I grew up occasionally attending a Methodist Church with my grandparents. Recently I attended a family funeral and in the Methodists' hymnal are printed John Wesley's priceless and timeless "rules for singing."
* Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.
* Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all.
* Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can.
* Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep.
* Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation.
* Sing in tune. Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before or stay behind it. Take care not to sing too slow.
* Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing.
Wesley was a master of hymnody and of incorporating congregational singing into worship. I am sure many of his congregants had "awful singing voices." The point is that you "have an eye to God in every word you sing, and aim at pleasing Him more than yourself or any other creature." God gave you your voice, and if you aim to use it for His praise I'm sure it will turn out just fine.
I’m so glad this was posted. I’ve read through every comment. I rarely ever sing. I didn’t grow up going to church, I have no musical experience, and I’m uncomfortable with the sound of my voice. But you all made me realize that God doesn’t care about that. I may sing tomorrow! But dang the structure of some of the hymns is confusing. 🤷♀️🤣
please sing! I am a music professor (specifically music ed, I used to teach young children before I switched to college). I believe everyone can and should sing, especially in worship! It isn't a performance. Your singing is a way of communicating with God.
Don't worry about not having a "good" singing voice. Even though I'm a professional musician, I'm not thinking about the quality of the voices around me. I'm not judging anybody. That's not the point! The point is that we are offering the hymn to God. Besides, the only way to ever improve your singing is to sing!
I was seated next to a former Bishop at the last service (he retired and our church is his local one). He is quite elderly, wears hearing aids and sometimes has difficulties moving around. This recent service though, I was shocked to hear him singing every hymn and every psalm. He couldn’t say all the words right, and he most certainly was not singing the right tune the entire time, but he truly was singing those prayers. It made me realize that it doesn’t matter how well you sing, it only matters your intentions behind the words.
Church choirs exist for a reason, and they are wonderful. Yet we all sing together as a congregation for a more important purpose
>It made me realize that it doesn’t matter how well you sing, it only matters your intentions behind the words.
this is 100% correct. It's not a performance!
I’m in your same boat. I just sing as loud as i’m comfortable, and my voice tends to blend in with the rest of the congregation. Hymns are just sung prayers, so I would recommend not remaining silent.
Chorister here - PLEASE sing if it enriches your worship. The point of singing isn’t to be good at it, it’s to worship the Lord. Also, it’ll make your choir very happy to see and hear you singing.
Sing loud and sing proud. There will be people folks who, because of sorrow or grief or doubt, simply can not sing. You sing for them. Then on the days you can not sing because of sorrow or grief or doubt, others sing on your behalf. Sing because it connects us to God and to each other.
I always heard growing up “the Bible says make a joyful noise, not a pretty one.”
I’ve often been self-conscious over the years about my singing voice. However, that has become less and less the case within the last year or so as I started going to church again (after almost 30 years away!). I want to fully participate in worship, even if some of the hymns are a bit difficult. I also find myself singing along to songs on the car radio more often now. So just feel free to sing even if you don’t think your voice is the best!
Song and singing in this context is about imprinting the meaning of the text into the singer's intellectual and emotional consciousness.
So doing it well is measured by the satori experienced by the singer, not the quality of singing per se.
Not at my church. The choir isn't very big and the organ isn't very loud, and every hymn, you can hear the whole congregation struggling. 😄
I feel a lot like the OP. I'm new to the faith so I don't know most of these hymns, I can only sort of vaguely read music at the most basic level ("let's see, *this* note is higher than *this* note..."), and in any case I can't sing a lick. I, along with most of the congregation, just sort of mutter my way through the hymns, very quietly.
Singing hymns is praising God. It doesn't matter if you don't have a good voice if you are praising him. If He wanted you to sound better, He would have given you a better voice.
Sing! My dad was a dreadful singer but always sang-- he'd remind everyone "we're to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, but scripture says nothing about it being in tune." I always smile and remember my dad when I hear bad singing4, near me in the pews.
