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Introduction
Below are some familiar tunes you may know, or can learn easily.
All of the 150 psalms in the The Scottish Metrical Psalter Buy can be sung to Common Meter tunes.† Common Meter is the most common meter for familiar tunes. If you know just one Common Meter tune, such as Amazing Grace, you can sing all 150 psalms.
† Ps. 136 is the only psalm not in common meter. Instead of a meter of 8.6.8.6, the first meter of it is 8.7.8.7, but the last two-syllable word on the second and fourth lines, either “ever” or “never” can be slurred into one syllable (“e’er” or “ne’er”) and hence easily sung to a common meter tune.
About a dozen or so of the psalms have also been set to other meters as well. The first version of the psalm is notated by (i) and the second version of the psalm is notated by (ii).
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All 150 Psalms – Common Meter
Amazing Grace – “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…” Piano Video Score
America the Beautiful – “O beautiful for spacious skies…” Piano Video Score
Azmon / Denfield – “O for a thousand tongues to sing…” Piano Video Score
Coronation – “All hail the Son of God, He’s robed in…” Piano Video Score
Ellacombe – “I sing the mighty power of God…” Piano Video Score
Fountain – “There is a fountain filled with blood…” Piano Video Score
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Psalms 25(i), 45(ii), 50(i), 67(i), 70(i) – Short Meter
Diademata – “Crown Him with many crowns…” Piano Video Score
Mercer Street – “This is my Father’s world…” Piano Video Score
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Psalms 6(i), 100(i), 102(ii), 145(ii) – Long Meter
Creation – “The spacious firmament on high…” Piano Video Score
Duke Street – “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun…” Piano Video Score
Old 100th – “Praise God from whom all blessing flow…” Piano Video Score
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Psalm 136(i) – 8.7.8.7. Doubled
Ebenezer – “O the deep, deep love of Jesus…” Piano Video Score
Hyfrydol – “Come, Thou long expected Jesus…” Piano Video Score
Nettleton – “Come thou fount of every blessing…” Piano Video Score
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Want to go further?
For those who desire to advance in the singing of praise to God, or who are musically inclined, be sure to purchase The Scottish Psalmody Buy (and here) which has all the musical notation in it.
A good tune complements the words of the psalm. Joyful tunes accentuate joyful psalms. Sorrowful tunes express well psalms of lament. Contemplative tunes assist the singing of meditative psalms. You will find many rich and heart-gripping tunes in this psalter that will stir your soul up to greater devotion to the God who gave the psalms to us.
Most of the 192 tunes this psalter contains (with suggested tunes for each psalm), are the historic tunes that these psalms have been sung to throughout history: from the time of Calvin’s Geneva, to the Huguenots of France, to the Covenanters on the battlefields of Scotland, through the 1800′s in the Free Church of Scotland.
Audio files of many of the tunes are on this page. See also the collections at Youtube and Soundcloud.
If you have trouble acquiring enough copies of The Scottish Psalmody for your family (or twenty copies for when all your friends come over; 200 for your whole church?), contact the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) who may be able to help.
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