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Why Catholics Can't Sing: Revised and Updated With New Grand Conclusions and Good Advice
In this informative and entertaining critique of music in the Catholic Church, Thomas Day outlines a stinging indictment of the influence of popular culture on American Catholicism, particularly as expressed in church music. Taking aim at the Irish-American repertoire of songs that overwhelms Catholic music in America, Day assails the secularization of liturgical practices that began, in the author’s view, with the Second Vatican Council in 1962. And while targeting the demise of services, Day remains optimistic, offering several key solutions to revitalize and nurture the latent vitality that remains among the parishioners of the American Catholic Church.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
15 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Day
2 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 13, 2019
A short, funny, and eye-opening read on the state of music in American Catholic parishes throughout the 20th century. What I appreciate most about this was book was that the fact that Day does not simply believe that a return to the Latin Mass will fix worship in this country, but offers much more practical ways that parishes can improve their worship, i.e. his chapter on "holy mediocrity".
However, my main issue is that Day often attributes a sense of malicious narcissism to the more egregious examples of Mass mishandling, which I found at times to be uncharitable. Sure, I am as staunch an advocate of traditional church music as anybody, but when I have attended parishes that would fall under Day's ire, I often found it was not narcissism, but an earnest belief that this is proper expression of worship. It doesn't mean that the music is any less bad, but I think its important to be a little bit more charitable when it comes to understanding people. Either way, I look forward to picking up the latest edition of this book to see how Day reacts to current revival of traditional church music that is beginning to emerge here in America.
However, my main issue is that Day often attributes a sense of malicious narcissism to the more egregious examples of Mass mishandling, which I found at times to be uncharitable. Sure, I am as staunch an advocate of traditional church music as anybody, but when I have attended parishes that would fall under Day's ire, I often found it was not narcissism, but an earnest belief that this is proper expression of worship. It doesn't mean that the music is any less bad, but I think its important to be a little bit more charitable when it comes to understanding people. Either way, I look forward to picking up the latest edition of this book to see how Day reacts to current revival of traditional church music that is beginning to emerge here in America.
August 12, 2023
Some good analysis and advice in the introduction and conclusion, but the middle is just full of an old man grumbling about how things have changed since his youth. Many of his negative anecdotes are indistinguishable from positive ones, and hinge on the reader being able to intuit why they are "obviously" terrible. Much of his opinions hang on the alleged neutrality and universality of Latin and European pre-reformation church music, with no acknowledgement of how this impression is just indicative of the historic privileging of white European Christian culture. You can find much better analysis and advice for encouraging congregational singing elsewhere.
November 8, 2023
Why don't most Catholics sing at Mass? Thomas Day tries to explain.
It starts at the beginning, with an inset fear—to Ireland, where Catholicism was underground, and drawing attention to yourself (i.e. singing in Mass) was a definite no. That helped create the Catholicism of America, and it expands from there and into the often-confusing changes in Vatican II.
There's an overall bias for pre-Vatican II Catholicism, when rituals and music meant something. Day experienced the awkward transition into the post- era, where the Church didn't know what to do yet. With its varying musical genres, and overall confusion how to worship, it's no wonder people stopped participating in Mass. Combine that with contemporary hymns that non-musicians can't follow, and musical participation is doomed.
It's packed with great insight and first-hand experience, but is missing something crucial: there's a lot of focus on what the people want. They want to experience music like the Protestants; they want to feel the music. But music isn't for the people's sake. It's missing the worship; I wait waiting for this obvious conclusion that never came. But the updated edition includes advice on how to fix liturgical music, understanding that each parish has different needs. Most importantly: get rid of the microphone; this is church, not a concert.
It starts at the beginning, with an inset fear—to Ireland, where Catholicism was underground, and drawing attention to yourself (i.e. singing in Mass) was a definite no. That helped create the Catholicism of America, and it expands from there and into the often-confusing changes in Vatican II.
There's an overall bias for pre-Vatican II Catholicism, when rituals and music meant something. Day experienced the awkward transition into the post- era, where the Church didn't know what to do yet. With its varying musical genres, and overall confusion how to worship, it's no wonder people stopped participating in Mass. Combine that with contemporary hymns that non-musicians can't follow, and musical participation is doomed.
