Technology and the Next Hymnal
Sing to the Lord a New Song:
Technology and the Next Hymnal
Technology opens doors in the church and in the world. One tweet on Twitter can connect pastors in ways unimaginable when my Dad was in seminary (sorry, Pops). Blog communities bring new and exciting — though imperfect — ways to discuss Christ and culture. What self-respecting youth group these days doesn’t have a Facebook group? That said, I’m also aware of the growing digital divide in our congregations. Now, when we think of our diversity, we must also remember the diversity of those with email and those without, those with a high-speed internet connection and those without a computer. Ahh, the challenges of ministry in 2009.
The Presbyterian Hymnal Committee, a group formed last year, is in the initial stages of developing the next Presbyterian hymnal. The next hymnal will include songs composed since 1990 (the publication date of the blue hymnal) and will seek to honor our rich heritage. Perhaps it will bring back some from the red book, but it’ll also put into print some of the new places that God is leading us. For all your next hymnal questions check out http://presbyterianhymnal.org , and remember the committee is just beginning its work.
Especially in these early stages, though, I want to take to the committee some ways that new technology might best be used to sing a new song unto the Lord. Copyright law is tricky enough with printed materials, let alone when concerned with electronic formats, but I want to think broadly at this stage.
(On a parenthetical note, let’s not forget the amazing “technology” of the bound paper printed book. What a remarkable, durable, cheap, easy-to-use, technology it is — and will be for years to come. The next hymnal will certainly be in book format, but why stop there?)
The committee can make no promises — we have budget considerations like everybody else — but we will consider, in good faith, how God may be calling the church to use technology in its congregational song and worship planning. That’s where you come in.
Comment away. What tech ideas — hymnal/singing/worship related — would be handy in your congregation? How do you use the hymnal for worship planning and how could that be bettered with new technology? Do you use existing online worship resources? What, technologically speaking, should the hymnal committee consider?
Pop a comment on this post, or email me at adamjcopeland at gmail dot com. Peace.
Connect Online
I saw your tweet and link, an example of your first sentence. But I think I am the only one at my church on twitter and only a few are on facebook.
I like the technology of bound paper books. It may be cheaper in the short run for a church to buy a CD and photocopy songs into its bulletin, but over a 20-year hymnbook life it must be more expensive.
Can the committee create a second CD full of public domain hymns? Or online database? If Onward Christian Soldiers had been easily available last time, maybe there would have been less controversy when it was left out. That song is an example that when songs leave the canon, we stop singing it; I can’t remember the last time it was even requested at a hymn sing.
For me, as pastor of a congregation that does not have the 1990 hymnal in the pews, I would most appreciate a resource that has image files of the hymns that could then be included (after securing permission, of course!) in worship bulletins, etc. The electronic version of the 1990 is quite outdated in its interface, does not run on Macs built in the last three years, and doesn’t offer a lot of helpful tools on the whole.
The most useful resource I can think of would tie the hymnal into the web. Perhaps congregations would have to purchase a subscription (or would receive a free subscription if they purchased a certain number of hymnals), but within this system they might be able to post audio samples of hymns, post suggestions for choosing hymns connected to the lectionary, and provide a place for users to interact about their hymn choices for the coming weeks. As you know, I’ve found Facebook and Twitter to both be helpful in choosing music and getting suggestions from a broader range than I might otherwise have, and perhaps some sort of system might be more directly connected to hymnal resources as they are created.
Thanks, Andy and Walk. That’s helpful. Yeah, there’s no great online database at the moment–that I know of. The closest things is hymnary.org , but copyright law really limits that (and the funding is unique). Keep it coming, folks. Any rural pastors out there?
I would use a powerpoint file of the hymns each week to project on screen in worship. That would be very helpful.
Any ability to do a search of themes, scripture passages, hymn tunes, meters, etc, would be great too.
I wonder if there would be a way to cross reference with Call to Worship resources?
