Articles
Choosing Songs Of Worship: Word Salad or Holy Dialogue?
Posted on April 9, 2021
If you hadn't noticed it already, our Western culture has really shaped us for living for the moment. We live from event to event in an attempt to bring either excitement, pleasure, or even meaning to our lives. We make "bucket lists" of things to experience before we "kick the bucket." An insightful philosopher (Garth from Wayne's World) exhorted us to "live in the now." Robyn Williams, in Dead Poet's Society, told us to Carpe Deum (seize the day). Even (way back in the 1980s) Loverboy expressed the goal of a generation that Everybody's Working For The Weekend. All of this largely comes out of a worldview that is very existential. We are born. We live. We die. We need to get on with making the most of that window, shouldn't we more
Worship, Rinse, Repeat: Dispelling the Myth about Mindless Ritual
Posted on March 22, 2021
One of the advantages of being around a long time is that you get to see life across a bigger sample size. Cross-cultural travel and study help too, but sometimes it's helpful to examine one's own experiences to see if what we say as common sayings bear out any truth. One of those sayings associated with people in free-church or Evangelical faith is "empty ritual" - a holdover from the Reformation's reaction to the Roman Catholic ritualization of faith. Anything that smacked of repetitiveness was surely a sign that it was man's vain attempt at works righteousness in earning God's favor ... more
Have You Walked Alone? A Devotional based on Battle Belongs
Posted on February 13, 2021
Ever faced a vast army? Have you walked alone down your driveway to see an angry mob glaring back at you waiting for you to cross the residential boundary line so they could attack? Would you turn around and run back inside? The story in 2 Chronicles describes a vignette like this and is the inspiration behind the song "Battle Belongs." The people of God find themselves facing a war they cannot win without help ... more
When The Road Becomes Rocky - A Devotional based on The Blessing
Posted on February 13, 2021
I remember when the worship team first introduced the new song The Blessing. It was one of the last in-person weekend services before the first wave of COVID hit our area. As these powerful words reached our hearts, the Spirit moved profoundly through our auditorium. One by one, people stepped to the front of the church, hands raised, hearts opened to receive the gift in the blessing. The echo of this melody prepared our hearts for what was coming. We didn't know how much we needed to hear this. The timely reminder that His presence surrounds us; how He hems us in both behind and beside. While our world waged war with the invisible threat, The Blessing reminded us that through every hour of every day, our Father's face turns towards us ... more
Can You Hear Him Calling? A Devotional based on Graves Into Gardens
Posted on February 13, 2021
Not sure if you have been there before. The sweet moments of intimacy with Jesus where you know His closeness, are moved by His word and experience the fullness of His spirit. Walking into Sunday services being so close, feet hardly touching the ground as you walk to the stage, grab your music...plug in your instrument. Those are tender, meaningful times of worship; sweet moments of connection with a deep sense of purpose. You hear Him call your name on that mountaintop knowing that He is pleased with you ... more
September in Review
Posted on September 29, 2020
September has come and gone, and we are left with a world filled with new music. Among all the amazing albums, singles and EPs released this month there are three worship songs that stand out among the rest, here is September in review.
How To Match Your Vocal Range To Any Song With The Key Finder
Posted on March 28, 2020
Do you ever feel flustered, wondering what key you should sing a song in so that it matches your own personal vocal range? Every song has its own unique vocal range, and most of the time, the key of the original recording is not going to be a good fit for your own vocal range. You can see that at PraiseCharts, we create many custom key options for all the popular songs, but how do you know which key to choose? That is exactly why we built the Key Finder! It is free to use and incredibly practical. You can watch a full video demonstrating how it works by reading our blog, How To Use The New Key Finder ... more
Values and Practical Ideas For Leading Online Worship Services
Posted on March 21, 2020
These are both challenging and exciting times for the church! Every new movement in the history of the church has been accompanied by new music and new methods while the message never changes. During this Worldwide Pandemic, Worship Leaders have been given a great opportunity to incorporate new methods to communicate the unchanging message of the good news of Jesus Christ. You are a history maker!