It's packed with great insight and first-hand experience, but is missing something crucial: there's a lot of focus on what the people want. They want to experience music like the Protestants; they want to feel the music. But music isn't for the people's sake. It's missing the worship; I wait waiting for this obvious conclusion that never came. But the updated edition includes advice on how to fix liturgical music, understanding that each parish has different needs. Most importantly: get rid of the microphone; this is church, not a concert.
December 2, 2019
Want a great overview and diagnosis of Catholic music in the last 100 years? Look here. Day's insightful commentary provides many helpful and concrete suggestions to help PEOPLE sing at Mass. It's a bonus his work is fun to read and also self-reflective enough to know the critiques of his insights and how to respond. Some might find him too "conservative" or uppity, but when he even states that he tends to lean politically liberal, and the premier Jesuit magazine in the US, "America" is quoted on the back cover saying that this is "[t]he book that had to be written and has to be read," one can rest assured that Day's insights are simply, unabashedly, and joyfully Catholic.
My copy was 240 pages, not 190, but it was a quick read!
My copy was 240 pages, not 190, but it was a quick read!
September 26, 2023
This is one of the more intellectually lazy and spiritually unkind books I’ve ever read. As a lifelong Catholic who has been to churches across the US, I agree with the problems the author has identified in Catholic music and agree with some of his proposed solutions. So it’s a shame that he just shoots himself in the foot again and again by only arguing against straw men (rather than citing the actual words of his opponents or offering specific examples for our consideration) and constantly trying to lampoon and caricature his opponents rather than understand and correct them. The author spews all this poison about Cary Landry and Marty Haugen and Michael Joncas — why not just go talk to them and see what they have to say? For Christ’s sakes (literally) you’re all part of the same church.
This is a case where the form spoils the content. I think the author has a legitimate gripe about the state of church music and I think he has the experience and knowledge to offer a viable remedy (hence two stars rather than just one) but he’s substituted spreading his anger around for the actual work of rebuilding the community through scholarship and practice. It’s disappointing, extra disappointing considering how many positive reviews this has received.
This is a case where the form spoils the content. I think the author has a legitimate gripe about the state of church music and I think he has the experience and knowledge to offer a viable remedy (hence two stars rather than just one) but he’s substituted spreading his anger around for the actual work of rebuilding the community through scholarship and practice. It’s disappointing, extra disappointing considering how many positive reviews this has received.
January 30, 2026
The modern liturgical expert, quips an anonymous wag in Why Catholics Can't Sing, is "an affliction sent by God, so that those Catholics who have not had the opportunity to suffer for their faith might not be deprived of the opportunity to do so."
This reminds me of a favorite joke:
Question: What's the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?
Answer: You can negotiate with a terrorist.
Terrorists who blow up churches could not be more effective than the experts who have imposed bric-a-brac decoration and theology, spilling over into the parish hymnal and choir loft with the most vapid, insipid and uninspiring music since Barry Manilow started writing jingles.
Churches can be rebuilt. But when the Mass has become something to endure rather than glory in, you know the experts have one-upped the competition.
The grim routine begins as I enter the church every Sunday and am met by a "door-greeter minister" lacking a blue smock like the door-greeters at Wal-Mart. After I'm seated by a "seating minister" - we used to call them ushers - I try to collect my thoughts under the soft glow of track lighting, but the "music minister" insists on warming up the audience, er, congregation. Mass begins, and the guitar orchestra starts whanging away as the priest sways in procession with altar girls in tow, most of the boys having given up what used to be a noble calling. The priest and his entourage enter the sanctuary unimpeded by communion rails which were removed to make everything accessible to all but the most feeble (surely wheelchair ramps have been installed somewhere to correct this oversight of the differently-abled). He turns around, bellows a stanza of what's left of the strummers and tubthumpers' folk song, and then calls out, "Good morning." If the response is weak, he repeats this until he gets better and louder results. That sets the tone of his role as the leader, not The Priest with the awful power to consecrate bread and wine into the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ. The innovations in ritual set the tone that the Mass is a plaything for anointed experts with a tin-eared aesthetic sense.
Each Sunday's Psalm Responsorial is composed of about four or five bars that no one figures out until after the fourth or fifth response. The writer is typeset below each ditty along with copyright information. Is there a big demand for these on Napster? Are the publishers actually worried someone might try to rip them off, or is it more evidence that the experts take themselves far too seriously? "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord," saith the Psalmist. This certainly qualifies as noise, although it sounds more dirge-like than joyful.
