Who Killed the Contemporary Christian Music Industry?

I read a very interesting article this week entitled Who Killed the Contemporary Christian Music Industry by Tyler Huckabee.  Although I am not a huge fan of the Christian music industry (ironic – since I am a Contemporary Christian artist) I found this article to be very informative.  I decided quote it (via link) as this week’s post. 

 Who Killed the Contemporary 
Christian Music Industry?

You Tube Copyright Infringement

                One of the areas I’ve branched out in lately is creating music instructional videos on You Tube.  My channel is Learning Music With Ray; it contains videos on both music theory and music performance.  One of the struggles I’ve run into is the question of whether or not it is legal to upload an instructional video teaching how to play current popular music.  In my case, I am looking to teach the piano performance of Christian worship songs.  However, this question can be applied to the teaching of any popular song of which the teacher does not own the copyright.    

                You Tube has a video (You Tube Copyright School) that explains the details about copyright infringement when uploading You Tube videos.  According to that explanation, the safest way to ensure avoiding copyright infringement is to include only original content in your videos.  The law does allow for the fair use of copyrighted material under certain circumstances, but it is often difficult to determine if a specific example qualifies legally as fair use.  I am not sure whether or not my demonstration of a popular worship song in a piano instructional video would be considered fair use. 

               You may be thinking, “So why don’t you just make videos teaching how to play your original songs Ray?”  That is what I have done so far.  However, my songs are not exactly at the top of the Christian Contemporary charts right now.  I’m sure people would be much more interested in learning to play the worship songs that are currently on the top of the Christian Contemporary charts.  Teaching these songs would better fill the need of what people are looking to learn and would also probably result in more views.  However, I don’t want to risk copyright infringement in order to achieve these things. 

                This law feels kind of like the speed limit (one of those laws that hardly anyone follows.  A search on You Tube will reveal millions of videos in which people are teaching how to perform songs that they don’t own the copyright of.  However, the existence of these videos does not authenticate the legality of this practice.  In some cases, the owner of copyrighted material will allow a You Tube video to stay up, but exercise his/her right to collect on the monetization of that video (as covered in my previous posts: You Tube Sync Licensing &  You Tube Sync Licensing part 2).  If you are looking to monetize your instructional videos, this process would prevent you from collecting on the monetization (the owner of the copyright on the song would collect) even though you created the instruction.  It is unclear whether the many instructional videos currently uploaded to You Tube are suffering from this monetization issue, going undetected or just illegal. 

               After calling Google and speaking to a customer service representative, I was told to write an email to their legal department.  For those who are interested, the phone number I used to contact Google was (650) 253-0000.  I got through to a customer service representative rather easily, but he was not able to directly answer my question (only refer me elsewhere).  The email address he gave me for the legal department was legal@google.com.  I will write an updated post as soon as I hear back from them.  

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now

                There are so many things that I know now as a performer, but I didn’t know back when I was younger.  I wish I could go back in time with the knowledge that I have now.  Unfortunately, that is not how things work.  At least I get to pass my knowledge on to my students.

                I just had a really gratifying “pass on to your student” moment this week.  One of my major downfalls as a young performer was my inability to be able to perform (when it counts) at my fullest potential.  I had some amazing practice sessions while preparing for NYSSMA solos and other public performances.  The actual performances would be ok, but they were never quite as good as those magical practice sessions.  My mindset was all wrong, and I didn’t understand the impact that our mindset has on our performance. 

                You see, I was focusing too much on not messing up.  I remember watching the Winter Olympics as a child and seeing a top level figure skater fall in the middle of her big performance.  I was shocked!   Here was a person who practiced way more than I did, and in her big moment she blew it.  From that moment on, I locked into a habit of focusing on “not falling” during a performance. 

At home, while I was practicing alone, I could relax and enjoy the music.  However, on stage I was focused on all the difficult sections of the piece, and hoping that I would make it through them ok.  You could imagine what kind of performance this mindset resulted in.  My creativity and expression was trapped inside a mind of worry.  I was getting through the piece instead of performing and expressing it. 

Now, thank goodness, I am no longer trapped by that terrible habit.  I have learned to focus on all of those wonderful moments during my private practice.  Those were the moments where the expression and passion of the piece were revealed to me.  Those were the moments when I connected with the music.  I string them all together in my mind, and edit them (the way one would edit a video) into a perfect performance.  That is what I focus on while performing.  I aim to recreate that perfect performance that I have edited together in my head.  I realize that it may not all go perfectly, but if I don’t go for it, then there is no chance of it happening.  I might as well shoot for the stars and see what I get.

I had the privilege of explaining this concept to one of my band students the other week while helping her to prepare for her own NYSSMA solo.  She had experienced her own magical moments while preparing her piece, and I didn’t want to see her experience the same disappointment that I had in the past.  Thankfully, she understood what I was explaining and took it to heart.  I just received her NYSSMA results today, and she received a perfect score.  I may not have a time machine, but I can help others to save time.  Moments like that make teaching a rewarding experience.    

Why I Music Education Beneficial?

I’ve written many posts about how to practice, how to play, how to record and how to do many other things related to music.  It occurred to me, I’ve haven’t written much about why we should study music.  I guess I took for granted the fact that my audience is mostly composed of musicians who already love studying music.  However, there may be some readers out there who are considering taking up an instrument (or vocal studies), or some people who are just not sure if this is worth it.

Today I wanted to speak to the benefits of music education by quoting a post made by NAME (the National Association for Music Education).  In it, they list 20 benefits of music in our schools.  Although this post is primarily geared toward music education in schools, it is applicable to all aspects of music education. 

Check it out at this link: http://www.nafme.org/20-important-benefits-of-music-in-our-schools/  

What Does It Mean to Become a Musician?

                There is an interesting metamorphosis that occurs when examining the answer to this question at different points along our development.  As beginners, our goals are to learn to read music and to find the correct pitches on our instrument.  At this point our definition of reading music is not even 100% accurate.  Most students first view reading music as reading pitches (at least this is what we focus on).  If we know how to read the letter on the page, locate the same letter on our instrument and play it, we are a musician.

                Later on we realize that rhythm and beat are also components in reading and playing music.  We begin to read pitch and rhythm simultaneously, while feeling a steady beat in our body.  Even the point of getting the steady beat inside our body can be a gradual development.  We start with this device (a metronome) that externally maintains the beat for us.  Gradually the sense of beat becomes ingrained within us.  We learn to line up the rhythms we are reading with the beat that we are feeling.  We learn how to accomplish this task without sacrificing the accuracy of our pitch reading.

                Next we learn that there is more to music than just beat, rhythm and pitch.  We become aware of our tone, and try to develop a pleasing tone quality.  We become aware of variations in dynamics and articulation, and we begin to incorporate these things into our playing.  Slowly, as we add more elements, we progress from playing notes to playing music.

