The terms "traditional", "historical," and "contemporary" have been extensively used in churches for at least 20 years to define musical style. While in the past, they have been helpful in describing the majority of music used in most protestant church's, they are no longer as effective, especially "contemporary" due to the changes in contemporary music in the last 10-15 years. In fact, if they are not more specifically defined, they usually cause a great deal of confusion and have different meanings to different groups of people. Ask a High School student, a 25 year old, a 45 year old, and a 65 year old to describe "contemporary" or "traditional" music, and you will probably get four very different descriptions.

If Church musicians are to help their congregations understand and talk about the music they use or want to use in a grace filled manner, we must learn to be much more descriptive and use better labels to describe the music we are talking about.

For clarification, Southern Gables will use the following musical style categories and definitions when talking about music in worship:

HYMNS of the 18th - 21st Century

1. Classic Western Hymnody: a Christian song of praise of God; St. Augustine stipulates the essential presence of three elements---song, praise, and God; the "western" hymn displays the common language, evangelical fervor, and congregational participation; written in hymn-strophic verse form, being 8-24 bars long, having more than one verse, lyrics focus on attributes of God, primarily accompanied by keyboards (organ and or piano) and or orchestral instruments, and written between the 18th and 20th centuries. Examples are: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, How Great Thou Art, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, Holy, Holy, Holy, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, and Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

2. Southern Gospel Hymns: Southern Gospel music is a popular American form of Christian music. The birth of the genre is generally considered to be 1910, which is the year the first professional quartet was formed for the purpose of selling song books for the James D. Vaughan Music Publishing Company. Examples are: Jesus, I Come, Nothing but the Blood, There Is Power in the Blood, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Wonderful Words of Life, 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, In My Heart There Rings a Melody, and When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder.

3. Newly Arranged Hymns: typically hymn texts (unaltered) from the 18th -20th centuries (usually Classic Western Hymnody), that have the traditional tune re-written or arranged differently; accompaniment is usually with electric guitars, keyboards, and drums/percussion; Indelible Grace is a large, successful, and well known movement in Nashville which has re-written, recorded, and performed many hymns in the last 10 years.

SONGS: 1970-present

4. Original "Contemporary" Songs/Choruses: songs written 30-40 years ago that are primarily accompanied by piano and or organ, orchestral instruments, and occasionally acoustic guitar, bass, and light rhythm/drums; examples are: Be Exalted, O God, As We Gather, He Is Our Peace, Seek Ye First, I Love You, Lord ,Glorify Thy Name, and Micah 6:8.

5. Classic "Contemporary": songs that were written 15-30 years ago and can be accompanied by piano and or organ, acoustical guitar, bass, light drum, and sometimes with orchestral instruments; examples are: As the Deer, My Tribute, Majesty, Change My Heart, O God, Great Is the Lord, Shine, Jesus Shine, The Battle Belongs to the Lord, and Make Me a Servant.

6. Modern "Contemporary": songs or re-written hymns written 5-15 years ago; are primarily accompanied by electric guitars, keyboards, and drums; examples are: Better Is One Day, Breathe, Forever, God of Wonders, Here I Am to Worship, and Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?

7. New/Current "Contemporary": songs written in the last 7 years; are almost exclusively accompanied by electric guitars, keyboards/synthesizers, and drums/percussion; lyrics focus on praising God and how we feel about God; examples are: Here Is Our King (David Crowder), This Day (Steven Curtis Chapman), He Reigns (Newsboys), Lifesong (Casting Crowns), Sweetly Broken (Jeremy Riddle), and current songs by Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin like Made to Worship and Glory In the Highest.