Title: Abide With Me: 50 Favourite Hymns (The Quack listens to this one, given to him and Sukie by Aunt Fran, on the way to work.)
Title: Be Still My Soul: The Ultimate Hymns Collection
File Under: Music
We need to include music in our library!
I know the feeling of having a vague idea that everyone should be singing in harmony around a campfire, but also the feeling of having no idea where to start.
Maybe this Lent would be a good time to devote some evenings to learning some new songs. If you get your simple supper ready early, you will have some time before the weather really gets nice for outdoor play.
Here are some ideas, and as we go along, we'll try to remember to add to the list. I personally get an anxiety attack when presented with a long list of options, so I will try to give you just a few good resources to get you started.
I've consulted with my musician children on this, and we are starting you off with hymns.
If you want to hear the great old hymns as they would be played in a big stone church with a good organ, we recommend the CDs linked above (you can preview them on Amazon).
Now, you need to know that not all hymns are best sung this way. Many of our favorites are beautiful French hymns, or the great melodic Welsh ones that ought to have a more lyrical line than you hear in this type of setting (organ, big congregation). They were composed for and sung by little, often unaccompanied or lightly accompanied, gatherings of people who could really sing.
But the way to begin is to listen to the CD, get a hymnal so you can learn the words, and start hunting on You Tube for some versions that aren't “grand,” concert-ish, or operatic, either. Just ordinary good singing.
Hymnals we love:
The Vatican II Hymnal (yes, it's good, and looks like you can download scores for free as well).
The St. Michael's Hymnal (sadly, this one seems not to be available — maybe you can find one used?)
Go ahead and get the choir (SATB — Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) version. You will eventually want to be able to sing the harmonies. For the melodies, follow the top line of the music. You can hear them on You Tube, so don't worry.
You can also look up individual hymns on Net Hymnal. There you will find all the lyrics and at least be able to hear an MP3 of the music.
Hymnals always have indices in the back that direct you to the music by liturgical season (and are often laid out that way). (They also list the hymns by Scripture, tune, and title!) So for specifically Advent or Christmas music, you will find a rich treasury. Again, if you look up on You Tube, you will hear the song and have a better idea of how it's sung.
For a way to incorporate hymns naturally and easily into your homeschool curriculum, visit the Ambleside Online site. They give you other suggestions for finding hymns and for seasonal selections.
Remember that chant (O Come O Come Emmanuel, Ye Sons and Daughters, etc) should be sung with no accompaniment and has its own special style — very simple, very meditative. It's actually ideal for children — they pick it up easily and sing it well, once they get that it's relaxed.
Our family, at The Chief's request, learned to sing the Salve Regina long ago — it's traditional to sing it on Saturdays. The children learned it right away (they had learned the English version of the prayer before that, one Lent).
Here you will hear monks singing the “simple tone” (there are other settings) (with Spanish accented Latin!), and you can follow along with the music and words. Note that the “phrases” or arcs of the sound follow the words. When there is a comma, you can hear the voices relaxing; they soften and slow down just a little. Where the music hits a double line in the score there is a complete pause that's arrived at very calmly. That is the essence of chant and it's very conducive to prayer.
Here you can read up on chant notation.
Another day we will give you some resources for folk singing and traditional songs. You can remind us!
What is the Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project?
Kelsey says
Thank you, Auntie Leila! This is good information. But what about those of us for whom singing is an absolute mortification? I did not grow up in a musical family at all; my husband has family members who sing, but he himself does not. We are both very shy about it. (He once told me, while we were dating, that I was tone deaf… I’m amazed I still married him! I don’t think I am, though.) We have literally never been taught to sing. It’s hard to explain how paralyzing this is… I want to pass on something better to our children. Do you have any encouragement for the likes of us?
Anitra says
If you really think you can’t sing…
1) Try to surround yourself with people who DO sing. Sing along with them. Practice with live people will improve your singing.
2) If you still feel like you can’t sing, find a teacher. Honestly! Voice teachers mostly concentrate on helping soloists improve & maintain their voices, but most would be happy to give some introductory lessons (posture, pitch, intonation) for a price.
3) If you just want to encourage your children to be more musical than you are, I highly recommend “Music Together” classes. You don’t have to sing along if you’re uncomfortable. But everyone participates in the music – moving, clapping, playing with instruments or scarves, and it’s a great way to introduce your kids to making music if you are not a musically-inclined family.
Elizabeth says
Yes, thank you, Auntie Leila :). Thanks so much for adding music to the library.
I am going to check all of this out.
