Using Screens without Hymnals
From time to time, I get the opportunity to attend public worship with other church assemblies around the country. I am glad to observe how other churches “do worship” but also to participate in other services without the pressure of being the leader of it.
One observation is the predominant use of projecting the words of congregational songs onto a wall or a screen. Sometimes this is accompanied by an invitation to use the hymnal, but many times it is not. Sometimes there is no hymnal to be used. After some thought, there are several observations I have about using screens for singing without even the option of a hymnal.
DISCLAIMER: I am by no means saying that using a screen is sinful, but only saying that certain things need to be considered if/when screens are used for congregational singing.
Observation #1-Even if hymnals are available and acknowledged, hardly anyone (if anyone) in the congregation uses them.
Perhaps this is because of convenience. Perhaps it is because of unspoken peer pressure to not seem “old fashioned” by using a hymnal. Perhaps there are other reasons. Plus, let’s face it, there is just something enthralling about using a screen. However, it would be a mistake if a church communicates either overtly, or subliminally, that physical hymnals are no longer needed or desired.
Observation #2-Generally, there is very little to no harmony being sung by the congregation.
It is true that melody drives a song, and that unison singing can be edifying. However, harmonies are not unedifying, nor are they a detriment to hymn singing. Harmony is what helps give a song a certain flavor, character, and beauty. There is beauty in sung harmony that supports the melodic line. The great choral or orchestral works are not filled with every voice or instrument in unison for the entirety of the piece. Harmonic lines are introduced that enhance the beauty of the piece and make it more interesting.
When a congregation cannot see harmonies written on the page, only those who know the hymn well and who have any kind of vocal ability and training will sing harmonies — maybe. Four-part hymn writing is not merely for the pianist to use but is for congregations to sing as well. Many congregations are missing out on the beauty of harmony in their singing, which I believe is at least partly due to the use of screens without hymnals. This, in turn, is producing churches that are more musically inept than previous generations.
Observation #3-It is much more difficult to teach through the stanza progression of hymns when only a screen is used.
One of the things I do sometimes with our congregation is talk through a hymn before singing it. I may ask a question about the meaning of a word or the poetic picture being portrayed. I may point out the connection between stanzas or highlight key ideas throughout the various stanzas. This is easy to do that when a person can glance at the entirety of the hymn on a single page.
For instance, the hymn “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” by Charles Wesley has connections from the end of each stanza to the beginning of the next. I can show that to my congregation very simply using a hymnal, but it is virtually impossible to do so on a screen in the same way.
In other words, the hymnal is a teaching tool, not merely a catalog of songs. I want to teach my congregation about the nature of good hymn writing and poetry. I contend that this is much easier to do using a hymnal than only a screen.
Observation #4-Only those familiar with the hymn can sing it.
This is the most frustrating part of going to churches who use screens and not hymnals. If I do not know a hymn/song being sung, and there is no written music for me to read, I cannot sing. I am not even given the opportunity to sing. I am forced to be primarily an observer for those few minutes, listening to other people sing, but not able to join in myself. Corporate worship is meant to enable everyone to participate, not simply to watch. When I go to corporate worship, I want to participate in the singing. If there is a hymn I do not know, I want to see the music so I can sing it and participate more fully. I don’t want to simply listen.
Of the four observations, this is one that I think every church using screens needs to consider. If unbelievers attend your worship service, they may not sing anyway, but at least give them the opportunity to do so by providing hymnals. And if other believers attend, give them the opportunity to sing every hymn that you do. Your congregation may know all of them very well, but guests may not. This is where a hymnal will be helpful. I believe it is unwise to purposefully inhibit people from at least having the opportunity to see the music of a hymn. It is a person’s choice whether they sing or not, but at least give them the chance.
Hymnals are wonderful tools, used to help people sing harmonic lines, and teaching them the nature of good poetry and hymn writing. You still may not get 100% participation, but there won’t be an excuse for not singing. My advice-if you choose to use a screen for congregational singing, do not jettison your hymnals, but rather provide people the chance to use them, learn the harmonies, see the text in full, and participate in the singing, even if they don’t know the hymn.
