SOUND BYTES
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94 Songs for the 21st Century- Sound Bytes is a major new initiative for adventurous worship
in the third millennium, intended for use by children aged eight and
above in school, church and junior church. Many songs are also appropriate
for use within Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum and multi-faith
situations.
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Sound Bytes is ecumenical in spirit like Big Blue Planet which inspired the new collection. It draws extensively on the work of leading authors and composers of worship material for young people, with the new alongside more familiar hymns and songs.
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Images of technology including the Internet, laser beams, space travel and mobile phones root the collection in young people's experience of God in today's world. The contents of Sound Bytes focus on realistic contemporary situations and, while exploring a range of joyful emotions, also give opportunities for children to express more reflective and sensitive feelings arising from occasions of sorrow, pain and trauma.
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A unique linking narrative binds together the contents within traditional and contemporary themes of season and church year, the Old and New Testaments, prayer, responsibility to God and to others, concern for the world community and care and stewardship of the planet.
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The narrative assists teachers and worship leaders to present individual songs with the minimum of preparation, and may also be used as an extensive reference and as the backbone of a curriculum.
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Sound Bytes features an exciting spectrum of musical styles ranging from rap, blues and calypso to traditional folk song, dance and hymns. Copious notes assist presentation, acting out and performance with accompaniments involving piano, percussion, chime bars, guitars, recorders, sequencers and midi keyboards.
Here are a few free Sound Bytes to give you a taste:
| Greeting Song (Dann arr. McLeish) sbyhello.mp3 .Look beyond where laser beams (Bexon/Pratt) sbylaser.mp3 Dancing in Darkness (Walker arr. McLeish) sbydancing.mp3 Sound Bytes (McLeish/Pratt) sbysound.mp3 |
SOUND BYTES REVIEWED
A
really useful collection
Congratulations to Stainer & Bell for a really
useful collection of songs for children. Useful is really the word here.
The songs cover the seasons of the Christian Year, plenty of Harvest and
Zacchaeus as you would expect but also Advent, Christingle, Jesus' Baptism,
Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost and then go on to a
wide variety of themes in the Christian life - prayer, the multi-faith
and multi-cultural world, hope, peace, friends and death. Old and New
Testament stories are retold in song, from Ruth to the Sower and the index
of themes also includes space, sport, laser, water and blessing.
As well as offering up a song for almost any theme you may be planning, the book bursts with creativity; music and words are enormously varied in their style, but the quality is consistently high and as you read the book you'll find plenty that you will want to take as starting points - the rock 'n' roll version of the parable of the sower, the haunting music and words of the story of Ruth, the Bethlehem story with questions, the sound bytes rap; God as father or mother; AIDS and slaves and plenty more. There are accompaniment and action suggestions too. But is it good music and will the children like the songs? Yes and yes are the answers.
This song book deserves to appear on the shelf of everyone who plans worship with children. There is music here to give inspiration and fun to singers and musicians and there are words to bring heartfelt needs and aspirations to expression.
Andrew Pratt has aimed for 'exciting, appropriate and contemporary' songs to convey religious concepts. He has also hit his target and the result is good for learning and good for enjoyment.
Steve Pearce
Together with Children
CONTENTS
Alphabetical Order by First Line
First lines of choruses are shown in italics. Titles are included in bold only where they differ from the first line. Items shown in red are on the CD.
A B C D E F G
A farmer went into his field
A father loved both his sons
A Hymn for Palm Sunday and Easter
A new beginning, the opening scene
A prayer for rising from our beds
A Song for the Colours of the Rainbow
A widow, she weeps in the foothills of Moab
Aaronic Blessing
Along the road to Bethlehem
And I thought of a world where all learn to share
And it’s from the old I travel to the new
And now we share of Christ’s own fare
Anything to declare?
As Jesus was taking the road out of Jericho
Autumn days when the grass is jewelled
But here is the News!
But it’s Real!
