Hymns at Mass? Is Participation Required?

[Cat]

whatever happened to just singing along? when I first became Catholic, there were many songs new to me. I just joined in and sang. there was never a sense I needed to practice the song first.

I am interested in learning how you sing along when you don’t know the song.

How do you anticipate which note is coming? This is a skill that I would love to learn.

I’ve played piano for almost 50 years, and I’ve accompanied a lot of choirs and singers and worked with a lot of music directors. In other words, I’m a good musician. But I’m still not able to “sing along” on hymns that I don’t know because I’m not able to anticipate the notes before I hear them. I’m not even able to anticipate which chord will come next, so I can’t harmonize on a song that I don’t know. If I have music, I can sight read, but I can’t sing by ear when I don’t know the song.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this.

 

[liturgyluver]

Hello. We sing three hymns at Mass: One while processing in, one during the Preparation of the Gifts, and a Recessional Hymn. Is participation in these hymns required? I personally think these hymns distract me from the Mass and God. Can I just remain silent?

God bless you for answering my question.

The GIRM is clear about expectations at mass:

96. Moreover, they are to form one body, whether in hearing the Word of God, or in taking part in the prayers* and in the singing**, or above all by the common offering of the Sacrifice and by participating together at the Lord’s table. This unity is beautifully apparent from the gestures and bodily postures observed together by the faithful.

1. The faithful, moreover, should not refuse to serve the People of God in gladness whenever they are asked to perform some particular service or function in the celebration*

*The Importance of Singing

1. **The Christian faithful who come together as one in expectation of the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together Psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles (cf. Col 3:16). **Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2:46). Thus St. Augustine says rightly, “Singing is for one who loves,”[48] and there is also an ancient proverb: “Whoever sings well prays twice over.”
2. Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of peoples and abilities of each liturgical assembly. Although it is not always necessary (e.g., in weekday Masses) to sing all the texts that are in principle meant to be sung, every care should be taken that singing by the ministers and the people not be absent in celebrations that occur on Sundays and on Holydays of Obligation.*

 

[Sarabande]

whatever happened to just singing along? when I first became Catholic, there were many songs new to me. I just joined in and sang. there was never a sense I needed to practice the song first.

I’ve been in a couple parishes that had you practice before mass. It rarely went over well. I currently work at a parish that did that for when the texts for the parts of the mass changed. This is a good singing parish, but trying to get them to practice before mass was like pulling teeth. We ended up stopping and they picked up the music over a few weeks.

I personally don’t like practice when I’m in the congregation. I’d rather use that time for contemplation and prayer. The problem of practicing earlier on, is that most people don’t start showing up until 10 minutes before mass begins and that’s when people want quiet prayer and contemplation. So if you practice earlier, the church will be fairly empty and the practice was all for naught.

In regards to the OP, congregational singing is encouraged, but it’s not an actual requirement - meaning I don’t think it is sin to not sing. I love to sing, but sometimes, I’d rather just listen and concentrate on the words of the hymns. Other times, my voice is such that whenever I do sing in the congregation and hardly anyone is singing, it always brings attention to me and people are always talking to me about my voice after mass. You can’t escape people from the attention when you are in the pews. It’s much easier to escape it when you are cantoring. I’d rather not have the attention, so it’s either singing quietly so that no one will hear me or not singing at all. But then, I’m not really participating completely. Singing quietly, to me, is singing half-you-know-what.

I personally LOVE it when everyone is singing. I don’t care how bad the voice next to me is. I love the passion people put into it. Congregational singing is not about having a good voice. That’s why hymns are supposed to be easy to sing, with simple melodies and within the vocal range of most people. Most hymns don’t sound as good as solo (unless a solo arrangement of the piece was made), because most of them were written to be sung by a group of people. On top of that, it allows me to sing out without feeling like I’m the only one singing and everyone hearing me, making judgments and assumptions - good or bad.

 

[PJM]

=bben15;11450381]Hello. We sing three hymns at Mass: One while processing in, one during the Preparation of the Gifts, and a Recessional Hymn. Is participation in these hymns required? I personally think these hymns distract me from the Mass and God. Can I just remain silent?

God bless you for answering my question.

First thing my friend is to understand WHY WE HAVE THE MASS

It’s for GODLY Worship!

But We get all of the benefits

It has been wisely stated that those who sing “pray twice.” So everyone ought to sing:thumbsup:

Take some PRIVATE time before or after Mass for your personal reflections

God Bless you, and THANKS for asking.

 

[GPGT]

I think it should be required anyways. Does anyone here seem to be not singing? What’s wrong with us today (me included)? The priest should be making a fuss if no one is singing.

 

[ProVobis]

I am interested in learning how you sing along when you don’t know the song.

How do you anticipate which note is coming? This is a skill that I would love to learn.

I’ve played piano for almost 50 years, and I’ve accompanied a lot of choirs and singers and worked with a lot of music directors. In other words, I’m a good musician. But I’m still not able to “sing along” on hymns that I don’t know because I’m not able to anticipate the notes before I hear them. I’m not even able to anticipate which chord will come next, so I can’t harmonize on a song that I don’t know. If I have music, I can sight read, but I can’t sing by ear when I don’t know the song.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this.

You present some good points here, Cat. When I was studying to play the organ, I was focused on the introduction, the chords, the speed, the setting, and a bunch of other things. Lyrics were the last thing I worried about, except when I was sitting in the congregation trying to figure out how to put the syllables over the stretched notes.

