Gangai Victor's Blog, page 8

3 Important Practices That Will Transform the Way You Lead Worship

It’s easy to lead worship these days, right?

Learn a few songs, gather a few musicians (if you can play acoustic guitar, it’s even easier!), read a book and you are ready. To top it all, there’s also a world of learning material and resources available online, which we can leverage to train ourselves.

But I am betting you already know that.

In fact, I’m betting you also know that functional excellence is just one side of the story and you’re looking for more.

As for me, just like you, I’ve also met many worship leaders who are all about the ‘song’ but very little of anything else. Whenever this is the case, there are two definite outcomes: The shallowness and lack of substance will start showing through Worship will become predictable and lifeless leaving everyone—especially the congregation—frustrated and bitter

In this post, I want to share some suggestions on solidifying our worship sessions so that they consistently turn out to be times of refreshing; times of encountering our awesome God to offer Him the glory, honor and adoration due to His Name. 3 Crucial Tips to Add Depth to Our Worship 1. Study

Worship leaders must continually strive for a deeper understanding of God, worship and the Church. The prophet Hosea wasn’t kidding when he prophesied that we can perish due to lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6)!

In our various endeavors to stay relevant with the latest tools, techniques, methods and songs, we can easily lose sight of Christ, His saving work and His Church and adversely affect our worship.

To craft worship that becomes a living expression, we need knowledge—especially of the revealed Word of God, the history of our faith, what we believe, why we believe what we believe and the role of the Church in the journey to eternity.

Let’s start putting in the hours of study that we are seriously in need of. 2. Reprioritize

I wrote about life priorities in this post, but we need a similar outlook in ministry also. The next cool new song or presentation software or musical techniques should actually be secondary priorities in worship.

But, given the nature of music ministry, they tend to take too much prominence at times. For e.g. what is treated as most important in the worship of your Church? The worship band or the mystery at the Table? Songs or scriptures?

We need to check ourselves regularly and reprioritize whenever necessary to ensure our highest pursuit in life and worship is always Christ and not some temporarily cool novelty. 3. Balance

Our ministry also needs sensible balance in almost every aspect—fast vs. slow songs, new vs. old songs, performance vs. participation, hymns vs. contemporary songs, music vs. silence, planning vs. spontaneity and so on…

Functional aspects aside, we also need to balance far deeper realities:

· Human worshippers gathering as a divine church

· Human worshippers worshipping a divine God

· Visible worship towards an invisible God

· Missional action backed by silent contemplation

Without balance, our worship will get skewed towards the ordinary. In our worship practices, balance is best achieved when our goal is genuine, inspired revival of our Church and not just keeping up with what someone else is doing.

My friend, the worship leader’s role is far beyond planning song transitions for the next week. The responsibilities of fostering a living worship culture, safeguarding the most important elements of worship, teaching the congregation to worship, raising up other ministers and more should also concern us greatly—for the wellness of our church and the glory of our God! But then, these are only my thoughts, why not share yours in the comments? How do you think we can build more substance into our worship sessions?

Image: www.wallpaperswide.com

The One Thing That Matters Most in the Worship of all Churches

Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” (John 18:8)

What a mighty, equation-changing statement by Jesus! The divine exchange in one sentence—the life of the great I AM for ours—an all-sufficient ransom for many!

The Cross reveals God's love to us in power and in sacrifice! It is the reason that we are well able to join with St. Paul and declare triumphantly

"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)

Praise the Lord!

The Foundation of 'Christian' Worship

What do you think is the most important focus area in worship?

No, it's not the most moving worship songs or the most talented singers/musicians. Nope, not sound quality or lighting either.

Worship should be fueled by the Cross—the passion, the death and the resurrection of our Lord. For worship to be 'Christian', it needs to center on the Cross, reflect the Cross, testify to the Cross and be lived out in sacrificial love—in short, the Cross is the foundation of Christian worship.

And today my friend, instead of thinking about what songs to sing or what transition techniques to employ in the next worship session, let's take a timeout and gaze upon God's love demonstrated upon the Cross—and be in grateful awe. Let's stay silent, be still, meditate and

wonder at Christ's finished work upon the Cross wonder at the Blood that covers and washes us wonder at the grace that saves us wonder at the joy of experiencing God's presence when we worship wonder at the transforming power of the Holy Spirit who now dwells in us wonder at the reality that we are daughters and sons of God...

