Musicians, people in pews differ on what encourages singing in church

WASHINGTON (CNS) - People in Catholic music ministry and Catholics in the pews hold slightly different opinions on what helps congregations sing, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

Participants included 1,541 people who said they were involved in church music ministry, and 808 people who said they were not involved in music ministry. All respondents were asked to choose from up to 14 different factors that help them sing in church, and only two were cited by a majority of Catholics in the pews: a familiar melody and "easy to sing." In contrast, more than half of Catholics in music ministry voted for five choices. "Leadership of organ or instruments" and "meaningful text" garnered the votes of close to two-thirds of these respondents, while "leadership of cantor or director," "linked to liturgy of the day or season" and "enthusiasm of the congregation" got smaller majorities. "Familiar melody" and "easy to sing" placed seventh and eighth, respectively. The survey was conducted online through the organization's Web site, www.npm.org. Results were announced Jan. 10. Other disparities between the two groups of respondents surfaced in the voting on what helps them sing. "Traditional song" as a factor was voted on by 47.9 percent of those not involved in music ministry, but by only 30.7 percent of those involved in such ministry. "Leadership of choir" was voted on by 47.3 percent of those involved in music ministry, but by only 29.6 percent of those not involved. The musicians' top choice - "leadership of organ or instruments" - garnered 66.4 percent of those in their group, but only 39.9 percent of those not involved in music ministry. "I think we need to pay a little more attention" to what people in the pews are saying, and find ways to "make it easier for people to sing," said J. Michael McMahon, president of the musicians' association, based in the Washington suburb of Silver Spring, Md. He noted that the factor that ranked lowest among people in the pews was "church building that makes singing a pleasure," with only 18.7 percent voting for it. Thirty-five percent of those in music ministry chose it. "The people don't necessarily know that or perceive that to be the case," McMahon said regarding how a building's design can be a factor when it comes to singing. "These are long-range kinds of things, but when you're building a church one would hope that (acoustics) would be a major consideration. Sad to say, that's not taken into account by a lot of people when it comes to building a church," he said. McMahon said he attributed the high ranking that people in the pews gave the "traditional song" factor to "familiarity." "It's not so much about the (age of the) song as it is about the familiarity," but "it's not nearly the same as saying we need to sing things we know," he said. But how does one define traditional and contemporary, a factor that barely registered 25 percent of support from either group? For example, what about a song such as "You Are Near" by the St. Louis Jesuits? "It's a generational question," McMahon replied. "People in my generation would see it as a contemporary song, and people in their 20s would see it as a traditional song."

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