The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church music. Traditional Gospel. As the name suggests, traditional gospel is the closest to the genre’s origins….Quartet Gospel….Contemporary Gospel…Praise And Worship.

No matter what style of gospel you prefer (gospel comes from three main traditions—Negro spirituals, black gospel, and white southern gospel), it’s experiencing a revival across the country. Gospel music is characterized by dominant vocals and strong use of harmony with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century. Hymns and sacred songs were often repeated in a call and response fashion, heavily influenced by ancestral African music.

Modern gospel music is called Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music and an aspect of Christian media which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and stylistically rooted in Christian music. The first principles and ordinances of the gospel are “first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Gospel music influenced society, helped slaves escape to freedom, and paved the way for other styles of music. It promotes a spirit of hope and provides an outlet to worship God. Basic elements of Gospel music include “call-and-response,” complex rhythms, group singing, and the employment of rhythmic instrumentation. Ways in which other musical genres “borrowed” musical elements from Gospel Music to create new sounds.

The tambourine is a popular hand-held instrument that is often played by a number of members of any given Gospel choir, as well as the Organ, Piano, Drums and Bass Guitar. Gospel musicians very often only play in 2 keys. Those keys are almost always a 4th/5th apart, and in my experience, they are either F and C or F# and C#. What’s notable about these is that they feel mostly the same. A 6/9 on the one is often used in gospel music when coming out of a 2-5-1 progression. In general, the chord can be used as a substitute for any add 9 or major 9 chord you use.

The precursor to black Gospel music is the African American spiritual, which had already been around for well over a century before Gospel music began its rise to popularity starting in the 1930s. Thomas Andrew Dorsey (born July 1, 1899, Villa Rica, Ga., U.S.—died Jan. 23, 1993, Chicago, Ill.), an American songwriter, singer, and pianist whose many up-tempo blues arrangements of gospel music hymns earned him the title of “Father of Gospel Music.”