Latest news as of October 26, 2002.
Convention 2002 has now come and gone. We appreciate all those who wrote songs and presented them.
Now is a good time to begin work on this year's song if you haven't already. As you wade through a
myriad of choices that might be made, ask yourself "Does it sound good? And does it convey the
spiritual message that I want to get across?" If it doesn't do those two things, it doesn't matter how
technical the song is. Music is a matter of the heart.
What this event is about.The Lads to Leaders Music Composition event is part of the bigger pictureof the National Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes movement of the churches ofChrist. Our larger purpose has to do with glorifying Jesus Christ as Lord.The Lads to Leaders competitive events simply provide some motivation aswell as some fellowship and fun while learning more about God's plan for mankind as it is revealed in the Bible. For the link to the National organization, see the links below. The music composition event encourages young people to write new songs orto fit new words to existing, copyright-appropriate songs, or to write newmelodies to existing words. There are five separate events: lyrics (words)only, melody (only), lyrics and melody, 2-3 part harmony, and 4 part harmony.Awards are made in each event and in each age division. In 1998, 38 very talented young people from around the country submitted entries to our judges for appraisal. The effects of music on people.It was Plato who said "Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care notwho makes its laws." The music of a people has a profound effect upon the people's morale as well as their morals. God in His understanding of this commanded His people to be "speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord . . ." (Ephesians 5: 19; compare to Colossians 3: 16). It is in fulfillment of these commands that the music composition event of Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes is dedicated. The need for new songs.People need songs to sing. Most members of the churches of Christ will haveabilities other than the ability to dream, compose, and arrange new music.For those of us who can accomplish this, we bear a special responsibilityto others to compose psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. This will aid the rest in their worship to God. But as leaders we take on a special responsibility. The songs that we compose must have more than musical excellence: They must also be scriptually correct. We must not teach error through song. Rules for compositions.There are some guidelines for this creativity, especially when words or music of existing songs are being augmented by new words or melodies. Copyright law makes a division at January 1, 1978. For words or music copyrighted before thatdate, the original copyright was for 28 years, and could be renewed foran additional 47 years, making the total copyright protection 75 years.For works copyrighted after January 1, 1978, the copyright period if thework is copyrighted by the author is for his lifetime plus 50 years.For a work made for hire, copyright exists for 75 years from the date ofits first publication, or a term of 100 years from the year of its creation, whichever comes first. Where there might be any question,written permission from the copyright holder needs to be obtained, and the original letter must accompany the composition. Allowances for creativity.It is expected that the compositions of the year 2002 will have some modern elements. They might be written in major or minor or modal tonalities,and might have time signature changes during the piece. It is to be expected that they might have dynamic markings for soft, very soft, loud, or loud verses, sections, or the entire piece. Please consider the music capabilitiesof a typical 50-member congregation of a church of Christ when calling for thesethings in a score. The day may come when churches of Christ sing in Dorian mode in 5/4 or 7/4, but that day is not likely to be very soon. It should also go without having to be said that whatever is written should be a cappella or "at the chapel" (without instruments) in view of the scriptural example. Judging procedures.Compositions compete within age levels and within events. In this way a beginning composition by a fifth grader will not be evaluated next to apolished work by a college student. Students may progressively upgrade a composition from year to year and re-enter it in upgraded form. That is,a third grader might write the words one year and compete with that, re-enter the words as a fourth grader but add a soprano line melody and have the melody evaluated, add a bass line to the words and soprano line in the fifth grade, and so on. Please note progressive pieces on the entranceform. When the tapes and scores are received, they will be assigned by the Music Composition Coordinator, Dr. Sid Womack, to the judges. A coding system has been used so that the judges will not know the individual or congregation associated with any given score or audio tape. Judges assign points within categories on a scoringsheet or template that they have been given and return the tapes and the scores to the Music Composition coordinator. Dr.Womack will add up the points that the judges have awarded and numerically assign first,second, and third place winners in each age division/category. The Music Coordinator will not ordinarily evaluate any composition unless the availability of judges is such that the event could not be carried out any other way. The aggregate evaluation of the three judges on each composition will be considered final. While music is sometimes thought of as freeform or unstructured, it actually is very structured and has prescribed rules. These rules and procedures make up a sizable portion of the curriculum of the music major in college. Judges will evaluate each composition on the basis of those rules which they have internalized during the course of their studies in music. Not a whole lot is left to "taste" or "individual preference." Competitors are encouraged to approach the composition event in an attitude of writing good music and not in thought about writing to please a particular judge. Every effort will be made to be fair, and to encourage students to compete in this event in succeeding years. In the spring 2000 event, there were about seventy entrants. In the 2002 event, event after the conventions had been split three ways and participation had had to build back up again, there were 78 registered for Music Composition for the Nashville convention, and there were 47 works submitted. For further information or assistance: If there are questions about the event, please feel free to email me at Home telephone is (501) 967-2367 Mailing address is 21 Foxglove, Russellville, Arkansas 72802
Sid T. Womack 
Return to Dr. Womack's home page
Checklist for Music Compositions
Church-related links
Lads to Leaders Home Page
West Side church of Christ home page
Churches of Christ on the Web
World Bible School--Abilene, Texas
SearchTV-Mack Lyon-In Search of the Lord's Way
Study help for the book of Revelation
Arkansas Tech University church of Christ Student Center in Russellville, Arkansas