A series of podcasts having to do with “Issues in Congregational Singing” is in preparation. The podcasts will cover at least seven topics:

There will also be a single introductory podcast and a closing, summary, podcast.

The podcasts cover much of the material in the book, “Volumes of Praise for a Vanishing God,” and more, but there is an added feature that may prove to be the most helpful of all. Almost all the podcasts include a time of “ear-training,” in which the listener is invited to ponder a question or two about a particular hymntune (the music used for a Christian song). For example, the challenge might involve two hymntunes for the same text, with the question: Which tune fits the text better? Why? The author gives his answer to the question at the start of the next podcast. Each topic contains between seven and 13 podcasts, running 20 – 25 minutes in length.

Each podcast is a compressed video that will fit easily on a smartphone and can be downloaded quickly. The video presents a Powerpoint slide show that is designed to enrich the audio. The intent is that the interested listener can hear a podcast while working out, commuting, etc., and if sufficiently interested he/she can review the podcast in a quieter time and benefit from the visual presentation.

Various materials, such as the full text of each song used in a podcast, will be available on this page.

Preparation of the podcasts is already well underway. We will try to update this page from time to time to let you know how it is progressing.

Click here to see how the podcasts are progressing.