Eleven Modern Worship Songs For A World In Chaos
Posted on March 15, 2020
COVID-19 has sent our world into a tailspin. It's a global crisis, for sure, but the effects are also very personal. Social distancing has become the new buzz word of our day. How can we survive this? We need each other. In all the seasons of life, this is a time for worship leaders to stand strong. We need you to bring us songs of hope, comfort, perspective, and truth. Songs put words of truth on the crest of melodic waves, triggering emotion and piercing our hearts. Music matters. Worship music matters even more. Authentic worship leaders, this is your time. We need you. Somewhat oblivious to the virus, we have seen a host of incredibly powerful worship songs rising to the surface in churches all around the world. During good times, these songs are lovely to sing together. During times of chaos, these songs take on new meaning as a lifeline to calm anxiety and help us fix our eyes on things that are true. Here is a list of eleven modern worship songs that can truly minister to you and the people you lead in this time of chaos and uncertainty.
Exclusive Pre-release: Christ Our Hope In Life And Death (Getty Music)
Featuring Getty Music Posted on March 12, 2020
We are excited to partner with Getty Music to give you, our PraiseCharts customers, exclusive pre-release access to one of the most anticipated new modern hymns of the decade. For a limited time, you can download the chord chart, choir sheet, and MP3 audio of Christ Our Hope In Life And Death for free -- only from PraiseCharts! We hope this song will be a huge blessing to your church and worship ministry. Don't forget to Pre-save the song on Spotify!
Song Story
What is your only comfort in life and in death? For centuries, believers have learned the Christian faith beginning with that question. It’s the first article in the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563. Why start there? Because death is our common fate. Unless Jesus returns first, we will all die. To find comfort in life, we must know how we can face death. Hope comes only in trusting the one who died to take the curse of death and who crushed the power of death by His resurrection. “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor 15:20). That is the only statement that can transform how we live each day and how we prepare for our earthly life to end.
The hope of the resurrection spurs us to sing. That’s why a group of songwriters from Getty Music wrote the modern hymn “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.” Like the Heidelberg Catechism that inspired it, this song is honest about death. There is no need to shrink back from mentioning death in our hymns because we know the Living One who has conquered death forever. The Christian can sing hallelujah because Christ assures us of our glorious future. Now and ever, we confess: “I am not my own, but belong—body and soul in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hear from Ryan Dahl in the Worship Leader Collective (WLCO) Podcast
Posted on February 10, 2020
Listen in to the latest episode of the Worship Leader Collective Podcast where host Jenni McGrew talks to Ryan Dahl (founder of PraiseCharts) about the heart behind PraiseCharts, and stories about where PraiseCharts is heading in the future. While you are at it, check out the previous episode featuring our good friend, Paul Baloche. Fun fact ... Ryan and Jenni are both going to be at the Worship Innovators Conference in Chicago, IL on June 8-9, 2020. If you want to join us, register soon www.worshipinnovators.com before it's full! ** Use promo code "PRAISECHARTS" to save $50 on your registration.
Top Worship Songs Of The 2010s - A Decade In Review
Posted on January 5, 2020
What an incredible decade the 2010s have been for modern worship songwriting. We have seen the rise of some amazing songs from world-class recording artists like Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United, Bethel Music, Lauren Daigle, and more. I am a huge fan of worship music. As we close out the second decade of the 21st century, I've put together a series of posts that will take you on a tour through the top worship songs during each of the last ten years. You can easily click through each year and take a journey down memory lane, reviewing some of the greatest worship songs that have been written in the last decade.
Taking Chord Charts To The Next Level In 2020
Posted on December 28, 2019
If there is one thing I can't stand, it is a poorly written chord chart. Wrong lyrics, wrong chords, spelling mistakes, misplaced chords, unclear rhythms, missing lyrics... the list goes on. I am a self-proclaimed chord chart fanatic. To me, there is an art to representing a song on a page with chords and lyrics in a way that is clear and memorable. A few weeks ago, I decided I was going to methodically go through all of our top selling chord charts and edit them to perfection. Perfect spelling, perfect chords, perfect phrasing, perfect line-breaking, perfect timing, and a perfect match to our corresponding lead sheets. Why should you have to waste your time at band practice with a bad chord chart? If you are interested, I'm going to take you on a back-stage tour of PraiseCharts -- to places that no one else has permission to access. Then, I'll show you some hidden features on the front-end of PraiseCharts that will unlock your hidden chord chart superpowers. Get ready to take it to the next level in 2020.
