So my oldest son is almost 12 and he knows how to sing (not sure if he can chant ) but i have been trying to find some elementary chant/sacred music courses...both the parishes we attend say he is too young to join the choir.

Anyone know of resources for me to help him develop and learn more about singing chant/sacred music.

We already learn hymns regularly, but I have a terrible voice so I'm not the best teacher. 

John Sharpe recently started teaching online Gregorian Chant Classes.  

$10/session | $75/quarter | $250/academic year | email in advance to register
PayPal or Venmo (BVF-John_Sharpe) | Cost is per sign-in (1 per family or student group)

Music in the West:
Appreciation, History, Theory & Practice
A distance-learning course for academies, co-ops, scholae, and individuals,
from the Catholic point of view, but open to all | 5th to 12th grades | 2022-23
Instructor Email Phone (cel)
CDR John Sharpe, USN (ret.) MusicClass@GregorianNoteBooks.IHSPress.com (757) 332-2074
General Information
Background
Music is arguably the most powerful of the arts; at its best it involves numerous others, such as drama,
architecture, print design, literature. It also implicates both mathematics and time, and mysteriously
comes in and out of being with each hearing or performance. Its special for Catholics is that, like so
many of the arts, it grew up in the bosom of the Church, shaping and shaped by her liturgy, and (at
least with respect to good music) transmits the intellectual and sentimental legacy of Greece and
Rome through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and subsequent periods. Moreover, its role in the lives of
young people has become disproportionate over the last three-quarter century. For these and other
reasons, a well-rounded cultural and moral life requires an ability to appreciate good music, which in
turn depends upon interaction with it in theory and practice – performing, singing, reading; knowing
its history, and gaining a familiarity with it so as to turn it from a stranger into a life-long friend.
Description
Students will be exposed to Gregorian chant – history, listening, singing, and reading its ancient (but
simple) notation. The course will likewise cover subsequent musical styles (and modern notation) of
the Renaissance, Restoration, Rococo, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary periods, up to but
exclusive of last and this centuries’ “pop” (though a critique of it will be offered in due course!).
Course Structure
The course has 33 weekly 1-hour sessions: Fridays 1:05 to 2:05pm from August 26, 2022, to June 2,
2023 (see calendar for days off). The sessions’ blocks – the Catholic (traditional) Liturgy, Gregorian
Chant, Music History & Appreciation, and Theory & Practice – will ensure basics are covered, e.g., how
to read modern and ancient music; theory for executing Gregorian chant and singing vocal works in
modern notation; the history of musical periods, and their key forms, styles, and compositions (with
listening to train the ear and gain appreciation for the great works). The blocks, though, are not rigid:
the spirit will be that of John Senior’s Integrated Humanities Program, applied to music, where
listening, studying, working, and performing are woven together in pursuit of a unified vision.
The first session (Friday, August 26) will work out logistics associated with on-line attendance,
submission and grading of work; introduce teacher and students; review course materials and
schedule; and survey students’ familiarity with music theory and practice. To the extent practicable,
theory work will be assigned to groups of students based on their levels of knowledge and experience.
For students whose participation is limited, the first quarter will “blaze” through music history and
concepts; the remaining three will expand on the first quarter’s outline, develop technical theory, and
refine singing execution. Moreover, individual sessions and quarters, while building on the preceding
ones, will offer something of independent value for those whose availability to attend class is limited.
Subsequent years of the course will cover similar fundamentals (for newcomers) but introduce varied
singing and listening repertoire, to minimize repetition, provide value for those required to take the
course several times in a row, and ensure a trajectory of progress across multiple academic years.
Auditors are welcome (at cost) to sit in on sessions without credit, completing assignments, or
reviewing course material. For even just partial credit, students should enroll for a full quarter.