Can we have a frank discussion about music in Mass?

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FloridaCatholic said:
Am I the only one that doesn’t like church music? I’d rather just have the mass without music.
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So… just to make sure that I understand: if you personally dislike something in the Mass, then it should be removed? 🤔
When did music in mass become a thing?
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The Psalms were sung. Christ and the apostles sang hymns. Paul recommends it to the faithful.

So, I think that the answer is “from the very beginning”.
 
We’ve needed one of those ever since classical german composers used the local bar tunes for mass settings.
 
Do you mean music as in instruments, or does music include singing?
 
Do you suppose some people in heaven will politely request that the choirs of angels just recite their praises to God instead of singing them all the time?
 
You’ve probably never actually heard real Church music but rather the 1960s folksy hashings of it. The very ecclesial documents used to justify that sort of music don’t even allow for it.
 
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It might be because of learning modalities… You know, some people are visual learners, or auditory… some love numbers, reading, spoken word… Many love music. There is something for EVERYONE. Sorry you don’t like the music. Used to when I was a kid they had early morning mass like 6am… no music.
 
I am fortunate in that we have great music. When I go to another parish that is actually closer, the music all sounds the same on a pipe organ with no imagination and a small choir. It isn’t a huge deal, I am just glad I have different choices.
 
Music at Mass forms part of the Liturgy.

Sing with all your hearts just as David sang in joy and praise to God.
 
I find it a shame that we have hundreds of years worth of beautiful Gregorian chant going to waist for this 20th century junk.

Here you can listen to 3 hours of good Chant on Youtube:

Plus another hour here:

and another 3 hours here:
 
Really? I love the music! At my parish, they stick to the good old traditional songs. When I feel really happy, I often feel like singing. It is also, in my opinion, beautiful to praise God with our voices. It reminds me of the chorus of angels.
 
The only time I’ve liked music in mass is when it’s done really well and it’s chant or something classical like Bach/Gonoud ave Maria or a soft organ (no singing) right after communion

I’ve never liked the singing of the psalms. I’d rather just have a psalm being read to me
 
I love church music. As we go back to Latin, I’ll miss the contemporary music. I sing all the time. A world w/o music would be sad.
I’m sorry for you.
David wrote music (psalms). Surely, there is some regular music you can clean house by…
Keep listening to church music. It will seal it into your spirit.
 
I never said I hated music. I LOVE music. But I just feel like music in mass distracts me
 
I’m sorry, I miss understood. We pray the music as we sing it. There are times the priests prays and our prayer is song.
Maybe that thought will help.???
I’m glad you like music.
Tweedlealice
 
FloridaCatholic said:
I never said I hated music. I LOVE music. But I just feel like music in mass distracts me
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OK, yes, we’re supposed to be praying using song, not feeling like there is a performance going on.

I don’t mean we personally have to be doing all the singing, but that the singing ought to be something that can be described as prayerful.

I think it is safe to say that definition is quite a bit wider now than previously. I don’t blame those who personally feel the definition has broadened so much that they experience the opposite effect. I think that is fair. Music should not go anywhere, but whether the current forms where you attend Mass are conducive to the Church’s central act of worship is another matter.
 
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At the holy sacrifice of mass, we are not there primarily to hear music - good, bad or indifferent.
We are not there primarily to hear riveting homilies.
We are not there primarily for fellowship.
We are not there primarily even to receive the Holy Eucharist.
We are there to offer ourselves, parts of Christ’s Mystical Body, to the Father as living sacrifices in atonement for the sins of the world.

In the spirit of sacrifice, I often find that the prevailing culture has crept in and that culture seems to hate silence. I am not exactly a Carthusian, but reverent silence never hurt anyone.
 
FloridaCatholic said:
Am I the only one that doesn’t like church music? I’d rather just have the mass without music. When did music in mass become a thing? And why do we have to sing the Gloria instead of just reciting it?
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I am with you on this - especially the Gloria. I love the Gloria, but I don’t like the music that accompanies it. I would prefer reciting it also.
 
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BlueMantle said:
It is correct that the Mass isn’t supposed to be about personal preference. That’s why pop / folk type music that is bouncy and sing-able is not what the music at Mass was originally. It’s not about whether the parishioners can sing to it. That’s why we had well trained choirs. The old Mass was a completely different focus than the New Mass and the new music reflects that.
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I dislike most of the songs they sing at my Church and would much rather hear contemporary-pop-Christian music.
 
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