During the 19th century, new compositions became known through sheet music, which middle class amateur musicians would play at home on their piano or other common instruments. With the invention of electric technologies and radio broadcasting in the 1920s, the widespread availability of gramophone records allowed listeners to hear recorded performances of songs or pieces. This changed the way that music was consumed. Rather than playing or listening to sheet music, listeners could now hear recorded performances of the same compositions as they listened to their favorite recording artist.
As the popularity of recording technology increased, composers began to compose and arrange their own musical compositions for use with a record player. In classical music, composers typically write their own orchestral scores to accompany their vocal or instrumental compositions, although this practice is less common in popular music and musical theatre. In jazz and contemporary Christian music, songwriters often do not use traditional written notation at all. Instead, a songwriter may compose the song entirely in their head, and then only record it once they have perfected it.
The psalmist wrote that we are to sing “a new song unto the LORD,” which implies that God wants us to continually praise Him with a fresh, new song. That’s why worship has been a continuously evolving and developing activity throughout history. It’s also why churches hold special services for significant events, such as after a series of evangelistic meetings in which many people put their faith in Christ or after the completion of a church building program.
The song of the Lamb in Revelation 5 is a new song that embodies the entire redemptive work of Jesus. It is a song that proclaims the Lamb’s worthiness to carry out God’s plan and establish his kingdom. It is a song that carries four qualitative aspects of newness: (1) it is for God; (2) it is accomplished through the blood of Christ; (3) it is universal (to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation); and (4) it focuses on the future.
The most recent album released by NewSong is called Sheltering Tree, which featured Russ Lee and Scotty Wilbanks leaving the band to pursue solo careers. The album included the No. 1 mainstream radio hit, Deep and Wide. This was followed by a Christmas album, The Christmas Shoes, which features three original NewSong songs to compliment Donna VanLiere’s book trilogy. NewSong is a part of the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular with headliners Steven Curtis Chapman and Jeremy Camp. The tour, which also includes MercyMe, Skillet, and Mandisa, has reached more than 275,000 people and seen over 37,000 make decisions for Christ. NewSong has also recently appeared at the 2008 Dove Awards.