By Robin G. Jordan
The key to making the best use of the Gulbransen Digital
Hymnal DH-100 CP, Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-200, and similar digital hymnal
players is to make the hymns and hymn tunes in the device’s master index the
church’s hymnal and not The Hymnal, 1940.
This will involve the purchase of a number of the hymnals listed in the digital
hymnal player’s manual, a modest investment that will enable a church to take
greater advantage of its repertoire. The
Hymnal, 1940 will continue to provide the core of the hymns and hymn tunes
used in worship but the hymnal will no longer set the limits of what hymns and
hymn tunes are used.
Small Anglican church congregations using The Hymnal 1982 have an advantage over
those using The Hymnal, 1940 since The Hymnal 1982 is one of the hymnals
that is listed in the manual of the Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-100 CP and the
Gulbransen Digital Hymnal DH-200 and for which these digital hymnal players
were designed to provide the accompaniment. The same approach, however, may be
used to expand the repertoire of such congregations, supplementing the hymns
and hymn tunes of The Hymnal 1982
with hymns and hymn tunes from other sources.
The first step is to identify what hymns and hymn tunes are familiar to the congregation. There are two ways to do this. One method
is to conduct a hymn survey in which the members of the congregation write down
a list of twenty-five or more hymns that they know.
A second method is to task a committee of congregation
members with systematically going through the hymnal and identifying the hymns and
hymn tunes that they know. This committee should be representative of the
average singers in the congregation and should not include any choir members if
the church has a choir. The committee lists every hymn and hymn tune into one
of four categories. If everyone knows the hymn or hymn tune, it is listed as
very familiar. If two-thirds of the committee members know the hymn or hymn
tune, it is listed as familiar. If less than two-thirds but not less than
one-half of the committee members know it, the hymn or hymn tune is listed as
somewhat familiar. If less than half of the committee members know the hymn or
hymn, it is listed as unfamiliar. With a very small congregation, the whole
congregation can take part in this process.
The information gathered from the use of these two methods
will worship planners a rough idea of what is the congregation’s core
repertoire, the strengths of that repertoire, and its weaknesses. It will also
enable worship planners to make the best use of the hymns and hymn tunes in the
congregation’s core repertoire and to be more deliberate in helping the
congregation to master less familiar hymns and to learn new ones.
The hymns used in Sunday worship are more than
embellishments to the liturgy. They are a part of the congregation’s worship.
They should not only be selected for their musical appeal, familiarity, and
accessibility but also for their appropriateness to the particular juncture in
the service in which they are used. This includes the mood that they create at
the point in the service where they are used, and their contribution to the
smooth flow of the service. Even a small church congregation needs a repertoire
large enough so that it does not need to sing the same hymn for several Sundays
in a row because it does not have any other suitable hymn in its repertoire for
that point in the service.
A good practice is to sort the hymns and hymn tunes in a
congregation’s core repertoire by their liturgical use, emotional tone (or mood),
tempo, and meter. This information is useful in planning the music of services
as well as assessing the repertoire’s strengthens and weaknesses.
Liturgically usefulness should be an important consideration
in the selection of new hymns and hymn tunes to teach to the congregation. It
also something that should be kept in mind in choosing unfamiliar hymns and
hymn tunes that only a few members of the congregation may know but which would
be a good addition to the congregation’s repertoire.
A practice that I also recommend is to keep a record of how
often a hymn or hymn tune is used. This record can be used to ensure that a
wider selection of hymns and hymn tunes is used instead of the same handful of
hymns and hymn tunes over and over again.
In expanding a congregation’s repertoire a good initial goal
is to help the whole congregation become familiar with liturgically useful
hymns that some members of the congregation know but others do not. The
familiarity of a part of the congregation with a hymn or hymn tune can be used
to help the rest of the congregation to learn it. In an upcoming article I will
look at specific ways of introducing new or unfamiliar hymns to small church
congregations.
1 comment:
Good Day Mr. Robin G. Jordan;
I just read from your email about small churches using the Digital Hymnal. I have had the Gulbransen DH 200 stored in the closet for quite a while and it is practically new. I am now trying to make the best use of it working with the Elderly and Veterans in a Nursing Home as clergy and Chaplain working also with a Small Church in the Bronx and Yonker's area. I would like to purchase a video tutorial for working with the Device if you know where I can make such a purchase. I would also welcome the opportunity for any trainings that maybe available. Thank you in advance for the time and the attention that you give to the reading of this email and for considering my interest regarding tutorial for the stated Digital Device.
Robert Johnson, D. Min.,
Chaplain and Parish Ministry Services
Email Address: rjshining49@gmail.com
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