Welcome to the Hymn Descants Blog

A descant is a counter melody written above the original melody. Its main purpose is to enhance the original melody without overpowering it. It heightens the effectiveness of the worship experience by adding a sense of climax and joy to a hymn.

Why hymn descants? I felt a need to expand my flute playing in church to more that just playing the various lines in the hymnal. Descants allow me to do this and bring more glory to God through my music. I found a few descant resources scattered here and there about the internet, but no one comprehensive site, so www.hymndescants.com was born.

This blog provides a forum for all to discuss descants as used in hymns. Posts can cover finding descants, writing, playing and/or singing descants.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Descants « Thoroughly Good Blog

Christmas Descants « Thoroughly Good Blog
I don't think I've ever read a better description of descants at Christmas that what was written in this post: "The melody which soars above the rest of the hymn in the final verse transforms transforms the collective praise between congregation and choir into a intense moment of triumph and joy. The descant amplifies the theatrical aspect of the celebration. The sense of drama is palpable. And if it’s a particularly good descant, it’s almost impossible not to sing along."