YOU Are the Leader: Keep it Going!

As the Prime Directive of this PHSS-101 "course" states:

"[T]o let the Word of Christ richly dwell in us in all wisdom, teaching, admonishing, and speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace and making melody in our hearts to the Lord (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16) in a decent and orderly manner (1Co 14:40)."

As the song leader, it is your charge to lead the congregation/devotional group/Bible study gathering in worship in song to the Almighty and to keep it orderly.  Some of the things of which you need to continue to be mindful include:

• Pitch: this can be a bit tricky sometimes because you not only need to determine what the pitch of the song is going to be (will you go by the key signature? or will you go by what has felt comfortable for you in the past?), but it is your job to help keep everybody on the same pitch.

• What key is this in? and in what key should I lead it?: If at all possible, it is usually best to lead a song within a half-step or so of the key in which it is written.  That being said, you may run into two problems:
1. What key is it written in?: to determine that, you must look at the key signature of the song, which is that group of sharps or flats written behind the time signature [those two numbers that look like a fraction].  People who have been schooled in music at just about any level usually either have the signatures memorized somehow or have some sort of crutch they use to determine the key of a song.  Others may need to use a "cheat sheet" of some sort listing each one and relating what key it denotes (you can find such a help at "To Help You with Your Key Signatures" by Joseph Chase, along with other worthwhile information about establishing pitch for a song).
2. How do I determine the key?: "Okay, teacher, I know that 'Our God, He is Alive' is written with a D-flat key signature, how do I get that note?" Well, I'd say there are four ways to find the key to sing the song in.

•  Perfect Pitch: some people are blessed with the ability to know what "D-flat" sounds like and can reproduce it by singing it, even to recognize it when they hear it.  If the Good Lord has blessed you with this ability, use it to His glory.
• Memory Pitch: I think this one may be in more common usage.  I personally can hear songs in my head from either the radio or what I used to play in high school band in whatever key in which they were pitched (if I am to lead "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" in A-flat, I easily remember "Song of Jupiter" from my days in band in the same key!).  A fellow song leader at the congregation where I work told me he remembered the pitch from how he remembered hearing other people lead the song.  This is an equally good gift to have and I encourage you to use it to the best of your ability in service to and in glory of the Giver of Gifts.
• Pitch Pipe or Other Portable Tuning Device: when in doubt, use "the pitch pipe".  These can be found at stores that sell sheet music and musical instruments and (at the time of this writing and to the best of the author's memory) can be bought for around $30 or more (check Amazon.com).  There are also apps available for many smart phones and other portable devices that can be used in a similar way.  [In fact, I hope to write a review of several of these apps in the future in this blog; keep an eye out for it.]
• Guess: this option promises mixed results.  Although this may be what you are forced into when getting started in leading singing, I strongly suggest learning one of the other ways to determine pitch.  You'll feel better, and your congregation will be ever grateful for it
• A Fifth Option: Years ago, before I knew how to work with my gift for memory pitch, I would sometimes ask somebody who had a pitch pipe handy if they could give me a pitch.  If this option is available, make sure you ask this person ahead of time if they are okay with you making these requests (and make sure they have their pitch pipe or other means ready at the time as well!).

•  Keep the congregation on pitch!: this can be a tough thing to do as well.  Most groups of people singing together tend to start going flat in their collective pitch.  "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" is written in A-flat, you may begin to lead it in A-natural to be adventurous (after all, it is a half-step higher), but likely the congregation will end the song in the key of F.  The possible reason is that everybody is trying to blend together and they hear their personal pitches at variance with the collective, so they will try to adjust so as to maintain harmony.  That's where YOU come in.  Hopefully your microphone is working well, you are using it to its optimum, and/or you are singing with enough volume for everyone to be able to hear you.  YOU should provide the basis they need in order to stay on pitch (the basses will thank you for not making them "sing in the basement", as it were!).

• What if I want to change the pitch mid-song?: There are only two reasons to change the pitch of a song after you have already begun singing: 1) you pitched it too low or high, or 2) for artistic license.
• If you have pitched the song too low or too high, the best thing to do is either keep on singing it in the wrong key or stop singing after you've finished the first verse.  Most of the time, if you stop and say, "Let's change the pitch on that," you end up singing it in the same key you did before and you're right back where you started.
• If you are changing the pitch mid-tune for artistic purposes (hopefully at the last verse or something like that), make sure you communicate that change effectively.  There are two ways you can do that and I will draw from personal experience with two different songs:
• I used to lead a song entitled, simply, "Jesus" (#595 in the Songs of the Church book from Howard Publishing).  I would lead the first two verses in the key in which it is written ("G"); then, on the last line of the second verse, "On Calvary, my Savior died", I would hold out the last word "died" and raise it a half-step to "A-flat" and begin singing the third verse (a little faster, louder, more triumphantly!): "Empty tomb, the empty tomb; Up from the grave on the third day; He lives again in Heaven to rain; Some golden day, He'll come again...."
• One song I like to lead, and raise the pitch on the last verse, is "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross".  I will sing the first three or four verses in the key of "F", singing the third verse (and fourth verse if I include it) a little more silently.  Then on the last verse ("Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love, so amaizing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all[!]"), on the first word and first note, I raise the volume significantly so people know I am moving the pitch up a whole step to the key of "G".

