Should We "Modernize" Hymns? PART 2

Should We "Modernize" Hymns? PART 2 (of 2)
Alden Powers, Music Director @Roosevelt Community Church

4. Changing the lyrics

In some rare instances, it may be necessary to alter the lyric of the hymn. This should be exercised with caution though, since the great lyrics are why we are reviving these hymns in the first place. Many older hymns use language, grammar and words that are no longer in use in everyday speech. For example, the hymn How Sweet and Awful is This Place would not be understood properly by a modern congregation because the word awful, originally meaning “full of awe”, is not used that way anymore. Now the word means something that is really bad. This song would be a good candidate for a lyric change.

When I change lyrics, I usually only change one or two words that might replace the archaic words. I might change the “thees” to “yous” and the “doths” to “does”. I generally don’t like to do this unless the song is not very well known, or it won’t interrupt the rhyme pattern. For example, there are a lot of “thees” in Holy Holy Holy, but if you change them all to “yous” then the song won’t rhyme.

Sometimes all that is needed is an explanation by the worship leader of what the obsolete word means. When we sing All Hail the Power of Jesus Name, I’ll often explain to the congregation what a diadem is (it’s another word for crown). Explaining the songs is a great way for people to gain insight into what they are singing about and gain a greater appreciation for the song.

5. Changing the harmony

Many modern worship teams that primarily use guitars can find it hard to play hymns because there are so many chords! Most hymns were written using four-part harmony; meaning that there is literally a chord for every note that is sung. For a pianist or organist this is not such a big deal, but for most guitar players this is impossible to do.

Despite this problem, many guitarists can play these hymns if they simplify the chords. Stripping down the harmony can work wonders for the sound of the hymn and immediately make it sound more modern.
I’ve also heard great results by arrangers who have completely changed the harmony. For any melody, there can be several options for what kind of chords you can use. I’ve heard jazzy arrangements where 7th and 9th chords have replaced the more traditional sounding triads. I’ve also heard hymns that were originally sung in a major key changed to the relative minor with startlingly beautiful results.

6. Writing a chorus/bridge (changing the structure)

Most younger listeners are turned off by hymns because of their repetitive, predictable structure. Hymns are written as a series of 12 to 16-measure verses that are repeated 4 to 6 times. Modern music is not written this way. Most modern popular music is written in a verse/chorus format, where there are 2 or 3 verses that are 8 to 16 measures in length, followed by an 8-measure chorus that is the same every time you sing it. The chorus serves to keep the song together and offer a catchy section that can easily be remembered. Often times the title of the song is found in the chorus.

Modern hymn arrangers have found a brilliant way around this problem by writing an original chorus for the old hymn. The chorus is usually much easier than the verses and offers the worshipper a change of pace, a break from long verses and further insight into the truths we are singing about.

Another practice that is not uncommon is to take one of the verses and make it a chorus. People will change
the melody and maybe some of the words and viola!

7. Further changes to the structure

Along with adding a chorus, there are other things we can do to the structure of the hymn to make it modern. I’ve heard people split one long verse into two shorter verses. This is a great technique to do when a hymn is especially “meaty” theologically. By splitting up the verses we can spend more time contemplating the truths we are singing about.

I’ve also seen people take the first half of one verse and attach it to the second half of another verse. (By the way, this is not a “modern” phenomenon - people have been doing this to hymns for centuries.) This is a great way to change how we sing the truths we are singing. I like doing this with old hymns that have a lot of obsolete language. Sometimes switching verses around is easier than changing the lyrics altogether.

There are many great ways to breath new life into old hymns of our faith. When some or all of these techniques are used, they can serve to bring a great hymn into the new century and give it new life to a whole new generation of worshippers.