The same aesthetic sense of music, building design and decoration pops up just before communion, the Handshake of Peace, "one of those new things which made everyone feel a bit silly." Day relates the story of a friend who extended his hand to an elderly lady praying the rosary. "The old lady scowled. She looked at the proffered hand as if it were diseased. 'I don't believe in that s***.'" Day wisely observes, "Collectively, the people are quite shrewd. They may not know much about theology or the subtleties of liturgical symbolism, but they can instinctively detect poor or altogether inappropriate selections of prayers, readings, and especially music, which they might protest by not singing."
They're voting with their feet and their voices. Maybe that elderly lady was voting with her hand.
This reminds me of a favorite joke:
Question: What's the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist?
Answer: You can negotiate with a terrorist.
Terrorists who blow up churches could not be more effective than the experts who have imposed bric-a-brac decoration and theology, spilling over into the parish hymnal and choir loft with the most vapid, insipid and uninspiring music since Barry Manilow started writing jingles.
Churches can be rebuilt. But when the Mass has become something to endure rather than glory in, you know the experts have one-upped the competition.
The grim routine begins as I enter the church every Sunday and am met by a "door-greeter minister" lacking a blue smock like the door-greeters at Wal-Mart. After I'm seated by a "seating minister" - we used to call them ushers - I try to collect my thoughts under the soft glow of track lighting, but the "music minister" insists on warming up the audience, er, congregation. Mass begins, and the guitar orchestra starts whanging away as the priest sways in procession with altar girls in tow, most of the boys having given up what used to be a noble calling. The priest and his entourage enter the sanctuary unimpeded by communion rails which were removed to make everything accessible to all but the most feeble (surely wheelchair ramps have been installed somewhere to correct this oversight of the differently-abled). He turns around, bellows a stanza of what's left of the strummers and tubthumpers' folk song, and then calls out, "Good morning." If the response is weak, he repeats this until he gets better and louder results. That sets the tone of his role as the leader, not The Priest with the awful power to consecrate bread and wine into the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ. The innovations in ritual set the tone that the Mass is a plaything for anointed experts with a tin-eared aesthetic sense.
Each Sunday's Psalm Responsorial is composed of about four or five bars that no one figures out until after the fourth or fifth response. The writer is typeset below each ditty along with copyright information. Is there a big demand for these on Napster? Are the publishers actually worried someone might try to rip them off, or is it more evidence that the experts take themselves far too seriously? "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord," saith the Psalmist. This certainly qualifies as noise, although it sounds more dirge-like than joyful.
The same aesthetic sense of music, building design and decoration pops up just before communion, the Handshake of Peace, "one of those new things which made everyone feel a bit silly." Day relates the story of a friend who extended his hand to an elderly lady praying the rosary. "The old lady scowled. She looked at the proffered hand as if it were diseased. 'I don't believe in that s***.'" Day wisely observes, "Collectively, the people are quite shrewd. They may not know much about theology or the subtleties of liturgical symbolism, but they can instinctively detect poor or altogether inappropriate selections of prayers, readings, and especially music, which they might protest by not singing."
They're voting with their feet and their voices. Maybe that elderly lady was voting with her hand.
June 23, 2024
This is an extremely, surprisingly, unexpectedly good book. The author seems to have finished it maybe as early as 1990 but it seems to have been published (or re-printed) in 1995. Whatever the case, yes, it is about 30 years old, but not much, in my estimation, has changed in the American Catholic Church (although that is changing). Thomas Day touches on a wide range of subjects—not just music and non-singing American Catholics—but those are the main themes he uses to tie together his consideration of a variety of liturgical and ecclesiastical ‘issues.’ I guess my first question about the book is whether or not there has been an update, either by TD himself (who’s likely gone by now) or by some like-minded well-informed, articulate and thoughtful critic.
Frankly, there’s not much TD says with which I disagree. Catholic Church music is unrelievedly horrid most of the time; the liturgy itself isn’t much better; church lighting makes Walmart seem subdued; amplification and microphones generally should be excommunicated (haha); the music director should be flayed alive along with Caruso (often one and the same person); and the pastor who is at the root of all that ails his parish should be drawn and quartered.
