Special tribute to Kathy here: years ago I was sitting at my first to second chant workshop and I was completely puzzled about how the notes on a four-line staff worked. I was thoroughly confused about how to find the octave (making the usual mistake of trying to translation from 4 to 5 lines in my mind as I sang). She was just great. I told her of my problem and she quickly and non-disdainfully explained it, showed me about clefs and half steps and the like. It was about a 2 minute lesson and it changed everything for me. It opened up the whole world. I think about that moment often when I think of our obligation to teach and to be willing learners.
By the way, it is only one month and 18 days until the sacred music colloquium. It is very important that you register now. And why should you come? Because this is an area of life that you can directly influence and change for the better within your own parish. You have to have training, and then you can use this training to bring beauty to the world and evangelize for the faith. It is a high calling. It is also, I believe, an obligation we have to respond to that calling.
