Hymn tune

A melody associated with a Christian hymn, commonly set to a metrical text and sung by a congregation. A tune may be used with different texts, and a text may be paired with different tunes.

Hymn: A song of praise or devotion, especially one addressed to God and used in Christian worship. A hymn tune supplies the melody for this broader kind of devotional song.
Hymn tune metre: The syllable pattern and phrase structure that determine which hymn texts fit a tune. Matching metre allows a tune to carry texts beyond the one originally paired with it.
Genevan Psalter: A French metrical psalter published in stages during the sixteenth century, with melodies associated with each psalm. Its melodies became a major source for Reformed congregational singing.
Old Hundredth: A sixteenth-century psalm tune widely used for the doxology beginning “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.” It exemplifies a melody that became familiar through repeated congregational use.
Chant: A form of unaccompanied vocal music using a limited melodic range and flexible rhythm. Unlike many metrical hymn tunes, chant is not organized around regular stanza lines.
Metrical psalter: A collection of biblical psalms rewritten in verse forms suitable for singing. Metrical psalms helped establish the text-and-tune practice used by congregational hymnody.
Four-part harmony: Music written for four simultaneous vocal parts, commonly soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Many hymn tunes are published in four parts to support congregational singing.
English metrical psalter: An English collection of psalms rewritten in verse for singing to regular melodies. Its repertory helped establish English-language congregational tune traditions.
Amazing Grace: A Christian hymn written by John Newton and commonly sung to the American folk melody NEW BRITAIN. Its familiar pairing shows how a tune can become inseparable from a hymn in practice.
Anthem: A choral composition for worship, usually performed by a choir rather than sung by the whole congregation. An anthem typically assigns music to a choir instead of a shared congregational melody.

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