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by Don Chapman
03.06.07 Can you believe HymnCharts.com is 5 years old TODAY? When I started out
in my first music director job 8 years ago
(I had always worked in a church as pianist
or assistant to the music director) I soon
discovered one of my biggest challenges was
trying to mix a hymn into my praise sets.
It just wouldn't work - hymns from hymnals
are meant to be played by piano and organ,
not guitars and drums. So I started to rearrange
them.
My first HymnChart re-arrangement,
All Hail
the Power, which you can download for free at HymnCharts.com, was a big hit at church. This really happened
- after church, a 25 year old guy in the
band asked "what was that cool song
we did today?" I said, "All Hail
the Power????" He had never heard the
hymn and thought we were doing a new praise
song! [Those who know me... remember Burt?]
Then, after the same service,
an older lady
came up and said "Oh,
thank you so much
for doing that hymn! I
loved it!." Ding,
ding, ding, my worship
meter went off. I
knew I had hit the jackpot
if I made these
2 age extremes happy.
Yeah, I know, worship is
NOT about making
people happy. On the other
hand, those of
you in blended services
know that, well,
you had better make certain
people happy.
Or you won't be happy and
may very well end
up flipping burgers.
I started arranging my
head off and thus
started HymnCharts.com.
I now have almost
100 arrangements on the
website. And what
an exciting way to celebrate
the anniversary
- God blessed me by setting
up circumstances
to have me meet and become
friends with American
Idol finalist Chris Sligh.
He recorded several
tracks for me in his pre-fame
phase : )
Here's an article I wrote about using hymns
in contemporary worship back from that era
[2002.]
I'm sure most music directors
who program
a contemporary service
struggle to include
hymns. With chord changes
usually on every
beat, they're difficult
for the average praise
band to play --- thus making
it awkward to
plop one in the middle
of your song set.
It's so easy and smooth
to have your sets
filled with nothing but
praise songs, but
your congregation and/or
pastor may have
other ideas. One person
in my congregation
told me they calculate,
during worship, if
and how many hymns we sing
(with the assumption
that they can only worship
when the quota
has been filled.) And I
work in a pretty
contemporary setting!
Rocking worship leaders
in rocking churches
may be exempt for now,
but sooner or later
your crowd will marry,
have kids, and suddenly
wax nostalgic for "In
the Garden."
If I had a dollar every
time I heard "I
want my children to know
the hymns..."
Your time is coming!
So, how do you integrate
hymns into a contemporary
praise set? Beyond re-arranging
their chord
structures for a more comfortable
praise
band fit (which is what
I'm doing at HymnCharts.com),
here are some tips for
using hymns in their
hymnal format:
1. Call to Worship. Separate the hymn from the praise set. Start
your service with a hymn using all the verses
(some hymns are mini praise sets all to themselves.)
Then read an appropriate Scripture and launch
into your praise set.
2. Bookends. Start your praise set with a powerful, majestic
hymn, then transition into a contemporary
chorus. Try to thematically tie the hymn
(or the last verse) to the praise chorus.
For example, this past Sunday we did "Come,
Christians, Join to Sing" and followed
it with the Passion song "Forever."
The last line of the last verse of the hymn
says "Singing forevermore, Alleluia,
Amen!" which ties nicely into the praise
chorus.
Also, end your praise set
with an upbeat
or meditative hymn. One
week we finished
the set with "What
a Friend We Have
in Jesus." Then, as
I played the keyboard
quietly, three (prepared)
people from the
congregation came to the
front of the auditorium
and prayed for the needs
of the church.
3. Benedictions. A rousing hymn will lift the congregation
off their feet and out the door. Remember
the call to worship hymn? Save the 7th verse
for the benediction and let it rip! This
reprise will tie your service together nicely.
4. Offertory specials. The hymn-calculator guy I mentioned earlier
probably won't approve, but on a Sunday when
a hymn just won't fit, play one as an instrumental
offertory special.
>Bottom Line: Even though the classical structure of most
hymns clash with today's
contemporary choruses,
you can find creative,
appropriate spots
for hymns that will bring
meaning and depth
to your services.
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