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Eight habits of
highly effective cantors
by Diana M. Kaulback
Effective habits will make you an effective cantor. Good
habits can be formed by exercising certain skills each day. Not only do
you need to do your vocal exercises, but you also need to do ministerial
exercises. Here are some good habits to get into.
1. Pray dailyFor the effective cantor, a life of prayer should be centered on daily reflection on the psalms. The psalter is the church’s original songbook. For cantors who are called to animate the assembly’s response to God in worship, the psalms should be at the heart of our daily prayer, for the full range of human emotion can be found in the psalter. Ecstasy, grief, rage, praise, desperation, anger, wonder — all human emotion is transformed into prayer in these ancient poems.One way to pray with the psalms is through the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office. The Liturgy of the Hours is the church’s “sanctification of the day and of the whole range of human activity” (General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours 11). But for cantors whose primary ministry is for the Sunday Eucharist, it may be more helpful to structure daily prayer around the Sunday lectionary by focusing on the assigned Sunday psalm. Just as the lector or homilist would reflect each day upon the Sunday Scriptures, so too should the cantor reflect upon God’s word found in the Sunday psalms. EXERCISE
2. Know the liturgyYou are not just someone who sings the psalm or acts as the soloist. You are similar to the lector, deacon and presider. The cantor proclaims God’s word in the Scriptures through the singing of the psalms or readings. The cantor, when there is no deacon, sings the intercessions and litanies. The cantor presides over the sung prayer of the assembly, leading and directing the assembly’s sung response within the liturgy. Thus, the cantor, like the presider, must know the liturgy, its structure, the purposes of each part, and how the music enables and enhances the ritual. Especially for the cantor who is also the psalmist, liturgical formation is necessary in order “to have some grasp of the meaning and structure of the liturgy of the word and of the significance of its connection with the liturgy of the eucharist” (Lectionary for Mass: Introduction 55). The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states, “Servers, readers, commentators, and members of the choir _ must all be deeply imbued with the spirit of the liturgy” (29).Build relationships with your music director, liturgy director, presider and deacon. Read the church’s liturgical documents and the rites. Take classes and workshops. Attend conferences. Subscribe to liturgical publications. Get on internet discussions and e-mail lists. All these things require an investment of time, but the importance of your role is worth it. EXERCISE Some people accomplish a daily task by connecting it to some other daily
ritual they already do. One person flosses her teeth while she does her
sit-ups. Another doesn’t allow himself to put on his watch until he has
done his morning prayers. Find a “no-brainer” daily activity and use that
time to read a few paragraphs of a liturgical document. Brushing your teeth,
walking the dog, taking public transportation — all these are possible
moments for getting in a daily dose of continuing education. 3. Act gracefullyWhen you stand before the assembly, present yourself with style and grace, not as a robot mechanically completing a task. Neither be so overwhelmed by fear that you make the assembly nervous. Be well prepared musically and liturgically, and understand the artistry required. Only then can the task of singing the psalm, acclamation or verse 4 of the communion song become art, a dance between God and God’s people.Your role is as much visual as it is aural. Raising arms, walking to the ambo, making eye contact, smiling — through movement and appearance, as well as vocal production, you lead the assembly in prayer. The effective cantor is confident and deliberate. Gestures are unhurried and strong. Mistakes are never accompanied by grimaces. Though confidence is mainly born from being prepared, it can also be “enacted,” meaning if you act confidently, you will at least look confident. For cantors who are constantly working on overcoming fear and nervousness, looking confident is a way for you to feel confident. Looking confident begins with posture. Stand as if you are ready to do something important — because you are. When raising your arms, imagine you are lifting a weight. This keeps your gestures from appearing limp and communicates more strongly the invitation to sing. Breathe! Practice relaxation exercises before each Mass. Remember that you have been called from the assembly by the assembly. They want to trust that you know what you are doing and will lead confidently and humbly. EXERCISE In difficult tasks or in times of need, mantras can be a calming way
to refocus and gain confidence. An example of a mantra: “Lord, be my strength
and my salvation.” Repeat this over and over. Inhale and pray the first
half; exhale and pray the second. Use this mantra each day and as your
prayer right before the psalm of the Mass. 4. Practice humilityTo be humble is not to be self-deprecating. It is to know one’s strengths and weaknesses. For the effective cantor, it is remembering that you are an assembly member first, music minister second and cantor third. “He or she is a worshiper above all. Like any member of the assembly, the pastoral musician needs to be a believer, needs to experience conversion, needs to hear the Gospel and so proclaim the praise of God” (Liturgical Music Today 64). This means no divas, stars, drama queens, ringers or hired guns allowed. Cantors attend rehearsals willingly and consistently. They know that they may be able to “get through” the psalm without practice but that their responsibility to the assembly requires more than just getting through it. Effective cantors network with other cantors and music ministers and share the stories of their successes and fears. They listen to others’ experiences and give words of encouragement. They accept compliments graciously.EXERCISE We all have tapes that keep playing in our head or words and phrases that people have used to label us or distract us from honestly knowing our strengths and weaknesses. When those tapes begin playing in your head, find another phrase that will help you move forward with confidence and humility in your ministry. For example: Stumbling block: “I’m not very good. I’m not as good as this person. I could never do what that cantor does.” Countering phrase: “God has given me the gifts and talents I need to do this ministry.” Action: “What do I do well? What gifts and talents do I have that still need more refining? What can I learn from cantors who have developed these same gifts?” The effective cantor “shares faith, serves the community, and expresses
