How Should We Sing a Hymn?
"I see, I feel, I know what power there is in
singing... Singing to the Lord was meant to open up the hearts of those
who participate in it, and carry them near to God. There is no time when
we come so near to God's face, and speak to him so nearly, as when we
sing... Give me a singing church. In a church where the Spirit of the
Lord dwells, singing must break out..."
Henry Ward Beecher
'Joyful' Noise
On one particular episode of the popular
television show “Touched by an Angel”, one of the main characters asked
a fellow angel how she could praise God when she was given such a
terrible voice.
The angel replied that we are commanded to make a ‘joyful' noise, not a
‘beautiful’ noise – in other words, to sing
joyfully. God
already knows and does not care about the quality of our voice – He
cares about hearing that the Gospel has brought joy into our lives. Our
singing of hymns helps bring joy into our own lives as well as into the
lives of those who worship with us. When we don’t sing we deprive
ourselves
and our neighbors
of this fellowship and spirit. What style or genre of hymns we sing is
not important – that we sing joyfully it what it is all about.
We are told to make a "joyful noise" no
less than seven times in the Old Testament.
The root Hebrew word is 'hariu', and literally means
'to mar' (by breaking); figuratively 'to split' the ears
(with sound), i.e. 'shout' (for alarm or joy). In the King James
Version it is also translated as 'blow an alarm', 'cry' (alarm, aloud,
out), 'destroy', 'make a joyful noise', 'smart', 'shout' (for joy),
'sound an alarm', 'triumph'.
When the Children of Israel shouted to bring down the walls of Jericho,
this is the Hebrew word used to describe the sound they made. In the
Book of Job, when the morning stars 'shouted' for joy, this is the word
used to describe their shout. When Zechariah commanded "Shout, O
daughter of Zion", this was the word used to describe her shout. When
Isaiah told the watchmen to lift up their voices, once again this verb
was employed. If we were to follow this scriptural command, our chapel
windows would live in fear of breaking with every meeting!
Why Do We
Sing?
One of the reasons Christians come
together on a day of worship is to fellowship and nurture each other in
spiritual matters and in spiritual ways. And one of the highest forms of
Christian worship and fellowship is the singing of hymns.
I belong to a local Sacred Harp group.
Sacred Harp is the old-style congregational singing method predating the
congregation's use of such luxuries as pianos and organs. The name
derives from the idea that the vocal cords, being the only actual
musical instrument directly created by God, are in fact a very 'sacred
harp'. One evening, as we were raising the roof in musical praise, one
of my fellow singers pointed out that at church on Sunday, where
mumbling has become the accepted way to sing, he physically cannot sing
the high notes or sing loud - both of which he does with great ease at
our Sacred Harp singings. It wasn't a matter of not wanting to -
it was a matter of not being able to. We came to a swift
conclusion that only among a like-minded group of volumed, enthusiastic
singers, are we able to use our 'sacred harp' to its Divine Fullness.
This thought has impressed me greatly as
I go to church each week and hear the mumbling. I've come to realize
that the difference in the spirit of the songs is not in finding new
tunes or newer language, but finding a place in our heart for that hymn
to take root and letting it sing out through our spirit. As we do this,
we fulfill the Christian mandate of fellowshipping our fellow worshipers
by sharing our spirit with theirs. And a true spirit nature, when shared
with a fellow Christian, cannot be shared through mumbling. Instead, we
will find ourselves assisting and fellowshipping them by singing out and
praising He whom has gathered us to worship. We assist them in singing
louder and higher. We assist them in the miracle of finding out that
every hymn can have a place in their heart - and that they, too, can
sing out loud and clear from that sacred place in our heart.
And what a lesson in life this is! For
only with the assistance of those around us - hopefully a kind and
compassionate congregation of fellow Christians - do we reach higher and
more fully fulfill our role and purpose here on Earth by better
preparing to return to Him who gave us life, breath - and song.
Singing for our own spirituality is a
part, but not the whole purpose, of Christian hymn singing. We should be
singing with the goal of not only raising ourselves, but to fellowship,
comfort, and raise our brothers and sisters. Through this we will find -
as individuals and as congregations - the true fulfillment of worship
through Christian hymn singing.
John Wesley's
Singing Rules
John Wesley, one of the founders of the
Methodist movement, wrote these “Directions for Congregational Singing”:
1. Sing all.
See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let
not a slight degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a
cross to you, take it up and you will find a blessing.
2. Sing lustily,
and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid
of your voice now, nor more ashamed of it being heard, then when
you sing the songs of Satan.
3. Sing modestly.
Do not bawl, as to be heard above, or distinct from, the rest of the
congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite
your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
4. Sing in time.
Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before, not
stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move
therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow.
This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high
time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick
as we did at first.
