What is EDM?
Well EDM stands for the term Electronic Dance Music and yes we are in the “Age Of EDM”. If I had to define EDM, I would say it is a set of percussive electronically generated music styles and genres produced primarily for dance-based entertainment environments, Ex Nightclubs. In our current state, EDM has become a lot more prevalent than many of us may have anticipated. Not only are the top 40 christian contemporary radio stations painted with it, but you also see independent artists harnessing the power and popularity of EDM music. I am sure some of you may be asking, Why is this even a thing? The truth is that popular music is always in stylistic flux and the influence of EDM is no different. It has been a round a while, but recently it has bled into the mainstream spotlight. You will even see some country music artists drawing upon EDM influences, which is almost unheard of. The secular world is using it for all its got and so the church is responding with joyous and fun filled danceable anthems of praise that exalt the most high. Not to mention that EDM styled music reaches the ears of our youth. With as many youth who are falling away from the faith we, the church, want to give them as many reasons to come through our doors as possible.
So what are some examples of EDM in worship music that are used well? (Spotify Links Below)
This Is Amazing Grace – Phil Wickham
So How Can You Start Incorporating EDM Music At Your Church? Here are 4 things to put on your radar!
1. Start Using Backing Tracks (It’s not as scary as it sounds)
This is actually one of the more important tools to put in your tool belt if you want to “up the stakes of the game”. Churches everywhere are beginning to embrace the value of playing along with electronic backing tracks. The big churches have been doing it for a little while now, but smaller churches have recently been able to embrace this change as well. I use Ableton and play the tracks directly out of my laptop computer that sits right back with the drummer. He cues each song with the click of the spacebar. The set up is actually very easy but I won’t get into it here, I will write a more detailed post about using Ableton and backing tracks soon. The truth of the matter is that you can pull of songs with your team you never would have been able to without backing tracks, and sound great while doing it. One example is Alive by Hillsong Young & Free, our team rocks that song. We play along to the very same backing track Hillsong uses (Multitracks.com makes those available) and it sounds killer.
Here are some resources below.
https://www.ableton.com/en/trial/
2. Make It Fun
When you play “fun” music remind your band that it’s dance music and it requires dancing (to a certain extent). Your band may look at you with concerned facial expressions but really all the dancing they need to do is a little bit a movement to illustrate the fun, nothing corny. Smile and look like you are having a good time as well, I even mention this in my 5 Ways To Create More Engagement post. If you want the congregation to buy in you have to be bought in as well.
3. Don’t Over Do It
Use it sparingly, especially if its new for your team and church. Maybe 1 song out of your set should incorporate some EDM elements. This one might seem like a throw away point but its easy to get carried away. Once you get the concept of a backing track its easy to want to put a cool beat and crazy synths in every song.
4. The Power Of The Keys
You can get a lot of these EDM sounds with your keyboard players, so make sure your church has a good keyboard with lots of good keyboard patches. Also keep track of what your keyboard player is doing. Many of the sounds he or she will be producing are not generated from normal piano approaches. Often its hitting the same note over and over again in a percussive fashion or playing a single lead line with a heavy synth. It is often a lot simpler than it sounds. It may require you as the worship leader to learn more about the keyboard your church owns yourself; I had to do a similar thing at my campus. My key players didn’t understand our keyboard menus so I saved a “Playlist” with all the most common sounds (Piano, Pad, Piano w/ strings, elec key etc) so they could just hit a few buttons and find what I wanted them to play. Unlock the power of your keyboard players!
5. Pay Attention To The Parts
You can create a lot of the sounds you hear on the recording without using tracks or a computer, although they make it easier. The guitar, bass and drums alone can create a killer dance groove. Its all about the style and approach taken so be sure to focus on specific parts when you cover a worship song with these elements. Just because you might not have all the resources at this time doesn’t mean you can’t come closer than you think. Go listen to the examples I have above and focus on the guitars and then focus on what the drummer is doing, and take that back to your team. It’s all about the stylistic approach they take, let this be another tool in your belt as the leader.
Children Of Pursuit 