Ok. TD didn’t really say all that. He’s more forgiving than I am. But he lived in an era where you wouldn’t find flat screen TVs on every other gothic pillar in an otherwise nice church. That alone merits capital punishment, the crueler and more unusual the better.
But there have been positive changes, and my own observations would place those changes mostly within the last ten years. More use of Latin and chant, better music selections, revival of some of the older forms (Benediction, Adoration, Processions, Prayer to Archangel Michael after Mass), an attempt to evoke reverence and awe and mystery. This is all good stuff.
Unfortunately, there are still too many priests who start with “Good morning” and end with “Have a Nice Day.” And then there’s Father Bob, who thinks he’s a game show host. Gott mit uns! What was once called “the most beautiful thing this side of heaven” is…unfit for human consumption. The Angels are weeping.
Be that as it may, I’d enjoy hearing TD’s thoughts on the current state of these matters. And if he’s read any of Roger Scruton’s work on aesthetics. I think they’d get along. TD did a good job with a very difficult subject.
And I’m sooo glad he noted that line from “The Brady Bunch” theme song in “Here I Am, Lord”. I thought I was the only one in the world who wanted to scream when that was sung!
There’s a lot of that, you know.
Frankly, there’s not much TD says with which I disagree. Catholic Church music is unrelievedly horrid most of the time; the liturgy itself isn’t much better; church lighting makes Walmart seem subdued; amplification and microphones generally should be excommunicated (haha); the music director should be flayed alive along with Caruso (often one and the same person); and the pastor who is at the root of all that ails his parish should be drawn and quartered.
Ok. TD didn’t really say all that. He’s more forgiving than I am. But he lived in an era where you wouldn’t find flat screen TVs on every other gothic pillar in an otherwise nice church. That alone merits capital punishment, the crueler and more unusual the better.
But there have been positive changes, and my own observations would place those changes mostly within the last ten years. More use of Latin and chant, better music selections, revival of some of the older forms (Benediction, Adoration, Processions, Prayer to Archangel Michael after Mass), an attempt to evoke reverence and awe and mystery. This is all good stuff.
Unfortunately, there are still too many priests who start with “Good morning” and end with “Have a Nice Day.” And then there’s Father Bob, who thinks he’s a game show host. Gott mit uns! What was once called “the most beautiful thing this side of heaven” is…unfit for human consumption. The Angels are weeping.
Be that as it may, I’d enjoy hearing TD’s thoughts on the current state of these matters. And if he’s read any of Roger Scruton’s work on aesthetics. I think they’d get along. TD did a good job with a very difficult subject.
And I’m sooo glad he noted that line from “The Brady Bunch” theme song in “Here I Am, Lord”. I thought I was the only one in the world who wanted to scream when that was sung!
There’s a lot of that, you know.
September 23, 2024
A PROFESSOR OF MUSIC AT A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY LOOKS AT CONTROVERSIES AND THE HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH MUSIC
At the time this book was published in 1991, Thomas Day was chairman of the music department at Salve Regina College. He wrote in the opening chapter, "this book is not a 'hatchet job.' I am not an ex-priest who would like to settle some old scores... Furthermore, I am not a crusader who wants to make every Roman Catholic sing like an opera star in church.... I am just a concerned American Catholic layman who has searched for reasons behind the uninspired singing at most (certainly not all) Catholic liturgies... this is a personal, somewhat autobiographical book based very much on my own experiences and those of people I know." (Pg. 4)
He notes, "In the year 1963, when the Second Vatican Council promulgated the 'Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,' very few Catholic congregations in the United States sang Christmas carols at a Mass on Christmas day. I doubt if there were, in the northeast, more than a dozen parishes where the congregation was asked to sing On Come, All Ye Faithful or Silent Night. The church did not allow the singing of vernacular music during the High Mass but song in the local language was permitted during Low Mass... incredibly, most American Catholics sang nothing at all on this great feast." (Pg. 14) He adds, "Exceptions were made during the Second World War, when Catholic congregations sang patriotic songs in church quite powerfully." (Pg. 15-16)
He observes, "In 1967... there was a nasty fistfight between the Ancients, church musicians who looked to chant and Renaissance music for guidance, and the Moderns, who believed that music from the remote past had absolutely nothing to offer the church after the Second Vatican Council... the Ancients and the Moderns caricatured one another's positions. Audiences were rude. Tempers flared.