                However, there is one more stage that needs to take place.  We need to realize that this instrument we are playing is a machine.  We manipulate this machine in order to recreate the musical sounds that the composer originally envisioned.  There may be moments within the piece where we know what the intended sound should be, that that is not what comes out of our instrument.  When this happens, the piece is revealing an inadequacy in our technique that needs development.  We have not yet learned to manipulate our instrument well enough to produce the desired sound for that type of situation. 

This is the final level of musicianship that students must achieve.  We must learn to focus beyond learning to read a play the markings on the page.  Our new focus must be using the markings on the page to hear the sound that composer intended in our minds.  Listening to recordings of professional performances can help us to get to this point.  The recordings help us to connect what we see with what we hear.  Eventually, we learn to hear by just seeing (with no recording).  Then we must learn to create the sound that we hear in our minds on our instrument.  True musicians learn to master this process.   

What’s Inside Of You

                Everybody says that performing music is about connecting with the audience.  We need to be vulnerable, and be willing to let them in.  We need to really understand the lyric and impart a piece of ourselves into the performance.  Those special moments are what the audience comes out to experience.

                Everybody also says that if we want to be musical artists we have to have drive.  We have to want it more than anything.  We have to be willing to sleep in our car, eat Ramen noodles and never sleep.  If we have a plan “B” we might as well just do that, because the only people who make it in this industry are the ones who can’t see themselves doing anything else. 

                These concepts are all very inspiring, but they kind of contradict each other.  If the most important thing in our lives in making it, then doesn’t that mean we care more about our career than we do about our fans?  By definition, can’t there only be one most important thing?  If what is inside of us is an unquenchable desire to pursue a music career, and we truly wish to be open and vulnerable in our performances, then shouldn’t we be conveying this desire to our audience?  How can we be expressing genuine outward passion and connection to our fans during a performance while inside we are actually craving success, power and attention? 

                When you think about it, the music industry is designed to turn artists into self-centered, lying hypocrites.  Reducing ourselves to this is the only way to achieve true success (according to all the professional advice out there).  We learn to put on a fake display of emotional connection on stage in order to con people into loving and supporting us.  We act as if we are connected to the fans, when really we are connected to their money and loyalty. 

                I guess this means I am not cut out for the music industry.  I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to sustain that type of existence.  I love music, but I love God even more.  Every day I strive to cultivate more of Him in me.  When I sing and play, my goal is to have Him flow through me and out to the audience.  The more of Him I have inside, the more flows out.  If that leads people to want to come to my events or purchase my music, so be it.  If instead that leads people to want to study the Word more or spend more time in worship, that’s an even better outcome.  If people’s lives were somehow changed for the good by having a personal experience with the one true God, then I’m happy.  That is my reason for writing, singing, playing and leading Bible studies.  It is my reason for living. 

                How do I know this is true?  I can honestly say that there has been a serious change in my life.  A while back, my wife asked me if I would be willing to quit music if God requested it of me.  Sadly, that question was very difficult for me to answer.  Based on my knowledge of the Bible, I knew what my answer should be.  However, that wasn’t the answer that I felt in my heart.  Now my heart has changed.  Now I can honestly say that without Him everything else is meaningless to me.  If He asked I would give up music in a heartbeat.  He is my only source.  He is my reason for making music.  Without Him, I am nothing.  He is what’s inside of me!

Effective Musical Practice Tips

I put this post up on my Learning Music with Ray blog two weeks ago, and I thought it would be good information to post here as well.  

              The truth is that there is no quick fix to instrumental or vocal performance.  I spent most of my childhood assuming that I did not possess the ability to achieve mastery on my instruments.  I loved music, but my ability to understand theory seemed to far exceed my physical ability to perform.  It wasn’t until I grew older that a realized the level of practice I was investing was not equal to the result I was hoping to achieve.

Time Management

               This leads me to the first secret to effective practice which is to set realistic and reachable goals.  We are not all professional musicians, but this does not mean we cannot pursue musical performance as a hobby.  We just need to set realistic goals for what we want to achieve.  Many top level professionals practice 4-8 hours every day.  Many public school music students practice 15-30 minutes a week (out of those who even practice).  Where do you fall within that range?  How much time do you have to devote to the study of musical performance?  What level do you wish to achieve?  If you answer these questions honestly, it will help you to set more realistic and achievable practice goals. 

              Once we have set our practice goals, there are ways to ensure that we achieve them in the most efficient and effective manner.  One is to regulate the amount of time spent in any one sitting.  Studies have shown that we retain information most effectively during the first and last ten minutes of any study session or lecture.  Some practice technicians use this information to suggest that the most effective form of practice is to break one’s time into twenty minute segments throughout the day.  A lower “hobby” level musician may have just one twenty minute session per day.  More serious musician will have multiple practice sessions per day.

             I have personally experienced practice sessions that have extended beyond twenty minutes in which I was totally engrossed in the task at hand.  For this reason I do not apply this twenty minuet concept as a hard and fast rule, but I do use it as a guideline.  If I am in the middle of a very productive practice session, I will continue until the current thought has concluded.  However, even during productive moments I do find it helpful to stop for a brief water break and relax my mind.  We must learn to both focus on our practice material and be mindful of our state of mental fatigue.  Eventually it becomes easier to judge when to continue and when to take a break. 

Have A Plan      

                It is easy to get lost in minutes or hours of meaningless practice when we approach our sessions without a plan.  A practice plan usually is centered around a musical piece (or pieces) that we are studying and the concepts that we are currently striving to master within that piece.  We should start with warm-ups that develop tone, dexterity and flexibility.  Incorporating warm-ups that are related to the difficult concepts of the main piece helps to center our practice.  Finding warm-ups that relate to the focus concepts of the piece is surprisingly easy, but implementing that focus while playing the warm-ups is often difficult to remember.

                Scales, for example, can be used to reinforce tone, intonation, knowledge of key signature, dexterity and many other skills.  However, scales can easily turn into rote exercises that we run through thoughtlessly.  To maintain effectiveness we must concentrate on the desired skill and deliberately develop it while playing the scales. 

Keeping A Journal

                Keeping a journal is a huge aid in maintaining focus.  Seeing the warm-ups and practice goals written down helps us to remember what we did last session and what we should do now.  We can monitor progress in each area of practice and easily determine when a concept is mastered.  Within the piece, we can remember which sections we were focusing on last time and keep a record of further progress.

Work In Sections

                Breaking the piece into sections gives us a logical format for progressing to completion.  The human brain retains small chunks of information much more effectively than large strings of data.  This is the reason why we separate seven digit phone numbers into a group of three and a group of four digits.  Separating a musical piece into sections aids us in developing a clear practice strategy for mastering the piece.  The progress within each section can be monitored within one's journal.  Smaller sections can be eventually combined into larger sections until the piece is finally performed as a whole. 

