Corporate Worship

In corporate worship we should be aiming to have the whole congregation engaged in praise, together! Too often it seems that people may attend a church, but pick and choose whether or not they participate in singing the congregational hymns. The question of personal pain points is for another post, I have felt that our song choices need to be improved, but today, I emphasize the need to ‘sing together’.

There are many instances in the Bible of the Children of Israel worshipping God together, I would point out that the musicians were selected for their skill, yet they were still organized and worked together in leading the people of God. Nowadays it seems that whoever is willing to lead the congregation is accepted; too often regardless of whether they can sing in tune, on key or are living Christlike lives. Remember that the musicians were Levites. I’d suggest that if you are not living right with God, you have no business playing for church. You should not be leading the congregation in worship with unconfessed sin in your heart. This applies to ALL the musicians, not just the pastor, elders, officers, team leaders, but everyone. It is only by working together sensitively that you will be able to encourage and uplift the congregation to worship through song.

More recently I’ve noticed a trend to whitewash everything. All of our hymns now sound the same. Nothing should be too fast or too slow in case it interferes with the worship service. However, I would suggest that a cookie cutter approach is simply boring. Given the vast array of musical sounds that can be created by the human voice, plus the wide range of instruments available to us, I think it should be clear that God loves variety!

Perhaps the problem is that we don’t know the hymns. There are some that are truly majestic in the scope of topic and range, some are thought provoking and introspective, some are triumphant and magnificent, some are sad and reflective, others joyful and lively. Every musician should be a singer, church musicians more particularly, because this will enable you to appreciate the most appropriate tempo for singing a particular set of words. A tempo may need to be adjusted so that singers don’t feel as if they are racing to catch a breath.

Do you pause between verses? It depends on the hymn – and again another reason is given to support the need for rehearsals. Accompanists may slow down a little at the end of each verse, but this should not be as much as the final verse. The song leader/ praise team leader should be visible to the congregation and able to indicate when to begin the next verse. Breath together, make it obvious so that the congregation sings along. Do NOT allow the musicians to begin the verse without you! Worship to God has a clear message, the words of the song are paramount and the accompaniment is intended to SUPPORT this.

Someone (she knows who she is) when asked the question, who should lead the praise team or the musician responded with follow me. If I’m playing the piano, follow my lead, if I’m leading singing follow me! The point is that the most experienced musicians know how to work together. If the singers are inexperienced they can be well supported by the accompanist or other music team members.

The introduction for congregational singing must be clear. It is important, it cannot simply be figured out at the time of need! A good introduction sets the key, the tempo, the mood for congregational singing. I suggest playing the beginning of the melody – so that it is clear to everyone, and also the end of the song, 2 phrases – at least, that will prepare everyone to begin singing together. Of course, if your congregation is slow and take extra time to stand, by all means extend the introduction, but the END of the introduction should give a CLEAR CUE when to start singing.

What key are you singing in? I wonder whether there has been any research on keys for specific songs in congregational singing. Too often we lower the key because it’s ‘more comfortable’ in other words those leading worship are not concerned with whether or not the majority of the congregation can sing the song, but with their own comfort – so that they don’t need to work for those few high notes! I would suggest that trained singers pay more attention to good technique and will find that our congregational hymns are not actually that difficult to grasp should they make the effort to work on them. Remember that children are in our congregations too, and if we want them to join in, we must sing in keys that are accessible to all! Low notes comfortable to some adults, are beyond the range of some children’s voices.

It does not only happen in congregations of a particular size, but when the majority – by far of the worshippers can be heard singing together, you know that your job as musicians has been successful. I long to hear the building filled with voices raised in joyful praise – despite the burdens of the past week. Sing the words at a natural pace reflecting the sentiments of the song, so that it will swing, march or progress as intended! Instead of just one or two persons who are blessed by music in church, let us ALL do more to educate ourselves and to give our very best to the master. Perhaps, one day the temple will be so filled with the smoke of God’s presence that the leaders won’t be able to continue with the programme!