Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

I started reading this interesting little book in the dressing room of the Grove Theatre in Dunstable where I was appearing as an extra in Carmen. I say this partly because it is an introduction that I will never again be able to use but mainly to set out my credentials: I like singing in both sacred and secular settings and I can read a vocal score. If you cannot read music then you may have to skip some parts of this book but there will still be much that you can follow, particularly if you recognise the hymn tunes. In his first volume, The Singing Thing, The Iona Community's John Bell explored the reasons why we sing. Now, in his second volume, The Singing Thing Too, the author concentrates on the practical matters such as how people learn to sing and how leaders go about teaching new material or breathing life into old, overly familiar songs that have gone stale. Bell is a gifted communicator and he makes his points in a relaxed and amusing way. He rightly points out that not everything he says here will be applicable to every reader as he is trying to cross denominational and traditional boundaries, resulting in a rather scatter-gun approach. But there will be more that unites than divides in any worshipping context, whether we be part of a congregation of thousands at Greenbelt or a small gathering in an old people's home. Reading this book has challenged me to think about some aspects of how (and why) I lead the singing in my home fellowship and if you have at least some musical background you will find constructive ideas to take you higher up and further in. If you are not a musician you will find many amusing anecdotes that will help you to better understand where the musically literate are coming from. There are plenty of musical examples given, which probably explains why the book is relatively expensive as type-setting music cannot be cheap. An index would have been helpful but this is a minor quibble about a book that is overall very helpful and thought-provoking.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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