Cantor Paul
Soulek, Director of Parish and School Music
St. John
Lutheran Church, Seward, Nebraska
I love what I do. This may be the understatement of the
year. After four years of undergraduate study at Concordia University,
Nebraska, my first call took me across the street to St. John Lutheran Church
in Seward, Nebraska. Along with vibrant congregational singing, St. John is a
place where a wide variety of musical sounds can be heard. Combinations such as
trombone/flute/piano and guitar/bass/organ/handbells have become quite common.
With all of this singing, ringing, and playing, it may be tempting to become
engrossed in the novelty of it all. However, it’s not about the music director,
the musicians, or even the congregational singing: it’s about Christ and His
gifts for His people. Let’s first examine the “why” behind our worship before
we examine the “how.”
What is worship? Why do God’s people
gather?
Worship is God’s
gift to us! Christ’s Church gathers around Word and Sacrament to be forgiven of
sins and strengthened for lives of service. Musicians and church music programs
do not operate in a vacuum: we are living, breathing confessors of the Church’s
teachings. The pattern of the liturgical year is a useful structure for hearing
and responding to the Word of God. The worshiping community is actively
involved in the liturgy through prayer, hearing the Word, singing Psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs, giving offerings, and the like. Instrumentalists serve
within this structure and seek to further illuminate the congregation’s sung
confession of faith.
First, get organized. Having music selected ahead of time is
imperative to the suggestions that follow. While it may possible for
experienced musicians to sight-read a hymn concertato or descant on Sunday
morning, the average member-musician needs time to practice. I am blessed to
serve with pastors who enjoy planning several months in advance. We all
participate together in establishing the sermon text, theme, and the hymns for
the day. Having hymns selected ahead of time affords the opportunity to compose
new hymn settings or purchase existing material. If 6-month advanced planning
just isn’t possible in your situation, it may be possible to choose one or two
hymns or songs for the service ahead of time.
Network – and involve student musicians
It’s always a
great idea to support your congregation’s student musicians. Attending band
concerts and other musical events in your community can also help you identify
musicians to involve in worship. Get to know the area band and choral teachers
in area high schools. Offer to accompany their groups. As evidenced in the
movie Sister Act, it’s good to “get
out into the community and meet the people!” Parochial schools offer excellent
opportunities to teach and model what it means to worship together as a
Christian community. If your parish is blessed with a parochial school, make
sure to involve both the instrumental and vocal groups in worship.
Utilize instrumentalists from your
congregation
Most
congregation members do not respond to notes in the bulletin, verbal
announcements, or even the most aesthetically pleasing musician recruitment
poster. They respond to a personal invitation to participate! If your spiritual
gift is not public relations, you may wish to seek out a volunteer to assist in
coordinating musicians to serve in worship. Engage yourself in conversations to
better discover the hidden musical talents of those in your congregation and
community!
Make the congregation’s song your first
priority
Hymns and
liturgy are great places to involve your instrumentalists. You may wish to
write out the melody line or have your instrumentalists use a four-part hymnal
harmonization. An “instant descant” can be realized by taking the tenor or alto
line up an octave. Music notation software such as Finale can be incredibly useful in this regard. Beginning
instrumentalists may want to start by playing on Psalm refrains or short
repeated sections of hymns and liturgies. It’s important to give beginners
plenty of encouragement along with accessible music. Baking cookies has proved
to be a hit for my musicians!
Amplification
Natural sound is
always best, but a flute or string player is no match for a congregation of 500
singers and a 50 rank pipe organ! In order for the congregation to hear a wonderful
descant, amplification may be needed. Use sound systems that contain high
quality speakers located near the instrumentalist. Speakers located on opposite
ends of the worship space can create pitch problems and should be avoided. It
is incredibly important to have a musically-sensitive servant at the mixer
controls whenever amplifying instruments. The goal is to augment the
instrument’s natural presence in the room. Locate the instrumentalist in a
place where the sound can reflect into the room utilizing hard surfaced floor,
wall, and ceiling material.
Worshiping Together
Everyone will
have their individual tastes in music and we will most likely not be able to
please all people. It pains me to see the Body of Christ divided into
worshipping communities based on musical style and substance preferences. It’s
interesting to note that certain instruments seem to be relegated to one “type”
of worship or another. How can we be creative in our efforts to encourage God’s
people to worship together? Here are two real life examples.
