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What kinds of classes are possible?
Level I | Level II | Level III | Beyond?
For Directors, Accompanists & Priests:
Cantor Care & Management
Workshops | More
Each course is designed to be held in five or six 2½-hour evening or weekend classes.
In each level, cantors study voice, liturgy and putting it together in practice. In vocal technique sessions, students discover their vocal potential, develop good breathing habits, and increase body awareness. In liturgy sessions, students examine liturgy through significant Church documents and reflect on how these guidelines are applied to our liturgical practices.
Level I: Basic Cantor Skills
Some of the questions addressed in this level include:
Liturgical:
- What is a cantor? / What does a cantor do?
- What does a cantor not do?
- Why do we need cantors?
- Does a cantor need to be visible?
- How does a person "do" cantoring?
Vocal/Technical:
- How do I breath effectively and efficiently for singing?
- How can I become more aware of how my body affects my singing?
- What can I do to excercise my voice?
- How do I maintain my vocal health?
- How do I deal with nerves?
- What's the difference between being a cantor and performing?
- How loud should my voice be?
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Level II: Further Cantor Skills
Some of the questions addressed in this level include:
Liturgical:
- Should the cantor lead anything more than the Psalm?
- When is a cantor necessary? Beneficial?
- How can I improve my gestures to communicate more clearly?
- What can I do to best encourage the singing of the assembly?
- What is the key to being a prayerful cantor?
- When / how do I move during the liturgy to avoid distracting others?
Vocal/Technical:
- How can I proclaim the Psalms more effectively?
- How do I use the microphone effectively?
- How can I improve my vocal tone quality?
- Can I increase the range of my voice?
- Why sing vocal excercises?
- How do I work with my aging voice?
- Can I cantor effectively while at the keyboard? Playing guitar?
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Level III: Cantor: Leader of Prayer
Some of the questions addressed in this level include:
Liturgical:
- What are the marks of good liturgy, and what is the cantor's role in practicing good liturgy?
- Do we really need cantors for weddings and funerals?
- Why should the cantor lead anything more than the psalm for weddings or funerals?
- Why use a cantor at baptisms, funeral vigils and graveside committals? Haven't we been doing just fine without them?
- How do I keep my ego from getting in the way?
Vocal/Technical:
- How do I realize more of the potential of my voice?
- What specific feedback can you give me to help me improve my vocal technique?
- How do I teach new music to the assembly?
- What should I be doing if training new cantors?
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Beyond?
Further work with experienced cantors can focus on specific health issues, clearer liturgical understanding, cantors in unusual circumstances, singing/leading without accompaniment, and other issues of interest to cantors.
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