Taigen Joos is the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Dover, NH.
Photo by Michael Maasen on Unsplash
I heartily agree! Thank you!
I find the lack of notation the biggest loss of most hymn projection. I have been very thankful for the affordable and flexible options for sharing on-screen notation found at digitalsongsandhymns.com. The owner includes many songs I don’t ever plan to teach, but she has also removed all songs by Bethel, Elevation, and Hillsong. We purchase 4-part notation whenever we add a new song to our repertoire. Andy Gleiser has given her permission to include free notation for all his hymns, and his “It’s Still the Cross” (https://digitalsongsandhymns.com/songs/7628) is currently the second-best-selling song on the site. Chris Anderson’s team has provided free notation at doxology.app too, including screen notation.
On #1, I often reference the hymnal for hymns we don’t sing all the time or that we haven’t sung in a long time.
We also print lyrics in our prayer sheet instead of using the screen to sing during prayer meeting. If we try to teach a new hymn during prayer meeting, we will often make copies of its hymn sheet to help with #4.
Hymn projections and hymnals each have strengths and weaknesses. May the Lord help us to utilize the strengths of our available technologies without being bound by their weaknesses.
To give a balance and to avoid the echo chamber trap ..
It is ridiculous this is still being discussed.
The arguments are presented to make it seem as such that singing four part harmony is the reason the church gathers.
There is no doubt people sing better with their heads up. It is condescending and hyperbole to assume people cannot pick up a tune and sing it. We do it all the time at our church and our people raise the rafters.
I’ve been in ministry for 30+ years, my father is a respected voice in church music. These innovations and implementations have been a tremendous blessing to the church.
IMHO.
Hi Jeremy
Really, I think you are reacting to what you perceive Taigen said rather than what he actually said.
It is a matter of preference, to be sure, and certainly not a fundamental doctrine of the faith. I don’t think that is what Taigen said.
However, my own preference is for hymnals. I really don’t like using the screen for singing, even in situations where they put the music on the screen. I don’t think it makes a significant difference in the singing (head up or head down). And the point isn’t that people can’t pick up a tune. The melody is easy to pick up. (Well, for some… not me!!) However, when you have the music, and you have enough people in the congregation who can read enough of the music to pick up the harmonics, well, it just sounds better to me.
That doesn’t mean using the screen is evil or wrong. We are all talking about preferences here.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
Don, I think you know how to use a hymnal well and hold it up high so that you can sing out!
Very few congregations ever had notation to see until the mid-19th century. Part of the reason it became cost-effective was that American music education was prioritizing musical literacy and the basics of the classical tradition. Canada and the UK and many other places certainly benefited from those priorities as well.
But those priorities have been different for several decades now, and It seems that every decade a lower percentage of the general population is able to read any music at all.
Our church family benefits from a large percentage of people who can read a bit. And just a bit is all it takes to help you learn the tune. Especially if it’s a fairly simple tune :-) And when those who can read lift up their voices, it helps the rest learn it more quickly.
“Teach… and admonish… one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”
I am not sure I’d say I know how to use a hymnal well. Under duress, my mother made take two years of piano lessons until I went crying to my dad to bring it to an end. I had a great teacher who taught me theory as well as my stumbling practices. I remember the theory a bit, but can barely read a hymnal. I know enough to know that as the notes move up and down on the page, your voice is supposed to go up and down also. I know that some of the notes you hold longer than others. That’s about it. (I have very little ability to hear the difference between two notes close together.)
I agree that music education has gone the way of the dodo bird for the most part. It is a loss.
I encourage people to sing out (to drown me out) and some of our folks are musically trained.
One wish I have is that we had a music leader who could help our musically illiterate people along. It would enhance our services. It is not the most important thing in church life, but it has value.
That’s where we are at.
I prefer using a hymnal when I am traveling in churches that use screens, but one isn’t always available. What little music I can read helps me (doesn’t improve my singing!). Some of the more contemporary songs I run across I also boycott on principle, but that’s just me (and an entirely different topic).
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3