                When studying a piece of music in this way it is important to understand the form and musical patterns contained within the music.  All music is composed of patterns.  This is the fundamental element that causes music to be so memorable.  Breaking the piece into sections that correspond to the musical patterns will aid us in understanding, learning and remembering the music.  While practicing this way we will often find patterns that repeat throughout the music.  Identifying these repeated patterns will further aid in efficiency.      

Tempo 

               Another key to effective practice is the careful monitoring of tempo.  We will perform whatever we practice.  Many people (including myself at times) practice difficult passages at a tempo that is too fast.  This prevents them from achieving true mastery of the passage.  It is important to practice difficult passages at a slow enough tempo to allow yourself to achieve mastery of the passage.  It is easier to play the pitches, rhythms, dynamics, articulations, etc. correctly at a slow tempo and then gradually increase the tempo.  Once those other elements are practiced incorrectly, the mistake becomes ingrained in our mind and is difficult to remove.  Journaling metronome settings helps us to achieve this gradual increase. 

Section Size      

                The other variable (beside tempo) that can be manipulated while practicing is section size.  Difficult passages are already examples of this, since they are isolated sections within a larger section of the piece.  Isolating these passages in our practice helps to gain mastery more efficiently since repetition is not wasted on measures that we have already mastered.  Breaking these passages down into smaller sections can make them more accessible (or digestible).  Once mastered, these smaller sections can be combined into larger ones, and then the entire passage.  The correct combination of tempo variation and section size can make any passage learnable. 

Be Willing To Vary The Routine

With any activity (working out, studying, practicing) repeating the same routine over and over can become counter productive.  Rehearsing the same material in a different way can keep you interested, alert and more effective in your practice.  Here are some suggestions for varying your routine.  If you worked in sections from the top down last time, try starting at the end of the piece and moving backward in sections today.  If you worked in smaller sections with a faster tempo last time, try working in larger sections with a slower tempo today.  Also, you can vary your warm-up and warm-down material.

Balancing Practice And Performance

                Many of the things mentioned above (sectional work, tempo, ...) pertain to learning new pieces of music.  We must also practice performing in order to become good performers.  Once we have learned the sections of a piece of music, brought them up to performance tempo and combined them, we need to practice performing the piece straight through.  This step is where most beginning students start.  They play through every piece without breaking it up and employing the practice strategies we have discussed.  However, one can also error on the other side of things and get caught up with focusing only on sectional work.  It is important to work toward an end goal and take the time to apply the final polish to our performance.  Playing through a piece (after it has been correctly rehearsed) presents its own problems of flow, continuity and endurance.  Once these elements are mastered, the piece is ready for public performance.

Balancing Work And Fun

                This topic is somewhat related to the last one since performance is usually the fun element of our studies.  The feeling one gets when comfortably and expressively performing a beautiful piece of music in front of an audience is extremely rewarding.  This reward is what pushes us through the daily grind of diligent practice.  Maintaining a balance between the grind and the reward is important.  If our schedule consists of mostly performance and little practice we will not advance in our skill (and my even lose some skill).  If our schedule is skewed in the opposite direction, we may become burnt out.  To quote The Shining, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."  One way to prevent this is to mix the review of finished pieces in with the study of new ones.  Another is to look for an ample amount of opportunities for public performance (even if it is house concerts for friends and family).  Finally, work some straight fun time into your musical schedule.  This could consist of fooling around and exploring sounds on your instrument.  It could also be playing along with recordings of your favorite songs, or getting together with some friends or family members and jamming.  These are the moments that inspire us to continue in our practice.     

This Learning Music With Ray video discusses some tips for effective musical practice.  We have all had unproductive practice sessions where we lose track of what we are doing and feel that we haven’t gained much in the end.  These tips are meant to help us stay focused and get the most out of each practice session. 

You Tube Sync Licensing (part 2)

                Last week we discussed the basic idea of what sync licensing is and how it can be used through YouTube to earn money for songwriters.  Remember, if you are creating your own YouTube  videos, you can monetize them without having your songs entered into the YouTube Content Id system.  However, if you want to collect from monetizing other people’s videos that contain your songs, you have to be registered in the Content Id system. 

                Many musicians do not have the time to bother with these types of registrations and license monitoring.  They would rather have someone else do this for them while they write, record and perform music.  For these types of musicians, there are many options out there.  As I mentioned last week, people who are already selling their music on Tunecore or CD Baby can also use these companies to handle their YouTube sync licensing.  Each company’s website explains their pricing, options and policies for music sales (which are outside the realm of this topic), so I will let you research that on your own if you are trying to decide.  If you are already with one of these companies (or another that provides sync licensing services) then it would probably be best to seek the services of the company you are with.   

                I happen to sell my music through CD Baby, so I will share my personal insight about their sync licensing service with you.  Here is a screen-shot of their FAQ page that explains the three options you have with sync licensing as a CD Baby artists. 

It clearly states that you can either allow them to collect all the licensing for you, have them “whitelist” your YouTube channel (so that you monetize those videos on your own) or opt-out of their YouTube monetization program.  Notice how it says “Keep things simple and let us…” in the 1^st option.  This is because they want you to let them monetize all YouTube videos containing your songs (including your own YouTube videos). 

Why is that?  Well, their FAQ page on the sync licensing states that they keep 30% of all revenue generated (and you get 70%).  This is the going rate for YouTube sync licensing as seen in the statement highlighted by the red box in the figure below.  For all other sync licensing (other than YouTube), they collect 40% (stated above the red box), but that is a discussion for another blog post. 

Other people may or may not use your songs on their YouTube videos, but you will most defiantly use them if you have a YouTube account.  Do you think CD Baby wants to only collect 30% of the ad revenue on other people’s videos using your music, or on all videos using your music (including your videos)?  That is why they push for this option.

          Some may think my use of the word “push” here is too extreme.  Let me share my latest experience and allow you to decide.  I contacted CD Baby about “whitelisting” two more of my YouTube channels on March 18^th.  First I called, and was told that I had to email them with an official request containing links of the channels I wanted to “whitelist.”  Below is the email that I sent, along with their response and my response back.

As you can see, the response took 2 days, and it did not answer my request.  This agent tried to tell me that my only option was to let them collect for me or opt out.  In my response back, I quoted their “whitelist” FAQ page (shown earlier) and the fact that it clearly lists three options.  I never received a response to this email. 