5. Above all, sing
spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at
pleasing Him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do
this, attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your
heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God
continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve of
here, and reward when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.
Sing Them As
They Are Written!
When George Careless arrived in Utah from England,
Brigham Young invited him to become conductor of both the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir and the Salt Lake Theater Orchestra. Discussing the
assignment, President Young said to him: "I like soft music. I have
heard the angels sing so sweetly."
"But would you be fed on honey all the time?" asked
brother careless.
"No, certainly not," replied the prophet.
"Some of our hymns require bold, vigorous treatment;
others, soft sweet strains..."9
Every song in a modern hymnal has
instructions as how to sing them. Let's review some of those over-looked
instructions.
Tempo ... Every song was written
with a tempo, or 'speed' in mind. Most modern hymnals have that tempo
designated - older hymnals don't as it was tradition for the
congregation to find that tempo that felt good. I must note that older
hymnals were used in a time that congregations were much more active
singers than they are today, and one would often just need to mention a
tune name and their mind was already to the tune and pitch needed.
Today, when so many of us look at hymn singing as a chore to be endured,
we need all the clues we can get.
Attitude Instruction ... Along
with the Tempo instructions, many songbooks - including hymnals - have a
word or phrase to describe the attitude with which the song should be
sung. The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", for example, has the directions
in my hymnal to be sung "with spirit", while "Silent Night" should be
sung "peacefully".
Words of instruction in the current LDS
hymnal are:
boldly ... brightly ... calmly ...
cheerfully ... confidently ... with conviction ... with devotion ....
with dignity ... earnestly ... with energy ... energetically ...
enthusiastically ... expressively ... with exultation ... exultantly ...
fervently ... firmly ... gently ... humbly ... joyfully ... jubilantly
... lightly ... majestically ... meekly ... with motion ... peacefully
... prayerfully ... reflectively ... resolutely ... reverently ...
smoothly ... solemnly ... with spirit ... tenderly ... thankfully ...
thoughtfully ... triumphantly ... with vigor ... vigorously ...
worshipfully
Notice there is not one word about
mumbling or whispering.
What I Teach
the Children
The first week I was called lead and
teach the music for the children at church, I made a visual aide that
was a set of controls to set for each song we sang; much like the
controls you would find on a radio or a stereo. It was a set of one dial
and three slide bars. I introduced the children to each control and we
talked about how and when we would set each one a different way. After
that, I would set the controls before each song to show the children how
we were going to sing. These settings were:
VOLUME: The first control was a
big round volume control knob… which seemed to be set on HIGH most of
the time as I was trying to teach the children that they were supposed
to sing out and sing loud. As one of our songs explained, "A song is a
wonderful kind of thing, So lift up your voice and SING!"
ATTITUDE: This was a slide bar
that could be slid up and down to show in what type of attitude we were
to put our mind into for the song. (NOTE: There was a picture on each
end of the slide bar to show the two extreme ends of the resulting
setting.) Were we going to be kneeling with a reverent mind such as in
"I Thank Thee, Dear Father", or are we going to be rousing our
enthusiasm with a "marching song" used to rally the Lord’s troops into
battle - such as "Battle Hymn of the Republic" or "Onward Christian
Soldiers"?
ACTION: What action is the hymn
preparing is for? What will we be performing because of or during this
song? What is it motivating us to do right now? Are we doing a "wiggle
song" designed to work the wiggles out of little children who need a
rest from being reverent? Or are we getting ready for prayer? Are we
singing "We fold our arms and bow our heads", or are we singing "We’ll
sing and we’ll SHOUT"?
ADDRESS: Who are we addressing -
or singing about - in this song? Would we speak differently if
addressing our Heavenly Father or addressing our parents and friends?
Our enthusiasm and volume and attitude would not necessarily change, but
the note of respect in our voice would change.
These four helped helped my innocent
little congregation understand what was needed in singing each song.
Public Worship through Hymns
Every church and congregation has a set standard for their musical
worship. In the case of the LDS Church, the current hymnal and
children’s songbook are the primary source for all musical worship in a
public setting. But the door has never been closed for utilizing
other hymns and songs - current instructions from the First Presidency
invites local leaders to employ music from outside the hymnal as long as
the music conforms to the style and spirit of the music in the hymnal
and the text is doctrinally correct.
The current handbook specifies that music performed as solos or by
groups during a worship service are not done for performance sake but to
aide worship – they should draw attention to the message of the song and
not to the performer.
Private Worship through Hymns
Although the congregation in which you worship has standards for worship
through music, these standards do not apply to your private worship at
home. Alongside the many Mormon Tabernacle Choir albums on my music
shelf there are many hymn albums that would never be heard inside my
church as they are recorded outside my congregation’s musical parameters. Literally
every form of hymn has found its way into my collection and into my
private worship. Each form has a time and place in which it best
expresses my thoughts and feelings in worship.
