For all questions related to hymns, from notation to history and performance.
Questions tagged [hymnody]
11 questions
20
votes
1 answer
Notes not adding up to time signature, with weird white oval note
Any idea how to play this piece? The notes doesn't add up to 8/4, and there are some white oval notes, which I've never encountered before. Also, what does "Air" mean on the second staff?
Edit: The staves are also connected by braces. Does that mean…
will
- 361
- 5
14
votes
1 answer
Deciphering the series of numbers shown for songs in a hymn book
Consider almost any song in a church hymn book. Either at the top just above the ledger lines or at the bottom near the credits is a series of numbers usually a set of four to six numbers such as 87 87 87 or 10 10 10 10 10 or 88 88 88. They are not…
zundarz
- 285
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7
votes
1 answer
False modulation for doxology in a modal key
I am barely an organist, but occasionally cover for the real organist at my church. The next time I am doing this is three weeks from now, and because I'm a novice, I already have the hymns for that Sunday. In my church, if the last verse of a…
B. Goddard
- 361
- 1
- 6
5
votes
1 answer
Numbers at the start of hymn
In my school hymn book I always see numbers and a name at the start of a hymn, eg
Slane 10 11 10 10
Or 'irregular'
What do these mean? Are they indications for the organist?
S.L
- 502
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- 15
5
votes
1 answer
Why isn't there a 7th note (si) in St. John's hymn?
The solfege syllables (ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si) come from St. John's Hymn, in which the lyrics of the first verse go as:
Ut queant laxis
Resonare fibris
Mira gestorum
Famuli tuorum
Solve polluti
Labii reatum
Sancte Ioannes
The first six…
user71438
4
votes
2 answers
What are the norms for naming new hymn tunes?
Anybody who knows their way around a hymnal knows that hymn tunes have names, and hymnal editors sometimes mix and match hymn texts with compatible tunes. Some of the most familiar hymn tunes have odd-sounding names like Nettleton, Darwall,…
Sam Kauffman
- 423
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2
votes
1 answer
LilyPond - Repeat with Partial Measure at the End
This demonstrates the problem:
\relative c' {
c4 d e f
d e
\repeat volta 2 {
f g
a, b c d
}
\alternative {
{
e2
}
{
e2~ e2
}
}
}
And here's a picture:…
lmat - Reinstate Monica
- 383
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2
votes
2 answers
Homophonic Voice Leading (Hymns)
Apologies if this should be obvious (there's a related discussion here) But, I've only recently taken the plunge into learning music theory and an instrument. I've been reading up on harmony and voice-leading and then studying arrangements of my…
S. Burt
- 351
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2
votes
1 answer
Does the tune of hymn ‘With Harps and with Viols’ derive from Mendelssohn’s Symphony #5 scherzo?
The tune for hymn With ‘Harps and with Viols’ was written by Philip Bliss in 1874:
Mendelssohn wrote his Symphony #5, ‘Reformation’ in 1830,
including this scherzo as movement #2:
They sound rather similar to me, yet I’ve never seen this…
Mark Stephenson
- 23
- 3
2
votes
2 answers
Have I sight read these IΔ7 hymn chords properly?
After sight reading The Scottish Hymnal I am now sight reading The Revivalist and played this one today...
...I ran into a bunch of surprises and I just want to check that I've identified things correctly and have not just made reading errors. In…
Michael Curtis
- 53,281
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- 147
0
votes
4 answers
Time signatures and verse
Recently I challenged myself to set a piece of religious text to music for SATB.
However, I encountered timing issues caused by irregular numbers of syllables in verses, and when to break off phrases.
In the following hymn it is easy since it has 8…
S.L
- 502
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