Song title makes you more sure that you're on the right hymn. Also, if the congregation member doesn't have their hymnal open to the page in time, if they know the title they will likely know at least the first few words, giving them time to begin singing a few bars before having the right page. My usual format is "The ___ hymn is number two hundred and thirty-four, Your Title Here, number two, three, four" For more solemn occasions, I tend to go extremely minimalist and say, "the hymn: two hundred and thirty four." No welcome, no invitation, no explanation, no instruction. Just giving information.

My preferences are:

1) A weekly Mass bulletin with hymn numbers But that requires the consent of the priest, finance people, and someone to do them. Secretaries are often too busy, and I sure didn't just spend 8 years in undergraduate studies (long story) to type, edit, print, copy, cut, distribute, clean. Yes, it can be a minimal amount of work once one has a good format... but that's still time I'd rather spend doing something besides work. So if there is no way that can be done regularly (I have been known to do it for high feasts or when the choir sings in a foreign language), then I am fine with resorting to:

2) Announcements. But, as I said, keep it SHORT and CLEAR! I've heard people transgress on both, and it's frustrating. No insincere welcomes, don't tell me to stand, and don't tell me to sing - it isn't being announced so I can stare at the page. Furthermore, I like it non-intrusive if necessary, but don't rattle off the three digits rapidly then immediately play a 4 bar introduction. Get my attention ("the offertory hymn is..."), tell me what I need to know (".. number 234"), then wait and let me open my hymnal before starting! Good announcement manner is all about clearly and concisely communicating the essential information.

3) I don't like hymn boards for the simple reason that many people cannot read them from a distance. They should always be employed, to reinforce the bulletin or announcement. But I don't think it's fair to our congregations (and there isn't a lot of good long distance vision out there..) to put tiny numbers on a sign and say you've done your job. May as well just have everyone look in the index (option 4)

As for the psalm.. it seems rather disruptive to announce it. This is why you MUST have a clear cantor. No two ways about it.

Although I'm strictly against announcements, I think you can actually do MUCH to improve the reverence of and participation in the liturgy just by structuring your announcements better.

EDIT: an issue I have with using JUST announcements is that having all the hymns displayed allows me time to prepare to sing the hymn.

I find all announcements of the "Please do this" or "We will now do this" variety to be personally offensive.

Really, who do you think you are to tell me what to do?

In the Catholic Church, the laity are not required to sing.

We use a 7-foot-tall board with 6-inch numbers that can be read in the back of the church.

One page, copied costs .06 plus the labor of writing it. Once the sheet has been done the first time, containing only a guide to the changing parts of the Mass, it takes but minutes to update it every week.

On one side it would be possible to outline three different liturgies - Gregorian Chant / Hymns / Guitars.

.06 for each person that attends Mass, .06 that tells the person that the pastor and the staff acknowledge that they respect that person and appreciate that they pay the light bills, the salaries and everything else.

Any priest who thinks that spending .06 is a waste of money is ignoring that he, himself, upon going to a play, a concert or other public event, would find it unwelcoming to not be given an program.

Bravo for Cantorconvert -
During mass the interjection of any words whatsoever that are not a part of the sacrosanct ritual text are incredibly offensive, spiritually distracting, and demeaning - not to mention illicit.

Further - remarks wishing to be uttered 'before mass' or 'after mass' should be made before the prelude and after the postlude. These musics are/should be carefully chosen by the choirmaster to lead joyfully, or meditatively, etc, (whichever is most appropriate) into the mass of the day, and while they are not integral parts of the mass they are yet integral parts of the mass - and legitimate adornments of it - so Nothing should be said between them and the mass. Doing so is rude, boorish, tacky, uncivilised and unchurchly...and insulting. I think people who exercise their urge to speak at such times are rather of the same sort who clap between movements of sonatas at recitals and wonder why they a being stared at. Their lack of emarassment at doing something so beyond the pale reveals a profound ignorance of the sanctity of where they are and the holy miracle in which they are about to participate. Where do they get the gall, the unspeakable cheek to utter their unritual comments; the bizzare extra-planetary logic by which to nurture the belief that they are doing a Good and Valuable Ministerial Work???
Shouldn't someone inform the 'ministers' that the people really are not stupid? And that they are not empowered to add commentary to the ritual text?

