Of the following, what type of musical accompaniment do you prefer for the celebration of the Mass?

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The instruments that most closely resemble the human voice - organ, bowed stringed instruments and wind instruments.
 
Which are all available on a quality digital piano.
At the press of a button.
 
“Competent territorial authority” equals your local Ordinary - aka your diocesan Bishop. Or, if you’re at a church owned/operated by a group with Pontifical Rite, their Superior. Regardless, ultimately it falls on them to decide what is authorized or not. Sometimes, they’ll delegate that to a local level where it’s up to the priests assigned to a parish to decide what should be done.

If the priest has been delegated the authority to decide what music is acceptable, this has two ramifications. One, if the priest has decided certain instruments are fine, then certain instruments are fine. You can tell him your preference and give ideas, but ultimately it’s his call. The other side; if the priest has banned certain songs or instruments, then that also is his call, and however is doing music needs to obey the restrictions.

I’ve seen a lot of people point toward Vatican documents on this topic over the years. Which is great, people getting informed! But the important aspect of this is that the Ordinary decides, and can delegate. And the reality is you may not like what is decided (which is also fine!), but at the end of the day it is up to whomever has been granted that authority by the local Ordinary.

This came up in my parish a couple of times. Our priests made specific request; using plain chant and Latin for the parts of the Mass (Sanctus, Lamb of God, Memorial Acclimation, misc etc) during Lent. My friend and I who do music together at one of the Masses, we play a contemporary music in a contemporary acoustic style - we found this request to be incredibly reasonable. So we did it for Lent, did it during Advent, and do so using a capella plain chant - which contrasted nicely with our use of the guitar/cajon (an acoustic drum).

Some others within the parish were not happy with these turn of events. I understand why they would be unhappy, but personally I recognized it’s up to the priests to decide - and in this case they were on the money.
pianistclare said:
Which are all available on a quality digital piano.
At the press of a button.
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You bring up an incredibly salient point. The digital age has changed the landscape in an incredible fashion. Like you said, pianos and other digital equipment can replicate the sounds of other instruments.

Something else to keep in mind; we also have the ability to bypass hymnals now, through the use of digital projection screens. Now instead of being placed within the confines of whatever book(s) were purchased, you can pick whatever you want. You like a hymn that’s in the public domain? Print yourself the music, type it in the computer, throw the words up on the wall. Everyone can participate. Plus the parish saves money… And SongSelect! I mean, seriously.

Again, I’ve seen this first hand. My friend and I have put our own spin on a few different hymns thanks to being able to just pull it up on SongSelect, print off the music, then have the words displayed on an overhead projector so those attending Mass can sing as well.

It’s all amazing and we are incredibly blessed to be living in the age that we do.
 
ANYWAY, my answer to the original question (which I couldn’t put in my last post due to the character limit): my preference is Acoustic Guitar + Cajon + Digital Piano, which isn’t listed above. If you want to use generic terms, it would be “Acoustic Guitar, Simple Percussion, Digital Piano”.
  • The acoustic guitar, when played well, is something people can follow along with very easily. It provides a solid foundation for building a good sound, and can be used in several different fashions.
  • The cajon is an acoustic drum which makes a bass drum sound and a snare drum sound, which provides a simple yet elegant way to provide some percussion - it’s not “too busy” and not too loud.
  • A digital piano offers flexibility - it can add additional layers of sound, add harmonics, or reinforce the melody.
Lately we haven’t had a piano player, so it’s just been guitar + cajon, which has been going really well for us. But I’ll admit that I personally miss the additional dynamic the digital piano brings to the sound.
 
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“I’ll sleep when I’m dead” for a funeral Mass would ROCK
 
Are you quibbling with words regarding statements from the Vatican?

We are not discussing personal opinion in that statement. The Vatican makes the meaning clear. Please read the document.
 
Didgeridoo rocks in Papal Mass. Any Pope coming here is always celebrated with didgeridoo at Mass.

Google St John Paul 11 and didgeridoo for a taste. We have one of the didgeridoo message sticks in the Cathedral displayed.

Don’t forget the clap sticks.

Now using didgeridoo has a lot of meaning because it is a sacred instrument in Aboriginal culture.
 
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Melchior_1 said:
Again, I’ve seen this first hand. My friend and I have put our own spin on a few different hymns thanks to being able to just pull it up on SongSelect, print off the music, then have the words displayed on an overhead projector so those attending Mass can sing as well.

It’s all amazing and we are incredibly blessed to be living in the age that we do.
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I think you and your friend would be in good company hundreds of years ago. One of the things that we often do not consider is that some of the traditional chant and organ songs come to us from the great basilicas where only the best authors and musicians play and recite.

Those musicians in other places, like remote parishes, would be working off old, badly annotated copies or even their own written music from memory of hearing it at the basicalla. Remember it was quite different. There was no copyright–those who owned the copy, owned the rights! And many times church musicians were more than stingy about it.
 
