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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

Teaching your own children

Veronica Brandt · January 17, 2015

AN I SHARE WITH YOU THIS CLIP? One son was giggling over it after dinner and when I saw it I knew I had to publish it.

The experience of trying to capture a small child singing is very similar to the Looney Tunes cartoon One Froggy Evening. But get a car full of siblings together to melt the ice and some serendipitous slapstick and I can be the proud parent, though not having much direct input into this little movie.

I have been asked about how to teach children to sing. Let me take these three pieces as a starting point: Gaudete, Twinkle and Jesu Rex Admirabilis.

I can hardly remember when we learned Gaudete, but it is sung with gusto every Christmas, sometimes even managing the four part chorus. Twinkle twinkle little star is hardly a notable achievement, but even singing little folksongs like that is a part of our musical heritage which is also diminishing.

Jesu Rex Admirabilis was a piece tackled last year with a group of Catholic homeschoolers. I taught the top line to the younger children and the middle line to the older children, hoping to recruit some fathers for the bass line, but that fell through, so ended up singing the bass line myself transposed up an octave (or two). We took pretty much all year to bring it together, but it was very worthwhile.

I wonder if I could have taught this to my own children without the homeschooler group. Teaching your own children is a bit like supervising piano practice. Teaching other children is more like a lesson. In a lesson you have a finite time to convey a finite set of ideas. The limits help you to be cheerful and give a sort of detachment from how the class does – you can walk away at the end and try again in a couple of weeks. With your own children on a day to day basis it can be harder to be positive and suppress the urge to keep going until it’s right (or until the child stomps off in frustration vowing never to sing again).

There are more thoughts on this difference in this article by a piano teacher: Teaching my own children to play piano. All up it is a worthwhile undertaking, but important to keep perspective, patience and perseverance.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Catholic Youth Choirs Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 22nd in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 31 August 2025, which is the 22nd 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “The Worm That Dieth Not”
    My pastor asked me to write a column for our parish bulletin with reflections on the sacred liturgy and church music. In my most recent article, I discuss “The Worm That Dieth Not.” At this website, you can access it conveniently; simply scroll down to the one dated 31 August 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“The Humanists abominated the rhythmical poetry of the Middle Ages from an exaggerated enthusiasm for ancient classical forms and meters. Hymnody then received its death blow as, on the revision of the Breviary under Pope Urban VIII, the medieval rhythmical hymns were forced into more classical forms by means of so-called corrections.”

— ‘Father Clemens Blume, S.J.’

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