Retro Hymns 2 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Buy the record on iTunes and download the sheet music here!

• 01 Nothing But the Blood

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 02 Power in the Blood

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 03 He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 04 I Surrender All

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 05 The Old Rugged Cross

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 06 Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 07 Trust and Obey

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 08 Blessed Assurance

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 09 Just a Closer Walk with Thee

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

• 10 Rock of Ages

  Click on ‘Add to Cart’ below to purchase and download the sheet music for this arrangement (PDFs). Instrumentation on the recording: Trumpet 1 & 2 Trombone 1 & 2 Alto Sax* Tenor Sax *Blessed Assurance was recorded as Tenor Sax and Bari Sax Rhythm Written out piano/keyboard Written out electric bass Additional Instrumentation: Flute 1 [...]

Roger Breland has said for years that the horns were the icing on the cake.

 

I gotta be honest…I LOVE ICING!

My creative process for a song in Retro Hymns 2:

I’ve picked the song. I’ve figured a ‘general groove’ idea. I went to my drummer friend Tom’s studio and he created some drum grooves for me to mess around with at home. I sat at the piano and created a rhythm chart with some ideas for the horns. I tracked the song.

At this point, the benefit of ADHD and jumping around becomes beneficial.

The way I approach it is forget that I wrote it. I switch gears and just think, “Hey, sombeody just gave me this track. What kind of horns do I want to hear on it?”

It’s not my tune. It’s the tune I was hired to write horns for. There’s a fun thing with the ‘bounce around’ personality where you can disconnect yourself from the creation of it.

 

2 questions are always there for me with every horn chart.

1. What would I like to hear on this track?

It goes back to Quincy Jones (as many arrangers often reference Q). He’s said (paraphrasing) that he tries to create music that moves him and trust that if it moves him, it will move others. That is my litmus test to be sure. Do I like it? Would I like listening to this?

2. Can I sing it?

I read a long time ago that James Pankow of Chicago said that they sing their lines while they’re creating them. That has always resonated with me. Singable lines are memorable. And they often flow forward easier.

 

I’ve written the chart. Parts are printed. I’ve slept a few minutes. Now what?

The ridiculously fun and ‘easier’ part begins…

Surround yourself with amazing musicians (and an engineer who gets that GREAT sound on tape) and then…GET OUT OF THE WAY.

(Barry Green-trombone, Steve Patrick-trumpet, Jeff Anderson-slightly witty banter, Mark Douthit-saxes)

 

Having lived here in Nashville for 20+ years now, I am grateful for a great group of horn guys in town that I count as friends. These guys are truly world class musicians. World class.  If you’ve heard Tim Akers and The Smoking Section, these are THOSE guys.

The ‘disconnect’ also has to happen while you’re recording.  If you have hired some of the best musicians in the world, then it makes sense to listen to their suggestions. And it also makes sense to create an environment where they feel relaxed and comfortable enough to let you know if, as I like to say, ‘your baby is ugly’.

Without a doubt, I have become a better arranger by watching and listen to the guys while they record. What works. What doesn’t.  What could be made clearer. What’s too overly directed. And when something just doesn’t feel right. I gotta be honest…I love those moments when they look at me with ‘that’ look and I say, ‘that didn’t feel great. Any ideas!’ and when you disconnect from the chart and realized you’re now in the room with amazing folks and they are adding to what you’ve created and making it better, that is a very, very cool thing.

Because I’m a trumpet player, and I had just spent a couple of months getting ready for horn section gigs myself, the phrasing and articulations are really pretty specific. At that point in the studio, it is just getting on tape what I was hearing in my head.

There were a couple spots where I wasn’t sure which voicing I wanted. Was it everybody in octaves or was it voiced out? Because we record in Pro Tools ‘on the grid’ (to a click track), there were spots where I wrote unison the first time and fleshed out chords the second time with a note that says ‘choose one of these at the mix.’

As a fun example of this for me to show you, I had that exact choice on ‘Power In the Blood’ on the intro. Octaves or voiced chord. So the first hit was octaves and the second hit was voiced out. I could then just ‘fly’ (copy and paste) whichever hit I liked better to the other spot.

Here’s the sheet music for both options:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here are both versions of the hit.

The unison version:

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The parts version:

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      Arranger stuff: It’s a C7 chord. There are really a lot of options when writing for horns and it really depends on what sound you are going for. Are you looking for a latin sound (lots of trumpet, some tenor sax), Tower of Power (tenor/bari saxes), Chicago (THE James Pankow trombone in unison with the trumpet) or Jerry Hey (awesome-all you need to say about Jerry Hey’s writing). And, because this is a print project for ‘weekend warriors’, there are some considerations there as well. I’ll dive more into this in another blog.