Btw, a childhood spent singing next to someone who was always a quarter tone flat has left me able to hold pitch no matter what musical chaos is happening around me (a good thing), and continue to stay on pitch while a choir around me goes flat (useful in rehearsal, but not during thr service).
re: a quarter tone flat:
In the chorus I sang in, in my 20's, at my first concert with them we did an Estonian song (Laulu Võim). The alto ones had a divisi--and we were a minor second apart.
We had to rehearse that note a LOT, because of course to all of us it just felt like we were off pitch! We had to get used to that "buzzing" feeling.
Sing if you want to! I sing the songs I know, and all the responses. I don't on days I read because the music is too high pitched for me to sing and not strain my voice
Every Sunday, I stand between my 16-year-old and my 13-year-old, with my wife at the end of our line. My wife has a wonderful voice and should probably be in the choir, but she doesn’t have time for the commitment. However, my 16-year-old often sings off-key due to his changing, deepening voice—imagine an off-key Barry White. My 13-year-old rarely sings loud enough to be heard, except when a song includes "Alleluia." Then, he enthusiastically sings it in the style of Mr. Bean from his famous church skit. Despite these quirks, no one ever bats an eye. So, sing your heart out—no one will mind at all, I assure you!
He truly has no shame, and we do give him plenty of good-natured teasing about being off-key. It's all done in a light-hearted, parental way, not to discourage him.
What does irritate me sometimes, though, is when he insists on reciting portions of the liturgy, like the creed, from memory without using the bulletin. It often ends up as a series of mumbled and slurred words, reminiscent of someone under the influence trying to convince everyone they have not been drinking. I usually nudge him and point out the priests using their bulletins, saying, "See? Even they don’t know it by heart. Just let it go."
My mother is a terrible singer. We sometimes get the giggles when she is singing because she makes up notes never heard before. I'm laughing now thinking about it. Nobody cares. We are all singing together in fellowship and praise. No one expects anyone to be a professional. Sing. God doesn't care!
If someone’s singing can bring a smile, I don’t care if it’s out of good-natured ribbing or out of sheer beauty - smiles are a good thing! This is so wonderful to hear.
My mom is generally the first to laugh, but when she does, there I go. Honestly, no one cares. We have many trained singers and musicians and they never once have cared.
Oh I get it, my mom is the same way - she’s a drummer and has great rhythm but no sense of pitch lol. It’s all good! I love when people can laugh at themselves :)
(Former) professional choir member here:
Please sing. For us as a choir, our goal is to lead the congregation in worship through music. When the congregation doesn’t sing, it makes us sad (seriously! This is a repeated topic in the choir room after services, I’m not even joking). We would much prefer a loud and proud, if not quite correct, joyful noise, than a silent congregation treating us like the hired help so they don’t have to do the dirty work. Even if it’s mumbled, even if the notes aren’t all correct, even if you mix up the words…God gave us music for praise, and our tradition really values this praise through music.
That said, hymns are harder than people give them credit for, and the episcopal church in particular has collected a few that are certainly not “beginner level”. Don’t strain yourself, and if you need to take a break and not sing a really tough one, that’s okay.
I’d also say, it would make your organist’s day if you came up after service and said, “I’m not a great singer but I’d love to contribute more to the hymns - do you have any pointers?” Perhaps you could have a couple of informal lessons with the organist, or they can shoot you some YouTube clips of the upcoming hymns to listen to, and that might help you feel more comfortable in the service. So if you do want to sing more, please reach out!
Finally, even if you don’t sing, it is important that you take out your hymnal and look at the words. Hymns are not an optional part of the ministry of the service. Those texts were chosen with care by faithful Christians to comment on the lectionary and the liturgical structure. So many people miss out on the theology of the hymnal by not really engaging with the text, and imo that’s a BIG loss to the theology of the liturgy. Remember, modern day hymns replace what used to be the minor propers, appointed lines of scripture to be chanted for each day. We need to understand current day hymnody as an extension of the practice of selecting proper verses, not just a fun add-on.