I also called to try to work things out.  The agent I spoke to apologized for the email I received.  However, he explained that although the “whitelist” option does exist, CD Baby only offers that option sparingly.  When I asked him to explain why it isn’t worded that way on their website, he changed his story and said that it is an option and they will process my request.  However, he could not give me a timeline on how long it would take to “whitelist” my channels.  Since they provide this service through a company called Rumblefish, he would have to put in a request to contact Rumblefish.  After the correct CD Baby department receives and processes the request, Rumblefish would have to receive and process a request from them.  I still have not heard back from them on the resolution of this.  In the meantime, I filed a dispute through YouTube on the copyright claim that CD Baby had against one of my videos (yes, they were blocking me from monetizing my own video while I was waiting for them to whitelist my channel).  The dispute was settled in my favor and the monetization block on the video was lifted.    

If you don’t want to go through all of this, there are two other options.  Audiam is a company I mentioned last week that also offers sync licensing.  They only retain a fee of 25% on the revenue generated by other people’s videos.  They are very good about “whitelisting” your YouTube accounts, and do not try to collect anything from those videos.  However, some of the other aspects of their agreement are a little more complicated.  For example, you cannot opt-out at any time.  The agreement you enter into with  Audiam is a 1 year term that automatically renews.  If you want to opt-out, you must contact them within the last 60 days of your term.  Also, they have a minimum earnings requirement of $5 before you are paid, and payments are released within 45 days after the end of the calendar month.

The other option is to fill out a YouTube Content Id application yourself at this web address (https://www.youtube.com/content_id_signup).  Below is a screen-shot of the application page.

In order to apply for this, you must won or control the exclusive online streaming rights for the content you submit.  If YouTube accepts your application, then you will be able to directly collect monetization revenue on all videos using your songs (including other people’s videos).  If you are ambitious and have the time to complete this process, it may be a beneficial option.  

You Tube Sync Licensing

The existence of You Tube has created a new way for songwriters to earn money from their music.  Whenever a You Tube video is created that contains one of your songs somewhere in the audio content, you have the right to monetize the video and collect a portion of the advertisement revenue created.  This is true for videos that you create on your You Tube channels and videos that other people create on their You Tube channels which include your music.

For videos that you are creating on your You Tube channel, the process is fairly straight forward.  You just need to set up your You Tube channel to be able to monetize your videos.  There are several features that can be unlocked in the Status and Features page under the Channel heading of your You Tube channel (Dashboard – Video Manager – Community – Channel – Analytics – Create).  If you are a member in good standing, these features become available after different criteria are met (vary depending on desired feature).  You must also open a Goggle Analytics account and connect it to you You Tube channel (fairly straightforward).  Once everything is set you will be able to monetize any of the videos you create for your You Tube channel.  This means you aren’t really getting any advantage out of including your original music because you already get to monetize the video (since it is your video and contains no 3^rd party content).    You Tube does report royalty information to artist royalty associations like ASCAP and BMI, but only after the video containing your song has had a significant number of views.

The advantage comes from having your songs appear on other peoples videos.  Even though the video was created and uploaded by someone else, the fact that it contains your copywritten song prevents this other person from being able to collect advertisement revenue.  It also gives you the power to have the video taken down, have the song removed or monetize the video yourself.  This third option allows you to collect advertisement revenue on another person’s video since it contains your song.  In order to do this, your songs must be registered in the You Tube Content Id system.  This is a software system that searches all of the content on You Tube for matches to your software.  Companies like Tune Core and CD Baby have the ability to provide this service for you.  They register all of your songs into You Tube’s Content Id system through their registration license.  You Tube pays the ad revenue to them.  They keep a percentage (for their services) and give the rest to you.  Another company that provides this service is Audiam.  This company provides only sync licensing whereas the other companies primary service is providing a way to sell your music. 

I don’t have any experience with Tune Core, so I cannot speak about the quality of their sync licensing service.  I have had some experience with Audiam and even more experience with CD Baby.  Next week I will discuss more details about sync licensing through these companies.  I will also discuss the possibility of handling your own sync licensing independent of these companies.   

The Upside of Life

                It seems like the ups and downs of life are connected in some way.  I've noticed that when I am less disciplined with my diet and exercise I also become less disciplined in my practice and recording routine.  I get into this lazy slump that affects everything else.  I don't feel motivated to do anything. 

                Then, I push myself to eat better and exercise.  Those first few days are an adjustment, but eventually my whole mood changes.  I have more energy, and I feel motivated to accomplish things.  I enjoy practicing, reading, recording and accomplishing things. 

               So, what causes me to lose that pep in my step and go back into the lazy slump?  How can I stay on track and stay motivated.  Everyone is searching for the answers to those questions. 

               For me, the answer seems to be keeping diligent in my personal devotion time with God.  When I allow that time to suffer, I find that the other areas of my life are more susceptible to the downward cycle.  When I diligently pursue private time with God, motivation and self-discipline become more accessible.  You'd think that I would remember this point and never allow my private time to suffer.  Unfortunately, I'm human and very forgetful. 

               That's why I need the support of friends and family who are like-minded.  My wife and I have been meeting once a week with another couple over the last six months, and it has revolutionized our Christian walk.  We worship, pray and study the Word together.  We call each other through the week and support each other through the hard times.  I haven't felt this alive in quite some time.  Thank you God for the joy of knowing You, and for the friends that you have blessed me with.         

Feeling the Beat

                The number one thing that is missing in most  student musical performances is an internalized beat.  Most students focus primarily on accuracy of pitch.  Whatever attention they can spare goes toward reading and performing rhythm correctly.  However, their version of rhythm differs from a professional musician's in one very important way.  They don't feel the beat.

                The first step is to be aware of the beat.  Many students do not keep track of the beat while playing.  They play from note to note without a sense of a steady pulse.  Longer rhythms are approximated, and the overall performance fluctuates in tempo.

                However, awareness of the beat is not enough.  True music is created when a musician learns to internalize the beat.  Mere application of a steady beat can feel robotic and lifeless.  When the performer's attention is focused on following a metronome (or tapping foot), the other aspects of the performance suffer.

                When we reach a place of feeling the beat pulse through our body on a subconscious (automatic) level, we become free to truly perform the music.  This subconscious pulse acts as an engine that drives the pitch and rhythm through its natural course.  However, our mind is free to express every feeling and emotion that is connected to the performance. 

                Even many adults have difficulty expressing themselves in a recording studio while trying to play to a click.  They become accustom to performing with a loose sense of beat, and become restricted when asked to keep a steady beat.  Of course, an organic performance may pull or push on the beat at times, but is always returns to the natural pulse by the beginning and end of phrases.  When this can effortlessly be achieved, we have reached the level of truly feeling the beat.  

The Real Reason You Get Nothing Done (by Joe Gilder)

In my former post Online Recording/Mixing Tips, I mentioned Joe Gilder (Home Studio Corner) as a great resource.  He released a podcast #135 The Real Reason You Get Nothing Done which I found to be very true-to-life.  I wanted to quote/link this podcast for today’s blog post, because I think it is a valuable piece of information for all of us. 

