Home Worship Planning History of Hymns The Faith We Sing As a Source of Music for the Adult Choir

The Faith We Sing As a Source of Music for the Adult Choir

The first use of a church's hymnal is always as the source of music, ritual, and prayers in the worshiping congregation. Although the books may sit largely unused in the pew racks six days each week, on Sunday they give life and voice to the people's praise. Through the week, they may be consulted by the pastor and staff in planning worship or for private devotions and prayer.

Choir directors have always used the hymnal as a source for choir music for children, youth, and adults, as well as a source for music to arrange and adapt for vocal soloists, small vocal ensembles, handbells, praise bands, orchestras, brass choirs, and solo instrumentalists. The purpose of this article is to offer suggestions for simple arranging and varying of hymns and songs in The Faith We Sing for use by the adult choir and congregation in worship, either together or separately, and then to offer selections from The Faith We Sing that will serve in a variety of uses by choir and congregation. Keep in mind that the Pew Edition generally contains text and music intended for congregational singing, and that the choir's Singer's Edition contains additional words, music, and harmonization not in the Pew Edition. If you have the Pew Edition for your congregation, be careful not to call for them to sing music and words it does not contain.

You may find it useful to refer to the numerical listing of the contents of The Faith We Sing available on this website.

Techniques for Arranging or Varying the Singing

Whether a hymn is written in unison, two or three parts, or in full four-part choir harmony, it is sometimes useful to ask the congregation to vary the pattern from everyone singing in the same manner on every stanza. Organists and pianists frequently do this by changing keys, organ registrations, tempo, and style of playing according to the emotion and expression of the text. The introduction of handbells and other instruments also gives variety. The following lists contain ways of varying the singing of stanzas and refrains by people and choir:

  1. All in unison.
  2. All in parts.
  3. Congregation in unison, choir in parts.
  4. Choir sings descant.

Hymns and Songs in Unison
(Many of these techniques will also work for other categories included below)

  1. Divide stanzas among different singing groups: men and women; over 40 and under 40; January-June birthdays and July-December birthdays; those who attended Sunday School that morning and those who did not; and so on.
  2. Divide the congregation spatially: left and right, front and back, balcony and nave.
  3. Have the choir sing one or more stanzas alone (children's choir, youth choir, adult choir).
  4. Have a soloist or ensemble sing one or more stanzas alone.
  5. Have different singing groups on verses and refrains.
  6. Read a stanza aloud together without instrumental accompaniment.
  7. Read a stanza silently with or without accompaniment.
  8. Read a stanza silently, have the accompanist play an appropriate setting or arrangement of the tune that complements a particular stanza. (This is actually a practice that goes back to the very early use of organs in the church.)
  9. Have the accompanist play an altered harmonization for singing.
  10. Since some hymns are in multiple languages, sing one or more stanzas in a different language.
Here are some examples of unison hymns and songs in The Faith We Sing that may be arranged using one or more of these techniques:
2009 2048 2084 2110 2166 2188 2225 2243 2268
2018 2051 2089 2122 2172 2199 2228 2244 2271
2019 2053 2090 2135 2175 2204 2230 2248 2280
2020 2059 2091 2136 2177 2209 2231 2249 2283
2027 2060 2093 2147 2178 2211 2232 2255 2284
2044 2064 2095 2154 2183 2214 2236 2258
2045 2073 2102 2161 2185 2217 2239 2262
2046 2077 2106 2165 2187 2220 2240 2266

Hymns and Songs for Unison Congregation and Choir in Harmony

In addition to the techniques mentioned above, other methods of varying the singing include the following:

  1. Congregation and choir sing together in unison.
  2. Choir in harmony, congregation on melody, with or without accompaniment.
  3. Alternate stanzas with unison congregation and choir in parts.
  4. Choir sings a different harmonization from another source: hymnal or octavo.

Examples that may be sung in this manner include:

2006 2026a 2043 2068 2101 2137 2181 2210 2224 2242
2008 2029 2049 2071 2104 2138 2182 2213 2226 2245
2016 2033 2052 2079 2112 2141 2193 2215 2229 2246
2021 2034 2055 2092 2120 2158 2197 2216 2247 2251
2024 2035 2061 2098 2128 2176 2203 2222 2238 2264
2025 2042 2065 2099 2129 2180 2207 2223 2241 2270

Hymns and Songs in Four-Part Harmony in Pew and Singer's Editions

Many people recognize this musical arrangement as the traditional hymnal harmonization contained for most hymns in The United Methodist Hymnal. These hymns and songs are in four parts in both the Pew Edition and the Singer's Edition. Methods of varying the singing include the following:

  1. Use any of the methods already stated.
  2. Sing one or more stanzas in unison.
  3. Congregation and choir women sing the melody; choir men sing the bass line. (Because of the way hymns are often harmonized, there is a natural complementary relationship that exists between soprano and bass parts — the soprano providing the melody and the bass providing the fundamental pitch that determines the harmony — with alto and tenor often merely filling in the harmony. The singing of only soprano and bass together can be a satisfying experience in itself.)
  4. The choir uses the same technique as 3 (above) for one stanza.
  5. Sing a capella — without accompaniment.

Examples of four-part harmonizations include:

2001 2050 2085 2115 2126 2151 2170 2208 2235
2004 2062 2100 2116 2140 2153 2191 2212 2247
2010 2076 2103 2119 2142 2157 2192 2219 2259
2011 2081 2105 2121 2145 2160 2194 2221 2273
2012 2083 2114 2123 2146 2169 2196 2234 2282

Call-and-Response Patterns and Other Part Songs

Some songs and hymns use the familiar call-and-response pattern, in which a solo voice (or choir or small group of voices) sings one part and the people respond, either in unison melody or in parts. Many spirituals use this format (see 2082). There are other songs which, while not in a call-and-response pattern, contain different voice parts that may be sung individually or in combination, sometimes as a round or canon (2208, melody), sometimes as a melody with a descant (2258). Many from this category may be used as choral offerings or with choir and congregation.

Examples include:

2005 2033 2067 2082 2106 2124 2139 2190 2256
2017 2055 2072 2094 2107 2131 2148 2208 2258
2020 2057 2075 2096 2109 2134 2174 2250 2274

Songs and Hymns from Choral and Solo Publications

Many selections in The Faith We Sing have been taken from previously published arrangements of solo songs and choral anthems. Many church music libraries will already contain arrangements of some of these selections. With little or no alteration from what is included in the Singer's Edition, these selections can serve as a ready-made choir anthem.

2003 2032 2069 2086 2117 2155 2189 2240 2265 2272
2022 2039 2070 2087 2127 2162 2202 2252 2266 2275
2023 2040 2074 2097 2130 2164 2205 2254 2267 2276
2030 2041 2078 2108 2132 2171 2206 2260 2268 2279
2031 2058 2080 2111 2152 2173 2218 2261 2269

Copyright © 2001 Discipleship Ministries, P.O. Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003.This article may be reproduced for nonprofit use without further permission provided this notice is included on each copy.

To comment on this article, contact Dean McIntyre at [email protected]

Posted 10-3-01




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