Incorporating Different Languages into Musical Worship
Last year, I had the opportunity to lead worship with my friends Nikki Lerner and James Wafford at the National Multi-ethnic Church Conference in San Diego, CA. Throughout the conference, we incorporated different languages in the songs in a variety of ways. I thought you might enjoy reading about them. And who knows? It may inspire you to do something similar in your church?
Let’s go from the most simple to the most complex…
1. Have the lyrics for a song in a different language on the screen, even if you do not sing in that language. For example, take the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Net Hymnal has that hymn in Afrikaans, Creole, German, Spanish, Indonesian, Navajo, Portuguese, Russian, and Korean to name a few languages…If you know that someone who speaks that language will be in your service, why not put that language on the screen with the English? That way, they could sing along in their heart language…or at least read the words in their own language.
2. Take a short section of a familiar song and sing it in a few languages back to back. I did that just this week with the song, “Open the Eyes of my Heart.” The bridge section is easy, repeating the words, “Holy, holy, holy” over and over again. We sang it in Spanish, English, and Hebrew at a local Messianic congregation. This can be an easy first step into language, as mostly you are just repeating one word like “Santo” over and over again.
3. Create a medley with a traditional hymn and a global song in a different language. We just released a short cd entitled Hymns With Global Songs that does this for you. After each verse of the hymn in English, the congregation sings a short, easy global song that meshes well both musically and topically. This shows the congregation that these things are not separate but equal, but work well together! A powerful message…
4. Sing a call-response song. We sang the song “Amrit Vani” by Aradhna. The leader sings a line in Hindi and then the congregation echos. The beauty of this is that you can listen first, and then simply sing what you hear. If the phrases are short, this is also a good first step into language.
5. Sing a chorus simultaneously in a bunch of different languages. We do this often with our song, King of Glory. Perhaps the last time we arrive at the chorus, everyone picks a different language and sings the chorus simultaneous and multi-lingually. The benefit to this is that no one is left out, or waiting for the chance to sing their language. We are all actively engaging in our own language at the same time!
6. American Sign Language adds a different language on top of the sung English. It can be a very beautiful expression (you have to be careful that the song is well-interpreted!) and can add a visual expression for those in your congregation who are more visually-oriented.
7. Sing an entire verse of a song in one language. Then go back and sing the verse in a different language. We do that with our song, “Alle” and also with the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” frequently. Not everyone on the team needs to know the other language. You only need one strong singer to lead out.
Note: we have recently recorded a video series called “Incorporating Language into Musical Worship.” 7 videos (each 4-6 minutes long) complete with a teaching and an example. If you are interested in this series, email us at: info@proskuneo.info