...just wonder.

So that the next time we worship, let it be nourished by and rooted on what is most important to our faith: the Cross.

The Mystery of Faith

While Christ's death, resurrection and promise to return to us is the foundation of our worship, it's also the mystery of our faith that we need to hold on to (1 Timothy 3:9). It's what the whole Church is called upon to declare, proclaim and witness as we wait in hope, expecting His glorious return.

It's a revealed mystery (I know, oxymoron, right?!) and yet it takes more than a lifetime to understand! Every time we worship, we are tapping into this awesome mystery and getting a closer glimpse at it—in the Word that we read, preach and teach; in the songs that we sing, in the community prayers and especially at the Table!

If the Cross is the foundation of Christian worship, then the Eucharist is it's most tangible expression. So the next time we break the Bread and raise the Cup and sing to Him, let's remember, celebrate, thank and glorify God for the mystery of our faith that is being revealed to us.

My friend, stay in wonder and worship Him, Jesus Christ has saved us!

How can we build a culture of worship that is firmly based upon the Cross? Why not leave a comment and share your thoughts?

Image: http://www.verobeachalliancechurch.com/

3 Critical Worship Practices to Take Your Ministry to the Next Level!

I believe that a worship leader would do well to lead the kind of worship that encompasses these 3 aspects: Impart truth through songs and prayers that have solid scriptural footing Respond to truth by renewing the lordship of Jesus over our lives Desire for internal conversion and transformation (heart and mind) in the power of the Holy Spirit

To some, this may sound highly theoretical and even a bit too lofty—I get that, but I believe that it’s not impossible! A mix of good attitude, prayerful work ethic, and right practices will help us get there. Here are some thoughts: 3 Important Practices to Lead Worship With Substance 1. Conversation

While we don’t want to be boring, feeding the congregation’s inclination for entertainment shouldn’t be our aim either. Let’s not reduce worship to entertainment—some kind of a ‘Christian’ gig. Instead, let’s treat music as a tool—a vehicle to help people converse with God.

A key to bring in a conversational dimension is to pick songs that our congregations can sing to God directly—yes, I am talking about vertical songs. Look out for songs whose lyrics are descriptive, emotive, and expressive—conversations should follow easily. 2. Kill Manipulation

It’s easy to over-depend on musical/vocal skill, and use it to manipulate people’s emotions, especially when we become good and experienced at leading worship! The increased loudness of people’s “amens”, and other responses is not the end goal, God is.

Let’s ensure we don’t compromise on our private quiet time with the Lord, guarding our hearts against idols at all times. When we acquire the fire personally, God will use us to set others on fire corporately. Emotional manipulation may please people in the short run, but keeping it real pleases God any day.

The songs that we sing should be far more than dull cliché lines; they should have words that matter to the Church. They should flow out of a heart already set on fire in prior prep-work. For when we first connect with the lyrics and engage with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will use us to open the hearts of our people, for ongoing transformation. 3. Remembrance

The content of our worship should help people remember the new covenant. This should hopefully make us realize the reality of the amazing relationship Christ has established with us—and the priceless cost He paid for it.

This is where the Eucharistic meal plays a pivotal role: Worship moving us to remembrance Remembrance moving us to respond Response moving us to communion Communion moving us to worship again

A reading of Acts and early Christian writings would teach us that from the very beginning of the Church, the Table always held a central spot in Christian worship—it shouldn’t be any different for us either. For no other element of worship helps us remember and experience the new covenant in the profound manner that the communion meal does—let’s ensure that it has its rightful place in our worship.

So let’s not hesitate to pick songs that enable people to connect with the Table and receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives… again.

I believe practicing these 3 will go a long way in solidifying our worship and move our ministering to deeper levels... from milk to solid food.

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14) What is your ultimate goal when you lead worship? How do you balance holiness and the functional aspects of ministry?

Image: stock.xchng

Praisenter - A Top Quality Free Church Presentation Software

It’s always fun to discover new church presentation software—here’s one I recently came across: it’s called Praisenter.

Praisenter is an open source program to project Bible verses, songs, and custom slides with images, audio/video, and more. It sports a pretty impressive set of features that should satisfy most of your church presentation needs.

