How to teach a song in 4 steps

I used this method recently at the Opening Worship of Synod (Vic/Tas) in Melbourne to teach a new song. The teaching method was introduced to me and many others by John L Bell many years ago during a visit to Melbourne. It is simple, direct, and effective.

At the recent Synod meeting Were I the Perfect Child of God was to be taught prior to worship. After I had sung the melody once, I asked who knew the tune, but it was new to everybody, despite its folksong origins. I must admit I was not confident people would be sufficiently prepared when came time to sing the song after the preaching. I was pleasantly surprised. People sang robustly and confidently.

Here are the steps.

1. Make sure YOU know the song so well you can sing it in the shower.
2. Position yourself in a highly visible position and make eye contact.
3. Ask people to listen while you sing the tune (without words or instruments). Don't be tempted to double the melody with an instrument. This confuses things and is unneccesary if you know the song well.
4. Ask people to hum while you sing the tune again. Make sure they hum as this means they can still hear the correct melody from you, and enables self correction without embarrasment.

Thats it!
I am sometimes tempted to introduce the words for a once through at this stage, particularly for longer songs. But on the occasion I have refered to, we didn't use the words until the moment in worship when people were to sing, with no ill effects.

Were I the Perfect Child of God can be found in I Will Not Sing Alone: Songs for the season of love.

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No church musicians? What's your story?

I am looking for stories from congregations of less than 50 people to be considered for possible inclusion in a book for congregations who have no/few musicians in their number. Stories about how your faith community sustains a musical life, connections with community, innovative ideas, new discoveries and signs of hope are most welcome.

If you have a story to tell, please post under "Stories from Congregationland" on this blog.

Many thanks.

8 Top Tips for Getting Blokes to Sing

Getting men in your faith community singing can be challenging. Unless a strong singing culture already exists, and a decent number of blokes are present, men often feel their voice is too exposed, and resist singing with anything like great gusto.

Some years back, in my own congregation, the collective voice of men became so reticent, despite their significant number, that I set about trying to identify the problems. After listening to what they had to say, the 8 Top Tips for Getting Blokes to Sing emerged quite effortlessly.

Getting the voice of men going is an ongoing adventure. However, one delightful observation has been that on the week "Blokes Vocals" lead the singing in my congregation, the eyes of the boys shine as they too attempt to lift the roof.

1. Use male song leaders

Chances are your male musicians are not leading the singing, but contribute on piano, guitar, bass or drums, with a female offering the vocal lead. What this can often mean is that men in the congregation perceive the song is "too high" because the songleader is singing an octave above.

2. Check the pitch of your songs

It has to be said, many of our community songs are too high. It seems to be an area often neglected by music publishers. I suspect the key of most songs is chosen because of its accessibility for instruments, or that it sits comfortably for the individual who wrote it. As a rule of thumb, I consider any song exceeding a high D, or E flat at the most, to be prohibitive. Many will even find that D too difficult to handle, especially first thing in the morning.

3. Include songs with male imagery

Consider the text of some of the songs we sing, and you'll understand why they confront the masculine. To use an oldie as an example, "If I were a butterfly" is a phrase no self-respecting 16 year-old man will add his voice to. Just as we have become conscious about using feminine images in worship, so too should we ensure there is music that resonates with men and boys.

4. Use bass instruments in your band

 If your instrumental combination is top-heavy with treble instruments, men may feel unsupported. Try doubling the bass on piano or keyboard, or using other bass instruments.

5. Encourage blokes to sit together

For reasons similar to tip 4, men fell particularly exposed when surrounded by treble singers - this may include their partner and children. If you can devise ways of bunching blokes together, it will bolster confidence and participation.

6. Flush out their favourites

Find out which songs the men in your congregation like. The revelations can help ensure there is at least one winner each time. It may also help to inform new song choices.

7. Get the guys together

In my faith community, a few years back. we decided to get a bunch of guys together to lead the singing one Mother's Day. I enlisted one of our male keyboard players to run the rehearsal, beacause I wanted it to be a men's thing. His main fear was that the outcome would be akin to a footy team singing the club song at the end of the game. Sure, the results are unlikley to be top-notch, but the positives are many.

Whenever our "Blokes Vocals" lead the singing the corporate voice is as uplifting as I have ever experienced. Everyone sings their heart out, with a grin on their face. People regularly report how uplifting iot was, and report shivers down the back of their neck. Yes, it IS that good. "Blokes Vocals" is often enlisted to introduce new songs, as it ensures on the occasions they sing within the community, they will offer a strong lead.

8. Use songs with men/boy's parts

This is one way of getting men and boys linked in to each other's voices. Sing songs with a women/girls part and a men/boys part. Any two-part thing will do. Have a leader for each part up front, and observe the results. If you get a boy to lead the part, most men will make a second effort.  In a standard community song, it is also great to have females sing a verse, and males to sing another.

I'd love to hear what you have tried and tested in your faith community.


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Sounds like Pentecost

Pentecost is one of my favourite times of the year, not least because we get to go crazy with colour and sounds.

Beyond the long list of great songs for Pentecost lies the possibility for pushing the images further using music as an illustrative tool as well as a means for community singing. What with the sounds of dry bones, wind, crackling flames, and many languages, this season has the potential to be the most interative and artistic of the lot.

