Are there any church musicians out there? Church musicians represent!
Yes, I am talking to you, since you are my people!
Isn't the feeling nice that you got to play and rock with your instruments? Isn't singing just so nice? You like doing those? Isn't the nerve-racking to just stand in front of a bunch of people?
We all like that, huh? Well, guess what? The whole singing and playing instruments in church is really not about you, not about me, not about us! Especially if you want to do this to seek attention and approval from other people.
Church music is suppose to create an atmosphere of prayer for all of those who are present to worship. As the great Saint Augustine once said that singing is praying twice. Certainly, it is not for pure entertainment and not for us to show how awesome our musical skills are.
The Types of Typical Attitude on Church Music
Why did I say such? Because over the years I have learned chunks of lessons about the many attitudes of people toward Sacred Music.
There are people who comes to church looking to be plainly “entertained” by both the music and the sermon. We got to give them credit for wanting to be appreciative of things but they need some stern talking to about their intents for coming to church. There are those who look for the churches that use pipe organ, violin, flute, and trumpets with chorale and lots of chants. On the other hand, there are those who look for the church that have all those guitars, drums, and other “rock” type instruments. If you are to ask me for my preference, I would love to find the good balance between the mixture of both styles since those are both good ways to create the atmosphere of worship for me. Though I still have a few songs or chants that I didn't like from both types of today's church music.
Let me now turn to the people on the pews.
The Parent and the Children being Entertained
I once heard a parent from my church community telling another parishioner that when their kid hears one of the cantors sings, the kid would applaud after the song. Thankfully I am not yet the director of religious education at that time because I would have spoken up and ask that parent to explain to their kid. Okay, maybe the kid doesn't understand yet the whole concept of church music but it would be nice to tell the child that it was a way of prayer and not the same as listening to Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Placido Domingo, and other singers perform on-stage or on television. We are at church, we are suppose to pray, and singing is one way of praying, period! Trust me, kids understand an explanation that simple, I've seen it work with several kids.
I can see sometimes what is going on with those kids who thought they were being entertained at
church. Some of those parents don't open their mouths when it is time
for singing. It has been a known fact that music soothes children
especially infants and toddlers mimic what they hear or see from
people around them. The point is if child is being carried and rocked by parent or older sibling while singing at church, the child will
eventually catch on that habit of singing at church when they grow
up. If that happens, the child will think that “Oh! They are
singing, I think I am also suppose to sing.” Wouldn't it be
wonderful? Another way in which a toddler can be engaged in the whole
church music thing is for the child to bring small toy instruments
like maracas and tambourines, especially if you go to a church that
have those full worship band, those toy instruments shouldn't create
much distraction anyway.
The Random Churchgoers
Oh these are my favorite kind of crowd since I have encountered many of them over the years! And boy I wish I could sometimes laugh at their faces for being so naive! They would come up with a bunch of compliments that, if you don't know your true intent on doing sacred music, might get your head go rounded enormously. But if you know what you are doing, you know how to answer them and make them think about the compliments they just uttered. And here are just some samples of those I have encountered personally, both from my church and from the church where we help with the music ever other Sunday evening and how I generally respond to them.
The "I hope we helped you worship" Crowd
Random Parishioner (RP): Oh y'all sounded good this evening!
Me: Oh thank you! I hope we have helped you worship the Lord in this evening's Mass!
RP: A.) Well, yes! B.) Well, Uhm...
Me: Well, we are here to help you have a full, active, and conscious participation in our high form of worship. Let me ask you this, did you sang with us?
RP: A.) Sure! B.) Uhm... No, [insert excuse here].
Me (for case A): Thank you! I think we have served our purpose tonight! I hope you can do it again next time!
Me (for case B): You know sir/ma'am what I am about say to you is I have heard this many times from many conferences I have attended: in reality the people of the pew are the real choir and the “choir members” and the band that you see is only there to lead everyone. So, you should be singing!
Me (for both cases): I know that the Lord will surely appreciate you singing although you may think the people sitting around you might not. Just blend in with everyone's singing!
The Just "Great job" Crowd
RP: You did great job this morning!
Me: Well, thank you! But you know I am a bit hesitant to be the cantor this morning since I knew that people will go [cue the facial gesture of someone dumbfounded – a mouth wide open and blank stare] whenever I sing in front!
RP: [laughs]
Me: Well, you should also tell about [insert name here] about it since they were the once patient enough to teach me those things anyway.
RP: I'll sure do!
The "Quiet" Crowd
Basically, they just go with most of the motions: they sit, kneel, and stand. You won't see them open their mouths. For a lack of a better word, they were only interested in the social aspect of going to church. That's all that is to it as far as this article is concerned.
The "Serious" Churchgoers
They are my favorite kind of people. You know how sincere they were in coming to church that day. They participate fully, actively, and consciously in the worship service. They sing too and they appreciate the message of the music. You can observe how they act in church. With that being said, maybe they were not even blessed to have a terrific singing voice but they still sing. For me, their compliments are music to ears. since they know what they mean to convey, you can see the outward expression of what is in their hearts. You don't have to have a good voice, just sing with the crowd. You don't have to know they tone to the song, just read on a low voice or mouth off the words, and blend in with the singing of the rest!
So this coming Sundays, when you go to church, wherever you are, whatever the kind of music your church uses, pick up that hymnal in-front of you or look up at the words on the video wall (if your church has one), and then just sing your heart out when it's time to sing! Sing on with everyone else until you feel the building being shaken by the music!
