Music for the glory of God has enlivened the Christian church ever since its virginal inception. The earliest forms of musical notation were created by monks during the Roman empire, to preserve religious chant, and to allow priests to be able to spread the glorious religious music throughout Europe. J.S. Bach created almost all of his masterworks for his church, and Gabrieli did the same for his in the Italian Renaissance.

When colonists moved to the New World of America, the center of every town was a church, and on Sundays it was filled with the sound of singing, usually in four-part harmony. Children were taught music in school specifically to be able to sing from the hymnal in harmony. The black churches that developed after the civil war also emphasized music and singing, and the music from that period is referred to as gospel.

Today, churches use every means at their disposal to involve their congregations in the power of music and singing. Many churches have their own bands and choirs. Others use pre-recorded sing along backing tracks. Karaoke tracks have gotten more popular because they can be synchronized with multimedia slideshows, and the words to hymns are often projected on a large screen in time with the music. Click here to download some popular modern karaoke tracks specifically written for use in church by composers at Spiritrax.com.