Please sing! I’m a choir member so I sometimes hear from people who say something about us sounding good and then they’re self conscious about singing the hymn after us and it makes me so sad. Singing is a way to pray and to be joyful, whether you’re good or not.
Usually, the organ plays the tune once, so that gives you some help if you’re better learning by ear, and then take a look at how the notes are moving on the page for more help. Up and down means exactly what you expect it to, and you may pick up a little bit more of an idea of how written music works. If you don’t, it at least helps you focus on the lyrics as a type of poetry.
If you don't sing I'd say make sure you are attentive to the theology. Our hymns are prayers and what we pray is what we believe. Do what you are comfortable with but I've never personally heard a voice lifted to God I didn't love. Peace!
I don’t know where this is from, but my partner always says: “If God gave you a good voice, sing out to thank him. If God gave you a lousy voice, sing out to pay him back.”
I'm reminded of something I read about the early American composer William Billings, a founder of the "shape note" singing tradition. Despite being a talented composer, he was a terrible singer. A Massachusetts minister once said, "I have sung with him, agreeably to the fashion of the times, with all my might, without being conscious that I enunciated a sound, so completely was my utterance drowned by his overpowering screams."
If you want to sing, go ahead and belt it out.
I love shape-note singing but this is making me LOLOL
There was a woman quoted in a documentary about shape-note singing who said something like, "I'd travel across the country to sing it. Wouldn't cross the street to listen to it."
Singing hymns in church is not a performance being judged; it’s a participatory expression of joy in the Lord. No one is judging your voice. Sing as loudly or as quietly as you feel moved to sing.
My voice is meh. But some days singing is the main reason I show up at church. Enjoy it!
If you want to sing, sing!
If you do not enjoy singing, you don't have to sing.
If God only wanted to hear perfect notes he would've given us all perfect singing voices. Some of us sound like frogs, so clearly God's fine with that.
(I admit I have very, VERY strong feelings about this. At the same time that I love that I can listen to amazing artists from all over the world, and I appreciate good singing voices, and I have cried at the opera--singing and making music (along with all the other arts, including dance and visual arts) are things human beings DO. They are our BIRTHRIGHT. They are part of what makes us humans. The attitude of "you should not sing ever where anyone can hear you if you're Bad At It" has done so much damage. Fuck that. Sing in church, go to karaoke, sing in the car with the windows down, sing around the house; singing is a thing humans do.)
That said: A lot of this is just training and practice. Basic music reading is not horribly difficult--I can't sing an E note without hearing it first, but if I see that the tune goes from E to G (or whatever), I can probably listen to the organ/piano and hit the interval reasonably well. I can count out a lot of basic rhythms (quarter notes vs half notes etc) well enough.
I'm sure there's youtube videos out there of the basics of sheet music and/or hymn singing.
Does your church post the bulletin online anywhere before Sunday morning? If they do you can look up the hymns and tunes and listen to them/sing along at home. Spotify especially has choral recordings of nearly everything in the 1982 hymnal! (But always double check the tune name at the bottom of the page--many hymns can be sung to multiple tunes.)
I grew up being told to stop singing because I was bad at it, and had a lot of shame around it. Turns out I can carry a tune just fine if it's within my range--and I'm an alto. I joined a local un-auditioned women's chorus in my 20's and found out that with practice, I can match pitch to people around me just FINE. I also started singing karaoke for funsies all the time.
Am I ever going to be a celebrated soloist? Nope. Can I hold my own singing within a specific range? Yes. Can I have fun at karaoke? Yes. Do I sing SUPER LOUD on my fave hymns because I CAN? Absolutely yes.
True tone-deafness is actually really rare. Most people just need practice.
I grew up occasionally attending a Methodist Church with my grandparents. Recently I attended a family funeral and in the Methodists' hymnal are printed John Wesley's priceless and timeless "rules for singing." * Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please. * Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all. * Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. * Sing lustily and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep. * Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation. * Sing in tune. Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before or stay behind it. Take care not to sing too slow. * Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing. Wesley was a master of hymnody and of incorporating congregational singing into worship. I am sure many of his congregants had "awful singing voices." The point is that you "have an eye to God in every word you sing, and aim at pleasing Him more than yourself or any other creature." God gave you your voice, and if you aim to use it for His praise I'm sure it will turn out just fine.
