Does it matter how well we sing?
Question:
Hello Jeffrey,
I hope you're doing well by the grace of God. You have been of tremendous help to me. God richly bless you.
Please, I have some questions that I want your help with.
What I know:
God is the audience of our worship. But when we teach as an act of worship, the priority is to speak the truth and make it understandable to those we intend to teach so they can grasp the knowledge and apply it in their lives. In other words, if all that the teacher is saying is true but he does not put in a diligent effort to make it understandable to the listeners and his listeners, therefore, do not get the message he wanted to send across, he has made the teaching which is an act of worship to be faulty or not done in the right manner.
Please correct me if this view of mine is wrong.
My questions:
- When it comes to singing, does it matter how we sing?
- Can I sing loudly with a "horrible" voice, knowing that God is listening to the melody in my heart, or should I be concerned about my voice and whether the entire song will come out smoothly and audibly so that it can serve as an admonishment to one another, just as our listeners are concerned during teaching?
- The congregation I worship with right now always has a male leading the songs, but we mostly have another male seated among the rest of us holding another microphone who mainly sings the bass part. This is because the first leader mostly leads the song in tenor, and the second person guides those who sing bass. Does this fall under Praise Teams, and is it wrong?
I'd appreciate any Bible passages, articles, or study materials that can further help with these questions.
Thank you so much for your time and help.
Answer:
The two main passages are:
"Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19).
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).
In both passages, the words are emphasized in the songs being sung. The melody is nice. It helps to highlight the words and the emotions they invoke, but singing is about speaking, teaching, and admonishing those around us through the venue of songs.
When I teach singing, I usually ask people to sit up so they have enough air to speak clearly to the people around them. I point out that the punctuation in the words indicates where it is best to breathe. You don't want to breathe in the middle of a word because it makes it less understandable. You want group words because it is how we speak. Odd breathing indicates odd punctuation, which makes the sentence harder to understand. Singing the words together, though not necessarily on the same note, makes the words more distinct.
Note that these methods emphasize the individual contributing to the whole instruction found in a song. When you have your best singers given microphones, the emphasis changes. A few overpower the rest to push people toward singing the right notes. Fewer participate because they lean on others to handle it. If you want people to learn parts, have the parts sit together so they can hear each other.
Does everyone sing well? No. Does it matter? Not really. Rather, is the teaching getting across? Are songs being selected to teach a message? Does that message blend with the lesson and other parts of the worship? Are people excited to be a part of the group, or are they more worried about how they sound?
Don't get me wrong. I love beautiful singing. I've been in groups that record albums of hymns. I'll teach people how to read music and blend their voices with those around them, but I try not to lose sight of what is most important in our singing, which is our message.
Response:
Thank you very much, Jeffrey. This helps a lot.
God bless you.
