Galloway Music Network

 

Who we areNewsEventsNewslettersArchiveSurveysFavourite MusicMusic ResourcesControversiesCopyrightSuggestLinks

 

 

Music Resources

WEBSITES

Please click on the name of a website below to view it's review. If you know of any websites you think we should review, please use the form on the Music Resources Home page to tell us.

Arundel and Brighton Liturgical Music Committee
Bishops Conference of England and Wales - Liturgy Office - Music
Church of Scotland - Music
CyberHymnal

NEW HymnQuest 2007
Ian White
Kingsway Songs
Methodist Church Music Society

 

REVIEWS

Arundel and Brighton Liturgical Music Committee
website

This is the web site of the Arundel and Brighton Liturgical Music Committee. Its ‘welcome’ page says it is being developed for Christian musicians, singers, instrumentalists and liturgy planners as they look for resources to support their ministry.

As well as providing information about events (both local and national) and reviews of books and CDs, there is a useful ‘resources’ section containing articles helpful to parish musicians, for example ‘Music for Mass (Where do I start?)’, ‘The Responsorial Psalm (Advice)’, and many other topics. There is a useful list of links to other web sites (including our own)!

back to top

Bishops Conference of England and Wales - Liturgy Office - Music
website

There are plenty of resources on the web site of the Liturgy Office of England and Wales, and it would be worth having an hour to two spare before you visit it!

This includes a leaflet called ‘Musicians and their ministry at Mass’, ‘Singing the Mass’ (which lists priorities for which parts of the Mass should be sung), guidelines for the production of orders of service, information about common responsorial psalms, a composer’s guide, a parish musicians’ guide to music at funerals, and plenty of other materials.

So - even if you don’t much enjoy browsing the internet - have a look at this site and you will probably be pleasantly surprised!

back to top

Church of Scotland - Music
website

There are three useful leaflets that can be downloaded from this page of the Church of Scotland’s web site.

‘All that hath life and breath’ is about helping the whole of a congregation to take part in the music of the church and has a useful section on teaching a congregation to sing well.

‘With heart and hand and voices’ is about leading the music of the local church. It contains helpful background information about organs (useful for beginner organists), hints on congregational accompaniment, advice about leading a choir and improving singing, and a section on metre (how the metrical index works).

‘Assist our song’ (on choosing hymns and music for worship) is mainly for musicians in the Church of Scotland, but is worth reading to find out how another denomination organises things and for the useful snippets of information throughout that can be used anywhere.

back to top

CyberHymnal
website

This is a web site providing the words and (a rather unexciting) musical rendition of a vast number of hymns. Background information about the author and composer is also provided. If the hymn is regularly sung to more than one tune, you can listen to all the options!

The site isn’t perhaps the easiest to find your way round, and some modern hymns are not included because of copyright (for example the words of ‘How great thou art’ only appear in Swedish). However, a lot of fun can be had (and if you’re not careful a lot of time be spent) exploring the site.

back to top

HymnQuest 2007
website

HymnQuest 2007 is a tool to help you search the contents of hymn books, and find texts for use in worship.  You can also hear the opening phrases to thousands of tunes.  The software is comprehensive and apparently has the backing of almost all the major publishers and copyright administrators in Britain.  Annual updates are published.  There are two versions, a Standard Version and a Copyright Licence Users’ Edition.  Find out more by visiting the web site at www.hymnquest.com.  A free ‘trial’ version may be available.

back to top

Ian White
website

For those of you who like Ian White’s music, his web site contains the music to many of his songs in a format (mostly pdf) that can be downloaded and printed! The site is www.littlemistymusic.com.

back to top

Kingsway Songs
website

www.kingswaysongs.com is a new way to buy sheet music, at the introductory price of £1.49 per song. Apparently it’s possible to search this web site by theme, key, tempo or word/phrase. There are currently over 650 songs available (and audio sound samples - so you can listen before you buy the music), and the site is growing.

back to top

Methodist Church Music Society
website

Its interesting to find our what other denominations are involved in when it comes to music in churches, and this is the web site of the Methodist Church Music Society. Skimming through the web site you quickly learn that they

- have a membership scheme (and publish a newsletter twice a year)
- have an organ advisory scheme (who provide impartial advice about organs including repair and replacement)
- run a training scheme for people with responsibility for leading music in worship
- run an organ and keyboards in worship training scheme
- have a library containing a comprehensive collection of hymn books, and liturgical and general books on music and composers
- organise an annual conference
- do many other things as well!

The Methodist Church Music Society’s aim is ‘to encourage and develop the use of all forms of music in worship throughout the Methodist Church - and if their web site is anything to go by, they do a thoroughly good job of it!

back to top