Music in Konde Worship

By Deacon April Trout

Music is a fair and glorious gift of God. ~ Martin Luther.
Music is the divine messenger between heaven and the human. ~ Ludwig von Beethoven.

In February I accomplished one of my most favorite activities here in Tanzania – teaching a music class to a group of 18 musicians from throughout Konde Diocese.

As Lutherans, we appreciate music – hymns, sung liturgy, choir anthems and instrumental offerings – as an integral part of our worship services. Not intended as simply “entertainment” to liven up liturgy, music is, in addition to the sermon, one of the ways in which the word of God is proclaimed.

Here in the Lutheran church in Tanzania, music is considered not only the word of God; it is regarded as an evangelistic tool, vital to spreading the message of the gospel. Most ELCT churches have several choirs of various ages and composition (I visited one parish that has nine), and generally two or three choirs sing at each worship service. For big events like a Bishop’s installation or an ordination, there might be 8 or 10 in attendance.

Choirs here often are invited to sing at each others’ churches. Sometimes this is in a nearby church, sometimes it is in another Diocese – which means a bus trip for the choir. There are regular yearly choir competitions, also, for the traditional (a cappella) choirs, in the districts and Dioceses as well as at the national level. As a singer myself, the quality and beauty of traditional Tanzanian music has awed me from the moment I first heard it. And it is all the more remarkable when you consider that most of the choir directors have received no music training and cannot read music.

For the last five years I have been working to develop regular training sessions to teach Lutheran church musicians how to read music. If they can’t read music, choir directors can learn new songs only by hearing them (and remembering them, of course). They have to learn all the notes and words to all the parts. Then to teach the song to the choir, they sing each part to each section, and the section sings it back, over and over, until they have learned it correctly. Finally, they put all the parts together. You can imagine that it takes a lot of rehearsal time to teach a new song to the choir in this way. If the choir directors learn how to read music – even at a basic level – they are able to increase their repertoire and teach new songs to their choirs more efficiently – especially if there are a couple of singers or assistant directors who can also read music.

In developing these music trainings, I’ve learned that it is quite possible to teach basic music theory in three to five days, depending on how much time we leave for written and practical exercises. The participants are always enthusiastic, are thrilled with their new knowledge, and want to continue their training at a higher level. If I had the money for more trainings, I’d be doing this more often! Though it’s not technically part of my job description, I do it gladly and gratefully. Not only does it feed my soul, but the Diocese leaders are very happy for the opportunity to elevate the level of music within the Diocese.