# Family Worship and Singing



## Brother John (Feb 18, 2010)

What do yall do in regards to singing in your family worship?

My wife and I are not overly musically talented (we cant carry a tune in a bucket )
We have been singing the Doxology and Gloria Patri for all our songs. While this has allowed our four year old to learn them and our two year old to learn some it has not helped in expanding our bredth of songs. What do yall do? We are thinking about getting songs we could play and sing along to or atleast get the music to sing to. I would like to find music to sing the psalms to if possible. We tried singing without music and it is a disaster. I am all over the place and just confuse everybody. Anyways hopefully yall will have some good suggestions. Thanks in advance.


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## C. M. Sheffield (Feb 18, 2010)

We always sing in our family worship and I would highly recommend it even if you're not musically inclined. We use the Trinity Hymnal. I would have a hymnal for every literate member of your family. Our singing is a capella. So instruments aren't necessary. 

At a minimum, or in addition to your other singing, I would pick at least one great hymn of the faith (_A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Amazing Grace, Abide With Me_, et al) and sing it every night until it is more or less memorized. This is essential with small children who can't read. They'll learn by repetition. Once you feel confident that they have it down, move on to the next. This practice has yielded wonderful fruit in our children. On any given day you're liable to hear any of our children singing these great hymns. And when they're in church on Sunday morning, they get really excited when the church sings one they know!

The Family Worship Book: A Resource Book for Family Devotions

This is a great resource. And it has a number of great hymns to get you started.


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## JML (Feb 18, 2010)

There are several options out there. One option that you could try would be the 1650 Scottish Psalter. There is no music, just the words. If you know a tune (Amazing Grace for example), this same tune will fit every psalm in the Scottish Psalter. Every psalm has at least one common meter version (Amazing Grace is common meter).


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## Brother John (Feb 18, 2010)

Thanks brother. Great link, we are actually using The Family Worship Book as a guide. It is a great tool.


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## itsreed (Feb 18, 2010)

This is a great opportunity to sing Psalms, and further educate your children. My family as well is made up of mostly low musically skilled people. When all our children were little we bought a few copies of the Trinity Psalter. If we didn't know the tune listed, we would match the meter of the tune to another tune we did know from the back of our Trinity Hymnal. E.g., we could sing "amazing grace" to any common meter tune.

We actually were able to sing through all the Psalms using the tunes from just the traditional hynms we knew from church.


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## Brother John (Feb 18, 2010)

Thanks John I did not relize that. That is also very helpful.


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## N. Eshelman (Feb 18, 2010)

Take voice lessons. Everyone will benefit from it. After a few lessons, you SHOULD be able to help lead family worship more effectively. 

Also, pick a tune that you know- Old 100th (The Doxology) is in Common Meter. There are a thousands psalms and/or hymns that are CM- so you can use a tune that you know good enough not to butcher too bad! This will help until you get those voice lessons.


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## au5t1n (Feb 18, 2010)

nleshelman said:


> Take voice lessons. Everyone will benefit from it. After a few lessons, you SHOULD be able to help lead family worship more effectively.
> 
> Also, pick a tune that you know- Old 100th (The Doxology) is in Common Meter. There are a thousands psalms and/or hymns that are CM- so you can use a tune that you know good enough not to butcher too bad! This will help until you get those voice lessons.


 
I thought common meter was alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter? Old 100th is all in iambic tetrameter. Am I wrong about what CM is?

Added: I looked it up. Old 100th is in long meter. (L.M.) But Amazing Grace is in C.M. and will work for lots of things, as will many hymn tunes (e.g. "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds" is in C.M.)


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## Brother John (Feb 18, 2010)

Just to show you our musical short comings, we have and use "The Family Worship Book" by Terry Johnson as a guide to our family worship. But we can not figure out how to use the Psalms and hymns in the back. Can anyone help us with that? Where can we go to learn the tunes that are listed? Thanks


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## JML (Feb 18, 2010)

austinww said:


> nleshelman said:
> 
> 
> > Take voice lessons. Everyone will benefit from it. After a few lessons, you SHOULD be able to help lead family worship more effectively.
> ...



I don't know what Austin just said. It looks like some sort of foreign musical language. 

But Old 100th is Long Meter.

Common Meter is 8.6.8.6 and long meter is 8.8.8.8. What this means is that a stanza of common meter is 4 lines. Line 1 has 8 syllables, 2 has 6, 3 has 8, and 4 has 6. This is common meter. In long meter (such as Old 100th) all 4 lines have 8 syllables each.


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## N. Eshelman (Feb 18, 2010)

austinww said:


> nleshelman said:
> 
> 
> > Take voice lessons. Everyone will benefit from it. After a few lessons, you SHOULD be able to help lead family worship more effectively.
> ...


 
LM, not CM. Sorry.