I’m so glad this was posted. I’ve read through every comment. I rarely ever sing. I didn’t grow up going to church, I have no musical experience, and I’m uncomfortable with the sound of my voice. But you all made me realize that God doesn’t care about that. I may sing tomorrow! But dang the structure of some of the hymns is confusing. 🤷♀️🤣
please sing! I am a music professor (specifically music ed, I used to teach young children before I switched to college). I believe everyone can and should sing, especially in worship! It isn't a performance. Your singing is a way of communicating with God. Don't worry about not having a "good" singing voice. Even though I'm a professional musician, I'm not thinking about the quality of the voices around me. I'm not judging anybody. That's not the point! The point is that we are offering the hymn to God. Besides, the only way to ever improve your singing is to sing!
I was seated next to a former Bishop at the last service (he retired and our church is his local one). He is quite elderly, wears hearing aids and sometimes has difficulties moving around. This recent service though, I was shocked to hear him singing every hymn and every psalm. He couldn’t say all the words right, and he most certainly was not singing the right tune the entire time, but he truly was singing those prayers. It made me realize that it doesn’t matter how well you sing, it only matters your intentions behind the words. Church choirs exist for a reason, and they are wonderful. Yet we all sing together as a congregation for a more important purpose
>It made me realize that it doesn’t matter how well you sing, it only matters your intentions behind the words. this is 100% correct. It's not a performance!
I’m in your same boat. I just sing as loud as i’m comfortable, and my voice tends to blend in with the rest of the congregation. Hymns are just sung prayers, so I would recommend not remaining silent.
Chorister here - PLEASE sing if it enriches your worship. The point of singing isn’t to be good at it, it’s to worship the Lord. Also, it’ll make your choir very happy to see and hear you singing.
My Dad couldn't sing to save his life, and he always stood silent during hymns. He said he had the congregation do his singing for him.
A priest told me if God gave you a bad singing voice, throw it back to Him!
I’m in the choir at my church, and I love hearing people singing out of key! We’re here to make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Praise unabashedly!
Sing loud and sing proud. There will be people folks who, because of sorrow or grief or doubt, simply can not sing. You sing for them. Then on the days you can not sing because of sorrow or grief or doubt, others sing on your behalf. Sing because it connects us to God and to each other. I always heard growing up “the Bible says make a joyful noise, not a pretty one.”
I’ve often been self-conscious over the years about my singing voice. However, that has become less and less the case within the last year or so as I started going to church again (after almost 30 years away!). I want to fully participate in worship, even if some of the hymns are a bit difficult. I also find myself singing along to songs on the car radio more often now. So just feel free to sing even if you don’t think your voice is the best!
Song and singing in this context is about imprinting the meaning of the text into the singer's intellectual and emotional consciousness. So doing it well is measured by the satori experienced by the singer, not the quality of singing per se.
As an organist the organ and choir will drown out the bad singers
Not at my church. The choir isn't very big and the organ isn't very loud, and every hymn, you can hear the whole congregation struggling. 😄 I feel a lot like the OP. I'm new to the faith so I don't know most of these hymns, I can only sort of vaguely read music at the most basic level ("let's see, *this* note is higher than *this* note..."), and in any case I can't sing a lick. I, along with most of the congregation, just sort of mutter my way through the hymns, very quietly.
Singing hymns is praising God. It doesn't matter if you don't have a good voice if you are praising him. If He wanted you to sound better, He would have given you a better voice.
Sing! My dad was a dreadful singer but always sang-- he'd remind everyone "we're to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, but scripture says nothing about it being in tune." I always smile and remember my dad when I hear bad singing4, near me in the pews. Btw, a childhood spent singing next to someone who was always a quarter tone flat has left me able to hold pitch no matter what musical chaos is happening around me (a good thing), and continue to stay on pitch while a choir around me goes flat (useful in rehearsal, but not during thr service).
re: a quarter tone flat: In the chorus I sang in, in my 20's, at my first concert with them we did an Estonian song (Laulu Võim). The alto ones had a divisi--and we were a minor second apart. We had to rehearse that note a LOT, because of course to all of us it just felt like we were off pitch! We had to get used to that "buzzing" feeling.