 

When you begin writing, you may not ‘hear’ things in your head exactly as they are going to sound when they are recorded. You sort of have the idea, but it’s a new skillset you’re learning. Then there comes a point, and I remember VERY VIVIDLY when it happened to me, that as you are writing, you hear it in your head just like you want it and you KNOW what it’s going to sound like. You experience the ‘moment’ when you’re writing it, not when you are recording it. At that point, in the studio, you are just trying to get what you hear in your head to translate onto the recording.

There were so many moments as I was writing the horn arrangements that I was Worn Out after writing a chart. And that was really because I had already experienced that big emotional music moment in my head and I knew what was coming in the studio. I remember finishing one of the charts and going to dinner with the family (and my folks were in town). I was wired and giddy and it was because I had just finished writing a chart and I said, “I can’t WAIT to hear this with the guys!”. And…they didn’t disappoint. They got on tape exactly what I was hearing in my head. (THESE GUYS ARE AWESOME!).

 

My advice for writing for horns….

1 DON’T!!!!!!!  Call me. I WANT write horns for your record.    #joking/not joking

2 Sing the ideas.

3 Hire amazing horn players in Nashville

4 Create a relaxed environment for everybody and then…

5 Let them do their thing!!!

 

I can’t talk completely specific about my writing and recording process because….you SHOULD HIRE ME!

but hopefully this tells you my approach and gives you a little more behind the scenes of Retro Hymns 2

The next blog post I’ll be talking about some of the tools I use (Digital Performer, Pro Tools, Finale, VE Pro, templates, and cool apps for the iPad)

 

 

 

So I’ve got my songs picked out. I’ve got arrangements figured out. I have a road map created.

It gets really, really fun at this point.

If you read this blog much, you’ll see that I reference Lari Goss quite a bunch. I’ve said it before a bunch, but if you’re new here…I moved to Nashville in January 1996 to intern with Lari Goss. I spent many, many days in the studio with him. At first I was just sitting on the sofa looking at copies of his number charts and hand written scores. Eventually, I ended up booking sessions and then conducting or producing for him. Back in the day, somebody was in the room with both the strings and the brass (2″ analog and then ADATs). Lari liked being in the room with the strings but in the control room for the brass. So I’d be in the control room for the strings and in the room with the brass (they’re a ‘little’ louder).

From the first record that I watched him record, he ALWAYS said to ‘Get a great song.’ AND THEN, it comes down to the tracking session. Capture the emotion on the tracking session and it will dictate everything else that follows.

He really has shaped how I approach all the records and projects I work on. I can’t say that enough. Retro Hymns 2 is no different.

Capture the energy and emotion on the tracking day.

 

Blair Masters (keys/b3/piano), Mark Baldwin (guitars), Jeff Anderson (me-witty banter), John Hammond (drums) and Gary Lunn (bass)

 

Chester Thompson (drums), Jeff-me, Jim Gray (piano, keys)

Tom Reeves (engineer, studio owner, drummer) and Jeff-me

For my guitar player friends, here are Mark Baldwin’s toys for the day.

I’m not exactly sure, but I ‘believe’ the first session I did with Lari Goss back in 1996 had John Hammond on drums and Mark Baldwin on guitars. And both John and Mark have played on a number of my records. Gary Lunn has played bass on a number of my records, including Max Lucado’s Hermie and Friends Scripture Memory Songs records that I wrote and produced. Blair Masters created a spa relaxation CD for us back in the day.

If you’ve ever watched a Tim Akers and The Smoking Section video, you KNOW these folks. Along with Tom Hemby and Tim Akers, these are the ‘regulars’ in The Smoking Section.

The last Smoking Section gig, I was sitting backstage in the green room with Steve (Patrick) and I told Tim ‘So…I used your rhythm section.’   He didn’t drop a beat and said, ‘Are you kidding? I’ve taken all the best guys that you guys use for records and brought them together in The Smoking Section.’

Surround yourself with amazingly gifted musicians, put the musical ideas in front of them and then…well…GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!

We actually live streamed a portion of the day on Facebook. (so you WANT to follow AnderKamp Music on Facebook and send me a friend request)

Here’s the typical process for the tracking of a song:

1. Give the guys the rhythm chart (chords or numbers)

2. Talk through any specifics (repeats, solos, band riffs etc)

3. Play any reference ideas

4. Play through the tune – usually red lighting it

Red Lighting simply means hitting record (red light) so when they’re playing through it, it’s being recorded

5. Talk through the tune, see if it feels good, see if there are changes, see if we’re keeping the tune

6. If we’re not keeping that take, we’ll playlist it, keeping it, just in case, and then recording the next take

7. We’ll talk through the take and see who’s happy with what they did. Whomever wants may ‘go again’ and do another pass but keeping the other players parts. We’ll fix any things that we weren’t happy with.

