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It’s no joke that YouTube can be used for many, many things, including preparing for Mass on Sunday. I have spent some time researching the most helpful YouTube Channels that any cantor could find useful (with a few variants, of course!)
There are some channels that will be helpful for learning the Psalms, some for the hymns, and others for general spiritual or vocal help as a musician in the Church!
Let’s get started!
YouTube for Cantors
I will start by creating a table for you to see which ones you can weed out now. Then, I will expand on my viewpoint on how they can most help you as a musician later in the article.
Due to the table being misread by phones, please view the table of YouTube Channels here in this helpful PDF with links!
The Top 15 Channels You Should Follow Today!
These are great places to start if you have specific needs as a musician. There can be helpful YouTube channels for cantors anywhere, depending on what you like and what you need help with.
Let me outline a few of the points from my chart above and expand on them a little bit. If you are not interested, just skip to the next section!
Side note: Just click on the heading of the resource you’d like to check out! They should all be linked to their channels.
Music Ministry 101
Mike is a great guy with a mission to truly help you become a better music minister. His offerings are wide and are thorough, ranging from music theory instruction videos, to sight-singing help, and a whole lot of helpful Psalm and Gospel Acclamation recordings from Respond & Acclaim.
Liturgy Training
I particularly like these videos to help get a great perspective on the role and purpose of a cantor. It helps me to refocus my thoughts to Jesus and the Mass, which is the entire reason I am doing what I am doing anyway.
FontSound
Their videos are often encouraging with practical tips to make difficult Church roles become easier. Elena and Tony also offer many reflection videos, and all sorts of tips for the music director.
SaxMarc1
What I love about this guy is that he is solid on his musicianship, straight to the point, and provides quality recordings of Spirit & Psalm Responses and Acclamations for his viewers. This would be a great resource for you to learn your Psalm if you currently sing in the Spirit & Psalm for Mass.
Khrisha J Blackwell
Her voice is as sweet as a angel, and I love that she demonstrates many many songs on her channel. Some of them are a cappella, many of them teach parts (especially in the Mass settings), and some of them are accompanied by piano.
Chris Brunelle
If you are a guitarist or tend to play guitar and sing for your Church, he is the guy you want to be following. Chris will consistently deliver R & A Psalm and Acclamation recordings with guitar, as well as other Catholic hymns.
Catholic Hymns
This guy has over 400 recordings of popular Catholic hymns on his channel, and nearly 100 recordings of Responsorial Psalms. His videos also house the lyrics to each song while he is playing them. Super helpful and resourceful when needing to learn something quick, even if you don’t have your book with you!
Paraclete Press
You can preview choir sheet music on their channel, which is an invaluable resource as a choir director who might light to purchase something new!
Katarina H.
I have used her for a couple of vocal problems that I have experienced in the past. She brings a lot of expertise and common sense tips to the table. I especially enjoy her videos about vocal health, as I think that is really important as musicians.
Choir Room
The main reason I listed this resource was because of their fantastic Latin help videos. It is always necessary for a cantor to know how to pronounce a song in Latin. Many words can be sung incorrectly if one does not commit to studying and learning Latin the right way.
OCP Session Choir
I like using these for hymn practice because I get to sing with all the parts, even if I’m usually just a cantor as a soprano most days. I really miss my choir days, and this is helpful to not only practice a hymn, but to share the experience as well.
OCP Music
I have just started using this channel, but it will be a great resources for finding great new contemporary music for pleasure (or maybe for future children’s Masses). OCP has been used in churches for many years, and their YouTube Channel should be no exception.
WLP Session Choir
Again, I love listening to songs with the choir. WLP is an excellent resource for those of you who have books and songs published by WLP.
Laura Huval
She has a video series on how to pray with music. If you would like to become more connected with your music and more spiritual, she is an excellent teacher on how to do that. I was instantly connected to her through her calming voice and heartfelt singing.
The Spiritual Cantor
Okay, had to throw mine in there. I like to offer helpful vocal exercises and tips, and give you praise & worship songs to sing with kids or anyone really. Hopefully soon I can post more singing videos or spiritual preparation videos.
By the way, if there is anything you’d like to see on my channel, please let me know! I just started offering the Psalm and Gospel Acclamation recordings for your practice, so check it out!
Other ways to Utilize YouTube as a Musician
Here are a few ways I use YouTube as a learning tool and as a resource when it comes to singing in the Church.
- Follow only the channels that will be the most helpful to you, and then maybe one or two you are curious about to browse in the future or learn something new
- Just search for the particular song or Psalm you are looking for, find one you like.
- If you find a lot that you like, add them to a favorites list or create a “Church hymns” list or a “responsorial Psalms” list.
- You can find warm-ups, voice tips, anything on YouTube. I don’t need to tell you that. You can use it like you know it and love to use it!
Helpful YouTube Channels for Cantors
This list I have given you will hopefully help you get vocal help, help with practicing, and aid when you need to become more spiritual in your ministry.
If you have a helpful YouTube Channel for a cantor, choir director, or musician, please comment below and I would be happy to add it to my list!
This is it for my most helpful YouTube channels for Cantors! Please leave a comment, and have a fantastic day!
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