Practicing Music INSIDE the Church Before Mass!

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Tonks40

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I’ve got a little probem that bugs me. In July after I came back to the Church, I joined a group that provides music for our Saturday vigil Masses. Twenty years ago, I was part of a similiar group.

Here’s my problem: in my current group, we don’t have regular outside-of-Mass practices during the week. What we normally do is show up at the church, practice the songs briefly, then help with the Liturgy, which is pretty normal for us (being that we’re all experienced musicians), but we ALWAYS practice 30 minutes before Mass INSIDE the church!! This drives me nuts because I’m soooo sensitive to the parishioners who gather inside early to pray. When I was a part of the group I was in 20 years ago, we did the respectful thing and practiced briefly OUTSIDE the church, so as to not disturb the people inside.

If I go to the leader of our group, or the person in charge of the music ministry at our church, I feel like I’m going to be a lone voice in this amongst all the music ministers, because I noticed that other groups also do the same thing. The only one that doesn’t is our Adult Choir and Children’s Choir, which seems to have the decency to practice in other room on the church grounds prior to Mass.

Can any of your guys think of subtle (or many not-so-subtle) ways I can begin to broach the subject to my fellow musicians about respecting the reverence and the Presence of the Holy Eucharist prior to Mass? Or am I making too much of a big deal out of this?

Thanks 🙂
 
Dear Tonks,
My personal opinion is that this is most likely because we live in such a time pressed society. I suspect you won’t have much luck in changing this because everyone is very stressed out and trying to be efficient with their time. Since many people have to drive considerable distances to church, and so many have varying work schedules, kid schedules, etc, I think it’s much harder to coordinate a practise time that works for everyone, so people then tend to meet before Mass.
 
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spiritblows:
Dear Tonks,
My personal opinion is that this is most likely because we live in such a time pressed society. I suspect you won’t have much luck in changing this because everyone is very stressed out and trying to be efficient with their time. Since many people have to drive considerable distances to church, and so many have varying work schedules, kid schedules, etc, I think it’s much harder to coordinate a practise time that works for everyone, so people then tend to meet before Mass.
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I have no problems with practicing before Mass. It’s just practicing inside the church, while others are trying to pray and prepare themselves before Mass that I have a problem with. I also understand trying to set up our area (plugging in the sound system, getting instruments ready, etc.) prior, but I know it can be done without much disturbance to others.
 
if the only alternative is to have a choir who does not practice at all, please practice, trust me, we will gladly sacrifice a few more minutes if we don’t have to listen to a choir that is not even on the same song in the same key.
 
This is somewhat linked to the noise in church thread. I am a memeber of a cathedral parish and have sung in our cathedral choir for 18 yrs. I drive 25 miles to attend. My geographical parish is 5 miles away and on the few times I have attended, the choir messed around with the electronic keyboard, played riffs on the electric guitars, and “practiced” before Mass.

Our choir practices 2 hours every Wednesday night and an hour before Mass on Sunday - in the parish hall. Practice should be done outside of the Sanctuary so that when you enter the Sanctuary you are ready.
 
As one of the ones who comes to church an hour before mass to pray…

I honestly don’t care if the choir is practicing. You guys are praying, I’m praying. If I’m disrupted by your praying, that’s my problem, not yours.

Now when I try to pray after mass, and all the parishoners are talking about the party last night right next to me, that’s extremely irrating… But its a completely different case if you’re in there to serve the Lord.

Josh
 
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threej_lc:
As one of the ones who comes to church an hour before mass to pray…

I honestly don’t care if the choir is practicing. You guys are praying, I’m praying. If I’m disrupted by your praying, that’s my problem, not yours.

Josh
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Gosh, never thought of it like that. Maybe that’s why I don’t get dirty looks from the parishioners who get there early. Still, I’m pretty sensitve about it… :confused:
 
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threej_lc:
As one of the ones who comes to church an hour before mass to pray…

I honestly don’t care if the choir is practicing. You guys are praying, I’m praying. If I’m disrupted by your praying, that’s my problem, not yours.

