MY COMPLAINT!

That is good! But, I doubt that it will change anything ...

 

Master, I would have to totally agree with you!!! At one of my former churches they would sing Victory In Jesus very, very slow. It had to be a tempo of like 2!!! It was so aggravating. And it definitely didn't sound Victorious in anything!!

 

Well it annoys me just as much when they try to make a slow song fast . . . It's just as grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

I don`t enjoy galloping along some hymns, some of the older Welsh tunes, need to be `felt` as part of the praise element - and, invariably at my Church you have a job to catch your breath in between lines, commas etc., in the verse seem to be ignored and the whole thing feels like a race.
Gwyneth

 

There definitely needs to be a balance. We sometimes sing so fast that you can hardly get all of the words in! Picture trying to sing "Praise Him, Praise Him!" as fast as you can. That's a mouthful for sure!! Master makes a good point on the songs that need a quick cadence. It's hard to march when you're falling asleep!

 

I hate to pick on other pianists, but any pianist who plays "Victory in Jesus" slow just doesn't know what they're doing. Or else they're stuck with a songleader who doesn't know what they're doing.

I can understand a pianist playing "Praise Him" too fast. #1, we pianists typically don't sing the words while playing the hymn, thus we don't know how hard it is to get all those words out. #2, that song lends itself to playing fast and it can get out of control very easily.

We are very blessed at my church to have a songleader who knows what he's doing.

 

Our pianist plays "Go Tell It On The Mountain" like a funeral dirge.
About half speed.

It is very dreary.


MR

 

I personally find it difficult to sing many of the old hymns. They all just seem dull and boring. There are some that are absolutely cornerstones of the faith (Amazing Grace comes to mind), but I prefer modern praise music. The lyrics to me seem much more intimate and personal (like you're praising God directly, instead of making comments about Him, which is what most hymns are). Not saying that's wrong per se, but for me, modern praise music has added an element of intimacy that the hymns never did. I was recently in a church that had 12,000 in attendance, and the music, and method in which we were lead, made me feel as if the only people in that sanctuary were God and myself. It was awesome!

 

How about "Holy Holy Holy" to a very quick upbeat guitar :-(

 

My "favorite" is the churches that drag down "Holy Spirit breathe on me" to the point of a crawl...and my thoughts are "Oh, please Holy Spirit, breathe and make it quick!"

I will add that i'm not a real big hymn person...i was saved at 18 and was pretty much unchurched prior to that. I am more partial to the more contemporary stuff, but i also have a great love for the more "high church" hymns...when then are sung correctly.

 

My pianist plays the invitation hymn so slow, you have to breathe after every measure.

 

Boy Gib, that's s l o w


we have a song leader who doesn't know what he's doing, wants every song fast, and is rarely prepared when it is time to start choir practice.
murmur, murmur, murmur .. . .

 

Most song directors are going to follow the pianst, unless other wise indicated. Hopefully she or he as been playing since they were kids and know how fast a hymn is.

Most congregationalist don't follow direction except for the formatas. They follow a voice.

 

Scarlett, I do the same thing that you do. I've been fortunate to be under directors that are very talented musically, and they know what they're doing when leading. The song leaders I have a hard time following are those that don't sing very loud, or their hands don't match the way they sing, and they expect the pianist to follow their hands.

Heh. You mean there are churches where the congregation follows directions on formatas?

I always chuckle to myself whenever we sing "Count your many blessings" and the song leader decides that this time, he's going right through "name them one by one" without lengthening any of the words. By the time he gets to the last "one", the congregation is either still on "name", or they've given up singing and are looking around at each other wondering what the song leader is doing and why he isn't singing the song the way it's supposed to be sung.

 

I grew up singing Nothing But The Blood without any formatas. Every time I sing it, the people chuckle. They have always held it.

 

I don't care what words they put to it, I love the tune of ODE TO JOY!