How to Write a Worship Song

In Phil Wickham's workshop titled "How to Write a Worship Song", he outlines the general process by which he writes worship songs. He highlights the importance of life experiences and how they shape themes of songs. Wickham uses the example of God's goodness. Even though it's a common theme among worship songs today, it's possible to experience a different and more personal facet of the the goodness of God to kickstart of worship song. The idea of finding intricacies within themes to write songs is stressed multiple times by Wickham in the workshop. 

Wickham describes writing a song like formulating a sentence. A good sentence has a topic with grammatical tools that assist in emphasizing that subject. In the same way, a song also has a topic that's usually amplified in the chorus. The verses and bridge are similar to verbs and adjectives that highlight the importance and applicability of that topic. When we think of songs as sentences, it should demand us to focus on the words and meaning of the song itself more than the sound. To speak truth is far more important than to sound good. Often times today, worship songs feature excessive combinations of sound effects and musical style while failing to correspond with theological truths. What good is worship if the words we sing are not coherent with God's infallible Word?

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