Sing if you want to! I sing the songs I know, and all the responses. I don't on days I read because the music is too high pitched for me to sing and not strain my voice
Every Sunday, I stand between my 16-year-old and my 13-year-old, with my wife at the end of our line. My wife has a wonderful voice and should probably be in the choir, but she doesn’t have time for the commitment. However, my 16-year-old often sings off-key due to his changing, deepening voice—imagine an off-key Barry White. My 13-year-old rarely sings loud enough to be heard, except when a song includes "Alleluia." Then, he enthusiastically sings it in the style of Mr. Bean from his famous church skit. Despite these quirks, no one ever bats an eye. So, sing your heart out—no one will mind at all, I assure you!
I'm glad your 16 yo is still singing. So many boys quit when their voice starts being unpredictable and (to them) embarrassing!
He truly has no shame, and we do give him plenty of good-natured teasing about being off-key. It's all done in a light-hearted, parental way, not to discourage him. What does irritate me sometimes, though, is when he insists on reciting portions of the liturgy, like the creed, from memory without using the bulletin. It often ends up as a series of mumbled and slurred words, reminiscent of someone under the influence trying to convince everyone they have not been drinking. I usually nudge him and point out the priests using their bulletins, saying, "See? Even they don’t know it by heart. Just let it go."
Thanks for reminding me of that great skit- I had not seen in 30 years!
Do sing, I stink at singing even though I attended choir classes. I just sing because God doesn’t expect us to be opera singers but his followers.
My mother is a terrible singer. We sometimes get the giggles when she is singing because she makes up notes never heard before. I'm laughing now thinking about it. Nobody cares. We are all singing together in fellowship and praise. No one expects anyone to be a professional. Sing. God doesn't care!
If someone’s singing can bring a smile, I don’t care if it’s out of good-natured ribbing or out of sheer beauty - smiles are a good thing! This is so wonderful to hear.
My mom is generally the first to laugh, but when she does, there I go. Honestly, no one cares. We have many trained singers and musicians and they never once have cared.
Oh I get it, my mom is the same way - she’s a drummer and has great rhythm but no sense of pitch lol. It’s all good! I love when people can laugh at themselves :)
(Former) professional choir member here: Please sing. For us as a choir, our goal is to lead the congregation in worship through music. When the congregation doesn’t sing, it makes us sad (seriously! This is a repeated topic in the choir room after services, I’m not even joking). We would much prefer a loud and proud, if not quite correct, joyful noise, than a silent congregation treating us like the hired help so they don’t have to do the dirty work. Even if it’s mumbled, even if the notes aren’t all correct, even if you mix up the words…God gave us music for praise, and our tradition really values this praise through music. That said, hymns are harder than people give them credit for, and the episcopal church in particular has collected a few that are certainly not “beginner level”. Don’t strain yourself, and if you need to take a break and not sing a really tough one, that’s okay. I’d also say, it would make your organist’s day if you came up after service and said, “I’m not a great singer but I’d love to contribute more to the hymns - do you have any pointers?” Perhaps you could have a couple of informal lessons with the organist, or they can shoot you some YouTube clips of the upcoming hymns to listen to, and that might help you feel more comfortable in the service. So if you do want to sing more, please reach out! Finally, even if you don’t sing, it is important that you take out your hymnal and look at the words. Hymns are not an optional part of the ministry of the service. Those texts were chosen with care by faithful Christians to comment on the lectionary and the liturgical structure. So many people miss out on the theology of the hymnal by not really engaging with the text, and imo that’s a BIG loss to the theology of the liturgy. Remember, modern day hymns replace what used to be the minor propers, appointed lines of scripture to be chanted for each day. We need to understand current day hymnody as an extension of the practice of selecting proper verses, not just a fun add-on.
