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Author Thread: Hymns and contemporary christian and chorus songs.
ValSanDiego

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Hymns and contemporary christian and chorus songs.
Posted : 22 Oct, 2010 11:43 AM

What is the difference between a hymn and christian and chorus songs? Do any of you have any idea about that?

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Hymns and contemporary christian and chorus songs.
Posted : 23 Oct, 2010 04:07 PM

This is one of my favorite topics. :) I'm a double major in Church Music and Christian Worship. :)



Rarely is this known, but the word "hymn" refers only to the text. It has nothing to do with the music set to it. A hymn TUNE is the music that accompanies the text. One hymn tune can actually be set to multiple texts.



Praise choruses are repetitive. Often there isn't a lot of theological depth to the song, which makes them a little more ideal for a seeker-sensitive service. While they may have multiple verses, typically there is a chorus that is repeated over and over again. For example, Here I Am to Worship. The chorus is repeated numerous times: "Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God.." etc etc. Many worship choruses and praise songs seem to be written for an emotional "high" so to speak (although not always).



Hymns are typically more congregational in nature versus the "I" or "me" tone of a praise chorus. Don't get me wrong; a hymn can address God personally instead of congregationally (I Love You Lord) and a chorus can include the congregation (Made to Worship). But more often than not, this the former is the trend.



We're seeing a trend among younger generations; they're wanting to do away with hymns and only have praise choruses. This is dangerous for many reasons. Praise choruses don't have the textually beautiful lyrics that hymns often have. Some praise choruses also present Jesus as someone who wants to woo you over. Jesus didn't come to be anyone's boyfriend. In no way is that Scriptural. The problem this presents among our younger worshippers is they're starting to see worship as an emotional event. If they aren't moved to the moon in back by a song, then it wasn't "really" worship. This makes worship about us and not about God, which is totally wrong. Hymns tend to be more God focused than anything.



If I had my way, I'd do revitalized hymns. :) Not everyone appreciates the hymn tunes themselves, which is why I love when bands/worship leaders re-write the music to their favorite hymns. I think both hymns and praise choruses have their place, but we must be careful how we place them.



Hope it helps!

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ValSanDiego

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Hymns and contemporary christian and chorus songs.
Posted : 26 Oct, 2010 11:26 AM

Thanks Hannah. Very good description of the difference. I will share it with my friend who does worship at our local Rescue Mission. She was the one who asked me that question.

Blessings,

Valerie

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Tulip89

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Hymns and contemporary christian and chorus songs.
Posted : 29 Oct, 2010 10:53 PM

As a fan of Red Mountain Church music and Indelible Grace, it saddens me to see the attitudes of so many Christians today when it comes to worship. Too many of them want flashing lights and pulsing beats but nothing deeper. Anything that's old must be bad, and anything that is new must be good.

I don't know if I agree with you about the congregationality (I just made that a word) of hymns. Most of the hymns I know use a lot of "I" and "me" because they're almost prayers. "My Jesus I Love Thee," "Jesus Lover of My Soul," "Give Me Christ or Else I Die," "Amazing Grace," "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed," "And Can It Be," etc. just off the top of my head...

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Joy2theW0rld

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Hymns and contemporary christian and chorus songs.
Posted : 9 Dec, 2010 08:37 PM

@ MissHannah I like how you explained this



Most hymns that use the same tunes were written over 80 years ago which made me assume that the tunes were very popular. An example is Beethoven's Hymn to Joy which was used as a tune for Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee and Sing with All the Saints in Glory.

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