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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

How Do I Get Them to Sing? Part 2 of 2

Andrew R. Motyka · March 13, 2013

hat do you do when the congregation just won’t sing? Here are a few more practical tips to encourage reluctant singers.

CLICK HERE to read Part 1 of this article.

4. Sing a cappella from time to time. Sometimes the best accompaniment for congregational singing is none at all. Once you’ve started down the road to making your parish responsible for communal song, try a verse of a hymn a cappella. Learn a plainchant Mass ordinary. A cappella singing adds a layer of reverence in the liturgy that is simple yet underutilized. When you do use the organ, however,

5. Choose appropriate registrations. You want to support the singing, not bury it. In my experience, though, congregations aren’t avoiding singing because the organ is too loud, but because it isn’t loud enough. Singing is an act of responsibility, but very few people like feeling exposed while they sing. They like to be surrounded with other sound. For this reason, a congregation that sings well is, to some degree, self-supporting. It’s easy to join in singing when the people around you help cover your less-than-confident voice, and that cycle continues. Unfortunately, the converse is also true: fewer people singing means people will be uncomfortable singing. No one wants to be the first. For this reason, a robust organ registration can help bridge the gap between wimpy and confident song.

6. Choose singable keys and tempos. Your congregational literature has to be in a middle-of-the-road tessitura. Extremely high or low keys will cause people to drop out, especially very high ones. That said, don’t let your parish get lazy, either. A congregation can sing as high as a D (although I wouldn’t push them further except with some very popular hymns that they’ll sing anyway. I’m looking at you, Jesus Christ is Risen Today). Do not choose music or keys that hang in that high register, but don’t avoid it entirely, either. A congregation that never sings D’s will never be able to, either.
Tempos are even more critical. Practice singing while you play. You don’t have to sing while you play at Mass, but singing while practicing is a good way to understand the phrasing that the singers will need to have. Too fast, and they’ll be hyperventillating; too slow, they’ll never make it to the end of reasonable phrases. Be sure that your organ playing breathes with the singers. Using lifts, be extremebly clear and obvious at the ends of phrases where breathing is necessary. If you just slur right through them, congregations will unconsciously receive the message that they never get to breathe.

7. Be consistent with repertoire and sparing with new hymns. This doens’t mean that you can never introduce new music. Don’t go overboard, though. 2 or 3 brand new hymns a year is plenty. You can get away with quite a bit more in the realm of responsorial-style music, where repeating a short phrase or antiphon is the only new information, and with the “same tune, different text” approach (Tip: learn to use the Metrical Index in your hymnal). With psalms and mix-and-match hymnody, your repertoire can increase exponentially without actually “teaching” a thing.

8. Be patient. Even if you were to implement all of this advice and more tomorrow, it will still take time for your parish to start singing well. Singing is a cultural thing, and it will take patience and, most of all, consistency to get a good result. In the end, it might have nothing to do with the music. Some people are sticks-in-the-mud and won’t sing under any circumstances. It’s unlikely that your entire parish is made up of these people, though, and if it is, I’ll pray for you.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Legitimate and necessary concern for current realities in the concrete lives of people cannot make us forget the true nature of the liturgical actions. It is clear that the Mass is not the time to “celebrate” human dignity or purely terrestrial claims or hopes. It is rather the sacrifice which renders Christ really present in the sacrament.

— Pope Saint John Paul II (20 March 1990)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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