Uptempo/Fast Female Songs

[ten30band]

That was a funny response! ha. I'm not complaining. I've not had an issues with keys for females. Anyways, your response was funny.

HL
http://www.themcconnellslive.com

[Alison]

Haha - well, thank you. I'll be here all week... HA!

[russhutto]

Women are used to doing it all the time - not being able to sing with the melody because there is a guy worship leader; think about it...you don't change keys when a guy leads, but what about the women in the congregation? They are in the same boat as the women on your team when a guy leads...

I'll have to respectfully disagree here. On the basis of, I think it depends on which music you're singing and who your lead vocalists are. A LOT (and I mean a lot) of music we do is from the Israel/Tomlin/Hillsong vein. ALL of our women can sing it with ease. None of our guys can (well maybe a few).

I've "led" worship for almost 15 years, and I always have to change keys (a step or 2 lower) and I'm a guy.

I think the point is finding a balance though. There is NO GOLDEN RULE that says that every person in every service at every minute should be singing. Sure, we as leaders are out to provide an "environment" of participation and not just spectating*, but, IMO, we as leaders need to be free to be diverse and engaging in our selection. IE: we should not be slecting all of our songs in one range or the other, it should be a living and dynamic selection.

What I mean is that one month you might do a song in one key where a female leads out, the next time you do it you might (gasp) change keys and let a male lead through it. Don't get so stuck in ruts.

Granted, it might mean a little work for the team, but geez, what part of skilled musicians are we missing?

Allison, I agree with your statement more than I disagree, but I don't think it's as simple as just saying "get over it"

I think the key is interchanging songs where female AND male leaders shine, so that female AND male worshipers can follow right along. The simple truth of the matter is, you'll probably always alienate someone's vocal range regardless of key selection. That being the case, we'd do better to approach our selection with a more varied sensitivity.

* spectating (oddly enough is actually a word)

[Alison]

Well, that was a little tongue in cheek...

However, I, too have led worship for over 15 years - going on 20 - and I can only think of a handful of times where women DIDN'T come up to me afterwards and say something to the affect of, "Oh, it was SO nice to actually have songs in my range today!"

And I've done all the Crowder, Tomlin, Redman, Hillsong material myself...

That said, I agree that it's about balance - not so much for the team, but the congregation. Finding keys that are singingable for the masses, not just for the leaders, because they most likely have larger ranges than the majority of those they lead in the first place.

Granted, it might mean a little work for the team, but geez, what part of skilled musicians are we missing?

By the way, I loved that - made me laugh!

[russhutto]

What's funny is we have this kind of "standard" where we say try to fit everything from C to C anything higher gets a bit too high, and anything lower is a bit low...

BUT...have you ever heard most women try and sing anything above an A? It gets a little piercy and is tough.

I would suggest (Congregationally) it might be best to adopt an A to A range...as uncomfortable as that might be for some of our tenor singing brethren...it's actually more realistic as far as comfort goes for the ENTIRE congregation.

That being said, it really sounds funny when a guy tries to sing too low, OR a woman tries to sing too high. So, like Allison said, jump in the middle there.

Or use my method, sing a song for the dudes, and then sing a song for the dudettes. Everyone wins.

[chipshot0701]

Is it bold of me to ask fellow post-ers' for some help? I am looking for the chord arrangement for Nichole Nordeman's Brave. My listening ear isn't as good as it once was and I have a tough time penning out guitar chords lately.
It is an up beat and super female lead song.
Merry Christmas
Chipshot

[fmckinnon]

Hey there,
Not too bold - very appropriate - I asked for help on my blog last week to figuring out the gospel chords to "Joy to the World" by Mariah Carey .. the only thing is ... if someone responds, they should PM you or email .. we can't post the chords here in the forum, as that would be a copyright violation.

Hope you get the help you need - if you don't get an answer, I may try and look at it later this afternoon.

Fred

[chipshot0701]

I'm close but I keep missing something throughout the entire song.
Plus, it sounds like they use a mandolin throughout.
Merry Christmas.
Mike

[christianwalker]

Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong United from the All Of The Above album

[Tabzz]

I know this is ridiculously late but here are a few songs our team uses:

You'll Come by Hillsong - Pretty sure it's in E

Marvelous Light by Christy Nockels (originally by Charlie Hall) - Key of G. Some Say Christy's version has more punch than Charlie's. It's also one of the easiest songs to play in my opinion.

Say So by Israel Houghton - We just leave it in the original key of E. Someone alluded to this earlier in the thread but what I've found with Israel especially is that most of his songs seem to be written primarily for his group of female dominated back-up singers.

Honorable mentions:
If your female vocalists are a little more daring they can try Desert Song by Hillsong. I think it's in D.

What a Savior by Laura Story isn't technically a fast song but I think it can be sped up to at least a strong midtempo. Key of B if I'm not mistaken.

EDIT: By the way if your church leadership is onboard, there's always the option of writing something yourself.