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## au5t1n (Feb 18, 2010)

John Lanier said:


> austinww said:
> 
> 
> > nleshelman said:
> ...


 
Thanks. FTR "iambic" means the syllables come in pairs with the second syllable stressed. "Tetrameter" means four pairs in the line, and "trimeter" means three pairs in the line. So we said the same thing. 

A*ma*zing *grace*, how *sweet* the *sound* <-- iambic tetrameter
That *saved* a *wretch* like *me* <-- iambic trimeter
I *once* was *lost* but *now* am* found* <-- iambic tetrameter
Was* blind*, but *now* I *see*. <-- iambic trimeter


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## JML (Feb 18, 2010)

austinww said:


> John Lanier said:
> 
> 
> > austinww said:
> ...



True. But yours sounded much more intelligent.


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## au5t1n (Feb 18, 2010)

John Lanier said:


> True. But yours sounded much more intelligent.


 
Thanks, but on the other hand, yours was probably more helpful.


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## Tim (Feb 19, 2010)

This link is a mp3 of 50 tunes that can be used with the Scottish Psalter.

SermonAudio.com - 50 Suggested Tunes for Use With the Scottish Metrical Psalter (Being The Psalter Auth

This links to the first of 5 Scottish Psalter settings. You can get the others as well.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/playarticle.asp?ID=58

I think the key is understanding the universality of common meter and how to mix and match different Psalms and tunes until you are comfortable. You can sing the entire Psalter with only knowing one tune.

---------- Post added at 05:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:46 AM ----------

You can also search for Psalm and hymn midi files. I am sure that various hymnbooks include links to midi files for the tunes in their book. It is midi, so it isn't enjoyable to listen to, but it can teach how the tune goes, and that is the point.


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## itsreed (Feb 19, 2010)

John: for each Psalm/Hymn there is a tune listed as well. I don't have my copy of Terry's book, but I'm sur he has them listed. Pick up the hymnal/psalter you use at your church. In the back of it are a number of indexes. One of theem is a tune index. Look up the tune name for the psalm/hymn you want to sing. It will tell you what no. song in the book that tune is used with. Flip to that page and see if you recognize the song. If you do, simply sing that song (start by humming the tune), and then sing the words from Terry's book.

If you do not know the song in your hymnal/psalter, then go to a different index at the back of that book, the Meter index. Each psalm/hymn also has a meter assigned to it (again, look at the particular song in Terrt's book, the meter will be a string of numbers or letters, usually separated by periods). Back to the hymnal/psalter; in the Meter index look up the meter of the song you want to sing. There were be listed there a series of numbers representing the hymn nos. in the hymnal/psalter. Simply turn to each one until you find one you do know how to sing. Then hum, replace words, and sing.

Sounds cumbersome I know, but after a while it gets easy. Please follow up if I've not been sufficiently clear.


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## C. M. Sheffield (Feb 19, 2010)

The tune will typically appear at the top or bottom of the page in all capitals (e.g. NEW BRITAIN, MARTYRDOM, ST. THOMAS). The name of the hymn is not usually the name of the corresponding tune. 






On this page, we see the name of the hymn (O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing), and the name of the tune at the top right (ANTIOCH). Out beside the tune is the meter (C. M.) which of course denotes "Common Meter."

Now, the meter of a tune simply tells you the number of syllables in each stanza. Tunes will correspond to a certain meter. So, the hymn above shares the poetic structure of every other Common Meter hymn and can therefore be interchanged with every other Common Meter tune. 

So as an example, if you see the hymn _From All That Dwell Below the Skies_ to the tune of DUKE STREET. But you don't know that tune. Just note the meter which in this case is L. M. (Long Meter). Well what tune do you know that is long meter? The most commonly known is THE OLD 100TH or The Doxology. So now you just plug the tune to the Doxology into these words and sing away!



> From all that dwell below the skies,
> Let the Creator’s praise arise;
> Let the Redeemer’s Name be sung,
> Through every land, by every tongue.
> ...



Once you learn this simple fact, the possibilities are endless!

But even better than avoiding tunes you don't know, is learning them! I Highly recommend the Cyber Hymnal for learning tunes you don't know.


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## ChariotsofFire (Feb 19, 2010)

If you use the Trinity hymnal, you can find tunes to sing along with here:

Trinity Hymnal Resources


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## C. M. Sheffield (Feb 19, 2010)

ChariotsofFire said:


> If you use the Trinity hymnal, you can find tunes to sing along with here:
> 
> Trinity Hymnal Resources


 
Of course this link corresponds to the 1961 Blue Trinity Hymnal and not the Red 1990 edition. I actually prefer the Blue (and older hymnals in general) because they are for the most part public domain. Many of the newer hymnals (the Red Trinity Hymnal included) have so many copyrighted hymns that make them less accessible than the older ones.


