Projecting? Punctuate Please!
Adding punctuation to the projected text we sing offers road signs and symbols that help frame the rhythm, flow, and phrasing of a story. Most of us learned and have followed these non-verbal cues since elementary school.
Inserting slide breaks are indeed helpful with song phrasing but they are not always enough. A comma can tell a singer where to pause for emphasis, but also indicates when a statement or question is not yet complete. A period shows the singer when a verse, chorus, or phrase has ended.
Additional punctuation and capitalization helps singers emphasize or deemphasize certain words that might elevate or minimize theological implications. Singers might miss some of those spiritual emphases without those markers. And without them, how will they know if they are asking for theological clarification or making a doctrinal statement?
Many of us will be singing Advent and Christmas Carols in the coming weeks so here is an example of how deleting or adding punctuation changes the theological understanding of a familiar carol:
So bring Him incense gold and myrrh
Come peasant king to own Him
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king to own Him.
Without punctuation we are left confused with the peasant king oxymoron. With punctuation we understand that Christ is available to all, including both peasants and kings.
We often consider the lyrics of Jesus Loves Me to be a simple message easily understood by children. But the presence or absence of punctuation can surface a centuries old theological argument:
If I love Him when I die
He will take me home on high
If I love Him, when I die
He will take me home on high.
The argument that many of our songs are poetry, and consequently shouldn’t follow the same strict punctuation guidelines as prose is a valid one. But poetry doesn’t usually eliminate punctuation altogether, it instead uses it artistically to highlight the text.
Some worship leaders might be able to direct us vocally and instrumentally when those road signs are missing, but not all have that gift. So if we are truly trying to lead our congregations into participative instead of passive worship, then wouldn’t it make sense not to expect leaders to do for congregants what they already learned to do for themselves at a young age?
It is certainly easier not to add punctuation when we are preparing songs slides for our worship services. But is ease what we are called to when we’re trying to encourage our congregants to take those texts and tunes home in their hearts and on their lips each week. Punctuation helps them internalize those texts with biblical and theological accuracy.