Prepare the Royal Highway was our congregation’s hymn of the month
for December. The triple meter of this hymn led us to “feel” the hymn like a
dance. The 7th and 8th grade Singers and handbell Ringers
led the congregation in the hymn. Several members played rhythm instruments in
a simple ostinato (repeated) pattern using a tambourine, finger cymbals, and
claves. The Ringers’ handbell setting corresponded to the lead sheet setting (LSB
Guitar Chord edition) that was used for a guitarist and bass player. A soprano
saxophone and trumpet played melody and descant settings that were composed for
the occasion. This did not happen overnight; it was the product of planning
ahead of time, surveying the music and text of the hymn, and evaluating the
available resources.
O Church Arise, a 2005 “hymn/song” by Keith Getty and
Stuart Townend, has become a favorite of our parish. Before it became a
favorite, however, it had to be introduced.
Week
One: A cantor (leader of the
people’s song) sang the piece during the offering.
Week
Two: A soprano saxophonist played
the melody of the piece for the pre-service.
Week Three: O
Church Arise was used as the hymn of the day. The Adult Choir sang the
first stanza and the congregation was invited to join on the remaining stanzas.
A trumpet doubled the melody on stanza 2, the soprano sax played on stanza 3,
and the trumpet and sax played a melody/descant combination for stanza 4.
Where
did you get the music?
Christian
Copyright Licensing, Inc. (CCLI) offers a service called “Song Select.” Lyrics,
lead sheets, chord sheets, and hymn sheets can be obtained and printed by
congregations. You can even transpose the melody line for your instrumentalists!
Simple handbell and instrumental descants were realized using the lead sheet as
a guide. The organ part was improvised from the lead sheet, but the hymn sheet
from CCLI could be used if a printed arrangement was required.
Instrumental ideas
We may hear
organs, pianos, and brass quartets often in our churches. But what about a
snare drum, doumbek or handbells? Here are some ideas to enliven the
congregation’s song.
Percussion
Rhythmic
German chorales (Ein Feste Burg) or
19th century American tunes (Marching
to Zion) certainly have rhythmic vitality in themselves. Could this
rhythmic vitality be emphasized with a tambourine or a snare drum? (You’ll want
to make sure the percussion you utilize does not overpower the song of the
congregation.) Cultural percussion instruments (djembe, doumbek, congas, etc.)
are often well received. Talk to your local music educator for more ideas.
Xylophone
Since
the xylophone is a C instrument, you can ask a budding percussionist to play
along on hymns and liturgies right from the hymnal. Many school band programs
require their percussion students to start out with a xylophone. The percussive
quality of the xylophone stands out from the organ or piano and is useful for
introducing new music to the congregation.
Guitar
I’ve
recently enjoyed the creativity of our guitarists in improvising an
introduction to Ebenezer (Thy Strong
Word) with a “Spanish flair” as well as careful finger-plucking on Jesus Loves Me. Many new hymnals and
worship resources include a guitar chord edition. There may be chord variations
between the keyboard accompaniment and guitar chord editions, so make sure to
rehearse first!
Handbells
and Chimes
Don’t
leave your bell choirs out of the fun. Handbells and chimes can provide hymn
settings, introductions, and liturgical descants. By analyzing the chord
structure of a hymn harmonization you can probably prepare a handbell setting
for your ringers. Published settings are also available. When the handbells are
playing, make sure to reduce your organ registration so they may be heard.
Educate, educate, educate!
If your
congregation is used to simple organ or piano accompaniments, it may be a shock
to hear so much rhythmic and instrumental vitality on hymns. Explain that the
added instruments simply help us to better understand the hymn. Emphasize that
it’s completely appropriate for God’s people (even instrumentalists) to
encourage one another in singing the songs of the faith.
You don’t know it all? No problem!
Utilize the
resident experts in your congregation and community. I am amazed at the
willingness of God’s people to share their gifts with others. Have a “jam
session” with beginning guitar players. See if your local high school’s band
director would be willing to work with your brass and woodwind players. Could a
local strings group play for worship? The possibilities are endless, but they
start planning and communication. Let your creative juices flow, and don’t be
afraid to let others help!
Conclusion
We’ve just begun
to examine the important role musical instruments can have in our worship. The
good news of the Gospel message has been given to the Church, and there are so
many ways to illuminate the Word of God through music. Make sure to spend time
planning and preparing, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Empower and
encourage God’s people to tell of His grace through music in the church!
