Where Is My Lingua Franca?

It's always dangerous to try to describe a general style of music intended for congregational singing. It is such a broad area covering so many different styles and techniques that any single description can only be inadequate. As soon as you list one characteristic of the style, someone will quickly offer a contradictory characteristic that is also part of the style. But despite that difficulty, I believe there are some very general, broad characteristics and descriptions that have been recognized as hallmarks of congregational music for a very long time in many North American United Methodist churches. Here are some of them that may be found in varying degrees in most of our hymnody:

• texts that are rooted in Scripture
• texts that are theologically sound
• texts that use poetic and literary devices
• texts that are understandable by the people
• texts that give expression to emotions, fears, joys, sorrows, hopes, etc., of the singers
• texts that divide into stanzas and verses of repeating metrical units, often rhyming
• melodies that move mostly in steps and small leaps, with some leaps up to a 5th, but rarely more
• melodies that have linear direction and predictability, often in an arch form
• melodies encompassed mostly within an octave
• melodies in a range that is singable by most people
• melodies that are mostly diatonic, with only occasional accidentals, that grow out of and exist within the hymn's harmonic structure, but that also allow for occasional dissonance
• harmony that is tonal and that makes use mostly of the primary chords of a key (I, IV, V), with use of other chords for color, variety, and emphasis
• harmony that generally changes in a predictable rhythmic pattern
• rhythm that is regular and grouped into simple repetitive patterns
• rhythm that exhibits a recurring accent or tactus
• use of dotted rhythms, syncopation, fermatas, rubato, and tempo changes for emphasis, emotional, and expressive effect
• melodic rhythm determined by the text
• integration of melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic characteristics in a way that seeks to allow for declamation, expression, and understanding of the text

There are others, of course, and you may even want to argue with some of these, but remember that these are generalizations of a hymn style that has evolved over hundreds of years. Also, note that these are true characteristics of western congregational song and are not really related to performance practice. Congregations, accompanists, music leaders, choirs, and singers will all take liberties and use personal interpretive devices in the actual singing of the music, and of course there are ethnic and cultural practices that will modify or overrule some of these. But if you examine the vast majority of hymns in the vast majority of 20th-century hymnals in the USA, you will find that these characteristics apply to our congregational music.

I find this rather remarkable, namely that Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, non-instrumental Churches of Christ, those independent of denominations — virtually all western Christians — have adopted these characteristics. And hymn writers and hymnal editors are well aware of and well schooled in them. We don't discuss them, and we've never gotten together to agree on them. We simply have used them — at least until now.

I believe the Baby Boomer generation will be the last generation of singing Christians to claim these characteristics as hallmarks of their congregational musical style. Those growing up in the postmodern era — the Gen-Xers, Millennials, those drawn to various styles found in Emerging Worship, as well as those who will follow — are well on their way to shaping their own new song style. Add to that the increase in population and influence of non-EuroAmerican ethnic and cultural groups and the great interest in global music, and the picture of congregational song in the not-too-distant future is quite different from what it has been since Martin Luther and J. S. Bach.

A UM pastor wrote to our office this week saying that she wished there were harmonizations available of the newer songs that they sing in their Gen-X/Millennial/Emerging worship service. She simply couldn't find any. The reason is that they don't exist. In the past, congregational songs have been composed by hymn writers within the common and historic western hymn style that served as a musical lingua franca for the church. But where are the songs coming from for our youngest worshipers? They are coming from young musicians, many not trained in the lingua franca, or scornful of it. They are coming from campus musicians or successful commercial solo recording artists. The songs are available in live concerts, on commercial CDs, and in young people's worship and fellowship gatherings. The songs reflect the musical and poetic style of the artist, who most often creates his or her own style out of personal expressive and emotional needs rather than considerations of traditional or historical style. The new music is a collection of widely different individual solo styles. The problem for music and hymnal publishers is that we are not able to notate the innumerable musical nuances that go into style. In a hymnal we can notate text, melody, rhythm, harmony, and form, and sometimes even accompaniment and instrumentation, but it is impossible to duplicate in print what you hear on the CD. Because of that inability, it will be an ongoing challenge and frustration for local church musicians to 1) find music in print that they can learn, and 2) teach it to their congregations for use in worship. The secondary challenge will be for churches to find musicians who possess the skills to play, sing, and lead this new music in a time when both interest in and opportunities for advanced sacred musical training are declining.

The cultural, generational, and stylistic shift, however, is well under way. It is taking place right now, even as Gen-Xers, Millennials, and Emergent worshipers are aging and increasing in influence and as older generations and their preferred styles are declining. The Faith We Sing is an indication of that shift. Note how many of its songs are in the traditional SATB format and how many are in an accompanied solo song format, compared to The United Methodist Hymnal. The same thing is happening with most new hymnals published today.

I don't see traditional music disappearing in the future. The musical lingua franca will survive. In fact, I have no reason to believe that this present shift now underway will be any different from the others that have taken place over the last 2000 years of Christian song. The pattern has always been that both styles exist for a time and are eventually synthesized, giving birth to a new lingua franca. In addition, many young people today are interested in including a variety of musical styles in worship — chant, chorales, traditional gospel, contemporary gospel, praise choruses, traditional hymns, solo songs, global, ethnic, and contemporary styles. They are far more eclectic than previous generations.