Pepperdine Bible Lectures
It is no surprise that vibrant congregational singing is highlighted at the annual Pepperdine Bible Lectures, which Rushford directed for many years and is now led by Mike Cope.  In traveling the nation to conduct our Praise & Harmony Workshops, I often hear of people including attending the Pepperdine Lectures on their bucket lists.  Leading worship for this crowd is an exhilarating experience! But as much as I enjoy leading for the large crowds, experiencing congregational singing in the intimate atmosphere and soaring acoustics of Pepperdine's Stauffer Chapel is an unforgettable blessing.  Here is an HDR photo I took of the chapel one year:

One of my Texas friends, Luke, told me about the acoustical issues of their church meeting room (pictured), which degraded and discouraged congregational singing. The impact of an acoustical environment on the quality of singing cannot be over-emphasized. “When singing, the sound went straight up toward the ceiling and DIED," Luke said. "All you could hear was yourself, even if everyone was singing.” Problem acoustics plagues countless churches.
This disturbing reality prompted them to contact a certified acoustical expert, also in Texas -- a professional specialist who deals regularly with many different denominations and settings. When describing their a cappella singing to him, the acoustician responded, “Normally we deal with churches where the music comes from the stage and goes out to the people. But you are from one of those churches where THE MUSIC IS COMING FROM THE PEOPLE!” (emphasis mine.) 

You'll notice in the photo that their church has taken advantage of the quarantine downtime to suspend reflective sheet rock from their ceiling at different angles to accentuate and enhance the experience of participatory, congregational singing - - ie., an environment where "the music is coming from the people."
I absolutely love this quote because it sums up our entire Praise And Harmony Ministry, which emphasizes:

• Everyone’s voice is important.
  
• We should make the entire church the choir.
  
• Singing is not for singers; singing is for believers!
  

In other words, every member of the family of God is blessed with the command, opportunity and blessing to join their voices with fellow believers in song. In an age when churches are moving toward placing talented musicians up front for a well-rehearsed musical presentation, the quality of which is not dependent upon the participation of the congregation, we are thankful for churches who choose to invest in the very time-consuming, highly challenging work of equipping every Christian to sing, as well as teaching them the reason why.
Yesterday, I was privileged to lead singing for my home congregation with 200 people wearing masks. In spite of the masks, the singing was vibrantly fantastic! Of course, the worshippers’ hearts and attitude are paramount, but I’m thankful for the foresight of church leaders who invested in acoustics that encourage rather than impede congregational singing. What an honor to be part of a church where, “The music is coming from the people!”

How much easier can it be to learn to sing harmony and to teach new songs? With an app on your cell phone, open the song you wish to learn with only the part you want to learn: Alto-only, Bass-only, Tenor-only or Soprano only. Use the four-part training video with your group to sing together. Dive into master classes in voice, music and so much more. Free Trial: http://PraiseAndHarmony.TV

Beautiful harmony echoed within this building as multiple churches from across Canada gathered in Rimbey for the Praise and Harmony Workshop. Over a three day period, multiple sessions focused on teaching four-part harmony, introducing new songs and the need for basing our songs upon Scripture. Sunday morning was the first time this Christian Reformed Church had ever experienced an a cappella assembly and the singing was incredible!

Praise And Harmony Singers encourage Four-Part Harmony and Training for Beginners
We’re glad you asked! Unfortunately, there is not one silver bullet, nor is there an overnight solution. This comes as no surprise, since most worthwhile endeavors are the result of discipline, hard work and long-term commitment. So, if you are truly sincere in seeking the steps to outstanding congregational singing, consider this proven approach:

1. Intentionally emphasize and teach the clear commands and benefits of every believer participating in passionate singing and worship.
   
2. Seek professional training for leaders who will make it their primary goal to elicit full-participation in worship — virtually turning the entire church into the choir.
   
3. Promote musical literacy for every member through regular classes — teaching new and old songs along with the theology they impart, while equipping everyone to learn four-part harmony “by ear.” It’s also amazing how quickly people can learn to read music through the right methods.
   
