Liturgy Programs/Worship Guides
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    Is there any particular benefit to printing words to hymns with the melody lines? I've found that sometimes people seem to sing up with them and other times it seems to make little difference. What has your experience been?
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,325
    I'm not sure what you mean. Could you explain in another way? Maybe show what you mean?
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    If the hymn is being sung to a tune that is known, it should make little difference, and space would certainly be saved by its omission. I would, though, always indicate the name of the tune above the text, just so that people get used to seeing it and identifying it.

    One of the many things of our time that is 'interesting' is that many people now can (or WILL) only sort of sing if the music is actually printed right over the words, whereas at one time they had no difficulty in singing heartily with the tune at the top of the page and the text at the bottom, as our English cousins can still do with no trouble. Odd, isn't it!?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    Is hartleymartin thinking of the difference between UK and US hymnals: in that UK hymnals print the text as a block separate from the musical score, whereas US hymnals interleave the text and music?
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,325
    That's the only thing I can think of, chonak. Is that what you mean, hartleymartin?
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,092
    In US Catholic parishes, include the melody unless it's among the most well-known Christmas carols (Silent Night, e.g.). It's basic and essential hospitality in this context, no good reason to omit; omitting communicates that pragmatic concerns are more important than such hospitality, which is not a good message to send, however inadvertently.
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