"As the Ancients tell it, the Moderns refused to listen to the wisdom of history and experience; they only wanted to twang guitars and sing peace songs... The Moderns... say they were just defending themselves against arrogant Europeans and elitists... a Benedictine archabbot... stood up and defended [the Moderns]; thereupon, the Ancients, hissing and licking their wounds, retreated back to their European basilicas. American Catholicism's way of life was saved." (Pg. 96)
This is an entertaining for also very informative book, that will interest anyone interested in Catholic culture.
At the time this book was published in 1991, Thomas Day was chairman of the music department at Salve Regina College. He wrote in the opening chapter, "this book is not a 'hatchet job.' I am not an ex-priest who would like to settle some old scores... Furthermore, I am not a crusader who wants to make every Roman Catholic sing like an opera star in church.... I am just a concerned American Catholic layman who has searched for reasons behind the uninspired singing at most (certainly not all) Catholic liturgies... this is a personal, somewhat autobiographical book based very much on my own experiences and those of people I know." (Pg. 4)
He notes, "In the year 1963, when the Second Vatican Council promulgated the 'Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,' very few Catholic congregations in the United States sang Christmas carols at a Mass on Christmas day. I doubt if there were, in the northeast, more than a dozen parishes where the congregation was asked to sing On Come, All Ye Faithful or Silent Night. The church did not allow the singing of vernacular music during the High Mass but song in the local language was permitted during Low Mass... incredibly, most American Catholics sang nothing at all on this great feast." (Pg. 14) He adds, "Exceptions were made during the Second World War, when Catholic congregations sang patriotic songs in church quite powerfully." (Pg. 15-16)
He observes, "In 1967... there was a nasty fistfight between the Ancients, church musicians who looked to chant and Renaissance music for guidance, and the Moderns, who believed that music from the remote past had absolutely nothing to offer the church after the Second Vatican Council... the Ancients and the Moderns caricatured one another's positions. Audiences were rude. Tempers flared.
"As the Ancients tell it, the Moderns refused to listen to the wisdom of history and experience; they only wanted to twang guitars and sing peace songs... The Moderns... say they were just defending themselves against arrogant Europeans and elitists... a Benedictine archabbot... stood up and defended [the Moderns]; thereupon, the Ancients, hissing and licking their wounds, retreated back to their European basilicas. American Catholicism's way of life was saved." (Pg. 96)
This is an entertaining for also very informative book, that will interest anyone interested in Catholic culture.
September 28, 2021
This is a book for Catholics who have an interest in the music they hear during mass. The fact that many Catholics are not at all interested in the music they hear is part of the problem that the author explores, in this cheerful, humorous, and bitingly satiric book. This is the second edition; I read the first edition 30 years ago. (When I finished it, I tried to donate it to our young parish priest, but I suspect his secretary intercepted it and threw it away.) This book will resonate most with those who experienced the pre- Vatican II Catholic mass, and then had their hopes raised by Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council - hopes that the church would truly become the voice of the poor and oppressed, a voice for justice and ...all sorts of other things that we hoped for back in the 1960's. The folk mass was the musical weapon of choice for this revolution, with guitars and tambourines and vigorous singing, and there really was a feeling that something new was happening, and the Spirit was moving.
Needless to say, the reality as time went on was quite different. The real achievement of this book is that the author, armed with a great deal of musical knowledge and historical perspective, manages to criticize and offend pretty much everyone in the cultural and musical universe of Catholicism, albeit in a humorous and curmudgeonly way. He does not take sides, certainly not with cultural catholics or traditionalists, and not with the liturgical musical experts or advocates of contemporary music as the unerring voice of the people. Perhaps I appreciate this book so much because of the many hours I endured at the college Newman Center inexpertly playing guitar and singing in front of a silent congregation. He explains why so much of the excellent religious music from the Dameans, St. Louis Jesuits, and Monks of Weston Priory (all of which I love) often doesn't work very well when played by a music group for a congregation. The book is not all snarky criticism (although thankfully much of it is), but has some sound recommendations for improving music at Catholic masses. If you love to sing in church, or if you shudder at the thought of singing in church, you may enjoy this book.
