I was having a conversation with one of my piano students today that got me to thinking. My student is the pianist for a worship band composed of youth from our church - a good band, I might add. As we were lining up her repertoire of classical as well as church-music pieces she brought up the fact that sometimes she feels a bit irrelevant in the band - that what she contributes isn't really that important. Understand, she wasn't complaining about the band or its leadership, but rather the type of music that is out there for this particular genre. We talked about the fact that today's worship music is largely written for guitar-based bands, as evidenced by the keys many songs are written in which are not pianistic but rather cater to guitarists - what we call "sharp keys." We finally decided that we would go back a few years and pull out some music that was more piano-centered and that contained chord progressions from which she could gain a good foundation for her playing.
So, that said, I wonder if the piano will one day play little or no roll in our church services? My student and I laughed at how we hear a song and, no matter what insrumental arrangement it was originally written for, we instantly shoe-horn it into the piano/organ/bass/drums framework that we've used for years. And seriously, have you ever tried to play some of our new songs on the organ? Give me a break! I feel like I might fall asleep between chords sometimes!
Personally, I think it will take us some time to ever completely move away from our foursome. Actually, I wonder if we EVER will? Or will the piano be relegated to the corner where the previously lowly guitars used to be and the GUITARS will take the place on the platform in the spot where the piano/keyboard once stood? Okay, so I'm an old kermudgeon, but I hope that never happens. (I can already feel the dirty looks)
My last comment didn't get saved! I was remarking on how the piano isn't even necessary. Just organ, bass, and drums. Or, maybe just keyboards (organ, piano, electric piano). I suppose guitar, bass and drums works, too.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know. Puts us out of a job! (Well me anyway, I can't play organ!)
I had the privilege to study under an interesting humanities instructor who proposed that with respect to the history of music the sacred and the secular where not two trees or two branches but two sides of the same branch. Ergo every genre is comprised of both sacred and secular songs. Wile pop/rock/rap (ether sacred or secular) do not use piano often and they are the prominent genres today, jazz/R&B (also ether sacred or secular) do use piano and nether genre is dead or dying.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to propose that with a bit of skill, hard work and a leap of faith that most all songs can be adapted to work with almost any interment grouping nether, piano, guitar, bass or drums are required, only useful.
John,
ReplyDeleteYour instructor was quite right that all genres have both sacred and secular - even today's styles are this way. No, piano is not emphasized in them all in today's music, but I guess I was just noting the seeming decline of its use as the "lead" or "main" instrument. I see it being relegated more and more to an accessory role instead of the instrument which all others follow in our church services.
Ann