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Directing a Youth Gospel Choir: Tips and Song Suggestions

October 14, 2022October 14, 2022| choirparts_vsh71dchoirparts_vsh71d| 0 Comment| 5:14 am
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This page takes a look at some of the issues to remember when working with a youth or teen choir.

I also have suggestions of good gospel songs for youth choirs to sing (you can click here to go straight to the suggestions list of good gospel songs for youth choirs).

Directing a youth choir is both an opportunity and a challenge.

Teenagers are capable of so much energy and enthusiasm. If they take what they’re doing to heart, there’s no stopping them. But sometimes it takes some work to get them in the right emotional/spiritual state to apply themselves to the work at hand.

Choir directing is a spiritual ministry, but there are practical ideas as well that can make your ministry much more effective. How can you make the most of the abilities that God has given the young people that you work with?

Youth Choir Tip #1: GET TO KNOW THEIR VOICES

A youth choir can sometimes cover a wide vocal range. There may be a mixture of younger kids with higher voices and older ones whose voices have dropped. If you have teen boys whose voices have changed already, they could be in the baritone or even bass range!

You must know the vocal ranges of your singers so that you can choose the right songs for them and arrange the songs the right way to match their voices. Spend a little time with each singer. Play notes on a keyboard and have them sing the notes. Write down what the highest and lowest notes are that each singer is comfortable with.

Now when you choose a song for your youth choir, you’ll know whether they would be able to sing it just like the recording or whether you need to change the key or rearrange the parts. Do make the effort to adapt the song so that it fits their range. You wouldn’t want to give them anything that would be a strain and hurt their young voices.

Youth choir tip #2: YOU MAY HAVE TO BOOST THEIR CONFIDENCE

You remember being a teenager, right? The self-consciousness, the worrying about what your peers thought of you, the whole ordeal of growing up. That’s what your youth choir members are going through right now. When it comes time to sing, they may be shy and hesitant. The kids who are fantastic singers (and know that they are) will be ready and willing to sing out. But the ones who are not sure of their abilities will hold back. That’s why youth choir directors often hear themselves saying things like, “I know you can sing louder than that. I can hear you a block away when you’re talking with your friends in the parking lot.”

It will take time and patience for your choir singers to come out of their shells. One thing that will work in your favor is the fact that music is something that humans respond to instinctively. When you hear a song that you know really well, you will probably start singing along without even noticing that you’re doing it. The same thing will happen with your youth choir members. They will get comfortable with the songs and singing along with them will feel easy and natural.

Another thing that will help them overcome shyness is when you build a rapport with them and also encourage them to bond with each other. When they start to see the other choir members as friends, they will be less self-conscious and they will sing with more boldness.

Youth choir tip #3: THERE WILL BE PRACTICAL ISSUES TO DEAL WITH, TOO.

Some of the things that are very easy with an adult choir can be more challenging for young people.

  • For example, in an adult choir, almost every choir member will own a car. Once you announce a rehearsal, you don’t worry too much about how people will get there. But most members of a teen choir will be at the mercy of others for their transportation. You will be communicating with the parents about the choir’s rehearsals and performances. Sometimes young people may not be able to come to a rehearsal because other people in their family have commitments for that day.
  • Also, it is a challenge to find a good time for rehearsals. Parents don’t like for their kids to be out late on school nights, so having rehearsals on a weeknight may not work out. If rehearsal time is during the weekend, there may be conflicts between choir rehearsal and other activities that young people are involved in, like sports and family outings.
  • Another issue that may arise is that some young people have parents who are no longer together. If a child spends part of their time with one parent and part of the time with the other, they might only be able to come to rehearsal on the weeks that they are with the parent who is supportive of their choir activities. The other parent may not be interested in making the drive.

So just keep in mind that even the most devoted members of your youth choir may not be able to attend all of the rehearsals. What this means to you is that you should make sure that any songs the choir is learning get practiced at several rehearsals before you sing them. That way if a choir member misses a rehearsal, they will have more chances to learn the material before they have to sing it.

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GREAT GOSPEL CHOIR SONGS FOR YOUTH CHOIRS

Your youth choir can really sing anything the adult choir would sing, but there are some songs that seem to be a natural fit for the energy and the sound of a youth choir. There are many (many!) songs in the gospel choir repertoire that are geared toward younger choirs. The suggestions below are favorites of mine that I think would be great for a youth choir, but there are many many more. Maybe the songs listed here will give you some ideas for other material that would be good for your choir.

Index of Youth Choir Songs

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99 1/2

by Hezekiah Walker

“Lord I’m running
Trying to make 100 because
99 1/2 won’t do”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Gm

A very contemporary spin on an old congregational song. A funky and fun song for youth choirs, expressing a theme of perseverance and dedication to God.

Resource links:

  • Lyrics to 99 1/2
  • Sheet music for 99 1/2, for sale at musicnotes.com.
  • Difficulty level:
  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? Yes.

