KEYS
WORSHIP KEYS TRENDS AND TRADITIONS | David Pfaltzgraff
Have you ever heard an actual pipe organ in person ? I ’ m not talking about a small , digital version plugged into a sound system . I mean the authentic , insanely complex system of massive pipes and moving air spanning up across the entire front wall of a cathedral with chest-pounding bass and enough high end to burst an eardrum ? worship you ’ re bound to hear both of those sounds and styles sprinkled throughout . That upright piano sound ? All over the stuff being released by Maverick City Music . And that big , barreling pipe organ vibe has been used by Bethel Music , Hillsong Worship , and many others , albeit often washed out with a healthy dose of reverb . contemporary worship music catches on .
Skeptical ? Check out Young & Free ’ s ‘ Phenomena ’ and ‘ Best Friends ’ for a taste of Weezer meets worship ( and while you ’ re at it watch the music video for ‘ Best Friends ’, complete with 1x1 aspect ratio and a VHS aesthetic ).
If you ’ ve never experienced the sound of a skilled pipe organist filling a space used by generation after generation , I highly recommend seeking it out .
So when it comes to your worship keys and piano playing is it helpful to draw a distinction between trendy and traditional ? Is it even possible to do so ?
What does this mean for the worship keys player ? For now , it just means paying attention , staying flexible , and being open to filling new and different spaces as trends come and go .
Tradition . GRUNGE WORSHIP
HOME BASE
Then of course there ’ s the classic , slightly out of tune upright piano tucked off to the side of countless small , country churches . Pounding out beautiful hymns like ‘ Great Is Thy Faithfulness ’ and ‘ How Great Thou Art ’ in rhythmic and melodic precision .
Again , I think most would classify that as ‘ traditional ’.
But if you listen to enough contemporary
It ’ s helpful to contextualize this conversation with real current or future trends . Like it or not , ‘ grunge worship ’ is here and coming , in my opinion . A renewed interest in all things pop culture from the early 90s means Nirvana and countless other classic grunge groups will doubtlessly influence the next five years of modern worship music . The ‘ Sour ’ album by Olivia Rodrigo topping the 2021 charts with its heavy grunge influence is a great example of what that might look like sonically once
In contrast to this image of your favorite grunge band repeating that final bridge for the fourth time , there are some core spaces that aren ’ t going anywhere for the worship keys player anytime soon .
This article is titled ‘ Trends and Traditions ’, not ‘ Trends versus Traditions ’ for a reason . While it ’ s helpful and exciting to make an effort to keep up with where contemporary worship music is going it ’ s also important to stay focused on the