Christian Music

60+ Christian Choral Arrangements for Your Church Choir

These gospel choir songs, from traditional to modern, are perfect for any church on Sunday morning.

Musicnotes

Aug 16, 2018 • 5 min read

Whether you’re searching for that perfect church choir special, or you simply want to amp up your worship team, we’ve put together a list of 60+ Christian Choral Arrangements for Your Church Choir that your congregation is sure to love! Browse different choral styles, including Contemporary Christian arrangements, Gospel arrangements, Hillsong arrangements, and traditional hymns, and find the perfect arrangement for your choir.

4 Main Types of Church Choirs

Church choirs come in many sizes and styles, and it’s important to consider the kind of church choir music that your group will be performing. The environment matters, too, since the acoustics in the space affect the power and beauty of the music. Gender and age serve as the primary classifications for the types of church choir music. The most common categories of church choirs are:

Women’s church choir, or treble choir (SSAA – soprano 1, soprano 2, alto 1 and alto 2)
Men’s chorus (TTBB – tenor 1, tenor 2, bass 1 and bass 2)
Mixed church choir (SATB – soprano, alto, tenor and bass)
A cappella ensembles may include any of the above and perform without accompaniment

You can search by vocal arrangement at Musicnotes, or by song, then filter by arrangement to find the best church choir music for your needs.

Instruments Used to Accompany a Church Choir

Not all worship services use instruments to accompany the church choir. If you’re serving at an Eastern Orthodox church or traditional Jewish synagogue, you’ll almost certainly be presenting the music a cappella, relying instead on the lyrics and vocal patterns to stir the congregation.

Protestant and Catholic churches traditionally use the organ as accompaniment, but often replace the organ in contemporary settings with a piano. Although modern contemporary church choirs often have a small band using amplifiers to support their voices, gospel music is also arranged to be performed a cappella.

Contemporary worship bands typically include piano or keyboard, guitar, percussion and voice. The variations in this group are endless, however. You can find arrangements on Musicnotes that incorporate strings or woodwinds or a mix of them all.

The 4 Main Categories of Church Choir Music

Church choirs should select music that fits the style and atmosphere of their congregations. Choosing church choir music also depends on your goals for worship. Congregants sing to worship with love and joy, to bring the members of the church together in unity and to remember the foundations of the church.

Each of the four main types of church choir music offers different approaches to the same goals.

The differences emerge in the lyrics and the style.

Contemporary Christian

Also referred to as praise and worship music, contemporary Christian church choir songs sound more like pop music. The choir is often a group of singers with multiple singers per voice part, while a praise and worship team is made up of soloists and instrumentalists. Non-denominational Protestant and charismatic churches tend to utilize contemporary Christian church praise and worship teams.

Gospel

Gospel music, as we know it today, has been around since the 18th century with pieces like “Amazing Grace”. The music emphasizes strong vocals and complicated harmonies, and most early gospel music was sung a cappella in a call-and-response style. Black gospel is a well-known variant, particularly in the United States, while Southern gospel church praise teams are mixed male and female.

Hillsong

Hillsong church choir music comes from the Hillsong church tradition. Hillsong is a music company that produces worship and praise music albums every year that fall solidly in the contemporary Christian category.

Hymns

Some of the earliest Christian hymns came from musical arrangements of the Psalms, and they’re the most traditional type of church choir music. That is not to say that hymns are old-fashioned. Modern choral arrangements have brought fresh sounds to older hymns, and even the traditional versions can be beautiful when sung by a church choir.

We hope you’ve found some new Christian choral arrangements that you’re excited to bring to your church choir! For more tips on integrating music into your church, check out our articles: How to Blend Traditional and Contemporary Music in the Church and 5 Tips for Creating a Worship Set List.

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4 Main Types of Church Choirs

Instruments Used to Accompany a Church Choir

The 4 Main Categories of Church Choir Music

Contemporary Christian

Gospel

Hillsong

Hymns

Contemporary Christian Choral Arrangements

Gospel Choral Arrangements

Hillsong Choral Arrangements

Hymns