First talk with your pastor and/or boss.

Let them know what you're planning on doing so it doesn't blind-side them when suddenly you switch from Awesome God to Adoro te Devote.

I agree with all that has been said above.

Plan on going slowly, talk to your pastor, and start with the Parish Book of Chant.

Are you in high school? Or a volunteer or employee? That makes a difference in how to approach things. If you are in high school I think you have plenty of freedom.

I also agree that Taize chants would be a good beginning.

Yes, check with the pastor.

In a previous post on this subject, I offered the advice--based on many years experience with the younger set--that you can overcome a lot of psychological hurdles with the youngsters simply by telling them the adults in the parish don't want them to do it.

It would be true, by the way, for some old VII die hards. One mother responded that that was the best advice she had ever heard. Take it or leave it, but it works. Mumble something about how some people would consider this subversive.

But yes, go for beautiful, things that they get to be emotional about. The Kyrie from the Missa de Angelis is always a winner, but the Sanctus would be too hard...take that as a dividing line. Taize--great starting point.

Kenneth

I should have added, I suppose, that many years ago someone talked me into starting a youth choir. This same person told me that it had to be high-pep and all kiddy music. The children hated it. When, three weeks later, I put them to sing once a month, and taught them music suited for a grown up Mass, they lapped it up like a kitten offered a bowl of rich, creamy milk.

Cgz--I have directed children's choirs for the last 8 years. 2 years ago we had a transition in pastors and the new one wanted all hymnody and chant. The children ate it up. I don't believe that children need all "high pep and kiddy music". Unlike adults, they will gravitate to what we as adults present in the proper, loving way. While some of the parents have complained that the children's music is no longer "drummy with guitars and tambourines", the children are singing like angels. It's all in the way it's presented to them.

the parents tell me that the kids walk around the house singing the chants they have learned.

My son does this. Really. He's twelve.

I'm 44 and many of the people my age are really resentful that we didn't get chant and polyphony growing up.

This is true for me as well!

I know these last few posts are somewhat mirthful, but which America do we want to live in?
The one in which is S.O.P. to kvetch or even blame others for one's current station?
The one where it's possible to set and achieve goals in any endeavor by individual effort and merit?

It's going to take a while to turn the young people around to the mentality that individual effort and merit achieves goals. As a teacher, these students today are depending on parents complaining to the individual teacher and/or administration for every little thing. It's easier to blame nowadays, than it is to work on goals. But, I truly believe, that if we continue to instill in these young people a work ethic that is strong and true, then goals will be achieved. Unfortunately, because these kids are being raised in an instant gratification society, when it appears that it's taking too much time to achieve goals, the blaming begins.

But, as mentioned in my previous post, with love and the correct approach, chant can be achieved, and, yes, the chants are easily memorized (especially the melodies) and children love to hum them throughout the house.

It will take a while, but, again, it will turn around. God bless to everyone who is given this task. It's not an easy one, but the Holy Spirit will guide and direct us.

I do not think you are being to cautious. If the Fr. wants praise music and you don't give him that, you will not win.
However, if he only wants P&W music, he may not be open to even hearing the idea.
I would practice one piece as Noel suggests and make it beautiful. Then ask the priest if you can do a meditation piece after communion. Do it and let the cards fall where they will.

Ummm Dearest... I didn't say I blamed anyone in particular. Just a general lack of appreciation for the "spirit of VII" crowd that jettisoned over a thousand years worth of sacred music in favor of badly written "folk" music. Which by the way has very little to do with which instrument is used and everything to do with poor composition skills.

As an example...Silent Night was written for guitar. It remains one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs.

As for doing something about it...I'm ALL over it. I'm not the type of personality to sit around and kvetch. I'd much rather be doing something productive.

Thank you, Wendi. Absolutely. The problem is that too many parents have either a too-right approach to parenthood or a too loose approach. But, those of us in leadership roles do not have the responsibility to counter the parents. Quite the contrary.

I'm 44 and many of the people my age are really resentful that we didn't get chant and polyphony growing up.

I'm 45 but was not raised in a religious tradition at all (Dad was a Ayn Rand objectivist, but is softening). After I converted to Catholicism in my 30's, I often find myself thinking, "What's wrong with you people? You are sitting on goldmine of musical tradition and not using it!"

I'm 28 and resentful that I never got exposed to chant or choral music.

