By Kendra Kirby

The buzzword for today’s culture is “authenticity.” It’s a word that drives me crazy—all of life seems to be measured by this word. If you are truly “authentic to yourself,” then the worst of behavior can be forgiven because you are being “authentic.” It’s as if being true to yourself equates with “truth.” So instead of truth being measured by what God says, it’s measured by ourselves—a form of idolatry. It excuses behavior and provides a term to hide behind rather than stretching beyond our natural behaviors or looking for truth from Someone else’s perspective. 

The Right Place?
Now this term is being applied to worship. I’ve worked with singers for years in a teaching/coaching/conducing role—and we seem to always get stuck on this point. While helping singers grow and stretch beyond their natural abilities, it seems perfectly acceptable to work on vocal technique or ear training. However, for many singers, working on expression and presentation seems to be a personal violation of who God created them to be—i.e. it feels inauthentic to them—and simply throwing up this trigger word, stops many from growing and moving forward. This is definitely a sensitive subject and one that must be approached with humility and grace. 

Dual Identities
I’ve been reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. Working on presentation/expression seems to be the most difficult for introverts. I can say that because I am an introvert who’s spent decades working this through. I’ve lived long enough to know that different situations call upon me to be more introverted or extroverted. Being a conductor, in front of 100 people, forces me to turn to a different side of myself—one that is bubbly, abounding in endless energy, talkative, quick to react/reply/make decisions, witty, charming, etc. And strangely enough, I feel God at work in me when I’m called to wear that hat. However, I also feel God working through me in my natural habitat—alone, studying, reading, thinking, praying, slow-to-speak, quick to listen, etc. Both sides are me and seem to be honored by God. I don’t consider it a violation of “authenticity” to pull from either side of myself as situations call for it. Just as some situations call upon us to be followers, other situations call upon us to be leaders—again, not a violation of who God created us to be, but actually a deeper acknowledgement of who we are—complex, multi-faceted, and adaptable people. 

Same Coin
Our worship is also shaped by introvert and extrovert expressions. God wants us in community (an extroverted expression), but also wants us to practice disciplines that are more personal and introverted in nature—solitude, prayer, meditation and introspection. He also desires that we worship Him in community, among a body of believers, and personally in the daily activities of our lives. And what He desires of us, He also equips—thus, we can never be “inauthentic to ourselves” by living into both sides. 

Also within our worship sets, we strive for a balanced approach—one that begins very extroverted, proclaiming (out loud and usually loudly!) the characteristics of God and blessing His name. It then moves into introverted expressions, as the music gets slower, gentler and more intimate. Every good worship set, moves us to a very personal space that allows reflection on what God is doing inside each of us. Some worship leaders have named this as moving through the “Stages of the Heart.” 

Now, to be a good leader of worship, I have to tap into both sides of myself—more extroverted expressions for rockier music and more introverted expressions for the intimate moments. Thus, my body expressions are bigger, wider, higher, clapp-ier, stomp-ier, and more involved for the rockier/extroverted music, and pulled-in for the more intimate/introverted music. I adapt the color of my tone (aggressive, lyrical, sweeter, more guttural or soulful) as the music calls for it, and so authenticity, to me, is measured by proper physical reactions to the lyrics of the song and music it’s paired with.

Recent research validates this stretching of ourselves by the Free Trait Theory—our personality and natural tendencies are not “locked in”—we can adapt as the environment calls for it. And we adapt more easily and more extrovertly to our core personal projects—subjects that we deeply care about and are passionate about. So, for an introvert, worship can (and should) be extroverted as the environment/music calls for—it may just be an expression that’s not been well-exercised yet, rather than a violation of authenticity. 

These days, I’m reframing my idea of authenticity in worship when coaching worshipers. Authenticity to me is not being “authentic to myself” rather authentic to what the lyrics and music is trying to say about God. I’m authentically pushing against my natural tendencies in cases, to reflect as accurately as possible what God wants us to learn of Him, and my focus is where it needs to be – on God, not me. To me, “true authenticity” calls upon usage of all adaptable facets of who God created us to be, rather than a limiting concept that draws boundaries and lines. And for introverts, extroversion will not come out suddenly when in front of a congregation of thousands. It must be practiced, rehearsed in private spaces, knowing that something unnatural is more likely to shrivel in front of others rather than blossom.