the love of God and neighbor through music.” 5. Love the community“The church musician is first a disciple and then a minister” (LMT 64). To be a disciple means to be in community with other disciples, that is, with God’s people. If the cantor is to speak on behalf of the assembly, he or she needs to know the assembly’s story. The effective cantor “shares faith, serves the community and expresses the love of God and neighbor through music.” Imagine being able to connect the experience of the family who lost their home in an earthquake to Psalm 46: “Our sure defense, our shelter and help in trouble, God never stands far off. So we stand unshaken when solid earth cracks and volcanoes slide into the sea, when breakers rage and mountains tremble in the swell.” Imagine speaking for the woman just diagnosed with terminal cancer the words of Psalm 39: “Lord, what will become of me? How long will I live?”Participate in other parish activities. Learn people’s names. Be hospitable and attentive to visitors and newcomers. Stay after Mass to talk to parishioners you know and don’t know. Don’t encourage choir cliques. Pray for your community. EXERCISE Make a point of remembering the person’s name and look for him or her
at Mass the next week. An easy way to do this is to introduce yourself
to someone sitting close to where you will be sitting during Mass. Remember
the name (write it down on your music if you need to). Then at the sign
of peace, greet the person again, calling him or her by name. 6. Always carry the wordThe effective cantor is a cantor every day, not just on Sunday. He or she lives each day as a bearer of God’s word and connects the activities of his or her life and that of the parish to the experience of God’s people in the psalms and in the Scriptures. The cantor, as a member of the assembly and a disciple of Christ, understands that what we do in the liturgy is how we mean to live our daily lives. The effective cantor remembers each day his or her role as the proclaimer of God’s word and as the animator of humanity’s response and enacts that role appropriately in daily life.Remember the dignity of your baptism. Remember the exalted role of your ministry. EXERCISE See how your life and others’ lives are interpreted in light of that
line. Continue to do the same with the psalm for the Sunday. Do not be
afraid to announce the Gospel in daily life or to encourage another person
to respond to a particular situation with the Gospel in mind. 7. Encourage each otherEncouragement means helping people see in themselves what they cannot see on their own. The effective cantor helps the assembly realize that they are the primary music ministers. “The entire worshiping assembly exercises a ministry of music” (LMT 63). In the litanies, refrains and dialogues, the cantor does not sing the assembly’s part so that he or she overshadows the assembly’s voice. It is good to also remember that turning up the mic (or singing louder) does not necessarily guarantee better participation by the assembly.When inviting the assembly to respond in a refrain, back off from the mic. Let the dialogue between cantor and assembly be a true exchange. As the assembly grows in confidence, their response will need less vocal encouragement. EXERCISE When inviting a sung response, soften your own singing of the assembly’s
part until you are able to completely hand it over to them. This should
be done in conjunction with a strengthening of visual cues — arm gestures,
eye contact. As the assembly begins to take greater ownership of a sung
response, visual cues can gradually diminish as well until the assembly’s
response naturally comes forth without any cue. 8. Live passionately“All humanity is passion; without passion, religion, history, novels, art would be ineffectual” (Honore de Balzac). The effective cantor understands that she or he is an artist and that the depth of his or her art comes from a deep love for life and its riches. This passion is a willingness to be formed and transformed by human and divine activity. The cantor is not afraid to dance, sing, play and laugh. She or he is not afraid to be bold and intense, making strong gestures and singing full-voiced in the pews as well as in the choir. The cantor believes wholeheartedly that what this assembly does makes a difference in the life of the world, and therefore the cantor treats the liturgy and the assembly with respect. The worshiping assembly, united in song-filled praise to God, is the sweetest sound the cantor ever wants to hear. The effective cantor speaks from and sings from personal experience of death and resurrection. “One’s style of leading prayer eventually develops into a spirituality based on the paschal mystery, i.e. by dying and rising unto Christ. This means that the lay leader puts on Jesus’ way of life. Leadership entails simplicity, transparency and a willingness to be vulnerable” (John J. O’Brien, CP, “Lay Leadership in Liturgy,” New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship, ed. Peter Fink, SJ [The Liturgical Press]).EXERCISE Practice your piece each day and gradually lessen your use of the printed music. Sing by heart from the heart. Be attentive to the habits you keep. For in your heart, close to you, is already the word of God. And you may be the only word of God a person may hear that day or that week or that month. Proclaim that word and invite a response in everything you do. ML Diana M. Kaulback is the music director at St. Francis of Assisi
Catholic Church in Concord, Calif., and at St. Mary’s College Campus Ministry
in Moraga, Calif. You can send her e-mail at DMKaulback@compuserve.com.
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