Features of Praisenter Songs Easy addition of songs with ability to edit and delete Useful song search and preview Hot key support and a Quick Send panel to present song parts quickly Unlimited number of song parts (verse, chorus, bridge etc.) Create a set-list for swift song transitions Import songs from ChurchView and OpenLyrics

Bible Find Bible verses, phrases, words, or location with highlighted matched text easily for quick projection Simple verse navigation (previous, current, and next verse previews) Save a list of verses for planned scripture reading And this is neat: you can display up to two translations at the same time—great for multilingual services!

While Praisenter doesn’t come with an off-the-shelf Bible, it does prompt you to download, install and manage bible translations from The Unbound Bible

Slides and Templates Lots of customization options available with different templates for songs and Bible verses Slides and templates can have video looping, text outline, gradients and more Full or partial slide transparency Copy any slide or template into a new one Media library to store audio/video and images centrally Great support for nearly any audio/video format and codec using the Xuggler library Use videos and pictures anywhere on a slide or template—whether as a background or as a floating component

Verdict

There's a lot of good in Praisenter. In fact, imho, it’s right up there with VideoPsalm, which I believe is the best free church presentation software out there.

Give it a shot—it certainly qualifies to be a keeper!

Link: http://praisenter.org/

Have you tried Praisenter? If yes, can you share your experience in the comments?

Image: http://www.go-als.com/

48 Worship Songs to Consider for Holy Week and Easter Set-Lists (Including 3 Free Downloads!)

Hope this list helps you plan your worship sessions during this blessed season of Lent: Palm Sunday Prepare The Way – Terry MacAlmon Hosanna (You Are Holy) – FREE MP3, FREE chord chart Offering – Paul Baloche Here for You – Matt Redman Blessed Is The One - Tom Ewing Knowing You (All I once held dear) – Graham Kendrick Restless – Audrey Assad Surrender – Lincoln Brewster Let Your Mercy Rain – Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves After All (Holy) - David Crowder, Mark Waldrop, Matt Maher Come to Save us - Leslie Jordan & David Leonard

Maundy Thursday Communion – Third Day Song of Christ – FREE MP3, FREE chord chart  You Alone Can Rescue – Matt Redman We Will Run – Lisa Gungor By Our Love – Christy Nockels Kyrie – Matt Maher Lord Have Mercy (Jesus I’ve Forgotten) – Michael W. Smith I Lift My Eyes (Psalm 121) – Brian Doerksen Refiner’s Fire – Brian Doerksen We Cry Out – Brian Johnson

Good Friday The Same Love – Paul Baloche Marvel at the Lamb (Good Friday Song) - FREE MP3, FREE chord chart O to See the Dawn (Power of the Cross) – Stuart Townend In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross – Sojourn The Wonder of the Cross – Vicky Beeching Rich and Poor – Robbie Seay Band We are Saved – Paul Baloche What Love is This (I Surrender) – Dave Bilbrough This is How We Know – Matt Redman When I Survey – Tim Hughes version Beneath the Cross – Keith & Kristyn getty

Easter Forever – Kari Jobe Christ is Risen – Matt Maher He is Risen – Paul Baloche Savior's Here – Kari Jobe Happy Day - Tim Hughes & Ben Cantelon Mystery - Charlie Hall All Because of Jesus – Steve Fee How Great is the Love - Paul Baloche Mercy - Matt Redman Beautiful – Phil Wickham Hallelujah to my King – Paul Baloche See What a Morning (Resurrection Hymn) – Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty Whiter than Snow – Lenny Leblanc Mystery of Faith – Glenn Packiam Beautiful Savior – Stuart Townend Victor's Crown - Israel Houghton, Kari Jobe, Darlene Zschech

Here's wishing you a blessed season of Lent and Easter! Please leave a comment and add other songs that you think are relevant to this season.

