Techniques For Putting Scripture to Music
One of my favorite things to do is to help kids by putting Scripture to music! Singing a verse can make Bible memorization quite easy. Think of all of those childhood songs that are still sticking in your mind. Somewhere in your mind you still have all that information memorized and logged away. You need to learn the alphabet and it’s fun to be able to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” but you may really want your child to learn biblical stories too.
A scripture song just needs a verse from the Bible set to a melody to turn into Bible action songs. How do you go through the process of matching music to Scripture?
I use the following 5 tips when writing my own Scripture music:
Try to identify words that rhyme. Verses in the Bible do not necessarily have words that rhyme, but quite often they do seem to fit with this form of poetry. So this rhyming pattern will work to your advantage when you are coming up with a melody line.
Bible verses have main words so determine which are the main words. When putting John 3:16 to music, I repeated the word “gave” to emphasize it. As well as the emphasis I wanted, this repetition lent itself well to my melody line. You can also accompany the song with fun motions.
Repeat the melody line if rhyming words do not exist. Biblical passages don’t usually feature rhyming. You can separate the lines to fit into a repeating melody line. It is the melody, not the words, that “rhymes” in this case.
The melody line should portray the emotions you want to express. Would you prefer a soft melody or an upbeat, fast tune? What feelings do you want to convey and what goes with your verse? The melody and the emotion created both work to make the words stick in your mind.
Lastly, the reference to the verse must be added. including the “address” of a Bible verse in your Scripture song is important, I think. This is a wonderful place for using your imagination. It isn’t necessary to place it in the final line of the tune. It can be put first or in the midst of the song.
I’d be grateful if you would visit KJV Bible Songs today and let me know how these techniques on writing Scripture songs have helped you, or if you have more questions.
