Rules for The Musically Correct

In the last issue of this Journal and at the recent songleader's conference, Joe Ed Furr spoke of the "art" of song leading. One aspect of developing this art is to improve the musicality of the songs. Unfortunately musicality is sometimes considered something one must be born with, like perfect pitch. While an innate sense of the musical is helpful, there are a number of principles that can be learned and practiced until they become second nature.

Before discussing the rules of musical correctness, though, there are two warnings. First, these rules are not absolute. They must be applied with a certain amount of taste and finesse. The real musician is one who seems to break the rules from time to time and still makes good musical sense. Second, a song leader is not a soloist. In order to lead a congregation to musicality, the song leader will probably have to exaggerate tendencies in a way that would be unpleasant to hear in a soloist. Now for the rules.

1. Emphasize the first note in each measure.
   This is especially true in 3/4, 2/4, and 6/8 songs. Try singing "O Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and sing the first note of each measure twice as loud as the others. It makes the rhythm come alive. This technique is not as appropriate with such songs as "O Sacred Head", but it is a natural part of all our music. That is why when we beat time the first beat of each measure is the "downbeat", the strongest hand motion.
   
   
2. Emphasize long notes more than short notes.
   This principle usually coincides with Rule 1; the longest notes are usually the first notes in the measure. When the longest note is not in a place where we expect an emphasis, we call it syncopation, in which case Rule 2 overrides Rule 1. When singing the first line of "I Love My Savior Too", emphasize the second syllable of "Jesus", not the first. This makes the song swing the way it was intended. Another aspect of Rule 2 is to treat short notes that precede a long note as leading tones to the long note. There should be a feeling of movement in the short notes that is satisfied upon reaching the long note. "Heavenly Sunlight" is in 9/8 time and every measure ends with a triplet figure. This triplet figure should not be considered the ending of the measure in which in appears, but as the pick-up to the following measure.
   
   
3. Pitch and dynamics should generally go up or down together.
   This rule probably has more exceptions than the other rules, but it still represents a natural tendency. Think of "Crown Him With Many Crowns" or "Where No One Stands Alone", In both songs the highest note in the song occurs early in the last line, with the pitch going down afterwards. In both songs the high note is the musical climax and should be the loudest in the song. In "Master The Tempest Is Raging" the composer has put dynamic markings in the chorus, but they are not really needed because the gradual rising of the pitch over several lines makes a crescendo naturally occur.
   
   
4. If the pitch remains constant, change the dynamics.
   When one reads Rules 3 and 4 together, he might think the dynamics should be different on every note. This is probably true, but Rules 3 and 4 operate from different motives. There is no music without movement, and if the pitch does not move the dynamics must move to make up the difference. Watch for passages in hymns that have four or more consecutive notes on the same pitch. Be ready to sing these more musically by knowing beforehand how they are going to move.
   
   

These are enough rules to get started. As noted at the end of Rule 4, a key part of effective song leading is going over the songs before the service. During this exercise, one should look for notes that should have special emphasis. What dynamics make the most sense with the music and the text? Where is the climax of the song? A conscientious or orchestral conductor would not think of directing an orchestra without first studying the score in minute detail. The art of song leading deserves no less.

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