Singing in parts

by Mark Reagan

Today music is often performed polyphonically—that is, with more than one line of music played at once. In church hymnody parts for men, women, and children’s voices appear in the ranges of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. When all four parts, each contributing a unique color, are sung together, a glorious Trinitarian music comes to life.

The problem with part singing is that it requires greater skill than simply singing melody.   If a person is to sing a part, confidence is needed to carry the line through the song, beginning to end, often independent of other people singing nearby. The usual way parts are learned among congregations and church choirs is by rote: musical lines are sung or played for the singers and the singers reply, duplicating what they have heard. However, if the parts are difficult or complicated, rote-learning can be ineffective. Rote learning is also time-consuming, especially when the parts require frequent relearning and review.

To avoid the laborious chore of public rote learning, each singer should be responsible to learn their part. This is done in one of two ways. The first and best way is the individual knowing how to read music. Music literacy allows the singer, on their own, to navigate a musical part, making sense of all those little black dots on the page. But again, learning to read music adequately requires years of practice. It is best suited for kids whose brains are still soft.

The second way to part learning is through this CD. It was developed so that individuals can learn to sing their parts in psalms and hymns in the comfort of their own privacy, with much rewinding. This can be done at home, work, or in the car. By having the music as a backdrop to other activities (as a “personal sound track to your life”) one will begin to hear their part and be prepared to sing the part as the particular hymn selections show up in Lord’s Day worship.

Certainly there is great benefit to this approach—we desire the Lord’s praises to fill our minds and mouths as we go about the daily humdrum. Nevertheless, the best way to use this CD is to sit down with Cantus Christi in hand and headphones on ears, and study the part as it is sung aloud. This should be done because the singer will have the aural phenomena reinforced by the visual aspect and will learn more quickly. But more importantly, the singer will have further opportunity to learn to read notes in specific songs, increasing their general musical literacy. Reading skills are the long-term solution to good part singing in worship.

Whatever the setting or approach to listening, this CD will increase familiarity with the selections from the Cantus. This is invaluable. We seek to reform and revive worship in the Church because we affirm that worship is the central aspect of church life. In many cases (sadly) singing is just about the only active thing the congregation does in a worship service. And so it would benefit us to be familiar with our psalms and sing them as confidently as we can.

Moreover, because singing and worship are so important, we must prioritize musical enthusiasm and understanding. In our current musically-illiterate context, this means that job #1 is simply to sing, if only at an entry skill-level. If this means learning the melody only, then learn it and sing it with grace of heart (if not grace of voice). Although part singing is important and is thoroughly Trinitarian, unison singing is also Trinitarian: the one song, the many voices. If the church would learn to sing confidently, if only in unison, this would be reformation. 

Mark Reagan
Moscow, ID
Summer 2008