Thank you for the opportunity to interact with the committee…
I would most appreciate a choral recording of each song. This would hopefully be easy to sing along to – for the majority of congregations which are getting smaller and weaker. There wouldn’t be solo voices in the recording, just a nice blend that could be used in small congregations which have trouble finding pianists/ organists/ song leaders.
Sometimes a song is quite appropriate to the Scripture text and Sermon – but it isn’t something we really know. And with only 30 or 40 voices, of which say they can’t sing, it is tough to make a go of it. So, we tend to stick to the songs we already know.
If it would be possible, it would be awesome to have this on DVD with the words to be shown on a screen, timed to the song (as it plays). It would be a tremendous resource that would be used by many – and if you could put live nature scenes in the background you would sell so many copies to all kinds of Christian denominations.
For some rural areas, it is easier to find someone who is tech savvy, than to find an organist.
Anyway, that would be my dream – even if it cost more than 200 Hymnals (since we wouldn’t really need to replace the 110 hymnals we currently have and wouldn’t need to always have someone play keyboard). By using technology, we could have people looking forward – rather than down into the hymnal.
I suppose the biggest drawback to the DVD idea is that a way would have to be found to accommodate those who want to sing only specific verses – such as singing verses 1, 2, & 5.
It is not my desire to eliminate musicians. Instead, it is a desire to allow musically poor congregations to have a great resource for great music.
Many thanks, folks. Keep ‘em coming. Internet searches sound like fun. And, certainly, cost is always an issue. Online lectionary resource duly noted. We’re pretty certain most people want book copies for in the pews–what if the computer is down, what if there’s a funeral w/o DVD?–and then there’s a ton who want them to play at their piano at home. But, yes, exactly the sort of technology dreams we’ll consider carefully. Thanks.
Hi Adam, I would want to be able to have the whole hymnal in electronic format AND to be able to buy individual songs like on iTunes. Every church I’ve ever been a part of only uses a very small number of songs out of a hymnal and we are always looking for new songs – singles, not whole books. I know that our church will probably never buy another set of hymnals but I would buy probably a song a week if they were available as singles and electronically.
I think it would be interesting to figure out just how many songs you could fit on a data cd. Maybe a cd that would only have .pdf files of the hymns for printing in bulletins or displaying on screens, and then maybe a second option where you could buy cds with midi or choral versions of the hymns.
The hymnal in book form will probably only be able to have 550 hymns or so, but a cd of .pdfs might be able to hold like 2000 or something like that. I would REALLY like to see “supplementary” music in cd form, not just the book hymnal reproduced electronically. That would allow for greater variety both culturally as well as preserving older hymns or even adding choruses for praise bands. If these could be catalogued by lectionary scripture like mentioned above, that would be incredible.
Hey Adam and hymnal committee,
I want you to know that I appreciate your hard work and dedication for this task. As a writer of a few new hymn tunes while in seminary I am interested to see how this whole thing goes down. But as a child of the modern era I believe that if this new hymnal ONLY comes out in book form (which no doubt it will be in book form) the rest of the world will see Presbyterians as the slow-moving, change-resistant denomination we have been for generations. Rather, I would love to see Presbyterians push the envelope when it comes to technology and our musical realm.
Some of the suggestions made here are very good. I resonate with Dennis’ comments about needing to help rural churches without a musician. Having a CD or DVD, in my opinion is the very least we need to do in the techno realm. I do like Daniel’s idea of the “itunes” format with being able to select only certain tunes at certain times. Providing an online payment version–similar to praise charts–where you can print off versions of a song even in a few different keys would be cool. For some small (and large) churches having a “midi” format of the hymn tunes that could be plugged in to an organ, clavinova, or electric piano would help eleviate the issue of not having a professional musician on hand. Whether at a funeral, Sunday morning gathering or other time this version could provide just what the congregation could need.
