Selecting music for Mass is a huge honor but a huge responsibility.

As a music director, I found that this was one of the best parts of the job, despite being sometimes overwhelmed with the task. A good music director does not pick simply their favorite songs, but spends hours researching, deciding, and selecting music to fit their particular parish.

It’s not only about selecting music that fits with the Sunday readings or homily.

Yes, this is a non-negotiable and should always be the center of what you do. However, that is for me a BASE LINE to what I choose.

I consider many things, but here is a small excerpt from some of my thoughts in each category.

First and foremost— is this music appropriate and fitting for the Mass & Readings?

I will follow up with this in a future blog post with some of my favorite planning resources. There are so many amazing suggestions books and websites/subscriptions for music directors, etc! Explore and pick from many different ones to keep from getting in a musical rut. If your Pastor is involved in the music selections, you will most likely be presenting lists to him and coordinating with his message/homilies for the week as well. Their advice is invaluable!

Secondly— is this music appropriate for my Parish?

Music ministry is for the glory of God and to aid the Congregation in the celebration of the Eucharist. There is a sweet spot of inviting a congregation to song and the ability / knowing when to provide meditative music. There is also a particular singing range of most congregations, and there is usually a comfort zone of types of music for each parish. This doesn’t mean you can’t grow the Congregation and teach them new things— in fact, I think it’s quite the opposite! I find that ministers should always been expanding their repertoire, you just have to know how to approach it to always teach your choir/congregation new songs. Always think outside the box, then bring it to your own Parish setting.

As a small note as well, you may wish to find out the traditions of your particular parish. By no means does this lock you into adhering to past ideas or music selections, but if you make an effort to occasionally pay homage to what people are accustomed to before branching out, it will let people know you care and hear them. Just remember to be yourself and don’t get lost in others’ ideas for what your ministry should look like, be authentic to yourself and the musical ideas God has given YOU.

Thirdly— is this music appropriate, building, and good for my choirs/musicians?

This is a crucial one, which has a few parts to it…

Know each of your choirs’ levels, ranges, and reading ability. Spend some time getting to know your groups— learn their musical needs, the repertoire they are familiar with, explore and build their sound, and adapt things to each group. Remember, it is better to pick music that is simple but exquisite and musically astounding, than try to pull off a Faure Requiem excerpt with a group that is not ready yet. One will provide your group with a successful & empowering music making experience, but if you attack the latter goal before your group is ready, they will feel unmotivated and eventually defeated. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t practice something very complex with them to try or as a learning experience, and then set it aside for a future year. Rehearsal space is a playground and exploratory world.

Some of these qualifications could be anything from needing to build range in particular voices (SATB), needing to recruit more voices for a particular voice (SATB), needing to purify / build the sound of your group, needing to advance the group in musical theory, sometimes even needing to develop better social ties within the group, and much more. Every group is different and there are honestly so many aspects that go into this. Get to know your group and its members. Hear them and meet them where they are. Then push them!

Next, think outside the box! Write your own arrangements, write your own music, pick obscure songs and change the tempo/add harmonies. Keeping music fresh provides your musicians with a challenge and new experiences. Find their comfort zone and work just slightly outside of it. Choir members love to grow, and if you challenge them appropriately and gradually, they will be excited and get hooked on the challenge.

Fourth— what resources are available to me? How will I put this music together to be available to my choir / congregation?

Will you have choral binders with print outs? Do you use octavos? Will you need to make practice tracks for each voice part (SATB)? How can you layout the music to cut down on unnecessary copies? Will the congregation need different materials to follow along or is this song in the hymnal? Does your parish use screens to display lyrics? How many Masses will you plan at once? Are your Masses all the same music or different?

Fifth— am I planning music in appropriate sections of the Mass?

For example, know the timing of your usual offertory hymn. You wouldn’t plan a 10 minute song here, that would be far too much and leave awkward time where the Priest is waiting around for you to finish. I try to start Mass with something familiar in a welcoming pace, Offertory as something Congregation-singing focused, Communion as either choral or meditative, and Recessional as something upbeat. Be aware of the preferences of your Pastor here, and always ALWAYS be on your toes! Watch the altar for the timing… :)

Sixth—does this music reflect God’s glory?

Goes without saying, of course, but music in the Mass should be holy!

These are just a few of my thoughts… I am still growing and learning!

But I hope maybe this helped you consider some things if you are planning music as a director, or to see maybe a little behind the scenes of what goes on in our minds as we try to plan.

It’s a huge responsibility, but such a joy. Nothing gets me more hyped than having a whole new stack of music and planned music schedules all ready!