If you would be willing to post the songs that you use I would truly appreciate it.
We made it through the first Saturday night mass.
The three of us did just fine and at one point I moved over to the organist and whispered, “I’m sure the Lord is chuckling at us.”
She responded by saying, " I’m sure he is, but in a much deeper voice."
I forgot to list the, “Lord Have Mercy” in my music planning sheet for the priest and he started to say it. Well, the organist had practiced and she just went on and we sang. It was a bit of humour for us three.
I have an organist, one singer and myself. Luckily I play the guitar so we’ll try and do our best. The priest acknowledged us in the mass and invited others to attend our next practice and we got an applause from the congregation.
I have belonged to choirs all of my life as a singer and as a guitar player. Never did I know what work went into planning the musical liturgy of the mass. I respect every choir director out there.
One thing I did learn this Saturday was, " Enjoy singing as it is a gift and laugh at your errors because no matter what you’ll never be a Pavrotti." Ha!
One thing I had to learn early on is that mistakes will happen, and usually we musicians will hear our own mistakes louder than any one else’s mistakes. The important thing is to recover and keep going!!! It took me a few months in the beginning to get over the nervousness.
Even if you aren’t a Pavrotti, if you have clean starts and endings to the songs, everyone sings the words together and you’re on pitch… don’t worry. It’s sounds like your priest is supportive. I recommend communicating with him frequently and asking for his feedback. Ask questions, and use your’re resources!! When I first ‘fell into’ leading the music, I told our priest at the time that I had no experience planning. His response: ‘I’ll sit down with you and help you learn’ He asked where I thought I should start (with the readings) then try to find songs that represent the message of those readings. Others on this site have stated that the antiphons of the week have priority over the readings…
Here’s what I’m playing this week:
Entrance: :Glory and Praise to our God (Dan Schutte)
**Offertory: **On Eagle’s Wings (Micheal Joncas)
Communion: Do this in Remembrance of Me (Lou Fortunate)
**Meditation: **Jesus My Lord My God My All (Fredrick Farber)
We have 4 little girls who are going to sing one verse on their own!!!
Recessional: Now thank We all our God.(Martin Rinkhart)
- The first time we played this I had one wide eyed 10 year old boy look up at me and say This song is from the 1500’s!!??
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For all the responsorial psalms and gospel acclamations,
I use ‘Respond and Acclaim’ published by OCP. It has the correct psalm and acclamation from the lectionary for every Sunday and holyday, and they are usually very simple, the verses are chantlike so it’s easier to learn one every week… as opposed to learning a new song every week. Keep in mind that there are many musical arrangements for the psalms out there, but if you look closely you’ll notice that the verses do not always agree with what’s in the lectionary.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!!