Geezers go "gahhhh!"
Dearest Wendi, AW, Gavin, CR et al....
I think the biggest urban legend that persists (and why is that, exactly?) is that there was some sort of public or stealth cabal of "Spirit of VII" people who stormed the barricades like in "Les Miz" and brought their guitars up from the crypt church and just displaced great choirs and organists willy nilly back in the day. And that myth breeds and bolsters the regret, resentment or whatever to what purpose?
Francis and I just both finished reading Russell Shaw's "Rise...Decline...Fall of the Am.Church" and I'm sure he'd agree that the upshot of that era was one of abrogation of clerical leadership, responsibility and accountability. For every William Mahrt at St. Ann's Palo Alto, or Schuler in MN, you had a thousand parishes without coherent musical leadership. Mother Gaia abhors a vacuum, and Kathy's guitar culture (thank you Hootenanny and the Beatles) raised their hands and said "Hey, we'll help!"
That was then, this is now.
My undergrad ended in 74. I paid attention in all the music history courses and never forgot chant stuff, Notre Dame stuff, Guido, and certainly Palestrina and Victoria. Coincidentally it was during those years I CHOSE to enter the Catholic Church. So, I'm not sure what to make of being resentful about "not being exposed to chant."
I will close this rant with a story. By the 80's I interviewed and got a DM position in the diocese of Oakland. I was informed of some of the modems of my predecessors. One of them had the choir stand in an almost closed circle and chant "to themselves" I was told with no joy. It's taken me decades to understand that choirmaster interpreted VII docs correctly! But that didn't prevent me from going on and teaching the choir to sing Buxtehude, Mozart Regina Coeli, Palestrina beyond Sicut, up to Distler (Furwahr..).
It's your time, youngsters. Most of you are working very hard to hone your musical and interpersonal skills so you can deal with these inconvenient exegenses that make the average parish a politcal minefield. But people like MJMeloche and Adam Bartlett prove that you can cooperate and cajole your way towards your paradigmatic goals. sDg.

d) not going to be persuasive with all (many?) children/teenagers/young adults. There are plenty of fine and upstanding children/teenagers/young adults who would actually be troubled by that suggestion, I think.

Particularly the kind of children likely to join a church choir.

True story:

When I was in 4th grade I sat out, in protest, all performances of my public school choir's rendition of "I'm Gettin' Nuthin' for Christmas." I thought it was inappropriate to celebrate bad behavior in song. In the concert, when we got to it, I just got off the riser and sat behind it until the song was over.

It is in my opinion an extremely BAD idea to try and get children to chant by telling them their parents won't like it.

Just to clarify my earlier point, I wasn't suggesting that this be done at all (I don't know about Kenneth). I was just observing the generational dynamic of our time in which kids are doing a 360 on their parents (OK, grandparents) when it comes to church music. I have found that most kids appreciate quality when they are exposed to it, even when their parents do not. Just my observation of the great opportunity ahead of us.

I think I've said this before, but it's worthy repeating.

Children aren't stupid. My non-Catholic choir learned to sing Credo 1, divided so that we had three sections which used all 60 singers and other sections handed out to soloists. We didn't sing it for Mass, but merely as a concert piece at a Classical school.

If we acknowledge that it is foreign to the tastes they have developed up to this point, we can still teach them.

You might try what I have said to these groups.
1) Someone lied to me a long time ago. He said that children won't sing, unless it's "peppy" music. You just proved this person wrong.
2) (As I introduced Lenten music): you're not happy all the time; wouldn't you want some music to help you when you're not joyously happy?
3) Would you think it un-natural if someone said "Yeah! Someone just run over in the parking lot. Everybody smile. Yeah!"
4) There's a great variety in chant:
Dominus dixit ad me vs. Puer natus est, for example.
5) It's no wonder some of you think chant is sad: the only chant in most books you've had the chance to use is from the REQUIEM.


That's for starters.

God bless,
Chris

I'm 39 and kinda resentful. But I'm more grateful that I get to sing tons of chant all the time.
I also CONSTANTLY hear from parents that their kids are showering with chant, walking around the house with chant, singing chant in the car... I love it!
The funniest example I heard was a 12 year old kid who sang Kyrie from Mass XI while practicing Judo. Future choir director?

One motivating factor is to tell kids that many adults don't think kids can sing chant well, that's it's too haaaaaard for them. It's one fairly reliable "focusing tool".
Every few months I put the ball in their court and remind them, "Ok, you're parents and grandparents will love how you sound no matter what. They'll say, 'what a cute kids choir' even if things are messy, etc. Its up to you, team. You can leave this piece of music where it's at and sound like a cute kids choir, or we can work a little harder and make something really beautiful for God". Often I ask for a vote, and the situation turns into one big team motovating eachother.
Its not magic, but it works like a charm!