Music for Guitar Masses?
  • SReilly
    Posts: 1
    Greetings. Our Music Director of 20 years is retiring in a few weeks and I and a few guitar buddies have been tasked to (temporarily) provide guitar music for the Teen Mass. We are amateurs who love to play together, but up for the Mass challenge. This could be an opportunity to take music a little more up-tempo and perhaps modernize things a bit to be more attractive to teens. Would anyone care to share recommendations for good teen guitar mass songs (or a liturgy's worth, or two)? We like praise music, as long as it's reverent and within guidelines of the church. We also hope to one-day do a special 70s vintage guitar mass. But one thing at a time. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.
    Thanked by 1smt
  • Welcome to the forum! Were I in your shoes, I would take this opportunity to slowly guide the kids toward truly sacral music. The guidelines for liturgical music as put forth by the Church for the past century put a heavy emphasis on Gregorian chant and music which is similar to it. Likewise, the relevant Church documents caution against allowing profane (secular) instruments and styles to be used for liturgical functions. Take this as an opportunity to do a deep dive into what the Church has to say about sacred music, and apply it in little ways as you work! Sacrosanctum Concilium, Tra Le Sollecitudini, and Musician Sacram are good places to start. The wonderful thing about chant is that it doesn't even need accompaniment so, in that way, it's highly versatile. Maybe not the answer you're looking for, but I hope that it provides some things to think about and consider.

    If you're classically trained, Renaissance and Baroque lute repertoire could be appropriate and fitting. My experience with Catholic teenagers (years of teaching in a parochial school) has been that they're largely starved of authentic sacred music, and that they want more of it when they hear it!

  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,933
    If I may, what do you actually mean when you say “70’s vintage guitar mass”? Are you speaking of instruments? Repertoire? Reliving the ‘good old days’? These are genuine questions, as in truly unsure what you mean by the phrase.

    I’m also curious what function such a mass would serve, or rather, what you would hope to achieve by approaching mass that way.
    Thanked by 1AnimaVocis
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,933
    As to the general premise of your post, I hate to be the fly in the ointment, but in my limited experience, guitar masses tend to not attract (and certainly do not keep) teens. There seems to be a bit of a generational phenomenon surrounding ‘guitar masses’, but most younger people I’ve encountered tend to not be very interested in such masses, as they view them démodé and something their parents (or grandparents) were in to once upon a time. And even if they are open to the idea generically, having the older generation be the ones to offer said music is no different than dad wanting to listen to the oldies in the car. It’s not their music. In any case, it’s not sacred music that draws them into deeper mystery. It’s ho-hum, daily music with religious words.

    At a deeper level, while I think your desire to offer mass in a way that speaks to teens is absolutely wonderful (we all strive for as much in our own ways), I think the premise of how you wish to achieve it is flawed. Mass isn’t about excitement. It’s about sacred mystery. Trying to excite teens means trying to entertain them. They need to be intrigued and invited into something deeper and transcendental. The proof of this pudding is the explosion of chant, and the swaths of young people attending Latin masses.

    With all of that said, as I suspect you are going to offer such a mass regardless since it was asked of you, I would humbly plead that you offer music that is meditative, and in particular, choose things that have profound texts, not the dribble of the last 40-50 years. Also, keep amplification to a minimum, and offer the music from the loft, or back of church; don’t stand up front or in the sanctuary and make it feel like a concert. If you need to be seen, mass is serving you, and not the other way around. No drum sets (these are technically verboten according to the principles outlined in the documents mentioned by Trenton above).

    I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating here, and this is seriously worth pondering:

    The world will always do the world better than the church can.

    Translation: the world will always do worldly music better than poor imitations of it during mass. Let secular music be secular, and sacred music be sacred.

    If you use your instruments to provide music at mass, think about how you can adapt your style of playing and presentation to be sacred, and not just normal hum and strum but with religious words. And again, consider if this is a generational attachment, rather than something that actually serves teens. Fundamentally, their needs for mass shouldn’t be too different from normal adults.
  • ...and offer the music from the loft, or back of church; don't stand up front or in the Sanctuary and make it feel [and look] like a concert!!!

    Thanked by 2oldhymns LauraKaz
  • Nice bait mate.
  • This is the wrong forum to ask lol. But I'm just graduating college and so while not a teen am pretty close. My advice? Just don't do it, guitar in mass is cringy and teens know that. Weirdly enough I would say add a lot of Latin and music pitched in a minor key. I don't know why the minor key thing but in this age that's what I've found resonates with teens. For context, I worked with a high school choir as part of my music degree.
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,148
    In the same spirit, if there is going to be vintage guitar music, let this be the model for how they should be used:

    https://youtu.be/hVOKjnDjTC4?si=-6sAywjLeIMgdFIj&t=8
  • Man I love Apollo's Fire.
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • This is a joke, right? Was this written by The Onion?
  • I thought he might just have stumbled into the wrong forum, til he mentioned his ambition to do a "vintage 70s guitar mass" which I felt was the undeniable tell. I also think a mark of a goodnatured troll is leaving that one clear tell, so fair play imo.