Music was distracting

[Layman]

I think it’s down to the connotations. What atmosphere and associations do the instruments and what they are playing, evoke?

If it’s mundane, then out they go.

For me, guitars and drums evoke pop music; sentiment, narcissism and sex. And neo-folk-70’s-hippy hymns. As an ex-pop musician, it’s the last thing I want in a church. I’ve never actually heard drums played in a church, but the echoes and ‘slap back’ must make it a bit clattery(?)

A choir to mimic the Seraphim and monster pipe organ for those thrilling bass notes do it for me!

I think the pipe organ has been around long enough to lose connotations of the fair and the monster ones they tend to have in churches don’t sound much like the barrel organ or the calliope, anyway. Plus we now associate it with church music.

 

[bpbasilphx]

There are some rubrics on Church instruments that forbid secular instruments, but they may be out of date and no longer in effect. Or just ignored.

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**I have a master’s in music, played in bands and orchestras much of my life, and I think I can say there’s no such thing as a “secular instrument.” None have ever been invented strictly for church use. All, including the organ, were originally used for secular purposes.

Traditional Ang, I will agree that most of the songs that pass for liturgical music in Catholic and especially pop-evangelical churches is at best pap. I’m thinking specifically about the lyrics here.

And as I’ve said elsewhere, I have nothing against guitars (or any instrument) when they are well played. But it takes more than the ability to strum three chords and move a capo to make one a liturgical guitarist!**

 

[brotherhrolf]

There are some rubrics on Church instruments that forbid secular instruments, but they may be out of date and no longer in effect. Or just ignored.

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I have a master’s in music, played in bands and orchestras much of my life, and I think I can say there’s no such thing as a “secular instrument.” None have ever been invented strictly for church use. All, including the organ, were originally used for secular purposes.

Traditional Ang, I will agree that most of the songs that pass for liturgical music in Catholic and especially pop-evangelical churches is at best pap. I’m thinking specifically about the lyrics here.

And as I’ve said elsewhere, I have nothing against guitars (or any instrument) when they are well played. But it takes more than the ability to strum three chords and move a capo to make one a liturgical guitarist!

And we have had classically trained guitarists accompany us from time to time. Aesthetically, there is a quantum’s difference between a classical guitar played well and an amplified electric guitar with drums (sadly my local geographic parish uses these at the 10 am main Mass on Sundays). My choir draws young people from LSU’s School of Music. Most are not vocal majors but instrumentalists - trumpet, trombone, saxophone, oboe, flute. They are played well and there are some really nice settings (in Latin) from Taize’ that use instruments as descants.

But that is not what I experienced at my local geographic parish. I had a bad head cold in 2001 and simply could not sing with my choir on the first Sunday of Advent. So I went to Mass at my local geographic parish and was regaled by two amped electric guitars, a complete drum set, and an amped Clavinova playing (as the entrance hymn) “Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” from Godspell. Advent is (the last time I looked, a penitential season) so when the choir whipped out the tambourine (on top of all the amped instruments and the absolutely secular “song”, was I not supposed to be distracted? Veni, Emmanuel it wasn’t. I have not been back to my local geographic parish since.