33 Worship Songs to Consider for Holy Week and Easter Set-Lists (Including 2 Free Downloads!)

Hope this list helps you plan your worship sessions during this blessed season of Lent: Palm Sunday

1. Prepare The Way – Terry MacAlmon

2. Offering – Paul Baloche

3. Here for You – Matt Redman

4. Knowing You (All I once held dear) – Graham Kendrick

5. Surrender – Lincoln Brewster

6. Let Your Mercy Rain – Ed Cash, Chris Tomlin, Jesse Reeves

Maundy Thursday

7. Communion – Third Day

8. Song of Christ – FREE MP3, FREE chord chart 

9. You Alone Can Rescue – Matt Redman

10. Kyrie – Matt Maher

11. Lord Have Mercy (Jesus I’ve Forgotten) – Michael W. Smith

12. I Lift My Eyes (Psalm 121) – Brian Doerksen

13. Refiner’s Fire – Brian Doerksen

14. We Cry Out – Brian Johnson

Good Friday

15. The Same Love – Paul Baloche

16. Marvel at the Lamb (Good Friday Song) - FREE MP3, FREE chord chart

17. O to See the Dawn (Power of the Cross) – Stuart Townend

18. In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross – Sojourn

19. The Wonder of the Cross – Vicky Beeching

20. Rich and Poor – Robbie Seay Band

21. We are Saved – Paul Baloche

22. What Love is This (I Surrender) – Dave Bilbrough

23. This is How We Know – Matt Redman

24. When I Survey – Tim Hughes version

25. Beneath the Cross – Keith & Kristyn getty

Easter

26. All Because of Jesus – Steve Fee

27. How Great is the Love - Paul Baloche

28. Mercy - Matt Redman

29. Beautiful – Phil Wickham

30. Hallelujah to my King – Paul Baloche

31. See What a Morning (Resurrection Hymn) – Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty

32. Whiter than Snow – Lenny Leblanc

33. Mystery of Faith – Glenn Packiam

Here's wishing you a blessed season of Lent and Easter! Please leave a comment and add other songs that you think are relevant to this season.

5 Ways to Recharge When Burnout Strikes and Your Batteries Die Out

When we do something over and over and over again, regularly, it becomes a routine, right? The problem is that anything that we treat as routine usually becomes boring after a point. So is the case with leading worship or any other ministry.

Boredom inevitably leads to burnout. How we handle burnout is important—handling it well strengthens us and moves us forward. Not handling it well can be frustrating—for us and for others. It can damage our lives and/or ministries seriously and sometimes permanently. So here are a few tips to manage burnout and turn things around quickly.   5 Ways Worship Leaders Can Overcome Burnout 1. (Re)Discover the ‘Why’ of ministry

Think about it for a second and search your heart—why are you leading worship?

Because you’re paid for it? Because there’s no one else around to get the job done? Because you can play acoustic guitar and sing at the same time? Because it makes you the happening person in your church? Because it’s a step towards a Christian record deal? The point is when the reason for our ministering is not so good, burnout is predictably faster.

So pray about it and find a God-centered and church-centered mission for your ministry.

Sound reasons will help us to remember our purpose and revive us when we need to be revived.   2. Take a break, but don’t take a break!

If you’re leading worship every single week, trust me, you’re on the express highway to ministry burnout!

Give up that position every now and then—may be for 2 weeks in a month to someone else. But don’t break off completely—stay on the team as a musician/backup vocalist/slides manager, and see how the other worship leaders are approaching the ministry. Maybe they’ll take up songs that you may not usually consider and thereby help you to learn something fresh.

Doing something else breaks the routine to a great extent and provides us the opportunity to acquire new perspective.   3. Invest and equip

Identify potential people for the ministry and start investing your time in them—pastor them by teaching what you have learned through the years. Believe me, training is a great joy in itself.

Just preparing the teaching material has been an internal shot in the arm for me and it should be the same for you too! Sharing our knowledge and experience and mentoring others is a wonderful way of rebooting ourselves apart from raising up others for the Kingdom.

A focus on others more than self is a powerful remedy for burnout.   4. Reprioritize

If there is a need to re-prioritize people and things in your life, do it… now! On a fundamental level, God must be first, then spouse, then child(ren), then parents, then ministry, career and so on. Getting your order of priorities right is as good as winning half the battle. 5. Do something different

Increase your quiet time with God, go on a silent retreat alone, take a vacation with family, watch/play some sports, watch a movie, read a new book… you see, leading worship is not your whole life. If you’ve made it so, go back to (4).  

“It is striking that even some who clearly have solid doctrinal and spiritual convictions frequently fall into a lifestyle which leads to an attachment to financial security, or to a desire for power or human glory at all cost, rather than giving their lives to others in mission. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary enthusiasm!” – Pope Francis Have you ever gone through a burnout phase in your life? Why not share how you managed to come out of it by leaving a comment below?

