Crafting the Perfect Prelude
- Feb 4
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 6
Every element of the church service is important. Admittedly, the emphasis on Scripture is the most important. However, music prepares the heart of the believer to be receptive to such Scripture. Thus, music is quite an important element of the church service.
Furthermore, each aspect of the music service is important. From the prelude to the special music, from the congregational singing to the offertory, each setting has unique delights and challenges.
Perhaps one of the more frequently overlooked parts of the music service is the prelude. This is quite a shame, because the prelude sets the tone for the entire service.
Imagine you were to enter into a funeral home that had lively, upbeat background music. Not only would it sound out-of-place, but it would probably make you feel a little awkward.
Now imagine you were to enter a church service that had slow, meditative, even sad music before the service began. Again, the ominous tone would make it seem as if you were preparing to experience a bittersweet send-off, or, worse yet, your favorite team being eliminated from the championship.
All kidding aside, the prelude music and its sound has quite a relevant influence on the overall church service! With this in mind, the church musician must choose his prelude carefully in order to maximize the effectiveness of the service.
Here are the thoughts that we will cover. You can click on each on to skip directly to it. The following points are taken from our book, Hymn Playing Basics: Foundational Concepts. (Click for more info.)
Know them well enough so that you can play them with energy.
Ahead of time, select the keys of the songs that you will use.
Tie your prelude together by theme, key, or even time signature.
For Sunday mornings, adhere to very familiar songs that those unaccustomed to church would recognize.
Generally, avoid skipping the modulations and just starting in a new key.
When playing with other instrumentalists, communicate with them so that you can play well together.
#1 - Choose happy, exciting songs.
As was mentioned previously, the prelude sets the tone for the whole service. Beginning a prelude with "God Be with You Till We Meet Again" would undoubtedly cast a gloom over the service. However, a song such as "To God Be the Glory" is an excellent choice. It directs attention to God, is familiar, and has an uplifting and encouraging sound.
#2 - Know the songs well.
Once you have chosen your songs, you must know the actual songs well. Know the song is different than knowing how to play a song. You must have the song in your heart in order to play them with the proper energy.
It is not enough to just know a few of the words. Know them all.
It is not enough to just barely be familiar with the melody. Know it well.
It is not enough to occasionally be able to guess the chords. Know all the chords well.
Obviously, this takes time. So when choosing songs, don't overwhelm yourself with four hundred new ones. Play a few familiar ones, and maybe include one new one.
#3 - Choose the keys ahead of time.
Most of the time, you will end up playing the song in the key it is written. However, perhaps you might want to change the key of a song in order to fit it in your prelude without doing an obnoxious modulation. In this case, it is helpful to choose such a key ahead of time so that you are not floundering about as you attempt to establish the key.
Another tip to keep in mind when selecting keys is to choose keys with which you are familiar. While it is always wonderful to be expanding your knowledge and skill, the prelude is not the place for that. Leave the practice for when you are alone.
#4 - Tie your prelude together by theme, key, or even time signature.
While this is not a necessity, it is useful to do this for several reasons.
The first is that it makes remembering the prelude easier. Perhaps you create an amazing prelude that really turned out well, but if your mind has nothing to attach it to, you will have a more difficult time remembering that prelude.
Another is that it sends a common, subconscious message of unity. A prelude that goes from songs about Calvary to a song about Heaven to a song about Revival does not convey a message of unity. (While on this topic, the words of your prelude songs are sending a message. So choose that message as carefully as a pastor would choose his.)
Tying a prelude together by a common value also simply makes it easier to play. When you don't have to play through all twelve major keys, it is just easier. And the goal of playing music in church is not to try to make life as difficult as it could possibly be!
#5 - Select familiar songs.
To expand on the previous note of choosing the message you are conveying through your prelude, the familiarity of the songs to your congregation is an important consideration. While one church may know a certain set of songs quite well, it is not granted that another church knows that exact same set of songs equally as well. So you must choose songs that are familiar to your congregation.
The reason for this is because the prelude conveys a message. Your songs should speak to the hearts of anyone listening. If they do not know the words to the song, then how can the song speak to their hearts?
And before we shift the blame to the congregation, "Well, maybe if they came to church as much as I do, they would actually know more than two songs," consider that our job is to minister to them. We cannot serve someone if we try to blame them for our lack of preparation or consideration.
#6 - Sunday mornings, choose very familiar songs that guests would know.
This is just an expanded thought on the previous point of making sure that your prelude speaks to the hearts of those present.
Many times, guests are only vaguely familiar with "the songs those church people do." And they are only familiar with them because they heard their grandmother singing them to herself.
And when do most visitors come to church? Sunday morning. Although, whenever you have an expected influx of guests (like a program, cantata, or special service), you should also be sure to consider them in your prelude.
#7 - Handle key changes quickly and effectively.
Of course, this is dependent upon the keys that you have chosen. Perhaps you don't even need to modulate. But, should you need to change keys, keep it short and simple. One or two measures of a modulatory interlude is all that is necessary. Be sure to keep the modulation smooth, however. It is not advisable to be floating around to a thousand chords just to modulate down a perfect fifth.
#8 - Please don't skip the modulation.
There are not many things more shocking to an audience than a sudden and unexpected key change. To finish playing a song in Db Major and immediately switch to playing a song in G Major would stun the musical listener.
Occasionally, skipping a modulation is acceptable, but usually only if the destination key is very closely related to the home key.
#9 - Create a "prelude card."
Unless you have the mind of a genius and can remember every detail about every song in every prelude you have ever done, you will find writing down your preludes to be rather helpful.
Some things to write down in your "prelude card" are the song title, page number, key, and then obviously the order of the songs.
When doing this, it may also be beneficial to place sticky tabs on the page numbers of the songs that you will be using in your songbook to make it easier to turn to the correct page.
#10 - Be over-prepared.
Many people say that the best ability is availability. Others say that the best ability is dependability.
I disagree. I think the best ability is discipline. (Ok, I know it's boring and doesn't rhyme, but hey, I'm a musician, not a comedian.)
Set aside time to practice. Practice playing through each song until you can carry on full conversation about the unrealistic prices at your local grocer. (We all have that one person in church who just loves chatting up the pianist.)
#11 - When playing with others, communicate so you play well together.
Don't surprise your organist by inserting a song that you really thought would sound good. Share with them the prelude, and stick to it.
Not only does this show respect for the other musicians, but it also demonstrates a quality music team that works well together and can lead the congregation in glorifying God.
I hope you found these tips useful! Click here and then subscribe to get our weekly articles delivered to your inbox!
Aaron Dempsey
I Corinthians 15:58
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