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“The organist plays so fast I can hardly catch my breath.”
“Every hymn is like a dirge; why can’t the organist play faster?”
These are phrases we’ve probably all heard at least once. Exasperated parishioners will use whatever language they know to describe a common issue in worship. What is the right tempo for a hymn? Is there a “right” tempo for a hymn? And how do we enliven our assembly song so that our hymns do not feel like “a dirge?”
I would suggest that many tempo issues have nothing to do with tempo at all, instead that the TACTUS is not clear. While tempo is important, and we will discuss that later, the most important concept to keep in mind when leading assembly song is that of tactus.
Read More > >One of the important jobs we do as church music directors is teaching hymns to the children in our congregation. How can we effectively do this?
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“…be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making music to the Lord in your hearts….” (Ephesians 5:19)
One of my biggest thrills this year has been being a part of the congregational singing in the sanctuary of Westwood Lutheran Church, St. Louis Park, MN, after a renovation was completed that not only preserved what were already excellent acoustics for music, but actually made them better. Coming back after a few weeks away, I basked in the sound and thought, "Yes, this is what worship should sound like!" (I was even compelled to write a fan letter to the man who had been our acoustical consultant!)
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Nearly all church musicians think it’s important to introduce new music to our assemblies. Nearly all of us have probably felt the sting of criticism from members of our congregations who don’t want to learn new music. In attempting to respond to these comments I like to get at three underlying questions: WHY do we sing new (or new to us) music? WHAT new music is worth learning? HOW can “non-musicians” learn to sing this new music?
When one is called to be a musician for the church, one might imagine that the task is primarily about aesthetics. “How can I make our worship more beautiful?” one might first ask. While the pursuit of beauty is often the primary task for most visual and acoustic artists, the church musician is first called upon to bring the gift of music to the task of proclaiming – singing a word, narrating a story, giving voice or sound to God’s truth and wisdom. “How will this music I choose/lead/play make the good news of God in Jesus Christ heard in this assembly?” is the church musician’s first question. Will the music be beautiful or have aesthetic qualities? Almost certainly it will, but the beauty shines primarily when rooted in the truth of God’s saving and living word for God’s people.