FinaleMusic Features PraiseCharts Lead Orchestrator, Dan Galbraith
Posted on February 4, 2019
We create a lot of different kinds of charts, but the crowning jewel of PraiseCharts is our modern worship orchestrations, uniquely designed for weekly congregational worship. Over the years, Dan Galbraith has penned more than 1500 full orchestrations for PraiseCharts. Along the way, he has attracted quite a following of music ministers who have come to trust his keen understanding of worship, music, and all the musicians that make up today's modern orchestra. Behind all the PDF's, Dan has literally become a master of one of the premier software platforms for arranging and transcribing: Finale. Recently, FinaleMusic interviewed Dan Galbraith, and have now posted a full story in their blog, highlighting Dan's journey as an arranger. Take a moment to peal back the curtain and get a behind-the-scenes look at the man who leads our network of arrangers at PraiseCharts. Read the full story at www.finalemusic.com/blog.
On Epiphany: The Manifestation
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on December 29, 2017
“How does the church express the spirituality of being with Christ in his incarnation, manifestation to the world, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again? How can we as members of the church participate in a present spirituality that is rooted in past events and anticipates a future event? The answer to this question is that we are shaped and formed spiritually by Christ in the church through a worship that continually orders the pattern of our spirituality into a remembrance of God’s saving deeds and the anticipation of the rule of God over all creation.
The Doxology by Dan Wilt
Posted on October 3, 2017
It is a crisp, Autumn morning in the year 1674. An 18-year old student at Winchester College, with the rolling countryside of county Hampshire and the great Winchester Cathedral whispering to him from his window, is preparing for his day. An open pamphlet on his desk, and the words of a Morning Hymn on his lips, the devout, singing student commits his day to his Lord. Unknown to him, the last of the 14 stanzas of that hymn will go on to become, very possibly, the most-sung hymn in all of history.
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Using Pad Tracks to Create Soundscapes
Posted on July 21, 2017
One of the many ways to use our Pad Tracks to create beautiful moments is to use them as a foundation for background soundscapes. In the following video, one of our producers simply loaded 4 of the different keys into his DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and cross-faded between them. He then added some simple piano over top and just like that, a beautiful new piece of music was created!
We've Just Launched Pad Tracks
Posted on July 21, 2017
PraiseCharts is very pleased to announce the launch of our newest product: Pad Tracks! Pad Tracks are high quality audio tracks designed as background and transitional tracks that can be used in a variety of settings. These tracks are designed to create a beautiful soundscape that is contemplative and helpful in transitioning between songs in a worship setting. They are similar to Bed Tracks in that they can be used in a live band context, but also played in other situations such as during times of ministry, prayer, readings, etc. Pad Tracks allow for seamless transition from one song to another and can be easily played from an iPod, iPad, laptop or other device.
First Love: A New Worship Collection from Dennis Jernigan
Posted on June 5, 2017
First Love is a 16 song collection of simple and intimate worship songs by Dennis Jernigan, writer of the popular You Are My All In All. These songs were recorded over a three day period in the studios of the American Family Association in Tupelo, MS. During those three days, Dennis simply worshiped Jesus - just him and the piano, and First Love is the result. First Love includes 10 of Jernigan’s most popular worship songs like You Are My All In All, Thank You, We Will Worship the Lamb of Glory, Who Can Satisfy My Soul and more. Also included is Passionate Obsession - a song of deliverance from the Father’s perspective.
On Pentecost: The Spirit's Coming
Featuring Dan Wilt Posted on May 19, 2017
What Is Pentecost All About? Over the course of the first few centuries of the Church, various Sundays began to take on a yearly meaning for celebration. With the goal to remember the whole of the Story of God’s activity among humankind, a demarking of dates began to occur that spawned literally hundreds of ways of giving meaning to Sundays across Church history.
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