Better quality music.
Like it or not, in the United States, people walk when the music is not good. Obviously, a lot of people have different ideas about what is “good” music and what isn’t. Some people think anything that isn’t “their” preferred style is “bad” music. What I’m talking about is “quality” music in whatever style is used in the Mass. If a parish is using all classical/traditional music, it has to be “good,” not just enthusiastically-performed by a few brave souls who are willing. Same for whatever style is used.
The state of liturgical music actually has more to do with the abysmal state of public and private school music education in most U.S. cities rather than in anything that the Catholic Church is doing “wrong.”
People grow up not learning how to sing, how to read music, and how to appreciate (not the same as like) many different styles of music.
Most people in the U.S. grow up without learning how to play an instrument, which means that the “pool” of instrumentalists for Mass is extremely limited.
The pool of organists in the U.S. is alarmingly low; many colleges are closing or have closed down their “organ” major. This is a dire situation for Catholic churches in particular. I talked to an organ builder a few weeks ago who told me that many organ-building companies have closed due to lack of business. He told me that in the last 30 years or so, it is the Catholic Church that is keeping organ building going, but that orders for new organs from Catholic Churches are way down. The fact is–we don’t have many organists up and coming in the United States, and if this continues, in a decade or so, even the EF congregations will not be able to enjoy the organ in the Masses unless they are willing to pay some big bucks.
In addition, many people are constantly tuned in to some form of popular music (and this includes classical), and all of this popular music, including rock, pop, soul, jazz, classical, country, CCM, etc., is performed by professionals who DO know how to sing/play instruments, and how to read music. This means that their music is “good,” (yes, even the styles that we personally don’t prefer), and so when the listener attends Mass and listens to “amateurs”, they are unable to appreciate the music in Mass because they are used to listening to professional music all the time.
FInally, it’s a time crunch issue. Many Catholic parishes do not hire a professional musician to plan their liturgical music or music outside of Mass, and if they do hire a pro, they don’t pay them enough (although many pros make a decent amount of money by teaching private lessons, taking on other gigs like directing community choirs, etc.–but it depends on the city). However, in many parishes, the music is planned by a volunteer, and nowadays, time is short, and many volunteers simply don’t have the time to research “Catholic” music, and establish training programs in their parish. And even if they DID offer chant classes, music reading sessions, etc., very few people would show up. Everyone’s simply too busy these days.
I believe that in the United States, the Catholic Church needs to put some real money into the state of liturgical music in the parishes, both OF and EF. I think they need to begin by studying the situation instead of just allowing it to continue as it currently is. I think that in the Catholic schools, at least, a mandate is needed to improve the condition of music education so that at least, all Catholic-educated children learn to read music, sing correctly, and appreciate all styles, including the ancient styles, of music. I also think that Catholic schools should strive to recruit children to learn to play the organ especially, but also the piano and other instruments that would be appropriate for Masses, and then allow these children to actually PLAY in the Mass as soon as they are able to play even a small part of the liturgical music (e.g., a simple prelude or postlude).
Another issue that I believe needs study is how music in each diocese can be improved quality-wise. Would it be appropriate for each diocese to hire a “Staff Musician” who is responsible for helping all the parishes, OF and EF, to develop the highest-quality music possible? I think that’s an idea worth considering.
But it’s unfortunately all about the money. More is needed to make Mass music better.