4. Supplement the education of singing classes with daily review and repetition on the part of everyone, as they daily listen to ear-training recordings to reinforce what they’ve learned.
   These steps provide the easiest way to transform a mediocre tradition into a spirited atmosphere of singing renewal. If you are fully committed to this goal, insist that your church leaders check out this video which addresses the need for training leaders, along with an opportunity for enthusiastic volunteers to become more involved in reviving congregational singing.
   

Now for the nitty gritty. Here is a proven method that works wonders, especially when coupled with the daily reinforcement. Begin by assigning everyone to sit by voice part with all the basses together, all of the altos, etc. Immersing beginners into the middle of others singing their same part makes it easier for them to clearly hear the part they are trying to learn.
Next, explain the process to everyone and build expectations. Even with a song they have never heard before, the speed of progress can be stunning.
Step One: Listen (and watch) the training video of the song you have chosen. A pre-requisite to this step is an explanation of where to look on the musical staff to identifying the soprano and alto above the lyrics with the tenor and bass below the lyrics. It’s important that they incorporate their vision and hearing simultaneously to proactively “absorb” the new song with intense concentration. No singing is done while listening.
Step Two: Sing along softly while listening to and viewing the training video. Help participants avoid the mistake of singing so loudly that they only hear themselves and not the training video, causing them to be unable to determine when they sing the part incorrectly. And, by so doing, they are virtually reinforcing the wrong part, requiring countless steps to “undo” the mistake. In other words, the listening instruction is the most important aspect of step one and step two. It’s paramount that everyone can clearly hear the training video (this is the video with only 4 people with the higher voices isolated in the left stereo channel and the low voices on the right.) By sitting in sections, singers can also hear and absorb the sound of others surrounding them with the part.
Step Three: We call this “taking off the training wheels.” Turn off the training video and invite every one to sing using only sheet music or powerpoint musical notation slides. It’s important to encourage everyone to read the music and listen to their section. We have employed this method all over the world with unbelievable results.
If you have the time and wish to proceed at a more methodical pace, results can be enhanced by repeating step two. Also, you can appoint “section leaders” who have previously mastered the song, giving them instructions to sing louder than others during step two, while encouraging and guiding others to correctly learn their parts.

The Praise And Harmony Ministry is dedicated to providing training materials to equip every believer to sing in harmony and worship passionately. Training videos are produced to teach new songs and help everyone learn to sing harmony “by ear.” Praise And Harmony Powerpoint musical notation slides are ideal for churches to use during their assemblies for congregational singing. Sheet music is helpful for individuals to learn to read music. Training CDs and mp3s mixed with high voices on the left and low voices on the right are necessary for every individual to continue their music education on the way to work, school, jogging or at home.
Churches who seek professional guidance may schedule a Praise And Harmony weekend for their church or region. Also, leaders from around the world are attending the annual Worship Leader Institute for a week of highly practical, graduate-level training that is specifically designed for a cappella song leaders.
Do you really want a singing church? What will you do to make that happen?

It would be difficult to overstate the impact that the Tulsa International Soulwinning Workshop has had on my family and our ministry. In fact, for a large portion of our lives, I have measured our timeline and Acappella’s history through attendance of this annual Workshop.

The Workshop was much more than a Christian teaching event. It has always been a great family reunion! Sharon and I attended the very first Workshop as college students while dating. The first year was such an amazing experience that we refused to miss the second annual workshop, even though it was just a few days after our wedding.

Learning about Williamstown Bible College through attending the Tulsa Workshop, we enrolled in WBC’s ministry program. Subsequently, we were founding members of a traveling quartet that would include Tulsa every Spring as a “must include” on our national travels.

When the time came to launch Acappella as a full-time ministry, we chose the Tulsa Workshop to begin the talent search, and indeed, recruited the earliest vocalists there. AVB, Vocal Union and Acappella’s concerts in Tulsa always felt like a “homecoming.” The inspiring congregational singing, which characterized this event, was reason enough to make the annual trek of thousands of miles for thousands of Christians.

