Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

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May 14, 2007

Church Music As A Career

I was reading a blog yesterday that dealt with the inadequacies of a seminary education with a major in church music. I've lost the blog link, unfortunately, but essentially this person was saying the music program at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY has become isolated and out of touch with what is going on in the real world of church music.

I can’t speak to the seminary situation, but I can relate from the perspective of an individual who earned a Sacred Music degree from Gardner-Webb College (now “University”) in 1988.

I expected to be equipped to at least lead a moderate sized church music program after four years. In my senior year, rather than giving me tips on churches that were looking for music leadership, my professors began pushing me to go on to seminary. Instead, I took a year off and then went to a secular graduate school for a Master’s degree in Music Theory where a more practical approach to prepping for the real world was included (even though there was no major focus on church music).

In the 1980s, Gardner-Webb advised students planning to be church music leaders to take their Sacred Music program. Here’s the benefit of my hindsight talking:

1. In four years, I never once heard the names of the choral music companies I now use on a weekly basis…Lillenas, Word Music, and Brentwood-Benson. We did have one music reading session with music from Shawnee Press, as I recall. The focus was on classical repertoire exclusively...perhaps one in several thousand churches use this sort of music on a regular basis.

2. The extent of my “real world” training consisted of one semester of church music field work. I had several assignments over the course of one semester to discuss issues with an off campus minister of music, lead one of his adult choir's rehearsals, lead a youth choir rehearsal, lead a children’s choir rehearsal, and attend a handbell rehearsal.

3. In four years, at least a dozen classes were required for my "Sacred Music" major that had absolutely nothing to do with music or religion…French, Geology, etc.

4. I was required to attend a number of concerts on campus every semester. The Music Department brought in a pianist to play Beethoven, opera singers, people playing period instruments from the Baroque era, etc., which was well and good. However, when the student body entertainment committee brought in popular Christian artists of the day like David Meece, Truth, Randy Stonehill, and the Imperials to campus, THOSE particular "real world" concerts didn’t count towards the minimum number of concerts we were required to attend each year.

I could continue, but I’ll try to summarize instead. The “liberal arts” approach to education, in my estimation, bloats the education process and adds to the already tremendously high expense of getting the information you need to know. It carries so much extra baggage that the very job I signed up and paid to learn about was neglected. I was never taught how to conduct an adult choir that sings with pre-recorded CD tracks, for example, something I now do on a weekly basis. The presumption was that I would use live musicians at all times. One student at Gardner-Webb presented an opera that incorporated a synthesizer. The school didn't even own a synthesizer in 1988, although electronic keyboards were already an obvious coming trend.

To Gardner-Webb’s credit, they did teach me to play piano fairly well...using music and by memory. They didn’t teach me anything about improvising, though. I learned that mostly on my own while majoring in Music Theory during my graduate studies. They did teach me to sing better, how to direct a choir, and how to give piano lessons and voice lessons. They also familiarized me with a variety of instruments in the orchestra and taught me the basics of how to create sound on each one.

I did learn a lot, but there was so much more that a “Sacred Music” degree should have included.

Before you think I'm suggesting college is a waste of time, let me be clear. I HIGHLY recommend a college education to those considering a career in church music.

Specifically, what I recommend is this:
Get a Music Education degree at the undergraduate level rather than a degree in Sacred Music, even if you're 100% convinced going in that you plan to spend your life working in church music.

I'll attempt to briefly explain why in the remainder of this post. The vast majority of churches are small. It's very likely you will be bi-vocational or if employed full-time, you'll probably be multi-tasked (like Music/Youth). With a Music Education degree, you can be immediately employed full-time teaching in the school system (with great benefits as a general rule and two months off every summer!).

The little secret none of your Sacred Music college advisers are likely to mention is that the VAST MAJORITY of churches will hire you just as quickly with that Mus Ed. degree. Should you choose to go on to pursue a graduate degree at a seminary, they'll be just as happy to admit you to their program as well. A concentration in Sacred Music at the undergraduate level doesn't make any practical sense. Your employment options are too limited once you have the degree in hand.

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posted by David Bruce Murray @ 11:06:00 AM


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