Tips for New Parish Music Directors

ajglotz

Hello everyone,

My name is Andrew, and I am a freshly-minted parish music director (hired September 2025). I'm interested in picking the brains of all you seasoned, experienced music directors who have been around the parochial block!

I'll save you the long story, but the short of it is that I do not have a music degree or any other experiences that I tell myself would make me a more "competent" music director. The only things I am relying on are 18 years of piano and 4 years of seminary formation... and the grace of God, by golly ;)

Nowadays, I am up to my neck in learning hymns on the organ and trying my best to lead choir rehearsals. I'd never played any hymn-style music until this job, and the sheer glut of hymnody needed to last a liturgical year has me learning music at an unsustainable pace and with a less-than-desirable quality. And even with the most thorough of rehearsal, the adrenaline of sitting on the bench during the ever onward-moving liturgy brings about a discouraging amount of mistakes; boy, do I wish I had a choir loft instead of being positioned at the front of the congregation.

Working with the choir has also been stressful and sometimes disappointing because I don't know how to teach them. I have natural musical instincts and a lot of training, but transferring that onto a group of volunteers from the parish rarely ends with the product I have in mind. The only pedagogical methods I employ are the ones that stuck with me from my college choir directors and my voice teacher, which do not last me an entire rehearsal. I feel I improvise in front of the choir more than I do on the bench!

I'm just hoping that perhaps some of you more experienced musicians can give some advice to one just starting out: whether it's "do's and don'ts" or helpful anecdotes. It's a daunting feeling to know that I'm the one calling all the shots while also not knowing how to shoot. Thanks in advance!

AdteBeateJoseph3

Hey Andrew! Yes, things can get overwhelming and frustrating when you have an ideal but then reality strikes and what you want doesn't happen.

Now, I don't know your exact circumstances, your choir's abilities, your own abilities exactly besides what you have just related above, but one tip in regards to rehearsals is to have game plan and a structure beforehand. You should never, never, never stand in front of a choir during rehearsal without at least some frame work in mind. Time is too precious to waste. A sample plan would be for example: from 5 to 5:15 is prayer and a good warmup. 5:15 to 5:25 work on one hymn, etc, always saving the easy stuff for last (it usually boosts a choir's morale to do something they know extremely well after working hard on a new or difficult piece/hymn). That's just planning for a rehearsal. What you do with at the rehearsal-what warmups to do, what vocal techniques to focus on, etc, -that's another question...but I'm happy to share more if you want to DM me.

Chant_Supremacist

I'm not very experienced in leading a music ministry (2 years) so I shouldn't be saying anything, but it's hard to resist.

-Make a spreadsheet with the entire year's music laid out in advance
-Print out everything (well, 95% of everything, things always come up) you'll need for the year in advance
-Basically, frontload everything you can
-As mentioned, have a game plan for every rehearsal. And leave some time in every rehearsal to work on demanding stuff that might be several weeks out
-Don't be too ambitious, you're working with amateurs, at least one of your sections is a weak link, key people will sometimes move away.. maybe your dream is to lead a choir in Allegri's Misere Mei but be realistic and never, ever put your choir in a position where a piece might fall apart during the liturgy
-Have lots of pencils around
-For motets, my system is usually (1) jump into it with the whole choir and just see what happens, sometimes they more or less get through it, sometimes it falls apart in bar two, (2) isolate parts, (3) isolate problem areas in each part, (4) put it back together, (5) repeat (6) add dynamics once they know the music, and probably keep it simple
-Allow some chatter sometimes but not too much
-When conducting, be vigorous, precise (I've seen a lot of mushy handwaving where nobody can tell where the beat is exactly), and even physically dramatic
-IME there's very little time for vocal technique, they mostly have to pick it up gradually through meeting the demands of each piece along with a few cues from you
-Don't sweat mistakes too much, as long as it didn't fall apart. The frenetic performance cycle means mistakes are inevitable and frequent. If you haven't already, develop the ability to mentally note your mistakes and then move on immediately with no emotion.
-At the end of the year, swap out maybe 10-25% of your repertoire for new and better

Looking forward to posts from others.

TimTheEnchanter

I am also a music director without a music degree. I have been full-time at my current parish for nearly five years, and was part-time at a prior parish for four. I will let others handle the more nuts-and-bolts stuff, but I had a thought:

It may help to be in a separate choir yourself just as a member, whether it's a community choir or a diocesan choir or something like that. Apart from my own experiences, I have learned the most from two things, first by being the accompanist in a choir, then by being a member of the diocesan chorale. I watched the directors and if I experienced something I liked, that I saw choir members respond positively to, then I tried to model it.

Same thing with going to Colloquia, of which I have been now to ... six, I think.

probe

Welcome, Andrew, from a fellow newbie!

There are free resources from church choir directors like John Bertalot though he's a bit old-school on discipline ;)
Is there any way you could do a short course organised by your nearest church music association or choral association like the ACDA or a music college? They would have courses aimed at beginning directors on the technicalities of vocal production, conducting, repertoire selection (maybe decided for you) and the human aspects of directing people. Weekend courses don't suit church conductors but there will be summer courses. And as the director of that college day I linked above says, the most important parts are the tea breaks to talk to others in the same situation!

