Spring Harvest children's worship songs

[jim bailey]

Having done some vocals on Spring Harvest pre-school worship cd, i got to thinking how many children's worship songs are written that are used by others especially from SH children's worship albums. the quality of the songs on the Sh pre-school album range from quality crafted well thought thru songs to lowest common denominator. I kind of cringe inside when people rush up to me with a new song they have just written in 10 minutes. It takes me about about a year to craft, wait and work on a song, and its not uncommon to have 9 to 10 re-writes of pieces of the song. I suppose there are original well crafted songs that stand the test of time, then there are 'ikea print' songs. what is your favourite children's worship song ?, and why ?. how much is it personal taste that filters your song selections and how much is it functionability !

[Steve Morgan-Gurr]

Under 5's are still emerging from nursery rhymes. Hitting them with the full pop band volume, effects and concepts may well reduce some of them to tears and I don't think is appropriate for this age group. They are not adult or teenagers. What is needed is stuff that teaches a worthwhile truth using simple language, is enjoyable, and is repetitious and easily remembered by non-readers. It needs to avoid concepts, and to rhyme and scan [that's why we can all remember nursery rhymes!]
There are very few writers who specialise in this age group, but do take a look at some of Ishmaels titles:
Praise songs for Little Children; Little songs for Little Children; and Worship songs for Little Children.
Another name to look for is Julia Plaut who has written much for the under 5's. and refreshingly shows that guitar band & volume aren't the only musical tools - and possibly not the best ones - for this age group. Search out some of Paul Crouch's songs too.
I do hope that this debate enthuses more people to look at music for this age group more seriously, and share their findings.

[Graeme]

I have to say that the cd's that so far have seemed most relevant to the children I have responsibility for have been the New Wine Little Angels, which have seemed to mix some degree of modernity with good message and usability and also humour for those of us having to use them. But I guess it will differ for all of us and our situations.

[jim bailey]

Great to see the recent thoughts and comments. reading one of steves early comments on this thread. i thought it would be good to include Isaac watts preface to the 1715 edition of divine songs for children. its a mandate for all children's songwriters and very challenging. I have to confess i have let things go in my playing live and been relying far to much on backing tracks, very good ones from my albums.
I have started to add live songs in the altogether worship shows and percussion including boomwhackers.which are tuned percussion tubes, great for 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 year olds and have concentrated and read lots lots lots in the last few years on mastering the craft of songwriting. Stephen fry has a great book the "ode less traveled," its challenging and hard work. far too often i have taken the most even and smooth way out as its hard work practicing all the time . but as they say practice makes. well not a lot of money really. !!!. Its hard work to learn new skills and push myself farther than i have gone before.
Writing songs is an art form like painting, we create light and shade with tone and rhyme as we try to attempt to make invisible audible and applaudable
thanks for adding to this little talk its all great stuff heres Mr Watts. ( thanks steve for first putting me on to this in 2005)
DIVINE SONGS
ATTEMPTED IN EASY LANGUAGE,
FOR THE USE OF CHILDREN
WITH SOME ADDITIONAL COMPOSURES.

[first published in 1715]

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES AND SUCKLINGS, THOU HAST PERFECTED PRAISE.
MATT. xxi. 16.

PREFACE,
TO ALL THAT ARE CONCERNED IN THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN,

MY FRIENDS,

It is an awful and important charge that is committed to you. The wisdom and welfare of the succeeding generation are intrusted with you beforehand, and depend much on your conduct. The seeds of misery or happiness in this world, and that to come are oftentimes sown very early; and therefore whatever may conduce to give the minds of children a relish for virtue and religion ought, in the first place, to be proposed to you.

Verse was at first designed for the service of God, though it hath been wretchedly abused since. The ancients, among the Jews and the Heathens, taught their children and disciples the precepts of morality and worship in verse. The children of Israel were commanded to learn the words of the song of Moses, Deut. xxxi 19, 50, and we are directed in the New Testament, not only to sing "with grace in the heart, but to teach and admonish one another by hymns and songs," Ephes. v. 19. And there are these four advantages in it.

I. There is a great delight in the very learning of truths and duties this way. There is something so amusing and entertaining in rhymes and metre, that will incline children to make this part of their business a diversion. And you may turn their very duty into a reward, by giving them the privilege of learning one of these songs every week, if they fulfil the business of the week well, and promising them the book itself, when they hare learnt ten or twenty songs out of it.

II. What is learnt in verse is longer retained in memory, and sooner recollected. The like sounds, and the like number of syllables, exceedingly assist the remembrance. And it may often happen, that the end of a song running in the mind may be an effectual means to keep off some temptations, or to incline to some duty, when a word of scripture is not upon their thoughts.

III. This will be a constant furniture of the minds of children, that they may have something to think upon when alone, and sing over to themselves. This may sometimes give their thoughts a divine turn, and raise a young meditation. Thus they will not be forced to seek relief for an emptiness of mind, out of the loose and dangerous sonnets of the age.

IV. These Divine Songs may be a pleasant and proper matter for their daily or weekly worship, to sing one in the family, at such time as the parents or governors shall appoint; and therefore I have confined the verse to the most usual psalm tunes.

The greatest part of this little book was composed several years ago, at the request of a friend, who has been long engaged in the work of catechising a very great number of children of all kinds, and with abundant skill and success. So that you will find here nothing that savours of a party: the children of high and low degree, of the church of England or Dissenters, baptised in infancy, or not, may all join together in these Songs. And as I have endeavoured to sink the language to the level of a child's understanding and yet to keep it, if possible, above contempt; so I have designed to profit all, if possible, and offend none. I hope the more general the sense is, these composures may be of the more universal use and service

I have added at the end, some attempts of sonnets on moral subjects, for children, with an air of pleasantry, to provoke some fitter pen to write a little book of them.

May the Almighty God make you faithful in this important work of education; may he succeed your cares with his abundant grace, that the rising generation of Great Britain may be a glory among the nations, a pattern to the Christian world, and a blessing to the Earth!