 

[Corki]

whatever happened to just singing along? when I first became Catholic, there were many songs new to me. I just joined in and sang. there was never a sense I needed to practice the song first.

For decades, the leaders at Church have used the ‘play once, sing once, lead’ method. If the music is singable, the congregation can at least join in the chorus. After a few Sundays, almost everyone will know the song.

 

[Corki]

I think it should be required anyways. Does anyone here seem to be not singing? What’s wrong with us today (me included)? The priest should be making a fuss if no one is singing.

If you link an hour long video at least give us a clue as to where to move the counter.

 

[GPGT]

If you link an hour long video at least give us a clue as to where to move the counter.

The whole mass is sung?

 

[Sarabande]

I am interested in learning how you sing along when you don’t know the song.

How do you anticipate which note is coming? This is a skill that I would love to learn.

I’ve played piano for almost 50 years, and I’ve accompanied a lot of choirs and singers and worked with a lot of music directors. In other words, I’m a good musician. But I’m still not able to “sing along” on hymns that I don’t know because I’m not able to anticipate the notes before I hear them. I’m not even able to anticipate which chord will come next, so I can’t harmonize on a song that I don’t know. If I have music, I can sight read, but I can’t sing by ear when I don’t know the song.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this.

Good question. I know you weren’t asking me, but I thought I’d give some (name removed by moderator)ut. Before I became proficient in reading music, I did everything by ear and I learned to just anticipate how the melody would go. It was a lot easier for traditional hymns where the melody would logically (at least for me) move to the next note. Most of the time, what I “guessed” was correct. Once I heard the entire first verse of a hymn, I’d have it down and wouldn’t need to guess anymore, since I’d have it “all right here in my noodle.” (I’m no where close to Mozart. In fact, I’m light years away from his genius, but I’ve always loved that quote from the movie.)

I still “try” do this today when I have no music to look at, but it’s a little harder now that I read music. That said, if I listen to the chord structure and the style the music was written in and a few other things at the beginning of the hymn, I can make some pretty decent anticipations of the notes.

 

[Enim]

Let’s have less music and better quality; I would even appreciate a weekend Mass without music rather continue on this course where everyone has to sing everything. Sometimes a few dialogue chants with the celebrant and the Alleluia are enough. Less is more. focus on God not the music

 

[ProVobis]

The GIRM is clear about expectations at mass:

We can always go to an Italian Mass where everything spoken sounds like it’s sung.

 

[liturgyluver]

We can always go to an Italian Mass where everything spoken sounds like it’s sung.

Belllissimo!

 

[ProVobis]

Belllissimo!

In the key of E.

 

[7_Sorrows]

I am interested in learning how you sing along when you don’t know the song.

How do you anticipate which note is coming? This is a skill that I would love to learn.

I’ve played piano for almost 50 years, and I’ve accompanied a lot of choirs and singers and worked with a lot of music directors. In other words, I’m a good musician. But I’m still not able to “sing along” on hymns that I don’t know because I’m not able to anticipate the notes before I hear them. I’m not even able to anticipate which chord will come next, so I can’t harmonize on a song that I don’t know. If I have music, I can sight read, but I can’t sing by ear when I don’t know the song.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this.

I agree with another poster that said when we arrive and wait for the Mass to begin we are supposed to be reverent and prayerful. I know I try to prepare myself spiritually for the Mass and that includes being silent. so it is an interruption for me to have to focus on a song and learn something as I am preparing myself for Mass.

how hard is it to sing a song for the first time when you have the words in front of you and you have heard the introduction of the song before everyones begin singing. I took piano and sang in the choir in high school and by the second verse you should know how the song goes.

 

[Phemie]

How hard is it to sing a song for the first time when you have the words in front of you and you have heard the introduction of the song before everyones begin singing? I took piano and sang in the choir in high school and by the second verse you should know how the song goes.

Not so intuitive with some of the songs being sung at Mass these days: irregular melodies, time signature changes within a verse, etc.

 

[Sarabande]

Not so intuitive with some of the songs being sung at Mass these days: irregular melodies, time signature changes within a verse, etc.

Yes, that is true. It does depend on the kind of music is being played. My thoughts are if the hymn is not simple enough to pick up at least by the 2nd verse for a congregation who mostly doesn’t read music, then perhaps that particular hymn should be put aside. The places where I work, most of the hymns are pretty intuitive. One parish is a tourist parish along with our regulars, so we get a lot of visitors. Keeping the hymns easy to pick up for those who are visitors is essential.

 

[ProVobis]

I took piano and sang in the choir in high school and by the second verse you should know how the song goes.

It gets kind of boring to do it that way. On an organ you change the registrations and perhaps vary the chords with each successive verse. Perhaps even let one verse go unaccompanied by the organ. There’s a certain psychology in play in hymn singing and leading. I think Cat’s very much aware of that.

 

[acadiANNA]

Practicing the songs interrupts my time of reflection before Mass. I find that I would have needed more time to practice to really be prepared. One church I attend in the evenings has word and music sheets printed on a table for us to pick up as we enter. This works out well. Another church has the words and music for the following Sunday printed in the bulletin which I find to be a great resource. You are not surprised at the hymn choices for the Mass that way.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Rehearsing before Mass when people are present is not only bad form, but a serious distraction from prayer. Choirs should rehearse in another place at that time, and the only music in the ten minutes or so before Mass begins should be quiet and meditative to foster an atmosphere of prayer and silence those who want to chat.