Needless to say, the reality as time went on was quite different. The real achievement of this book is that the author, armed with a great deal of musical knowledge and historical perspective, manages to criticize and offend pretty much everyone in the cultural and musical universe of Catholicism, albeit in a humorous and curmudgeonly way. He does not take sides, certainly not with cultural catholics or traditionalists, and not with the liturgical musical experts or advocates of contemporary music as the unerring voice of the people. Perhaps I appreciate this book so much because of the many hours I endured at the college Newman Center inexpertly playing guitar and singing in front of a silent congregation. He explains why so much of the excellent religious music from the Dameans, St. Louis Jesuits, and Monks of Weston Priory (all of which I love) often doesn't work very well when played by a music group for a congregation. The book is not all snarky criticism (although thankfully much of it is), but has some sound recommendations for improving music at Catholic masses. If you love to sing in church, or if you shudder at the thought of singing in church, you may enjoy this book.
February 18, 2023
This book, published in 1990 paints a colorful and entertaining, yet challenging picture of the state of church music in the American Catholic culture of the 1990’s. The author has no qualms in sharing his opinions and personal stories, as well as anecdotes heard from others. The language is charged with varying emotions of outrage, cynicism, etc. and so should be approached with the understanding that 1. This was published over 30 years ago, and times have changed, development has happened since, and 2. This is not meant to be an objective, highly citable, scholarly source, but rather an well-informed yet fallible and emotionally injected commentary on a specific time and place.
It introduced many topics and provided the beginnings of a context to help me understand my work, and the baggage that may come with it. I’m a very no-drama type of person, so while I felt entertained by all the color of the commentary, and while I recognized truth in what was said, I nevertheless felt uneasy reading it, like if I had really absorbed every word and taken it as gospel, it might have made me a very disgruntled person. So take it with a grain of salt. More than anything, I have a big picture beginning to form, and am excited to delve into more objective sources so that I can learn more about the history and development of music in the US Church. I am also very heartened to see many examples of ways in which the problems of the 90s have given way to new solutions and new discussions about liturgy. At least around here, it seems as though we’re less “stuck” now than what the author saw back in the day.
Good read, but glad to be done with it!
It introduced many topics and provided the beginnings of a context to help me understand my work, and the baggage that may come with it. I’m a very no-drama type of person, so while I felt entertained by all the color of the commentary, and while I recognized truth in what was said, I nevertheless felt uneasy reading it, like if I had really absorbed every word and taken it as gospel, it might have made me a very disgruntled person. So take it with a grain of salt. More than anything, I have a big picture beginning to form, and am excited to delve into more objective sources so that I can learn more about the history and development of music in the US Church. I am also very heartened to see many examples of ways in which the problems of the 90s have given way to new solutions and new discussions about liturgy. At least around here, it seems as though we’re less “stuck” now than what the author saw back in the day.
Good read, but glad to be done with it!
March 13, 2024
“Why Catholics can’t Sing” is a very entertaining discussion of post-conciliar Catholic liturgical music. Unlike much of the current discourse about liturgy, this 1990 book isn’t a “Latin mass vs Novus Ordo” polemic, but rather a (mostly) thoughtful discussion of liturgy.
Unfortunately, Thomas Day commits some of the same sins he criticizes in the book: he oversimplifies and creates binaries in the same way the people he criticizes do. The main place he does this is in his discussions about lighting and amplification. He creates an all or nothing binary (insanely loud over-amplification vs no amplification, overly bright lights vs no lights) rather than advocating for a tasteful use of lighting and amplification. PA Speakers have volume knobs, and lights have dimmers, and there’s no reason people couldn’t tastefully use them.
Day also imputes arrogance onto priests and cantors in a bit of a reckless way; there must be some priests who aren’t simply arrogant tyrants, and there must be some soloist cantors who aren’t egotistical failed musicians who want to punish their audience. Day oversimplifies his opponent, often with great comedic effect, but I’m not sure this is always helpful.
Unfortunately, Thomas Day commits some of the same sins he criticizes in the book: he oversimplifies and creates binaries in the same way the people he criticizes do. The main place he does this is in his discussions about lighting and amplification. He creates an all or nothing binary (insanely loud over-amplification vs no amplification, overly bright lights vs no lights) rather than advocating for a tasteful use of lighting and amplification. PA Speakers have volume knobs, and lights have dimmers, and there’s no reason people couldn’t tastefully use them.
Day also imputes arrogance onto priests and cantors in a bit of a reckless way; there must be some priests who aren’t simply arrogant tyrants, and there must be some soloist cantors who aren’t egotistical failed musicians who want to punish their audience. Day oversimplifies his opponent, often with great comedic effect, but I’m not sure this is always helpful.
