How to Play 16-Bar Congregational Songs in Gospel Music

hi I'm Damien Sneed and I'm here to talk with you about a form commonly known in gospel music some churches may call it praise and worship music but I'd like to call it today the 16-bar congregational song I'm going to be joined today by my colleagues on drums quinn brown singing tenor Jory Nance singing Alto Tiffany Stevenson and singing soprano Mattia Washington for the 16-bar congregational song there are a couple of basic chords that are used now many people different opinion as to whether they should be set in minor a flat minor and some of them may use an A flat 7 this actually is dependent upon what region these songs may be sung in for example in the South in a particular area they may sing with the minor but in some other areas up in the north they may actually have a chord that's more modernized as they'd say but it's really not modern it's just a different chord which actually works as a type of substitution which could be an A flat seven eight the thirteenth now this is very important because it really depends upon what the singers are singing sometimes the singers may sing for example an a-flat major they may sing a C and a flat and E flat which would be the second inversion of a flat major but then they may also sing be natural RC flat but it would be it'd be natural here in this instance a flat and E flat if they're singing minor we're going to give you an example of that shortly but getting back to the basic progression of the chords for a 16-bar congregational song so we start off with the minor are maybe the a flat 7 so we'll use a flat 7 now in my left hand I have a flat E flat then I have the 7th G flat our F sharp then I have the third with my second finger in the right hand is C natural then I have the 13th F and then I have again the tonic a flat this sound is quite important because it also utilizes the tritone f sharp and see so for example if these congregational songs were sung with the bass player are they were done with the bass player the keyboard player are even if they were playing on organ could actually use try tones as is done in the style of playing blues f-sharp and C and to go to the 4 chord they could go down a half step in the left hand to F EB now I have a flat as the octave so again the chord progression would be a flat 7 to 13 then a D flat 7th the 4 chord then back to the 1 back to the 4 then chromatically move down to the 2 7 which would be B flat 7 B 7 B flat 7 that is e flat 7 with the ninth for e-flat that is v 5 7 then back to 1 our a minor now there are a number of songs which are interchangeable they can actually be looped much like a cannon or row you can just constantly repeat them and many times in this instance for congregational singing the idea is to call the people together to call them to a place of being ready for the service and they usually are songs of praise meaning they come in and they give thanks to God are they're thankful for what's happened in their week or they're thankful for what's gone on in their day they're just coming to give things so now in modern times these songs have come to become known as praise and worship but in times past they might have been congregational songs depending on what denomination are what sect of Christianity a person was in but they also have been called not just congregational songs are not just praising worship songs but they were called devotional songs so we're going to do an example now and we're going to have the jumps that are going to play along with me and I'm going to describe for you I'm going to stop them at times but you're going to hear them going back and forth between the minor and a flat and you'll hear the a flat 7 we're going to go back and forth between about 4 or 5 songs one two oh one two one two three a flat seven a flat minor I'll go back neat button seven I'm gonna play down the formula song first one up to the four two five one four that's the whole pattern 2 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 6 2 3 4 7 2 3 4 8 2 3 1 1 2 3 4 2 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 4 3 5 3 6 2 7 2 3 4 8 now we're going to sing about 4 or 5 different songs that actually line up with this pattern 2 8 bar patterns the same thing 16 bar conjugation song have you tried Jesus he's alright he's alright try Jesus he's alright I can joy when I think about later for me try when I think about me I get shot when I think about me when I think about Hey now in this time of devotion our congregational singing our praise and worship the soloist Tamar the leader would change the words they would be totally interchangeable with whatever they wanted to say for example we just finished singing if you live right but I've may change the words like this ready if you're playing right if you're right if you bring it down again and this actually happens a lot where the soloists are the leader will safe bring the music down because during this time they'll talk to the complication to try to encourage them and to take the service higher and higher now the other thing that's done is something that we're all familiar with the music a musical term called the family now I can vamp as I'm doing now CC by DT but F extra big eggplant so basically face the scale degree and I'll start on the third some people also call the shelter but I'm sick of paying or I can go to the for one two three four then back down to the floor at this time I'm going to improvise follow me if Heaven is where I want to go heaven is where I wanna go to the for now the one happened now what I'm doing the basically going I'm just going to the five F sharp G a flat a flat D flat F F G a flat or I can actually do chromaticism with the six and you hear the snare is on the backbeat so to speak one two three four one two three four one two three and then also many times the singers will invert take it up sixteen bar congregational song now you have the idea try it for yourself

Channel: Jazz at Lincoln Center's JAZZ ACADEMY

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Keywords: jazz, jazz education, essentially ellington, Gospel (Quotation Subject), Gospel Music (Musical Genre), Hammond Organ (Musical Instrument), damien sneed, jazz academy, Jazz At Lincoln Center (Venue), Music Education (Field Of Study), Vocal Harmony (Musical Instrument), call and response, Sacred Music (Musical Genre)

Id: SepVdCiM2ek

Length: 11min 41sec (701 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 18 2016