Hinchliffe

Blink 182 Guitar – 7 Tips to Get That Blink 182 Sound on Your Guitar

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:42:01 +0000

Blink 182 has always had a great signature guitar sound thanks to Tom Delonge. His tastes in a guitar sound are really quite simple and don’t require much tampering to achieve it either.

Finding a good sound for yourself can really make the difference between how well you can control your own instrument. Follow these 7 tips to get a distorted guitar sound similar to Blink 182′s Tom Delonge.

1. Play a Fender or other similar mid-tone-dominant guitar.

Tom Delonge is known for playing fender guitars throughout his career. They’re cheap, easy to learn, and provide lots of mid-tone. If you don’t want a fender, other mid-tone dominant guitars can provide a similar punk rock sound.

2. Stay away from high-distortion amplifiers.

Marshall amplifiers have been the masters of distortion for years and almost everyone uses them. However, they provide a little too much distortion for something that Blink 182 would use. Use a mid-level distortion or country-style amplifier like Fender or Mesa Boogie.

3. Don’t use metal-zone or other types of distortion pedals.

Again, too much distortion can ruin a good guitar tone. Metal-zone pedals provide lots of white noise and aren’t suitable for those clean tones that Tom Delonge creates in each Blink 182 song.

4. Keep your guitar effects to a minimum.

Blink 182 doesn’t use a lot of effects on their guitars, yet. If you want to play by the book, turn down your reverbs and put away your delays. All you’ll need is your simple tone of a guitar and amplifier.

5. Don’t “scoop the levels” on the amplifier.

“Scooping the levels” on your amplifier means you’re boosting the high and low ends while pulling the mid-range way down. This is never a good thing to do. With experience, you’ll begin to realize how important it is to keep everything relatively close.

6. Use an adequate amount of mid-range on your amplifier.

Tom Delonge’s guitar tone is very mid-range based. His amplifier doesn’t have much high-end and his guitar isn’t a metal axe of any kind either. Use that mid-range knob to boost your tone into a more punk feel.

7. Use a high-compression pedal.

Have you noticed how much awesome attack that Delonge gets on his strumming when Blink 182 plays live? That’s probably due to a compression pedal. A nice compression pedal can really kick the power of your guitar up a couple notches.

Finding a well-rounded guitar tone is difficult to do. Blink 182 has a very nice balance between a clean and distorted tone to give just enough edge to their songs. Put these tips into effect and make sure to use your own personal touch on the mix.

The Greatest Asset You Can Have As a Worship Leader – Do You Have It?

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:15:55 +0000

We all go to church and sometimes see big churches and hear the great worship leaders. But what is the quality that decides what makes a good worship leader… the quality cannot fake till you make it! Read on.

The first time I saw a very big presence of God drop in a church was not in Australia’s Hillsong church who have created many contemporary worship songs. No it was in a little church of 15 people in Ipswich in Queensland Australia, and the worship leader was a girlfriend of one of my friends.

The presence of God was thick and palatable and I had no idea where or why it came and it made me seek Jesus for the answer. I asked Jesus why?

He said, “It is not the quality of the voice that worships me, it is the heart for the person that sings and how much that they adore me.”

One day in conversation with a worshiper in Melbourne over the phone she was complaining that she did not have as good of voice as the others. The Holy Spirit prompted me to have her ask the Father God, what sort of voice that King David the author of the psalms had.

Her response was that the Father had told her that King David had a rough voice that was out of key!

I heard of a man that had many visions of heaven and he wrote a book with many of his visions. I am happy that book confirmed four of my visions with him being shown the same things as me. He confirmed when he met David, that even in heaven David’s worship voice was a rough voice.

You see, it is the same God we serve that picked David above all his brothers to be King of Israel. The Father told Samuel that he does not look at outward appearance that men look at, but he looks at the heart of a man.

Since the time I met my friend’s girlfriend I have met two worship leaders that brought a thick anointing. Both of them have a deep and intimate relationship with the Father.

Be Blessed