HOW-TO: Teach a New Song to a Congregation

Editor’s Note: The following was written by Nathan Burggraff, assistant professor of music theory at The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This article originally appeared in the spring 2020 issue of Southwestern News (pg. 27).

One hurdle that contemporary church­es have in teaching new songs to their con­gregations is the lack of a musical score from which church members can read (i.e., a hym­nal). Because of this, song leaders have to be creative in effectively teaching new songs to the congregation.

When teaching a new song, consider the fol­lowing principles:

1. Acquaintability: Before attempting to have the congregation sing a new song, provide familiarity by first introducing the song as a solo or choir special. This will allow the congregation to become acquainted with the melody before attempting to sing it. Also consider using the new song in a pre-service playlist or emailing an audio/video link of the song to church members.

2. Audibility: When introducing a new song, make sure the melody is audible to the congregation and that the melodic line is sung without improvisation. Church members learning a new song rely on the song leader to present a clear melody that they can follow.

3. Accessibility: When singing a congregational song, choose a key that makes the melody line accessible to the congregation, not necessarily what is most comfortable for the music leader or praise team. Strive to keep the melody line within the voice range overlap of all voice types.

After introducing a new song to the congregation, repetition becomes essen­tial. This means singing the same song multiple weeks in a row, maybe as a new “song of the month.” Think about it: while song leaders and praise team members rehearse a song multiple times a week, the congregation often only hears the song on Sunday morning. Hearing the song several weeks in a row will greatly benefit them.

Finally, do not overload the congrega­tion with new songs. Part of the joy of corporate singing is being confident in knowing the songs sung in order to par­ticipate. This only happens with repeated singing. A good rule of thumb is to teach one new song per month, which provides 12 new songs per year.

By implementing these principles, you will be more effective in teaching new songs in a way that promotes congrega­tional participation.