Is singing loudly at Mass good or annoying?

[PatriceA]

I was told in the past that singing is actually praying twice and you shouldn’t mumble when doing so, so sing loud, sing proud, make your voice heard all the way to heaven.

 

[MarkThompson]

Scripture says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”

Ah, the “Psalm 100 argument.” Because, of course, our behavior at Mass should be in accord with the Psalms! Like my favorite, Psalm 149 – read along from the beginning and tell me which portions we should keep up at Mass:

1 Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song, a hymn in the assembly of the faithful.
2 Let Israel be glad in their maker, the people of Zion rejoice in their king.
3 Let them praise his name in festive dance, make music with tambourine and lyre.
4 For the LORD takes delight in his people, honors the poor with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, cry out for joy at their banquet,
6 With the praise of God in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 To bring retribution on the nations, punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings with chains, shackle their nobles with irons,
9 To execute the judgments decreed for them – such is the glory of all God’s faithful. Hallelujah!

I’m kidding (mostly), though verse 1 is generally cited by people who want new, progressive music for Mass.

 

[KateD]

Sarabande brings up a great point; when someone near me sings beautifully, for some reason, it encourages the rest of us to join in! My husband, who is Protestant, has a wonderful singing voice and has always noticed that the congregation doesn’t sing that much at our parish. He does sing, and frequently someone near us will tell him that he needs to join the choir.

 

[Newbie2]

Simple answer to the OP: Good, regardless of the quality of the singing.

We used to have a pastor in my formerly prostestant church life that had an awful singing voice. Yet, I cannot forget even 30 years later how passionately he sang “Jesus Christ is risen today…”

We have a young couple at our parish with two kids, around 5 and 6, and the girl belts out whatever she is singing. One can literally hear her halfway across the crowded church. She’s too young to read or follow music very closely, it’s more of a monotone, but holy cow does she have volume. It’s very cute, but also very inspriring. If only everyone had the innocence of youth, and wasn’t self-conscious about singing out loud.

 

[CatholicZ09]

I had a hard time with “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”. I can’t hit that E-natural in that 3rd stanza “Who did once upon the CROSS.” Luckily no one was too close to me. I kinda squealed.

 

[MarkThompson]

I had a hard time with “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”. I can’t hit that E-natural in that 3rd stanza “Who did once upon the CROSS.” Luckily no one was too close to me. I kinda squealed.

You can always sing down an octave if there’s a line that’s too high for your range.

 

[Musician]

As a church musician, I love it when people sing out loud! It just makes it all worthwhile.

 

[Cat]

You can always sing down an octave if there’s a line that’s too high for your range.

Oh, no. Oh, please don’t do that. It sounds creepy.

Instead, learn to use falsetto to sing the high notes in a sweet, soft tone.

Always sing in the head voice, and that usually helps most people to hit the E.

BTW, that note, E, is only one step above the Alto/Bass range. So it’s not really a “high” note.

 

[Susan_Calvin]

I think we would love to have you at our parish for weekday masses! Our priest insists on some singing even though there isn’t any musical accompaniment and most people are not very confident or talented. I think singing loudly is great, the only thing I would suggest is, sing within your range and make sure you know the lyrics. We have a former monk in our congregation who has a wonderful voice and sings extremely loudly, but he constantly sings above his range and his voice cracks several times during a hymn. He also will often change the words (or he forgets them) and that throws everyone else off as he does sing very loudly. So that would be my only concern because when he does that (which is often), it is annoying. But it sounds like you are great, keep singing!

 

[CatholicZ09]

I think we would love to have you at our parish for weekday masses! Our priest insists on some singing even though there isn’t any musical accompaniment and most people are not very confident or talented. I think singing loudly is great, the only thing I would suggest is, sing within your range and make sure you know the lyrics. We have a former monk in our congregation who has a wonderful voice and sings extremely loudly, but he constantly sings above his range and his voice cracks several times during a hymn. He also will often change the words (or he forgets them) and that throws everyone else off as he does sing very loudly. So that would be my only concern because when he does that (which is often), it is annoying. But it sounds like you are great, keep singing!

Haha. I attended a Wednesday evening Mass last week and the processional hymn was “O Sacred Head, Surrounded” and the recessional was “Take Up Your Cross” and most people couldn’t get the tunes right at all, so I tried singing a little louder to get everyone on track.

I have no problem hitting a high D though, and I can hit an E flat, but not an E natural.

 

[LindaSK]

I had a hard time with “Jesus Christ is Risen Today”. I can’t hit that E-natural in that 3rd stanza “Who did once upon the CROSS.” Luckily no one was too close to me. I kinda squealed.

Love the hymn, hate that one note! Fortunately, our organ transposes with the turn of a dial. I knock it down a step. I’m sure you weren’t so bad!!! I was surprised, though, how many don’t even sing at Easter. They should have to sing for their ‘supper’!!

 

[LindaSK]

Oh, no. Oh, please don’t do that. It sounds creepy.

Instead, learn to use falsetto to sing the high notes in a sweet, soft tone.

Always sing in the head voice, and that usually helps most people to hit the E.