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## Augusta (Feb 19, 2010)

Tim posted the link to the family singing the first 50 psalms in the psalter to 50 different tunes. He gives the meter and name of each tune before they sing it for you. It was really helpful to me when I was first learning to sing psalms. They use the Scottish Psalter. 

Don't be disturbed with not being tuneful when you sing as a family. God is pleased that you have a heart to sing His word and not what you sound like. I like the following *bolded *verses from the poem "The Old Psalm Tune" by Harriet Beecher Stowe. They say it very well. I really love this poem.

"The Old Psalm Tune" 

*You asked, dear friend, the other day, 
Why still my charmed ear 
Rejoiceth in uncultured tone 
That old psalm tune to hear?* 

I've heard full oft, in foreign lands, 
The grand orchestral strain, 
Where music's ancient master's live, 
Revealed on earth again,-- 

Where breathing, solemn instruments, 
In swaying clouds of sound, 
Bore up the yearning, tranced soul, 
Like silver wings around;-- 

I've heard in old St. Peter's dome, 
Where clouds of incense rise 
Most ravishing the choral swell 
Mount upwards to the skies. 

And well I feel the magic power, 
When skilled and cultured art 
Its cunning webs of sweetness weaves 
Around the captured heart. 

*But yet, dear friend, though rudely sung, 
That old psalm tune hath still 
A pulse of power beyond them all 
My inmost soul to thrill *

*Those halting tones that sound to you, 
Are not the tones I hear; 
But voices of the loved and lost 
There meet my longing ear.* 

*I hear my angel mother's voice,-- 
Those were the words she sung; 
I hear my brother's ringing tones, 
As once on earth they rung;* 

And friends that walk in white above 
Come round me like a cloud, 
And far above those earthly notes 
Their singing sounds aloud. 

*There may be discord as you say; 
Those voice poorly ring; 
But there's no discord in the strain 
Those upper spirits sing. *

For they who sing are of the blest, 
The calm and glorified, 
Whose hours are one eternal rest 
On heaven's sweet floating tide. 

Their life is music and accord; 
Their souls and hearts keep time 
In one sweet concert with the Lord,-- 
One concert vast, sublime. 

And through the hymns they sang on earth 
Sometimes a sweetness falls 
On those they loved and left below, 
And softly homeward calls,-- 

Bells from our own dear fatherland 
Borne trembling o'er the sea,-- 
The narrow sea that they have crossed, 
The shores where we shall be. 

O sing, sing on, beloved souls! 
Sing cares and griefs to rest; 
Sing, till entranced we arise 
To join you 'mong the blest.


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## CatherineL (Feb 20, 2010)

I absolutely love this site:
This Week's Hymn - The Center For Church Music, Songs and Hymns

I actually am a classically trained singer but I use it all the time for finding easy to print sheet music of hymns and excellent recordings of many hymns (usually with full voice parts). I'm teaching my kids to part sing so its been very useful - most of the time they don't hear the hymns sung with harmony in our church. The group that runs the website sell cds of their recordings, but most are also available for free, so you could play them and sing along for family worship.


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## Scott1 (Feb 20, 2010)

Many good suggestions here.

In addition to the Trinity Hymnal, there is a Trinity Psalter. I am finding hearing the Psalms sung on cd is helpful in learning the words and a tune.

At this link you can get the Trinity Psalter and recordings of the Psalms sung:

GCP - Trinity - Psalters

Also, an excellent recording, The Psalms of Scotland (at Ligonier):
http://www.ligonier.org/search/?q=Psalms+of+Scotland&model=store__product

If your convictions allow, and if someone plays the piano, on occasion, this is a great way to get others reluctant to sing and learn the words also.


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## TexanRose (Feb 23, 2010)

Just a note of encouragement--we had a gentleman in our church who could not carry a tune at all. He sang enthusiastically just the same.  My brother put together a few CDs of psalm singing to familiar tunes (recorded from church) and that guy used the CDs to assist with singing during family worship. Eventually, just from singing along with the CDs during family worship, he got to the point where he could carry a tune quite well; in fact he sounds pretty good. So practice really does help.

I think that almost everyone (with very, very few exceptions) can learn to carry a tune pretty well if they put their minds to it and practice regularly. It might take a while--even a couple of years--but what's a couple of years when you plan on spending the rest of your life singing praises to God?

I don't think anyone's linked to this site yet:
Psalm Singing Online - psalm-singing.org


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## SemperEruditio (Feb 23, 2010)

Not sure if this will help but here goes:

His Mercy Fills The Earth: Trinity Psalter Selections (CD)
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals > Listen While We Sing Cds
Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals > Listen While We Sing Volume 2
The Book of Psalms for Singing Starter Kit


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## bouletheou (Feb 23, 2010)

You get better with practice. The voice is like a muscle and singing is like any other activity. Practice causes improvement. Keep at it. I was truly horrible at first and now I'm merely atrocious.

Blessings,
Brian


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