Maybe the song selection isn ’ t what we ’ d be going for , but wouldn ’ t you like your Church congregation to sing like that ? There ’ s a lot of joy evident for everyone involved . Including us who watch !
The thing is most of the people who sing in these Pub Choirs are untrained . They don ’ t even consider themselves “ singers ” as such . This is much like most of the people in our Church congregations .
But unlike ( most of ) our Church congregations , Pub Choirs sing ! As the videos clearly demonstrate , they sing with a passion and joy that is obvious to all .
It seems to me that - unlike Pub Choirs - not many church congregations are singing very well these days . I travel quite a bit and plug into a lot of different church services . While there are exceptions , by and large , congregations are politely mumbling along or half-heartedly singing the bits they feel able to .
There might be some hands in the air in some services . Some closed eyes and impassioned facial expressions , but where is the “ voice ” of the worshippers ? I can hardly hear it , if at all .
And I ’ ve been around for a while . I remember how congregations sang when I was a kid in church . How I was surrounded by voices . The people behind me and to my left and right were singing ! I could hear them . Even as an under-confident teen-aged singer myself I felt embraced by the sound of the congregation and confident enough to add my voice . I was a small part of something way bigger than the sum of the parts . We , the Church , lifting our voices as one - declaring the same words with the same melody together . Words that proclaimed the worth of Almighty God .
Today , we who are involved with music as an expression of worship , have amazing resources at our disposal that were not available back then : Planning Centre , Song Select , CCLI , Praise Charts , IEMs , backing tracks , numerous incredible new songs being written by countless song writers whose songs are recorded , resourced , and made available to us instantly , easily , and affordably in any key we want !
Yet , in my opinion , the Church is singing less now than before we had those resources . Maybe less than at any point in our 2000 plus year history .
Why ?
I have heard it said - even by pastors and “ worship leaders ” - that congregational singing is just too hard to achieve . It ’ s not fashionable today . It ’ s a thing of the past . People today ( especially men ) just don ’ t want to sing in public anymore . I gave a workshop for a church that had made the decision to keep their congregation in total darkness during the services and to set audio levels through the PA higher than un-amplified singing . Those decisions were made , in part , because the church ’ s leadership had given up on having their congregation sing . They had decided to make the music during their Sunday services as concert-like as possible .
This line of thinking saddens me . I ardently disagree that our congregations won ’ t sing . As Pub Choir clearly demonstrates - if a crowd is invited to sing using the right techniques , they will ! But it ’ s not just Pub Choir that shows us this . Every popular touring artist will include at least one audience participation moment in their concerts . I ’ m thinking of “ We Will Rock You ” at a Queen show , or “ There Goes My Hero ” with Foo Fighters from my own experience . These
moments when the crowd sings are often ( almost always ) the absolute highlight of the night . The moment of the deepest connection .
But it ’ s also through the coaching I give with
More Than Music Mentor www . MoreThanMusicMentor . com that I have discovered and applied a collection of techniques that can turn a half-hearted , lethargic “ audience ” into a rousingly passionate , singing congregation .
Many of those techniques are also utilized by Astrid Jorgensen with Pub Choir . Have you noticed anything different about how she leads “ congregational singing ” when compared to the typical “ worship leader ”. Perhaps different from how it ’ s done with your church ? Watch some of the Pub Choir YouTube videos . Compare it to the video of your service ( if you have that ). Make a list of the differences .
I intend to unpack the differences I have noticed over my next article ( s ). Stay tuned . Let ’ s compare notes .
Grant Norsworthy founder of MoreThanMusicMentor . com