3 More Secrets of the Most Admired and Sought After Worship Leaders

Continuing from the previous post, from a ministering angle, I believe that a worship leader would do well to lead worship that encompasses these 3 aspects: Impart truth through songs and prayers that have solid scriptural footing Respond to truth by renewing the lordship of Jesus over our lives Desire for internal conversion and transformation (heart and mind) in the power of the Holy Spirit

To some, this may sound highly theoretical and even a bit too lofty—I get that, but I believe that it’s not impossible! A mix of good attitude, prayerful work ethic, and right practices will help us get there. Here are some thoughts: 3 Practices of Most Wanted Worship Leaders—Those Who Lead Worship With Substance 1. Conversation

While we don’t want to be boring, feeding the congregation’s inclination for entertainment shouldn’t be our aim either. Let’s not reduce worship to entertainment—some kind of a ‘Christian’ gig. Instead, let’s treat music as a tool—a vehicle to help people converse with God.

A key to bring in a conversational dimension is to pick songs that our congregations can sing to God directly—yes, I am talking about vertical songs. Look out for songs whose lyrics are descriptive, emotive, and expressive—conversations should follow easily. 2. Kill Manipulation

It’s easy to over-depend on musical/vocal skill, and use it to manipulate people’s emotions, especially when we become good and experienced at leading worship! The increased loudness of people’s “amens”, and other responses is not the end goal, God is.

Let’s ensure we don’t compromise on our private quiet time with the Lord, guarding our hearts against idols at all times. When we acquire the fire personally, God will use us to set others on fire corporately. Emotional manipulation may please people in the short run, but keeping it real pleases God any day.

The songs that we sing should be far more than dull cliché lines; they should have words that matter to the Church. They should flow out of a heart already set on fire in prior prep-work. For when we first connect with the lyrics and engage with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will use us to open the hearts of our people, for ongoing transformation. 3. Remembrance

The content of our worship should help people remember the new covenant. This should hopefully make us realize the reality of the amazing relationship Christ has established with us—and the priceless cost He paid for it.

This is where the Eucharistic meal plays a pivotal role: Worship moving us to remembrance Remembrance moving us to respond Response moving us to communion Communion moving us to worship again

A reading of Acts and early Christian writings would teach us that from the very beginning of the Church, the Table always held a central spot in Christian worship—it shouldn’t be any different for us either. For no other element of worship helps us remember and experience the new covenant in the profound manner that the communion meal does—let’s ensure that it has its rightful place in our worship.

So let’s not hesitate to pick songs that enable people to connect with the Table and receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives… again.

I believe practicing these 3 will go a long way in solidifying our worship and move our ministering to deeper levels... from milk to solid food.

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14) What is your ultimate goal when you lead worship? How do you balance holiness and music?

Image: stock.xchng

3 Ideas to Move Our Worship Leadership From Milk to Solid Food

From a ministering angle, my goal as a worship leader is to facilitate worship that has these 3 aspects: Impart truth through songs and prayers that have solid scriptural footing Respond to truth by renewing the lordship of Jesus over our lives Desire for internal conversion and transformation (heart and mind) in the power of the Holy Spirit

To some, this may sound highly theoretical and even a bit too lofty—I get that, but I believe that it’s not impossible! A mix of good attitude, prayerful work ethic, and right practices will help us get there. Here are some thoughts: A 3-Step Rough Framework to Lead Worship with Substance 1. Conversation

While we don’t want to be boring, feeding the congregation’s inclination for entertainment shouldn’t be our aim either. Let’s not reduce worship to entertainment—some kind of a ‘Christian’ gig. Instead, let’s treat music as a tool—a vehicle to help people converse with God.

A key to bring in a conversational dimension is to pick songs that our congregations can sing to God directly—yes, I am talking about vertical songs. Look out for songs whose lyrics are descriptive, emotive, and expressive—conversations should follow easily. 2. Eliminate Manipulation

It’s easy to over-depend on musical/vocal skill, and use it to manipulate people’s emotions, especially when we become good and experienced at leading worship! The increased loudness of people’s “amens”, and other responses is not the end goal, God is.

Let’s ensure we don’t compromise on our private quiet time with the Lord, guarding our hearts against idols at all times. When we acquire the fire personally, God will use us to set others on fire corporately. Emotional manipulation may please people in the short run, but keeping it real pleases God any day.

