Church Music: Looking for Teen responses

[kaygee]

I drove my 7th grade dd and some of her friends home after they had sung in the choir at the 8th grade graduation Mass at their school. They did nothing but complain about the “hippie hymns” they had to sing. BTW this is the same crew that successfully battled during Advent to allow “O Come O Come Emmanuel” as a processional at the school Mass rather than a vintage '70’s era song. Is this trend among the students at this school to prefer “timeless” over “dated” church music happening all over, or is this just at this school? What kind of music do you prefer in worship?

 

[patrickmichael]

I’m 22, but I can say that all through my teen years I hated (and still am very much opposed to) “hippie catholicism”.

I think one of the most clueless things you can believe is that you have to “dumb down”, “reach out to the youth”, or otherwise assume that kids need, much less want, this sort of thing. It was extremely uncomfortable knowing that any youth group or ‘retreat’ would have to be accompanied by ‘contempory’ ‘music’. Maybe some people appreciate that sort of stuff…I can solemnly assure you that we do not.

Even the ones, and I was one of these, for whom religion was ‘just my sports-team’, can recognize what is beautiful and what is not.

So…liturgists and music directors…please know that the Church’s traditional musical forms, both eastern and western, are welcomed, wanted, and I’ve come to believe, necessary for people who are literally starving for something that can sustain them.

Music is a part of that.

 

[jimmy]

I am 23 but I can say that I have never liked the contemporary “catholic” music. It is not Catholic. It should not be in a church. They look at us young people as if we need dumbed down religion as michaelpatrick said. We desire to actually have Catholic music in the mass.

 

[need_to_know]

I prefer the old traditinal-style music. (I’m 17.) In the Sunday evening service on the first and second Sunday of the month we have student and gospel music, respectively. I don’t mind it, but it does get on my nerves when people start bumping hips and stuff, it’s ridiculous. Give me a good old Gloria anyday.

 

[BloodandFire]

I dont mind comtempory music. I grew up with it, so once it hit my church, I welcomed it. Yet, as I grow in my faith I have come to like the traditional music more.

I like both.

 

[chevalier]

When I was a teen, I wanted traditional songs. The more Latin, the better. I liked the exoticity of those styled after Jewish songs or even Arabic ones, but I didn’t appreciate the exoticity of modern songs.