• Tempo: it is important to establish at what speed we are singing the song. It is equally important to maintain that speed.

• What tempo should I lead in?: That of course depends on the song.  Whereas "Our God, He is Alive" should be sung with a very lively, upbeat tempo, a song such as "'Tis Midnight and On Olive's Brow" should be sung with a more somber, slower tempo.  But even that is open to interpretation, and as the leader you should help everybody stay on whatever tempo you are using.  This is true if you maintain a constant, steady tempo for the song you are leading, but it is especially important if you are going to take artistic license and use a variable tempo.  For example, some folks at my congregation like to sing "Our God, He is Alive" in the usual upbeat tempo for all verses they sing followed by a chorus each time, but they repeat the chorus after the last verse and sing it very slowly with emphasis.  Another example would be something I've done with "O Sacred Head" where I will lead the first two verses slowly and reverently; the third verse, "What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, Dearest Friend, For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?", I lead with a more spirited, lively, thankful beat until half way through that verse when I return to a slower tempo to enunciate that gratitude even further.
• Whatever tempo you wish to use, it must be communicated somehow: I used to be of the opinion that, when someone led singing, it was compulsory for them to use the standard hand motions used by many conductors, whether in educational settings or professional symphonic performances, much like the ones seen in this picture (adapted from http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2008/08/21/what-conductors-are-doing-when/):
  
  
  For those who are interested in keeping such "tradition" alive, the 4-beat motion pictured is utilized on any time-signature using four dominant beats per measure (whether it be 4-4 [often referred to as "Common Time"], 4-2, or 12-8 time]; the 3-beat motion is utilized on any time-signature using three dominant beats per measure [3-4, 3-2, or 9-8 time]; and the 2-beat motion is utilized on any time-signature using two dominant beats per measure [2-4, 2-2, or 6-8 time]).  However, any simple wave emphasized by the hand will work, even if it is just a bouncing hand communicating a down beat every time, so long as it is effectively communicated to the group!  If it is hidden behind the podium, it does no good to wave your hand in any direction or similitude.  By the same token, if the motion of the hand distracts the group somehow (whether it be too flamboyant or some otherwise awkward gesture) another method may want to be sought.  Also, I have heard of using your whole body in leading singing, discussed in an article by brother Joseph Chase of the North Loop church of Christ in Gladewater, TX.  I have yet to see such a method demonstrated in a congregational setting and wonder if the constant movement might be more of a distraction than would the typical direction I have already discussed.  I am not condemning the practice yet, I simply wish to see it for myself before I "pass judgment" if you will (I truly am "from Missouri", after all).
• Don't let the congregation drag you down: YOU are the song leader.  LEAD them.  Sometimes it may seem as though it is one versus several people, several dozens, or even several hundreds of people.  But this is NOT "you versus them"; this is "you leading them."  Just as you do your best to keep them from getting the pitch of the song too low and in the basement, do your equal best to keep them from dragging a lively song into a dirge.

• Dynamics: the volume at which we sing a song is important as well.  Whereas it may seem funny to sing "Our God, He is Alive" in a very quiet, hushed tone, it would be absolutely strange to sing "'Tis Midnight and On Olive's Brow" in a very loud, almost bar room type of fashion.  Most songs seem to have a conspicuous volume at which they should be sung. Many others, fortunately, have markings on them to indicate variety (the chorus of "Hallelujah! Praise Jehovah!" is a perfect example, with its normal volume at the beginning, suddenly going quiet for the first "And His glory is exalted", getting less quiet for the second one, and finally almost shouting the final "And His glory is exalted far above the earth and sky!").  Pay attention to these markings and stress them whenever you can.  Also, be inventive with the dynamics; don't simply sing everything at the same volume or speed if you can liven things up without becoming irreverent.  For example, I like to lead "Night with Ebon Pinion" at a fairly normal volume for the first two verses.  But when I get to the third verse, I like to get us quiet as we sing a version of Jesus' prayer in the garden before His kangaroo trials and crucifixion. So we're quiet as we sing, "Abba, Father, Father, If indeed it may, Let this cup of anguish...."  Then we build up loudly to sing, "...Pass from Me, I pray!", almost as a demonstration of His agony for what was yet to come!  The volume may go down just a little bit as we continue with, "But if it must be suffered, By Me, Thine only Son,..."  At this point, we get quiet again to close it out with "Abba, Father, Father, Let Thy will be done."

In the end, remember: as I said in the title and a few times throughout this writing, YOU are the song leader!  Keep us going! Lead us in our worship in song to the Lord!

--bas4d