TWC Songwriters: June Songwriting Challenge

[russhutto]

In the last few months I've been blown away by your contributions to the songwriting challenges. We have seasoned songwriters contributing and songwriting newbies contributing! And it's so wonderful to see everyone pitching in and giving helpful feedback and collaboration.

For the month of June I'd like to challenge us to write songs based on:
Psalm 25

As you write keep in mind the goal of this exercise is to stretch yourself as a writer (NOT TO WRITE A HIT WORSHIP SONG). * But see #2. The overarching goal of these exercises is to craft songs that can be used in a corporate worship setting so ask God to give you songs for "each other."

Pray about, ponder over and take to heart what God speaks to you through this passage of Scripture. Engage one another and feel the freedom to bounce ideas off of one another.

Song Guidelines:

1) You can use ANY part of Psalm 25 (just remember to list the verse references you use specifically). You can also use other scriptures that reinforce the themes in Psalm 25 but keep the central focus in Psalm 25.
2) Your song can be of ANY variety, though I'd like to focus on writing songs for use in a corporate setting - so keep in mind singability, catchiness, hook, wordiness...
3) Record your song by whatever means you have available to you. Some just sing directly into my laptop mic with a guitar, others do differently, but no fancy recording is necessary.
4) Share your song thread (and appropriate links, lyrics, charts, etc) on this thread. PLEASE USE SOUNDCLOUD.COM TO SHARE YOUR MUSIC (If you don't mind).
5) We'll ALL listen, offer feedback and help make this song usable.
6) We'll all pick a song by ANOTHER user and try and incorporate it into a worship gathering (if possible). Please go back into the previous songs (labeled TWCSW) and try and incorporate one of them into your worship sets this month also make sure the author(s) knows!!

A great option as well: Kompoz.com is a great site for collaboration. We have a TWC Songwriter's group there. If you'd like to post tracks for collaboration, that's where we do it! If you need help with instrumentation we have several members who are pitching in and adding full-band instrumentation for those members who don't have the capability.

Visit this thread to get the basics on how to use Kompoz.com.

There is no deadline, but try and get your songs up by mid June so we can offer feedback and help you craft the greatest song ever!! That being said continue to work on your songs from previous months if you need to and continue to post revisions of them!

Happy Writing!

If you want to submit a song go ahead and let us know in THIS THREAD but link to a separate thread specifically FOR YOUR SONG.

Label it: TWCSW June - Name of Song

(TWCSW = The Worship Community Songwriters)

That way we can keep track of individual songs, and those who have committed to being a part of this assignment, can add feedback as well.

Join the TWC SONGWRITERS GROUP if you want to participate!

BONUS ASSIGNMENT FOR JUNE:
Pick a song that you've already written and do a total re-write. You might think it's already as good as it's going to be, and that might be right, but this is all about stretching your skills! So, choose a song (you might need to dive back into that Scripture passage again) and rewrite it!

Label bonus assignment threads: TWCSW BONUS JUNE - Name of Song

In your thread: Copy and paste (and fill out this info) at the start of your thread:

Name of first song:
First song key:
First song theme(s):
First song thoughts:

Name of re-write:
Re-write key:
Re-write theme(s):
Re-write thoughts:

Then share you song and the experience in re-writing. Was it tough? Easy? Did you collab? Etc.

Post a link to your BONUS songs in this thread as well (TWCSW JUNE).

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

This is month 5 of the songwriting challenge.The following paragraph is copied from the challenge page:

6) We'll all pick a song by ANOTHER user and try and incorporate it into a worship gathering (if possible). Please go back into the previous songs (labeled TWCSW) and try and incorporate one of them into your worship sets this month also make sure the author(s) knows!!

I wonder, has anyone used any of these songs that have been written in the past 4 months in their worship services? (I know some have used their own songs.) I check the Sunday setlists each week, and have seen none of these songs used by any church that posts there, other than the ones they wrote themselves.

I know that the primary purpose of the challenge is to get us writing, and thus improve our skills, but it would be very heartening to learn that some of the songs we write are actually being used.

(I'm not leading worship right now, so I'm not in a position to utilize these songs.)

Just something to mull over....
Tom

[eddymann]

Hi Tom,

I'll actually be playing a couple of mine and one of ours this Saturday night. I'll follow up with a recap and hopefully a video or recording.

[russhutto]

Definitely, Tom.

I'm so thrilled that more and more of us are writing and contributing. But I would be even MORE thrilled to see some of you using another TWCer's songs.

Therein lies the challenge! Let's keep getting better and better so that our songs are worthy of being used (not that they're not right now, but you know what I mean)!

[WorshipVanguard]

Like Tom, I'm not leading so I'm in no position to use other TWCer's songs. I can make song suggestions, but my worship leader already gets tons of requests. Out of respect for him, I really don't want to add to the list.

I know we have a lot of worship leaders in the WC, but I curiously would like to know what percentage of your team is part of the WC. Do you make song choices as a team, or does the worship leader have sole propriety of song choices? Again, just curious.

[InHisName]

Hello! I read carefully the guidelines and I hope I'm doing this right. Is this a thread? I know I'm replying to a thread, but is this where I put a link to my song? "Newbie" definitely hits the nail on the head.
Anyway, here's my song...I realize it's not very congregational-worship friendly but it's what God gave me. I might do a rewrite of this for easier singing/learning later on.

InHisName - Tracks - SoundCloud

Lyrics are on Soundcloud

Verse chords:
Am F Am C
Am F Em
Am F C G
F G Am

Chorus:
Em G Am
"
"
Am G Am

Bridge:
C G Dm
C G Dm
C G Dm G
F/A Am G

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

Kim, on the Song Center-Share Originals, Collaborate page, just above the first post, on the left, there is a box that says "New Thread." That is where you need to post your song, according to the guidelines on the June challenge page.
Tom