Music is from the soul

Movie directors learned a long time ago that music is an essential part of conveying a story to their viewers.  When the director wants you to feel scared they play music that is full of tension, when they want you to feel a warm inside they play very romantic music. 

What they have discovered is this; the movie is seen by the eye and the brain interprets the pictures, but the music which is heard by the ear, talks to our inner soul and creates a visceral response.  Just think how you felt the first time you watched "Jaws". 

Even though there was very little action taking place on the screen, John Williams' music had you scared in the opening credits.  This Blog will examine the joy and satisfaction music can provide to someone that plays an instrument, sings or at least learns how to appreciate what it is they are hearing.

Dave Thomasberger

Chapter VI:112 of Sacrosanctum Concilium states: “The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art.”  Regardless of the era, music has been used to tell stories, inspire people, calm emotions, and emphasize a message (of Gospel).

It is hard to imagine a major Church Holy Day being celebrated without music.  Yet, with all that being said, music can be one of the most controversial subjects, when being discussed in terms of liturgy.  Traditionalists will tell you that the music in the church in the United States should return to its Latin roots, while many post Vatican II leaders will argue that the music needs to be updated so that it is more in line with the present culture and is better understood by the parishioners.  While both sides of this argument may have legitimate claims, the purpose for music during the Mass is not open for argument.

The primary purpose for music during a Mass is to enhance the assembly’s participation in the liturgy.  This can be accomplished by ensuring that the text of the hymns to be sung support both the season in which the Mass is being offered and readings of the day.  While it may be tempting to sing a hymn that may be a personal favorite of the musicians, or even of the congregation, if the text of the hymn does not serve to focus or refocus the attention of the congregation back to the altar, then the music is not serving its purpose.

Besides music that does not directly support the liturgy, there are other ways in which music can potentially detract from the focus on the altar.  This can happen when the music becomes a performance rather than a prayer.  It is also distracting when the music is done poorly.  The difficulty in correcting these two is that in fixing either one the tendency is to move very closely to the other.  In other words, churches that are simply looking to improve the quality of their music may fall into the trap where the performance becomes the focus of the musicians.  In the case where a church is trying to make the music have a more prayerful focus, the tendency is to lose musicians that are more performance centered, and then the quality of the music suffers.

The ideal situation is where the leader of the music ministry understands the true purpose of liturgical music and leads the members of the choir and the musicians to discover the power of the Holy Spirit in music.  When members of the ministry work hard at preparing the music while at the same time allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them, the hymns come alive.  This moves the congregation to a more fulfilling worship experience.

Saint Augustine said, “When we sing, we pray twice.”  When the music is prayerful, and united with the focus of the liturgy, it invokes the power of the Holy Spirit.  When that happens, it can melt the hardest of hearts and it can help to prepare the assembly to receive Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.


Dave Thomasberger

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Voice Lessons for Teens

Many people have asked me when their child should start taking voice lessons.  The answer to this question can be a bit complicated because the answer depends on several things:

1.      How much does your child sing now? 

2.      What are your expectations?

3.      Is your child a boy or a girl?

Let's address item one first.  Who wants your child to take lessons, you or your child?  If your child is not asking to take lessons then please don't push it.  If they don't want to take the lessons, there is nothing any teacher can do help them progress.

Unlike a external physical instrument such as a piano or guitar or trumpet, when the key is pressed on the piano or the string is plucked on the guitar or the lips are buzzed against the mouth piece of the trumpet, the instrument will sound even if in your mind you do not want it to sound.  However, with the voice, the sound that comes out when you sing has everything to do with whether you want it to sound or not.  If the child is determined not to sing or is not really interested in learning how to sing correctly, there is very little a teacher can do.

If the child is asking for the lessons, even if you are not sure they have a good voice or not, it is worth exploring.  If they have the interest, a good teacher can bring out the best in any voice.

As far as expectations are concerned, keep them low, at least until the age of 14 or so.  This is when the body begins to strengthen an you can begin to see the true voice take its shape.  Up until 14 the best you can do is to teach the child how not to sing in their throat, the proper way to sing vowels, how to breath correctly, and so forth.  Once the body gets stronger and is able to handle the higher breath capacity of the growing lungs then you begin to hear what the voice is going to sound like.

As in many things in teens, the girls seem to develop a little faster.  In regards to the voice this is because of the huge transformation that occurs in the male vocal chords around the age of 13.  While the girls do go through somewhat of a change it is more of an increase in depth and fullness of sound, where the boy’s chords are lengthening thereby causing there voice to become lower.  This is not saying that boys can’t learn anything during this time but things are changing a lot during this time.  Again the best things to do for a boy here are to teach fundamentals, stay out of the throat, pay attention to vowel pronunciation, breathing and diction.