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Worship Leader Magazine Reviews > home
The June 2009
issue of Worship Leader Magazine reviewed both our WorshipFlow.com and HymnCharts.com websites.
Download this review as a PDF
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Programming Resources
by Warren
Anderson
The Internet
is increasingly
becoming a wellspring
of worship
resources,
with something for
churches
of every
style, structure, and theological
bent.
Here
are two sites that will prove
helpful
to worship
leaders facilitating corporate
worship
in a
wide range of diverse settings. |
WORSHIPFLOW.COM
Flow in worship
is important.
This can't
be reiterated
enough. A worship
set with
abrupt transitions
can interfere
with the
goal of proclaiming
God's narrative
through
the narrative
arc of our
corporate worship.
Of course,
the Holy Spirit
can and does work
despite such
interference,
but why make the
job more difficult
WorshipFlow.com
takes the guesswork
out of
getting smoothly
from one song
to the next
and alleviates
the frustration
of forsaking
an excellent
sequence of
songs that heretofore
would have
been unthinkable
(or at least
undesirable)
because of
awkward key changes.
The process
works like
this: Click on the
key you're
coming from.
Click on the key
you're going
to. WorshipFlow
spits out a
transition
that makes
sense, no matter how
wacky the modulation.
You want to
move from
"I Will
Rise"
in B to "A New
Hallelujah"
in G? Click.
Click. You're
there - with
a lead sheet
(chords and keyboard
score), chord
chart (chords
and rhythm),
MP3 file, and/or
MIDI file to
show you the
way. Better
still, you
can choose from 12
different underscore
templates to
help tailor
the transition
to the mood
you are establishing.
In the event
that you're
not sure what kind
of feel you
need, the templates
have suggestions
for what kinds
of songs might
work well with
each pattern
(e.g. "use
with songs like
'Above All'").
If that wasn't
enough, creator
Don Chapman's
site also offers
small groups
of short hymn
interludes,
short audio
transitions (MP3s),
that can be
used as soundtracks
if you'd
rather not
or are unable
to have the band
do the transitions
and prayers
and readings
to accompany
popular worship
choruses. (Here's
hoping he expands
this part of
the site in
the months
to come; these
sections could
be a real help
to creative
worship leaders.)
Granted, for
some of us,
this site will be
superfluous,
as we have
fabulously creative
keyboardists
who can weave
beautiful transitions
out of thin
air, even if
we're moving from
F-sharp to
C. For all
the rest of us - especially
those whose
keyboard players
function best
with printed
music - Chapman's
site will
prove invaluable.
For churches
that are wishing
to move toward
contemporary
worship but aren't
quite there
yet, WorshipFlow.com
could move
you along all
the more quickly.
HYMNCHARTS.COM
WorshipFlow.com
is the kid
brother of HymnCharts.com.
This was Don
Chapman's first
foray into the
world of online
worship resources,
and, to
the best of
my knowledge,
the only worship
resource with
a standing
endorsement from
a late-rounds
contestant
of American Idol
(Chris Sligh,
with whom Chapman
has collaborated
on many occasions).
HymnCharts.com
grew out
of Chapman's
church ministry
and his desire
to bring hymns
into the praise
band mix.
By smoothing
out some of
the more complex
chord structures
(utilizing
usually no more
than two chords
per measure)
and by adding
some gentle
pop-rock sensibilities
and phrasings,
he has succeeded
in finding
middle ground
where well-intended
efforts to
make hymns
palatable to
the modern
ear occasionally
don't - for
rhythmic or
harmonic excesses
that prove
too much for
parishioners of a
certain age
and/or disposition.
Chapman has
amassed a collection
of 120 classic
hymns (at the
time of this
writing), indexed
according to
alphabet (both
title and hymn-tune
name), tempo,
key, meter,
and season. There
is also a hymn-lyrics
search engine,
which
serves as a
concordance
of sorts. More charts
are added at
the rate of
one or two per month,
and Chapman
does a good
job of processing
user feedback
and updating
and improving
the site on
a regular basis.
Each chart comes
with several
possible options
for use, including
two, three,
and four-part
vocals, keyboard
score, parts
for C and B-flat
instruments,
rhythm charts,
PowerPoint
slides, and several
audio options.
For example,
"The Old
Rugged Cross,"
has vocal demo,
stereo
track, drum
loop, piano
only track, and piano/orchestra
track. Many
more-recent
charts have additional
parts as well;
for example,
"The Old
Rugged Cross"
has parts for
synth strings
and sax.
HymnCharts.com
is a second
excellent resource,
one particularly
well-suited
for churches
that are moving
toward blending
the beset
of the old
with the best
of the new.
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