Sing out loud and clear

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

The National Association of Pastoral Musicians is at it again.

Last year, the association of church musicians ran an online survey asking Catholics what their favorite liturgical song is. The top choice of the 3,000 people who took part in the poll was "On Eagle's Wings" by Fr. Jan Michael Joncas, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and an associate professor in the departments of Theology and Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

This year, the organization is conducting an online survey to learn what gets Catholics to sing in church. The survey on its website, www.npm.org, offers a choice of 13 reasons why someone sings at Mass and the old standby, "other (please specify)."

Choices - respondents can choose more than one - include "something I can sing by heart," "familiar melody," "easy to sing," "enthusiasm of the congregation," "leadership of cantor or director," "contemporary song" and "traditional song."

The survey will be online through Dec. 31. Results will be posted in early 2007 on the website and in Pastoral Music, its membership journal.

Here's your chance to tell church musicians what makes you sing and possibly affect what's sung in your parish.