Lining out

Lining out or hymn lining, called precenting the line in Scotland, is a form of a cappella hymn-singing or hymnody in which a leader, often called the clerk or precentor, gives each line of a hymn tune as it is to be sung, usually in a chanted form giving or suggesting the tune. It can be considered a form of call and response. First referred to as "the old way of singing" in 18th-century Britain, it has influenced 20th-century popular-music singing styles.

In 1644, the Westminster Assembly outlined its usage in English churches "for the present, where many in the congregation cannot read". Lining out spread rapidly to the Scottish churches where it has persisted longest in Britain. It has survived to the present day among some communities and contexts, including the Gaelic psalmody on Lewis in Scotland, the Old Regular Baptists of the southern Appalachians in the United States, and for informal worship in many African American congregations.