Does anyone here besides myself like the contemporary music at mass

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Loud-living-dogma said:
All of it is beautiful to the Lord? Hmmm, maybe. How do you know this? I am serious - - how do you claim to know this? How do you reconcile the pop style with the instructions from the Church herself?
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Presumably the Bishop is allowing this music, so that takes care of the “instructions from the Church herself” as if he (and the dozens of other Bishops doing the same thing) were out of line, their superiors would let them know.

People using their gifts to sincerely praise God are always beautiful to the Lord, even if you hate listening to it.
Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey used to play violin, badly, in front of the Blessed Sacrament at night. He did that because his brothers in the religious order had told him they didn’t want to listen to him anymore because he played lousy. He still loved to play though, and gave that gift to the Lord. I’m sure his playing was beautiful to Jesus.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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SacredHeartBassist:
We don’t have drums. I think drums can be distracting if played wrong and most the time they are.
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I kind of like the drums at Mass. Why shouldn’t a drummer be able to praise God using his instrument too?
The only problem with drums is that they can be really loud for the people sitting anywhere near them. You need to have someplace to put them, like the choir loft, where they won’t be destroying someone’s eardrums.
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Drummers can praise God all they want, just not necessarily as part of Mass. It’s not a talent show, right?
 
If you do not like the music at a Mass, please feel free to attend another one.

The one I attend with the drummer and band is generally quite full of Lifeteen attendees and their families and other people who don’t mind the music. The church has three other Masses on Sunday with traditional music. You have a choice. Stop dumping on people who want something different.

By the way - there are already 15235660 threads about people complaining about contemporary music.
Why did you have to derail the OP’s thread? He already knows many people here don’t like contemporary music, and he was looking for people who liked it, not people ranting about the same old stuff.
 
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Nothing wrong with them. Just acoustics in a church tend to cause an echo which makes the whole band seem out of time. Sometimes a song can be improved by drums. I wish we had a drummer. Instead I have to keep the time by playing more rhythmically than I’d like

But I was just saying I’d rather not have a drummer than a bad one.
 
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All styles of religious music at Mass, if done well is good.

If done poorly, doesn’t matter if it’s Gregorian Chant or The St Louis Jesuits, I’d rather go without.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
If done poorly, doesn’t matter if it’s Gregorian Chant or The St Louis Jesuits, I’d rather go without.
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I agree with you there. I try to be charitable and offer it up, since I know that the churches are often relying on volunteers for their music ministry, and sometimes even decent musicians have a bad day, or the main person who usually leads the group is absent so it doesn’t sound as good, or if it’s a youth group the idea may be to encourage and involve the kids rather than have professional quality playing.

But I much prefer it when it’s done competently, regardless of what style it is in.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
The only problem with drums is that they can be really loud for the people sitting anywhere near them.
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I’ll say that the volume is the number one consideration for me. I have been to Mass where the drums were way too loud (probably the acoustics of that particular church). I’ve been to another where they actually had erected a plastic, half-wall in front o the drum kit to help muffle the sound. It wasn’t so bad there.
 
I’ll take the traditional music. Contemporary does not help me enter into a proper frame of mind.
 
It’s funny how most people who responded don’t like contemporary music. This post was not directed to you guys. Why respond
 
I have no particular love or hate for CCM (organ music all the way), but it does irritate me when people dismiss it out of hand. It’s just a matter of taste.

I do love African hymns/instrumentals, though. Siyahamba, anyone?
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Presumably the Bishop is allowing this music, so that takes care of the “instructions from the Church herself” as if he (and the dozens of other Bishops doing the same thing) were out of line, their superiors would let them know.
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I can’t argue with this. If the local bishop has allowed the use of electric guitars and drums in a liturgical context, then who am I to judge that?

But it does raise the question…what the heck is a “profane instrument”? Church documents forbid the use of “profane” instruments in Mass… if the bishops have blessed the use of even electric guitars and drums (and to my mind, from a North American context, these would be the most obvious examples of instruments that reflect the secular culture), what’s not allowed?
 
There’s a good discussion of this on a past thread. See Ad Orientem’s post, about three posts down.
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Instruments to be used at mass Liturgy and Sacraments
Recently a friend told me that percussion instruments/guitars were not proper to liturgical music. I have read through several documents which say that the Organ is to be given preeminence, however I was wondering if anyone was aware of any authoritative documents from the Congregation for Divine Worship or someone else that specifically mentioned which instruments are not proper and should not be used in liturgical music.
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In previous eras, Popes banned specific instruments as being “too secular”. Bans on something like the piano seem silly today. Of course, the piano could be used to play some wonderful Bach piece such as “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring”, or it could be used in a totally different style to play Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” which would be inappropriate for church.

I think since the 1960s there has been more appreciation for the fact that a particular instrument which is often used in a secular way can also be used in a sacred and reverent way. I would think, however, that a kazoo orchestra playing Tantum Ergo would still not be permitted.
 
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But I think I’m okay with playing electric bass as long as I don’t play in a funky slap bass manner
 
Well, you know, if you have a nice four-part harmony (soprano kazoo, alto kazoo, tenor kazoo, and bass kazoo), played by children in a reverential manner, wouldn’t that be full and active participation?
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
All of it is beautiful to the Lord? Hmmm, maybe. How do you know this for sure? I am serious - - how do you claim to know this? How do you reconcile the pop style with the instructions from the Church herself? You know, the instruction that say that chant and sacred polyphony should have pride of place? I look forward to your answer! 🙂
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There are 122 occurrences of the word “song” in the NABRE as well as 34 of “music”, 26 of “singing”, 100 of “sing”, 11 of “musical” and 4 of “musicians”. Clearly, from the mouth of God himself, He loves music.

There are 17 references to the word “organ” all of which have to do with the inner organs of the sacrificial animals, not a musical instrument.

What is referenced in scripture many times are drums, timbral, harps, lyres, and trumpets.

1 Chronicles 13:8
while David and all Israel danced before God with all their might, with singing, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

2 Chronicles 5:13
… and when they raised the sound of the trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments to “Praise the Lord, who is so good, whose love endures forever,” the cloud filled the house of the Lord.

Psalm 81:2
Sing joyfully to God our strength; raise loud shouts to the God of Jacob!

Psalm 95:1
Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; cry out to the rock of our salvation.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior, Who will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, Who will sing joyfully because of you,

And finally:

Psalm 150:3-6
3 Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise him with harp and lyre.
4 Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with strings and pipes.
5 Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath give praise to the Lord! Hallelujah!

While I greatly respect the traditions of the church, there are some that may not transcend contemporary society. In all of these scriptures, it is evident that joyful, glorious, but holy music is loved by God. This is “how I know”.

I do love the Latin chants and as I said, I love to sing an Ave Maria now and again. This one is a beautiful adaptation of Latin and contemporary.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of contemporary pieces out there taken respectfully from the scriptures and often appropriate to the readings of any particular liturgical day.

I know in my heart and soul that any song based on our faith and directed to the glory and worship of God in the heart of the singers and performers, is sweet music to the ears of our Lord as praise and worship.

Respectfully, prayerfully and reverently singing and playing contemporary music inside and outside of church is most definitely scriptural and appropriate.

Michael Hager
The Bible Catholic
 
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