rhythm

A well-crafted hymn tune is essential for expressing the meaning of a text. Composing hymn tunes, then, is an important task that ultimately makes a hymn text singable and “pray-able.” To write an effective tune, the composer must meet poetic, musical, and liturgical criteria.

“Sing to the Lord a new song” proclaims the Psalmist in Psalm 98. Ever since the days of the Psalmist, composers and poets have been faithful to this command and have been inspired to write “new songs” to praise God and edify the church. The following thoughts reflect how I have been motivated and what methods I have used to provide the church with a “new song” to sing.

I began writing hymn tunes the same year that I began directing my first church choir. I was looking for hymns that would serve as choral closings for a service, and I grew frustrated. Although I found some excellent evening hymns, they were set to some very disappointing tunes. Brashly thinking that I could do better, I composed my first hymn tune to the evening hymn “The Day Is Past and Over,” which I found in The English Hymnal. It served well as a choral closing for my church choir and its use in worship inspired me to continue the search for “serviceable” texts and to compose new tunes for them. Before long I had composed my first five hymn tunes, which were all choral closings written for my church choir. Since then my interest in hymn tune composing has broadened beyond close-of-worship hymns, and I have composed hymn tunes for a wide variety of hymn texts.

My greatest inspiration for composing hymn tunes is the desire to fulfill a liturgical need. Knowing that what I write will be used by eager choir members is further motivation for bringing to worship something fresh and new. However, after the need has been identified and a suitable text has been found, the question of how one composes a hymn tune must be addressed.

The first step in the process of composing a hymn tune begins with the hymn text. Only after a hymn text has been studied and the structure and meaning of the text is fully understood can the composer begin to write a hymn tune that reflects an inevitable and necessary union between text and tune. When the purpose and focus of the text is fully understood, only then can the composer begin to make decisions that reflect a similar purpose and focus in the hymn tune. Items such as the mood of the text, poetic accents, and significant words are considered, and then musical decisions such as the choice of mode (major, minor, etc.), the choice of meter (3/4, 4/4, etc.), and the placement of the musical climax are made.

The second step in the process is the actual composing of the hymn tune. It involves a continuous process of rejecting, rewriting, and accepting musical ideas. Each composer establishes a routine and finds a comfortable place for doing the composing. I myself prefer to do my composing away from a keyboard, just singing various musical ideas while composing—after all, a hymn is essentially sung music. Only later when refining the harmony do I go to a keyboard.

This entire process is governed by certain rules of composition, not to be held as absolute, but to be used as guidelines. These rules, or guidelines, provide a fairly predictable framework, and they separate the composer of the hymn tune from other composers. All composers, of course, follow guidelines. But the guidelines a hymn composer follows are unique, partly because of the audience. As a group, these people—a congregation largely made up of untrained singers—have neither the skill nor the training to sing music that is too complicated. The composer must keep that in mind while, at the same time, giving the congregation a hymn that will challenge them.

Four major guidelines which I consider important for the hymn tune composer are as follows:

1. The melody must be simple enough for a congregation of untrained singers to sing after just one hearing of the tune. A predominantly stepwise melody with a judicious use of leaps and unisons is the norm. The range of the melody must be a comfortable one (usually from middle C to the second D above middle C). One of the strengths of the tune hyfrydol can be attributed to the natural flow of the predominantly stepwise melody.
2. The harmony must support the melody, not overwhelm it. If the tune is intended to be sung in unison, then the keyboard harmony may be slightly more elaborate. If the tune is intended to be sung with other voices singing harmony, the harmonic lines should possess some melodic interest of their own. Sydney Nicholson’s crucifer (“Lift High the Cross”) is a good example; it has a unison refrain with a very active but supportive harmony. The refrain is followed by the stanza, which is usually sung in four-part harmony.
3. The rhythm of the melody should closely match the rhythm of the hymn text. A reading of the hymn text using the rhythm of the hymn tune should result in an effortless rhythm that propels the text forward. This works very well when the text “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” is read to the rhythm of the tune lobe den herren. The rhythm contains mostly quarter notes, but the occasional dotted quarter, eighth, and dotted half notes bring attention to the melody and the text at those points.
4. The climax of the text should coincide with the climax of the melody. After the climax of the text has been determined (ideally in the same place in each stanza), the composer must try to create a climax in the same place in the tune. The climax of the text could be set to a note that is higher (tonic accent) or longer (agogic accent) than any other note. Often the note that marks the climax of the text and tune is both the highest and longest note of the melody. The climax of the tune veni immanuel (“O Come, O Come, Immanuel”) is clearly the second note of the refrain. This note is its highest and longest note and also coincides with the climax of the text at that point: “Rejoice!”

The third step in the process is the critical stage of self-evaluation. After the hymn tune has been written, I have found it valuable to set it aside for several days. I then come back to it and review what I’ve written. Sometimes I’m confronted with some unsatisfactory composing that needs major revision, but usually, I find that just a note or two requires change.

After its completion, I find that having my choir sing the tune will give me a good indication if the tune has any future life. I listen to what they have to say to me about the tune, and just as important, I listen to their singing of the tune. I can usually get a very good indication of whether the tune will have any use beyond the initial trial run with my choir. If it passes the test, I may use it during worship if its singing fulfills a liturgical need.

Composing a successful hymn tune is not an easy task. It requires a creative mind, a thorough knowledge of the craft of composition, a sensitivity to the hymn text, a knowledge of the capabilities of the singing congregation, a great deal of discipline, and a good measure of patience. If you can coordinate all of these attributes into the creative effort of composing a hymn tune, your rewards will be great. You will be numbered among the thousands of composers and poets who gave to the church and to the Lord a “new song” to sing.