8. I smiled, giddy as a school boy, at what we had on tape

One of the greatest strengths I believe you can have as a producer is the ability to get out of the way AND to listen to the ideas of the amazing musicians you have hired. And you simply can’t hold on to tightly to a ‘specific, abstract idea’ of what you’re looking to accomplish. It’s happened on every record that I’ve worked on. I’ve come in with a ‘specific’ idea in my head and told the guys what I’m thinking and I get suggestions from the guys. Sometimes it’s taking my idea and making it better. And sometimes it’s suggesting another direction. I remember a moment on this session when I was talking about groove ideas to John Hammond, the drummer. Now John and I have known each other a very long time. I trust him so much for his instincts. I remember telling him my idea and I think the general response from him was, “Yeah…Jeff…that’s not really what you want.” He was telling me that he understood what I was thinking but what I was saying wasn’t the best way to do that.

He was right. So I chose wisely and went with him.

And there’s an inside joke going around with some of the guys I’ve used on quite a number of records about one of my references. I was working on a series of kid’s songs and I wrote ‘Shaft’ feel a tune. For band guys, when you say that, a 70′s funk guitar wah wah groove IMMEDIATELY comes to mind. The tempo for the ‘Shaft’ theme song is probably 117/118 bpm. I think one of the songs that I asked for that feel on was probably 160 bpm. Just way to fast to even attempt it. The guys got a pretty great kick out of the fact that I was asking for something but I what I wanted was NOT what I was saying. But it was in the ballpark (I wanted a funky wah wah).  So, for the next record I did with those guys, on every rhythm chart for every song, I put the groove description and then wrote ‘or ‘Shaft’ feel’

One of them was  120 bpm polka ‘or Shaft feel’.

But there’s something to this for me. Having a group of guys that I trust and I am comfortable enough to say, “I think this is what I want. Do I want that?” is critical. If you’re hiring some of the best musicians in the world, WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO ASK THEIR INPUT????

So we have GREAT SOUNDING TRACKS with so much energy and emotion. Now what?

It’s time for the horns…

That’s the next blog post

Clinton Roemer, Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser, Judy Green Sheet Music

That’s my ‘upbringing’.

For a pretty large collection of folks, those words probably don’t mean anything. But, for a good number of folks (maybe age 40 and older), this is how you began.

 

A yellow legal pad. This idea represents so many things to me musically.

For many of my friends here in Nashville, this represents my hero, my mentor and my dear friend Lari Goss.

I moved to Nashville in January 1996 (20 years ago now) to intern with Lari. I spent many, many days in the studio looking at copies of Lari’s number charts he wrote on yellow legal pads.

In the last blog, I talked about general feels and grooves and singing the melodic lines as a horn player to see if it fits. Once I felt like I had a song that I felt would work and I had a general groove/vibe direction, I started working on creating a lead sheet. For me I start working on chords and when I figure out a section that feels good, I put it down on paper, usually on a legal pad or copy paper. Eventually the overall tune takes shape and I start working on a road map.

Every arrangement is different. Some songs I write out a number chart first. Others, I write out a chord chart. For some, I write it straight into Finale.

Side note: A number chart is what is called ‘The Nashville Number System’ and is a REALLY easy and quick way to chart things out. The general idea is that chords are assigned numbers, very much like the Roman numeral system you would have learned in music theory in college. In the Key of C, a C chord, would labeled ’1′. An F chord, would be labeled 4. That’s it. If there’s an F# in the key of C, it’s often labeled 4# or #4. The benefit of using numbers when working on lead sheet ideas is I can mess around in different keys immediately. When I switch to B concert, a 4 chord is an E chord (4th scale degree).

AND…if you’re tracking a record with a guitar player and he decides he wants to use a capo, a number chart is an AWESOME thing for him.

When we tracked ‘There Is a Fountain’ for Retro Hymns 2, I had actually written a number chart that we tracked with.

I went ahead and wrote out the first part of the songs with chords in case you want to compare Numbers Vs. Chords. (REALLY EASY TO UNDERSTAND)

When working with singers, number charts work well because ANY singer can walk up, tell you the key, and you’re off and running. And it also works where they say, “Let’s do a mod (key change) and go back and do one more chorus.”

For Retro Hymns 2, I did something a little different than I’ve done in the past. Drum grooves really help me get into the vibe/feel of the tune. Because I do a good amount of composing and I work with virtual orchestra realizations a good bit, I’ve got EZ Drummer and Stylus that I use to help me get going with drums. And there are a lot of midi grooves out there you can buy and download. But for RH2, I went over to a dear friend, great drummer and a really easy to work with engineer’s studio (Tom Reeves-Westpark Creative Group). He’s got a midi drum system set-up that’s tweaked with his drum sounds, already eq’d like he likes them. So he and I talked through each song, listened to recordings that were in the general ballpark. And then he played an intro, verse and chorus section for each song (sometimes a bridge when we wanted). He recorded the midi and bounced an audio mix for each song. I brought that back to my studio and dropped it in to Digital Performer to mess around with and basically jam with. It worked GREAT!

