Nine Reasons People Aren't Singing in Worship

[ProVobis]

Actually, it’s a bit more nuanced than that.

I would recommend you read the whole article: catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=7939&CFID=28879326&CFTOKEN=68635865

Or elsewhere:
Again, I would recommend reading the whole piece, despite its length: sanctamissa.org/en/music/books-and-articles-on-sacred-music/a-chronicle-of-the-reform-catholic-music-in-the-20th-century.pdf

Regarding what “some Catholics” think about “congregational hymns,” I offer a final quotation:

You can read the rest of Pope Benedict XVI’s thoughts on this matter here: sanctamissa.org/en/music/books-and-articles-on-sacred-music/liturgy-and-church-music-benedict-xvi.pdf

That’s my thinking as well. Why are we overanalyzing (IMO) the ability or inability to sing hymns when we don’t even use the suggested texts? The 2002 Missale Romanum has ample Introits and Communion antiphons, appropriate enough for the day. They are short and to the spirit of the liturgy, but most parishes still persist in trying out multiple verses of stuff most have not heard even one verse of.

And those in the pre-Vatican II church did sing, but there weren’t four hymns to wear them down with.

 

[OraLabora]

There is no “Pre vatican II church”. It’s all the same church. Furthermore, the Church has made it clear in her writings that the most perfect and complete form of active participation at mass is the worthy and fruitful reception of Holy Communion. With confessions lines pretty much completely gone, yet grave sin is on the rise, is that what’s happening?

No need to get testy about my awkward phrasing.

Let me re-phrase it: the Church as it was before Vatican II.

I’m not going to discuss confession lines and worthy reception, that’s not what this thread is about and I don’t want to derail the OP’s intent. It’s about why Catholics won’t/can’t sing at Mass.

I really have come to feel like the music for Communion should be instrumental.

I spent last week at the Primatial Abbey of Sant’Anselmo in Rome (it’s the abbey that houses the Benedictine teaching college for Benedictines around the world and is also attended by Cistercians and secular clergy). We were invited to sit in choir for the Offices and Mass. Mass was interesting because it was integrated with Lauds (following the rubrics as spelled out in the General Instructions of the LOTH). Lauds and Mass were sung in Italian except for the Ordinary which was in Latin (Greek Kyrie).

For communion, just prior to communion a monk chanted the communion antiphon on one of the Gregorian psalm tones; then we shuffled out of our stalls to line up for communion. Communion itself was in silence. We received in both species. I liked the silence during and after communion.

Mid-day prayer, Vespers and Compline were all sung in Latin Gregorian chant. Unlike many monasteries I’ve been to (including the one I belong to) we were encouraged to sing along both at the Offices and the Mass. It wasn’t always on-key and there were many accentuation mistakes in the melodies for the median and finale of the psalm tones, but the robustness and virility of the voices more than made up for any stumbles. It was great to be surrounded by so many young monks and priests! It was also fun to chant in Italian! Not so difficult if you can do so in Latin.

At the abbey I’m associated with, although folks aren’t particularly encouraged to sing the propers or ordinary (which are in Gregorian chant, so the propers are quite complex), we are encouraged to chant the responses and most do with surprising enthusiasm and reasonable proficiency (the verses and responses are chanted in French). So some people do like to participate. I find though that many of the modern hymns (in French) in most parishes are patently un-singable, and that no doubt has much to do with why people don’t sing. Because if the priest chants the responses, the people invariable join in, so it’s not a question of not wanting to sing, but instead wanting something singable!!! I think the propers should be given simple, easy to learn melodies based on the easier psalm tones, and that’s what we should sing. There’s a project for that “Simple English Propers”, at least for English.

 

[dee_burk]

Funny, at Mass this past weekend, hardly anyone was singing at the entrance (and usually during the Mass very few sing) our priest reminded everyone that the songs are actually prayers to God and we should raise our songs to God.

I heard once that when the Angels speak it is like a song so i always picture the Angels singing our praises with us during Mass. I have no tone or rhythm, i can make my dogs howl but i still join in because God gave me this awful voice so it must be music to his ears…those near me in the pews may disagree.

 

[bisco]

if you read the rules on receiving the eucharist, it is pretty explicit on community singing until everyone is finished. i don’t take the music issue with me, if i forget the words, i just hum along. i think there are a few options, but i didn’t really understand them.

