Production Sensibilities

Now that we are beginning to find our stride, we would like to steer the musical content of this project a little more intentionally toward a production sensibility that reflects the spirit of the venture.

Common Hymnal is not geared toward resourcing the fans of contemporary worship. Nor are we trying to take ‘worship to the next level.’ Our mission is to aggregate creatives and creativity from the margins.

So, if you are thinking of submitting content for consideration, here is some food for thought.

Producer Guidelines

(1) Please produce songs in such a way that the production is not louder than the song. Meaning simple rather than overbearing.

(2) Maybe the following word-sets do a better job at describing the approach ...
believable rather than manufactured
honest rather than spectacular
fragile rather than confident
humble rather than hip
vulnerable rather then glib
curious rather than formulaic
hungry rather than know-it-all

(3) Lead vocals do not always have to be singing full-throttle. Sometimes an implied conviction can be more powerful than overtness.

(4) Please look for opportunities to create a sense of push and pull. This is a lost emotional ingredient in the era of the click track.

(5) Please create space in the musical accompaniment. The rhythmic accompaniment does not always need to be spelled out with drums and percussion. At times, it can be implied.

(6) Please look for ways to capture intrigue in the guitar parts, resisting the temptation for 'cliche.'

(7) Regarding upbeat songs, please strive to capture them in a fresh way. Percussion, rather than drums, can suggest an energy bubbling under the surface that never fully explodes. Think of percussion as the rhythmic equivalent of not singing full-throttle. So much in the faith space is ‘obvious’. There is very little nuance or mystery. The result is often a bravado with no real emotion. The joy and happiness and gratitude and celebration that we feel at times often comes with a backdrop of vulnerability.