Now when I try to pray after mass, and all the parishoners are talking about the party last night right next to me, that’s extremely irrating… But its a completely different case if you’re in there to serve the Lord.

Josh
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You are a better man than I Gunga Din.
 
Hi, Tonks

I feel for you. That would drive me nuts, too.

I’d suggest a low key approach with the entire group, including the leader. Maybe make the observation that some people seem to be trying to pray before Mass. Point out that you believe setup and rehearsal might be interrupting the people’s prayer time, and that that makes you very uncomfortable. Point out that two other groups rehearse in a separate space outside the church on Sunday morning. Ask if there is any reason why this group can’t do the same.

My parish has a large music program. All of our choirs and ensembles rehearse on a weeknight rather than in the church before Mass … and we have a good number of people who earn all, or at least a significant part of, their living by playing or teaching music.

Instrumentalists who have to set up, tune up, and do a sound check get to church 45 minutes to an hour ahead of time, and have everything ready to go at least 20 minutes before Mass starts.

I’ve played at other churches with groups that do rehearse on Sunday morning. In all cases, they rehearsed outside of the church proper. Rehearsal would end about 20 minutes before mass. They would then do a quick set up with a minimally interruptive sound check, ensuring that everything was finished at least 10 minutes before Mass started.

Larry
 
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threej_lc:
I honestly don’t care if the choir is practicing. You guys are praying, I’m praying. If I’m disrupted by your praying, that’s my problem, not yours.
Josh
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I wish I could be that big.

I drives me nuts to try to pray when they are singing. Worse when they are talking about singing. You know, here is where we go. La La LA, not there. Or whatever.

I want to stand up and say, “Hello, I am praying here.” Then start praying out loud.

I think of it this way. I am praying, yes. But in my head, to my self. If I prayed out loud, people would ask me to be quiet. And rightly so.

I think you should talk to the leader and see if there is somewhere outside of the church that you could practice. I wish someone in the group at my church would do this. Then maybe I could pray in the quiet.
 
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Tonks40:
I have no problems with practicing before Mass. It’s just practicing inside the church, while others are trying to pray and prepare themselves before Mass that I have a problem with. I also understand trying to set up our area (plugging in the sound system, getting instruments ready, etc.) prior, but I know it can be done without much disturbance to others.
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My family is full of musicians so maybe I’m biased. As long as the instruments are played by people who know how to play them, I find the music before Mass an aid to prayer. My beef are the people who end up singing who just don’t have it. Every parish I’ve been in in the last 5 or 6 years, has a singer who is at least 75, may or may not have smoked for years, one had surgery on her larynx just two months ago, and believes they are world class singers. One screams into the microphone, one tries very hard to make those operatic noises you know like Aunt Bea on the Andy Griffith show. Several times others have stepped forward to volunteer to join the music ministry, some from the music department from the local conservatory, bu these old battleaxes make it just impossible. Either they arrange impossible times, don’t assign the pieces or dates correctly or flat out insult the people til they leave. Nothing is more distracting to prayer than high pitched shrieking by someone who thinks they are a diva who was never recognized and is off key. Sorry to be so long winded. I’ve waited a long time to get this off my chest. It truly is my only real peeve about Mass. Jesus Mary and Joseph, and the responsorial psalm. I believe it should be reverent. But our divas sing as if they are at a requiem mass. OUr organ player is excellent. She plays both organ and piano perfectly. Of course- she is…deaf! 😃
 
Our choir would very much like to warm up and rehearse someplace other than the church but the room we use for rehearsal on Thursday nights is not available on Sunday mornings and no other spot is big enough for us. There is no way my voice would be ready to sing at 9:00am if I didn’t have the half hour practice before hand. And there are always a few songs or Mass parts that need a last minute touch-up.

We are currently raising the money to build a hall which will have an actual rehearsal room. We have the plans pretty much finalized but have yet to break ground. Hopefully we will have the hall finished in about three years or so.
 
As with the last post, our problem is space. We have no dedicated music rehearsal room, so our warm-ups are in the worship space about 30 minutes prior to mass. Personally, if other space is available, I think warm-up should be somewhere else so that it is quiet in the worship space. Some may like the music, some may not; I think you have to default to the ones who don’t.

