Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Philip McKenning is a York-based guitar teacher, worship leader and cleaner (hence the title) who has written a book that deals with certain aspects of worship music within the local church. At just shy of 90 pages, McKenning offers up his take on a wide range of practical subjects such as the noise levels for amplifiers, song keys for congregations and band rotas in an easy-to-digest conversational style that draws upon his obvious experience in the field. Elsewhere, more contentious issues are covered with the likes of including instrument solos in worship songs, allowing non-Christian musicians to play in the worship band and the sometimes sparky relationship between players and the sound engineer offering up guidance to anyone going through such quandaries within their local church. Whilst the book deals with the more practical aspects of church worship music as opposed to the spiritual ones, McKenning is careful to include a relevant Bible passage at the top of each chapter to keep things rooted in Scripture. Amongst other extras, McKenning has even gone to the bother of providing a list of recommended listening, pentatonic scales (to help encourage improvisation) and a transposing guide to provide the icing on the cake of this useful tool for those involved in and perhaps struggling with their church's worship ministry.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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