So far, hymnological representations have mostly been conceived historically, as the history of hymns and hymn books. There is a danger that attention will be shifted from the songs to their historical context, even if this is indispensable for understanding. This book follows a different approach by first looking at the songs themselves and examining them on the basis of their different design aspects: according to the linguistic form, according to the relationship between language and music on a formal and content level, according to melody types and musical elements, after linguistic, literary and theological criteria of the linguistic form. The book is the result of many years of teaching. It refers to the German-language hymn repertoire with a focus on that of the Protestant churches, whereby, in contrast to earlier presentations, the Reformed is also dealt with in detail in addition to the Lutheran. The Catholic hymn tradition is included, so that the book can be used in the entire German-speaking area for teaching and study.