Ray, Author at Praise & Worship

03Apr 2012 by Ray No Comments

Reconciliation: Matthew West – Only Grace

Happy Holy Week! I was at morning mass today and thought about this song by Matthew West. There were a couple of interesting things about the readings and sermon that made me think about it. Let's start with the reading from Isaiah 49:1-6. Hear me, O islands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the…

19Mar 2012 by Ray No Comments

Handling Criticism

Music Ministry

When ministering with music it's bound to happen that someone won't like what you're doing. They don't like your song selections, they don't like your voice, they think your too loud, they don't like the way you dress... There might be guests or church members who don't feel that drums or electric guitar are reverent instruments. How do you handle criticism or complaints? First of all, there's a time and place for criticism to be offered. Getting a complaint e-mail is much different than having an irritable person come at you immediately following a church service. If it's not a good time, it's okay to ask a person to contact you when you have office hours or to excuse yourself because you have somewhere that you need to be. Be…

15Mar 2012 by Ray No Comments

Entering Into Ministry

Music Ministry

As we begin our journey into ministry in whatever role or calling that we answer, the bible warns us to get ready to be tested. Sirach Ch. 2 My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity. Cling to him, do not leave him, that you may prosper in your last days. Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient. For in fire gold is tested, and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation. Trust in God, and he will help you; make your ways straight and hope in him. You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy, do not stray lest you fall. You that fear…

03Mar 2012 by Ray No Comments

Selecting Music For Worship

Music Ministry

I was asked to fill in as the band leader for our group this week which means I'm charged with selecting music, arranging the Psalm of the week, helping set up, preparing our lyrics in Media Shout, and rehearsing the group. I thought it might be helpful to read about my thought process behind the songs that I chose this week. The first thing I do is go to the readings. In our church we can go to usccb.org to find the readings of the week. If you are in an evangelical church where the pastor has a theme, then it would be a good idea to find out what verses he or she might be quoting. Many times there will be a line from a song that you'll…

25Feb 2012 by Ray 1 Comment

MuseScore – Free Music Notation Software

Tech

I found an easy and free program to notate and share new music called MuseScore. Did I mention it was free? All of my mass parts were notated with this program. It is pretty easy to use with a lot of drag and drop options and there are some nice youtube tutorials on the home page to help you get started. In college I learned how to notate by hand. I took an orchestration class where I arranged music for full orchestra on staff paper that was almost the size of a poster! When I'm composing a new song, I still rely on good old staff paper and pencil. It's just easier to scribble out notes and edit while sitting at the piano. Distributing your music is entirely different. You…

22Feb 2012 by Ray 1 Comment

Music Liturgy Changes During Lent

Music Ministry, Original Music

https://youtu.be/dGi3ntMHK78 I had a question on my review of Matt Maher's Mass of Communion for a Lenten version of his Alleuluia. In the video I offer a suggestion substituting "Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory." If you're using this particular mass setting, it's okay if you'd like to mix in another gospel acclamation. Ed Bolduc's Mass of St. Ann has a Lenten Gospel Acclamation available. In my Mass of Praise, I arranged a Kyrie as well as a Lenten Gospel Acclamation. It's common during this season to sing the Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) in place of a Glory. We refrain from singing "alleluia" until Easter. It's a great idea to change the instrumentation of your group during Lent. Try more of an acoustic set up with…

19Feb 2012 by Ray No Comments

XLT-Praise And Worship Prayer Event

Music Ministry

About once a month our church hosts a night of praise and worship, preaching, and meditation. It's geared toward our youth, but opened up to the entire community and based on a format recommended by Lifeteen they call XLT. This is an example of what we did last week at our most recent event. Whether you are involved at a Catholic or Evangelical church, this format would provide a great evening of worship. 7:30pm Music begins, we welcome all gathered and the band plays about 3 songs. This particular week we did I Will Follow You, Our God, and Open My Eyes Lord. 7:50pm We have a speaker preach. We had a parishioner give a testiony about their faith journey and mission trips to Poland and Kenya. 8:10pm We move into…

12Feb 2012 by Ray 1 Comment

New Song – Breathe Life Into Me by Ray Martin

Music Ministry, Original Music

Ever wonder what must have been going through the mind of the prodigal son when he set off with his dad's inheritance? Luke 15:12 "'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.'" All we really know in this parable is that he "set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation." I doubt he initially thought, "hey I want to go party it up in another country for awhile." Maybe he did, but I'm willing to believe that he had some grand idea. Perhaps he was going to invest in his own business or buy some land that he thought was a good deal and if only he had that money from his dad, he could go and…

11Feb 2012 by Ray No Comments

New Translation – Mass of Praise by Ray Martin

Music Ministry, Music Reviews, Original Music

Download Audio and Sheet Music Download Sheet Music Only [mp3-jplayer list="n" tracks="Glory to God@01-Glory-to-God.mp3, Alleluia@02-Alleluia.mp3, Holy Holy Holy@03-Holy-Holy-Holy.mp3, Memorial Acclamaition@Memorial-Acclamation-Rev.mp3, Amen@05-Amen.mp3, Lamb of God@06-Lamb-of-God.mp3, Kyrie Eleison@Kyrie-Eleison-Mixdown.mp3, Lenten Gospel Acclamation@Lenten-Gospel-Acclamation-Mixdown.mp3"] I talked about the new English translation of the Catholic prayers and mass music in my review of Matt Maher's Mass of Communion. This is my setting of the new mass parts with the revised text for a Praise and Worship band. I'll run through a few brief notes about the different movements. Overall, I tried to avoid getting above a D in the treble clef because that gets pretty high for the congregation. I wanted there to be a lot of continuity between the different parts and so you'll see and…

09Feb 2012 by Ray No Comments

We Remember

Original Music

[yendifplayer audio=6] Lead Sheet Link During the fall of 2002 there were a lot of remembrance themed events for the first anniversary of 9/11. I wrote this for our praise band to play the weekend of that anniversary. A few years later a friend asked if I'd record it for him. So I went to the basement and played around with some different tracks. Feel free to download a copy of the lead sheet and offer any feedback. I'm always open to suggestions! It's a pretty simple tune and a fairly easy chord progression. We Remember - Ray Martin ©2002 We remember how you lived We remember how they pierced your side We remember how you freed us We remember how you died And we remember all the love that…