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Does Music Ministry have frustrations?

Oh yes, I think every church ministry has frustrations. We as flawed people often tend to focus on the negative of situations instead of providing solutions or coming up with compromises that benefit everyone.

Music ministry, in particular, seems difficult in many ways. There are many hats to wear, especially in smaller parishes where there are fewer directors, organists, and participants. Even if one only has one responsibility, it can be a huge responsibility and burden if they are not properly equipped to handle it.

I have put some frustrations out there and have asked for some in return. What I have heard comes from many different places on many different levels. I will relay those frustrations here.

Frustrations

Okay, I have frustrations. We’ve all had them. Sometimes they are ones to laugh over and forget about. Other times they are a bit bigger and can have us seeking help as appropriate.

My pain points include not finding enough willing people to sing and basic cantor and choir training is missing. But most especially, when the congregations and the choirs/cantors have learned a certain piece of music with incorrect notes or rhythms. Drives me nuts!

Let’s see what others had to say!

A Music Ministers List of Frustrations

Not enough men in the choir
The choir not showing up for rehearsals
The choir not singing the correct parts
Ridiculous expectations put on choirs/cantors/organists from the congregation or clergy
Lack of choral literacy in choirs
Choir persons not knowing the music, but following the ones in the choir who have (which makes things not quite together and bit off)
The congregation doesn’t sing with the choir or the cantor
No regard for chant music
Singers or clergy who do not appreciate the classic Church music, which in most cases is the good music, right?
Rushed choir rehearsals
Choir persons not willing to sing parts
Not knowing the right techniques to get the choir to actually learn the pieces
Working hard to learn something new, yet no one seems to care or appreciate it
Lack of communication within the choirs/directors/clergy, etc
Choir attendance on Sundays and members who are not dedicated to the choir as a whole group
Not being connected as a ministry
Issues in recruitment and retention of competent singers

List of Triumphs

A Church Musician's Biggest Frustrations - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I can’t just allow the frustrations to overtake this post. I am much optimistic about that!

The opportunity to serve God and the Church
Thankful my choir usually attends rehearsals and likes what we do
Ministers who go above and beyond to help out and be there, prepared
Seeing the choir as another community in the Church
Bonding time with my choir peeps
Giving singers something to be a part of, as long as they know how important their ministry is
Family members singing with you during Masses!
Getting good sound out of choirs!
Joy in the work of Church music

How We Can Stay Positive and Move Forward

So I am a little bit concerned that the frustrations outweigh the triumphs, but I suppose I did ask for the pain points first. I am grateful there were many who also brave enough to embrace the positive. The question is, how can we get rid of most of the negative and move on to the better points in music ministry?

I have a few tips to share, along with a few tips I gleaned from this very revealing question I posed.

Tip 1: It’s not about you

For as many frustrating situations we as humans face, even during church ministry, it is not about you. It is for a higher purpose: to glorify our Creator. I say it a lot around here, but it’s true. No matter how crazy a situation gets, if the main purpose and mission is to bring praise to God, and to bring awareness to the centrality of the Eucharist in each Mass, we’ve got it down!

Work to get your choirs, cantors, and organists in this central mindset, so that your purpose can be the same. May God be glorified!

Tip 2: Be as practical as Necessary

So I get it. Communication is bad, people do what they want when it comes to rehearsals and attendance, and preparation is poor for the most part.

With these things in mind, be as practical as you can be. Reach the people that you can, the ones who are active and respond are the ones who will be with you through thick and thin in the ministry (most likely). Give up the attendance to God, do with who you have and what you can. Most ministries have to do that anyway.

Have a backup plan, if Plan A doesn’t work out, try to have Plan B, C or even D in your back pocket to pull out quickly in case you have to. Yes, it will take more work with planning, but then you won’t be scrambling because you put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

Tip 3: Some Things Are out of your control

As with anything in life, certain situations are out of our control. We all know that and can attest to the frustration that brings us.

Commit to bringing solutions to the ones you could perhaps do something about. Forget the problems that are out of your control. I know from experience, it does no good to try to rectify the situations in which you really have no control over. Your job is to make the things you can do easier and problem-free as possible.

Some great advice I read: write down all the things that frustrate you. Put in the one column the things that you could improve. The second column? Leave well enough alone and let them lie. It will do you much good if you focus on the things that are positive and the ones that you can control.

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Tip 4: Commit to learning basic Techniques

If you are a cantor, a choir member, a choir director, or even clergy who struggle with learning music, applying basic vocal or choral techniques, you are not alone. But you do need to think about doing something about it.

Learning music is not easy for everyone, but I believe everyone with the right mindset can most definitely learn. A good place to start is breathing and posture. This will give you a foundation to learn many other types of vocal techniques. I offer a free course that outlines these techniques.

I also offer Catholic Cantor Training: The Basics. This will help people get a good feel for the basics needed for singing and cantoring, and the appropriate steps to get there!

Turn Frustration Into Thankfulness

If you are a person that tends to dwell on the negative, I get it. It’s super easy to focus on all those frustrating things about music ministry that you can’t change.

However, I would suggest getting over that really quick. No matter how Type A or laidback you are, there are always going to be things that get under your skin. The key is to realize the good things about music ministry.

The good things, like serving God, serving the congregation and the clergy (whether they are grateful or not), being part of a music community and singing just to sing. There are beauty and joy in all of these aspects.

Focus on these things, and I pray that your music ministry comes alive and amazing to you. Glory to God in the highest.

2 Comments

Tom on at
I would add that choir directors and music directors are horribly under paid When it comes to matching the amount of importance, put on music in worship. these people go to school and get degrees and the church heavily relies on them and their musical ability to enhance their worship almost equally as much so as the word. but yet music directors are consistently underpaid now. you can’t get a professionally trained and certified Music director paying part-time. It’s horrible.
- Gessica on at
  Yes, I agree. As a volunteer cantor myself, who has been trained as a music educator, it is really frustrating when others rely on you and you only get paid at weddings and funerals.