PCEA

So then, avoiding anything technical, we set out to discover what music actually is. What is it that makes a "tune"? And what is it that makes that particular tune into "St. Paul," or "Orlington," or "Glasgow," or "Naomi" ? If you look at a Tonic-Sol-fa Psalmody, you will see that every tune in the book may be written down using little more than seven letters of the alphabet - d, r, m, f, s, l, t, along with a few dots and dashes and upright lines! As every letter represents a note in the scale, it may be seen that a tune consists simply of a succession of such "notes" or "tones" following one another in a given order and according to a given pattern. The letters - d, r, m, etc., represent the pitch of the notes. The other markings give us the rhythm. Given a combination of pitch and rhythm, we have a melody.

The music of the Psalms as sung in our church is nothing if not simple, and almost all the tunes fall into one of four classifications. We may use the Common, the Long, the Short or the Peculiar Metre. But what exactly is a Common, or a Long, or a Short Metre, and how are we to recognise them? Let us take as an example - Psalm 23. If we scan a line we find that it works out thus:-

The Lord's my Shep - herd I'll not want.
He makes me down to lie
in pas - tures green he lead eth me
The qui - et wa - ters by.

Here we have, in the first line eight syllables, in the second six, in the third line eight, and in the fourth six again. Thus we see that a Common Metre is an eight, six, eight six rhythm. Now do the same with Psalm 100, and we will find an eight, eight, eight, eight rhythm. This is the typical Long Metre Pattern. Taking Psalm 67 as a typical Short Metre we find a six, six, eight, six. The story is told of a Precentor who began one day to sing Psalm 67 to the tune Old Hundred. His problem was to make a line of six syllables to fit a line of music with eight beats. He managed to meet the situation by singing extra words. Thus:-

"Lord, bless and pity us, us, us.
Shine on us with thy face, face, face.
That the earth thy way and nations all
May know thy saving grace, grace, grace."

Whilst we can admire his initiative, we cannot regard the arrangement as being in any way satisfactory.

The problem of Metres is not really difficult when we understand the pattern of the rhythm. Peculiar Metres are those odd variations which do not fit into our regular Common, Long or Short Metre patterns, but as they are seldom used except in larger congregations, we may leave them for the time being out of our discussion. If you cannot remember what Metre the tunes are, and if you are not sure whether the Psalm you have is a Long, Common or Short Metre version, just run through silently, and find out whether the tune you want to use has the number of beats in each line to correspond with the number of syllables per line in the words. If you run out of tune before you finish the line, or if you still have tune left over after you have finished the words, then clearly you have a Psalm of one metre, and a tune of another. We must be sure they correspond.

So then, having fixed on the question of Metre the next problem is what we may term the "classification" of Psalm and Tune. We must select a tune which is appropriate to the thought expressed in the Psalm. Most Psalmody Books give some guidance in this matter, but it is not required of a Precentor that he follow slavishly the suggestions in the book. The essential thing is that the music should reflect the sentiment of the words. We cannot attempt a comprehensive classification of Psalms or tunes here, and even were we to do so we should only be laying down another arbitrary rule which would not be in the best interests of congregational praise. It is the privilege and responsibility of the precentor to select his tunes, as it is of the minister to select his Psalms. The range of tunes will perforce be limited to those familiar to the congregation. But let them be selected with every care and consideration. The Psalm may be "Joyful," "Triumphant," "Jubilant," "Penitential," "Prayerful," "Confessional." - It may be a song of adoration, or it may be merely a narrative poem recording the history of God's people. Let the tune reflect the thought expressed. Take, for example, Psalm 126 -

"They 'mong the heathen said, The Lord
great things for them hath wrought.
The Lord hath done great things for us,
whence joy to us is brought."
The whole Psalm echoes the joy and exultation of freedom and deliverance from bondage; and yet for many years this Psalm was traditionally sung to the tune "St. Agnes," a tune in slow, plaintive measure eminently suitable to that great Song of the Captivity, Psalm 137:

"By Babel's streams we sat and wept
when Sion we thought on.
In midst thereof we hanged our harps
the willow trees upon."

