This Is How I Create Set Lists
The funny thing about Sunday’s is that they come every week. And every Sunday needs a newly formulated list of songs for the church to sing. It can be a bit daunting when you think of every set list that you need to create in a given year! By my rough calculation, I’ve created well over 1,000 set lists over the past fifteen years. I’m not an expert by any means, but I have some different rules/processes/creative-tactics that have helped me and maybe they can help you too! Let’s get into it:
LOOK AT PAST SET LISTS WHEN CREATING NEW ONES
One of my biggest creativity-engines when forming set lists is getting a birds-eye view of past sets I’ve created. I use a simple Pages document with three columns of sets (Example page below). I include the keys and tempos with each song (You’ll see why this is important in the next point). I also mark new songs in red, which makes it easy to know when it’s time to introduce a new one. Knowing the patterns in which songs have been played is crucial in creating set lists for the future. You must know where you’ve been to get where you’re going, right?
GROUP SIMILAR KEYS, TEMPOS AND STYLES TOGETHER
Depending on how long the worship portion is at your church, it could be useful to group songs together of similar key, tempo and style. For example, if you have four songs in a set and every song is in a different key, it may start sounding a bit “choppy.” You must look at the set as a whole, not as individual songs. Try to create a nice cadence with the songs you choose. One thing that helps me determine this is simply playing the songs back-to-back on Spotify. I’ll play the last twenty seconds of one song and listen to the first twenty seconds of the next song. How did it sound? Did the last song flow nicely into the next? Do they go together stylistically?
On the flip side, keeping every song in the same key may sound a bit boring. Sometimes, the key difference of the next song can actually raise the overall energy of the set list. Use that to your advantage! Let your key changes be purposeful. Pay attention to not just what key a song is in, but what chord/note it ends on. Could the last chord of one song be the key of the next? This may be a great opportunity to craft a smooth and creative transition between the two.
CREATE YOUR SET LIST WITH AN OVERARCHING THEME
A theme can be a great filter when choosing songs for a set. It doesn’t need to be anything too complicated. In fact, the more general the theme is, the better. Perhaps it’s communion Sunday and instead of doing just one communion song, you can have all the songs focus the church’s attention to the cross. The theme could be anything. God’s faithfulness. Our freedom. Deliverance. Using a theme is just another tool in creating a well-rounded, cohesive set list.
PRAY OVER YOUR SET LISTS
I’m not as consistent in this area as I would like to be, but I try to always seek the Lord and ask for His help when creating sets. I think it’s vitally important to keep Him as part of the creative process. He knows what His church should be singing. He’s got the best song choices in mind and He wants to use you to orchestrate it! Ask for His help and guidance. He’s got you!
These are just a few tools that help me create set lists Sunday after Sunday. Do you think I’m missing anything? Do you have any pro-tips for creating set lists? Or perhaps you have a question or need help. I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below. Let’s get the conversation started!
Thanks for reading! Talk to you soon.