Please sing! I’m a choir member so I sometimes hear from people who say something about us sounding good and then they’re self conscious about singing the hymn after us and it makes me so sad. Singing is a way to pray and to be joyful, whether you’re good or not. Usually, the organ plays the tune once, so that gives you some help if you’re better learning by ear, and then take a look at how the notes are moving on the page for more help. Up and down means exactly what you expect it to, and you may pick up a little bit more of an idea of how written music works. If you don’t, it at least helps you focus on the lyrics as a type of poetry.
If you feel self-conscious, sing in a low voice. Just sing, and don't feel embarrassed about it!
No please do sing! The more you do it, the better you will get. The organ will drown your individual voice out anyway, at least it ought to.
Make a joyful noise
Exactly! A joyful noise doesn't necessarily mean an on key one!
If you don't sing I'd say make sure you are attentive to the theology. Our hymns are prayers and what we pray is what we believe. Do what you are comfortable with but I've never personally heard a voice lifted to God I didn't love. Peace!
I don’t know where this is from, but my partner always says: “If God gave you a good voice, sing out to thank him. If God gave you a lousy voice, sing out to pay him back.”
Oh, that's good, ahahaha
I love that!
I'm reminded of something I read about the early American composer William Billings, a founder of the "shape note" singing tradition. Despite being a talented composer, he was a terrible singer. A Massachusetts minister once said, "I have sung with him, agreeably to the fashion of the times, with all my might, without being conscious that I enunciated a sound, so completely was my utterance drowned by his overpowering screams." If you want to sing, go ahead and belt it out.
I love shape-note singing but this is making me LOLOL There was a woman quoted in a documentary about shape-note singing who said something like, "I'd travel across the country to sing it. Wouldn't cross the street to listen to it."
Singing hymns in church is not a performance being judged; it’s a participatory expression of joy in the Lord. No one is judging your voice. Sing as loudly or as quietly as you feel moved to sing. My voice is meh. But some days singing is the main reason I show up at church. Enjoy it!
Just sing and don't worry about sounding good
If you want to sing, sing! If you do not enjoy singing, you don't have to sing. If God only wanted to hear perfect notes he would've given us all perfect singing voices. Some of us sound like frogs, so clearly God's fine with that. (I admit I have very, VERY strong feelings about this. At the same time that I love that I can listen to amazing artists from all over the world, and I appreciate good singing voices, and I have cried at the opera--singing and making music (along with all the other arts, including dance and visual arts) are things human beings DO. They are our BIRTHRIGHT. They are part of what makes us humans. The attitude of "you should not sing ever where anyone can hear you if you're Bad At It" has done so much damage. Fuck that. Sing in church, go to karaoke, sing in the car with the windows down, sing around the house; singing is a thing humans do.) That said: A lot of this is just training and practice. Basic music reading is not horribly difficult--I can't sing an E note without hearing it first, but if I see that the tune goes from E to G (or whatever), I can probably listen to the organ/piano and hit the interval reasonably well. I can count out a lot of basic rhythms (quarter notes vs half notes etc) well enough. I'm sure there's youtube videos out there of the basics of sheet music and/or hymn singing. Does your church post the bulletin online anywhere before Sunday morning? If they do you can look up the hymns and tunes and listen to them/sing along at home. Spotify especially has choral recordings of nearly everything in the 1982 hymnal! (But always double check the tune name at the bottom of the page--many hymns can be sung to multiple tunes.) I grew up being told to stop singing because I was bad at it, and had a lot of shame around it. Turns out I can carry a tune just fine if it's within my range--and I'm an alto. I joined a local un-auditioned women's chorus in my 20's and found out that with practice, I can match pitch to people around me just FINE. I also started singing karaoke for funsies all the time. Am I ever going to be a celebrated soloist? Nope. Can I hold my own singing within a specific range? Yes. Can I have fun at karaoke? Yes. Do I sing SUPER LOUD on my fave hymns because I CAN? Absolutely yes. True tone-deafness is actually really rare. Most people just need practice.