I hope you get as much out of this as I did!

http://www.homestudiocorner.com/blog/

If You Don’t Make Time, You Won’t Have Time

                I’ve been looking forward to the February break to really dig in with my practicing, and record some of my new songs.  I woke up this morning and I couldn’t wait to get started, but I wanted to start the day in private devotion with the Lord (best for me when my wife and daughter are asleep).   Then, I  got kind of hungry and decided to eat breakfast.  During breakfast, my wife reminded me that our daughter had a dentist appointment.  She asked if we could go together.  So, I decided to work-out and shower (just enough time for that) before leaving for the dentist. 

                The dentist was near Michael’s, and my wife had a gift card she wanted to use, so we also went there.  While she was shopping, I got a haircut.  By this time, we were getting kind of hungry, so we went out to eat.  Then we stopped at a store to check out the President’s Day furniture sales.  Of course on the way home, we stopped at a park to try out my daughter’s new remote control truck.  Then we went online to shop for a new computer for my wife. 

                Now it’s 7:00 PM, and I’m typing my blog post.  I haven’t recorded or practiced anything today, and I don’t think I’m going to.  I am wiped-out.  Blocking out a set time for practice or recording is difficult when you have a family and chores.  I want to spend time with them, but I also want to spend time with my music.  I wish I could split into two Rays, get both things done and then come back together at the end of the day.  Since that technology has not come out yet, I’ll have to settle for balancing my time, and trying my best to set a little aside for music.  We’ll see if that works tomorrow.

The Other Mozart Effect

                I got into a discussion with my students today about Mozart.  Many people have written articles and posts about the Mozart Effect (increased intelligence and development through exposure to music), but that is not the subject of this post.  Today I want to discuss the other Mozart Effect.

                Mozart was a genius.  He composed his first piece at the age of 5 and began to perform in professional public concerts at the age of 6.  He achieved (and exceeded) the compositional and performance levels of many great adults of his time while he was still a child. 

                However, there was a cost to all of this achievement.  Mozart died on December 5, 1791 at the age of only 35.  The official cause of death was said to be military fever, but many people debate the true cause.  The limited knowledge of medicine during that day prevented an accurate diagnosis.  Many people speculate that the constant stress of public performance, composing more great musical works and staying out of financial trouble took a huge toll on his body. 

                We see the same results on many great performers today.  Robin Williams, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Karen Carpenter and Philip Seymour Hoffman are just a few examples.  The mental and physical toll placed on people of public prominence (especially in the entertainment world) can be devastating.  There is a constant pressure to live up to or exceed your past performances.  In addition, this type of life leads to sever feelings of loneliness.  Fans and paparazzi force entertainment stars to remain secluded.  They find it difficult to form meaningful relationships with others since it is difficult for them to relate to other people.  For Mozart, this was especially difficult.  He was both extremely popular and mentally advanced far beyond most ordinary people.  Many modern stars seek to marry other stars, but the lifestyle of a star is not always conducive to faithful marriage commitments. 

                The lesson to learn here is that we are only human.  Being driven to achieve greatness is a wonderful quality, but it is important to maintain a balanced life.  Everyone needs times of rest and relaxation.  Everyone needs meaningful relationships with other people.  Health and longevity of life can lead to even great success by giving us more time to achieve it.  So, we should all learn to find the proper balance between drive and rest.    

Everyone Is A Winner

My wife and I just hosted a birthday party for our daughter.  Of course the theme was Frozen, because that is the only theme that exists in the minds of 9 year old girls right now.  My wife decorated the whole house and planed tons of great games and activities. 

The party games inspired the idea for this post.  You see, party games are great until that awkward moment when someone wins, because that means everyone else lost.  Kids don’t handle losing too well, and parents don’t enjoy explaining the harsh realities of winning and losing.  Often times we will gloss over it as say something like, “Everyone did a great job!” or “You are all winners!”  I witness the same thing at the elementary school where I work.  Everyone is wonderful, awards are given out for everything and expectations are constantly being lowered.

Unfortunately, that is not the way real life works.  Real life is competitive and there is usually only one winner.  Especially in the music industry, there is a tremendous amount of competition.  Even if you practice eight hours a day, gig every weekend and hit social media as hard as you can you still may not succeed.  Sometimes success is more about knowing the right people or being in the right place at the right time. 

So, how can a generation of “superstars” who have never actually applied themselves to achieve anything make it in the big bad world of music (or any industry)?  In truth, they can’t.  By cushioning the harshness of competition and reality for our children what we have actually done is render them incapable of being driven and successful.  In the music industry, I see the same theme throughout the stories of many of the stars that have risen to the top.  They were deeply committed to pursuing music.  They faced a tremendous amount of hardship, adversity and rejection before experiencing any level of success.  The main factor that caused them to achieve success was their tenacity and drive.  They were not willing to give up no matter what happened along the journey. 

Learning that level of tenacity and drive can be a harsh lesson.  I don’t know if it is a good idea to try to teach that to young children, but it needs to be taught at some point.  People need to understand that one’s full potential is not achieved automatically, and there is often only one winner in the real world.  Competition can cause stress and anxiety, but it can also push driven people to achieve greatness.  We need to come back to a healthy balance between encouraging our young people and challenging them to achieve their fullest potential.   

Online Recording/Mixing Tips continued

                Last week I discussed the difficulty of sifting through all the information available online for mixing and recording help.  I mentioned the principle of finding a person who is a trustworthy and reliable source of information.  There are many people out there who just want to sell you something or get more views, but there are also genuine souls who want to help people improve their skills.  I mentioned two examples of good information sources last week (Joe Gilder and Graham Cochrane).  Today I wanted to give you a few more.

                Bobby Owsinski is an amazing resource for knowledge in many areas of music business (recording/mixing, social media, websites, marketing, etc.).  I was first introduced to Bobby’s lessons through my Lynda.com membership.  There are many great teachers on Lynda.com who offer a variety of very informative classes.  Bobby’s stuff is wonderful for independent artists.  He is really good at covering every base, and really explaining things that would be difficult to understand otherwise.  Plus, he has so much knowledge and experience.  Tapping into his experience automatically give you a boost. 

                Dave Pensado is another good source.  His YouTube channel   Pensado’s Place is another great source of information.  I especially enjoy the section called Into The Lair, where he offers a lot of practical mixing tips.

                I mentioned Lynda.com before when discussing Bobby Owsinski.  Another membership site that offers great tutorial and instructional videos is Groove3.com.  The predominant content on this site is software tutorial based.  There are specific tutorial lesson on how to use specific DAW and plug-in software (example: Pro Tools, Studio One, Cubase, Logic, Waves products, Melodyne, Toontracks products, etc.).  There are also instructional videos on musical performance and recording/mixing technique, but they are far outnumbered by the amount of software based tutorials.

