Why men have stopped singing in church
Why everyone has stopped singing in church!
I was in a large EFCA church and watched the crowd “worship.” The praise band played and 10% of the church sang. Then the praise team sang a hymn, “It is well with my soul.” I looked around again and witnessed 70 to 80% of the church singing.
Anecdotal. Yes. But it sure looked like the church wasn’t singing because they didn’t know the praise songs.
Blessings.
Even before I read the post, I thought “Because they aren’t sure they know the song!”
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I’ve been in fundamental churches where they use only traditional hymns with piano and maybe an organ and the congregation is made up of people who’ve been there their entire lives and the men don’t sing.
I’ve been in churches that sing a mixture of traditional and contemporary hymns accompanied by non-traditional instruments and the congregation is a mixture of relatively new and long-time Christians and everyone sings with joyous enthusiasm.
I’ve seen new believers as confused over singing some traditional hymns as some long time Christians are with some of the good contemporary hymns.
I’ve seen congregation’s voices drowned out by praise bands and by organs and pianos.
Pick your anecdote.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
It’s because some people aren’t very good as singing. Men especially have a difficult time reaching higher notes. I think the choir director or music leader should choose a key that most people can sing.
And as others have stated. Often times the music group doesn’t formally introduce a new song to the congregation. They merely start playing it, and hope that you will learn it by the time the song is over. And if it is a song that is not sung often, people won’t memorize it.
Have you ever been to a baseball game? How many people actually sing the national anthem?
I think most can’t reach the high notes, so they don’t even bother to try singing it.
Or maybe they are Lutherans. Have you ever tried to sing in a Lutheran church? Impossible. So are Anglican churches.
Half the men have a lower voice and can not sing the melody on a lot of the songs. I much prefer hymns that have bass parts because I can participate without killing my throat. Singing a brand new song, of any sort, off a screen is near impossible.
And let’s face it, and I know I will get some flack here, but CCM style is more feminine in nature.
I have tried to consciously do several things:
1. Break out new songs on Sunday evening (yes we still have that service) and do one song for a month then try to have someone do it as a special number on a Sunday morning then let the congregation try it on a Sunday morning. We do this with any new song no matter how old or new it may be date wise.
2. I always try to remember my childhood pastor’s phrase; “people worship in the familiar”.
3. Several years ago we started using a video projector (and we also have hymnals) it was amazing how people (young and old) started singing out more clearly. We have actually had to teach our elder states women not to frown on the kids singing out. We actually have one senior saint brother who after a service intentionally goes over and thanks the kid(s) for singing out.
4. we are blessed by several men who can sing, and some like myself who can’t, and they are an encouragement as they will sing out and even do parts.
[Pastor Doug H]…Several years ago we started using a video projector
Liberal! (Well, someone had to say it.)
:-D
[Barry L.]And let’s face it, and I know I will get some flack here, but CCM style is more feminine in nature.
I normally do not get involved with the music wars. Frankly, I cannot imagine a bigger waste of time. So I was not even going to ask, but I am curious. What do you mean by this statement? How does one tell that one piece of music is more feminine or more masculine than another? Is there anything inherently wrong with a worship piece being more feminine than another? I am not an educated musician by any means. These are honest questions not intended to start another war.
Andrew Henderson
I attend a church that uses no musical instrumentation and has no special music. So, maybe what I see is rather different.
However, I have visited other congregations at various times and spent a lot of time attending chapel services at BJU, so I have seen something of the side being discussed here.
The church I am a part of is small (about 85 members and about 110 people in regular attendance), but I can guarantee you that I’ve been there for the singing of hymns on a regular basis that would have more volume and zeal than the entirety of FMA on many days that I was there. It’s rather sad when you compare the singing of 110 to that of 5,000+ and the larger number falls far short.
As far as the participation of the men in singing within the church, it is also on the opposite end of what was stated in the article. The men of the congregation by far sing the loudest and participate the most. Each year our congregation attempts to get a volunteer group together to record a CD of hymns, and this past year was done with just a group of men. In a group of 110 people, we had over 40 men give up about 10 hours over the course of three Saturdays in ordert to record the CD. I’d hardly call that lacking in participation.
As for the article itself, several things need to be corrected with it.
It starts out incorrectly in establishing the Catholic practice toward music as the original norm. The Catholic standard of music doesn’t fit the biblical form in the least, as any of the Reformers would have told you loudly and with great conviction. The New Testament pattern is that of the entire congregation being involved. The Reformers went so far as to decry the Catholic form as heretical. Martin Luther called the introduction of musical instrumentation into church music by the Catholics the “ensign of Baal.”
