Thursday, August 26, 2010
Dumbing Down?
I was trying to find the top of my piano yesterday! This means picking up the books that are on it, wondering (or remembering) why they were put there in the first place, and deciding if they still need to be out. I began thumbing through an old camp songbook and came across a piece with a melody that, while somewhat predictable in nature, took a few turns in unexpected directions. In spite of my last 'rant' on the topic, this time my thoughts took a different twist. By not giving a congregation the opportunity to learn and sing such a hymn, am I/are we dumbing down? That is to say, are we setting the bar too low in congregational singing?
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2 comments:
I can only speak for myself, AuntE, but I think there are others like me in most congregations. I am not a musician. I'm not even a very good singer...that's with a small "s." But I do love praising our God with hymns. Mostly I am comfortable with familiar words and tunes. But I do love to learn a new hymn every now and then, both for the sake of the words and the music. Just be patient and don't expect me to do well with it for a while.
Dorothy, thank you so much for your valuable comments. I need to hear from the non-musicians out there. The phrase that sticks out to me is: "But I do love praising our God with hymns." - So key to one's attitude! And yes, I do need to be reminded to be patient and give people time to learn new music. Thanks for that too!
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