Some few Psalms of course will be inseparable from what we have come to regard as their "own tune." Among them will be "All people that on earth do dwell"; Psalm 121 to "French," or Psalm 122 to "St Paul." But generally speaking the Precentor will be on his own in selecting the tune, and it is here that his own innate sense of music have to come to his assistance.

Is it a marching song? Then let us have a marching tune:
"I joy'd when to the house of God
Go up they said to me . . ."

Is it a Psalm of supplication?
"Lo, I do stretch my hands
To Thee, my help alone? . . ."

Again, let us have a tune to reflect the prayerful expectancy of the thought which finds expression upon our lips.

{mospagebreak title=Part 2}

Our last article dealt particularly with the tunes we sing, and was more directly connected with the work of the Precentor than with the congregation. This month, therefore, we step down from the Precentor's box and we take our place in the pew. The Precentor is there to lead, and it is for us to follow.

Let us get it clear from the beginning that it is not necessary for the Precentor to be a man with a loud voice. Far too often we find the leader straining to keep his congregation together and in time. This is something to be avoided at all costs. It should never be, and it need never be if we will but follow a few simple rules.

Clearly it is impossible for a body of people to keep in time with a Precentor if he is away in the back of the congregation where he cannot be seen and where he can be heard only by those in his immediate neighbourhood. But the answer is not for him to raise his voice until it rises above all the others. If we are to have good singing, he must take his place in the front, facing the congregation, where he can be seen by all. Then the congregation, in its turn, must be obedient to the Precentor. We must be alert, watching our Precentor, following his direction just as a symphony orchestra pays close attention to its conductor.

The Precentor will guide us in the four basic elements of tune, pitch, tempo (or speed) and modulation (or volume). The Psalm having been announced by the Minister, the tune to which it will be sung ought to be made known to the congregation so that we do not have to wait while he sings a line or more before we can join in. The pitch - that is, the note of the scale on which we begin the tune - will be given us by the Precentor. These things we will hear, but from then on the important elements of tempo and modulation we will follow, not by the ear, but by the eye as we pay close attention to our leader.

Let us now make some observation on these vital elements of tempo and modulation. First of all, tempo (or speed). One person will say, "I don't like fast singing." Another will say, "The singing is too slow." Which one is right? Probably neither! Our singing should never be so fast as to savour of flippancy or irreverence, nor yet on the other hand so slow as to prove laborious and exhausting. Spurgeon speaks of a student who "found it necessary to work his air-pump in the middle of a sentence." We ought never to allow our singing to become so retarded as to force us to resort to such measures and so lose the whole sense of what we are singing. The Scriptural direction is not to sing as quickly as we can, nor as slowly as we can, but what saith it "I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also!" That is the criterion which bears the stamp of the Divine approval. Yet how often do we hear, for example:

"The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want. (Pause.)
He makes me down to lie. (Pause again.)
In pastures green he leadeth me. (Another pause.)
The quiet waters by." (The final phrase quite alone and unattached.)

We are to sing with the understanding. It is clear, therefore, that we cannot lay down any arbitrary rule and say the singing ought to be slow, or the singing ought to be fast. Just as we have to be guided by our sense of the fitness of things in selecting a tune, so must we be guided in fixing the tempo of each individual Psalm. In a song of praise or triumph or of joy the tempo will be quickened and the voice will be lifted up as our whole heart and being enters into the spirit of the expression of our lips.

"O come, let us sing to the Lord;
Come, let us every one
A joyful noise make to the Rock
Of our salvation."

If we do indeed sing with the understanding, then we will never be guilty of singing such words to the tempo set down for a lament. On the contrary, these slow and measured tones will be reserved for the plaintive, the penitential or confessional Psalms.

"O Lord unto my prayer give ear,
My cry let come to Thee;
And in the day of my distress
Hide not thy face from me."

How can we sing such words of supplication wrung from a heart in deep distress, and sing them to the tempo of a marching army?

It is the Precentor's duty then to take account of these things, but whilst it is his responsibility to set the time, it is the duty of the congregation to keep in time with him. Therefore, we must watch the Precentor.