October 15, 2022
I had long heard of this as one of the classic books since the 90s on the Catholic sacred music scene. Indeed, the historical perspective on Catholic sacred music in America he provides is very important and needed in order to understand how we got to where we are. And many of the author's assessment and criticisms about the problems in sacred music today I would agree with. However, oftentimes, it seems that his writing is imbued with the same kind of toxicity that you find in a video comments section of a performance on YouTube. For example, if he were only able to criticize the overuse of microphones once, rather than having this complaint be a recurring theme, the book would already but much better. Surely, there is much to complain about in the culture of sacred music, but pages upon pages of complaining I think does little to help and honestly makes for quite boring reading. All in all, for those interested in sacred music I think it is worth skimming through to take from it what is useful and insightful, especially concerning the historical perspective. However, I don't find it to be the must-read "classic" that my impression of it was beforehand.
September 24, 2024
A fascinating exploration into the history of music within the North American Roman Catholic Church, shedding light on the cultural and liturgical changes that have shaped Catholic worship. Before reading, I was unaware of the complex history behind music in the Church, particularly the shift in styles post-Vatican II. Day’s analysis provided invaluable insight into how this transformation affected not only the quality of music but also the overall experience of Catholic liturgy.
Despite the decades since this book’s publication, his observations about the uninspiring nature of much contemporary liturgical music are still painfully accurate. The sense of disconnect between the tradition of sacred music and the more modern, often banal, music heard in many parishes today rings true. Day’s critical examination of these changes invites readers to reconsider how Catholic worship could be revitalized by reconnecting with its rich musical heritage.
For anyone curious about the decline of musical quality in the post-Vatican II Catholic Church or frustrated with the lack of depth in many modern liturgies, this book remains highly relevant—even 35 years later.
Despite the decades since this book’s publication, his observations about the uninspiring nature of much contemporary liturgical music are still painfully accurate. The sense of disconnect between the tradition of sacred music and the more modern, often banal, music heard in many parishes today rings true. Day’s critical examination of these changes invites readers to reconsider how Catholic worship could be revitalized by reconnecting with its rich musical heritage.
For anyone curious about the decline of musical quality in the post-Vatican II Catholic Church or frustrated with the lack of depth in many modern liturgies, this book remains highly relevant—even 35 years later.
June 18, 2018
Great book. Not what I expected. Better than I expected because it is a history of American Liturgical Music that is told in a simple and humorous way. How many books get praised by both First Things and Andrew Greeley. This one. I suspect that most Catholics do not know how the Irish struggle with Protestant England has led to bad American hymnody. In the Americas. Vatican II was actually an effort in part to cure this stoicism. Only Day with his expanse of experience could write about how the recent wave of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Reformed folk music is actually stripping the fear of God, the worship, out of the people. If every music director in the country read this book with an open mind the people would have appropriate music to express fervor and there would be no Grand Finales out of the music loft or pit.
June 22, 2018
1. This book is almost 30 years old, consequently all the "new" song the author hates so much are the ones I grew up singing at church. I've never had a problem singing them. 2. He might be right about dumbing down the music. Every time we have a first communion preparation mass, we toss out our regular songs for Jesus Loves Me and This Little Light of Mine. 3. He wavers in his opinions to issues about women's role in the mass and the priest shortage, and seems to blame those issues on our attitudes about music. Conclusion: I'm still not sure if I agree, or if I liked it.
June 23, 2021
Overall, a good book with good insights. A valuable (and rare) perspective that spans the Council without getting pulled into one polemical extreme or the other. Conclusions fall along the same lines of moderation, something that helped me as a pastor to approach this question in a way that was less polarizing to my parish.
My primary criticism is that it is not really a tightly organized book. Lots of spiraling back to different topics. Had it been a little more direct, I would have enjoyed it even more.
My primary criticism is that it is not really a tightly organized book. Lots of spiraling back to different topics. Had it been a little more direct, I would have enjoyed it even more.
August 9, 2021
The author does a lot of griping - people with similar gripes about the state of music in Catholic churches will probably find it humorous. It seemed like more ink was spilled over pointing out what the author finds wrong than with casting a vision of what could be. However, I found some historical realities Day relays to provide helpful insight into the musical culture of American Catholics, and I 100% agreed with his observations about the seeming abhorrence of professional musicians in many parishes.