All the advice in the comments above is good and real - I write down notes from watching how the director of my secular choir works, for example the warm-up routine, and learning from how he both notices and fixes problems. It's probably better to work on being happy with what you can achieve rather than focusing on 'problems' but if you do need to, take a look at
'Fixes for Choir', techniques to work around common singing faults.

Chaswjd

I would add these. Find out who are the best choral directors of similar choirs in your area and sit in on their rehearsals. You will learn from them. Also, if you are able, join a local choral group yourself, do so. It will help you understand what your singers go through. Finally, if you are going to be making any significant changes, be able to sell your change. If you make a change, because “I said so,” you will breed discontent.

tandrews

-Make a spreadsheet with the entire year's music laid out in advance

Do have a small collection of choir pieces you can resort to as a back up plan if everything goes south. Franck's Panis Angelicus or Mozart's Ave Verum are always in my choir's back pocket if a particular anthem/motet is just not ready in time.

Dr_Haze

I have three degrees in music, culminating with a doctorate in my field, but due to my age, many older folks within the Parish still aren't taking me seriously now after three years on the job.

I had ten years accompanying experience on piano and electric organ before taking a teaching job at two Catholic Schools, and then a position at one of the adjoining Parishes opened up for Music Director, and the rest fell into place.

Both of my predecessors stressed the importance of knowing all church documents pertaining to music, knowing the definition of active participation, and what actually counts as Sacred Music. It's also important to have a healthy working relationship with your Pastor, as he is the overseer of everything happening within the parish. Whether they know a lot about sacred music and its liturgical importance, or not, everything you do must be approved by him.

Organization and Planning well ahead in advance is key. While writing this, I have basically every mass planned through Pentecost. I use the Liturgical Planning resources with Cantica Nova: https://www.canticanova.com/pln_main.htm, and sometimes the GIA Quarterly. Depending on what hymnal(s) you're using, the three year cycle of Liturgical Planning can be very routine and predictable. My church has subscribed to Source & Summit for the last three years, and it has made planning liturgies so much easier, and happy to cut out a lot of the Praise & Worship garbage found in a lot of popular hymnals (Gather/Worship/Lead Me, Guide Me).

Running a choir is a challenge, even with degrees, and as you get more comfortable in the position, its best to avail yourself to the senior members of the choir who might know the ensemble better than you, who know what pieces better suit the group, ect.,

Keep everything simple for the sake of your singers and the parishioners.

Abbysmum

It may help to be in a separate choir yourself just as a member, whether it's a community choir or a diocesan choir or something like that. Apart from my own experiences, I have learned the most from two things, first by being the accompanist in a choir, then by being a member of the diocesan chorale. I watched the directors and if I experienced something I liked, that I saw choir members respond positively to, then I tried to model it.

I second that. I occasionally sing in the diocesan choir and this is my second season in a community choir at our local university's conservatory. I have learned so much from both those experiences.

The other thing I find really useful is if there are music festivals, choir fests etc, attend those. The adjudication section is extremely valuable, and I gleaned many of my best ideas from attending those sessions.

MatthewRoth

I missed the Messiah singalong and early music workshop. I will go next November I think (on the parish dime, I hope lol). Anyway

Organization and Planning well ahead in advance is key. While writing this, I have basically every mass planned through Pentecost.

I have a lot planned or at least penciled in too. Quarterly rehearsal calendar is in a separate google doc. I can send that (with my notes removed) to absent people.

Kathy

A little arrogance could be very helpful here. What are the failures/ lacks/ shows of poor taste that you've seen? What is a good way of being better that you can easily manage, without making anybody mad at the beginning, when relationships matter the most? They picked you for a reason. Be your excellent self!

Also, bring donuts.

davido

I think you have all the right concerns. The mistakes made at the organ in front of the church teach humility. If you are putting in the work, you will get better, the mistakes will gradually lessen, and you will grow tremendously in confidence because you will realize how far you have come.
At choir rehearsal, plan your whole rehearsal in advance (plan more than you expect to have time for, always easier to cut than to improvise), try to stick to your plan.
Keep in mind that congregations are pretty forgiving.
Try to feature young people in your music program (kids choirs, youth cantors/instrumentalists). This will win you much goodwill among parishioners and help build your program.

Elmar

At choir rehearsal, plan your whole rehearsal in advance (plan more than you expect to have time for, always easier to cut than to improvise), try to stick to your plan.

Adding to this from my own experience: Dare to deviate from your plan when you feel necessary; this will become more frequent over time.
Make profit from the experience of your better singers: They are usually spot-on when it comes to identifying a problem in their part, while you might be overwhelmed by your own multi-tasking and merely realised that 'something' went wrong in measure x in the four-voice setting. Give them as much time to correct as they need, but not too much either - keep the entire choir involved.
On the other hand: Speed up your schedule when your choir learns faster that you expected! And when in doubt: Stick to your plan, that's what it's for!

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