                Discussing software based tutorials reminds me of another point.  Some people may turn out to be a better source of information for you because of the DAW and other software that they use.  One of the things I like about Joe Gilder is that he uses Studio One (like me).  Most of his tips can be applied in any DAW, but his specific demonstrations (videos, detailed examples) directly translate to my home setup. 

There are many other great sources out there that I have not mentioned.  Some are sources for information on thing that I don’t happen to use (like Pro Tools or Ableton Live).  Others were just left out because I don’t have enough time or space on this blog to include them all.  The important thing is to be discerning as you explore the internet.  Find those sources that seem to be accurate and are offering what you need.  Also, look for the people who genuinely seem to care about helping you to learn and grow.  

Online Recording/Mixing Tips

                There are almost unlimited amounts of videos and articles online for tips with recording, mixing and mastering.  I sometimes find myself getting lost in watching videos and reading.  One thing we all need to remember is that the best way to increase our skills is to practice.  We need to actually spend time recording and mixing.  Nothing can replace hands-on experience and repetition.

                With that said, we can also learn from the knowledge and experience of others.  We just need to keep things in balance.  To help maintain the proper balance of time, we need to look for tutorials that directly apply to our needs (instead of wasting time reading and watching everything).  This is easier said than done.  Many video and article titles are misleading.  You think that they are going to discuss what you are looking for, but they end up being a waste of time. 

                I have found that the best solution is to find a person who is trustworthy as a good source of information and use his/her material as your go-to source for information.  I cannot assume to know which sources will be right for you, but I can make suggestions based on my own experience. 

                One such source that I feel comfortable recommending is Joe Gilder.  He is a former Sweetwater sales representative who decided that he wanted to help people get better at using the gear they already own instead of convincing them to purchase more stuff.  His site Home Studio Corner is full of helpful posts, podcasts and videos.  The great thing about his resources is that they are geared toward home studio people (like us).  Plus, he is a honest person who genuinely  wants to help.  He also sells instructional material for those of you who want to go deeper in your education. 

                One of Joe's paid educational resources is a monthly membership called Dueling Mixes.  I bring this up because it is a joint effort with a man named Graham Cochrane, who is another great resource.  Graham has his own site called The Recording Revolution which is also full of great information. 

                I hope these resources are helpful for you.  In the future, I will share more resources for recording and mixing tips, but I felt that these two guys were the best place for home studio learners to start.  They will inspire you to spend more time in your studio instead of just spending more money on gear you don't even need.

Pride

          This post is actually a chapter from a book that I wrote a while back entitled Finding My Voice. The book is a work in progress that still has not been published, but I felt led to share this chapter with you today. The topic of pride is difficult for me to write about because it is something I struggle with every day. Therefore, please understand that I do not profess to be an authority on the subject (which in itself would be prideful to say). I have not eliminated this issue from my life, but I have identified it. That is the first step. I have also committed to surrender this area of my life to the Lord, and do what is necessary on my part to achieve daily improvement. There are days when I experience setbacks, but God has an ample amount of grace and forgiveness available for those moments.

          I think that pride is a huge issue for musicians in particular, since our gift tends to put us on stage or some form of public display. Musical performance is a public display of intimacy. All eyes are on us as we bear ourselves in a way that is emotional, passionate and vulnerable. Therefore, any musician who engages in public performance experiences an incredible desire to be accepted.

          When a musician is accepted, this puffs up his spirit. He thinks more highly of himself. This causes him to view (and ultimately treat) others as lower than he. If he is not accepted, a musician becomes bitter and resentful. If the public showers more acceptance on another musician, he will become jealous and even envious of that person.

          The acceptance that a musician receives from fans is addictive. It is what makes public musical performance so enjoyable. Once it is experienced you want more. If you are not careful, it can easily become your primary focus. Your motive for performing is no longer to glorify God or edify people. Now it is to be affirmed by people. This change in motive has an effect on your actions.

           I experienced this as people complimented my tone on the saxophone. As mentioned earlier, I forsook balanced practice and focused primarily on tone. I also adopted unnatural habits to facilitate control of my tone. These musical decisions lead to years of poor training, lack of growth and eventual vocal damage.

          I have also experienced many issues with pride as a Christian worship leader and musician. There have been countless fights over monitor levels, who is singing which harmony, who was late for sound-check, who gets to stand where and who gets featured parts. I thought that stepping down from worship leading and pursuing a Christian contemporary ministry would help to alleviate this. However, I found that the same strife and contention existed in the Christian coffee house and concert world.

          Even worse, I found that it existed in me. As long as that was true, it didn't matter where I moved, because it moved with me. I remember one coffee house in particular where God revealed my pride and brought me back to my senses. I had been waiting to get booked by a particular coffee house for a long time. While waiting for the call-back, I received a call from another less popular place which had suffered a last minute cancelation. I committed to sing there since my schedule was open. Just after that, I received the call-back from the more prominent coffee house. It was difficult, but I turned them down and explained that I had just committed to another event.

            I arrived at the less popular coffee house and began to set up. At that time there were only two people present beside me. They were the owner and his assistant. The situation stood this way till five minutes before the start time. Then one other person arrived as a member of the audience. The owner looked at me and said, "Ok, Ray, are you ready to start?" The worst part was, he wasn't joking. I had so many thoughts running through my head. Why did I agree to sing here? Why is the owner making me sing to one person? I could be at that other place right now. I tried my best to quiet down those thoughts and concentrate on singing.

          I went through a full set, and felt like an idiot during most of it. I had played for small crowds before, but it is truly awkward to play for one person. Then, towards the end of the set, something happened. I shared a testimony about an original song called "My Father." As I sang the song, I noticed the man in the audience began to cry. That wasn't supposed to be the last song in the set, but it turned out that way. The man came up to me at the end of the song and began to share his story. His father had just passed away. Shortly after, his wife left him and took their house. He too was a musician with a home recording studio. Most of his equipment was in storage, and he was living in a small apartment. He was at a point in his life where he felt like God had abandoned him. He explained, though, that he experienced an overwhelming sense of God's love while I was singing my song. This is what caused him to cry. I prayed with him, and the night ended shortly after.

          On the ride home God barraged me with thoughts about what had happened. Thoughts like, "Quality is more important than quantity" and the parable of the lost sheep. I realized that God orchestrated it for me to be singing at that coffee house on that night in order to minister to that man. He caused the last minute cancelation and prompted the owner to call me. He put it on my heart to sing "My Father" at that point in the set. He cared enough about that man to do all that, and He chose to do it through me. I didn't receive much praise or affirmation that night, but it didn't matter. I was on cloud nine just for being used by God in such an incredible way.