Tonks, I’d bring it up with your pastor and then let it be whatever it will be. I’ve tried to broach some topics with our other musicians and, maybe because as artists they tend to be sensitive, it just creates turmoil. The better path, I think, is just to let the pastor handle it if he wishes.

God Bless and good luck!
 
Thanks everyone for your insights and suggestions. 👍

I think I will approach our pastor about this. I am also in contact with one of our Music Ministry leaders - maybe he would lend me a helping hand on this, also. 🙂

God bless you all! :blessyou:
 
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brotherhrolf:
This is somewhat linked to the noise in church thread. I am a memeber of a cathedral parish and have sung in our cathedral choir for 18 yrs. I drive 25 miles to attend. My geographical parish is 5 miles away and on the few times I have attended, the choir messed around with the electronic keyboard, played riffs on the electric guitars, and “practiced” before Mass.

Our choir practices 2 hours every Wednesday night and an hour before Mass on Sunday - in the parish hall. Practice should be done outside of the Sanctuary so that when you enter the Sanctuary you are ready.
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Brother Hrolf:

I think that’s the way it should be done. I agree with you about the people “Practicing” inside the Church when people are trying to pray.

I belonged to a Youth Choir some 22 years ago. I don’t recall any practices during the week, but I do recall that we would always have our practices in the PARISH HALL before Mass. They NEVER practiced in the Church.

The following is to Tonks40:

I would say to go to the leader and to POLITELY suggest that the practices be moved to the PARISH HALL. I’m sorry, but I know of no indirect, or subtle, way to go about this. You will just have to remind the leader that the noise from the practices makes it difficult for parishioners to PRAY and MEDITATE during the minutes before Mass, and suggest that the practices could just as conveniently be carried out in a classroom or the Parish Hall as in the Church. If that space isn’t available, then suggest that the 30 min. of practice start 45 min. before Mass. That would leave the last 15 min. before Mass for reverent prayer by the congregation.

Please understand, You’re only responsible for trying to put this as accurately and diplomatically as possibly. You’re not responsible for how they respond to you or to your suggestion. That’s their responsibility.

I hope this helps.

In Christ, Michael
 
Sorry if I’m hijacking the thread, but what about saying the rosary before mass? Our choir practices in the church but quits at least 20 minutes before Sunday mass. The rosary starts right after practice ends. I help with the Saturday night music (no rosary before mass) and we try to stop practice at least 15-20 minutes before mass begins. I see no problem with that.

God Bless
 
It drives me nuts too. As a choir director I refuse to ever rehearse in the church before Mass.
The choir is expected to show up either already warmed up or warm themselves up in a side room. The actual practicing of music is done during the week.
 
My choir’s call time is 45 minutes before Mass begins. We do a quick run-down of the music for Mass. It is my goal to be finished no later than 15 minutes before Mass begins… in fact I would prefer 20 minutes.

We are restricted by our facilities, and have nowhere else to do this rehearsal.

Many parishoners arrive 10-15 minutes before Mass, so we’re finished and there is quiet time.

Let’s talk prelude music… how do we feel about liturgical musicians doing 20 minutes of prelude music prior to the start of Mass? I find this more distracting from prayer than a 10 minute “mic” check using the Psalm and then 10 minutes of silence for prayer.
 
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Leisa:
Sorry if I’m hijacking the thread, but what about saying the rosary before mass? Our choir practices in the church but quits at least 20 minutes before Sunday mass. The rosary starts right after practice ends. I help with the Saturday night music (no rosary before mass) and we try to stop practice at least 15-20 minutes before mass begins. I see no problem with that.

God Bless
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Leisa:

That’s not a hijack - that’s just a suggestion as to a rule the choir could follow that would allow the musicians to practice while aloowing people to have silence before Mass.

In negotiations, we call that “Win-win”. It just requires that Masses be scheduled to start 2 hours apart.

In Christ, Michael
 
I just wish I could have enough people for a choir. We have 1000 families and only about 5-6 people willing to sing in the choir. :crying: All of them, 100%, also teach CCE and arrive at the last minute.
 
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