It has been a little too long since I launched CMAA's GitHub presence, and since then there has not been as much activity as I would have hoped. We're all busy people, and I know it isn't exactly apparent to everyone why or how GitHub (specifically) or an Open Source approach to the creation music and liturgy resources (generally) could be used.

To remedy that, I have created a new project I hope at least some of you will contribute to: The Open Metrical Psalm project.

(Please, please, please, spare us all the negative comments about metrical psalms as a genre.)

Of the infinite number of good ideas available, this has been chosen because it is easy to think about, finite in scope, and doesn't require understanding or dealing with some of the more complex technologies for Open Source music creation (like Lilypond or Gregorio).

This is a TEXT BASED PROJECT, which I hope will provide a platform for the following:

• Giving non-tech people a way to learn about and interact with GitHub
• Demonstrating the techniques and philosophy of Open Source content creation
• Providing an example of "Open Source as Infrastructure"
• Encouraging ecumenical and inter-association community work
• Additionally, if we create something really useful, and have the opportunity to practice our hymn-writing skills, that would be even better.

The rest of this post is about what this whole thing is about and how to contribute. If you have been wondering how to even use git and GitHub, this would be a good thing to dive into (tutorial provided), and if you're just curious about Open Source content in general, this is also for you.