Worship Wednesdays - 4 Ways to Worship in the Studio

Today's Worship Wednesdays post comes to you live from the studio!

Over the next few days, we'll be laying down guitar tracks for our new Infinitely More CD! This album will reflect our live performances - finger-style guitar, tight vocal harmonies, lots of our original songs, and a few new arrangements of favourite hymns.

For those of us who are primarily live performers and worship leaders, being in the studio is a wonderful but very different experience. In its best moments, we get to play with our songs in a new way, investigating details of sound and phrasing. But in its worst moments, gear, technology, time constraints, and the financial cost can distract and overwhelm.

All of that stress will only feed into the music. Things can be technically perfect, but if you lose that sense of reverence and praise, your message will never be as clear and moving as you first imagined.

Here are 4 tips for bringing a feeling of worship into the studio: 

Prayer
Our live performances always start with prayer, so our studio sessions are the same. This morning, we offered gratitude for our talents and for this opportunity. We prayed for the optimum use of our time and skills. And yes, we definitely prayed for all technology and gear to work as it should!

Create Your Sanctuary
Churches of any size are designed to visually inspire worship. Do the same with your recording space. Bring in a few photos, your Bible, or favourite piece of art to help inspire you. Some artists enjoy recording by candlelight. (Just be sure to run any major choices by your engineer.)

Imagine the Audience
Your recorded songs won't live in a vacuum, so think about your listener. Imagine a large crowd of worshipers for your hymns and corporate worship songs. Think about the broken heart or distracted faith of the person listening to your CD in their car. Sing for each of them...

Remember the Message
As you work through your recording, you'll pull apart your songs in detailed ways - re-recording the guitar part of verse 2, adding harmony to the bridge, singing that final "ooh" 6 different ways. Keep the full lyric in front of you. Remember the original inspiration for the song. God has asked you to sing this particular message for such a time as this, so remember the power behind that.

How do you bring worship into the studio?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Worship Wednesdays is a weekly series to encourage and equip worship leaders and songwriters. Bookmark this page & visit us every Wednesday!