 

[TimothyH]

I dunno. I’ve noticed that the congregation is often doing something besides paying attention to what the priest is doing. We have our eyes on the songbook during the procession. Why bother processing with the crucifix, lectionary, etc., when no one sees them? The same thing happens at other times during the Mass - we are focused on the song and ignore the priest at the altar. The song can even trump receiving communion; people go up to communion singing, with their eyes on the book, stop briefly to receive, then go right back to singing.

I rarely sing. For one thing, my voice is terrible, and singing makes me yawn (don’t know why). Many of the newer songs are difficult to sing. Quite a few of the songs chosen in our parish are, in my opinion, not very Catholic. Some are frankly Protestant, a few are downright strange. I’m still wondering about the hymn chosen last Sunday that said we would see God “face to face” - and it meant at Mass, not later in heaven. That contradicts Scripture.

I no longer complain to anyone about the inappropriate songs, but when good ones are chosen I make a point of telling the song leader how lovely the song was.

You can’t see the most important part of the Mass, the changing of the bread and wine into Jesus. There is nothing to see.

Most of the time my head is down in prayer. The fact that I am not looking at the priest adds or subtracts nothing from what the priest is doing. The fact that my head is down or my eyes are closed in prayer doesn’t mean that I am not participating.

We do see God face to face at Mass. The Eucharist is Jesus and Jesus is God. A literal translation of “bread of the presence” in the Old Testament is “bread of the face of God.”

-Tim-

 

[Tigg]

I really have come to feel like the music for Communion should be instrumental.
Between lining up, shuffling along, making your way back to your pew and navigating around all the EMHC’s, standing up until everyone receives, there’s not really any time spent focused on the Eucharist we have just received. It’s quickly on to the closing prayer and announcements. I really feel like we spend all this time building up to Eucharist, and then we rush to get out. It really doesn’t sit well with me at this point in my life. Given all the persecutions in the Middle East of Christians, I feel like we need to take stock, pray more fervently, and spend time in meditative prayer at Communion. It’s the perfect place for soft instrumental music. And really, the days of the beautiful Communion hymns are pretty much gone. Newer Directors seldom use the prayerfully written ones. There’s a lot of beautiful hymns and pieces that can be played on organ or piano.
**If a communion meditation is necessary and preferred by the priest, the choir can sing THEN. After. **
Just my 2 cents…

Please add my 2 cents to everything you have said. A pre-selected communion hymn, often sung off-key and too loudly by the person next to you is nothing but distraction. Don’t we have an obligation to give a personal thanksgiving for the gift received which could be a much loved devotion or a preferred prayer said in the silence of the heart?

As to answer the OP, I sing, even if I loathe the mundane tune that does not reflect the majesty of the Mass, but it is out of obedience that I do so. The prosaic lyrics, often lacking in any sacred nature, likewise are not worthy of the Eucharist, but these I try to imagine as a little child’s prayer.

 

[bisco]

as i read it, you don’t pray until everyone has finished communion.

 

[Corki]

as i read it, you don’t pray until everyone has finished communion.

I see you are an Eastern Rite Catholic. That may be the case in the Eastern Churches but it isn’t the case in the Latin Rite. Although there are a few places where there is an activity for all during the reception of Communion (singing or standing), in most places, those who have received sit or kneel for prayer upon return to their seats. Ideally, in my opinion, what would make sense according to the rubrics is an instrumental/meditative hymn played during the Communion procession, then a period of silence, then a post-Communion hymn.

 

[clem456]

This is one of the results of a lack of music education in the schools AND in the HOME!

With rare exceptions, anyone can LEARN to sing correctly. Not everyone will have a solo voice, but almost all of us can learn to blend our voice with others.

It’s a question of training.

Sadly, many children are not raised at home anymore with a mom or dad who sings to them regularly. Daycare centers generally do not teaching singing to the very young infant/toddler (they SHOULD teach singing at these ages!). And many schools have awful music education programs; instead of singing, they teach “bouncing” to pop music. It makes me sick to watch even the CHRISTIAN schools do this–put on a CD of really bad contemporary Christian children’s music and encourage the kids to “dance” and “praise the Lord.” No attempt is made to teach children how to read music (even very young children can and should learn this valuable skill), or how to sing properly.

