On the message boards we have been discussing the use of, or perhaps the lack of the use of, innovative ideas in Southern Gospel Music today. Someone raised the question, and I paraphrase here: "Should we use the new innovations of the world, just because they are there?" Well that sort of asked me, "Do we want to change just for the sake of change?" Upon glancing at this question the logical answer would be NO, why change just because everyone else is changing. Let's take a closer look at that question.
There are some things that should NEVER change in Southern Gospel Music. Things like the message of the music. We should always stress that Jesus is the center of our music. Without Him we are just positive music. There is nothing wrong with positive music, but that is not what we are about. We are about sharing the Gospel message and we should NEVER change that.
We currently have, and for that matter have always had a variety of sounds in Southern Gospel Music. From the beginning of our genre there have been quartets, trios, soloists, family groups, and even mixed groups that weren't related. We should NEVER change that. This is not just a quartet genre anymore than it is just any one style genre. There has always been a mixture of sounds.
We have always had a mixture of entertainment and ministry. Our singers have entertained and the message of our songs minister to the hearts of those people listening. We should NEVER change that. People should always come away from a Southern Gospel concert feeling better than they came in and by entertaining them and giving them the message of the Gospel they are sure to leave that way.
We have always performed our sacred music in churches as well as in concert halls. We should NEVER change that.
There are many things that we should never change, but what about keeping up with the times as far as innovative presentations.
Jesus spoke out on the mountain side without a PA system; we thankfully don't have to do it that way. I remember when the first PA system I bought was a 50 watt Bogen. Whew, I'm glad those days are gone and that we made some changes in the PA systems that we use today. Our Southern Gospel groups should be using the very best PA systems that they can afford. We need to make changes and progress with the advances that our society or world has to offer us.
What about the microphones? I remember singing around two big ole clumsy mics, and hoping that the singer next to me hadn't eaten onions for dinner. We changed, and that was for the better.
What about using stacks on our recordings? It's been done in country music and other secular genres for years, yet many balk at changing what's done on our recordings. For that matter what about soundtracks? This is another innovative thing that was frowned upon for years, and some will use the term "canned" music in a derogatory manner. Should we make these changes, just because they are available? You betcha, if it enhances our music.
Have you gone back and listened to the old 78s or 33 1/3s? If not, you should and compare the difference in quality of recordings between then and now (I am not speaking about performance or talent, but the quality of the recording techniques). I for one don't want to go back to that. Why, because we don't have to. Let's keep that change just for the sake of changing it for the better.
What about our style of dress? Should we change that just because we can? Of course. How many of you are wearing the same style of clothes that you wore 30 years ago? Probably none of you. That might be because you don't fit into what you were wearing 30 years ago, but face it, styles change just for the sake of changing and we should keep up with the times. Of course it's understood that our dress should remain modest, but I'm just talking style. I know I don't want to go back to the "Leisure suits" or "Derby Hats."
What about hairstyles? As long as the cut is still modest, what does it hurt for the youngsters to have a little spike in their hair? There is a little spot on the back of my head that if I could get hair to grow on it, I'd let it spike all it wanted to. Should we change hair styles just for the sake of changing? With moderation, of course we should. Why should the young people we are trying to attract to our music look that much differently than their friends? Hair styles constantly change, so if you don't care for one now, just hold on and one will come along that you do like.
Should we change for the sake of change? Well sometimes we should, and sometimes we shouldn't. What we need to do is keep our priorities in the right place. How many churches have you heard of that split over the color of the carpet? Their priorities were not where they needed to be. We don't need to split Southern Gospel Music over hair-dos, or suits, or stacks or PA systems. We need to make sure that our priority is on spreading the message of this music, and that is the glorious Gospel of Christ.
Author: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Written: 03/31/2004
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Category: Monthly ArticlesEditorials
Comments: 4
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Deon, excellent article. I think your comments are right on target and couldn't agree more. Might be the closeness of our ages but I'd like to think that it is more of our love for this type of music that fuels our thirst for more and better ways to enhance our presentation of the gospel through music without compremising the message we carry to the world, for the world. :thumbsup:
Great article, Deon. Some change is good, especially if it enhances the Message we are trying to convey. :thumbsup:
God is good all the time & all the time God is good.
Elaine Harcourt
Deon, great thoughts. The only part I have trouble with is the stacked vocals. A little is okay to enhance, but not to use as a crutch. It can make the vocalists lazy, relying on recorded vocal stacks. This was the case this past weekend. I heard a young quartet that had 'em stacked to the max. Their live lead-ins wer weak and sometimes flat, which was an indication to me that they couldn't carry it off totally live. This should never be.
Deon, I think this is a very good summary of what has been discussed on this sight for the past several weeks. Change for the better is always needed. I suppose the same old argument could be brought up "who determines what is better, etc......". People have a tendency to stereotype fads and trends to a certain lifestyle. When that "identity" tag comes with the change, then we as Christians should really discern if that particular change is important and what will it do for our testimony. I personally like listening to the "old stuff" because I believe it shows the artist's "raw" talent. I think "man if they sounded that good without the techno improvements, what would they sound like with them?" On the otherhand, I like many of the current groups. I lean toward quartets because I love bass singers and good tenors. I'll never forget the first time our youngest son (7 yrs old at the time) heard JD with the Masters V hit a low note that rumbled the seats. My son leaned over to his mother, and with eyes the size of silver dollars said "mom, he made my seat move!" From that day on he was hooked on SG. Today, he rumbles those same seats at the age of 25, singing with a quartet.
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