Just want to say, firstly, thank you for your discussion. It’s nice when neither party gets heated up and can actually discuss differences of opinion without feeling defensive or easily offended.
You’re looking at this from your own viewpoint, and especially as a performer, and what I am telling you is that that is not the typical experience of the person in the pews (including the musically inclined).
I don’t think you meant it this way, but I want to make clear that I don’t look at it as a “performer” in the sense that most non-musicians view the term. I’m looking at it from a musician’s standpoint, which it much different from actually being a performer. When I’m on stage in an opera, I’m a musician and a performer in terms of acting. When I’m “performing” a recital or a chamber concert, I am a musician and only an instrument conveying the words of the music through my instrument. And when I am cantoring, I am praying the words through my instrument.
The projector works, as long (as I said) as those other things are in place. And given that (in my ‘perfect storm’ elements) the music is really good and the cantor is good, the people in the pews do not feel some perfectionistic obsession about singing every note, or fixating anxiously on something when they don’t need to, etc. It frees the average person, not paralyzes them. People are happy to join in where they can, and appreciate the sound of others when they cannot.
When this was being discussed at the one parish I am thinking of, a decision was made for the sake of the most rather than the sake of the few. (They knew that not 100% of the congregation would be perfectly satisfied. However, the truth was that it has come to be almost 100% embraced since inception.) Nevertheless, I’m sure that any individual who felt the need to lean on something in their hands, could go to the trouble to contact the cantor or music minister & obtain an individual copy of the body of work typically used. The decision for the screen as opposed to filling the pews with books was for the orientation of this congregation, which was toward a sense of freedom from struggle and self-absorption.
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I think, as I believe you have basically said in so many words, is that this kind of thing depends on each individual parish and the perfect storm that has been discussed. Your parish is trying to make things more accessible for their congregation. Since I do not know your parish and have never been there, I trust your word that it has been successful. That said, having freelanced in more parishes than I can count in about 9 different states, I know there would only be a handful of those parishes which could possible make it work. The rest, including those couple of parishes which currently employ this practice that I’ve been to, it’s not successful. Part of it is most certainly the architecture, as these are churches built in the 1800s. Second, these areas are places where most prefer a more traditional setup. They are much like me in their thinking, although most do not have any musical background.
The one thing I am a bit perplexed by is how using a hymnal is distracting or causes one to feel perfectionistic or to have any kind of anxious fixation. I know a lot of people who aren’t musicians and sing at mass, yet I know they don’t feel anything described. They just sing. But again, perhaps that is your parish and the people in it. They are trying to reach and help their “target audience”, much like how in journalism they try to reach their “target audience” by writing at an 8th grade level, since most people have only that level of reading/writing comprehension. A bit sad, but the reality, unfortunately.
Now, would I want my child and any future children I may have grow up with that in their parish? Personally, no. I don’t want them to use it as a crutch and as an easy way out of not learning how to read music. Basically, I feel it is my responsibility to help the younger generations learn music so that we don’t have to completely rely on things like this. As discussed in other threads, if we start the music education with children either in Catholic schools, choirs, etc., it would stop this vicious cycle. But I’m also seeing that this is not just a problem within the Church. It is a problem outside of it. Without getting too off-topic, I think some of these uses and tools, although they are done with the best intentions and can possibly be successful, may be a result from a societal and cultural change. Today, most people hardly have time to breathe and take care of their families, let alone time to learn how to read music or other things in life. How many people have I known who lament never having the time to truly pray or work on their spiritual lives. Too many. Everything requires an instant result because of the world we live in. How using a hymnal is now someone difficult, cumbersome, problematic and a distraction for some congregations, seems to be a product of this change.
Again, this is just me and my personal opinion. I never really gave these projectors much thought at all until this thread. Anyway, I think I’ve said enough on this subject and expressed my opinion enough. Time to get back to actual living. haha! These forums are too addicting. Not good.
