Selecting Music for Community Worship

What if I don’t know how the music goes?

If you are considering a hymn that is unfamiliar or new, check out the music and see if it will fit with the musical and liturgical plan for the day. The easiest way to hear the music for any hymn in our hymnal is to visit

www.CommonPraiseOnline.ca

and follow the links to the hymn number.  It's as easy as that.  Listen to the music and be sure that it fits the mood of the service and the specific liturgical function that you're proposing for it.  Is this a hymn that will need to be taught before the service begins?  That's always fun, but remember the two rules about teaching something new:  (1) ONE new bit of music per service, and (2) balance it with well-known hymns so people feel good about the experience of singing hymns in worship that day.

Please don't even dream of suggesting to me a piece of music you've never heard. At least make an effort to find out what it sounds like before asking my opinion. The goal of all this is for you to learn how to select music. I'm sure you'll come up with something that will be just right.