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Do You Know Him

by Hezekiah Walker

“I know a man from Galilee
If you’re in sin, He’ll set you free
He’s the one that’ll save your soul
Heal your body and make you whole
Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh
OH
Do you know Him”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Abm

This one is a toe-tapper, but doesn’t sound old-fashioned. The harmonies on the middle section of the song are rather progressive, and the arpeggiated “oh”s in the chorus will take some practice as well, but once they’ve learned it, it’s likely to be a favorite.

The song has an invitational theme, good for outreach events as well as for church services.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 4/5
  • For musicians: 4/5

Lead singer required? No.

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God Is

by James Cleveland

“God is the joy and the strength of my life
He moves all pain, misery and strife . . .
God is my all and all”

Tempo: Slow
Key: Bb

A classic gospel song that expresses devotion and love for God. The chorus has a lot of words, but once you’ve got the rhythm of the lyrics in you, you’ll never forget it.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? Yes.

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I’ll Be Satisfied

by Hezekiah Walker

“Any way you bless me I’ll be satisfied . . .

Bless my going out, and my coming in
Put Your Spirit ’round about
And Your joy within
Any way, any way, I’ll be satisfied”

Tempo: Moderately fast.
Key: Gb.

This one has a very contemporary groove to it, and don’t you just love a song that tells the young people to be content with what they have and whatever God gives them?

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? No.

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I’ll Tell It

by the New Jersey Mass Choir
I’ll Tell It

“I’ll tell it
I’ll tell it everywhere I go”

An easy song to pick up and learn, with a theme of evangelism and personal testimony.

Tempo: Moderately fast
Key: Db

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? Yes

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Jesus Christ Is the Way

by Walter Hawkins
Jesus Christ Is the Way

“When I think about, the hour
Then I know what I must do . . .

I will open up my heart
To everyone I see
And say, Jesus Christ is the way”

Tempo: Slow
Key: Gb

The words to this song give a sense of mission and purpose. And it’s real easy to sing, too. Lots of unison.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 1/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? No.

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Jesus Is Mine

by the Florida Mass Choir

“Jesus is mine
Jesus is mine
Everywhere I go
Everywhere I be
Oh, Jesus is mine”

Tempo: Fast
Key: F

A very joyous song that’s popular with a lot of choirs, including youth choirs.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? Only if you do the second vamp.

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Jesus Promised

by the Chicago Mass Choir

“Oh how wonderful it is
Jesus promised He’ll take care of me”Tempo: Moderate, with a beat.
Key: Db.

A fun number with a lot of bounce. Each section of the choir (soprano, alto, tenor) gets an opportunity to leave their mark with individual lines.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? No.

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Let Everything That Hath Breath (Psalm 150)

by the Florida A&M University Gospel Choir

“Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord
Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord
Let everything that hath breath
Praise the Lord
For His mighty acts
And His wondrous works
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord”

Tempo: Moderate
Key: C

A powerful anthem with a semi-classical feel. This one will take some serious rehearsal time for any choir, youth or adult, but the results are worth it.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 4/5
  • For musicians: 4/5

Lead singer required? No.

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Let Us Worship

by Tye Tribbett

“Let us worship, let us sing
Hallelujah to the King
Let us raise our voices high
Praise the name of Jesus Christ
Oh oh, oh oh”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Eb

This is a VERY energetic song with a lot of unison (you can really do it all in unison if you want). It takes some work to learn all the lyrics, but it will probably be a favorite once they’ve learned. Fun to sing, and a great one to get the congregation singing along.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? It’s better with the lead, but not absolutely necessary.

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Make It to That City

by Hezekiah Walker

“I’ve got to make it
Make it to that city”

Tempo: Fast.
Key: Ab.

A contemporary but soul-stirring song that expresses a determination to get to heaven. Only do this one if your youth choir is ready to sing it with passion.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? Yes.

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My Mind’s Made Up

by Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers

“My mind’s made up
No turning back
Yes, I’m happy
‘Cause I’m on the right track”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Gbm

A sassy, youthful song with a message of “straighten up and fly right”. Good stuff.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? No.

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Not Forgotten

by Israel and New Breed

“I am not forgotten
I am not forgotten
I am not forgotten
God knows my name”

Tempo: Fast
Key: E

A song with a great message for your youth choir members. Teenagers are often plagued with feelings of inadequacy and isolation, thinking that no one cares about their lives. This song brings a reminder about the love of God.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 4/5 if they’re comfortable in the key of E, 5/5 otherwise.

Lead singer required? Optional.

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Our Father, You Are Holy

by Ricky Dillard

“Our Father
You are holy
We give You glory
And we bless Your name”

Those are the entire lyrics to the song. If you want to see a formal link to a lyrics web site, here it is: Our Father, You Are Holy.

Tempo: Slow
Key: Starts in Db, then goes up to D, Eb, E, F, Gb, and then G.

A beautiful, mood-setting song, and very easy to learn.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers:
    • 1/5 if you do it all in unison
    • 2/5 if you do it in harmony, but limit the key changes
    • 4/5 if you do all six of the key changes.
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? They have one on the recording, but it’s definitely optional.

