Publisher: Crossway/Getty Music
Release: Available now
Rating: 3 Stars (scale of 1 to 5 Stars)
The Sing Hymnal is a brand-new collection of modern and traditional hymns. The basic hymnal is available in four bindings: hardcover (black), cloth (green), goatskin (black), and TruTone (brown in a green slipcase). There’s also a “lay-flat edition with chords” for musicians. Individual hymns may also be purchased online as digital downloads (standard hymnal, keyboard version with chords, and rhythm/lead sheets) with pricing options for individual or church use.
This review will focus on the lay-flat edition.
497 hymns are included in The Sing Hymnal. Click HERE to browse the entire list. There are nearly as many scripture and poetic readings throughout the hymnal as there are hymns for a total of 900 entries. The hymns were selected by Keith & Kristyn Getty with input from a committee of pastors and musicians. You’ll find classic favorites like “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Only Trust Him,” etc. alongside modern hymns like “10,000 Reasons,” “Christus Victor,” and “In Christ Alone.” It came as no surprise to see 90 total hymns with the Getty name in the credits.
The ad-hype for this hymnal claims it includes “the very best in hymnody past and present.” It doesn’t quite measure up to that bold claim, lacking some obvious titles. “Because He Lives” is the only hymn by Bill & Gloria Gaither that’s included, for example. “He Touched Me” didn’t make the list. Thomas Dorsey’s “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” is included, but Charles A. Tindley’s “When The Morning Comes (By and By)” is missing. That being said, I did find many of the top worship songs included in this hymnal from both inside and outside the Getty circle.
The most looming problem with the “lay-flat” version of The Sing Hymnal is the chord symbols. In the opening pages, there’s an admission that this hymnal uses harmonic simplification that “may differ SLIGHTLY (emphasis mine) from the written parts.” There’s nothing “slightly” about it. A C chord symbol should never appear over four notes that spell out a B-minor chord and that’s only one of the worst examples. These simpler chords may work fine for a congregation singing in unison with all the musicians playing from the chord symbols, but you’re going to often experience dissonance not conducive to worship when vocalists sing all four parts as written while musicians play these chords. The same problem appears if any one musician is strictly using the chord symbols while the others play from the notes or vice versa. The arrangers really should have simplified the written harmonies to match the simpler chords if making it simpler for the musicians was their primary goal.
Everything else about The Sing Hymnal lay-flat edition is great. The heavy cover and thick metal spiral binding will stand up to years of use. The paper quality, color, and font choices are the absolute best I’ve ever seen in a hymnal, and I say that with 35+ years leading church music and collecting various hymnals. The lay-flat edition is extra thick, as well, due to extensive indices and worship helps at the back of the book.
Due to the chord symbol issues, my rating for the lay-flat edition is 3 Stars on a scale of 1 to 5. My rating would likely be 4 1/2 Stars for the standard edition which doesn’t include the chord symbols. (I say “likely,” because I don’t have access to a standard edition to examine.)
I did a deep dive on the Sing! Hymnal a few weeks ago. Here are some more hymns it doesn’t have:
Are You Washed in the Blood?
At Calvary
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Blest Be the Tie that Binds
Bringing in the Sheaves
Does Jesus Care?
Draw Me Nearer (I Am Thine, O Lord)
Footsteps of Jesus
Glory to His Name
God Be with You Till We Meet Again
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
God Will Take Care of You
He Hideth My Soul
He Keeps Me Singing
Higher Ground
How Can I Keep from Singing?
I Will Praise Him
Jesus Loves Even Me
Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
More About Jesus
My Savior First of All
Near to the Heart of God
Nearer, Still Nearer
No, Not One
On Jordan’s Stormy Banks (traditional melody)
Onward, Christian Soldiers
Rescue the Perishing
Send the Light
Since I Have Been Redeemed
Stand Up, Stand up for Jesus
Stepping in the Light
Sweet Hour of Prayer
Take the Name of Jesus with You
Take Time to Be Holy
The Old Rugged Cross
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus
Under His Wings
When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
Wonderful Grace of Jesus
Crossway’s production and marketing teams are second to none. What they’ve done with marketing the ESV is truly exceptional. I would not be surprised to see the Sing! Hymnal become the de facto default hymnal of its generation, like Gaither’s was in the 70s and The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration was in the 1990s.
So I would not be surprised to see many of the hymns on that list fade from memory after this generation. And as much as I love and welcome many of the new hymns, I would be really sad to lose these hymns.
I ordered the lay-flat edition three weeks ago in spite of the issues we discussed (at least I was forewarned), and received it just Tuesday. I haven’t been able to do more than a quick glance due a lot of extra things going on.
I may add additional comments later , but will start here: The lay flat edition os strange in not having a spine. It’s obvious which hymnal it is now, but quickly idenfifying which hymnal is which could be problematic if they release further volumes or other companies starting doing the same way.
With that said, it looks to be much more durable than accompaniment versions may typically be, and unlike some, the pages will probably stay in place and not tear out like some. Replacing pages won’t really work as well as the binder type, but there may not be a need to.
I agree with you on the chord symbols. It’s one thing to have a C in place of an Am/C (as an example that may not even be in the book), but your Bm and C is a mess. I can see some people on some churches not having enough knowledge to not use them together. They may not even recognize the clash.
On one hand, it would be nice to have a lead / chord version and then have harmony ones with the true chords, but cost may be a factor. As long as people are told (or understand) it’s an either or flexible use in a hymnbook, then having “two versions in one” (harmonies with pianist playing the SATB or making up their own accompaniments based on the harmonies as I do, and lead sheet and chords) could be a plus, I guess. But, you know as well as I do that some won’t read such warnings.
I tend to either have people sing melody on select tougher hymns with simpler chords I make, or simplify harmonies and make a new chart.
I, maybe two or three years ago or so, created a database of select hymns in Five hymnals: Family of God (Gaither), Praise & Worship (Lillenas, I believe) and UMH 1989, and two prior versions (at least to an extent) with lots of info (keys, tunes, meter, harmony or unison, chords, accompaniment etc). Now I will have to add this one (in at least part).
I do appreciate what they seem to have done in keeping many hymns alive, give options for how they will be used (and skill levels). I like that there are harmonies for churches to use in a more traditional way, simplified chords when needed or desired (albeit sans harmonies at least at times), it being a blended hymnal, and the ability to purchase downloads if I want to use a guitarist too (presuming those are included as digital offerings).
The fact if appears durable is a plus too.
While ideally I’d prefer the true chords in this edition, a lead sheet / simplified chords volume, and traditional hymnbooks with SATB (if not also a lead only version, but could include chords if cheaper than making one without), I think we are fortunate to have any hymnal released, and this seems to have a lot to offer even if the chords not matching offends me as a musician lol.
I also may disagree with some included / excluded and might prefer more hymns and less other things (making those tools perhaps a supplement), I guess we will have to see when I enter this into the database and see what is missing in comparison to the other hymnbooks I have.