Opus 2026-206: Scale of Music

Our church just bought new hymnals. That is not the empty gesture that it would be in some churches. We use our hymnals. In fact our pastor will not approve anything that is not in the hymnal. The emphasis on the traditional hymns of the church was one of the reasons I decided to make this my church.

It was time for new hymnals. There has been a lot of excellent creative work done in the area of music in the last 50 years. Currently it seems to be more an exercise in ego rather than worship but there are still gems in the weeds. If you go back to the early days of Maranatha music you have a lot of worthy music. The new hymnal that was chosen includes a lot of the great work done in the 1980’s and forward. It is refreshing to be able to access them. At the same time the choice made came from a Baptist publishing house so it lacks a lot of the songs I was nurtured on like “He Abides” and “Called unto Holiness”. You can’t have everything. I am glad to get half a loaf.

Years ago I took a class that involved how to lead singing in a church setting. We learned about the downbeat and the difference between 3/4 and 4/4 time. It was one of the most valuable classes I ever took. Too bad “worship leaders” today didn’t take a course like that. If they had they might understand their role as helping people to participate in worship rather than admire the runs of the lead guitarist.

One of the other things that was taught was categories of church music. At the time we had three types of songs available. First were hymns. Those were songs that emphasized the attributes and actions of God. You may have noticed songs that will have a verse for each person of the trinity. A classic example is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Hymns use His, Him, He.

A second category was called “gospel songs”. This was different to the modern term which seems to have been narrowed down to black gospel. Gospel songs emphasized the personal elements. Think of “In the Garden” or “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” There are a lot of “I’s”, me, mine.

The third category would have been choruses. Later generations would call this praise music. They tended to be peppy and short. Theology was shallow and enthusiasm was expected.

Today I would add a category of “Contemporary”. To me these would be songs generally boring and repetitive with a total dependence on the accompaniment to give you something to remember. When I have been forced to attend a contemporary service I have a hard time knowing when we move from one song to the next. An added quality of these songs is that you have to sing them standing up. I think this is to keep you from falling asleep, but I concede that may just be my prejudice speaking. Also it is more important to sway with the beat than sing the words.

I will not live long enough to find out if any of the contemporary genre will survive for future generations. I don’t know what I will do if the celestial choir insists on using them.

homo unius libri