Kendra currently serves on staff at Grace Community Church in Noblesville, Indiana, which embraces the artistic community and exclusively relies on its pool of 150 volunteer musicians to reach a congregation of 7,000. Passions of Kendra’s include arranging worship songs with unique and creative vocal lines for the choir, mic’ed vocalists, and worship leader.

By Susan Plemons

I was online reading through the evaluations I received from my private Contemporary Voice students last week and stopped to smile when I read, “love the crazy vocal warm ups!” Yes, it is true that you can often find my students huddled together in the cafeteria discussing the “chair of death,” “barking,” laying on the floor, using books to simulate pushups against the wall—in addition to all of the usual scales and arpeggios. Why would I put my students through these strange exercise and, most of all, why do they strangely work?

Start Here
Let us, as Maria Ranier says, go back to the very beginning. When a student enters my studio for the first time and we are finished with all of the paper work, I begin by asking, “What and/or where is your instrument?” You can imagine that the astute student knows that this is a trick question and doesn’t just go for the larynx. My goal is for them to begin to step back and analyze what they use to sing. My final answer to this discussion is “Your body is your instrument.”

Thank about it from the toes up and remember that I teach Contemporary Voice which has elements of the traditional Bel Canto singing (what I call “In the Box” singing), but goes out of the box for style and technique. You need to have your feet planted to support you, even if you are moving around as you sing. There needs to be balance. Your support travels up your legs and to your back. Your posture doesn’t need to be rigid, but whether you are on your knees or standing on a chair—your diaphragm muscles need to be working to support your tones. Now we have entered the familiar area of breathing, producing the vocal tones, resonance, and articulation.

Full-bodied Singing
You can now sit back and consider the wonder of our very complex instrument. Or can you? We just breezed by what I consider to be the core of the vocal instrument and key to what separates the singers from the Singers. The Brain. What plays your instrument? Do you touch it to play it? No, the brain audiates the pitch and sends the information to your vocal folds so they will stretch the proper length for the pitch. It is the only non-tactile instrument in the world. Really, Harold Hill in The Music Man got it close to right. We do use the Think System when we sing!

I believe that is why the singer’s ego can be so closely tied to the instrument. When I correct a piano student for a wrong note the pianist can drill the fingering or approach needed and soon the muscle memory will kick in so the complicated passage is mastered. But correct a singer and sometimes the meltdown is uncanny. You are correcting the instrument and the player. The singer must mentally learn what is wrong and then indirectly work to correct the passage. Granted, some mistakes are easier to correct—like wrong words—but oftentimes our corrections touch the tip of an iceberg of insecurity and feelings of inadequacy can develop which may block further progress.

Start Again
So the first lesson starts at the top and not in the throat. The singer’s ability to sing on pitch, bend a note, add improvisation, dynamics, color to the tone, and emotion to the words must come from an understanding of the power of the mind. Likewise, if a singer is insecure, tense, negative, off key, behind the beat and monotone they will never be able to have vocal freedom until they learn to change their thinking. When correcting a student I first focus on what they did correctly to begin to build their confidence. Once the singer is relaxed and confident then the rest of the instrument (the body) will be able to follow.

While it is true that everyone can open their mouths and sing, it is the great singer that can discipline the mind so the instrument (body) is singing accurately, sensitively, and with a confident relaxation that will blossom into a vocal freedom that is the cornerstone of great vocalists. Now the singer is ready to explore the instrument through my strange warm ups, to extend the range, and to learn to sing with power and expression that transcends the musical score. We may be head cases to others, but this is the only instrument that is designed by God—not by man—and it is uniquely qualified to reflect His glory.

Susan Plemons is Assistant Professor of Worship at Cedarville University. She holds a BM in Church Music/Vocal Performance from Baylor University and a MM from USF in Choral Conducting. She served on the music faculties at Southeastern University and the University of South Florida and has been Minister of Music for two churches. She is a guest soloist and conductor as well as effective speaker for conferences. Visit, cedarville.edu/worship.