Carnival colours, sounds of all nations
Choosing Day
Come from within
Come, Holy Spirit
‘Come on down,’ he said, ‘from the sycamore tree’
Corn in Egypt
Could you see what I’m thinking
Crocus pushing through the earth
‘Dance, then, wherever you may be’
Dancing in darkness, it doesn’t seem right
Dawn
Dear God, I’m writing you a letter
Do you like to sing
Earth has sprung to life anew
Easter Calypso
Eastern Strangers
Ev’ry day is a choosing day
Fav’rite colours, fav’rite toys
Fisherman Peter, on the sea
Go Down to Egypt
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
God bless our little light
God said ‘Go’, Moses said ‘No’
God wanted Jonah as a missionary
God, you’re my strong father
Good Friday
Great God of many names
Great News
Greeting Song
Grow, said the Lord, yes – grow!
Hard to Make a Prayer
He was a carpenter down in Galilee
Hello! Hello! How are you?
Here is the News!
Here’s a story ’bout a traveller
Hold the torch, guard the flame
How to pool all our resources
Hymn of Promise
I could ride in a helicopter
I danced in the morning
I give you the hand of peace
I listen to the unseen radio man
I love the pit, pit, patter of the raindrops
I perched in the branches and heard what he said
I should like to speak to you
I took my flock of sheep to the field today
I wrap my thoughts around me
I’m coming for you, SHEEP
If I could visit Bethlehem
If only you knew
If we step into the light and live in the light
In the beginning God played with the planets
In the bulb there is a flower
In the early morning sunlight of a city dawn
Irish Blessing
Is he my friend who builds his home from the ice
It’s a fact that you can share a smile
Jesus Christ Spells Love
Jesus dies upon the cross
Jesus said to the woman at the well
Jesus said, I am the door
Jesus Song
Jesus the king is risen
Jesus went into the river
Jesus went up to the temple
Jesus, we want you for a friend
Join the harvest celebrations
Jonah Song
Joseph was given a coat of bright colours
Keep the flame, keep it burning
Kingdom come, Kingdom here
Lessons from Strange Places
Let red be the colour of warm expectation
Letter to God
Letters spell the words we say
Light a beacon with the news
Light an Advent candle
Like an Island
Listen and learn, listen and learn
Listen, said Jesus, to the story of Jonah
Long ago God spoke to people
Look beyond where laser beams
Look to the north and look to the south
Lord of the Dance
Love your neighbour
Mary and Joseph came to the temple
Mary and Joseph wait in the darkness
May the road rise to meet you
Namaste, Namaste
Naomi
Never Be Frightened
Never Ending Love
Newsreaders finish
No, no, I can’t believe it’s true
Now why do we sing our songs of praise
One more step along the world I go
Our world is one world
Out in the desert Jesus was hungry
People think, to be free
Psalm 42
Rocky Wocky Soil
Round orange, round orange, you serve as a sign
Running, racing through the heather
See he is calling you
See the women watching, watching
See them laughing, when the crops are harvested
Seeing
Set us free, free, free
Shalom my friend
Show the world a friendly face
Sing a song of Jesus, the baby in the hay
Sing praise to the God of creation
Small things count, so Jesus said
So I mustn’t forget
So much joy is shouting out
Sound Bytes: words that stay in your head
Spirit who broods, Spirit who sings
Stars and fishes
Step into the Light
Take three steps to the left
Tell me the stories of Jesus
Tell them, show them, the height, length and breadth of God’s love
Thank you God for the Harvest
Thank you God for the warmth of the sun
Thank you, Lord, for giving us good fruit
The Ballad of a Father’s Love
The Bible is full of adventures of faith
The Bird’s Song
The Dismissal
The Family of God
The Fruit Song
The Hand of Peace
The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lost Sheep
The pearl of great price
The power of love is always the same
The Seasons
The wind from the north
The wind of the Spirit
The Wonder of the Spring
They were just like you, just like me
Use your eyes: look and see
We can smile because God loves us
We do not know why we have lost our sister
We have a king who rides a donkey
We’re all part of the family of God
We’ve great news to tell to you
‘Whatever I do, you can do,’ God said
Whatever name
When the spring comes round again
Wherever I sail
Who are these eastern strangers?
Who are you Jesus?
Who is my Friend?
Why join a large and noisy crowd?
Wind of the Spirit
Zacchaeus was a wealthy man