Evaluating Songs for Congregational Singing
I’m going to be listening to and evaluating (whether formally or casually) a lot of songs written for congregational singing soon. To prepare for that I’ve been keeping some notes about various ways to evaluate songs. It’s always a good idea to solicit feedback and think critically about our work and the work of others if it is done in a spirit of love and humility. We want our songs to be the best that they can be, both lyrically and musically. This involves a life-long pursuit of growing in the craft of songwriting.
So here’s my list of categories so far with minimal description. These reflect some of my values for congregational singing like the participation of all, theological depth, application to all, etc. I don’t believe that every song that we use must excel in all of these areas (except in having Biblical lyrics!), but my hope is that the song diet of my local church as a whole would rate well in all of these categories.
Rate each on a scale of 1-5, 1=Poor / 2=Needs Improvement / 3=Neutral or N/A / 4=Good / 5=Excellent
- Music
- The music fits and enhances the lyrics
- The range of the melody is singable by a congregation
- The tune is easy to learn
- The tune is “catchy”
- The melody is strong on its own
- The chord progression makes sense, sounds good, and works well with the melody
- The music is adaptable to different styles and instrumentations
- The music is accessible to musicians of various skill levels
- The music is creative
- The Lyrics Are…
- Biblical
- God-centered and Gospel-centered
- Creative
- Clear
- Faithful to the original lyrics
- Good poetry (rhyming, structure, prosody, etc.)
- Applicable to a general audience
- Summed up by an appropriate and memorable title
Reformed Praise presents Martin Luther's setting of Psalm 130 in a fresh, reflective, piano-driven setting suitable for a wide range of worship music styles.
Can I add one? How about
the Lyrics Are . . . Needed.
They fill a void, or clear up a misconception, or express this congregation’s prayer to God.
Looking forward to seeing you again @ WG’09.
Matthew,
Thanks for the insight. At first I didn’t understand what you were getting at but you’re absolutely right. The best songs touch on a topic or issue or model a response that’s fresh and unique (or freshly worded for more ready impact) or timely for a particular group of believers.
I interpret “God-Centered” to mean that the lyrics should undoubtedly point to Christ, rather than singing songs centered around what “we do” for God. For example, a song that is centered on our works, our worship, our raising hands, or how we want to do things “for” God, are not appropriate what we come together for corporate worship.
Jim,
Yes, that’s what I mean by God-centered (sorry for having so little explanation). While I don’t believe that it would be wrong or necessarily distracting to sing about our desire to be holy, to make a cry of dedication to the Lord, or to sing about how we are coming to worship Him, our songs should not be centered on such efforts. Our “works” of worship must flow from a knowledge and celebration of the gospel so our songs should have content about God and what He has done for us, not simply what we want to do for Him. Thanks for making that clear!
Thank you for sharing your insights. A great check list.
The following criteria were mentioned by S. Krishnan at the Worship Project at Tyndale University in Toronto.
Good worship:
Quickens the conscience by the holiness of God
Feeds the mind with the truth of God
Purges the imagination by the beauty of God
Opens the heart to the love of God
Devotes the will to the service of God.
I think it is easy to allow emotions and personal preferences to drive song selection without even realizing it. A checklist slows you down in a good way and disciplines you to evaluate a song thoughtfully and more comprehensively. Since only a limited number of new songs can be introduced it pays to choose well!
One idea to consider when it comes to lyrics is: what purpose does the song fill in the service? Opener, Prayer, Closer, … How well does the song fill that purpose?
I have found that having song categories that cover what we believe is important in every service is helpful and balances our song selection. It also highlights what kinds of songs we are looking for.
I loved your article. Am very interested in seeing your results, when you listen and evaluate songs for congregational singing. I hope to do the same. Our church sang “Arise” this past Sunday, and for some reason, it really annoyed my spirit, especially with the entertaining video they played. (My worship leader later confessed he wanted something upbeat, but that he didn;t like it either!)
I hated hymns in seminary…now i cherish their depth!
Is there some way I couls see some of your opinions/ratings for songs? Thanks Pastor Frank
Frank,
Thanks for your feedback. My initial response about sharing the “scores” or comments I’ve made on the suitability of songs for corporate singing is to keep them private, at least between myself and the songwriter(s), but I’ll consider it and possibly ask writers if they wouldn’t mind having that shared. I also hesitate because the feedback will vary so much based on the particular sub-culture of each local church community. For example, what might be easily singable by one congregation might be very difficult for another.