Music in Church

[Bernard Gui]

Part of the problem, though, is many, many LDS music directors lead music as if it were a death march. They seem to think that slowing down the tempo increases the feeling of reverence, when it actually just annoys the heck out of me and I'm sure many others. If I'm ever in a ward where that happens, I simply refuse to sing. If I lived in a ward where the music director did that, I would complain to the bishop.

The organist can subtly control the tempo...as in not letting the chorister and congregation drag down the tempo.

Most congregations sing slightly behind the beat set by the organ. When that happens in our ward, I increase the

volume a bit so they can hear the organ better and refuse to go along with the slow-down. Usually, in my experience,

it is because the organist does not play loud enough. Of course the organist must use discretion. A skillful organist

can manipulate the congregation in subtle, yet powerful, ways.

As great as many of our hymns are, there are a lot of really great hymns that could be included in the hymnal. It's been many years since it was updated. I wouldn't mind throwing out of few of the bad ones like hymn #121, "I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Stranger." We sang this once, and I almost lost it when we got to the line at the end of verse 2, "Clouds of darkest hue hang o'er me, And I'm apt to go astray With the many, with the many That are now the vulture's prey!" What a cheery thought! You have to sing it to get the full effect, preferably when your stern Stake President is on the stand (he was).

You hit it on the head. I don't know what "sultry glebes" are, and I surely don't want to faint in one. My mother once wrote a note to

the church music committee about a line in a hymn that said "where the wild untutored Indian seeketh there his rude delights." She and

my dad were serving in a Native American mission at the time. In the next edition that line was changed. So, the committee is sensitive

to such things. I think we could do away with "Come Away to the Sunday School", "We Meet Again in Sabbath School," and "Thanks for the Sabbath School" since we no longer sing hymns in the Sunday School. We don't ring sabbath bells, so "Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning" could do with a revision.

Bernard

[Bernard Gui]

As to changing which hymns are sung in SM, talk to the relief society chorister. She can introduce new hymns for practice and teach the sisters how to sing them. Then they can be added to the SM rotation.

Several years ago, a chorister and I (organist) got together and decided to sing the

same opening song for 4 weeks in a row. We would pick out one of the lesser known

or new hymns in the last edition. The first week it was pretty grim, but by the

fourth week the ward knew the hymn and it was added to our repertoire.

By the way, the bishop thought it was a good idea to help the ward learn the

new hymns. Other wards I have been in do the same thing after the closing

prayer in sacrament meeting as the teachers are dismissed to prepare for their

classes.

Bernard

[Bernard Gui]

I am my ward's chorister, so this has been a very interesting topic to me, and I'm taking notes as I read! I have a fantastic organist, so our hymns are always quick and lively. He also likes to embellish a lot, so a lot of the time we will have a really powerful final verse of some songs. He always keeps the sacrament hymns subdued, of course, but all the rest of the hymns are fair game. He occasionally has a pianist play while he plays the organ, which is always really fun and beautiful. I always direct toward the faster end of things, and the congregation keeps up really well.

I have an excel spreadsheet template that I use for choosing hymns that works wonderfully well for me. It allows me to be able to easily electronically transfer the hymn information to those who need to know it. It also helps me to keep track of how often we sing the hymns, so we're not singing the same 20-30 hymns in rotation (other than sacrament hymns). I try not to repeat hymns too often. I've actually been requested to include more "familiar" hymns in the lineup, so I've been trying to include a very familiar hymn every other week. It's hard for me to know which hymns are more familiar because I am a musician and always sang in choirs, learned to play random hymns out of the hymnbook, etc, so sometimes I forget that hymns that are familiar to me aren't familiar to everyone. We do sing a "transition hymn" after closing prayer to help us become familiar with hymns that aren't sung very often, which I will include in sacrament meeting sometime later.

As far as other instruments, we had a guitar rendition of "Silent Night" last month. It was quite lovely. Also the music chairperson has a lot of freedom in selecting the musical numbers to be performed in church-- as long as it's keeping with the spirit of the meeting it is fine. We occasionally get violin or flute performances in addition to the usual soloists. What I would LOVE to hear is a string quartet in sacrament meeting. That would be so cool and a big change from the ordinary.

And to Mudcat, I think it was, who is only familiar with the LDS hymn "Come Thou Font," unfortunately this hymn is no longer in our hymnbooks (but we do sing it a lot as musical numbers!).

You da bomb! Every ward should have a team like you and your organist.

Come Thou Fount is not an LDS hymn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Thou_Fou..._Every_Blessing

Bernard

[jonzlaw]

I think she said "irreverent." I would agree.

Many churches have lost the idea of reverence for the sacred.

Perhaps that is because they have lost touch with the sacred.

As far as who approves music in the LDS church, that would be the same

people who approve the music in all churches...the church leaders.

Bernard

I stand corrected. Still . . . bummer!

I suppose it's possible though. My sister-in-law told me about visiting a church out of state where the sang secular music and people were actually doing the bump in the aisles. That, I would agree, is irreverent. Still, Word of God Speak, I Can Only Imagine, Wonderous Cross, awesome, moving music.

[RubyHunter]

According to the CHB, there is no list of "approved" instuments. As long as the acompanyment is inviting to the spirit, it is allowed. We have guitar playing here in Ketchikan semi-regularly. Flutes, cello, harps, etc as well.