I take a small bit of pride in the fact that I don't announce anything during the Mass itself. For the opening song, I'll make an announcement prior to the procession, and I'll announce the closing song after the deacon or priest says "the Mass is ended." And I deliberately don't say "please join us"… just the hymn number.

I sing the Gregorian Offertory and Communion chants, plus the Introit as a prelude, all with organ accompaniment. I precede each chant with an English translation, sung unaccompanied on a psalm tone.

My opening announcement is a touch long but it is slavishly consistent, week-to-week. (I adapted the first sentence from something I saw Jeffrey T. post some time ago.) For next week:

This is the anticipated Mass for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. The music for the ordinary of the Mass this evening is in English and Latin and can be found in the sacred music sheets at the end of the pews, and our opening song is number 75, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," number 75.

It IS ILLICIT - No one has authority (and this is in GIRM among other places) to add one jot or tittle to the ritual text - not even the priest, who likely picks and chooses what he will and will not obey, but expects blind obedience from those 'under' him.
As for the 'commentator - just what is his legitimate function???? It is non-existant. Since it is illicit to make verbal glosses to the sacred text, He has none.
His is just another one of those 'offices' or 'ministries' that someone made up so that some layman would have something to do - and what better a thing could he do than make commentary for his fellow (presumedly) daft persons in the pews...

We just started printing our music numbers in a box on the first page of the bulletin this year, and only actually announce the entrance hymn or introit (we're in a situation where we can't leave the missals in the pews, so we distribute them with the bulletins to everyone as they enter the chapel anyway). It seems to be going very well; I think people like not having Mass interrupted with those announcements.

Mark Thompson, thank you for listing those references. We are never going to advance our cause if our arguments are extreme and unreasonable.

I had occasion to visit a friend's parish in Raleigh-Durham and sing in the choir one Sunday. The church had installed one of those LED news-reader boxes stage right of the sanctuary that can be purchased at Costco. I thought it was cheezeball-in-extremis, made more annoying as the repertoire was GATHER in-extremis.
So, you're on a desert island, two RCC churches only to attend Sunday Mass-
One has the blinking red LED hymn numbers scrolling, no announcements but solely sacropop crooning.
The other has a mannered voice that simply announces "Hymn number 666" by RVW sung well, fully with dignity by all.
You got three choices- no announcements but excruciating moments of endurance in an "intact" liturgy; engaged FACP in the other "marred" by licit verbal embolisms; or ignoring your Sunday obligation.
Pop Quiz: what will you do?

Echoing cantorconvert, it is simply not believable that Catholics require the announcing of hymns while liturgical Protestants get by every week of the year without the interruption. Hymn boards are perfectly readable if people will put forth even a minimal effort. If they won't put forth the effort to read the board, they aren't singing anyway.

My longstanding practice in announcing hymns (we have hymn boards but they are not in use for reasons I won't go into here!) is minimalist as is the practice of most here. The key seems to be taking enough time between the announcing of the hymn and the beginning of the first verse for the congregation to actually find the right page number. Of course, if the hymns were posted already, they'd be ready to sing right away ...

I've decided that, from now on at these liturgy meetings I will kindly thank the person who makes a request or a suggestion and then consider privately, after research, whether or not to implement it.

I really heard this: "Good morning or good evening. I am your name. The theme for today's Mass...."
And I heard this as sung by the celebrant: "Using acclamation # 3 let us proclaim the mystery of faith"

How do you inform the congregation about which the ordinary will be sung when it is located in a hymnal? I don't. And I don't think anyone does. Do you even sing the ordinaries offered in your hymnal? In this area we have been operating quite freely and much more can be done without depending worship aids or announcements.

We get around this problem by putting up the numbers for the ordinary on the hymn boards, and only switching ordinaries a few times a year, so people don't need a hymnal after the first week or two. Also, part of the year we use worship aids, and everything is right there.

That still leaves the question as to exactly what the "cue" for the congregation to stand ought to be.

Well, the "ideal" would be that a bell rings (optional) and one, two, or four cantors intone the incipit of the Introit. Right?

The bell is rung by the organist to alert the bellowsmen to start pumping.