For a variation on the common “kindle vs. book” debate, I’m turning my attention to church hymn singing. Some churches now use large screens rather than traditional hymn books – but is either better than the other?
I will admit to be a book lover; I don’t own a kindle. To me, reading hymns from a projection screen seemed to be only one step up from karaoke. However, having attended services at churches where screens are used, I can see that they do have a few advantages.
The main one is purely physical. Projection screen do not fall off the pews. Despite several hundred years of both hymn book and pew, the respective manufacturers have never come to a consensus over the sizes of the book and the bookshelf.
There may be a better quality (or at least volume) of singing if people are looking up at a screen rather than mumbling into their hymn books. I’m reminded of my late uncle’s epigram: “if you’re going to mumble, please leave now”. However, some people who don’t consider themselves to be good singers might like the excuse to be able to look down in to a hymn book to hide their inability.
But, it’s perfectly possible to both hold a hymn book and sing out. It just needs a bit of practice. One of my pet complaints about church music is that musical directors spend a lot of time training the choir, but no time at all in training the congregation. Although I disliked the weekly congregational practice we endured at school, I’m glad of it now. The words of the music teacher still come back to me: “make sense of the words”, “look ahead” and “build up to the high notes”.
With a screen, additional hymns can be easily added to the repertoire. If the hymn isn’t in the hymn book, the church has three options: don’t sing it (surely the best option in the case of “Shine, Jesus, Shine”); print the words on pieces of paper (which have an even greater propensity to fall from the pews than books have); buy new hymn books (an expensive option – and generally adds to the untidiness of the pews).
So, what do hymn books offer above screens?
First of all, you can hold it. There is something rather satisfying in holding an actual book rather than looking at a virtual image – whether this is a hymn book, a novel, or an Ikea catalogue.
Secondly, you can look ahead. You can see which hymns are coming up later in the service; you can see how many more verses are to go; you know when you are on the last verse; you can even contemplate the rhyming structure of the verses (or is that only me?). All easier to do when the entire hymn is laid out before you, rather than just a few words at a time.
Books are probably more user-friendly for people with visual impairments. They can be produced in different font sizes, held at different distances from the eyes, or used with a magnifying glass. None of this is easy with a screen.
And finally: books don’t fail. They don’t have computer glitches; the words don’t unexpectedly fade; they continue to work in power cuts. And they don’t rely on someone displaying the right lines at the right time – just on the reader being able to follow the word. Hmm, that isn’t entirely foolproof, is it?
But there is one area where screens win hand-down over books: they have other uses. For example, notices can be displayed, or the preacher can use them as a visual aid to illustrate the sermon.
Do books have an attribute that screens can’t match? Well, for me just being a book is enough. But remember – you can’t squash a fly with a projection screen.
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Great post, Chippy. We use books at our small church (no real point in using a projector) though I don’t have a problem with screens. I like “Shine, Jesus, Shine” though so take issue with you on that one! As for the Kindle, one huge advantage of it is you can try samples of books before committing to buying them (if you’re going to) and this is a nice feature. I guess it’s the electronic equivalent of going to the library though it should never be a replacement for that. Both are necessary and I think that applies to hymnbooks and screens too!
I think “Shine, Jesus, Shine” is a marmite song – you either love it or hate it.
Another advantage of a kindle is that it is easier to take when travelling.
Chippy,
What? Karaoke? This analogy made me laugh! I do think you have a point there.
I never like big screens in the church. 1 – It makes the church look like a cold conference room. 2 – You are at the mercy of the ‘controller’ – the kind volunteer who is in charge of pressing the right key on the keyboard. Their timing is always wrong. 3 – The words on the screen are never always right. The wordings in the book may be in one version, and the wordings on the screen are sometimes different. Do they type the lyrics themselves? No proofreader? I do get anxiety when a screen is used – I don’t like to feel not knowing the next line or verse; I don’t like it if the slide is changed at the last minute and you couldn’t anticipate the next verse 10 seconds earlier……I don’t like not being in charge.
Yes, use physical books, use the hymn books, use the Bible… The fonts in the physical books are always much better too. (DO NOT use comic sans on the screen, thank you very much.) If you drop the hymn book, your neighbour might pick it up for you and you could say ‘hi’ – now you get to speak to a stranger.
A few weeks ago we were at Christchurch. Having lunch at a bar called Cheese and Alfies, I saw their chairs were unusual – a slot to put a few books. I was told the chairs were bought from the Priory when they were selling some of their furniture during refurbishment. The chairs were originally used in the Priory and the slot was for hymn boooks and Bible. So neat! I love that.
Having words on a screen (assuming the controller keeps up) does solve another problem: which verses are omitted. The custom in some churches is to sing all verses, and in others it is to omit the optional ones. For a visitor it is difficult to know what to do.
A Comic Sans went into a bar. “Get out,” shouted the barman, “we don’t want type like you in here”
In Comic Sans – “Danger of Death” , “Keep Out” , “Help prevent a tragedy” by SSE Power Distribution – yes you see these cute warning signs in Chandler’s Ford too.
This morning the screen did fail during one of the hymns – it was as if the controller had read my post and was proving my point! And as it was a new one to the repertoire nobody knew it well enough to sing without words.