Introduction

When a congregation sings a hymn to organ accompaniment, the tempo is determined by an organist, by a director or cantor, by a congregation, or by some combination of these.

Tempo in hymn singing is usually a subjective rather than an absolute matter. Some may respond that a hymn seemed too slow. Others may insist that it was too fast. Still others may feel that the tempo was satisfactory. In truth, most hymns allow for quite a large range of appropriateness in tempo. The same hymn that seems fit for a stately, majestic tempo may be equally successful when sung at a livelier pace.

This lesson will help the organist to understand some of the main factors that influence tempo in hymn playing, and then provide a few ideas on how to determine tempo.