The author completely overlooks the period in which Psalters alone were used for singing in churches. It took the logic and skill of Isaac Watts to be able to break that tradition. If you note, many of his hymns take the words of Psalms and then add in elements linking them to Christ and the Christian. That’s because he overcame the resistance to singing things other that Psalms in churches by turning Psalms into those hymns and dodging around the objections in that way.
The author also seems to have no real issue with congregations pursuing a very contemporary form of worship in music, which is one where I think we can all agree there needs to be considerable restraint and caution.
The article does point out what I think is a serious and increasing issue within churches today regarding their music.
More and more I see what appears to be an emphasis on style over substance. With the growth of choirs, special music, etc we see an increase on the focus of performance and skill over spirit and truth. The thing is that New Testament worship is all about spirit and truth, and God doesn’t really care about skill.
As the article points out, this really is a return to the old Catholic form of worship, which doesn’t match what’s found in the Bible. Sure, we’re not seeing a direct command for people to not participate, but it is an attitude and approach that is leading toward that in many ways. It probably isn’t even an expressed attitude in most cases, but it is one that naturally concludes in church becoming more and more separated from the common people.
This change in music comes at the same time that I see a growing gap being made between what people call the “clergy and laity.” Those terms are entirely manmade (again, Catholic) and create a distinction and separation that is unhealthy. Even during my time at BJU, I watched the gap grow wider.
The lack of involvement by men and by the people in general in things like music in church services today is just one symptom of a larger problem. It’s just nice to see someone noting it in some ways.
[Andrew Henderson][Barry L.]And let’s face it, and I know I will get some flack here, but CCM style is more feminine in nature.
I normally do not get involved with the music wars. Frankly, I cannot imagine a bigger waste of time. So I was not even going to ask, but I am curious. What do you mean by this statement? How does one tell that one piece of music is more feminine or more masculine than another? Is there anything inherently wrong with a worship piece being more feminine than another? I am not an educated musician by any means. These are honest questions not intended to start another war.
Nothing scientific, just observational. Mostly, CCM is in the “soft rock” category. Men tend to gravitate toward bolder, harder sounding rock and strong classical sounds. Example, Monday Night Football themes, military advertisements, etc.. They’ve researched what draws the attention of men. Women tend to gravitate to the softer sounding rock. Just look at the rating demographic for American Idol and The Voice.
I didn’t say that it is wrong to have feminine music, just offering it as one possible explanation of why men don’t sing along with CCM in church.
My theory is that this is a consequence of growing musical illiteracy in general that effects congregational singing. Most hymns are meant to be sung in parts with the top line being the melody. Men are meant to sing tenor or base, while the melody is awkward to sing because even at an octave below, the melody is in an odd range. What helps me is for an organ or bass really emphasizing the bass part (as written) to help men learn how to sing bass.
[Shaynus]My theory is that this is a consequence of growing musical illiteracy in general that effects congregational singing. Most hymns are meant to be sung in parts with the top line being the melody. Men are meant to sing tenor or base, while the melody is awkward to sing because even at an octave below, the melody is in an odd range. What helps me is for an organ or bass really emphasizing the bass part (as written) to help men learn how to sing bass.
There I must completely disagree, on several levels.
1. I can’t read music. I never have been able to, despite the efforts of music teachers in school and others since then. Yet, I have been noted by many as being one of the louder singers they know (I used to get looks from those sitting around me for the first time in chapel at BJU), and I was part of several choirs and even a recording by BJU press when I was younger.
2. I know several men that are terrible singers; with no skill, experience, or even real desire to learn to do better; but they participate in the signing of hymns with vigor and happiness. For someone that understands the emphasis that scripture gives on what singing should be, the way you sound is the last thing on your mind.
3. I actually don’t see a “growing musical illiteracy” at all. I was the odd man out in much of my life in school. Most of those around me had far more knowledge of musical notation and most also played some form of instrument.
[Andrew Henderson][Barry L.]And let’s face it, and I know I will get some flack here, but CCM style is more feminine in nature.
I normally do not get involved with the music wars. Frankly, I cannot imagine a bigger waste of time. So I was not even going to ask, but I am curious. What do you mean by this statement? How does one tell that one piece of music is more feminine or more masculine than another? Is there anything inherently wrong with a worship piece being more feminine than another? I am not an educated musician by any means. These are honest questions not intended to start another war.
CCM is more feminine because the lyrics usually talk about how people feel, and not on the objective truth of the bible. They are designed more to stir emotions, rather than to elevate our minds to eternal things.
Discussion