As a REALLY behind the scenes sneak peak, here is a little bit of the drum patterns/grooves we had for There Is a Fountain. Keep in mind, all I was really looking for was a drum groove to play along with on the piano while working out the arrangement and road map. So, all you’re hearing here are the drums. And this does NOT match the number chart above. There are no stops and no hits (because I hadn’t written them yet). This is basically what we’d call part of a ‘work tape’.

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I could have programmed drums myself. I could have gone and found a bunch of drum grooves. And I could have just imagined drums while playing the piano. But I have found that when I surround myself with wonderful musicians who ‘do their thing’, I am always inspired more than just working through it by myself.

Tom recorded the audio with his drums (heard above) but he also gave me the midi files. So when I dropped them into Digital Performer (DP), I could mess around with the tempo and even create a road map of the tune to play along with.  As I said, it worked GREAT and I’m so glad I did it.

And, quite honestly, ANYTIME I can use live folks to help me create music, I love doing it.

So, I’ve got a song picked out. I’ve got a groove/direction. I’ve got a drum track that I’m playing along with to create the arrangement. I write out the chord or number chart. What’s next? I’m ready to record the rhythm section. That’s the next blog…

I love watching ‘behind the scenes’ videos for movies.

If there are ‘DVD Extras’, I am watching them.

And as a composer and arranger, WHENEVER there is a behind the scenes on the making of movie music, I WILL WATCH IT!  (Here’s John Williams recording Star Wars – Episode 1 behind the scenes)

While I was tracking the rhythm and then recording horns, I did some live video streams on Facebook and had some pretty great response. Now, when I say ‘pretty great response’, I do not mean like Candace and the Chewbacca Mask. I mean, seriously, NO ONE, has had a response like that. Ever. And quite honestly, having talked to a number of friends who know her, I’m so happy for her.

Squirrel

So I figured if I like behind the scenes things, maybe other folks will as well. So for the next 5 blog posts, I’m going to be sharing ‘Behind The Scenes’ of creating Retro Hymns 2.

In this first post, I’m looking at song selection.

For Retro Hymns 2, I am following up with the popular Retro Hymns (1) collection I did awhile back. As I looked at songs to choose for this collection, I couldn’t pick any songs I had used in RH1 (obviously).

Here’s what I looked for in choosing songs:

     •  Public Domain hymns

          In the last series of blogs I talked about Retro Hymns 2 – It’s For You -  Because it’s familiar. I felt like for this particular project, I wanted to choose a collection of songs that would be familiar by the largest group of folks possible within the church. There are some great worship songs out there, but I felt like for familiarity sake, to reach the largest group of folks, well known hymns would work the best. And, as a publisher, choosing public domain hymns works well in regards to royalties (there are no royalties with public domain hymns). What songs are public domain? There are a TON of places to look online for public domain hymns. Click here for one. For a very brief (and not to be considered ‘official legal advice’) overview of public domain works, here’s the idea: For works created before Jan 1, 1978, the original length of copyright was 28 years. It could be renewed for an additional 28 years. The copyright law of 1976 extended the second renewal term to 47 years.  The 1998 amendment to the 1976 Copyright Act extended the renewal for an additional 20 years, thus giving all music protected by copyright on that date a total of 95 years protection from their original date. All of the above is from this link. So if a song was 1920 or before, you ‘should’ be good to go in regards to in being in the public domain. BUT BUT BUT…MAKE SURE before you proceed if you’re looking at using public domain (PD) works.

     •  They feel like they could work instrumentally in this retro, horn band style

          There are some songs out there that could be familiar, but I wanted to pick ones I felt I could make instrumental versions and they wouldn’t feel forced. It would feel fairly natural doing them as instrumentals.  There are some songs that have a ‘square peg, round hole’ feel when you do them as instrumentals.  And for the record, I don’t just mean that I think “Could I hear these in an elevator?”      So once I had what I believed to be a good option for a song, I would be driving around (often with audio/video turned on on the iPhone) singing the ideas of the horn licks to see if they felt like they worked with the horns or if they felt forced. Once I felt like I could hear a horn section playing it, it made the shorter list.

     •  Do I have a groove, feel, inspiration, direction to go with the songs

          Once I had a pretty good list of songs that I thought would be possible (20-30 tunes), I started thinking through them with groove ideas. I’ve found a great reference is from grooves from the past. That’s where inspiration comes from often times. I’m not looking at lyrics and I’m certainly not looking at the melody of the songs (because I have the hymns that dictate the melody). I’m just looking for drum patterns, grooves and general vibes.

