Dear Worship Leader,
Do you get stuck while creating song lists? Feeling confined by your time limit on Sundays? Are you looking for ways to add creativity or variety to your worship services?
TRY A WORSHIP SONG MASHUP!
Check out these FOUR TIPS that will help you create a seamless mashup that feels cohesive and not forced.
1. Choose songs that have themes or lyrical content that are somewhat similar in nature.
Example:
Holy Spirit + God's Presence
God's Love For Us + The Cross
Healing + Miracles
2. Make sure the time signatures (beats/counts per measure) of both songs are the same so that they flow well together.
Example:
Good Good Father (Chris Tomlin) 6/8 time + Run To The Father (Cody Carnes) 6/8 time
*This doesn’t mean you can NEVER blend two songs together that have different time signatures. BUT, you will need to think through the transition and create a space or moment to establish the new meter which makes it feel less like a mashup or medley.
3. Choose songs that have tempos/speeds within 0-3 bpm of each other. (Any more than that and one of the songs may feel too slow or too fast.)
Example:
Worthy (Elevation) 67 bmp + Worthy of It All (David Bremer) 68 bmp
*There can be an exception to this, but again, there needs to be some transition space to ease into the second (slower) song so it’s not an abrupt shift.
4. Make sure the songs are in the same key.
You may really want to lead two specific songs in a mashup, but be aware that putting them in the same key may not work for your range or serve the song well. In this case, one song could be led by a male and the other by a female.
Let's say I want to mash up Reckless Love with How He Loves. If I'm leading Reckless Love in the key of C as a female, but I know that How He Loves in C is not the most effective for my range and is closer to a male key, then I’d have a male take that part of the mashup.
Example:
Reckless Love (Female) Key of C + How He Loves (Male) Key of C
What A Beautiful Name (Female) Key of D + Break Every Chain (Female) Key of D
REMEMBER, the arrangement needs to flow well and makes musical sense. A mashup should be sections of songs knit together or one full song with part of another song. I personally love doing a full song and then flowing into the bridge or chorus of another song, but be creative and find what works as you're led by the Lord.
Workshop the medley and practice worshiping through the songs to see what sections flow best into each other.
Check out several mashups I’ve recorded HERE, including one of my favorites: “Nothing Else + Heart of Worship”.
What mashups or medleys have you used in worship? Let me know so I can share them!!!