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Perfect Praise (aka How Excellent)

by Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago


Perfect Praise

“Oh Lord
How excellent
How excellent
How excellent
How excellent
I-i-i-i-i-i-i-is Thy name”

Tempo: Slow
Key: Eb

This is a well-known and well-loved song. In fact, I’ve written a whole web page about Perfect Praise because I consider it one of the “standard songs” of the gospel choir repertoire. It was originally recorded the Soul Children of Chicago, so it was a youth choir song from its inception!

It does well either as a regular song to sing in service or as a “show piece”. It sounds tricky at first, but with a little practice it starts to come naturally.

Resource links:

NOTE: On Amazon and on iTunes, the title of this song is incorrectly listed as “Perfect Peace.”

There is also an instrumental track version of this song, done by Fruition Music. They call it “Oh Lord How Excellent” and credit it to a different artist, but it is the same song, done as an instrumental. If you use this as accompaniment music, your choir can sing the song even if you don’t have a musician: Oh Lord How Excellent (Eb) Richard Smallwood.

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? Not really. There’s one on the original recording, but all she does is sing the same verse that the choir does.

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Power Belongs to God

by Hezekiah Walker

“There is nothing too hard for God
Nothing too hard for God
Power belongs to God”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Ebm, then Em, then Fm, then F#m, then Gm.

A progressive, energetic song that expresses faith and confidence. But it does take some work to learn!

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 5/5
  • For musicians: 4.5/5

Lead singer required? No.

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The Presence of the Lord

by John P. Kee

“The presence of the Lord
Is here, here in this place
I can feel the anointing
And His power”

This is NOT the Byron Cage/Kurt Carr song.

Tempo: Slow
Key: F

For me, this song really sets a mood for worship. Very reverent and comforting.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? I’m supposed to say yes, but my choir does it without the lead verses and it’s still great.

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Say the Word

by Rodnie Bryant

“If you want to be born again
Say, say the word”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Bb

This is a sassy one with a message of evangelism. Good for altar calls and for events where there are unchurched people in attendance. The counterpoint in the first section of the song is a favorite and the call-and-response in the last part of the song encourages audience participation.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 2/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? No.

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Shabach

by Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago

“Shabach, Hallelujah
Barak, Praise the Lord”

A classic youth choir song, originally recorded by a choir of young people. Along with the instrumental track from Saunders Music that I have listed below, the “Growing Up” album by Walt Whitman also has its own instrumental version of “Shabach” on it, in case you don’t have a musician.

Tempo: Fast
Key: Dbm, then Dm, then Ebm.

Resource links:

  • Lyrics to Shabach.
  • Link: Instrumental track for Shabach, from Saunders Music.

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? No.

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Stand Up!

by Nicholas

On the album Love Like This“Stand up, and be a witness
And be a witness for the Lord”Tempo: Fast
Key: Ab

An energetic tune about being bold in proclaiming your faith.The album “Love Like This” is out-of-print, unfortunately, so the few copies to be might be expensive. But the song is currently on YouTube (see below).

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? Yes.

Video of Stand Up by Phil & Brenda Nicholas

From the album “Love Like This”

When my choir does it, we don’t do all those spoken word fill-ins that Phil does.

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That’s Where I’ll Be

by Hezekiah Walker

“That’s where I want to be
Rooted and grounded in Thee
And with Your help, I see
That’s where I’ll be”

Tempo: Fast
Key: Gb

I love this song. The message of stability and faithfulness is great for young people.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 3/5

Lead singer required? Yes

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We Are Not Ashamed

by Andrae Crouch


We Are not Ashamed

“We are not ashamed
We are not ashamed
Of the gospel of Jesus Christ
For we have everlasting life”

Tempo: Slow
Key: Gb

Another song about taking a stand for your faith with boldness, an important message to drive home during those peer-pressure-ridden teen years. That’s why I think this makes a great youth choir song.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? It’s better if you use one, but you could do without.

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Why We Sing

by Kirk Franklin

“Someone asked the question
Why do we sing?”

Tempo: Slow
Key: Starts in Db.

When this song first came out, it was overwhelmingly popular, to the point that it was in danger of overexposure. But I think it can still be brought back, especially as a song for youth choir. Lots of unison makes this an easy one for young people to learn.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 1/5
  • For musicians: 2/5

Lead singer required? There’s a spoken word lead on the album, but it’s not really necessary.

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Wonderful Is Your Name

by Hezekiah Walker

“All of my life I’ve never known you to fail
You remain the same and wonderful is your name”

Tempo: Moderately fast
Key: Bb.

A joyous, contemporary-sounding song of praise. Some of the harmonies are a little tricky, so this would not be a song for beginners, but an experienced youth choir would have fun with it.

Resource links:

Difficulty level:

  • For singers: 3.5/5
  • For musicians: 4/5

Lead singer required? No

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