Paul Inwood
Music & Liturgy (Vol.51.1) March 2025
Have you noticed how often the music you encounter in a church context can seem to drag or sag? Less frequently, it may seem rushed or insensitive. Both of these result from the tempo at which you take the music, which in turn affects the mood of the music. Perhaps a better title for this article would be ‘What time-signature is it?’
Let’s look at dragging and sagging first. It can happen to choir singers, organists, choir directors, guitarists— in fact to anyone. Often it’s a result of misinterpreting the time-signature. When we first learn music theory, we are taught that 2/4 means two beats in a bar, 3/4 means three beats in a bar, 4/4 means four beats in a bar, and so on. We may be taught the basic conducting gestures for these time-signatures. Sometimes we don’t get much further than that. However, what we have been taught may not always be true.
A basic rule of thumb would be: ‘If it looks like three in a bar, thinking of it as one in a bar may help.’ In other words, one main beat and two subsidiary beats. If you are a music director or conducting a choir, forget the ‘triangle’ conducting motion of three beats in a bar. Instead, beat one in a bar, with a distinct ‘bounce’ on the main beat. Singers and instrumentalists should feel it this way too. With instrumentalists I include organists, who can be among the worst sinners in the dragging arena. Of course, the three = one is not a universal truth. Pieces like the Holy holy holy from my Coventry Mass are in three rather than one.
Along similar lines, ‘If it looks like four in a bar, thinking of it as two in a bar may help.’ That’s two main beats on beats one and three, with the first beat stronger than the other one, plus two subsidiary beats on beats two and four. As with 3/4, forget the conventional way of beating four in a bar. Instead, beat a springy two in a bar. Singers and instrumentalists should feel it this way too. As with 3/4, there will be exceptions to the four = two rule, such as my Remember, remember your mercy, Lord.
The net result of this change of mindset is music that moves along, that has life. Music needs a sense of progression. Tempo is part of that.
I singled out organists just now. Perhaps even more guilty than organists can be guitarists. The necessity to have an up-strum for every down-strum can slow the music down until it becomes almost unbearable. It makes pieces like Fintan O’Carroll’s Celtic Alleluia sound laboured and pedestrian. Here, we find a 6/8 time-signature. We need to feel this as two dotted crotchet beats in a bar, not six quavers. Reflecting on other music which appears to be three in a bar, one of the things that can quickly kill this kind of music is a ‘boom-chucka-chucka’ strumming pattern, which can quickly get slower and slower because of the sheer physical effort involved. Guitarists, please don’t use this strumming pattern! There are other ways of playing.
A useful guide to tempo can be the metronome marking that, hopefully, in many cases the composer has provided. This is the optimum tempo to use in a normal acoustic (and we’ll talk more about that in a minute)—performers, please take notice of the metronome marking! I often come across performances, both live and online, where the musicians have completely ignored the composer’s tempo indication—mostly by playing/singing much too slowly. Not everyone possesses a metronome, but anyone can install a free metronome app on their smartphone.
Sometimes, instead of too slow, the music can come across as too fast and rushed. This can be due to nerves or adrenaline or other factors. Whatever the cause, it can come across as insincere and shallow— not the best way to carry the people with you.
I mentioned earlier the acoustic of the building. Received wisdom is that the longer the reverberation period the slower you have to take the music so that definition is not lost amidst the re-echoing. This is not always true, however. I would say that with a reverberation period of less than three or four seconds, there is no need to slow down the tempo at all. A good cantor can also be helpful—one who is focused on the singing of the people rather than the sound of their own voice. Also relevant can be the registration used on the organ. Heavier registrations can tend to lead to slower playing, so perhaps try using something a bit lighter and keep the music moving.
We want the music we sing and play in church to be life-giving, to reflect the mood of the liturgy at that point, to lead people into prayer. Music which feels stodgy or pompous or perfunctory or casual or frantic will generally not aid the sung prayer of the assembly. It can be a salutary experience to listen to or watch an audio or video recording of a service. Taking a step back in this way can show what things are actually like, something which may be more difficult when you are immersed in the music-making at the time.
‘Play well’ can mean ‘pray well’!