technology and CDs and such.......

[Nick Baty]

And now I've read it all properly and have seen that others have already said what I said. I will away to my virginal divan.

[keitha]

Nick should not feel shy about re-expressing earlier ideas. They often bear repetition, and he does it so entertainingly!

I have to admit that I find animators a real distraction. I do, however, find that there is more congregational willingness to join in when there is a booklet or music sheet with the melody lines in it where the congregation is expected to join in. Even people who cannot read music have told me that they find it useful because (a) they know that they are expected to sing, (b) they know when to sing and (c) the melody line does provide clues as to what the music is doing and where it is going!

For the technically minded (how about this for an attempt to get back to the original thread?), the booklets and Sunday music sheets that we use are typed in Word 2007, and the music is pasted in from Finale PrintMusic 2009, which is nothing like the cost of Sibelius and others, works a treat and is supported by a very helpful telephone help desk (we got on first name terms in my first few weeks!). The final print quality is excellent. I got PrintMusic for around £75 (including next day courier delivery) from Northern Music in Pontefract, who were also very helpful (http://www.northernmusic.uk.com).

[Nick Baty]

I have to admit that I find animators a real distraction.

In which case they're not doing it properly!

[Southern Comfort]

I have to admit that I find animators a real distraction.

In which case they're not doing it properly!

Yes.

Additionally, there are also some people who seem to have an inbuilt aversion to anyone other than the priest taking on any kind of leadership role in the liturgical assembly. In one parish that I know, this means that no one ever knows when to start singing, because it's not clear from the intro that the organist/pianist plays. It's a mess.

The congregation that sings together prays together.

[Nick Baty]

Hear! Hear!
Where's Bill Tamblyn – the father of modern cantors – when you need him?