Blog

Category Archives: Music Ministry

Blog

And So This is Christmas: Music and the Christmas Liturgy

2012-12_CYM-ChristmasMusic

My advice is this: During the Christmas Season, sing the Christmas songs that people really know well.

Sure it’s okay to add in a few new songs that can deepen the experience and the meaning of Christmas, but be careful not to sing too many new or unfamiliar songs at Christmas. Instead of doing a lot of new Christmas songs, maybe rearrange a few of the carols to make them sound a little different, but be sure not to change the melody around so that people don’t even recognize the song they are singing. Add in some different grooves or instrumentation and maybe take out some chords to make the tune feel more contemporary.

Blog

Music From the Life Teen Fall Training in Boston

Many conference participants asked for a list of the music used at the daily Liturgies and it has become our custom to list them after our major conferences and convention each year. Below you will find the songs listed out from each daily Liturgy, as well as a link to a page where you can find the sheet music and/or a recorded sample.

In this Year of Faith, may we continue to deepen our faith through the Sacramental life of the Church and may we continue to worship him with songs of praise and thanksgiving.

Blog

5 Tips for Great Music at an XLT

2012-09_CYM-MusicXLT

In the past few weeks I have had the pleasure to be a part of two XLT worship events. The first was at my own parish as we kicked off a new Semester, and the other was hosted by the Diocese of Phoenix and Life Teen International. If you are not familiar with XLT, it is a Praise and Worship event that begins with high-energy music followed by a powerful talk and concluding with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It’s amazing to see young people drawn to the Eucharist through this powerful means of fellowship, prayer and thanksgiving.

Blog

The Importance of Music on Retreats

2012-07_CYM-MusicRetreat

We are bombarded with noise, technology, and day-to-day craziness, so it’s essential to take a step back and refresh and renew ourselves . . . to just to be in God’s presence and learn more about Him.

If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start thinking about your next retreat. Maybe your parish has never done a retreat and you have been considering having your first one, or maybe your parish has done tons of retreats in the past. Whichever the case, here are a few tips that can help you to have a successful retreat.

Blog

Music from the 2012 Catholic Youth Ministry Training Convention

2012-06_CYM_CYMC

Last week over 500 Priests, Youth Ministers, Core Team members, and Musicians traveled to Scottsdale, Arizona for the Catholic Youth Ministry Training Convention. It was truly a blessed time to pray, worship, and laugh together as we celebrated this year’s theme of Radiant Joy. One of the most meaningful things for me was to see and hear God’s people from all over the world come together and unite in our common prayer together as we celebrated our highest form of prayer, the Mass. One

Blog

Gear and God: Is There Room for Both in Your Life?

2012-05_CYM-Gear1

So what’s wrong with our obsession with gear? Well, maybe nothing if we are buying these items to serve God in our ministries and get the best possible sound for our praise of God. But, if I have to be honest, there have been several times in my own life when the gear has consumed me and I began to lose my focus. Is our goal to have the biggest or best mixing console out of all the musicians we know or is our goal to make great music and serve God through it?

Blog

Music From the 2012 Winter Training Conference

The 2012 Life Teen Training Conference just wrapped up in Indialantic, Florida at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church. What an amazing group of Priests, Youth Ministers, CORE Members and Musicians who came from all over the United States and Canada to go deeper into their understanding of Youth Ministry and our Lord. The view from the parish and the hotel was truly inspiring, seeing God’s wonderful beauty each morning as the sun rose over the crashing waves. I really like my job! I had the privilege

Blog

How Can I Be a Better Music Minister in 2012?

2012-1_MusicianResolutions

2012 is here! If we look back on 2011 I think we can all say it was a busy year. Most of us spent this last year preparing for the implementation of the New Roman Missal that we received on November 27th of 2011. Now that the Missal has been implemented and our Christmas preparation has come to an end, we can focus on the things that we may need to change in our personal lives or our ministries.

Blog

Bishops Approve a Gradual Introduction of New Mass Settings

This past week on June 17, 2011, the president of the USCCB authorized the gradual implementation of the new Mass settings and left the final decision up to the Bishop of each Diocese. This however does not mean we can implement any other changes in September, just the sung Mass settings. This is good news as it will allow us all to teach these new settings as we normally would and not have to worry about teaching new responses at the same time.

Blog

Audrey Assad on Songwriting

“How do you write songs?” In my travels and my meetings with people along the way, it’s one of the questions I am asked the most. Songwriting is hard to explain. I’ve shaped songs like clay pots, molding them on the wheel of my mind slowly and deliberately; other times they’ve shot like bullets out of my pen in a frenzy of inspiration; and some I’ve spent more than two years on, and still haven’t finished. Like children, every song is different, and they are birthed with varying degrees of struggle and joy. So it’s a tough thing for me to write about, because I am still figuring it out myself. How do you answer a question you are still asking?