reading bruno123's topic "When do you stop playing music?" i was thinking what makes people (here and where ever) play, sing, compose and so on...
would be interesting to see, in every case, what exactly gives you the strenght to go on playing/singing until such honorable age of 81... really, i have the greatest admiration for our "forumists" here that are keep doing their music for such a long time! and i just hope i can go on until i'll be 81... but even 80 would be satisfactory...

so, for myself, beside playing keyboard for my own satisfaction, i try to send a message thru my music, and that gives me even more desire to go on! in my case - the christian message. i've been playin/singing in the church or different christian teams since i was 13. now i am 30 of age and i still do it. and i want to continue of course!

are there some other among us that are motivated also by such a conviction? i know there are!... but i don t know how many.

post please!

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http://adimatis.uv.ro

I try not to preach to a captive audience especially to a captive elderly audience.
However I do sing christian songs wherever possible and let the musice do the talking.
I must say on the whole I sing conservative christian music alone with other songs.
By the way I am 72 years young.

Cousin Ken

I have been involved with church music for years, as organist/music director/choir member, and soloist. This is addition to playing out as an one man band.

I am 65

I have been involved with Christian music at different times in my life. First with guitar then with a keyboard.


We all have a favorite type of music and style of playing. Christian music first came to me as country music, later it evolved into semi-rock. A poor choice of word but I have no other descriptive word.

I have a CD with Babbie Mason singing in a jazz style, sounds great. About 10 years ago a guitarist came to our church and played with a 50”s feel.

My question;
Have any of you heard or played Christian music played I a different style like Jazz, big band or music of the 40’s?
How do you play your Christen music?

John C.

Adimatis, I keep playing because:
1-I love it.
2-It’s me.
3-And to view it from a Christian point – It is a gift that God has given me, I must do the best of my ability, and I am to use it as long as He wants me to.
You see, I am not in charge.

i have been singing and playing in church since i was 8 for pleasure first and foremost and then as a form of ministry. Most of what i play is urban gospel music, traditional gospel and old classic hymns. I I play simply becuase i love the music and that love drives me to play. Simple as that

I am 37.

I learned to play organ, and was taking lessons, when I was in my twenties, but stopped learning after about 4 years. Just played a song or two every once in a while. Then I started attending Pentecostal services, and the music the worhsip team play made me want to start playing these songs. They play contemporary christian music. I call it Vineyard music. The "WOW Worship" CD's are typical of this type of music. I like Brian Doerksen and Darlene Zschech and her Hillsong friends. I don't have the chops yet to play in a service, but I love playing these songs. I'm 58.
Hi Spalding what's "urban gospel"? Are there any examples of this type of music? Midi files. etc.? Typical music singers or groups? What type of "Styles" would you use to play this music?



[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 08-23-2006).]

hillsong is one of my favourites, and Shout to the lord one of the best albums, IMO. i translated alot of their songs for my p&w team, and i tell you, in here (romania, europe) was very very popular among young christians and in general pentecostal/charismatic churches!

i love all kind of christian music, but i play/sing and compose more pop, pop-rock, country, romanian folk.

is interesting to see that actually many of us have played music in the church sometimes along.

Hi Starkeeper. Urban Gospel music represents a higher form of "RnB" "soul"music with not just more conscious uplifting and appropriate lyricks but also a much much higher standard of vocals, musicianship and muic production production. Typical examples are Marvin Sapp, The minister John P Kee , Fred Hammond etc. Search on the net and you will find examples of the music. Go on GospelKeyboards.com and listen to the style of keyboard playing on there which is a fusion of jazz and RnB. The rhythms are very similar to contemporary soul but the chord progessions and structure, vocal harmonies etc are much more complex and jazz orientated.

It touches me in ways that other music just cant......

I'm also currently with a Pentecostal/Charismatic church. I play mostly contemporary songs such as those that Starkeeper's mentioned. Oftentimes I play for our small group and occasionally for the larger church. Been playing for the last 20 years mostly on weekends as a volunteer. Not professional level yet but trying to reach that level. I also had previous backgrounds with the "traditional" churches such as Baptist and Catholic and played music there as well in a band.

Currently also been composing some songs as well. I played PSR3000 and mostly performed in one mand band with me as the worship leader and a few singers. Occasionally in a band also.

I love Shout to the Lord 2000.
Starkeeper

Hi,

I play almost exclusively Christian music. I'm a keyboard player in the Mike Wells band and we're pretty active travling around NJ, Staten Island, Eastern PA. I'm also the Worship Leader at my church, a Southern Baptist church. I love rock mainly, pop-rock and I love prog-rock. CHECK OUT NEAL MORSE's Testimony CD. FANTASTIC STUFF!!!. It floored me when I first heard it. But I also love blues, country (mostly the older more traditional country like Mearle Haggard, Hank Williams Sr but I really enjoy southern rock too ie Allman Bros, Lynyrd Skynyrd and some jazz. I play Christian music in all those styles.
I'm 44, been playing Christian music since Jesus saved me back in 96, about 10 years now. Before that I played in an original rock band for about 8 years. There's really no style I don't like, I just have an affinity to rock and prog rock I guess due mainly to my teen years. "Teenage Wasteland" was like an anthem for me.! So I really like the Doors, the Who, Yes, Pink Floyd, the Stones, Zep, yes even most of Black Sabbath, FogHat, Deep Purple... I think you get the picture.

as much as I still like to listen to that stuff, I see no real purpose in playing it out. I fool around at home once in a while with that, But God has called me into his ministry of music. I play for His people in an effort to help them enter into a heart of worship. That's my calling and When I play music in the aforementioned styles, its easy for me to enter into worship as well. I also do enjoy a great number of traditional Hymns, especially those of a southern gospel style.

