Why Doesn't My Congregation Sing?

There's nothing more defeating and demoralizing to a worship leader than firing off a song on Sunday morning just to see the congregation remain motionless, with their lips unmoving. Why does this happen?

We're going to cover four reasons why your congregation isn't singing—and the good news is that there's a solution to each problem!

Let's dive in...

1. The songs go beyond their abilities.

There are many recorded worship songs out there that are edifying, but the arrangement caters to the performers' abilities—the song needs to highlight their strengths in order to generate the most streams, downloads, etc. Things like wide ranges and complex stylings do your congregants no favors. In fact, they're apt to stop singing altogether because the songs are...

Just. Too. Hard.

Solution: Find songs that stick within an octave plus a 3rd/4th. If you're led to sing a song that features anything beyond that, then transpose the parts, either up or down, to accommodate the average person's range. Streamline the stylings, too—limit your vocal runs, grace notes, alternative melodies, etc. 

2. The songs are too new... and they're also too familiar.

Wait, what?

Yep, you read it right. Newness is a no-brainer; we can't sing songs we don't know! But we can also wear out songs that we already know, and their respective messages lose their effect in our minds. 

Solution: Be intentional about programming your songs to balance novelty and familiarity. A practical way to do this is align your songs ahead of time with the sermon being preached, especially for 4-week series. You can introduce new songs or songs that have been out of rotation that directly pertain to the content being taught, and then move on once the series is finished. 

3. The content is unbalanced.

We often look at modern songs and complain of their lack of depth—and much of that complaining is justified—but songs can be equally oversaturated with content. Too little results in shallow descriptions of God's nature and His work, and too much is an overload for the singer to internalize. 

Solution: A well-crafted song communicates a central theme with a handful of supportive ideas. Choose or write songs like this to help your congregants explore the depths of truth without overloading them.

4. Repetition is both overutilized and underutilized. 

Too much repetition or lack thereof can lead to stagnation and confusion, ultimately leading to misplaced focus. Overly repeated melodies/lyrics become interesting to sing. On the other side of the coin, phrases with new melodies and lyrical structures can be hard to follow. Congregants learn best when they have something familiar to latch onto, and then modify with new material that fits within the established framework.

Solution: Songs that utilize balanced repetition feature recurring melodic hooks throughout most of the structure. Hymns are great for this, too. Repeated lyrics are effective, but when they're the only phrases sung... then you're going to lose the attention of your congregation. 

The key to all of this is balance and accommodation. Stay within the abilities of your congregation, keep the content focused, and you'll see people come alive during your singing together.

Be blessed 👊✌️