The Synthesizer In Worship

The synthesizer is one of the most versatile yet affordable instruments a church can purchase. It can contribute a variety of sounds and accompany a variety of musical styles.

The Synthesizer's Impact on Worship The development and utilization of the synthesizer as a musical instrument has had a revolutionary impact on the music community worldwide. The electronic music industry as a whole, integrating technologies involving computers, synthesizers, software, and advanced networking and communication interfaces, has left an indelible and immensely significant impression on the historical record of musical development. The full impact of this electronic music revolution is yet to be determined but is sure to be monumental. Let us begin with some definitions. For our purposes, a synthesizer is a musical instrument which produces sound through the physical (analog) or computer-induced (digital) manipulation of electrical current. The parameters of the nature and extent of the electronic manipulation must be programmable by the operator of the instrument (or the musician operating the instrument). So, these two factors are necessary for an instrument or electronic hardware implement to be considered a synthesizer: electronic tone production and human programmability. The Synthesizer in Worship How does this development of electronic music technology apply to worship in the church? Biblically and historically, God's people have sanctified and incorporated contemporary technologies into the life of the community of faith. King David sanctified and utilized instruments that were in common usage in other cultures and invented some new instruments in addition. Throughout church history, developments in musical instrument technology have been sanctified (sometimes reluctantly) and used in Christian worship. For example, the pipe organ, now one of the most commonly found instruments in Christian churches, was developed by Egyptians and Greeks for secular usages. The electric guitar, bass, and drums, which, along with the piano, comprise the contemporary rhythm section, have come into common usage in worship after achieving success in the jazz and rock idioms (although many churches still consider the rhythm section to be anathema). To ignore the development of musical synthesis and its potential use in worship would be tantamount to our predecessors in church worship direction ignoring the development of the pipe organ. The Synthesizer in Place of Acoustic Instruments. The synthesizer is utilized in two often overlapping ways in contemporary worship settings. First, the synthesizer is used to imitate or replace acoustic instruments. Since the extent of its tone production capabilities are so vast, the synthesizer can effectively imitate strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, or other keyboard instruments (even ancient keyboard instruments). It can fill in the gaps in typical church orchestra settings where instrument groups are often missing. In churches where budgetary restrictions disallow the purchase of an organ or a good piano, the synthesizer can be a feasible, affordable substitute. However, this application of the synthesizer as an imitating or replacing instrument is limited by the very nature of the instrument. Digital reproduction of sound can never exactly imitate real sound, although it can come very close. The playing of an acoustic instrument is characterized by an investment of a human factor which is not comprehensively reproducible electronically. Also, the sound produced by the synthesizer must be run through a sound system, which tends to further limit its range of harmonic richness. In spite of these limitations, the synthesizer can be effective in filling in instrumental gaps or replacing a piano or organ. The Synthesizer as a Unique Instrument. The second and possibly more definitive use for the synthesizer is as a unique and distinct musical instrument. It can produce a multitude of sounds and effects that no other instrument is capable of producing. This distinctive character of the synthesizer not only makes for it an irrefutable place in the history of musical instruments, but also provides for it a contemporary application as a member of the rhythm section of an orchestra. Along with the use of sequencers and other electronic gear, the synthesizer makes such areas as recording and orchestrating much more accessible to the average church musician. As equipment becomes more sophisticated as well as more reasonable in cost, the God-given creative potential in musicians can be nurtured and released, resulting in new ways to communicate and express praise and worship to the Lord.