But those that think a Guitar can't be played, you might wanna double check.

I've seen the reference myself. Nothing says no. And there isn't a list. I'm pretty sure DCP can back that one up.

[Brade]

PLEASE, can we stop building chapels with organs and sell off the ones we have. They drive me crazy with their obnoxious squealing! Just a nice, tuned piano will do just fine and sounds infinitely prettier (IMO). Also, does anyone else have this problem where certain hymns induce yawning. I think, for me, it's when I have to make certain tones. It causes me to yawn over and over again until I just decide to stop singing.

[BugsNRoo]

PLEASE, can we stop building chapels with organs and sell off the ones we have. They drive me crazy with their obnoxious squealing! Just a nice, tuned piano will do just fine and sounds infinitely prettier (IMO). Also, does anyone else have this problem where certain hymns induce yawning. I think, for me, it's when I have to make certain tones. It causes me to yawn over and over again until I just decide to stop singing.

In the hands of the right organist, the organ sounds beautiful and adds a lot more depth than a piano. In the wrong hands, well...

I do love the piano we have in our chapel-- it has maintenance every 6 months and is a pleasure to play. But the piano doesn't replace the organ, and to me it just wouldn't feel like church without the organ.

[LDSToronto]

Well, if we are on the topic of church music... I like most of the hymns, really love a few, but must admit, there is one that I absolutely can't stand.

In Our Lovely Deseret

I'm sorry, but it sounds like a cult-chant especially designed for brainwashing, especially the second verse - I've never met a Mormon who 'eats but a very little meat'. Whenever it is sung, I think of the Stonecutters Song from the Simpsons - on second thought, maybe that should be a hymn!

Who controls the British crown?

Who keeps the metric system down?

We do, we do

Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?

Who keeps the Martians under wraps?

We do, we do

Who holds back the electric car?

Who makes Steve Gutenberg a star?

We do, we do

Who robs gamefish of their site?

Who rigs every Oscar night?

We do, we do!

[DH]

Actually, I'd love to hear some real organ music played at church! That is, real music written for the organ (not straight out of the green hymn book), and on a real life pipe organ, by someone who knows how to play it.

It would be lovely to hear other instruments played in Church, too, as well as other styles of music. I did hear a brass band play Christmas music in Hugh Nibley's ward one year! It's possible his ward could get away with things like that more than your average ward, though...

DH

[Heartleap]

oops I did not mean to reply to DH...Sorry...

I don't know why LDS believe that only Hymns from the 1800's can bring you closer to God in sacrament meeting more than modern day music. I am still waiting for the list of worship songs the LDS sing that are about telling God that you love him. Not what you are going to do for him, or what you know about him, or what he has done for you or how he comforts you. But how much you love him. I went to a funeral today and what Elvis sang was very spiritual and recorded with the LDS not allowed unsacred instruments. I look forward to going to church to just love on God and I am driven by love to be there. I don't even have to sing, as I listen to the praises I am often brought to the feet of God. And oh the places he takes me in worship. The Music bands of big churches are not about bringing glory to themselves or for entertainment, they honor the will of God for them to bring people to the Lord. They are usually worshipping God themselves while they sing and play. To everyone a different style but I would not make a list of instruments that might actually wake you up in Christ, and call them unsacred.

Psalms 98: 4-6 "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise, Sing unto the Lord with the Harp, with the harp, and sing the voice of a psalm, With trumpets and the sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

other verses:

Psalms 47:6

Psalms 66.1

Psalms 81:1

Psalms 95:1-2

Psalms 100: 1-5

Psalms 144: 1

Psalms 149:3 "Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with timbrel and harp.

Psalms 16:25

Acts 16;25

Ephesians 5:18-19

Colossians 3:16

James 5:13

If the Bible says to make a loud joyful noise before the Lord why not worship him with all you've Got? It would probably surprise many who are stuck on the Hymns by trying, with out passing judgment the different ways there are to honor God. I am almost 50. I love the Christian music of our youth. It is so powerful, it fills me up with the love of God to face my week ahead...

Heartleap...

[Bernard Gui]

I don't know why LDS believe that only Hymns from the 1800's can bring you closer to God in sacrament meeting more than modern day music. I am still waiting for the list of worship songs the LDS sing that are about telling God that you love him.

There are many post 1900 hymns in the LDS hymn book.

Up until the present generation, it would seem, most LDS guard and value

the reverence of the sacrament meeting. Reverence includes, but is not

limited to, subdued speech, prayer, partaking of the sacrament, and hymns.

There is nothing to prevent LDS from singing more upbeat stuff in other meetings

and talent shows.

Throughout the history of the Christian church there have been many attempts to

secularize church music. Those attempts have always been

resisted with varying degrees of success. The same is true today. The music of

Babylon has invaded many houses of worship. The LDS are among the few

who still resist.

Partial list of hymns that tell God we love him:

169

139

89

295

59

86

91

193

129

107

134

176

136

182

177

198

220

197

51(!)

156

147

141

113

295

And, of course, 308

Bernard

90

[MorningStar]

I don't understand why people try to make the music what they want. It's not the congregation being worshipped. It's the Lord being worshipped. We're there to remember the sacrifice He made for us. What music would He want? I compare it to people celebrating my birthday by bringing potato salad and playing country music.