August 31, 2017
Laugh out loud funny, readable by anyone, and essential for American Catholics.
July 31, 2018
Highly recommended for seminarians, priests, parish staff and volunteers.
January 21, 2020
Very funny. Very insightful. Looking forward to reading the revised edition!!
July 2, 2024
This is just post-Vatican II haterade from a man who wants us all to sing in quarter notes, I guess, had to DNF
November 3, 2025
The author is sassy!
August 3, 2011
A great book, although one that tends to beat around the same few points for almost 200 pages. The thesis is that factors such as "Mr. & Ms. Caruso" singing on a microphone and drowning out the congregation and organ discourage parishioners from singing. In addition, the "contemporary" or "folk" music which has become popular since Vatican II has contributed to the downfall of participation and of good church music. He raises these and other valid points in a sometimes amusing manner, for example when talking about "Mr. Nice Guy," a priest who begins Masses with "Good Morning" rather than "The Lord Be with you" or with the sign of the Cross, the author writes "There is, however, every reason to believe that liturgical rapport, especially right at the beginning of Mass, turns worship into an ecclesiastical version of Hello Dolly." If you are a Catholic who wants good music in worship you have a few options: the first is to find one of the few churches that have great church music, or leave and go to an Episcopal Church with good music, or you can rip out the pages of the appendix and circulate them to your priest and parish council so they can start having good music at church!
February 25, 2012
Written about 20 years ago, but still relevant today. An excellent book on the deplorable state of music in today's Catholic churches. I was absent from Catholicism for almost 30 years and returned to find the same awful post-Vatican II honey-sweet, Godspell, Woodstock, campfire music that they were singing when I left. It's this way in virtually every Catholic church I have visited since coming back to the Church. Either this kind of music, or the band performing in front of the Church rather than the people worshipping God.
What is not mentioned in the book is that the same thing is occurring in a LOT of Protestant churches too. Worship replaced by entertainment.
For an excellent review of the book, check out http://bit.ly/boRhxj
What is not mentioned in the book is that the same thing is occurring in a LOT of Protestant churches too. Worship replaced by entertainment.
For an excellent review of the book, check out http://bit.ly/boRhxj
January 24, 2023
Having gone to a parish with excellent music (all the chanting), despite the attention-hogging music director, and gone to a parish with almost non-existent music (with what music there is being Dan Schutte's My Little Pony Mass...), I can say that the author is still mostly correct, 30 years after publication.
You can't please everybody all the time, but good, liturgically correct music that is easy to sing will please more folks than contemporary stuff with verses and choruses and repeats and a strange bridge between the second repeat of the second verse and the third chorus.
Just chant.
You can't please everybody all the time, but good, liturgically correct music that is easy to sing will please more folks than contemporary stuff with verses and choruses and repeats and a strange bridge between the second repeat of the second verse and the third chorus.
Just chant.
January 13, 2013
Very enlightening. He has a very different perspective that I never considered regarding how people think about the Liturgy. I never considered that a loud cantor at a microphone is discouraging. He moves into other topics, such as the priest being more than a presider at the Mass. A very staunch conservative viewpoint, but one worth listening to nonetheless. While I don't entirely agree with him, some of his points have merit. I'd recommend it to anyone involved in Liturgical music just to let them hear his perspective.
May 28, 2008
I couldn't finish it. Not that it wasn't interesting but at the time I really have been wanting to read stories with plots.
Father Larry used it in one of our discussions on music in the liturgy and the musical history of the Church.
Father Larry used it in one of our discussions on music in the liturgy and the musical history of the Church.
August 2, 2011
Excellent, double A++ good.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in catholic hymnody, music ministry, liturgical renewal, or to anyone that has anything to do with planning/preparing liturgy.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in catholic hymnody, music ministry, liturgical renewal, or to anyone that has anything to do with planning/preparing liturgy.
January 29, 2016
Hymn singing is done in lots of denominations, and most do it well. But this seems not to be the case in some Roman Catholic churches. This book answers the titular question, and it turns out, there's an historical reason that continues to inhibit RC worship in this area. Recommended!
October 1, 2010
Haven't read this in several years, but I remember finding it very intriguing after a college professor mentioned it.
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