          The story doesn't end there though. I was singing in a different coffee house about a year later. This night there was a good crowd. I was coming to the end of the set and decided to sing "My Father" to wrap things up. Instead of my usual testimony about writing the song, I felt lead to share the story about the night when I sang to one person. I encouraged people to use the moment to enter into an intimate time of worship and fellowship with God. At the end of the song something amazing happened. A man stood up in the back of the room. He identified himself as the same man from my one-person concert. He testified about how God brought restoration to his life after that concert. Then he introduced the woman next to him as his wife. He explained that God restored their marriage. I was so excited after that concert that I couldn't fall asleep. Now God had orchestrated for that man to be at my concert, just to show me the fruit of my ministry.

          However, pride is not an issue that is exclusive to musicians. It is very easy to get wrapped up in recognition and affirmation, especially in the church. People often give in offerings and participate in ministries just to be noticed. People strive for more prominent positions within ministries. It is an interesting experiment to observe how members of a congregation treat the pastor (or other prominent leaders) compared to regular people in the church. How many people show up if the pastor needs help moving or painting his house? How many people show up if John Smith needs the same help? Our motives are often revealed by our actions (or reactions).

          I believe that pride is the root of all sin. When asked to sum up the law Jesus said:

...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37b-40 ESV). 

The actions listed in this passage are the opposite of pride. Pride focuses on and lifts up self. If you think about it, this is the issue at the heart of sin. During the commission of any sin a person is (at least temporarily) thinking of himself as being more important than God or other people. Their immediate need for self gratification (be it ever temporary) outweighs the consequences that the action will bear.

          To further support the concept of pride being the root of all sin, we must study the history and origin of sin. Some would say that sin began in the garden of Eden when Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit. However, this fruit came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In order for there to be such a tree, evil had to have already existed. This disobedient action of Adam and Eve introduced sin into the earth, but it does not mark the origin.

          There are two accounts in the Bible of a being who was expelled from heaven due to the sin of pride. One is Ezekiel 28:11-19 which states:

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God:“You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever (ESV).”

Some would say that this passage is speaking about a man who was the king of Tyre due to the reference to the king in verse 12. They see it as a continuation of the prophecy made in verses 1-10. However, the statement made in verses 1-10 is applicable to a human. The being in those verses is even referred to as a man several times. There are, however, several statements made in verses 11-19 which are not applicable to a human. They refer to this being as an anointed guardian cherub (verse 14). There is also a reference to this cherub being located "in Eden, the garden of God" and "on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire..."(verses 13-14). The human king of Tyre was never in those locations. An interesting side note is that verse 1 begins with a command to speak over the "prince of Tyre" (other translations use the word ruler). Verse 11 contains a command to raise a lament over the "king of Tyre." This differentiation further suggests that the passages are discussing two different beings. The first is human king of Tyre and the second is the actual ruler of Tyre, the spiritual being who possessed the king.

          Coming back to the verses we are studying (11-19), Ezekiel mentions, "You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you ... Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor (verses 15 & 17)." So, we see that the sin which corrupted this cherub was pride.

The other passage is found in Isaiah chapter 14. Verses 12-15 state:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit (ESV).

Again, some people believe this passage to be a literal reference to the human king of Babylon. However, this is a taunt that Israel is supposed to pronounce when it is restored as a nation. There were several kings ruling from the time when Israel was overthrown to the time when they were restored as a nation. Plus, it is impossible for a human to "ascend to heaven; above the stars of God (verse 13)" even with today's space technology. With the technology of Bible times it was also impossible for a human to "ascend above the heights of the clouds (verse 14)."

          The Hebrew word heylel is translated Lucifer, Morning Star, Shining One or Day Star. This word is where we get the name Lucifer, use to refer to Satan before he was cast out of Heaven. Again in this passage, the sin that causes this being to be cast down is pride.

Bible is unclear as to the origin of Satan. It is clear that he was created. When describing Jesus, 1 Colossians 1:15-17 states:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (ESV).

However, the details of his creation (or that of the angels) are not mentioned in the Bible.

          The Bible is also unclear as to the details of Satan's fall into sin. We know that everything that God makes is good. God is referred to as being holy (meaning perfect) several places in the Bible. Plus, in the creation account (in the book of Genesis) God observes His creation after each day and says that it is good. Therefore, if Satan was created by God, he must have originally existed as a being that was good. After accepting this, one could conclude that the point at which Satan became evil was the origin of sin.

          Satan's expulsion from heaven is discussed in Revelation chapter 12. Verses 1-9 state:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (ESV). 

The description of Satan being "thrown down to the earth" in this passage is very similar to the being who is cast from the mountain of God in Ezekiel 28 and "fallen from heaven" in Isaiah 14. The purpose of this book is not to debate whether these two Old Testament passages are actually describing the fall of Satan. However, if they are (which many scholars believe to be true), then the origin of sin was an act of pride.

          As mentioned earlier in this chapter, pride can change your motives and corrupt your focus. This last section illustrates how pride can have an even more damaging effect. If left untreated, it can eventually redefine your identity, and even destroy you. This is another evidence behind my statement that pride is the root of all sin. Since God is holy, sin is opposed to Him. Pride seems to act as a door that shuts God off from being Lord of our lives and leads us to further sin.

          As a musician, finding my true singing voice (and saxophone tone) redefined my musical identity. As Christians our identity is that we are followers of Christ. We are daily developing a personal and intimate relationship with God. We are allowing Him to point out areas of our life that need improvement and constantly seeking His help and direction to make that improvement. We are not perfect, but our heart desires to be. Even when we mess up, we are willing to admit it, ask for forgiveness and repent. This is the definition of a personal relationship with God. It is the definition of Christianity.

          However, pride does not allow any of this to happen. A prideful person will not see or accept that there are areas of his life that need improvement. This leaves no room for the Holy Spirit to mold and shape that individual into the person that God intends him to be. Therefore, any sin or shortcomings a person may have will be facilitated and preserved by pride.

          There is nothing more unfortunate than a person not becoming what he was intended to be. Thinking back to that passage in Ezekiel 28, one can see an illustration of this. Remember, the writer was asked to raise a lamentation, not a rebuke. The passage remarks at how wonderfully this being was created and the high position in which he was placed. Then it mentions how low he is cast down after pride allowed sin to take root. The passage ends stating, "All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever (verse 19 ESV)." When you read it this way, the passage almost seems like one of Shakespeare's tragedies.

          One of the most quoted scripture on pride is Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (ESV)." Notice that this scripture mentions a fall, and all three passages (Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14 and Revelation 12) discussed earlier depict Satan (or some being) falling from Heaven. Dictionary.com's first definition of pride is, "a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc." Pride causes people to attempt to lift up or exalt themselves. However, according to the Bible, it results in the opposite effect. Instead of being lifted up, a proud person is brought down. This is confirmed in Matthew 23:12 which states, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (ESV)."

