Input needed to help introduce singing psalms

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lynnie

Puritan Board Graduate
Hi all-

Our pastor was recently at a conference and came home with a desire to introduce some psalm singing to the congregation. (on a side note, he mentioned the Gettys are working on a psalms project but it might be a while until it is out. They do write beautiful songs.) So anyway, he wanted to get some psalms and the music/chords for our song leaders, and try to start singing two or three psalms at a service.

He does not want the real complicated ones that are hard to learn to sing, at least not for starters. My husband and I know plenty of easy ones from our early charismatic days but most of them are real short and we used to sing them like a billion times while everybody clapped and danced and shouted. So I guess a happy medium would be nice- a step up from the charismania choruses, but not too complex either.

Please I beg you don't get into the subject of instruments. We will have a guitar at least and want chords. My very musically gifted husband can figure out anything just from listening to acapella, so feel free to post links to no instruments. I just don't want a debate about that doctrine here:)

Thanks for any links to your favorite psalm sites with lyrics that are good for congregational singing! I will forward this and am sure it will be much appreciated. I look forward myself to singing scripture at church. By the way our official pulpit translation is ESV but it can be any decent translation.

We also have some extremely gifted singers (not me, ha) who sing special music pieces, so if you have anything with the sheet music link that is a gorgeous psalm but real complicated maybe they can tackle it. Three part harmony works. I can pass the links along.

Thanks again.
 
If you are interested, a pastor friend of mine set about 15-20 Psalms to popular hymn tunes. We sing these quite a bit. I can email you the PDFs if you want.
 
One thing to think about if you have new tunes, especially that are more hymn-like (thinking musically like hymns of the Reformation and many Psalters follow this): I am not musically trained, but I think the guitar is one of the hardest instruments to follow along to for an unfamiliar tune (especially with the chords and extra strumming that is usually employed). Piano can be leagues better, but even when having a piano, it's helpful to have a strong voice to carry the tune and lead the congregation. I prefer a capella singing, but recognize that is not necessarily an option. However, you might want to make sure there is not just a guitar when learning potentially some unfamiliar tunes.
 
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Lynnie, the 1650 Psalter is very user-friendly, inexpensive, and you can use a lot of already familiar hymn tunes to sing them. I think Psalm 100 from the Getty conference was sung- I saw a video of it online (to the tune people associate with the Doxology). And there is an app for it linked to by Raymond above. It’s a very accurate translation.
 
lynnie said:
He does not want the real complicated ones that are hard to learn to sing, at least not for starters.
Click to expand...

If you all are already singing anything in Common Meter, then you already have a tune that will work with a large chunk of the Psalms. You all might find the Trinity Psalter easier to sing than the older versions (unless you all are a heavily KJV congregation, in which case, stick to the old).

Here's a site with some tune suggestions for the Trinity:

https://psalter.org/tunes/trinity
 
If you can secure a "Psalter Hymnal" from the Christian Reformed Church, it contains the Psalms set to familiar hymn tunes. They are easy to learn and sing.
But I would second the caution about the guitar. Chord strumming is an exceedingly awkward method of accompanying a hymn (they were not written with strumming in mind), and often in my experience, even a kazoo would have carried the tune better.
 
Get your hands on a 1976 Blue Psalter Hymnal from the CRC :D :D

It has all 150 psalms set to a variety of tunes. Some Psalms have several tunes.

Or, recently the URC and OPC put out a joint hymnal, the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. It would have updated wording.
 
Ben Zartman said:
But I would second the caution about the guitar. Chord strumming is an exceedingly awkward method of accompanying a hymn (they were not written with strumming in mind), and often in my experience, even a kazoo would have carried the tune better.
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Ehh.. brother I don't think this is a fair judgment. Hymns on the guitar can be very beautiful. At our church we generally use a guitar, and many people say they prefer this over the piano. It all depends on how one arranges the songs for another instrument.
 
Ryan&Amber2013 said:
Ehh.. brother I don't think this is a fair judgment. Hymns on the guitar can be very beautiful. At our church we generally use a guitar, and many people say they prefer this over the piano. It all depends on how one arranges the songs for another instrument.
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True. This likely comes down to preference. If one accepts the use of a Piano, then one cannot really disprove of a guitar....beyond their own preference (assuming it is used in a simple manner)...in my opinion. Both make sounds when metal strings, which have tension, are plucked.

If I am not mistaken, in the Prophet David's time, many of the Psalms were accompanied with Harp.
 
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The blue CRC Psalter-Hymnal as very good selections in both parts, but, like the 1912 Psalter, it can hardly be called a Psalter since huge chunks of the psalms are missing. The new OPC-URC Psalter Hymnal also pulls a lot from the 1912 and the CRC, so if you want to start to actually sing the Psalms either the RPCNA Psalters, or the Scottish or Genevan Psalters have all the verses of the psalms in them. Or of course you could chant them if your Bibles had the breathing marks in them, but I only see those in the Luther Bibles.
 
SavedSinner said:
The blue CRC Psalter-Hymnal as very good selections in both parts, but, like the 1912 Psalter, it can hardly be called a Psalter since huge chunks of the psalms are missing. The new OPC-URC Psalter Hymnal also pulls a lot from the 1912 and the CRC, so if you want to start to actually sing the Psalms either the RPCNA Psalters, or the Scottish or Genevan Psalters have all the verses of the psalms in them. Or of course you could chant them if your Bibles had the breathing marks in them, but I only see those in the Luther Bibles.
Click to expand...
 
And regarding the Anglo-Genevan Psalter, the CanRef has a very good translation--international-friendly. If you are multilingual, you can sing those tunes in any language, French, German, Dutch, Engl., etc.
 
People sometimes make fun of Dutch people singing the Genevan Psalter so slowly, but if you go to YouTube for example, you can hear the whole congregation inhaling in unison. The Dutch are much more careful in breathing together. Maybe in YouTube you cannot hear it but if you are there in person you certainly do. Proper breathing is one of the most important keys to good congregational singing.
 
Thank you so much for all of this imput and I will pass it along.

We do have a piano on Sunday, but midweek the guy who generally leads is a guitar player. They'll figure it out.

Good old PB, such a great resource.

Ryan- just emailed you back; I got them!
 
Ryan&Amber2013 said:
Ehh.. brother I don't think this is a fair judgment. Hymns on the guitar can be very beautiful. At our church we generally use a guitar, and many people say they prefer this over the piano. It all depends on how one arranges the songs for another instrument.
Click to expand...
I did not say hymns were awkward to play on a guitar writ large; I said chord strumming was awkward for some hymns. If someone were to play the notes with a guitar (which is one of my favorite instruments to listen to, by the way), any hymn tune could be played. But I have never heard any chord strummer who could play "Holy, Holy, Holy", to name just one, without its being mangled. The meter simply cannot be crammed into a series of strummed chords.
 
SavedSinner said:
People sometimes make fun of Dutch people singing the Genevan Psalter so slowly, but if you go to YouTube for example, you can hear the whole congregation inhaling in unison. The Dutch are much more careful in breathing together. Maybe in YouTube you cannot hear it but if you are there in person you certainly do. Proper breathing is one of the most important keys to good congregational singing.
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Could you provide links? I’ve searched and searched on YouTube for congregational singing from the Genevan.
 
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