Did you know that the popular song, "I Love You Lord", can be sung in two different ways? If both ways are sung at the same time, there would be a melodic clash that can be disruptive to congregational worship, so it is imperative that music directors stick to one version consistently so as not to confuse the worship team and congregation.
Let's do a short analysis of these two melodic versions by listening to some recordings of both.
Version 1:
Version 2:
It would seem that most recorded material (on YouTube) adopt Version 1's melodic rhythm, where there is more uniformity as seen in the diagram above (line 6 and 7 showing consistent alignment). Version 1 also benefits from a shorter pause as shown in the beats highlighted in cyan. A longer pause might cause singers and worship leaders to start singing the next line too early.
We might be led to believe that Version 2's melodic rhythm tends to be present only in modern renditions. However, there is apparently one recording of Shannon, the writer of this song, singing with Maranatha and using Version 2. (Take note that other recordings by Maranatha of this song use Version 1)
Version 2 (Shannon):
So can we conclusively pick one or the other as being the right one? It would be important to choose one over the other since both cannot be sung at the same time without clashing. In the end, it will probably come down to personal preferences and what your congregation has already gotten used to. Just be mindful to set a clear choice when training new musicians and singers so that there will not be any chance for discord which breaks the flow.
(Photo credit: Ak-i)
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