`

Here’s my list of songs as I was narrowing it down. You’ll see that I had ‘To God Be the Glory’ on here and I was wanting to do it in a Latin style. I ran in to two issues with it. The “Blessed Assurance” arrangement that I’d already mapped out was in a Latin style and I was hearing a very similar style. And the second issue was that Aaron Weitekamp (the ‘Kamp’ in AnderKamp) had written a KILLER Latin arrangement of “To God Be the Glory” in the Jericho Horns Series and I was having a hard time getting away from how he did it (I REALLY love his arrangement!). So, I looked for another song, and came up with ‘The Old Rugged Cross” and, I think, it turned out to be a GREAT addition to the series.

          Side note: When we recorded the horns for the record, I actually played 2nd trumpet on “The Old Rugged Cross”. Steve played lead and I decided, “I’m paying for this record. Doggone it. I’m going to play one song in the studio with these guys.”

          Very. Very. Fun!

The other note on this page, is the bottom song ‘I Have Decided’ for Big Band. I created this arrangement a little while back and I had planned on recording it if we had time. I had it on the list to make sure I didn’t forget IF we had time. And we didn’t. So sometime in the future, you’ll see an arrangement of ‘I Have Decided’ for big band become available on the site.

This is meant to be just an introductory look at how I went about song selection for Retro Hymns 2. The next blog post, I’ll be looking at the arranging process. More details to come as we go ‘Behind the Scenes’ with Retro Hymns 2!

 

If you want more information about the arrangements, click here

 

 

Retro Hymns 2 is now available on iTunes! Click here to go to iTunes to preview AND purchase (and then post a review) of the record

 

I sat down in a church orchestra for the first time when I was in 8th grade (about 32 years ago). I had just started playing trumpet the year before that in 7th grade. I sat down next to some college trumpet players and some guys that were out of college. In the orchestra were kids my age all the way up in to their 70s. There is something in those last few sentences that I do NOT WANT YOU TO MISS!

“The church orchestra is one of the few inter-generational ministries left where young people and adults minister side by side and share equal responsibilities.”     Dr. Stephen Phifer

Do you get the weight of that?

Don’t let that fly over your head. Not for one second!

In the last few posts, I’ve been talking about the benefits of the Retro Hymns 2 collection.

     •  It’s familiar

     •  It’s different

     •  It’s playable

     • It’s challenging

In this last post in this series of sharing why I believe that Retro Hymns 2 – THIS IS FOR YOU, I have one more reason:

It’s Inclusionary

More folks can use their gifts in worship in a relevant, fresh and creative way.

I am most comfortable in church when I am holding my trumpet. I always have been. In Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell says, “I believe God made me for a purpose. For China. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” For over 20 years since I first heard that quote, it has always made sense to me. No doubt for me, I feel God’s pleasure as I play trumpet in church. No question.

Adding a horn section with the Retro Hymns 2 collection is a way to include more folks, allow them to use their gifts AND add more energy to the worship services.

If you are a modern rhythm section driven worship band, this record is different than the typical musical you probably play on Sundays. And that’s COMPLETELY ok!

If you are a more traditional church with a big choir and an orchestra, these feels and grooves are probably different that the typical music you plan on Sundays. And, again, that’s COMPLETELY ok!

click here to see the blog post a few back about ‘It’s different’

Many churches that I have worked for and with have found that utiizing a horn section once a month creates diversity, adds energy AND it’s inclusionary!  win/win/win

And THIS REALLY IS THE PERFECT TIME TO FEATURE A HORN SECTION! Horns are so prevalent right now all over the place in so many genres of music. The latest Justin Timberlake song that came out May 16th, ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ has horns on it. Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Chris Stapleton and Justin Beaver all have horns on their records, just to name a few.

And I’ll keep saying this…your folks WILL LOVE THESE ARRANGEMENTS!!!!!

 

If you want more information about the arrangements, click here

 

 

Retro Hymns 2 is now available on iTunes! Click here to go to iTunes to preview AND purchase (and then post a review) of the record

 

There is an amazingly powerful choral anthem called ‘Psalm 24′ arranged by a friend of mine, Bradley Knight, for Prism Music.

I remember the first time I looked at it with my choir. They’re looking at the sheet music and we’re listening to the demo recording. There’s an epic intro, a great groove gets going and then…well..it could best be described as a sort of fugue with all four sections of the choir going out on their own. It’s massive. It’s huge. It’s HUGE!

The song finishes and I hit pause.

crickets

“No way”

“Are you kidding?”

“How in the world?”

 

United States Army General Creighton Adams is credited as saying ‘When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.’

