Music at "Youth" masses

I like to sleep in on Sundays, so we sometimes go to a local parish that has a 5 PM mass. The 5 PM mass generally has no music (except some acapella mass parts), but today there was a "choir". The "choir" consisted of about 8 highschool girls, one middle-aged woman (most likely the leader) and a highschool boy playing the keyboard. They did an entrance "hymn" (Shine Jesus, Shine) and a recessional "hymn" (Lord I Lift Your Name on High) and that was about it. No mass parts, no alleluia, no gloria. The music was, quite frankly, not good. The guy knew how to play keyboard; but the accompaniment was pretty lackluster, the vocals were lackluster, and the congregational participation was lackluster. You can tell how I would describe it as a whole.

As we were leaving the Church I saw a poster for the church's "Youth Mass", which happened to be the mass I was just at. This set me to thinking about the choice of music for the mass. Clearly, some people in authority think that having Church songs (I can't really bring myself to call them hymns) from the '80s that have somewhat catchy pop-like melodies (and ridiculous hand motions) brings youth to mass. In a way they're right. The LifeTeen movement has had a decent amount of success bringing young people to the Church using catchy pop-like songs. There are three problems here though that pastors and youth ministers don't seem to understand:

1) It's very difficult to do this music "well". I have been to many parishes that have music like this regularly and there have been probably only 2 or 3 where the music actually sounds good. It takes a lot of practice and a dedicated group of actual musicians to play this music well. You can't just grab the guy in youth group who has had 4 years of piano lessons, grab a few of the girls in youth group who like to sing, give them some sheet music and tell them to play. You need multiple instruments played well and some people who can sing harmonies. Otherwise it just sounds boring (even if played loudly, noise can be boring too).

2) The congregation normally doesn't know the music. This problem can stem from a lot of areas. Lack of hymnals or "worship aids", little regularity in song choices, but most importantly lack of interest. A lot of people simply aren't interested in singing at mass at all, or will only sing if it's a song everyone knows. They want their voices to be drowned out, so they're not willing to take a chance on something only a few people are singing. As such, it can be very tough to get a foot in that door. Also, a lot of the people who normally sing the hymns at mass are not interested in that guitar stuff and don't really know how to sing to it. Finally under this point, often it seems as though the group doesn't WANT people to sing. This music lends itself more to showmanship than the typical organ music, and if the group is performing your average congregation member does not want to detract from their performance.

3) Praise and Worship music will never be as good as popular music. Let me explain. The whole point of developing the genre of Praise and Worship music is that it appeals to people by emulating popular music. The song structure and instruments are designed to appeal to a younger crowd, in part by being like the music they might normally listen to for fun. The problem here is that Praise and Worship will never be as musically appealing as popular music. Popular music is churned out by a multi-billion dollar industry that has immense power. Praise and Worship music has nowhere near the amount of resources or talent to propel it forward. The one thing it does have going for it is that it is Christian (at least in name, not all the songs are actually Christian), so it can be played at Church.

The end result of all of this is that Praise and Worship music generally winds up being boring to those it is trying to appeal to - the youth. Why would they seek out music they find boring when they can easily access all of the awesome (to them) bands that all of their friends like?

I know many people who are actively trying to improve Praise and Worship music so that it can be more effective. While I appreciate the fact that they are trying to help the Church and Christianity in general, I do believe that their efforts would be better spent elsewhere. To be successful in bringing people (including youth) to mass, we need to focus on that which makes us unique, that which sets us apart. In business terms, the Church needs to occupy a niche. Praise and Worship music is not the answer.

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Side note: this post does not address a few things, such as whether it is actually wrong to have Praise and Worship music at mass or not. Another item I may blog about is what the answer actually may be. There are lots of thoughts I have about Liturgy, though I am not someone who is incredibly knowledgeable on this subject.

Further side note: my musical credentials when it comes to the Liturgy: at mass I have played accompaniment on the piano, hammered dulcimer in a "contemporary choir", guitar in a Catholic rock band, sang bass and tenor in a choir, and chanted in a schola.