African American gospel music aims to capture a pure and strong spirit of worship through live audience-oriented performances, some of whose melodies went on to influence R&B and soul music. Live gospel music recordings seek to recreate the authentic experience of communal worship in places like church by encouraging serious and heartfelt praise of God from musicians, as if always in His presence, important for conveying the unplanned and engaging nature of live audience interactions that are key to differentiating gospel recordings from other genres.