So that’s what we did. We looked at the fugue section one bite at a time. We figured out the rhythms and notes. We sang them all together. We sang them in sections. We put them together. At that point, I told them, ‘I normally like to smile an encourage you while you’re singing. I’m probably just going to be staring at the music and pointing to each group for your entrances…that happen ever 1 1/2 seconds or so!’

I remember the first time we sang it in church. We started. They knocked it out of the park. We finished. And that elephant tasted good.

There was such a sense of accomplishment with everybody. It was a moment.

And it gave them all the confidence to tackle more challenging pieces.

We sang the song a few more times while I was there directing choir. I can remember we were rehearsing it for the third time we were going to sing it (maybe nine or so months later) and a good friend and one of the tenors, Jerry, said, “Do you remember when we first looked at this song? We thought there was no way we could do it.”

So I’ll say, in a VERY MUCH SO allegorical way, that elephant tasted good. *

 

In my last blog post, I said that “sure, you’ll have to practice some of the licks to play them really well as a group.”

Since AnderKamp Music began back in 1998, I have tried to keep a ratio around a 2-6-2 idea.

•  2 arrangements that are fairly easy to pull together quickly, with limited rehearsal time

•  6 arrangements that are in the middle in regards to playing/pulling them together

•  AND….2 arrangements that are meant to be challenging pieces.

Now the challenging pieces are not meant to be impossible to play. Not at all. And, as I mentioned in the last post, all of the licks in the Retro Hymns 2 series sit REALLY WELL on the horn.

There are a couple arrangements in this series, specifically Nothing But the Blood and Blessed Assurance, that are meant to be elephants.

Here’s how to eat them:

     1. Let EVERYBODY hear the recordings BEFORE they see the music

     2. Sit down together, playing the recording and having them look at the music

     3. Find a section that you enjoy and seems fairly easy and have them sing their parts

     4. Play that section so it helps build confidence and they get a feel for the tune

     5. Find the section(s) that you feel they may need to look at and have them sing those parts

     6. Play the challenging section, phrase at a time if needed, and let them get a feel for it

     7. Back up from the challenging section and start playing the tune to get into that section

 

If you haven’t really tackled music that ‘seems’ super challenging before, it could seem overwhelming. But I am here to tell you that when you put challenging music in front of your group AND YOU have the confidence of the game plan of how to learn them (like the suggestions above), you are immediately raising the bar and challenging your folks.

In my experience, when I challenge my folks and I personally have the confidence that they CAN accomplish the challenge, some amazing things will happen:

     1. They will play above the level they thought they could

     2. They will feel an immense sense of accomplishment and it will build their confidence

     3. They will practice! (they have to)

     4. They will get better (trickles down to ALL the music they are playing)

     5. There is a bond created within the group that is hard to describe.  It is a sense of being a part of team.

     6. Who are we kidding? It will be FUN to play!!!

It is an elephant and it will taste good!

 

Retro Hymns 2 – THIS IS FOR YOU – Because it’s challenging

 

If you want more information about the arrangements, click here

 

 

Retro Hymns 2 is now available on iTunes! Click here to go to iTunes to preview AND purchase (and then post a review) of the record

 

*DISCLAIMER: I’ve never actually had a bite of an elephant. I’m way more of an IBC Root Beer and Bread Pudding sort of guy.

 

 

That sounds really cool! I love that record! I love those arrangements!

 

And then sometimes I hear…”I don’t know if my folks can play that.”

 

I believe in elephants. But I don’t believe they should sit on the sofa in the living room without someone at least saying “Hi. How are you doing? Can I get you some peanuts?” It’s rude otherwise.

So…

“Can I get you some peanuts?”

Yes…your folks CAN play these arrangements. I do truly believe that. And there is one big reason for that:

 

 

My trumpet

When I was writing all these arrangements, I had my trumpet next to me. So I’m singing horn riffs, licks and ideas. Every time I come up with something that I think sounds cool and fits the style of the tune, I pick up my horn and play through it. I make sure that what ‘sounds cool’ is actually PLAYABLE when you put the horn to the face. I make sure that the articulations, slurs and phrasing feel natural and not awkward when playing them. And it happened a number of times as I had the licks in my head, wrote them in to Finale, and then picked up the horn…that I found myself tweaking the licks to make them more natural and intuitive. To me, that’s one of the fun things about this instrumental horn band series of worship arrangements. A trumpet player who has played in a horn band (having recently played on stage with both Unspoken and Danny Gokey) wrote the horn charts in a way that the licks pocket REALLY WELL on the horn. And I know that for a fact because I personally have played through EVERY LICK of this record on my trumpet. And I tweaked them when they didn’t feel intuitive.