For our particular congregation of 500+ in the midwest I can honestly say that I don’t see us ever buying very many copies of “book form” hymnals ever again. With regular use of lyrics projected on large screens in the sanctuary we only have about 5-10 hymnals actually being used on a given Sunday morning. Sure we may buy some books, but very few–nothing like the 300+ we have lying around the house right now. Because of that, I wonder how this project can be cost-effective for the task at hand? I’m definitely not knocking it, just a concern I’ve been reflecting on.
Also, I know that more inclusive language is a hot-button topic in the seminaries, but the reality (that I have experienced in 3 rural congregations in the SE, S, and MW) is that it isn’t as important to the people in the pews. With that said, it should be noted that hymn writers wrote their lyrics in such a way because their faith, context, and history dictated it. If we are to be truly “inclusive” shouldn’t we try to give openings to the writers’ own contexts? I mean, we don’t cut out parts of the Scots confession we don’t agree with today, but rather we realize that it was written in a certain time with a certain context and history. That’s real… I would be interested in seeing the writers original lyrics along side lyrics that that some would qualify as more “pc”. I think this would give breadth and depth to our history, faith, and even our changing culture.
Again, thanks for your service and openness in hearing other opinions!
Peace…
As a pastor and former music educator, I believe the major shortcoming of projecting or printing hymns in bulletin is that it does not include the music itself ~ which obviously does not promote music education! Hymn projection has its merits because it encourages proper singing posture and a healthier sense of congregational singing, but it certainly discourages part-singing and the concept of harmonization!
I am a member of a very small rural church. We spent a long difficult time searching for someone to play the piano for our church. We found a gem who played for our church for about 8 years. She was recently tragically killed in an auto accident. I doubt that we will find anyone to play for several years again. We really need the music to be put on CD’s so we can have music in our worship service. I currently use any music I can find and type the words in power point to project. I do not mind typing the words, but having the music on a CD with some modern accompiment (guitars, drums) would be great. It would be a nice compromise between the hymnal songs and modern praise music.
This is slightly off topic, but are there congregations that use screens where the music is also projected — like a mega-wide screen? Anyway to project both words and notes?
Also, I think its worth thinking about ways of making the hymnal a constrantly revised work. I know that new hymans and lyrics are constantly being written, but it can be hard to find stuff. It would be nice if there were a web-site that was updated once a month with new hymns in pdf format, perhaps paid for with a subscription. I know that giamusic.com does this with anthems.
One more thought — I think its important to remember that musical literacy is declining. While its nice to have hymns in mixed time signatures and innovative chord progressions, most people aren’t there.
I’m going to try again…
I think we don’t need another hymnal but a comprehensive license including all those covered by CCLI, OneLicense and LicenSing. I think all PCUSA churches should have access and is paid for by increasing percapita. I think we should be in talks with UMC, UCC, ECLA and others to join us in this effort.
I think a digital online database where we all can go to get music be created. No discs, no local storage. I think we should not be limited to 600-700 hymns selected by a committee (no offense meant) especially when this one hymnal is expected to service the entire PCUSA, not just one region. And 10-15 years later, the basic concept will not need to be completely redone from the ground up! No crazy hymn by hymn surveys.
Enough for now! Peace, David
Thanks David and Andy. Great ideas. What you’re both getting at is the wide diversity of congregational song in PC(USA) congregations. Re whether a congregation has used a super-wide screen for words and music projection, I’m not sure. Anybody out there know?
Re an online database, I hear you. Online resources give us new possibilities unknown to previous generations–if only the copyright law changed with the times too:)
Adam,
You wrote, “Re an online database, I hear you. Online resources give us new possibilities unknown to previous generations–if only the copyright law changed with the times too”
CCLI has all that and more. (www.ccli.com) It is fully possible with today’s laws. It believe it’s all in the negotiation for the rights.
