Among many in the contemporary liturgical universe, the full-throated, tuneful "participation of the assembly" (formerly known as "the congregation") is goal just outside our reach. All we need to do is amp up the cantor, offer clearer accompaniments, and run a few pre-liturgy rehearsals. And voila - harmonious song will break forth. It is axiomatic that everyone be singing.
Dream on.
Why? Because the vast majority of Americans simply don't and can't sing. Over the last fifty years, daily music teaching moved out of the elementary classrooms, community singing (a common opening feature of club and social events) disappeared, and the competition of television, DVDs, and computers killed what remained of the family singing around the piano in the evening. Even "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" fell victim to the radio and then to a car full of people with personal listening devices.
People don't sing extemporaneously in this age. Even if they feel the urge, they may attempt to model the vocal style of a completely processed pop singer. The disappointing contrast silences most immediately.
Anyone who's worked with young children's voices has heard all manner of strange sounds. However, most primary students can sing tunefully within 6 months of singing in a choir or music class that rehearses a couple of times a week and makes attractive singing a goal. (I'm not talking about "the joyful noise" school of anything goes because "the children are so sweet it doesn't matter how they sound.") Adults can learn to match pitch and sing passably later, but it's a longer slog for them.
The impossible dream is expecting people who don't sing and perhaps have never sung to suddenly form a beautiful assembly of voices. Most will remain mute. Some will growl; a few will bleat. And many of those who can sing will abandon the attempt because the surrounding noise is too awful. I'm not speaking here of dialogue responses, such as "And with your spirit." We can and should get everyone on board with those. It's the music is more extended or complex that leaves our untrained and rusty singers in the dust.
Of course, we could round up the able singers into an ensemble and have them sing. Nonetheless, a choir or schola singing alone is branded an elitist throw-back to some dreadful time in the past. Thinking along these lines led to the wholesale dissolution of choirs in the 1970s. Even today, I hear insistent cries that everyone must sing or at least we must pretend that they're singing or we must have no singing at all. Why? Do my lips have to be moving in order for me to be joined to a psalm or prayer? Taking the "noise or it doesn't count" line of thought out to its logical end would mean that we would all recite everything along with the priest or presiding clergy.
Several years ago, I wrote an article on the need to build singing families to build a singing church. I still believe that this goal is achievable and I know that many are working hard on this with children. However, in the present moment, we need to find a realistic way to offer the most beautiful and gracious worship we can. Let us temper our dreaming and find the balance between the best use of good rehearsed voices and congregational chant.
Keep dreaming. However, work with the reality while you're awake.