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Melchior_1 said:
Something else to keep in mind; we also have the ability to bypass hymnals now, through the use of digital projection screens. Now instead of being placed within the confines of whatever book(s) were purchased, you can pick whatever you want. You like a hymn that’s in the public domain? Print yourself the music, type it in the computer, throw the words up on the wall. Everyone can participate. Plus the parish saves money… And SongSelect! I mean, seriously.
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That’s another place where the Catholic Church seems to trail its Protestant brethren – the prudent use of electronics to aid singing at Mass.
 
We’ve had all the instruments listed at one time or another. Not all seemed appropriate, imo. The first time I heard a trumpet, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Guess I’m used to most of those instruments at concerts. For Mass, a piano or organ, harp and flute are appropriate.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
Then we run into the issue of analog vs digital. My brother has recorded some organ work at his college, where they had an organ perfectly balanced for recording. His video is excellent and sounds amazing. But compared to the real thing? Not even close. And often those subtle nuances are what people long to hear and feel creates the “voice”.
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Exactly. Digital is not even close to the real thing. And to claim it’s the same devalues the artistry and talent that musicians put into perfecting their instruments. This is a huge issue I have with those who claim that a digital piano can replace my flute, or someone’s cello, or a real organ or a string orchestra. God gave us all particular talents to use for His glorification. Digital does not replace it - digital is a simple substitute for the real thing.
 
Missy1965 said:
Exactly. Digital is not even close to the real thing. And to claim it’s the same devalues the artistry and talent that musicians put into perfecting their instruments. This is a huge issue I have with those who claim that a digital piano can replace my flute, or someone’s cello, or a real organ or a string orchestra. God gave us all particular talents to use for His glorification. Digital does not replace it - digital is a simple substitute for the real thing.
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I don’t really think that’s true anymore.

I’m certain from an output side (loudspeakers and power amplifiers) electronics can do everything the finest/most powerful pipe organs can. That leaves the source. They are getting awfully good these days. Certainly as good as the typical pipe organ one finds in parish churches and many cathedrals.

I don’t see where pointing out the truth “…devalues the artistry and talent that musicians put into perfecting their instruments” given that electronic organs must also be played.
 
Missy1965 said:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
Then we run into the issue of analog vs digital. My brother has recorded some organ work at his college, where they had an organ perfectly balanced for recording. His video is excellent and sounds amazing. But compared to the real thing? Not even close. And often those subtle nuances are what people long to hear and feel creates the “voice”.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Digital is not even close to the real thing. And to claim it’s the same devalues the artistry and talent that musicians put into perfecting their instruments. This is a huge issue I have with those who claim that a digital piano can replace my flute, or someone’s cello, or a real organ or a string orchestra. God gave us all particular talents to use for His glorification. Digital does not replace it - digital is a simple substitute for the real thing.
Click to expand...
Correct. Electronic systems are very good, cheap replacements for organs and allow for a good sound system to provide adequate sound quality. A pro of this is that people with hearing aids can tune right into the system. A con? Electronic feedback and static. Even with top of the line speakers, there’s some electronic “noise”

But old pipe organs have no comparison. They are custom built and tuned for the space and allow for nuances of sound. The pro of this is that there is the best way to have sound travel–organically. The con is that those who have hearing loss may miss these nuances.
 
The Franciscans in the Archdiocese ALWAYS have trumpets for Palm Sunday.
 
Have to disagree on digital.
Kawai Digitals are INCREDIBLE. I played the other day for a funeral and all the people of the parish wanted to know if I got a “new” pipe organ installed.
Other times they have asked how was I permitted to hire a string quartet.

It’s simply incredible.
Nothing like the Hallelujah Chorus with full orchestra.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
Correct. Electronic systems are very good, cheap replacements for organs and allow for a good sound system to provide adequate sound quality. A pro of this is that people with hearing aids can tune right into the system. A con? Electronic feedback and static. Even with top of the line speakers, there’s some electronic “noise”
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Nope. Not at all. It’s not about being “cheap” and “adequate.” It’s about about sonic excellence. I suspect you’re talking about an entirely different level of organ.

I read about one organ that had voice coils that were up to 72" in diameter. That’s a stunning number to me. With that you could shake a huge church building better than a 64’ pipe organ petal stop.

Your electronic “noise” comment makes no sense in this context. The human ear (even trained ones) would never hear such noise – particularly when compared to a mechanical/pneumatic system that’s prone to leakage and one that is essentially constantly working itself out of tune.
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
But old pipe organs have no comparison. They are custom built and tuned for the space and allow for nuances of sound. The pro of this is that there is the best way to have sound travel–organically. The con is that those who have hearing loss may miss these nuances.
Click to expand...
Sure they do – including brand new pipe organs. Electronic organs are also configured for specific settings and voiced in place. In the end it pretty much depends on the quality of the source samples. Like it or not, you can sample the most wonderful Æolian-Skinner pipe organ in the world and it can be faithfully reproduced halfway across the world with an electronic organ these days.

Such electronic organs do have big advantages compared to actual pipe organs. They are less expensive (but still costly) to buy in the first place and more importantly, they take a tiny fraction of the maintenance and they are easier to relocate should that become necessary.
 
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