Aaagh.

clem456, singing is “intimate,” but in the past, it was done by EVERYONE in many life settings. Men and women sang while they worked, and many children sang together during games and play. Soldiers sang together! Many companies had corporate songs or hymns that everyone sang together. Many homes had a piano in the “parlor” or dining room, and “entertaining” included a time of gathering around the piano and singing favorite songs! SLAVES sang together and created a treasury of beautiful spirituals. People sang together while marching in political rallies and protest marches.

All throughout American history, people have sung together! Where do you suppose all those folk songs came from? They weren’t sung by “pop stars!” They were sung by families and friends in social settings.

Our family sang together, and still does. One of the highlights of our family Christmas is a sing-along of carols, led by one of our cousins who has a country band.

Somehow, we have managed to turn singing together into something almost sexual, and we seem to have the attitude that doesn’t allow us to dare share our inmost being with others in this intimate act of singing.

I say baloney. Singing is one of the cheapest and easiest forms of socializing, and it’s a darned SHAME that we have allowed it to be taken away from us!!!

I agree. What should be a natural uplifting of the spirit has been somehow distorted into something it’s not. Intimacy is so misunderstood.

My wife’s Polish family also has a tradition of spontaneous singing at the holidays. My own German family was really scared out it’s wits when we all got together the first time and singing erupted. It was very uncomfortable for them.

My wife’s family is very “old world”. They cherish the Church, the customs, the songs, the food. However, my family has tried to shed it’s “Germanity” ever since the first world war. They wanted to blend in at all costs, understandably so. Unfortunately the expression of the culture was lost. We have no hymns in German, no phrases left over. We remained Catholic but not in a visible and shared way. The Polish side still maintains all the shared culture.

 

[TheSeeker2014]

Timidity.
Singing is an intimate expression of the self. It is not the same as speaking. We are afraid for others to hear us express ourselves in such an intimate way. We are self conscious of the quality of the sound we produce. Rather than spontaneously praise, we judge the quality of the sound we make, and of those around us. We are afraid to be heard.

I have to think this reflects our modern culture, that tries to discourage public expressions of faith.

This I agree, people to have a fear.

Also if there is going to be a movement to encourage people to sing more during worship songs, it needs to be noted that they should only participate in the song if the words of the song is how they really feel,
Other words it can be a way of lying to God…
Singing worship/praise is an expression of how one feels, believes, and confesses (truth)
I think that often the singing of songs is taken to casually and lightly.
^^^^^
This too ^^^ can be a reason why people are not participating. The song does not reflect how they feel (about God, situations, ect) - not that we need to choose different songs, but maybe perhaps they are in a spiritual nap.

 

[G_S]

Part of the issue is that Protestants see worship AS singing. The person referred to as the “Worship Leader” we would call the song leader, music leader, or cantor. The priest is the worship leader. For Evangelicals, at least, the song leader IS the worship leader. So, if the congregation is not singing, they are not worshiping. Catholics realize that they are worshiping in many ways even if they are not singing. The overwhelming emphasis on singing has led Protestant churches to place an enormous emphasis on sound systems, the excellence of the “worship leader’s” competence and ability, the “wow” factor in the music etc. This has, in a way Catholics have not yet experienced, led to a performance approach to a religious service that has become increasingly congregation directed. The songs serve the function of “inspiring” the congregation (actually, stirring up their emotions) and, in the process, almost ceasing to be worship, i.e. God-directed adoration. A pastor will often say something like, “I hope you were all blessed by that song. I know I was.” The authors of the widely-praised book Renew recommend hiring the best possible musicians to play at Mass and taking spending a large amount of money for a good sound system to be the top, financial goal of a parish. Many parishes are studying Renew in order to put its recommendations into effect in their parishes. Having read the book and its sequel, I would caution against many of its recommendations. Also, one of the things that kills congregational singing is carpeting. The muffling effect of carpeting makes the individual sense that he or she is singing too loudly. The person sensing this will sing more quietly which will add to the problem.