Anyway...

God bless
Bob
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I play very ancient Maronite Catholic Music. This is similar to some of the music played in the Passion Of Christ movie. I started when I was nine playing on a foot pump organ called those days (Harmonium).
Tony Azar

I was a Methodist teen music leader, sequenced an entire 60 minute kids musical on a D-20 (way back) and was the pianist and organist at a Nazarene Church in MI.
zuki

The best jazz musicians in this area try to get gigs at a local Holiness church. The organist (B-3) is an 80 year old 80 pound lady who ROCKS! Music is bass, rhodes, misc keys, guitar, 4 horns, drums, percussionist and choir. Argueably, the best all roundd music in the area.

Russ

I have been involved in Christian music all my life...first as a teen I sang in a local Youth For Christ singing group that toured. Then as a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, I sang in a male quartet and played in the concert band. When I graduated, I came home and began directing the choir at our 200 member church. Now, decades later, I'm still at the same church which has grown to 700+ members and I am full-time minister of music there. I love every style of christian music. Different styles reach different people. That's why our Church worship philosophy calls for the best of the past blended with the best of the present. It makes for an interesting mix of music in our services. I love what I do and I hope to be able to do it until my last breath. What would this world be like - what would the church be like - without the wonderful gift of music for us to express ourselves to our Creator!

On a side note: Adimatis, our church just sent a team of teenagers to Romania last month to work for a week at a youth camp there. Our youth pastor's wife is Romanian, thus the connection.

Tim

[This message has been edited by CoasterTim (edited 08-23-2006).]

[This message has been edited by CoasterTim (edited 08-23-2006).]

I have been the music director/choirmaster of a suburban Catholic church for 34 yrs. I also played an additional 2yrs in the parish where I attended high school. It is very rewarding. And though it is not enormously time consuming, it's always prime time. I have written a mass setting and some psalm setting we use in our church. Just over the past few years have I been able to get away for more than a weekend or two at a time.
Because I needed to be home most weekends, playing in a band was a good fit. Now I am retired from my day job (school teacher) and have plenty of time for music, but the gigs aren't there anymore. So, I am really putting a lot of effort into my church music. There will be no pension from this job, so I'm sticking around for a few more choruses.

Playing in Church and other Christian events like weddings, visiting elederly people is the main thing I do. I play Arranger Keyboard, record Backing tracks/SMFs, piano, organ, accordion, guitar, Sound, singing...
I know other christian groups doing alot of missionary around the world, and their main job is Singing and Mudic.
and there's also lots of memories for me that are related to music, like when i remember the times my uncles and other people were practicing late at night to play at weddings or even at jail, when i was just a kid. So music is extremly big part of my life, like Spiritually, emotionaly, buisness wise...
I'm glad someone started this thread.

I was wondering what keyboards you use. I am trying to get into gospel and would like to know if any arranger boards work better than others for the style.

i have been singing and playing in church since i was 8 for pleasure first and foremost and then as a form of ministry. Most of what i play is urban gospel music, traditional gospel and old classic hymns. I I play simply becuase i love the music and that love drives me to play. Simple as that

I am 37.[/B][/QUOTE]

Oops...I meant to direct my post to Spalding in particular, but anyone is welcome to offer information and advice.

that is so cool! you didn t mention the location, but if the team was working in the national youth camp "christ for romania", and they come from new york, i might've seen them there!
if they are from chicago, then must be a different camp than where i've been this year.
also, the pastor of the church where i do praise and worship is american, from reach out ministries, new york! small world!

playing/singing christian music is the best way to make the best out of your talent! bring some more testimonies!


[This message has been edited by adimatis (edited 08-23-2006).]

YKC. Gospel music is not in fact a style of music. It is nthe central theme of the music and will come in any form so there is no keyboard that is more suited to it than another. Having said that, for more contemporary styles of gospel music you should be able to find ample on preetty much any arranger currently on the market but i personally favour the PA1X for its soulful grooves . If you have the talent though you can create your own styles which i do 30% of the time so the simple answer is any current arranger will suffice. What is more useful to you is to start listening to the various forms of Gospel music and experimenting with them as you develope your ear and feel for the music. There are no short cuts my brother !

[/B][/QUOTE]

I Play Roland VA76, and also Play Roland G-1000, mostly G-1000 in church, because its church's keyboard. VA76 has about 800 styles in it, thanx to the ZipDisk, I used some gospel styles and they were ok and original, but when i play in church most of the time i use a style A45(in G-1000) or &8Beat5(in VA76). when I played song:"On the Old rugged cross" i used like a "jazzwalts" style, So Roland has lots of Gospel Styles, or other styles for Gospel Songs.

well, thanks for participating! is good to know there are people sharing the same belief, principles and values, and i wish you all the blessings! and continue making music for his glory! one day should be nice to have alot of keyboard players praising togheter!