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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

A Practical Secret

Dr. Lucas Tappan · February 19, 2015

263 London Oratory School HILDREN CAN BE infuriating at times. How often have you announced the name of the motet your choir will be rehearsing next and one of your choristers shouts out “What did you say?” You repeat the answer to him and before you’re finished, another chorister asks “What was that?” You think that is the end of it and you begin working on the motet, only to notice three children looking at you with blank stares. When you ask them why they aren’t singing, invariably two of the three respond that they didn’t hear what you said (the third child tells you he never received a copy of the music, but on further investigation, you find that it is the very first piece of music in his binder, if only he had looked). John Bertalot is correct when he says, “Choir directors have to repeat instructions because the choirs have trained their directors. They have conditioned the director to accept their own low level of concentration so that everything must be said two or three times to enable everyone to hear and respond. I am in charge of this choir and they do things in my way, not vice versa.”

I have always found that rehearsals which move along at a decent pace, with little wasted time (including me talking) are the best rehearsals. More music is covered and choristers generally have a feeling of accomplishment. They don’t like to sit around while I repeat instructions multiple times for the benefit of those with selective hearing. (If I had told those choristers it was break time, every one would have heard it the first time and been out the door before I could repeat what I said.)  So … how do you recondition your choristers?

As Bertalot 1 writes “You first have to get their attention. You may have to do this in the old way, by repeating your call for silence. Then you tell them that from now on, when you tell them something you will do it only once.” Then you have to stand by what you said—NO MATTER WHAT! From personal experience, those choristers who never catch what you say will begin to ask their neighbor to repeat your instructions. This is when you start rehearsing the work immediately so that their neighbors are all singing and can’t respond. The chorister who didn’t hear you the first time will have to look at his neighbor’s music to find out where he should be. If you keep this up, those choristers with selective hearing WILL begin to hear you the first time. You will waste much less time and you will enjoy the new found energy of your rehearsals!

A Practical Secret: Condition choirs so that you have to tell them only once.

(Next week: “the Great Secret.”)



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   These insights come from Bertalot’s fabulous book, Five Wheels to Successful Sight-Singing.

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 Dr. Lucas Tappan

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four 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

In the ’60s, I thought this emphasis on congregational singing was to encourage good Catholic hymns like “Immaculate Mary” and so forth … but after the Council, they threw them out, too!

— ‘Fr. Valentine Young, OFM (2007)’

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