The songs that we sing should be far more than dull cliché lines; they should have words that matter to the Church. They should flow out of a heart already set on fire in prior prep-work. For when we first connect with the lyrics and engage with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will use us to open the hearts of our people, for ongoing transformation. 3. Remembrance

The content of our worship should help people remember the new covenant. This should hopefully make us realize the reality of the amazing relationship Christ has established with us—and the priceless cost He paid for it.

This is where the Eucharistic meal plays a pivotal role: Worship moving us to remembrance Remembrance moving us to respond Response moving us to communion Communion moving us to worship again

A reading of Acts and early Christian writings would teach us that from the very beginning of the Church, the Table always held a central spot in Christian worship—it shouldn’t be any different for us either. For no other element of worship helps us remember and experience the new covenant in the profound manner that the communion meal does—let’s ensure that it has its rightful place in our worship.

So let’s not hesitate to pick songs that enable people to connect with the Table and receive Jesus as the Lord of our lives… again.

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14) What is your ultimate goal when you lead worship? How do you balance holiness and music?

100,000+ Downloads Would be Well-Deserved for These 9 Android Apps

1. Jet Audio As a pure audio player, this is just about the best app out there. The free version has almost all the features of the Plus version with ads. 10-band graphic equalizer with 32 presets, great collection of sound effects, compatibility with almost any audio file type, playback speed control, cross-fading, AGC and much more. Download link . Price: Free, Plus version costs USD 3.99.   2. Any.do Still the easiest app out there to manage tasks. Seamless cloud sync, speech recognition, alerts, snooze, Google Task sync, notes, sub tasks, widgets, repeating/recurring tasks, missed call, auto complete, in-app actions, gestures, and much more make this one feature-packed app! Download Link . Price: Free.   3. AndrOpen Office This is the world's first, fully featured port of OpenOffice for Android to view, edit, and export office documents. Better used on a tablet than a phone imo. Includes Writer (a word processor), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentation graphics), Draw (drawing), Math (equation editor), and Base (database). Download Link . Price: Free.   4. Google Keep Apart from creating notes, photos, and checklists, this can easily double up as a portable songwriting tool too! Makes it super easy to write lyrics or record melody ideas using voice notes.   A standout feature in Keep is voice notes are transcribed automatically! Also comes with widgets, color-coding of notes, reminders, and syncing. Download Link . Price: Free.   5. Music Maker Jam The only free app of its kind makes it easy to start playing with music and mixing your own songs. Provides access to thousands of professionally produced loops, live editing on an 8-track mixing board, adjust tempo and key or apply cool sound effects in real time. Includes 4 free styles: Hip Hop, Dance, Electric Jazz, and Rock Ballads.   The interface is easy to use too. All-in-all, a cool app to try your hand at making music—especially for songwriters. Download Link . Price: Free.   6. Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords   The mobile version of the world’s largest catalog of guitar tabs and chords! That’s over 600К tabs! Features include daily updates, offline access to favorite tabs, search, chord diagrams with variations, auto-scroll, and more.   Also has app extensions for more functionality like interactive tabs, metronome, instrument tracks, etc., which need to be purchased separately. Download Link . Price: USD 2.99.   7. Timely Alarm Clock Probably the best looking alarm clock for Android with a beautiful user experience, and cloud integration to backup and synchronize alarms with multiple devices! A swipe and drag is all you need to do to set an alarm. Provides a delightful waking-up experience with hand-crafted, high quality sounds. An innovative Smart Rise feature greatly reduces the pain out of waking up!   Also had color themes, design-tool, snooze, stopwatch, tablet compatibility, widget, Google Now inte gration, animations, and more. Download Link . Price: Free.   8. Newsblur A personal news reader that easily replaces Google Reader on a mobile device. Share stories, read feed subscriptions, and talk to like-minded people with this free app.   Features include sync, RSS feed support, sharing and commenting with friends, access from mobile or desktop, save, multiple viewing options, and more. Download Link . Price: Free.   9. Swiftkey The best alternative keyboard app for Android, period. Type, swype, sync words & phrases, and more. Apart from significantly faster text input, the app actually makes the text creation process comfortable, and even enjoyable. The more you use it, the better its text predictions become across devices.   Multiple language support, themes etc. are its other notable features. Download Link . Price: USD 3.99.   Have you tried any of these? What are your favorite Android apps?