There are some recordings out there that sound amazing when recorded by top call, professional studio musicians. But that’s because they can play pretty much anything and make it sound good. From inception, the goal of AnderKamp Music has always been to create music for the ‘weekend warrior’…for the guys that aren’t playing in the recording studio 25 hours a day, 8 days a week.      I always strive to create arrangements that regular folks can attain. Sure, you’ll have to practice some of the licks to play them really well as a group. And I do like to have a couple arrangements in every series that are meant to be challenging to try and raise the bar and push everybody.  But I can tell you, these licks do NOT have awkward fingerings. They are not impossible to play. And they feel good on the horn. I know that because, once again, I played them all on MY TRUMPET!

Retro Hymns 2 – THIS IS FOR YOU – Because it’s playable

 

If you want more information about the arrangements, click here

 

 

Retro Hymns 2 is now available on iTunes! Click here to go to iTunes to preview AND purchase (and then post a review) of the record

 

 

One of the most difficult drives to make late at night is not winding curves or steep mountain grades. But rather, an 8 hour drive on flat terrain on the interstate where you set the cruise on 70 and just go. There is a huge potential of ‘zoning out’ once you get used to the terrain.

Stuck in a rut. We’ve heard that phrase before.

 

 

One of the challenges worship pastors face is trying to create a consistent worship environment while not becoming stuck in a ‘one style’ sort of sound for the worship music.

I moved to Nashville 20 years ago (January 1996). When I first moved to town to ‘make it’ in the music industry, I was content to eat Ramen noodles every day if that’s what it took to survive here. Fortunately, that didn’t have to happen. I stepped up. I ate ham and cheese hot pockets literally every day at work for the first 2 weeks. And honestly, it didn’t bother me. For the first month, that was basically all I ate at work. There was a microwave, they weren’t terribly expensive, and quite honestly, I really liked them. But there came a point where, though I enjoyed them, I found myself wanting something different every now and then.

Whether your church is based around a modern worship set-up of rhythm and a couple vocals (and a dub step video for ‘cool’ factor) or if you are a more traditional church and have a full orchestra (or somewhere in between), it never hurts to change things up once in awhile for some variety. When I talk with folks about Retro Hymns 2 in regards to their ‘style’ of music, I like to ask one simple question:

 

What 1 style of music is on your iPod?

 

 

If you have an iphone, look back at the last 20 or so songs or albums of music you have listened to. What style of music is it? There’s not one style. There’s diversity. And possibly a whole lot of it!

 

Ok…I personally just did it to see the Top 25 Most Played on my iPhone. Here are some of the songs/artists that I have apparently listened to a bunch:

John Williams – Boston Pops Orchestra

Dave Grusin – The Firm (I LOVE this score!)

Rich Mullins – A liturgy, a legacy & a ragamuffin band

Lake Street Dive

Rob Mathes

Train (Marry Me and Soul Sister)

And then there’s also Harry Connick, Jr and Adele

And quite honestly, there’s usually a Kenny Chesney or Brad Paisley song or 2 that’s always up there.

 

Folks today are used to ‘on demand’ tv programming. I remember when CDs came out, it meant you could skip tracks you didn’t like and get to the ‘good stuff.’ And with iTunes now, so many folks have playlists of music from a ton of different records playing back to back. What all of that means for you as a worship pastor is that folks are used to hearing, experiencing and being a part of many different styles of music, often times on a daily basis. So you do NOT need to do the ‘modern worship’ sound on every song every week. Not at all. Your congregation will, without question, go along with you.

Retro Hymns 2 is different

The main reason I say this is just to say, diversity is ok. It’s alright if the ‘style’ may be different from the sound your folks hear every Sunday. The reality is, that’s probably a good thing. It helps folks not get too comfortable and get to the point where they know exactly what to expect when they walk in.

The secondary reason that Retro Hymns 2 being different is a good thing is for your players. Your band guys could also fall into a rut where they pull up the songs on Planning Center Monday night, glancing over them and just show up on Wedneday night (or whenever you rehearse). BUT if you send them the mp3s to Retro Hymns and say “We’re looking at ‘Nothing But the Blood’ and ‘Power in the Blood’ at the next rehearsal. YOU NEED to look at this before rehearsal’, I believe a number of fun things will happen:

•  They’ll love the charts! These are some fun, funky arrangements that rhythm AND horn guys will LOVE playing.

•  They’ll for SURE look at the music because they’ll want to make sure they’re ready for that first run through.

•  And they’ll probably come to rehearsal smiling because you ‘changed things up a little’.

The last blog I said that “Retro Hymns 2 – This is for you – Because it’s familiar”. This time, I say “This is for you – Because it’s different”.

There is no rub there at all. Not one bit. There is a comfortability (across ALL generations) with the hymns because they are familiar but you’ll get everybody smiling when they realize ‘this is different’. My prayer is that all those involved in your music ministry will be encouraged and uplifted hearing and playing these arrangements. And then that the congregation’s hearts will be lifted and encouraged and that they might, in turn, be more receptive to what God is saying to them that day/week.

