Obnoxious congregational singer
  • MitziCee
    Posts: 3
    Hello, all,

    At the parish where I'm directing music, there is a particular congregant who sings loudly, confidently, and poorly. She sits at the front, near the organ, and her voice is extremely distracting and confusing to me when I am cantoring Masses on my own (I sometimes struggle to hear my own voice). She sings in tune, can get through incredibly long phrases, and has a remarkable ability to quickly pick up new melodies; however, her tone is harsh and abrasive, she dominates the whole church, and her diphthongs send chills of horror down my spine.

    So, my question is this: is there any possible way to put an end to this? I've considered approaching her to ask her to joining the choir, my theory being that if I can get her in the practice room under my control, I may be able to a decent sound out of her. Of course, it could backfire if she does join, or if she doesn't, my invitation may simply serve to flatter her and double her confidence.

    Anyone with experience in a similar situation: thoughts?
  • Jani
    Posts: 442
    This can’t possibly end well. I’m sorry!
    Thanked by 1Chant_Supremacist
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,221
    is there any possible way to put an end to this?

    No.

    You actually have a congregant who sings? Must be a convert who didn't get the memo in RCIA. "She sings in tune, can get through incredibly long phrases, and has a remarkable ability to quickly pick up new melodies." If that's "singing poorly", I'd like to know how she learned to do it. But she sounds like ----? There could be physical damage to the voice. Or maybe she was a Sacred Harp alto and carried chest up way too high (though that would probably mess up pitch). That would also explain the "heavy diphthong action."

    If you invite her into the choir, "you bought it". She will be very difficult to get rid of if you can't fix the problem. If you can, you have a real asset. And you're also a more competent and confident vocal pedagogue than I. If you deal with her as a congregant, I can't think of a single thing you can do that isn't going to backfire on you massively, especially under the FCAP paradigm.

    As Our Lord said, some demons can only be driven out through prayer and fasting. Does she or her husband work for a firm that could offer an out-of-town promotion?
    Thanked by 1Chant_Supremacist
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,512
    On the remote chance she ever chatted you up and inquired about joining the music ministry, you could comment that her robust singing might well do the greatest acoustical good to support the singing of other congregants if it were in the rear half of the church.
    Thanked by 5Abbysmum Jeffrey Quick irishtenor Chant_Supremacist wspinnen
  • irishtenoririshtenor
    Posts: 1,415
    the FCAP paradigm


    I'm gonna take the bait here and ask what the FCAP paradigm is!!
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,512
    Full, Conscious, and Active Participation
    Thanked by 2irishtenor LauraKaz
  • Chant_Supremacist
    Posts: 270
    Encouraging others to sing louder (or just sing) is the best thing you could do here (iow it's hopeless).
  • contemporaryworship92
    Posts: 308
    Can you and your choir play/sing louder, and at least somewhat drown her out?

    There are multiple theories of how loud a choir should be. I'm not saying I agree with this but according to some the choir should be loud enough that everyone in the congregation can sing badly without having to worry about other people noticing them.
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 639

    Could you possibly block off that area by sprawling all your personal belongings across the pew(s)?
    Thanked by 1Chant_Supremacist
  • Benton
    Posts: 21
    If she dominates the whole church, then maybe the organist needs to be louder.
    Thanked by 2Abbysmum mikecharliebravo
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 522
    We had this problem in our Monastery. We had one woman who was always one beat ahead of us. We solved this by making our microphones more and louder.
    Thanked by 2tomjaw CHGiffen
  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 654
    I agree with Benton. People are more inclined to sing when there’s a lot of sound and they can join in, rather than stand out. Even the shyest people will sing along lustily at sporting events and rock/pop concerts, when the music is all around them.

    Unless you’re in a very live acoustic, or standing in the middle of a choir (or an exceptionally-zealous top-0.5% congregation), it’s difficult for human voices to provide that enveloping, natural support. A loud cantor is something different – it’s loud, but it’s still one voice.

    However, the organ can do the job. The 8’ foundations form a “choir” when played together, filling the church with lots of sound at the same pitch as the voices. A bit of 4’ on top for clarity and you’re in business, without seeming “loud” in the same way as if you played with one 8, a 4, a 2, and mixtures. Reeds and upperwork should only come on after the foundations as needed.

    In the case of the loud congregant, this ought not to be a problem; the organ should be playing with enough fortitude to equal and slightly surpass the volume of all voices. It’s beyond our control who shows up on Sunday, and how they sing, but the organ can stay in the lead and ensure that there’s enough “cushion” and a clear pitch center for everyone (including you) to sing, no matter who muddies the waters.
    Thanked by 3DavidOLGC CHGiffen Abbysmum
  • SponsaChristi
    Posts: 639
    We had this problem in our Monastery. We had one woman who was always one beat ahead of us. We solved this by making our microphones more and louder.

    Maybe the tempo was just too slow.
  • trentonjconn
    Posts: 785
    Regardless, it's not really the job of the congregation to set the tempo.
    Thanked by 2Abbysmum CHGiffen
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,299
    Normally yes but if the director wants to insist on a tempo that isn’t respected…
    Thanked by 1SponsaChristi
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 145
    Regardless, it's not really the job of the congregation to set the tempo.


    While true, they do have a tendency to drag tempo down.
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