The Tulsa Workshop brought very special people into our lives, including the one-of-a-kind, servant of God, Terry Rush. And everyone who heard and met Marvin Phillips could not help but fall in love with his infectious spirit. I have been increasingly blessed through Marvin’s mentorship, having served with him on several continents.

Recent director, Shane Coffman, has become an inspiration to our worship ministry, among others too numerous to name. For everyone who served to make this event possible, we say wholeheartedly, “Thank you!”  No doubt, the spirit of all we have experienced, gleaned and learned through this iconic workshop will continue with us through the rest of our lives.

Keith Lancaster
Acappella Ministries

Here's the link to their announcement.

The Gospel is a mystery. God became something He is not, so that we can become something we are not. Christ became human, so we can become holy. Jesus became sin, so we can become righteous.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God."          - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Those of you who have listened to the music of ACAPPELLA over the years understand that the legacy is not exclusively about making beautiful harmonies, recording albums or presenting concerts. It has always been about message -- the "good news." In fact, many of our favorite songs are adapted directly from Scripture, such as this one.

 This video was shot while preparing for a concert in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The concert promoter has since rebooked Acappella to appear there again on October 21, 2017, so mark your calendars.

The Gospel message is going into all the world and we know that some people can only be reached through music.  Acappella will be celebrating our 35th anniversary in locations from coast to coast in 2017, as well as appearances in Puerto Rico and Switzerland. Thank you for supporting our ministry,  downloading our music and ordering CDs for friends and family.  Please visit our new store at Acappella.org.  Plan a road trip to attend an Acappella concert.  Sign up to cruise with Acappella in January.

Sing to His glory!

Every time we record, I ask these wonderful volunteers what is their favorite part of the experience. Without exception, the most popular response given is the time of worship.  The singers work so hard during the recording sessions that the devotional times of singing and worship become a very special treat. Hear the Praise & Harmony Singers worship with "Shield About Me" from the "Only God" P&H CD.

Did you ever sing in a school choir?  Countless people who have enjoyed being part of  a singing group in the past rarely seem to have the opportunity to replicate that experience, much less, be part of a professional recording.  What happens when you audition and record for a Praise & Harmony project?

AUDITION
First, you must assemble a like-minded quartet of singers, covering all four parts of soprano, alto, tenor and bass.  The audition consists of recording a pre-selected song (the latest audition song is the "Hallelujah Chorus") to submit to the committee for the selection process.  The committee is looking for, among other things, a smooth blend, intonation, breath control and a sound without vibrato and scooping (attacking notes by starting well below the pitch and gliding up.)  Since this is a professional recording, not every group is accepted, continuing an emphasis on excellence which is a favorite hallmark of the P&H collection.

REHEARSE
In addition to balancing the voices between the four parts for the final product, the primary reason for quartets is to provide the framework of regular weekly rehearsals for every participant.  There is no substitute for serious rehearsals for learning, perfecting and blending with other vocalists.  25 songs are assigned. The first time that the "complete group" will sing together will be at the actual recording itself; so the regular rehearsals during the months leading up to the recording are priceless and essential.  The songs must be learned before the recording process begins. This is why individual singers are not allowed to be part of the process, because the interaction of rehearsals provides necessary preparation. 
​
SECTIONAL RECORDING
When the time arrives for the actual recording, the first thing that happens is every singer records with other singers of their same voice part in "sectional" recordings.  This usually happens in four groupings, with every voice seeking to blend as one.  Check out this video of the bass section recording in Lubbock, as the basses are assembled in four groups.

COMBINED RECORDING
After the sections are recorded, all vocalists combine to record the 25 songs with all voices intermixed.  The culmination of rehearsals and preparation creates stunning results so beautiful they cannot be fully described.

MUSIC VIDEOS
After the audio recording is completed, the entire group is recorded on select songs for music videos. These are the videos that you can find on the Youtube channel and through social media.

Although this process requires an amazing amount of work by every volunteer singer, the testimonies of those who participate are very heart warming.  Listen to these Praise & Harmony Singers share from their hearts:​

Follow the Praise & Harmony ministry here:
PraiseAndHarmony.com
Acappella.org
KeithLancaster.com