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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

Following the Leader

Andrew R. Motyka · April 24, 2013

NE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT things a director can do to promote good singing in the choir is to be a good singer and model for the group to follow. If the director cannot demonstrate competence with every aspect of a piece of music, he or she will not be able to inspire confidence on the part of the choir. How do you achieve this?

1) Use your choir warm-up as a springboard for the rest of your rehearsal.

Demonstrating good vocal technique begins with your warm-up. If your choir is improperly or insufficiently prepared to sing, the entire rest of the rehearsal will suffer. Don’t be afraid to spend a considerable amount of time getting your choir to transition from their speaking voices to their singing voices. It will save you rehearsal time in the long run, as it will affect pitch, breathing, and intonation. You can use a thousand words to explain to your choir how good breath support works, but showing them is much more effective.

2) Be able to sing every part of the music your choir is singing.

When you are teaching your choir a new piece of music, take the time to familiarize yourself ahead of time with each line of music. Not only will this save time when your choir asks for a reminder about notes or rhythms, but it will also offer proof of “singability” to your choir. If you’re a tenor and can sing the soprano line (even in falsetto), it will help your sopranos realize that they can do it, too. Even more importantly, intimacy with each voice’s part will help you to identify potential problems before you even begin the rehearsal.

3) If singing is not your strength, practice.

Most of us have a strength as a musician. It could be conducting, playing the organ or piano, composing, or singing. Last week, I wrote about the importance of practicing your composition skills. Singing is no different. You may be a great liturgist, a great organist, and a really nice guy or gal, but if you don’t view being a good singer as just important of a priority, you’re going to have a hard time inspiring your choir to make it their priority as well.

4) Demand responsibility from your choir.

In my experience, competence in 1-3 is very effective in leading a rehearsal. I would like to caution against a pitfall, though, and that is taking responsibility for good sound upon yourself. The choir needs to know that it is responsible for every sound that is coming out of it, and they cannot be lazy about their responsibility just because they have a good model. The trick is to use your demonstration to pass on good technique and musicianship.

We’ve all heard the statement, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” Yet we all know that this makes no sense. Any teacher needs to be primarily an example for their students. When it comes to singing, if you want them to follow you, you need to be a leader.

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

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). 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 the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing—direct murder by the mother herself. And we read in the Scripture, for God says very clearly: “Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you: I have carved you in the palm of my hand.”

— Mother Theresa (11 Dec 1979)

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