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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

On Musicianship: A Thought Experiment for Choir Directors

Keven Smith · May 18, 2021

NE RECENT THURSDAY AFTERNOON, I was teaching a music class to a group of very bright and motivated children. Having spent months training their ears, I’m now introducing them to sight-singing. I spent much of the one-hour lesson having them sing through a simple melody that I had made up on the spot and written on the chalkboard. First, we went over the tune’s rhythm, tapping quarter notes on our palms and chanting the rhythm on “BAH” until it was steady. Next, we focused on pitch. I had them solfege their way through the (entirely stepwise) melody out of tempo, one note at a time.

Finally, we combined the two elements of pitch and rhythm. The rhythm alone had been easy for them. The pitch alone had been easy for them. Combining the two proved challenging. In the end, they learned the hymn, but the task required intense concentration.

I glanced slowly from one face to the next, and said, “You’re doing it! You’re sight-singing! What do you think?”

They smiled politely but were quiet for several seconds. At last, wide-eyed “Kathleen” said, “That is way harder than I thought.”

Which Choir Would You Rather Have?

Kathleen is right. The typical person has no idea how challenging it is to sight-sing. They have a vague sense that when the notes on the page go up and down, their voice should follow. They know that the shape of the notes somehow affects their length. Beyond that, they’re lost.

It’s tremendously gratifying to teach young students who are enthusiastic about learning this stuff. They see the value of being able to sight-sing because they want to serve God in His holy liturgy. They’re willing to endure the struggles along the way. For children (and, of course, adults) like these, I have boundless energy.

Kathleen’s comment reminded me of a thought experiment I invented a while back. (I encountered many thought experiments in my pro-life apologetics training years ago and have enjoyed them ever since.) Here it is:

If you could choose between having:

  • a choir in which every member could sight-sing flawlessly, or 
  • a choir in which every member could hear a recording once and instantly memorize his or her part,

which would you choose?

Those of us who take sight-singing seriously may jump on the first option without even listening to the second. What could be better than a choir full of fluent sight-singers? I must admit that instrumentalists like me who “convert” to singing struggle not to be prideful about our musicianship skills when we’re around native singers, who often lack good training in this department.

But if I stop and think about it, I have to admit I’d prefer the second choir. Music isn’t a series of marks on a page; those marks only represent music. Strictly speaking, music doesn’t exist until we make it, and then it will be gone in an instant. Those marks on the page will remind us of how that composer wanted the music to sound, but we’ll probably never get it exactly the way he imagined it—nor will we sing it exactly the same way twice. A choir that held music perfectly in its audiation, rather than studiously following a printed page, would have a much greater chance of rendering it artistically, without the encumbrance of trying to “get it right.” And with no music in hand, they would have to watch the conductor!

Back to the Real World

This thought experiment has the same tragic flaw as each of its siblings: it presents two choices that would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve in real life. 

I’ve never heard of a choir in which every member can listen to an entire piece once (or even thrice) and sing it back perfectly. As for a choir of flawless sight-singers, it might be possible if every member had superior musical aptitude and worked relentlessly to hone their skills. It’s certainly more likely than the other choir, but it’s still a long shot. 

Still, there’s a value in this exercise because it forces us to get off the fence and acknowledge what’s most important in learning music: learning music. In a sense, the approach doesn’t matter because it’s simply a means to an end. 

In the typical church choir setting, we need a combination of sight and sound. Making no effort to teach music-reading and simply banging out everyone’s part on the piano is a tedious, short-sighted approach. Forcing everyone to do endless sight-singing drills and refusing to play recordings or demonstrate as a sort of “tough love” would be equally unwise. 

Aristotle believed that virtue lies in the mean. I’m beginning to think musicianship is the same way. I’d rather have the second choir, but I’m working as if I want the first choir. In the end, though, I just want us to make music at the highest level possible. 

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: music classes, musicianship, sight-singing Last Updated: May 18, 2021

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(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

“Eucharistic Prayer II, on account of its particular features, is more appropriately used on weekdays or in special circumstances.”

— §365 from the “General Instruction for the Roman Missal”

Recent Posts

  • PDF Downloads • Four (4) Simple Pieces in Harmony for Men’s Choirs
  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?

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