New from Word on Fire
A two-volume Catholic guide to cultivating a home full of song, by Andrew Goldstein & David Clayton. Releases November 2026.
Imagine your home full of song…
Musica Domestica is a two-volume resource that ignites song in the domestic church once again. This is the first publication ever to provide families with the practical wisdom and patient encouragement to sing the full body of music available to the domestic church: chant, hymns, praise songs, folksongs, secular songs from a Catholic worldview, and—most importantly—the psalms & canticles. This is not simply theory or catechesis, but a relearning of an essential human expression: to be united, as a family, through music. In the words of Maria Von Trapp, “A family which sings together, plays together, and prays together usually stays together.”
We have provided this resource-driven website to help you create a culture of song in your home.
A Library of Resources…
Go beyond the pages of Musica Domestica with recordings, videos, and supplemental resources.
Exclusive instructional videos featuring Andrew Goldstein and David Clayton, teaching how to incorporate music into your household
Course material on topics like how to sing psalms & canticles, a practical guide on pointing, and the basics of reading Gregorian chant notation
Playlists and digital downloads for each season of music in Musica Domestica … (available with access code from the book!)
Community gatherings with fellow book readers
And much more inside!
Our Story
One night, I sat with my eldest daughter to read Little House on the Prairie. As we read these words, “Laura lay awake a little while, listening to Pa’s fiddle softly playing and to the lonely sound of the wind in the Big Woods”, my daughter turned to me and asked, “Can you play music while I go to sleep?” Truthfully, I found myself without an answer. As a professional musician myself, I should have had every tool needed to bring music into my family’s day-to-day life. Yet I came up short on any resource that empowered me to do that, not only as a musician but as a Catholic father. So, David Clayton and I set to work to create what we ourselves needed. — Andrew Goldstein, co-author
When Andrew described to me his vision for Musica Domestica and asked me if I wanted to work with him by contributing a pointed psalter and psalm tones for the family, I was excited. I knew immediately that Musica Domestica would be a gold mine for families and homes wanting to pray and sing together. Now, as a result, my hope is that we can all contribute constructively to the evangelization of the culture through song, prayer, and worship in the domestic church. — David Clayton, co-author
Upcoming Events
November 14
Book Release Party
South Bend, IN
Registration Link to Come
Current Season Playlist
A playlist of Ordinary Time (Pentecost to Midsummer) song selections from Word on Fire's book release "Musica Domestica" by Andrew Goldstein and David Clayton.
What People Are Saying
“Maria von Trapp, you’re going to love this: We’re singing our way through the liturgical year again! David and Andrew have developed a must-have book for our time. Packed with musical wisdom and practical know-how, the authors redirect Catholic culture away from passive music consumption and back toward communal song, the universal language of the human experience. Musica Domestica gives us the support we need to overcome our singing-out-loud insecurities so that daily life experiences become the melody for our devotion, prayers, and traditions. Exactly what I was looking for to sing and dance my way through the seasons.”
—Steffani Aquila, author of Festive Faith and founder of His Girl Sunday
“To paraphrase the Scripture: ‘For this book I have prayed!’ With a deep and abiding love for the liturgical calendar, the traditions of the Church, and liturgical living in the home, I know that my family should be doing more to incorporate music and song into our feast day celebrations and family prayer time. But no one would accuse me of having musical talent. Musica Domestica to the rescue! It’s a gentle and convincing pep talk on why we should sing, combined with a comprehensive and usable resource on how and when and what we should sing.”
—Kendra Tierney Norton, mother of ten, author of The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life
“In Musica Domestica, the reader will encounter not merely a handbook of song but an opportunity for restoring memory, culture, and a rightly ordered domestic life. Against the fragmentation and passivity of modern entertainment (and church music that slavishly imitates it), this work restores to practitioners the ancient Christian understanding that music belongs first to the household and the common Christian life. Rooted in the Catholic vision of truth, goodness, and beauty, Musica Domestica unites liturgical tradition, folk inheritance, and practical instruction with unusual clarity and charity. It is both learned and humane: an invitation for families to recover song as a source of joy, formation, fellowship, and ultimately, communion with God.”
—William Fahey, fellow and chancellor, Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
“Music is at the heart of culture. Musica Domestica puts forth a bold program to renew Christian culture through communal singing. Authors Goldstein and Clayton skillfully weave theology, history, and practical instructions for bringing spiritual song into your home and daily rhythm of life. The texts of inspired psalms, hymns, and canticles echo from three thousand years of authentic Western culture right into your living room! These songs resounded in the temple of King Solomon and all the temples of Christian worship. With Musica Domestica, these songs are brought to life again in the temple of our bodies.”
—Paul Rose, creator of Sing the Hours