{"id":14020,"date":"2016-09-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hearandplay.com\/main\/?p=14020"},"modified":"2024-10-07T17:29:49","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T01:29:49","slug":"heres-what-happens-85-of-the-time-while-playing-hymns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hearplaymain.wpenginepowered.com\/heres-what-happens-85-of-the-time-while-playing-hymns\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Approach An Unfamiliar Hymn In 4 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want to learn how to approach an unfamiliar hymn, then this lesson is for you!.<\/p>\n

Although this lesson is written with the intermediate player in mind, beginners and pre-advanced players alike can benefit from this lesson.<\/p>\n

Let’s get started by taking a look at the structure of hymn songs.<\/p>\n

A Short Note On Hymns<\/h2>\n

Although hymns are songs, what sets them apart from regular songs is their structure and we’ll be discussing that in this segment.<\/p>\n

A hymn is a conventional<\/em> song that is usually sung as a praise unto God. Hymns are said to be conventional songs because their composers are exposed to classical music training, and tend to follow long-established principles of composition.<\/p>\n

The chorus of a vast majority of hymns consists of two parts (aka – “phrases”) and each phrase usually has two lines.<\/p>\n

“Check Out The Following Hymns…”<\/em><\/p>\n

Example #1 – “Holy, Holy, Holy”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!<\/span>
\n Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.<\/span>
\nHoly, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,<\/span>
\n God in three persons, blessed Trinity!<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

The hymn above has two phrases (or parts). The first phrase is in blue, while the second phrase is red.<\/p>\n

Example #2 – “Blessed Assurance”<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed assurance, Jesus is mine!<\/span>
\n Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!<\/span>
\nHeir of salvation, purchase of God,<\/span>
\nBorn of His Spirit, washed in His blood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The hymn above also has two phrases. The first phrase is in blue, while the second phrase is red.<\/p>\n

Example #3 – “To God Be The Glory”<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTo God be the glory, great things He hath done,<\/span>
\n So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,<\/span>
\nWho yielded His life our redemption to win,<\/span>
\n And opened the life-gate that all may go in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The hymn above also has two phrases. The first phrase is in blue, while the second phrase is red.<\/p>\n

“We can go on and on…”<\/em><\/p>\n

From the three examples you’ve seen in this segment, it’s clear that a large number of hymns are structured to have two phrases. To take us to the next level in this study, I’ll be giving you a detailed explanation on the rationale behind the two-phrase structure of hymns.<\/p>\n

An Exposition On The Two Phrases In A Hymn<\/h2>\n

The two phrases in a hymn have their individual functions, the first phrase (usually consisting of two lines) is structured to sound like a question, while the second phrase is structured to sound like an answer to the question of the first phrase.<\/p>\n

Let’s break up our hymn examples of the previous segment into question and answer phrases<\/p>\n

In the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Question:<\/p>\n

“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!<\/span>
\n Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:
\nHoly, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,<\/span>
\n God in three persons, blessed Trinity!<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

In the hymn “Blessed Assurance”<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question:<\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed assurance, Jesus is mine!<\/span>
\n Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:
\nHeir of salvation, purchase of God,<\/span>
\nBorn of His Spirit, washed in His blood.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Hymn “To God Be The Glory”<\/em>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo God be the glory, great things He hath done,<\/span>
\n So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,<\/span><\/p>\n

Answer:
\nWho yielded His life our redemption to win,<\/span>
\n And opened the life-gate that all may go in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The first line of each of the phrases have the same melody, and that’s why \u201cTo God be the glory, great things He hath done<\/em>“, <\/span>and “Who yielded His life our redemption to win,” <\/span><\/em>have the same melody even though they belong to two different phrases.<\/p>\n

However, it is important to note that the first phrase ends in chord 5, while the second phrase ends in chord 1.<\/p>\n

Ending a phrase in chord 1 sounds satisfactory because chord 1 (aka – “the tonic chord<\/a>“) is the most stable chord in any key, while ending a phrase in chord 5 (aka – “the dominant chord<\/a>“) sounds unsatisfactory.<\/p>\n

It is not a coincidence that the first phrase has an unsatisfactory end, which creates the question that the second phrase (that has a satisfactory end) will answer.<\/p>\n

“Check Out This Example In The Key Of C…”<\/em><\/p>\n

First Phrase Of the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!<\/span>
\n Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee:<\/span>
\n
\nAttention<\/strong>: Phrase ends in chord 5, creating an unsatisfactory end – a question.<\/p>\n

Second Phrase Of the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,<\/span>
\n God in three persons, blessed Trinity:<\/span>
\n
\nAttention<\/strong>: Phrase ends in chord 1, creating a satisfactory end – an answer to the first phrase.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, there are two phrases to expect while playing a hymn – the question and the answer phrases. The former ending in chord 5 and the latter in chord 1.<\/p>\n

How To Approach An Unfamiliar Hymn<\/h2>\n

If you’re an experienced church musician, then you must have found yourself in a situation where you’ll have to play an unfamiliar hymn. I’ve found myself in such situations severally and trust me it can be embarrassing if you don’t have a clue of what to do.<\/p>\n

With what we’ve covered in this lesson, you [or anyone] can confidently approach an unfamiliar hymn. So, here are 4 steps to approaching an unfamiliar hymn:<\/p>\n