          The other word that stands out in Proverbs 16:18 is destruction. Pride will not only make you fall, it will ultimately destroy you. Why is this? Let's come back to that idea of a person not becoming what he was intended to be. What happens when you continually use something for a task that is outside its intended purpose? In many cases, it will become damaged or destroyed. For example, if you regularly use an ordinary car as a tow truck it will eventually break down. If you use an electronic device (that is not waterproof) under water it will break. In the same way, if we resist the original design that God intended for us, we will eventually be destroyed. This is accelerated by the fact that God actually resists this type of action. The latter parts of both James 4:6 and 1Peter 5:5 say, "...God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (ESV)." In both cases the writers are quoting Proverbs 3:34.

          My vocal misuse led to damage. Thankfully, God led me to a doctor who correctly diagnosed my condition and a vocal therapist who helped me begin to recover. Then, He led me to study music at a deeper level and purchase a tenor saxophone that revolutionized my approach to tone production. I hate to think of what may have happened to my voice if these things did not take place.

          As stated earlier, pride prevents us from being molded and shaped by God. If a person is not being molded and shaped by God, is he a follower of Christ? If a person is not a follower of Christ, is he a Christian?

Does Worship Belong In Church?

            Some people many look at this question and think, “Ray, aren’t you a Christian musician?  Why would you question whether or not worship belongs in church?”  Most church services consist of a time of worship, announcements, taking up a collections (tithes and offerings) and the pastor (or guest speaker) delivering a sermon.  Some churches also receive communion every week while others do this once a month.  Then there are the other elements of church which happen less frequently like baptisms, baby dedications and other things. 

            Each element of a church service serves a purpose in the overall design of church.  The worship portion of the service provides an opportunity for us to unite in body, soul and spirit with a common purpose of glorifying God.  Yes, we worship God musically because He is worthy of our worship, but He doesn’t need our worship.  He will still be God (holy, worthy, etc.) whether or not we choose to worship Him.  Corporate worship is more for our benefit than His.  Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them (ESV).”  The act of praising God through song (singing and/or playing an instrument), posture (raising of hands, kneeling, bowing, etc.) and movement (clapping, dancing, etc.) is a powerful and effective device for unifying people in His name?  We all are grateful for God’s grace, and we all agree that He is holy and worthy of our praise.  Times of corporate worship remind us of these common beliefs and bring us into agreement.  This helps to create an atmosphere where God’s presence is more easily manifested and His voice is more easily heard.

            I could go through each of the other components of a church service and explain their significance, but that is not the point of this post.  The main point I am getting at is that things can start out with a good intent and then turn into meaningless acts of repetition and tradition.  The point behind corporate worship is to create an atmosphere of Christian unity where we can draw near to God, experience His presence and hear His voice and encourage each other. 

However, there may be days where a group of believers is just not in unity.  The larger the church, the greater the probability for disunity among the members.  There may be some who are participating in ministry for selfish motives and others who are harboring bitterness in their hearts.  I am not saying this out of a spirit of judgment.  We are all human and we all struggle with a sinful flesh.  Sunday morning comes around and we reach the part of the service when it is time to worship. We are not in a place where we will be able to reach true unity in our worship or truly enter into God’s presence.  Psalm 24:3-5 says, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of salvation (ESV).”  We may not be in that place spiritually, but the time for corporate worship has arrived, so we force ourselves to participate in a fake gesture of ritual. 

This type of worship is ineffective in obtaining the main purpose of corporate worship (unity, drawing near to God, experiencing His presence, hearing his voice and encouraging each other).  The more we force ourselves to participate in fake worship, the easier it gets to ignore our spiritual condition and practice fake Christianity.  One of the main purposes of Christian fellowship and corporate worship is to encourage us with our Christian walk.  When one person struggles, his brothers and sisters can encourage him to repent and draw near to God instead of drifting away.  Unfortunately, all humans tend to take good things (like corporate worship) and turn them into meaningless rituals.  We like comfort and repetition.  We don’t like being open and honest with each other.  We don’t like breaking our routines.  We often forget that intent is more important than ritual. 

The Israelites had gone through a long period of ritual and fake religion which led to the Babylonian captivity.  Isaiah 1:2-20 says:

2 Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth!

This is what the Lord says:

“The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.

3 Even an ox knows its owner,

and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—

but Israel doesn’t know its master.

My people don’t recognize my care for them.”

4 Oh, what a sinful nation they are—loaded down with a burden of guilt.

They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord.

They have despised the Holy One of Israel

and turned their backs on him.

5 Why do you continue to invite punishment?

Must you rebel forever?

Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.

6 You are battered from head to foot—

covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—

without any soothing ointments or bandages.

7 Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned.

Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes

and destroy everything they see.

8 Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned

like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard,

like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest,

like a helpless city under siege.

9 If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of us,

we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.

10 Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.”

Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”

11 “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord.

“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of fattened cattle.

I get no pleasure from the blood

of bulls and lambs and goats.

12 When you come to worship me,

who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?

13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;

the incense of your offerings disgusts me!

As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath

and your special days for fasting—

they are all sinful and false.

I want no more of your pious meetings.

14 I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.

They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!

15 When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.

Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,

for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

16 Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight.

Give up your evil ways.

17 Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed.

Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

18 “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

I will make them as white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson,

I will make them as white as wool.

19 If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.

20 But if you turn away and refuse to listen,

you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.

I, the Lord, have spoken (ESV)!”

  What a powerful passage of scripture!  God mentioned many important Hebrew rituals in this passage.  He was the one who originally asked them to keep these rituals when He gave them the Law.  However, what He really wanted was a people whose hearts were devoted to Him.  The Hebrews had become a people who were following meaningless rituals and traditions without maintaining the true intent behind the action.  We may be able to fake it and fool others, but we can’t fool God.  He sees past our fake worship and meaningless rituals.  He desires true worship from our hearts.  He desires a real relationship where we admit our weaknesses, hold each other up and continually refocus our hearts and minds on Him. 

            This is why I ask, “Does worship belong in the church?”  I am a Christian musician, and I love worship, but I don’t love fake worship.  I don’t go to church to listen to or participate in a musical performance.  I go there to draw near to God and encourage (or be encouraged by) my brothers and sisters. 

So the answer to our question about worship is both yes and no.  Yes, the act of worshiping God together in unity is a great element to have in a church service.  No, the ritualistic act of corporate worship is not acceptable to God or beneficial for us.  We need to come back to a place as a Church where we have a balance between order and honesty.  We need to be flexible enough to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit if a time of repentance is needed before worship.  We need to be holding each other accountable in a positive, encouraging and understanding way.  We need to put aside ritual, and come back to true worship in the church.