Retro Hymns 2 – This is for you

     Why?

Because it’s different!

 

For today, I think the hash tag should be:
#nomoreruts

 

If you want more information about the arrangements, click here

 

 

Retro Hymns 2 is now available on iTunes! Click here to go to iTunes to preview AND purchase (and then post a review) of the record

 

 

 

 

Well known actors are cast in movies.

Well known personalities are in commercials.

How many times have you heard, “From the creators of…” or “From the people who brought you…”?

Why does Hollywood do that?

Familiarity

Hollywood knows that by utilizing actors you have seen before, you could be more comfortable watching the movie and/or more likely to connect with the story than with someone you’ve never seen before.*

 

 

 

I have spent the last few months working on the Retro Hymns 2 project and I am thrilled to say that it is now available!

I do truly believe that the Retro Hymns 2 collection of 11 hymns arranged in an instrumental horn band worship style is for you. Over the next few blog posts, I will be sharing some different reasons why I believe that to be true.

 

Reason # 1 that RH2 – THIS IS FOR YOU

These hymns are familiar to a significant portion of your congregation.*

Just a Closer Walk With Thee, He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands, Nothing But the Blood of Jesus, The Old Rugged Cross are just a handful of the 11 tunes in this collection.

As you are looking at playing music before the service or during an offering time or even better, as an outreach to the city…you have a much better chance connecting with folks at whatever stage of life they are at with these hymns than you would with the top 10 songs on the CCLI list.  I am absolutely a fan of modern worship songs. No question there. But I just think if you look to go out in to the city and reach the world for Christ, a collection of hymns arranged in a new/retro sound might allow you to have a conversation with someone when a modern worship song may not connect as quickly. Why? Because there is some familiarity to the songs.

At all the churches I’ve been at, I’ve noticed that older folks have really enjoyed the ‘funky’ new versions of hymns that I’ve done. Granted, I’ve been blessed to be at some churches with some amazing Godly elders. And these mentors, friends and leaders  love the familiarity of the hymns but understand in trying to reach a younger generation, you may have to change the style of the music. By using these hymns with a new/retro sound, you may be helping folks keep familiarity while stretching them a little to reach different demographics.

 

I really have tried to create a collection of arrangements and a record that immediately create a familiarity while also trying to create some musical moments where folks say, “I know that song. That was different.”

 

If you want more information about the arrangements http://www.anderkampmusic.com/catalog/music-for-horn-section-praise-band-and-big-band/retro-hymns-2/

 

 

Retro Hymns 2 is now available on iTunes! Click here to go to iTunes to preview AND purchase (and then post a review) of the record

In the next few posts, I’ll take a look at some other reasons why I do believe that Retro Hymns 2, it’s for you! But for now, know that these hymns are familiar!

 

*A pastor friend of mine has said that every illustration can break down at some point. So yes I realize sometimes Hollywood picks ‘unrecognizable faces’ and some folks in the congregation may not know some of these hymns, but ‘as a whole’ I think the illustrations hold true

After <many> months of planning, writing, recording, mixing, editing and uploading, I am thrilled to announce that Retro Hymns 2 is now HERE!

The last 6 months have been a fun journey of me playing my horn (trumpet) a whole lot. What began as me doing an arrangement of God Bless the USA for Lee Greenwood to sing with RamCorps morphed into me going on the K-Love Cruise in January and playing in a horn section with a great group of incredibly talented guys. On the cruise, we had the opportunity to play with some dear friends, the band ‘Unspoken’ and also Danny Gokey. In preparing for playing in a ‘horn band’ for the cruise, I listened to over 200 songs with horns and played through 40 of the most popular songs that every horn band knows and plays a whole bunch. I don’t know how to explain this besides saying that in the midst of playing a ton of horn band charts, something seemed to click for me. Listening and playing to so many great classic horn charts really got me inspired to try and create a record for horn and rhythm players in the styles of the horn bands but that could ABSOLUTELY be used in so many different style churches around the world.

One of the great things about Nashville is that there are SO many amazingly talented musicians here in this town. So, like any moderately intelligent person does, I surrounded myself with guys that are WAY more talented than I am. I gave them sketches, ideas, and some musical notes. And then…I got out of the way and let them create some music.

And BOY did they!

When I describe the record, I say it’s an ‘instrumental horn band record of classic hymns in a retro/throwback style’.

My goal was to create music that I would like to listen to and that I would LOVE to play. And now, I put the record out there in hopes that you would enjoy listening to it AND playing it.

 

You can purchase the record on iTunes by clicking here

 

You can purchase the sheet music for this series by clicking here

 

Here are a couple of audio samples if you want to check them out:

Nothing but the Blood 

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Power in the Blood 

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I Surrender All 

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