What happened to all the hymns?

[Notlaughingalot]

I clearly remember a lot of the hymn we used to sing in assembly.

How great thou art
For those in peril on the sea
Lord of the dance
Morning has broken
Love divine all loves excelling

And for the leavers
One more step along the world I go

For coming in to assembly and for leaving (in silent, orderly rows of course!) the music teacher played classical piano tunes from Chopin, Mendelssohn (Songs without words) and Beethoven.

I do think that today's children are missing out. Or is it just me, and really, today's schools are much better than in the past?

What do you think children are missing by not singing hymns in assembly?

(I think communal singing is pretty positive and important)

I thought that was always more of a primary school thing

Cucumber, my Lord, come by car......

My kids sang hymns in primary but don't have assemblies with hymns at secondary. Assemblies at secondary are just for the year and about explaining whole year issues like UCAS applications.

My kids don't know songs like Little Donkey or Jersusalem but they sang hymns like All Things Bright and Beautiful and One More Step Along The World I Go amongst others.

Totally agree, I find this so strange. My children are at a CofE school and they don't even sing hymns in chapel. I'm not religious (no choice but church schools where I am) but remember fondly all the hymns from school. I suppose it feels like a bit of school tradition that has been lost.

Good tunes and good words for a start.

I don’t fondly remember hymns. I remember being bored and confused by having to sing songs about what I believe to be a fictitious person.

My school had ‘normal’ ie Christian assembly then Jewish and ‘others’. I mean how bizarre and I’m glad it doesn’t happen these days. Schools (most) are secular and hymns have no place.

Good tunes and good words for a start

sure, tell me some of these good words that can’t be found in any other music apart from hymns

Didn't you notice this, before, at primary school?
All we had then 15 years ago was "Little Red Tractor" at harvest and "Healthy Food!"
I remember feeling so despondent as some of the hymns you mention were great favourites.
I Feel the pain. But we live in a diverse country where we should and do include people whose 1st religion may be different or nothing.
I do love to belt out a good old hymn though!

We purposefully chose a non religious school to avoid our child having to do hymns. They have songs, but they adapt songs themselves per class which is far more creative.

I'm a primary school music lead in a C of E school.
I do hymn practice every week. We sing proper hymns and I play the piano.
Not all music leads can so not all schools do.

But we live in a diverse country where we should and do include people whose 1st religion may be different or nothing

Actually we live in a secular country where less than 50% are Christian. I find it bizarre you post as though Christian is the norm and everyone else is ‘others’

They sing these hymns at my DCs primary school. It's CofE.

There is definitely a lot of music out there with 'good tunes and good words' which doesn't involve also propping up some supposedly divine figure. If people want to follow a faith and/or sing religious songs that's up to them, choose a very religious school (if you can) and/or take your child to regular worship in the church of your choice.

It's hard to say exactly what they are missing out on. At the time there was a sense of peace and unity, and later in life, an appreciation of the classical music that we were exposed to at school. I would never have heard it otherwise. We certainly didn't play classical music at home.

I think this is it. There are not many school music teachers who are advanced enough to play the classics. When I did my teacher training, piano lessons were obligatory but I only ever got to grade 5. I could probably thump out 'Postman Pat' but that would be my limit!

What actual classical music were you exposed to through hymns?

Can the kids not sing things like CAULIFLOWER FLUFFY AND CABBAGES GREEN.

No religion needed. All good.

Ours were singing hymns and songs in assembly until Covid came along.

It’s a good thing. It’s 2023 - religion and education should most definitely be separate. It’s time to move on.

You'll have to look up the full words / verses yourself but here's your starter for 10:

When I survey the Wondrous Cross - Isaac Watts

O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness - J Monsell

My Song is Love Unknown - Samuel Crossman

Let All the World in Every Corner Sing - George Herbert

King of Glory King of Peace - George Herbert

For the Beauty of the Earth - FS Pierpoint

Just a few which are unlikely to be found in other music, as such. Well John Rutter has set For the Beauty of the Earth but it's still the same words.

Secondary school students should be able to cope. They don't have to sign up to believing every word of it to appreciate the language or even have to understand all the words. You can appreciate the poetry without knowing every word.

I recommend John Betjeman's 'Sweet Songs of Zion' for an interesting read on the subject.

It was when we came into, and left the assembly that the classical music was played.

My kids don’t sing hymns but they do communal singing. They do Shakira ‘Try Everything’ and Fight Song. And Cauliflowers fluffy obvs.

I miss the hymns tho, there were some great ones. I would rather they learned music from other cultures and religions and blended it in to celebrate the diversity than just eradicate the hymns.

If a school really want to expose children to classical music then they still can - ideally they'd have someone who can play 'live' but they could also play recorded music. They can do that without hymns though.

Some well crafted songs, undoubtedly, but that doesn't really prove the point that they are the only well crafted songs which exist.