This brings us finally to the matter of modulation (i.e., the increase or decrease in volume). In music, when volume increases, it is called a "crescendo." When it decreases "decrescendo." It is largely this variation in volume which gives our music its "expression." But when we come to sing the Psalms, we usually find that any attempt at such "expression" is quite non-existent. This may be a long-standing tradition, or it may be a mistaken idea that we must always sing as loudly as we can. Whatever the reason, our praise must remain expressionless and dull until we learn the rudiments of modulation!

A prayer, a confession, a supplication, ought never to be shouted, but sung softly and with the understanding. Yes, in that grand old Shepherd's Psalm we will tread very softly through that dark and desolate valley, but we will ascend triumphant on the other side, and our voices will rise in a grand crescendo until they ring out for all the world to hear: "And in God's house for evermore, my dwelling-place shall be."

{mospagebreak title=Harmony}

An old and respected Elder of the Kirk had lived out his active life away in a remote corner of the bush far from city churches and the influences of modern times. He was one who knew and loved God's Word - but he had never enjoyed the benefits which are the common lot even of children today. Many a Psalm could the old man repeat and he could put the younger ones to shame in his knowledge of the Catechism. But his acquaintance with the finer arts of music was limited indeed. He came to the city to retire, and sought out the minister in no little concern over the singing in the city church. He was distressed to find some of the younger people "singing a different tune" from the others in the Psalm. Thus did it appear to this old man of God. He was not at all sure that it was right for the young men to be "singing a different tune." You see, the singing of "parts" was to the old man something new and entirely strange.

On the wall there hung a beautifully coloured photograph of the Elder's old home in the bush. And what a picture it was! The old home nestling in the bush, with the smoke curling from the chimney. The minister looked long at it, and at last he broke the silence. "That's a picture of your old home, and I know you're proud of it." "That I am," the old man said, in tones which left no room for doubt. The minister continued. "Take away the background from that picture and wash out the colour. That leaves us with an outline in black and white. It is still a picture of your old home, but it just hasn't the same beauty and depth and colour it had before. Now our Church Praise is just like that picture. The ordinary tune that you sing - the melody - that's the outline in black and white. But we can add to that. We take that outline and we put in the parts, the Alto, the Tenor and the Bass. In one sense perhaps they will be a different tune, but they supplement the 'air'; they give to it a colour and a background and make it into one harmonious whole. Not a different tune - not a different picture, but truly a part of the whole." As he listened the old man's face brightened and when the minister concluded he smiled and said, "I've never had it explained like that before."

Four parts, being blended into one harmonious whole. What grander music can we have than that? Ideally, of course, the Precentor should not be singing the air at all, nor in fact should the male members of the congregation. The melody should (in theory at least) be reserved for the Sopranos, the Altos and the male voices supplying the harmony so that whatever our voice, be it male or female, high or low, there will be a part fitted to our own particular talents.

But you cannot play an instrument without instruction and practice. You may manage to extract some kind of a tune, but only instruction and above all, practice will enable us to draw from it the strains of music it was designed to produce. No more can we have true music in our congregations without instruction and practice. It may not always be possible to attend a Psalmody class, but we may practise among ourselves, and even by ourselves. We may learn our tunes or our parts in the home so that we are not at a loss when we come together in the congregation.

Finally, let us run through the cardinal rules:

Do not sing too loudly. Your voice ought not to be heard rising above the others.

Watch the Precentor, and keep strictly in time with him. ( Part singers are most often the offenders when it comes to "dragging.")

Be alert for the signs he gives, indicating softer or louder singing.

If you have an ear for music, learn the part for which your voice is best adapted.

If you think you can't sing, don't sit dumb, at least until you have your worst suspicions confirmed. Many people who could well sing sit quiet because they are afraid of their own voice. It may even be a little embarrassing, but do go and ask someone who is competent to tell you whether you sing in tune or not.

Let us ever remember that the object of our singing is to praise and to worship God. This being so, how can we presume to offer anything short of the very best of which we are capable. If we have not much to offer, neither had the woman who cast her all into the treasury; but let us bring it with a willing heart.

"Give thanks to God, call on His name;
To men his deeds make known.
Sing ye to him, sing Psalms, proclaim
His wondrous works each one.

See that ye in His holy name
To glory do accord;
And let the heart of ev'ry one
Rejoice that seeks the Lord."