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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 Mistakes (Part I of II)

Keven Smith · May 21, 2022

OUR CHOIR MADE SOME MISTAKES last Sunday. And the Sunday before that. There will be mistakes at your next sung Mass, too. (And at mine.) Should we carry this around with us and let it affect our daily lives?

Mistakes often seem to be a bigger deal than they really are. They make singers feel as if they’ve let down the choir, and can even undermine their confidence.

Due to human frailty, mistakes are inevitable. But they’re not all created equal. By analyzing the reasons for mistakes, we can eliminate many of them. What about the rest? We can learn to deal with them like Catholics.

Why Singers Make Mistakes

To explore this topic thoroughly would require a textbook. Let me instead offer a few quick tips on how to minimize choir mistakes.

Many mistakes happen because a singer isn’t up to the task. He lacks the vocal or audiation skills to sing this music correctly, or he didn’t get enough rehearsal time on it. Here are some rehearsal techniques you can use to reduce these mistakes:

  • Use solfege. Solfege may seem like a hassle, but it’s worth the work. Try one of the many scores here at Corpus Christi Watershed that provides letters to represent the solfege syllables. If your choir recoils at first, be persistent. My singers now prefer to learn pieces on solfege and feel uncomfortable if I rush through this step. And once they’ve learned a piece, it’s learned forever.
  • Don’t overlook rhythm. Nobody wants to sing off key, so most of us focus on pitch and neglect rhythmic precision. Rhythm seems easier because it’s just math. If the tenors come in one beat early, you might assume it’s as correctable as a typo. But maybe they’re getting distracted because the basses enter before them, or because the altos have a busy moving line above them. Tricky rhythms need attention.

Count-singing and pulse-singing are two handy ways of drilling rhythm. In count-singing, everyone sings through their part on “one-and-two-and-tee-and-four-and.” It helps everyone sing in time and makes for cleaner phrase endings.

In pulse-singing, everyone sings their part on text but pulses each note, staccato, on a small note value. For example, if you’re singing Sicut Cervus by Palestrina, the tenors will pulse four times while holding the initial whole note. Pulse-singing not only reinforces subdivision but also forces singers to hit each pitch dead-on because they have only a split second to sing it.

  • Don’t play too much piano in rehearsals. As I recently told a musician friend, I’m glad I’m not much of a pianist. It spares me the temptation to accompany my choir on every note they sing. I believe excessive piano playing becomes a crutch for a choir. Piano is great for letting the choir listen to what they’re about to sing. But if you play with them all the time, you’ll weaken their audiation.
  • Don’t sing with them, at least not always. Singing along with your choir can be a crutch, too. I’ll sing along at first to teach a section their notes, but I don’t want them to lean on me. Of course, like many church choir directors, I’m both director and choir member. We’re always short on tenors, so I sing tenor while I conduct. (I must admit I should ask my tenors to sing without me more often to see how well they’re learning the music.)
  • Build listening skills. Encourage your singers to listen to everything but themselves. Consider rehearsing polyphony in pairs of parts—but not always soprano-alto and tenor-bass. On some pieces, it may make sense to pair up soprano and bass, or the two inner voices. By giving singers at least one other part to listen to, you help increase their musical awareness.

Two Other Species of Mistakes

Some mistakes happen because distractions arise. If, like me, you’re blessed to work in a parish with many families that are open to life, you’ll often hear a baby start crying just as you’re beginning a complex motet. Perhaps the sopranos don’t quite hear their first interval, and it throws off the altos for their entrance. During these challenges, all you can do is concentrate harder.

Other mistakes happen because we let our minds wander. A sung traditional Mass can take 90 minutes or longer, depending on the length of the homily and number of communicants. Some chants or motets require several minutes of intense concentration to sing (try explaining this to a non-musician who thinks we’re merely “doing what we love” like beer league softball players). With 30 or 40 singers in the loft at a large parish, someone will space out eventually.

There’s no easy fix for mental lapses. But we can make sure our singers know why they’re in choir. Provide them with translations for all the Latin they’re singing so they can sing prayerfully rather than just in tune. Reinforce their sense of purpose by reminding them there should be no conversation during Mass. And stress the need for frequent eye contact with you while singing. Remember: eye contact isn’t just about staying in tempo—it’s about directing our attention and energy in the same direction so that we can sound like a choir rather than a random collection of beautiful solo voices.

Developing the Right Mindset Towards Mistakes

We can’t eliminate mistakes. While one choir member may sometimes sing an entire Mass without missing a note or mispronouncing a word, it’s unlikely an entire choir will do it on the same day. So we must cultivate a healthy attitude towards mistakes, both in our singers and in ourselves as choir directors. I’ll address that topic in my next article.

 

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: mistakes, rehearsal technique, Simple Steps To Improve Parish Music Last Updated: May 21, 2022

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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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President’s Corner

    2-Voice Arr. • “Creator of the Starry Height”
    Do you direct a choir consisting of women or children only? (Some call this a “treble” choir.) Download a two-voice arrangement of Creator of the Starry Height set to the tune of IOANNES by clicking here and then scrolling to the bottom. In our times, this hymn is normally used during ADVENT, and the Latin title is: Cónditor alme síderum. It’s important to say “cónditor”—placing the accent on the antepenult—because ‘condítor’ in Latin means “one who embalms the dead.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Equal Voices” Choir Pieces
    My colleague, CORRINNE MAY, has posted some delightful compositions for equal voices: that is, choirs consisting of all men or all women. Included there are settings of the “Ave Maria” and “Tantum Ergo.” They strike me as relatively simple and not excessively lengthy. (In other words, within reach of volunteer singers.) Even better, all the scores have been made available as instant PDF downloads, completely free of charge. Bravo!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“Franz Liszt was an eminent keyboard virtuoso but a dangerous example for the young. … As a composer he was terrible.”

— Clara Schumann

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