Peace, David
Thanks, David. That’s right, CCLI is a great resource. Not all songs, texts, authors, or publishers agree to the service, though. In fact, some intentionally do not because it is to their financial advantage not to participate and make users pay royalties for individual songs. Some publishers will not agree to CCLI. I’m no expert in the law by any means, but even CCLI or OneLicense or even CreativeCommons haven’t figured it all out yet in a way that is agreeable to authors, publishers, and users/congregations. Thanks for your good words.
Wow, it’s amazing to see the differences…
I’m in a rural church now, which has an ancient hymnbook (not PCUSA) and a Sing The Faith.
Flexibility is key — STF has the advantage of having both piano parts and guitar chords written in. If we don’t have a pianist one day we always have guitarists. I’d advocate for writing simple accompaniments that guitarists can play (take out some of the complicated harmonizations) before I’d give in and plug a MIDI into an electric organ….. shudder….
A set of CDs would be immensely helpful for the musicians to learn from ahead of time, especially to learn the melody. Not everyone sight-sings. Some of them would probably make cassette tapes of the CD to take home and practice, some have CD players. Some could listen online… we have to accomodate all kinds. Technology? we have this fancy thing called a photocopier which makes bulletins, and one microphone, and some electric lights. Real fun. Upgrading isn’t seen as necessarily desireable. But the church is ABOUT to get internet access!!!
just a reality check… y’all are still in communion with the backwards rural churches!
As a rural pastor, I just want to add my voice to the chorus of “on-line database” proponents. It is highly unlikely that my congregation will be interested in purchasing new hymnals in the next 10 years, but I would love to be able to introduce them to new hymns, especially if I could copy and paste the music into the bulletins from an on-line or other electronic database, and especially if we could purchase rights to songs individually. We are considering getting a OneLicense, but having a database that is promoted by the denomination (even if the cost is equivalent) would be helpful. New songs from a specifically Presbyterian source carry a little more weight than just new songs that the pastor likes.
Thanks for this blog. I’ve already learned about some new resources! Which is another issue — there is a lot of good stuff out there, but if the pcusa.org web-site could gather that info together and contain instruction for its use, that would be greatly appreciated! But I’ll check out some of the other resources mentioned.
Hi–Regarding projection of music on screens–I’ve seen a couple of Presbyterian congregations that do that. I think they scan/save the music as pdf’s which can be put into PowerPoint or otherwise put on a screen. For a hymn this could be done line by line, one line per screen, so it would be large enough to read.
Best wishes to the committee. You probably know that the Lutherans (ELCA) completed a new hymnal in 2006. They made great efforts to send a draft edition to the churches for feedback, and to introduce the new book, which also has a guitar edition with smoothed-out chord progressions.
Whether or not the new hymnal is available electronically or in print version, can you include with it, as do the ELCAs and other denominations, basic liturgies of the Service for the Lord’s Day from the Book of Common Worship (1993)? In this 500th anniversary year of Calvin’s birth it is notable that he persuaded some of the finest French/Huguenot poets and musicians to write rhymed, metrical versions of the psalms and Biblical canticles, including the Song of Zachariah from Luke, that ended each Communion service; and also sung, metrical, rhymed versions of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20 version), and others. There are modern, metrical, and rhymed versions of these Biblical texts that could be included in the liturgical sections. In the seven churches where I’ve served as a full-time interim pastor we have used some of them–with enthusiastic reaction–and singing– by most in the congregations, using tunes that most Presbyterians have known and sung for years.
Dwyn Mounger, Interim Pastor, Community Presbyterian Church,
Deerfield Beach, FL
Dwyn, the committee is still discussing what liturgical resources to have available in the resource, but I think I can assure you that there will be more than in the 1990 as many users of it, when surveyed, asked for more liturgical resources.
Thanks, also, for the psalms comment. I know some congregations, when the 1990 book came out, that bought it but kept the previous red hymnal in the pews so that they could read psalms together.
Additionally, I’d imagine there will likely be additional liturgical resources online that don’t make the resource due to space reasons.
Thanks for your good words.