 

[pianistclare]

3. Protestants encourage musicians to join in. I’m a pretty basic guitar player, and I’m limited by my hearing loss. But I would never have picked up a guitar if it hadn’t been for the encouragment I received at my old Presbyterian Church. The Catholic Church? Forget it! No way would I have been encouraged to even make a start.
Originally posted by Bob Crowley

This^. A couple of pastors ago, the priest insisted that the Choir Director at the time place a notice in the bulletin recruiting new blood, and particularly instrumentalists to the choir. He was a Franciscan, and accustomed to a huge amount of musicians and singers.
The wording was something like: Must be able to sight read perfectly, extremely proficient in your instrument, and able to sing across octaves.
Well, you can imagine the response. No one came forward. Which is what the Director planned all along. It was a little clique that a chosen few were enjoying.
I was present at one practice (I was subbing as pianist for her) and a young woman came in who I happen to know was a member of an elite secular, by audition only, choir. She was told to observe for 4 weeks and the “decide if you can cut it”. I was mortified.
Poor girl slinked away. She could probably read music better than most of the people that were already in the choir.
We treat our musicians badly in most cases, or permit them to develop these closed groups. It’s easy for a congregation to pick up on the fact that their participation is not needed or desired.
Everyone who works or is visible in a parish needs to remember that they are the invitation. They, intentionally or not, mold the perceptions of the parish and can be a force for building community or dividing it.
One must be humble, knowledgeable, and truly devoted to the advancement of good liturgy. It’s not a club or a performance. And it’s all too easy to fall into those notions, even for well-meaning people.

 

[EasterJoy]

as i read it, you don’t pray until everyone has finished communion.

The song itself is intended to be a prayer, a communal act of worship.

 

[TheSeeker2014]

Though not Catholic myself, I am open to it…

I have read the comments about limited people participating as musicians…

Has anyone ever thought about volunteering to hold a worship service of singing? Meeting somewhere like at a park or rotate homes if not authorized by the Priest to meet in the church just to have a good time together with God?

It may open up something positive… maybe even have some snacks

 

[Bonnie]

Also if there is going to be a movement to encourage people to sing more during worship songs, it needs to be noted that they should only participate in the song if the words of the song is how they really feel,
Other words it can be a way of lying to God…

That is one of the reasons I like to be early for Mass. After praying, I read the readings, then, if there is time, I check out the hymns. If any are too difficult for me to sing, or if I just don’t like them, I don’t bother opening the songbook.

Another problem, at least for some of us older folks (& maybe younger, single-minded people), is that some of us find it difficult to focus on 2 things at once. Both my husband & I end up not singing the offertory if we are focused on the coming basket & putting the envelope in. It sounds like a small thing, but I have missed the basket entirely if the song happens to be one I like & I’m totally focused on it.

 

[pianistclare]

That is one of the reasons I like to be early for Mass. After praying, I read the readings, then, if there is time, I check out the hymns. If any are too difficult for me to sing, or if I just don’t like them, I don’t bother opening the songbook.

Another problem, at least for some of us older folks (& maybe younger, single-minded people), is that some of us find it difficult to focus on 2 things at once. Both my husband & I end up not singing the offertory if we are focused on the coming basket & putting the envelope in. It sounds like a small thing, but I have missed the basket entirely if the song happens to be one I like & I’m totally focused on it.

I get what you’re saying about the offertory. Our parish has developed this way of handling the envelopes. The entire congregation has to get up out of their pew and walk up to a person holding a basket in front of the altar. Even those of us who give electronically are asked to walk up with a laminated “I GIVE ELECTRONICALLY” card. But get up, walk. Really impedes participation in the song. Again, another way to have the choir basically sing a solo. When few people in the pew sing, others actually turn around and stare, like “what are you doing?”
Another missed opportunity for prayer.

 

[Bonnie]

The entire congregation has to get up out of their pew and walk up to a person holding a basket in front of the altar.

I remember reading about that practice in an old short story (don’t remember title or author - if anyone does, please let me know). One of the characters would get her nickel changed to 5 pennies so she could walk up to the front 5 times, singing loudly!

 

[bobballen_18]

OK, maybe I should comment, because I don’t have time right now to read the article in full and I have barely read any of the previous comments. I did skim over the reasons he gave, however.

