Editing Hymn (section)

==== Western church ====
[[File:St Paul's Cathedral South Organ, London, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|Hymns are often accompanied by [[pipe organ|organ]] music]]
Later hymnody in the [[Western church]] introduced four-part vocal [[harmony]] as the norm, adopting major and minor keys, and came to be led by [[organ (music)|organ]] and choir. It shares many elements with [[European classical music|classical music]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mercer-Taylor |first=Peter |date=2009 |title=Mendelssohn in Nineteenth-Century American Hymnody |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ncm.2009.32.3.235 |journal=19th-Century Music |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=235–283 |doi=10.1525/ncm.2009.32.3.235 |jstor=10.1525/ncm.2009.32.3.235 |issn=0148-2076}}</ref>

Today, except for choirs, more musically inclined congregations and ''[[a cappella]]'' congregations, hymns are typically sung in unison. In some cases complementary full settings for organ are also published, in others organists and other accompanists are expected to adapt the available setting, or extemporise one, on their instrument of choice.

In traditional [[Anglican Church|Anglican]] practice, hymns are sung (often accompanied by an organ) during the [[processional hymn|processional]] to the altar,<ref>{{cite book |title=Processional Hymns, for Use in the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York {{!}} Hymnary.org |url=https://hymnary.org/hymnal/PHUC1878 |access-date=2 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref> during the receiving of communion, during the [[recessional hymn|recessional]], and sometimes at other points during the service. The [[Doxology#Trinitarian doxology|Doxology]] is also sung after the tithes and offerings are brought up to the altar.

[[Contemporary worship|Contemporary Christian worship]], as often found in [[Evangelicalism]] and [[Pentecostalism]], may include the use of [[contemporary worship music]] played with [[electric guitar]]s and the [[drum kit]], sharing many elements with [[rock music]].<ref name=":1" />

Other groups of Christians have historically excluded instrumental accompaniment, citing the absence of instruments in worship by the church in the first several centuries of its existence, and adhere to an unaccompanied ''[[a cappella]]'' congregational singing of hymns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why we worship Acapella? ‹ High School Road Church of Christ |url=https://www.highschoolroadchurch.com/about/why-we-worship-acapella |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=www.highschoolroadchurch.com}}</ref> These groups include the 'Brethren' (often both 'Open' and 'Exclusive'), the [[Churches of Christ]], [[Mennonites]], several Anabaptist-based denominations—such as the [[Apostolic Christian Church of America]]—[[Primitive Baptists]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Direction: Anabaptist Hymn |url=https://directionjournal.org/1/3/anabaptist-hymn.html |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=directionjournal.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yoder |first=Harvey |date=2018-08-27 |title=Our hymns shape our church |url=https://anabaptistworld.org/our-hymns-shape-our-church/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Anabaptist World |language=en-US}}</ref> and certain Reformed churches, although during the last century or so, several of these, such as the [[Free Church of Scotland (since 1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] have abandoned this stance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Psalm & Praise Resources |url=https://freechurch.org/praise-resources/ |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=Free Church of Scotland |language=en-GB}}</ref>