Letters to the editor: April

Guest Columnist | 27 March 2007

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The way forward?

Thanks to Graham Toulmin for raising the difficulties facing church musicians. He is right that recruiting and training musicians is a real issue for churches. As someone who has been involved in a new church plant I understand the issue first hand – at times I have been forced to lead singing to a CD and have played violin to accompany just a pianist!

As a way forward I’d like to add some additional thoughts:

1. The answer is not a return to the past. It should be acknowledged that many old hymns are even harder for under-resourced congregations to sing as they were written to be performed by professional choristers.

2. In raising this issue we must be careful not to discourage our songwriters, who will feel hampered if they feel restricted to writing in a handful of keys.

Therefore, the response of the Church as a whole should be to provide training and tools for our accompanying musicians so they can transpose for themselves. Indeed, today there is music software available that can transpose songs at the press of a computer button. Likewise EMU and their TWIST conference are already providing the right kind of practical training for musicians.

I admit there is a gap in providing ongoing training support. Perhaps we can work together towards developing training workshops that can also be delivered to church musicians in a congregational setting.

Dimity Statheos
Lecturer, Church Music
Youthworks College

Off-key on music mission

Being a non-musician, I appreciated the insight into another world given by Jeremy Halcrow’s feature article. His story highlighted difficulties of which I was genuinely unaware.

Nevertheless, I found some of the logic strange. The article appeared to be assessing music in terms of its missional benefit. But when it came to evaluating the place of brass, string and woodwind instruments, the people who were consulted were Sydney Anglicans.

Can I respectfully suggest that the proportion of people who enjoy brass, strong and woodwind instruments may be higher in Anglican churches than that found in the broader culture? Love or hate the “soft rock” genre, it increasingly is favoured by the non-Christian people we seek to minister to. As much as I want to encourage those people in our churches who can play brass, strings and woodwind, I am not sure it is sufficient basis to do something simply because we can. At one time, my present church had within its congregation an expert recorder player (yes, such people exist!). We used him occasionally, but sparingly.

In music, as in all things, we should do something because it is beneficial to our mission. If our friends and family want to connect through “soft rock”, isn’t the missional response to learn how to resource our churches to play this music?

Mark Stephens
Castle Hill NSW

I agree with Graham Toulmin’s thoughts on the increasing complexity of music now expected to be played. As a new Christian I benefitted so much from joining a church band both musically and from the fellowship.This was in the days of Scripture in Song and Psalm Praises. I could manage this level of musicianship.

Four kids later I now no longer participate in music at my church. I find newer contemporary music too difficult and don’t have the time I would need to master these songs. Only larger churches are likely to have enough musicians who can perform at this level.

Two of my children are learning instruments and it would be great if they could participate in music at our church. However there are no strategies in place to encourage young musicians. Our current church music team does not even have any musicians. Their role is to choose theologically appropriate songs. We now sing to pre-recorded music.
Yes we do need to ensure we are careful about what words we sing. However we also need to enable those within our congregations to use their skills to enable God’s people to praise Him and join in fellowship with each other.

Robyn Gillespie
via email

Silent on the bigger issues in church music?

Much as I appreciate the attempt to construe the vexed role of music in worship as a Mission-driven problem to be solved - there are too few musicians and we need more - the SC articles remain silent on some very important issues.

Music can be an unfortunate battle ground between hapless musicians on the one hand and at times ill-informed and unsupportive ministers and congregations on the other. A number of my Christian musician friends have been damaged in such crossfire. Idiosyncratic opinions such as “Traditionally, the church has used music in a semi-mystic way” don’t help. In comparison the debate over which keys songs are written in is relatively minor.

“Three Big Issues in Church Music” (Big to whom?) almost parodies my concerns in that it promotes a narrow aesthetic vision of “the contemporary worship song”, whilst mimicking rock music’s obsession with celebrity complete with photos and discographies. There is largely silence from those professional Christian performers who make their living sharing their God-given gifts outside the church context. Do they have nothing to offer to the debate or do they only become of value when they bring their gifts inside?

Philip Pogson
Putney NSW

I agree with Phillip Percival that the emphasis in our music should be on what God has done for us in Christ. However I also feel that criticism of songs about what I want to do for God and my love for him sometimes goes too far.

The cheap jibe that any song expressing love for God is a “Jesus is my Boyfriend” song would be equally applicable to many of the classic hymns of the church. In studying J S Bach’s cantatas I have been struck by how personal and yet how faithful to Scripture the texts often are. And the biblical imagery of God as Israel’s husband and Christ as the church’s bridegroom can be quite close to some of these modern songs. [I’m happy to concede that there are contemporary songs that are tasteless and unhelpful.]

There is surely also a place for songs such as “I have Decided to Follow Jesus,” if they are sung alongside songs which remind us of God’s prior dealings enabling our responses.

David McKay
Bathurst Evangelical Church

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