Congregational Singing

   Singing by lay congregants in a worship service. Most major religious traditions have some form, but the practice varies widely. At one extreme is a Buddhist burial service, which is sung entirely by the priest, and at the other might be an American revival where everyone present sings every praise chorus. Many traditions combine the professional singing of a cantor or priest and congregational singing.

   The principal constraints on congregational singing are technical: the music must be simple enough for musically untrained members of a culture, the great majority, to learn quickly and execute, especially in cultures where printed matter is not traditional. Refrains with simple texts, strophic forms, and other repetitive forms are common strategies. Direct settings of sacred writings such as the Bible, the Vedas, the Qur’ān, etc., are generally too complex. As one solution, ancient Jewish psalmody employed brief responsorial interpolations such as Hallelujah sung by the congregation within a psalm chanted by the soloist. More common are metric paraphrases of sacred texts or original hymns.

   See also Bhajan; Chorale; Descant; Dhikr; Gospel Song; Kirtana; Lekha Dodi; Lauda; Lining Out; Niggun; Piyyut; Qawwali; Responsory; Songs of the Hajj; Spiritual; Tongue-Singing; Zemirot.