cremation services offered in Mount Sterling Heights, MI

Choosing Music for a Memorial Service

Memorial services are one of the cremation services offered in Mount Sterling Heights, MI. An important part of memorial services is the music that is selected and played. Music speaks to the soul and it can add great meaning to the service where people are gathered to remember you and remember your life.

While in times past, music associated with memorial services was likely to be limited to a very narrow genre of traditional hymns or classical music, now many different types of music are played at memorial services.

You can choose music that you like. You can choose music that will remind people of things about you. You can choose music that is connected to a special event in your life, such as your wedding day, or that has special meaning to your family, such as a favorite song that you all shared in common.

However, although your choice of music to be played at your memorial service can be virtually unlimited, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind as you are making your selections.

Avoid music that includes expletives or has vulgar lyrics. There will be a wide variety of people attending your memorial service. There will be very young people and very elderly people. If you are affiliated with a religious congregation, many of them are likely to attend your memorial service. Work colleagues will also likely be in attendance.

While expletives and vulgar lyrics are ubiquitous in modern music, they are still offensive to many people, and the last thing you want at your memorial service is people who are shocked and offended by the lyrics of the music you have chosen.

Before choosing music, make sure you double-check the lyrics to ensure that they’re not inappropriate in any other way (suggestive, double-entendre, etc.) that might cause offense to the people who are attending your memorial service.

The next step is to decide at what points during your memorial service that music should be played. There’s no set format, so it’s up to you as to when you think it would be most appropriate.

Most funeral homes have equipment that can play streaming or MP3 files, so all you will need to do is make sure, especially if the music is a rare recording or a deep cut, that you have them somewhere (such as on a Spotify playlist) that is easily accessible for the funeral home to play them.

If you’re unsure what music you’d like to have played at your memorial service, here are a few suggestions from different genres to help you get started.

If you are interested in having hymns played at your memorial service, some of the more popular ones are “Amazing Grace,” “Oh Happy Day,” “Ave Maria,” and “Blessed Assurance.”

Some popular music choices that are often heard at memorials services include “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Israel Kamakawiwo ‘Ole, “I Can See Clearly Now” – Johnny Nash, “Angel” – Sarah Mclachlan, and “Imagine” – John Lennon.

For more soothing music, favorites include “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Simon & Garfunkel, “I’ll Be Missing You“– Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, “One Sweet Day” – Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, and “Go Rest High on That Mountain” – Vince Gill.

If you want uplifting music, consider “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong or “Wherever You Will Go” by The Calling.

For more information about cremation services in Mount Sterling Heights, MI, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Lee-Ellena Funeral is here to assist you. You can visit our funeral home at 46530 Romeo Plank Rd., Macomb, MI 48044, or you can call us today at (586) 412-8999.