After four weeks, Jim knew something was wrong. The people in the “daughter” church weren’t singing like they had in the old congregation.
Jim was the lay music director of our mission church. A month earlier we had begun the new congregation with eighty people, and already the attendance was over 100.
They had one problem, however-weak congregational singing. Many of Jim’s members were the same people who had participated in the exhilarating worship at the mother church. There, enthusiastic singing seemed easy and natural.
“It’s not the same,” he said one day on his lunch hour. “What can I do?”
As we talked over burgers and fries, we discovered that what we did at the mother church of 800 could be done with his 100. In fact, these principles could be adapted to almost any congregation to encourage better singing.
First, good congregational singing starts with the congregation knowing why they are singing.
Each Sunday we determine if the purpose of the service is worship, instruction, fellowship, or evangelism. While all these functions of the body of Christ may overlap, or may sometimes occur simultaneously, we try to focus on one or two functions. After we have determined the function, we make sure that everything in the service supports the function-including the congregational singing.
If our goal is worship, then our congregational singing will be songs of praise, adoration, or thanksgiving. If our goal is instruction, then we choose songs that amplify and reinforce the particular biblical doctrine or principle for the day. If our goal is fellowship, then the content of the songs is not nearly as important as whether the people enjoy singing them. If the goal for the service is evangelism, we choose songs that proclaim the gospel in a manner that is easily understood by unbelievers.
And in the service, either at the outset in a statement from the pulpit, or while introducing the songs, or in the printed bulletin, we tell the congregation why and to whom we are singing these particular songs.
Educating our congregation to the purpose of the service, how their singing relates to that purpose, and to whom they are to sing are the first steps toward good singing.
The second thing that contributes to strong congregational singing is clear leadership.
The leader needs to be visible. Whether we use a single song-leader, a leader playing an instrument, or a full choir and orchestra, visibility is important. By seeing the leadership, the congregation responds better than to an unknown source from behind a screen, from an organ well, or from a balcony.
The leader must be audible. For the nonmusician in the pew, it is not enough to see a conductor. The song-leader needs to sing. I was a composition major, not a vocalist. My voice teacher said my voice was made for cooling soup. I will never be a soloist, but I use my voice to lead our congregation to better singing.
If the leader’s voice is weak, use a microphone. If you lead from a piano, organ, or some other instrument, make sure your voice can be heard above it. If a choir is leading, make sure they are audible. The leader needs to give clear signals as to tempo, starts, and stops. The leader should use standard conducting patterns if possible.
Nonmusicians in the congregation are more comfortable about what to do when they follow a leader. It is much easier to follow when that leadership is clearly understood, easily heard, and highly visible.
A third important contribution is good accompaniment.
Good accompaniment starts with the introduction, which should establish the key, set the tempo, and remind those who don’t read music of the tune. Long or elaborate introductions are seldom necessary. Two to eight measures (first and last phrases) are usually sufficient.
We vary the instrumental accompaniment often, using instruments other than piano and organ. For instance, we use classical guitar and flute for “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” and folk guitar for “Jesus, Name Above All Names.” We use a full rhythm section (drums, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, and percussion) when we sing “The Lord Is Good.” Our string quartet accompanies us when we sing “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee” and “O How He Loves You and Me.” The brass section is a natural for “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name” and “And Can It Be.” Our congregation loves to sing with a full orchestra; therefore, we assemble one often. Our people are most enthusiastic when the timpani roll, the violins are playing above the staff, the cymbals crash, and the woodwinds trill on “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” It often moves me to the point of visualizing what it will be like with Jesus.
We sing a capella, too. No instruments accompany us when we sing “Fairest Lord Jesus” or “I Love You Lord, and I Lift My Voice.”
Accompaniments for various instrumental combinations are available from several different publishers. We have purchased and use the orchestrations for Great Hymns of the Faith from Singspiration. We also like the instrumental edition of Baptist Hymnal from Convention Press. Lillenas publishes 500 Hymns for Instruments as well as an orchestration to their Praise and Worship hymnal. I write many of our own orchestrations so that our particular combination of instruments will be used to the best advantage.
A fourth thing that has helped our singing is the use of special arrangements for the congregation.
I often make very simple arrangements by putting together medleys of related choruses, making modulations within a song, reharmonizing a last stanza, or adding a descant.
For example, we sing “The Lord Is Good,” “God Is So Good,” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” in medley-all in the key of D. Sometimes we add a second chorus of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” in E-flat. We almost always make a key change on the last stanza of “Amazing Grace” and “Jesus Paid It All.” The reharmonization of “The Comforter Has Come” makes the song come alive for our people. Some other excellent reharmonizations are printed in Hymns for the Family of God from Paragon.
The same hymnal is a good source of descants. On a last stanza, try having the congregation sing the melody while sopranos and tenors in the choir sing a descant. Descants can also be found in Festive Descants for Joyful Worship from Lexicon Music, and Descants for Choir from Lillenas. An easy way of creating your own descant is to have the sopranos in the choir sing the tenor part up one octave. Descants can create excitement in the singing.
Since our congregation is accustomed to all these “weird” changes, they tackle even more difficult things like published choir works. They have sung along with the choir every time we have done the finale to the Gaithers’ Alleluia. They have almost memorized Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” We have sung two medleys from Hymns Triumphant and several selections from the Praise III and Praise IV choral collections. They also sing the congregational parts in Ronn Huff’s Exaltation. All these more complex arrangements have met with avid interest and excellent participation even though they were originally meant for choirs. We simply print the lyrics in our bulletins (with permission from the publishers if they are copyrighted) or buy preprinted song sheets and have the choir lead. Then after a few times through, everyone is singing.
Perhaps most important for strong congregational singing, however, is that the people know their singing is important.
A congregation can sense how important their leaders think singing is by how much time and energy is put into its preparation. Because we make such a production of the congregation’s singing, they know we value it.
If leaders have the attitude that the choral anthems and solos are the truly important pieces of music, the congregation will feel it. If the music leadership feels that the anthems and solos support and lead up to the congregation’s music, then the people will respond with more energy.
How congregational singing is used will communicate its importance to the congregation. When it is used as “filler” or as an opportunity to stand and stretch or to get people settled or started, people will sing with little enthusiasm. When congregational singing is used purposefully, people will put forth much more effort.
This is shown by where the congregational singing is placed in the service. It is not unusual for one of our worship services to have everything (sermon included) lead up to when the people rise and loudly sing praises to God. When it is the focal point of the service, our people know it is important.
Jim and I talked about other things, like the choice of a good hymnal, using sources other than the hymnal, the effect of acoustics, the importance of seating people close together, and rehearsing a congregation. We also talked about how much time it takes to develop a singing church. All the talking made our hamburgers cold and the french fries limp, but it was worth it. The ideas began working for him just like they worked for us.
Dale McClure is minister of music at South Evangelical Presbyterian Fellowship, Englewood, Colorado.
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