As to Kelsey’s reply, I know! I am a bad singer and nobody in my family ever sings. In fact, I’ve always hated singing until I had my son and realized… I had to get started somehow. So start very simple and plain, with some nursery rhymes or negro spirituals that you already partly know. I you look the melody up on youtube and the lyrics on google…. it’ll come back to you soon. Then sing along with the youtube clip while doing the dishes or folding laundry, I am sure your young kids will like it. You will feel VERY self conscious at first, but it will wear off, I promise.
I had the same problem with reading aloud (doing silly voices) and making up stories. I even felt stiff and awkward when tickling and wrestling with my son. But when there is nobody around to give me a weird look and my kid thinks it’s fun and funny, then there is nothing to be embarrassed about right?
Anitra says
I am a singer and grew up in a musical family, but my husband isn’t and didn’t. There were two things that really improved his singing:
1) being encouraged to sing in church. I am so thankful for a church where the men SING without shame. God doesn’t care if you’re a good singer or not.
2) singing to our children every night at bedtime. It came pretty naturally to me, but he felt very awkward at first. After 5 years, it’s very natural to both of us (even if we start falling asleep while singing sometimes!) and his singing voice has improved immensely. He’s not going to get up and do a solo at church or anything, but he’s a pretty average singer now.
Leila says
To those who feel like they *can’t* sing, I think Elizabeth’s reply above is a good one. The baby doesn’t know the difference, and start with the simple things.
Here is my post on why it’s worth it:
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2010/09/10-reasons-to-sing-with-your-children/
In our new book, The Little Oratory, David Clayton has a whole appendix on learning to sing when you think you are tone deaf. It involves practicing in the shower, and so dovetails nicely with my exhortations to bathe!
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/category/how-to-take-a-shower/
(You can pre-order our book here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Little-Oratory-Beginners-Praying/dp/1622821769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393857811&sr=8-1&keywords=little+oratory)
Spirituals really will teach you to sing. You know what? Singing is highly dependent on *listening*. Listen while you sing — cultivate hearing your own voice and the sound you are imitating on the recording or from the other singers — and you will get it.
Kimberlee says
Another wonderful LMLD LP post! After the Salve, learning the Marian hymns for the various seasons is also nice. We sing Alma Redemptoris Mater during Advent with our evening prayers, and we hope to learn Ave Regina Coelorum soon. It is lovely to mark the seasons and honor Our Lady with these. We might also try to learn Audi Benigne Conditor (the Lenten vespers hymn) if we are ambitious. The Stabat Mater is also a simple natural for Lent.
My son directs the schola at our FSSP church, and he always says anyone can learn to sing (very few people are actually ‘tone deaf’). Leila’s encouraging advice is wonderful and so important! I do not have musical talent myself, never played an instrument, but we love music and it is now a most important, joyful, and just plain fun part of our family culture.
Tamara says
Thanks for the Marian hymn suggestions! We’ve learned the Salve but weren’t sure what to learn next.
Lisa says
Thank you for these lovely recommendations!
Tamara says
I was going to ask you about music! Thanks for this post and all the recommendations!
corina says
Auntie Leila, are these Latin hymns? Would this book work for an Italo-Romanian family or is it bound to English speaking readers?
Leila says
The hymns are all in English, Corina.
The chants are in Latin.
If you have resources for a family trying to maintain the collective Italo-Romanian memory, do let us know! 🙂
Or at least let us know what the language/rite in question would be.
Interestingly, every liturgical tradition has chant!
corina says
We live in Italy and follow the Latin rite, so I should probably search for hymns in Italian. I’m not very familiar with this because I come from the byzantine tradition (the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church), but my children get to know it only when we visit grandparents in Romania. I should probably focus on Italian hymns with Latin chants.
Kate says
I want to thank you for mentioning and linking to the “Mass of St. Philip Neri” in an older post. It was easy to learn as well as beautiful. My daughter started a choir with the members learning this mass (most of the singers are under 25). After they got it down, they auditioned for the “liturgical committee” (roll eyes) and were approved to sing at our parish. No more “Contemporary Choir” agony!! I think this will be a very accessible mass for those not ready for the shock of a Latin ordinary or chant and go a long way to introducing reverence. Thank you very much.
Liz says
As a Lutheran (“the singing church”), I cannot agree enough! i grew up with strong hymn singing in church and at home, and i sing hymns all day long. One thing that makes me sad when i attend mass with my Catholic husband’s family is that no one sings and the music seems pretty anemic. I know there is a beautiful musical history in the Catholic church, but it often seems to be lost on ordinary Catholic parishes and families. Bring it back!
Genevieve says
If I may add another wonderful hymnal (and I admit to being biased): The Lutheran Hymnal put out by Concordia Publishing House in 1941. There are lots of great old 4-part hymn settings. And yes, even though we’re Lutheran, there are a couple beautiful Magnificat settings. =)
Hymn lyrics and midi files for this hymnal are located here:
http://www.lutheran-hymnal.com/