BTW, that note, E, is only one step above the Alto/Bass range. So it’s not really a “high” note.

Alto II here, even sang tenor when needed, now leading music, which means singing the melody. Stick me with a hat pin when you want me to go up there!!! I’m always sitting at a piano or an organ, too. It might be easier if I were standing - on my toes!! I was taught to sing on top of a pitch, so I try to think of landing on the high notes rather than reaching up for them. On a good day, that works!

 

[CatholicZ09]

Love the hymn, hate that one note! Fortunately, our organ transposes with the turn of a dial. I knock it down a step. I’m sure you weren’t so bad!!! I was surprised, though, how many don’t even sing at Easter. They should have to sing for their ‘supper’!!

No, I don’t think it was that bad. I don’t think anyone could even hear me that well because the organ was really loud. It might have just sounded bad to me, but it might have not been that bad at all.

I forgot to start off a little lower than usual on the hymn and when I got to the high part it was just a little out of my range. If I sing it a little lower, I’m okay. My mom told me I did a really good job, so it might have not been as bad as I thought.

 

[T_Hope]

As I am new to Mass and to the Catholic church, I have to tell you that I love to sing and it’s the only response I can give to what is going on! I don’t (yet) know the many verbal responses throughout the Mass, although I can follow the Psalm responses (coz they are in the program). Generally, I listen to those, too. I am just taking it all in -

But, at the Easter Vigil, after three glorious hours of readings and music and baptisms and confirmations and etc. I lifted up my voice (I can carry a tune pretty well - singing is one of the few things I do well) and honestly I don’t know what anyone else around me thought. It just seemed the thing to do. Actually, I really don’t think anyone heard me!

 

[DebChris]

…
I have no problem hitting a high D though, and I can hit an E flat, but not an E natural.

I can’t tell the difference. I had HS teachers work with me on the piano. It took a full minute to match the note. Praise God with the voice He has given you.

 

[JMJ_coder]

I have two thoughts on this:

1. If anyone complains about you singing too loudly, tell them to shut up and sing themselves. When you sing yourself, it takes skill and practice to learn to hear others (fellow choir members, you know what I mean)
2. When I was a child, we would go to a local monastery for Easter Vigil since they never had any candidates (being a monastery and not a parish) and thus the Liturgy was much shorter. There was then a retired priest in residence who couldn’t carry a tune worth anyone’s life. He sounded awful. And he was louder than all else. My sister and I would usually be chuckling because to us at the time it was hilarious how bad he was. But my mother would always rebuke us and say: ``at least God will recognize his voice!’’

 

[JMJ_coder]

Oh, no. Oh, please don’t do that. It sounds creepy.

Instead, learn to use falsetto to sing the high notes in a sweet, soft tone.

Always sing in the head voice, and that usually helps most people to hit the E.

BTW, that note, E, is only one step above the Alto/Bass range. So it’s not really a “high” note.

The problem is, there are many people who find switching between the chest and head voices non-trivial (like me). I’m always struggling around that barrier. Not to mention that my head voice is the first thing to go while singing. One round of Hyfrydol or like and I’m done for (I usually have to sing in my lowest octave for the last verse). To our credit, though, we shake the walls with our joyful song (a nice touch to finish Christmas or Easter – and we do finish BIG).

In this particular instance, since it is just a single note of trouble, I would probably just force it (via increased diaphragm pressure) and hope for the best.

 

[tundramom]

Sing loudly!! As a Cantor, I can tell you that it makes all of us more comfortable to see and hear people singing. Otherwise it starts to feel like the cantor is there for entertainment and that is a MOST uncomfortable feeling when we are all there together to worship God.

Sing congregation!! Sing out loud and clear and who cares if you sing correctly. Hopefully the Cantor does, and if not, well… we are up there trying.

Steph

 

[SHoJ]

Sing loudly!! As a Cantor, I can tell you that it makes all of us more comfortable to see and hear people singing. Otherwise it starts to feel like the cantor is there for entertainment and that is a MOST uncomfortable feeling when we are all there together to worship God.

Sing congregation!! Sing out loud and clear and who cares if you sing correctly. Hopefully the Cantor does, and if not, well… we are up there trying.

Steph

AMEN! I love hearing the congregation sing when I cantor! (and it makes me more comfortable) My fellow cantors and I have an agreement to make sure to sing so whoever is cantoring can hear us from the pews. And on those rare occasions that our organist doesn’t show up and we sing a cappella, our priest encourages the congregation to sing by using the line “he who sings, prays twice”.

 

[LindaSK]

I sing for one Mass every Sunday, but, I usually attend Mass Saturday evening as part of the congregation, and, I still sing out. Just last Saturday, a woman turned around after Mass and said, “You should be up singing with the choir!” Do people really feel that if someone can sing, they shouldn’t be in the congregation, but, in the choir loft? They really don’t think the congregation is supposed to be singing as well, despite repeated encouragement from our pastor? Her comment so took me by surprise that I’m not sure how I responded, or if I did. I wanted to say that **everyone **should be singing, but I don’t think I said it out loud.

Now, a little practice, then off to Mass! Happy Easter!!