Hymnary advice

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Comments

  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    It works best if it slowly speeds up, verse by verse.

    Gets it over with I suppose.
  • TwangistTwangist Shipmate
    KarlLB wrote: »
    It works best if it slowly speeds up, verse by verse.

    Gets it over with I suppose.

    I knew a chap who refused to play it many years ago. He played all the other songs that Sunday...
    The faux hebraic songs that were in fashion in the 70s and 80s do seem to have died a death.
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    Twangist wrote: »
    KarlLB wrote: »
    It works best if it slowly speeds up, verse by verse.

    Gets it over with I suppose.

    I knew a chap who refused to play it many years ago. He played all the other songs that Sunday...
    The faux hebraic songs that were in fashion in the 70s and 80s do seem to have died a death.

    One of the verses of the spoof version goes "They often have a somewhat Jewish melody"
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    @Piglet Am I missing something, would you not need the full music version for the choir and leave the melody only (or even words only) for the congregation?
    The "choir", such as it is, is just a few people who sit at the back* of the church and sing the melody. None of them claims to be able to read music, and while they can hold the melody if there's someone singing it strongly enough, I don't think any of the ladies could really make much sense of an alto part. The guitarist's wife, who is also one of the volunteer organists, sometimes adds a bit of harmony the chorusy type songs, which is nice, but she's not always available.

    As I maybe mentioned above, the gentlemen** sometimes add tenor or bass, but in a rather approximate fashion. From that perspective, I don't reckon full score books would be of much value.

    * There's no space at the front, and no choir stalls; the most sensible place for the singers is at the back, where we can drive the singing from behind, as it were!

    ** sadly, one of our two gentlemen is unwell and not coming to church just now. He's also 93, and although still not a bad singer, I suspect we may not have his company again. :cry:
  • KarlLBKarlLB Shipmate
    The difference between the American assumption that the congregation can read music and benefit from a full score while in the UK we can't even expect the choir to be able to read music is striking.

    We teach this stuff in school so I don't understand why.
  • ThunderBunkThunderBunk Shipmate
    I would be surprised if anyone in the last 30 years has learned to read music in non-specialist UK state schools.
  • I didn’t learn to read music in 1970s/1980s state school (council estate in a deprived area).
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