The Center For Church Music, Songs and Hymns

Music & Worship

Singing Hymns vs Praise and Worship

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Hymnody	'Praise & Worship' (CCM) Music
Written for congregational singing.	Written for performance.
Words (hymn) and music (hymn tune) are interchangeable, yet the music submits to the words.	No such flexibility, as the words are subsumed into the music.
Long shelf life: Good hymns last for centuries and are passed on for generations.	Short shelf life: The most popular praise songs last a few years, rarely more than a generation.
Four-part harmony and wide musical range, contributing to vibrant congregational singing.	Limited musical range; sung in unison style that does not lend itself to strong congregational singing.
Contains varying degrees of structure complexity derived from its strong musical heritage.	Structurally weak ans the music is derived from simplistic popular form.
Values the interrelationship of melody, rhythm, and harmony	Melody dominates the structure of the music
Represents the liturigical heritage and choral tradition of generations: In this way, hymns are incarnational.	Reflects an attempt to escape or reject that heritage: In this way, choruses are Gnostic.
Reflects a normative understanding of culture; sees music as having inherent value and beauty, something good in and of itself.	Reflects a relative understanding of culture; reduces musical forms to a utility, as means to 'reaching people.'
Pipe organ friendly	Guitar based
Natural acoustics work best	Electronic amplification a necessity
Uses poetic meters	Poetry and meter not a concern
Masculine & robust	Feminine
Maintains aesthetic standards	Lowers aesthetic standards
Antidote to the current cultural disorder	Reinforces the current cultural disorder
Favored by churches with origins in the Protestant Reformation	Favored by churches of more recent origin--"non-Reformation Protestant" churches.

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