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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

Choir Doesn’t Sound “Musical” Enough? Here’s What May Be MiSSSing

Keven Smith · February 20, 2024

T’S HAPPENED to all of us at one time or another. We’re listening to our choir—whether live or on a recording—and are generally happy with what we hear. People are singing the right notes at the right times. Entrances and cutoffs are clean. The music is moving forward with a coherent rhythm. And everything is tuning up nicely. So, what’s not to like? Sometimes, even a very “correct” performance seems to lack a certain finesse or grace. It’s not that any section of the choir is singing too loudly, but perhaps the forte passages seem too—forceful? Maybe the singers are stomping through these passages, rather than marching? Perhaps you’d describe the sound as rough, or even crass?

How To Fix It? • Identifying the problem is a great start. But how will you fix it? The easy way out is to say, “Tenors, be a little less at measure 24.” But that’s not what you really mean. You don’t want less sound; you want the same output, only … gentler? Sweeter? Yes, you could ask the tenors to be sweeter at 24. But I think you need to be more specific, which means getting technical. I’m feeling more prepared than ever to do just that because I recently picked up a valuable tip from my colleague Jeff Ostrowski’s wonderful seminar, “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster.”

Update: I see Jeff is currently giving 25% off until 25 March 2024 by means of a coupon code you can find here.

Don’t Miss This Valuable SSSecret

In the WEDNESDAY session—the fourth video of this incredibly thorough 10-hour series—Jeff shares an artful technique that many choir directors may overlook: Start Soft, then Swell (SSS). In a nutshell, when singers have certain prominent notes to sing, they should begin these notes softly and then quickly swell to the volume they ultimately desire, rather than starting the notes at full volume.

Palestrina ‘Sicut Cervus’ • Upon hearing this part of the video, I had a moment of panic and asked myself whether I do this Then I sang a bit of Sicut Cervus and was relieved to hear myself SSSing ever so subtly. As Jeff points out, most advanced singers already use SSS instinctively without being told. I’m not sure I had ever thought about this point of technique, but now that I’m listening for it, I agree: it’s a sine qua non of artful singing.

With Time, You’ll Know! • As Jeff also points out, he can’t provide precise instructions on when to use SSS. And I’ve just suggested that you use it on “certain prominent notes,” which is about as specific as a campaign promise. So, where to begin using SSS with your choir? This technique obviously won’t work on the shortest notes in a motet. I’d focus on long notes at the beginnings of phrases and emphasized notes at the peaks of phrases in melodic lines. When you find the right spots, you’ll know.

Different Instruments • In explaining SSS, Jeff provides an important insight: the piano, organ, and voice are three very different instruments. When you press a key on the organ, the note will already be at its loudest from the very first instant, and it won’t change volume until you lift off the key (unless, of course, you use the swell pedal).1 When you press a key on the piano, the note will be at its loudest in the first instant but then decay. When we sing, we shouldn’t be organists or pianists. Instead, we should take advantage of the voice’s unique ability to begin any note with finesse and then increase the intensity almost instantly.

Setting Up Your Choir SucceSSS

Now, as much as I agree with Jeff about the importance of SSS, I think one must be careful in implementing this technique with an amateur choir. When you give technical direction to a typical church choir, a few singers will overcorrect, many will undercorrect, and some will be too confused or bashful to make any change at all. I suspect SSS will be difficult to execute for any choir that hasn’t learned to sing “on the breath.” If your choir is used to crescendoing by “pushing more air,” trying to introduce SSS could lead to more bad habits. (In my mind’s ear, I’m hearing ‘overcorrectors’ who swell violently enough to make the rest of the choir seasick.) But if your singers know how to keep the breath under their sound and can crescendo by simply increasing the intensity of a note, they’ll soon make SSS a part of every phrase. In fact, they may already be doing so without realizing it.

Thank you, Jeff, for sharing “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster.” I highly recommend that our readers check out this seminar for more about SSS any many other useful topics.

1 Some people, including world-class musicians, see this as a shortcoming of the organ. For example, my clarinet teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music, who played in the Philadelphia Orchestra for decades, hated the organ for this reason and often mocked the sounds it made. Igor Stravinsky famously called the pipe organ “that horrible monster that never breathes.” Although I can understand how people interpret the organ’s evenness of tone as a lack of expression, I’ve also been moved to tears by the playing of organists who communicate eloquently through rhythm and color. If he were alive today, I hope my old teacher wouldn’t be horrified to learn that I have embraced the organ in recent years!

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: choir, choir directing, secrets of a conscientious choirmaster, vocal technique Last Updated: February 29, 2024

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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

    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th 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 dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms — especially from Gregorian chant — a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.

— Pope John Paul II (June 1980)

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  • PDF Download • Liturgical Round (“Canon”) for your Children’s Choir
  • Latin Liturgy Association
  • Important Quote by a Church Musician

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