Often Christian singers feel constrained
to remain faithful to one style of hymns. I am an American of British
ancestry, and I belong to a church whose roots came from New England's
Puritan soil. Hence one would think the hymns I am most familiar with
are the somewhat-solemn hymns from a background of hard wood pews and
often equally-solemn faces.
Suddenly, my church found itself running
from persecution and on a trek across a continent that literally rivaled
Moses and the Children of Israel. Added to this New England background
was the frontier-conquering concepts of "Marching towards Home" and of
life being a journey, and their newly-written hymns reflected these
views. Tunes they could march to became acceptable as they sang these hymns
while marching across a continent.
This same church has now become a
world-wide church, embracing all people regardless of background. Soon
church members will realize that many of those from outside the Puritan,
New England, English cathedral musical experience are joining the church
in families and groups. They are bringing the gift of their music to the
altar, and we will have the opportunity to be blessed by that gift.
The world is a big place, and many other
people worship that same Being I worship, and they do it with equal
reverence, although with a different singing styles, volumes, and levels
of displayed enthusiasm. Just as the Church took on new forms of music
and expression as it progressed, so do we as individuals as life’s
experiences and trials brings out in us new things to express. Once the
blinders over my hymn experiences came off and I discovered a whole
world of hymns and hymn styles out there, I fell in love with folk and
country gospel hymns. I am now a faithful Sacred Harp singer,
supplementing my Sunday singing with the higher volume and foot-stomping
enthusiasm of this grand style of worship. In addition, I have been
introduced to the soulful enthusiasm of Full Gospel, and no one is the
same once this style has touched your soul!
Music is, in a sense, a language that
speaks to a person’s heart. I laud the mission of Sister Gladys Knight
and the Saints Unified Voices Choir - for her to utilize the music
language of her youth in introducing LDS hymns to others of her music
heritage is a very brave thing! What many don’t realize is that
Latter-day Saints are not her target audience – she is reaching out to
those for whom her musical style is their ‘native language’ and
announcing the dual message of Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel in a
way that could not happen if it were not being done in their musical
language. And yet, in fulfilling this mission, look at the effect she is
having upon Latter-day Saints who aren’t even her target audience! Many
Latter-day Saints are being introduced to the gospel music she learned
as a five-year-old choir member in the Black Baptist church of her
youth, and they are loving the fresh, new messages they are hearing.
Perhaps we have learned that we need a course at the missionary training
centers to learn the musical worship languages of those to whom we are
sending missionaries…?
As the church make converts from
other societies and cultures, those converts bring what is best from
their culture into the church and enhance what is already there. We who
are greeting them at the door with open arms must accept the gift they
bring and find in it what is good and worthy to embrace. I can think of
no greater gift than that which is being brought into the church as more
and more converts bring their music and their ways of expressing that
music. They are bringing a fresh enthusiasm for worship music, and
personally I think they have a lot they can teach the rest of us.
Tradition!
I very much appreciate the words of a
fellow hymnist:
"We know that hymnody
not only withstands the threats of its challengers, it conscripts the
best of their ranks. Religious folk songs, gospel songs, and praise
choruses, each in their turn, challenged mainstream hymnody. These
contenders sought to usurp hymnody by popular demand and acclamation.
Yet, hymnody marched ever forward, absorbing into its hymnals the best
along the way."
What is 'traditional' but yesterday's
'contemporary'! Handel's MESSIAH debuted in a public house because
church leaders thought it too daring and secular to be performed in a
church. Folk and country hymns were once relegated to hillbillies and
cowboys. But in time the best of what was once 'contemporary' or 'folk' stands the
test of time and becomes 'tradition'. And this process will continue as
we find new ways and means to praise God through hymns. Hymnist
Andrew Donaldson suggests:
“I believe we need to encourage and
challenge text and tune writers who love popular song forms, yet who
are dissatisfied with the shallowness of much that is offered by
Christian Contemporary lyricists and composers. We need to encourage
them by keeping the doors open for “contemporary” music where
appropriate in worship, and by continuing to provide forums where this
music can be experienced and evaluated.
“We need even more to challenge
composers and lyricists not to be content with shallow and glib
expressions of Christian worship, but to write songs with theological
depth, and to compose music that allows congregations to sing, pray,
proclaim, and worship in spirit and in truth.”
I do not fear the future of traditional
hymnody as new cultures and peoples bring their best to the church - I
am eager to embrace and share the best of their traditional along side
the best of what I have already known and embraced. My church's hymnal,
once an icon of New England and British worship, now includes hymns with
tunes that are European and American folk tunes. As more and more join
the flock from Asia and Africa and South America, I pray we can glean
from each other and share a new, combined way of worshiping and praising
the same God and His Son through hymns.
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