THREE STATEMENTS often made or implied concerning church music need clarification:
1. Our professional musicians can never succeed in educating the masses to like that which musicians call good, worshipful music.
2. The words of sacred music are more effective than the music.
3. Good hymnody is impractical where there are no persons of sufficient skill to perform it.
The first statement implies that education in worship music is bound not to succeed. Does that mean that we should all accept the status quo as the best that can be accomplished in this important area of worship? It is inaccurate to declare that the professional musician is the one who makes his choice of music good and worshipful. It is not the musician who makes the music good or bad. He simply is able by his training and insight to point out music of superior value for worship.
We depend on experts in various fields to guide us. We trust the opinion of the doctor of medicine because he knows more than we do about the matter of health. No one is sufficiently knowledge able in all fields to depend on his own judgment. So the professional musician (in the area of church music) naturally is a safer guide for us in matters of good hymnody than an individual with no technical training. Maybe we like our own judgment so well that we do not want to change, even to something better.
The second statement that word appeal takes precedence over tune appeal is true in only some cases. In evangelism the words carry a personal message that is most important. If the words are associated with inferior music, for some the message of the words may be nullified by the effect of the music. In the majority of individuals the music reaches the emotions before the words reach the mind. Some are not aware of the words being sung, because the pleasure of the music appeals most.
A flagrant example of this conflict is found in Hymn 538 (Church Hymnal). The words are serious, calling attention to "how shall we stand in the judgment." The tune is gay and cheerful, even trivial or flippant. Very few, if any, are led to think seriously of the judgment and their relation to it when their emotions are delighted by the gay music. The solution, of course, is to have both words and music convey the same meaning. The music should carry the same kind of mood or feeling that is expressed by the words. This is true in Hymn 1, "Before Jehovah's Awful Throne," and Hymn 81, "O God, Our Help." There is no conflict in either of these hymns be tween words and music.
In the third statement cited, the impracticability of teaching hymnody to a few educated in Adventist schools implies that these courses do not take into consideration the practical aspects as found in our churches. If this is true it is unfortunate. Good hymns and good church music are not so because of their difficulty, complexity, or simplicity. There are excellent hymns from the simplest to the most complex. Difficulty and complexity are not the necessary characteristics of excellent hymns. There are many examples of great hymns that are simple and within the reach of all.
The solution to this problem is for the minister to know his hymnal thoroughly. He then can lead his congregation in unaccompanied singing if necessary. For example, a most beautiful hymn is No. 15, "All Glory, Laud, and Honor." The melody is simple. If the minister knows the hymn there will be no problem in getting a congregation to sing it. There are many hymns of similar quality within the reach of the most humble congregation. May the difficulty be in a lack of knowledge of the contents of the hymnal? Or maybe there is an unwillingness to learn new hymns?
A congregation is at liberty to sing any song in the hymnal. There is no prohibition against the use of any hymn. Of course, they are not all of equal musical value. A wise congregation will not be satisfied to stay by a few familiar songs, but will want to increase the number of hymns it uses. There should be an advance in knowledge of new and better hymns just as there is advance in all other Christian experiences.
We should avoid the defeatist attitude, that our congregations cannot learn better hymns, or that we should be satisfied with things as they are. The professional musician skilled in church music can be a great blessing to the church.
