Recruitment, repertoire and use of instruments for Children's Choirs
  • Marymurphy
    Posts: 2
    I have been trying to find an online version of the Decree and Directory for Masses with Children by Pope Paul VI, 1973. I am interested in knowing how others recruit preschool age children through high school youth for choirs. I am interested in learning how others do liturgical formation with children and youth. Has anyone incorporated hand chimes, Orff and other instruments with children when they sing at Mass? Once a month, we have a Saturday evening Mass followed by a meal and intergenerational faith formation. We would like the children and youth to lead the music at these Masses. Any other suggestions would be helpful as well. Thank you for a reply at your earliest convenience.
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    I generally keep good contact with the parents. Children at the younger ages (Pre-K through 5th grade) generally don't make decisions like that for themselves. Although they may have some say in it, mom and dad's word is usually final. You also have to remember that if you commit the children to something, you also commit the parents because they have to pick them up, drop them off, etc. Now, the older children such as high-school aged students will probably have more say in their extracurriculars, especially if they are of driving age, so you could directly ask them instead of going to parents first.

    I would start by putting out announcements in the bulletin and having Father announce at Mass that you are seeking members for your children's choir, and that your contact information is in the bulletin. Parents who think their children will be interested will be sure to pick up a bulletin and contact you. Personal contact is always good as well. See if there are any people who can help you identify potential members of your choir, and then contact their parents directly. Just identify yourself to them, and ask if their child would be interested. Most likely the parent will ask the child and then get back with you, but this is probably the most effective way to secure members.

    After you have determined who your members will be, keep their contact information for subsequent times: you probably won't be able to have a permanent children's choir, as children are often over-scheduled these days and have too many activities to be involved in that constantly change, as well as practice/rehearsal times, games, meets, etc. so as the seasons change, you can never truly be sure who will be able to come. It's better to raise a new choir each time and maintain your parent contacts than to assume they will always be coming.

    In terms of using instruments, I personally have not done that: it's just not my taste. However, you could use Orff instruments during performance if you really wanted to. Handbells might be the most "tame" in terms of liturgical music tastes.

    In terms of repertoire, make sure that the music stays within an easy range and key. Most keys are ok for children's voices, so long as the melody stays within an octave. The basic range for the child's voice begins at middle C (C3) and ends at the C in the staff (C4). The range expands as children get older so that by 5th or 6th grade, they have a G (G2) to G (G4) range (same as choir alto for adults). The boys will start to change around that time so it becomes even more confusing, but that remains the general range until they drop to baritones or tenors. Full basses don't usually develop until much later in the male voice life (not until late high school at the earliest), and true basses are rare.

    I think I will stop there in the interest of not monopolizing the space in the post. Just let me know if you have any other questions!
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,509
    I was able to get a lot done in a few hours a week with some kids, copies of the Parish Book of Chant, handouts made from the Sacred Music Project, and some robes that were already in a closet.

    I agree with the poster above who says that your main contacts will definitely be parents. However, my recruiting tactics usually involved the kids. I'd get myself near the shake-the-priest's-hand crush after Mass and ask random children, "Excuse me, are you a singer?" Those that said yes, I would talk to their parents. Those that said no, I would ask, "Are you sure?" and see how that went.

    We held rehearsals in the church during quiet afternoon hours. I think this was one of the keys. We had a substantial prayer time to begin with. We always closed with the seasonal Marian antiphon. The kids constantly outshone me in piety, making more signs of the cross, asking questions about the liturgical seasons, etc. They would make connections between the Scriptural stories they knew and the liturgical texts. I prompted them about this at the beginning of their training, but then they took off. I always left rehearsal edified by them.

    All the kids started in "Beginning Schola," a six or eight week boot camp, where I spoke to them repetively about basic singing technique. In Beginning Schola we learned the Jubilate Deo Mass, which we sang in the parish during Advent and Lent, which was helpful. They learned the seasonal Marian antiphon. They learned to pronounce Latin, the Orff hand signs for do-re-mi, how to stand, etc.

    I talked to them about the passagio--my metaphor was if you're skating along and it's a silky smooth sidewalk, and then all of a sudden you know there's going to be a bump, how do you keep skating so that everything is ok even though there's a bump? Exercises help, just like when you stretch before you exercise.... (you get the idea).

    I also talked about shaping chanted lines. We started with a simple crescendo-decrescendo shape. The metaphors for that abound. A baguette. A snake that swallowed a hat. An elephant lying down. A snake that swallowed an elephant. The kids, many of whom had younger siblings, said: a pregnant lady lying down.

    After Beginning Schola came Intermediate Schola. Some moved on to Advanced Schola and Leadership Schola.

    Some learned to read over time but most didn't much. They could all tell which notes were higher and lower. I asked them to identify Do in most pieces. We didn't drill intervals, but I talked to them a lot about stairs: steps and half steps and skipping steps. They learned mostly by rote.

    I worked with pitch-matching-challenged kids outside of the group but also let them sing with the group.

    Lots of kids will sing if there is going to be a "performance" of some kind. Some will sing just for the experience.

    There isn't anything more rewarding or of more lasting value, I should think.
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