As I was driving my son to school this morning I noticed someone has left a large coil of discard plastic tube on their nature strip. It's the kind you see on vaccuum cleaners with the concertina surface. I plan to go and pinch it for myself, because this stuff is fantastic for making a wind-whistling sound.

Cut off a long length, perhaps 1.5 meteres or more, and swing it around your head lassoo style. The sound I am expecting to make is a haunting whistling. This was something I observed others doing in an elective at one of our conferences. The mix of sound, physical energy and spectacle was something quite memorable, so much so that it was the first thing that popped into my head as I drove past the coiled pipe this morning - some 13 years later.  I am imagining several people walking the aisle ahead of the bible spinning this above their heads, calling people into worship and evoking thoughts of the Holy Spirit.

What creative sound feast will be created in your congregation this Pentecost?

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Why don't the children sing?

Too often children who sing in bed after the lights go out, who hum while drawing, sing the national anthem, or a footy team song, fall silent in the worship context.

What is it about the worship experience that inhibits the song of children?
At what moment in our lives do we move from listening, to contributing to community singing?

Reflecting on your own situation, consider these questions:
1. Do you encourage children to sing?
2. Is the "children's song" understood as code that they are not to sing at other times?
3. Which songs do the children most enjoy? Do you know what they are?
4. Can they read the words?
5. Can they see the words?
6. Is there more than one instance each week where a song is accessible to non-readers?
7. Have they other opportunities to learn/sing the songs away from worship?
8. Is there a person in your faith community who encourages children to sing?
9. Has a culture of not singing developed?

Encouraging the voice of children
From what I have observed the principle barrier to the participation of children is the inaccessability of the songs themselves. We are big on words in the church, and lots of long and complicated ones which require definition. Using simple repetitive songs and chants can make a big difference.

A story to illustrate perhaps. One Sunday in my congregation we learnt Kyrie Eleison (Bridget) by John Bell. This particular Kyrie has a cantor/song leader singing a phrase, which is repeated by the gathered people. We sang it perhaps 5 or 6 times in the context of a spoken prayer. After worship had finished several families met at McDonalds for a birthday party. It was possibly 2 hours after the Kyrie had been sung, and silence had descended as the kids sat about eating their 'happy meals'. All at once one of the 5 year old put down his burger, looked around at his friends, and launched into the cantor's part - "Kyrie eleison" to which the other children responded, "kyrie eleison!" It was quite a moment. The children had all absorbed the song, despite its unfamiliar text, becasue it was repetitive, attractive to them and musically accessible. They had taken the song beyond the worship context and into their lives.

If all else fails....
- Regularly include short prayer responses, amens, alleluias and doxologies that children can sing well. 
- Teach the children a new song, and have them teach the congregation one Sunday morning. Not only will you have captive learners, but the rehearsal during the week will ensure the families are all on board too.
- If you must hand out percussion instruments (no I'm not a fan), do so only when the songs are inaccessible.
- Introduce actions, claps or stomps.
- Have children teach the adults the actions
- If you have a goodly number of children allocate them their own part in a round
- Expect them to sing - they are part of the worshipping body like everyone else.
- Enlist the 'help' of older children

What other tips do you have for engaging children in the sing?

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How is the Church Accompanying Singing in 2011?


  

Getting gatherings to sing - a checklist for success

Having trouble getting your faith community to sing well?
Low confidence can lurk about for years on end unless the reasons are dealt with effectively. Try this list on for size. Hopefully over time you will see increasing engagement in the singing.

Seating - if people are spread across the space they feel exposed. Get with the strength and have people sit together to encourage greater confidence. Experiment with seating arrangements by making fewer chairs available. Circular seating can be more successful than a 747 set-up.

Teach songs well - simply playing a new song through and claiming to have taught it, is like telling some how to drive and handing the keys over. In order to learn, we have to have a go ourselves. Too often songs are introduced without space for the gathering to sing.

Is this a community song - not all songs are designed for community singing. Many are performance numbers for choirs, or bands, or soloists.

Simplify the accompaniment - if there is too much musical embellishment while a song is being learnt, people will be baffled and unsure of which notes to sing. An old lecturer of mine said the key was "KISS" (aka. keep it simple stupid).

Acoustics - this can make or break community singing. If a space is too reverberant, clarity is lost to mush, and rhythmic integrity is lost. If acoutics are too flat (often due to carpet, soft furnishings, low ceilings) the effort being by singers will be unrewarding.

Teach without instruments - the most effectve way to teach is to have a single voice sing without any instrumental accompaniment, no not even doubling the melody. Ask the gathering to sing back to you, also without instruments. Don't forget to listen. Only when you listen to what comes from the gathering will you know they have learnt the song.

Verbal and non-verbal cues - "I know you hate learning new songs but we have to do this one. You're not very good at new ones, but I want you to try your best...." (bleh!) There is nothing like negative introductions to dampen enthusiasm. "We have this great new song ...." or "here's a new song by the same person who wrote...." or "this song was written when....." Personalising the song can heighten its significance for people.

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How to Teach a Song in 4 Steps.
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Do you have a tip for others, or a story to share?
Please include your contributions here.