My two cents - I just want to throw it out there that the congregation neither needs to sing nor should they actually be expected to. I noticed that was his #6 was exactly this - that people aren’t expected to. That’s not a bad thing! It’s great if the congregation can join in, but there’s nothing wrong with not doing so or not being able to do so. Before anyone lights into me about “active participation”, well, true, participating in music is one way in which people can actively participate in the Mass. But consider this - just listening to music attentively and thinking of it as worshipping God can be participating just as much as someone who is actually singing. If the correct music is done at Mass, and care is taken and effort is made to make that music a priority, one would/should be perfectly fine with just listening to it. I’m biased in more ways than one, because 1) I am a music major who could be considered a “professional” compared to many today, and 2) I also prefer chant and polyphony, and especially for polyphony, that’s definitely something that should be reserved for the choir. Chant, well, people are more than welcome to join in for the Ordinaries, but there’s nothing wrong with only the choir being able to do the propers. As far as I know, there’s no actual mandate that the music at Mass has to be something the congregation is able to sing. I have no problem, however, with there being a couple hymns at Mass, which the congregation can join in if they like.

OK, I’m done.

 

[EasterJoy]

There are corollaries to nearly all those points.

To “they don’t know the songs,” there is, “they know the songs, and that is the problem.” There is a huge range of musical tastes in a typical Catholic parish. Some people think “Eagle’s Wings” is the greatest sacred song ever, and other people find it the symbol of everything that is wrong with contemporary music played in churches. It is hard to get lots of participation from people who can’t agree on what they want to sing, and who allow themselves to believe that they don’t have to participate in music they don’t happen to like. (This includes people who “vote against” music they don’t like by not singing.)

To “we are singing songs not suitable to congregational singing,” there is “no one has ever taught the congregation how to sing.” Schools are cutting music programs, and people do not necessarily know how to read music. People hear music all the time and base their expectations on what they hear, but they aren’t remotely capable of singing the music that is the most popular.

To “the congregation can’t hear the people around them singing”–yes, I’d say the sound system is sometimes so high that the instruments drown out the voices. Some sound systems are also badly suited to the space, so that the music is too loud in some parts of the church and not loud enough in others.

To “we have created worship services that are spectator events,” we also have the problem that people believe music in general is a spectator event, by definition. People used to have to either produce their own daily music or else go without most of the time. Fine music was known to be fine music–a rarity. People knew that opera was not something they would hear often or that the average person could sing. Now there is artificial music blasting in from every direction, and a lot of it is far more technically demanding than people think.

People also see music in church as a performance, not as a sung prayer. They do not listen to the lyrics and say, “Oh, this is a prayer set to music.” When you hear “we have come to share our story, we have come to break the bread, we have come to know our rising from the dead” it doesn’t sound as if God is the primary one being addressed by the song. The emphasis is horizontal–it sounds as if we are addressing each other.(As evidence–how many congregations feel a need to applaud at the end of the Mass? Why on earth would you hear worship, understand it to be worship, and applaud it afterwards?)

To “the congregation feels they are not expected to sing,” we have the same problem. The congregation goes their entire week without ever having to produce music in order to hear it.

To “we fail to have a common body of hymnody” we are coping with another cultural problem–people in our culture have become acclimated to constant change. Many of today’s children did not learn the same songs their parents learned as children. There are supposed to be a batch of new songs and even new styles coming all of the time. The songs are supposed to suit individual tastes, songs to suit each new generation. This has always been true to some extent, of course, but the core standard songs are missing. It is impossible to select songs that will suit individual tastes of people who are used to having their MP3 player cater to their generation and their whim of the moment from a huge song list and performers both living and dead.

To “music leaders ad lib too much,” I’d say that in Catholic churches we have the problem that music leaders are under-trained, not that they are so professional that they have to do things in some individual way. The congregation is habitually exposed to all sorts of professional styles and musical techniques that can only be generated by professional mixing of sounds generated in a sound booth, and yet the churches resort to people with so little musical training that their contribution can be had for free or for a very low salary. The lucky parishes have very accomplished musicians who out of love give far more than they are paid to give. The rest get musicians who are willing to do their best in spite of insufficient training to even approach the level of music production that is expected.

 

[ProVobis]

Really impedes participation in the song. Again, another way to have the choir basically sing a solo. When few people in the pew sing, others actually turn around and stare, like “what are you doing?”
Another missed opportunity for prayer.

Does clapping to the beat of the music count, as they do in Spanish Masses?