Hymnastics 102:
Worksheets on Hymn Metering

I learn better when I write about what I'm learning - because of this, I sometimes appear to have worksheets for many, many subjects.

I've recently set out to more-seriously learn the rules of hymnal metering, so I'm writing these worksheets. As I learn more I'll add more, so please come back and see what more I've learn. And YES, all my musician friends, :-) , now that I'm learning these all-important standards, watch for me to be revising hymn texts that you've been telling me need it...

Most of the information on these worksheets are from the following books, which I highly recommend: THE ANATOMY OF HYMNODY, Austin C. Lovelace      (Chicago, Illinois; GIA Publications, 1965, 1982) ISBN 0-941050-02-5 COMPLETE RHYMING DICTIONARY edited by Clemet Wood      (New York, NY, Doubleday, 1991) ISBN 0-385-41350-5 I acknowledge that I have relied on and used a lot of material from these two books in making these worksheets. If anyone feels I do not give them enough credit, please write me and I will do more to acknowledge them.

'Metering' is the flow of accented and unaccented syllables in a poem or in a song. Through the centuries of trial and error, Christian hymns have settled on several metering patterns that feel good to the vast majority of singers and have become 'standard' metering schemes for hymnists to employ. There are variations to all metering patterns, and there are many hymns that do not follow any of the 'standard' schemes. But instead of studying the exceptions, let's first learn the standards so we'll know when we're attempting an exception (and why).

A metering pattern is also called a 'foot'. (I don't know why so please don't ask.) A metering foot is made up of at least one unaccented syllable and at least one accented syllable. Because my computer fonts don't have the widely-used symbols, I will use the following symbols which make sense to me:

u  =  unaccented syllable
A  =  accented syllable

The four standard metering foot's are:

Iambic foot ..... ( u A ) ..... "devotion" ..... these are the texts referred to as being the more stately and noble ... Imagine that first, third, fifth, etc, syllable of each line is when you are raising your hand up, and the second, fourth, etc syllable is when you are bringing it down to beat on the drum (or bang the hammer, or any other example someone has used in your presence...):

( u A )  ( u A )  ( u A )  ( u A )
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief
We Love Thy House, O Lord

Hey! I saw that! You were trying to beat out the music and not the words...
When learning text metering, you have to put aside music and concentrate on the words and on the word patterns.
So - no more beating out the tune until we're done with the text!

Trochaic foot ..... ( A u ) ..... "strength & directness" ..... these are the texts that have an immediate impact right in the first syllable. They are considered to be more direct of thought and stir more of an immediate emotional feeling than the quieter, devotional feeling of the Iambic metering. On the other hand, they also end with the unaccented "feminine" accent, which leaves many hymnists preferring to use Iambic patterns for tests that need to end on a strong note.
Imagine the drum beat on the first, third, fifth, etc, syllable of each line:

( A u )  ( A u )  ( A u )  ( A u )
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Angels We Have Heard on High
Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah

I can hear you asking - What difference can the accented syllable have in a hymn text?

A friend of mine once told me that when he was newly-married his father told him he should always name his children with two-syllable names - because it's easier for the children to tell what mood the parent is in when they call them. I examined this concept, and here is what I discovered in my own family - when I'm simply calling my children in for the night, or for a meal, I call their name as if it were written in an Iambic foot:

dan-YULL (Daniel)

But... when I am mad or there is an emergency or I am otherwise excited, or I really want their attention NOW, their name is called in a Trochaic meter:

DAN-yull (Daniel)

Hymn texts come out much the same way. Generally speaking, Iambic hymns are calmer, more stately (dan-YULL). Trochaic hymns, on the other hand, get you jumping right up at attention (DAN-yull!). Consider the effect of the metering in these two songs:

Dactylic foot ( A u u ) and Anapestic foot ( u u A ) are not used for hymn text as much as Iambic and Trochaic feet. Pure dactylic appears to be the most rare as it is traditionally dependant on Latin word forms, and most Christians don't sing much Latin anymore. Anapestic is a classic poetic foot that was not considered fit for hymn use until Charles Wesley used it - and used it a lot.

My Country, 'Tis of Thee
God Save the King
Come, Let Us Anew
Praise to the Lord, The Almighty

MIXED METER ... Used carefully, the writer can employ rising and falling meter and produce a beautiful text.

Oh, and there is also IRREGULAR METER ... the designation for all those hymn text that just don't match up with any sort of formal metering.

 

Let's examine hymn metering by the type of metering foot used.
Click on the following for more detail on each meter pattern:

IAMBIC HYMNS:
          Common Metering and it's variants: CM ... CMD ... CHM
          LONG METERING and is variants ... LM .... LMD ...
          SHORT METERING and its variants ... SM ... SMD ... HM
          HALLELUJAH METER
          PARTICULAR METER

Trochaic HYMNS:
          Sixes .... Sevens ... Eight-Sevens

Dactylic & Anapaestic Hymns:
           .... the rarest form of English-language hymns

MIXED METER

See Also:

BASIC RHYMING STANDARDS

USE OF 'KING JAMES ENGLISH' IN HYMN & PRAYER

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