How to start?

clay

I am a complete novice at hymns, and I don't have access to an al-han. So...I was wondering how you guys started/ or are learning apart from alhan (which I bet would be a jewel). By the way- complete novice. I can read Coptic, but that is far as it goes, really.

I have seen some the resources- just was wondering what was the most effective way of utilising them.

Also, what hymns should I start with, especially for this season (the Holy 50 Days/Pentecosal).

God bless.

jydeacon

Well everybody has got to start somewhere, I personally believe the annual hymns are the best place to start but since you would like to start with things from the 50 days(since it is that season of course) that i would start with learning the doxologies and the verses of the cymbals(joyful tune if you can). Obviously you are on the best website for hymns and they have almost everything here. There is also coptichymns.net, they have a good collection but not everything is for downloading, only streaming. There is also of course copticheritage.org, where there are actual lessons online for various hymns for each occasion.

I started learning at church by our priest first then the mualim took over once we had learned how to read coptic and got the basics down. if you have any alhan lessons at church that would be good to utiilize as well. If not there is a plethra(not sure if i spelled it right) of ways you can learn hymns, by either simply listening to them constantly, or by going to lessons or by using the lessons online. If you are determined enough, nothing can stop you from learning. Good Luck and God be with you when you learn so that you may understand what you chant and comprehend the depth behind the tunes

God Bless and Pray for me and my weakness

joeg

And when you actually have found a hymn you want to learn:

1) Read the words - and understand them.
2) Learn one was hazza at a time, making sure you connect each new hazza to the one before it.
3) Go over the hymn again and again....
4) Make sure you say it in the church, both to get the spiritual benfits of the hymn, as well as consolidating it in your memory.
5) Revise it every period of time, so as not to lose it from your long-term memory.
6) And don't forget to teach it - pass the heritage our forefathers delivered to us to the next generation (make sure you know it well first).

pray for me

joe

I myself live in a small church with no moallem, but even so I go online here, download the hymn from HICS, put it on my i-Pod, and constantly listen to it - believe me it works, and you can become just as knowledgeable as a moallem or someone taught by them, in time....