I am the volunteer church musician for a VERY small rural church (this morning, we had 19 people – a good showing). We bought the 1990 hymnals, but the now-retired organist and I got a lot of grief about it. So we use both the red book and the 1990 blue book. I am a pianist by training (although that’s not what I do fora living), but we just bought a new (replacement) organ, since almost everyone likes that traditional sound better than the piano. I am teaching myself to play the organ (it’s not as hard as I feared) – a family at church has loaned me an organ to practice on at home. Our new organ allows you to upload midi files, which can then be played through the organ; there are several demo songs which came preloaded on the organ – I have used two of these for preludes. You can also record what you play on the organ, and play it back later with just the touch of a button. I have joked that if I can’t make it some Sunday, and no substitute is available, then anyone could just push the button and start/stop the midi or prerecorded version.
I do not believe that there is a decline in the number of trained musicians. I think the problem is how many younger musicians choose to play for (or even attend) Presbyterian churches; my daughter, now in her early 20′s, plays the guitar but has only played at church ONCE. I live near a university which has an active music department; our local symphony runs a conservatory (for both adult and younger learners). I DO believe there is a declining number of organists – I was told that at the local university, they have stopped teaching organ and instead are teaching drums!!! Thinking back on church organists I have known, they have all been pianists, who have been encouraged / nurtered by their local church to learn the organ. In a couple of cases, the local church paid for organ lessons for a promising teenager.
For us, it is easier to get a musician than to get technology. We do not have a projection system – although we do have a computer in the pastor’s office. Technology would require some rewiring (our church is in a very old building) and significant expense for the equipment. And projecting the words might present problems for those who have vision problems; I know that because my vision is a problem and I cannot read powerpoint slides at work, even if I sit in the front row of the auditorium.
My main resource for music planning is that of the United Methodist music site: http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?loc_id=17&act=nav_loc. They post a lot of music, both new and old (Wesley hymns that are no longer in the hymnal). They also post simplified arrangements of hymns. They conducted a survey in preparation for their new hymnal – they asked a lot about technology and types of music – very interesting and relevant – it is posted on the GBOD site – http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?loc_id=17,1169&act=nav_loc. NOTE: I believe the Methodists have suspended work on their new hymnal because of finances.
Most of the Methodist hymns are posted in both Adobe and Scorch formats. Scorch is a free program which is like Adobe but for music – go to http://www.sibelius.com/products/scorch/index.html to find out more about it. The advantage of Scorch over Adobe is that you can import it into Sibelius music notation software and then transpose/arrange/modify, as necessary. SO – as a musician, if I had my way, we would have electronic versions of hymns in both Adobe and Scorch formats.
A side note- when a lot of Presbyterians think of organ music at church, we probably think of stately traditional hymns. But there is at least one other style of organ playing – check out the YouTube video of gospel music on a Hammond organ – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDWi4UYzsz4&feature=related. Pretty lively ! (And no – I can’t play anything close to that, at least not yet.)
I STRONGLY agree with the comment about limited unusual chord progressions and time signatures – I may be able to play it, but the congregation won’t be able to sing it.
Lani,
Great comments. One thought, as most PCUSA churches now have less than 105 members (which typically means 50-75 attending) it is hard to pay a full time pastor, let alone musicians. Perhaps in some areas/congregations volunteer musicians can handle the music needs of the church but many pay their musicians/directors, and it gets tougher each year. I wonder whether the new hymnal will be targeted to the majority, i.e. small churches with low/no music budgets.
Several years ago, we purchased a Presbyterian Hymnal software CD that included not just files of the printed music, but audio playing capabilities. Our minister, Ernie Thompson, used the audio capabilities to listen to hymns he’s unfamiliar with – it was VERY useful. (Without it, he had to come ask me to hum or sing it for him!) But now the CD no longer works with the Windows 7 operating system, and he’s lost without it! PLEASE find someway to make that happen again!!!
Sincerely,
Lorene