Worship Tunes

The following criteria guide the selection of worship tunes:

1. They should be well crafted (Psalm 33:3), blending melody, harmony, and rhythm in balanced proportions.

2. They should be lovely (Philippians 4:8), exhibiting true beauty by reflecting the beauty of God (Psalms 27:4; 50:2; 96:6).

3. They should be universal in their appeal. By this I mean that they should avoid narrow generational or cultural classification in the same way that psalms transcend sect, race, generation, and party. . . . The best tunes in our hymnals, Psalters, and songbooks do just this. Because they tap into universal aesthetic principles, they transcend the “cultural moment”—the time, place, and group out of which they have arisen—and appeal broadly. Whether our tunes have medieval Jewish, Greek, or Latin roots or arise out of the timeless European folk traditions or are of African, Asian, Latin American, or contemporary origins, they should appeal beyond the circumstances of their composition.

4. They should be emotionally suited to the words. Centuries ago Augustine wrestled with the relationship between the words and the tune. He was eager in the first instance that the tune should never overpower the words. Indeed in his Confessions he labels it “a grievous sin” when he finds “the singing itself more moving than the truth which it conveys.” He also argued that the tune should fit the words, the sound correspond to the mood communicated by the words. Augustine’s view is that “there are particular modes in song and in the voice, corresponding to my various emotions and able stimulate them because of the mysterious relationship between the two.” The tunes should fit the words, matching their mood or tone.

5. They sould be singable. That is, they should not be beyond the reach of the congregations. They should not be overly difficult because of complexity or what Witvliet calls “idiosyncratic rhythms.” Neither should they be comparatively trite, insulting the taste and ability of the congregation (what we might call the “Deep and Wide” phenomena). Again, wisdom is needed.