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I’ll never forget my “Aha!” moment in the first church choir I ever sang in.
The rural church our family attended extended special permission for me to serve in the adult choir (even though I was a high school student). I suppose I evidenced a strong desire to be involved musically. In fact, I was playing the piano occasionally for offertories ever since I was in elementary school, and if our church pianist was out of town, I would get to fill in.
I sat in the tenor section and faithfully attended every rehearsal and service with the 20 or so voices that served in this small volunteer choir. I have a lot of fun memories from my first choir experience. I met a lot of new people, learned a lot of great music, and grew musically as a result.
But I’ll never forget the rehearsal when my friend leaned over, pointed to the tenor line, and graciously said, “Look, James. This is the tenor line. Everyone in our section sings these notes.” (My friend was older and had more choral experience than I did.) I’m sure my response was something like, “Yeah, yeah. I know.” But as the rehearsal continued, I began to realize for the first time ever that there was indeed a tenor line, and that all of us in the tenor section actually sang those notes. And, combined with the rest of the choir, this actually made a good sound.
Then I realized that for months I had been singing whatever I thought sounded good. I payed attention to the lyrics, but was unaware that the tenors had their own notes. So it made me think: Was I singing the melody all this time? Was I making up a harmony part? What had I been singing, and did it really sound good? With that came the realization that my friend had been patiently trying to show me this for as long as I had been in choir. I just didn’t get it—until now.
I’m glad for the lesson of “the tenor line.” Here are a few thoughts from this experience:
Ignorance is bliss!
Is it possible to have an enjoyable experience, even when you don’t understand everything that’s going on? Sure it is. Many volunteer choir members don’t know how to sight read, are weak at aural skills, and don’t understand the many intricacies of expression. (We tend to call them “followers.”) That’s okay. In time they’ll learn what they need to be an effective choir member. And they will learn and grow and experience some “Aha!” moments in the process.
None of us has “arrived.”
No matter how much experience you may have, or what level of artistry you may exhibit, you can always learn more and grow. Especially when it comes to something as creative as music. And especially when it comes to church music. Maintaining a teachable spirit will save you a lot of head-aches. No matter how much you think you know, you still have more to know. Strive to be a gracious learner.
Be an inspiring mentor.
I’m so grateful for my friend who took the time to show me the tenor line. It opened a whole new world for me, and may have been the catalyst for the journey which has led me where I am today (a choir director). I want to show others the joys of the tenor line. I guess that’s one of the reasons I love the church volunteer choir so much. After all, I’m a product of it.
So what about you? When was your “Aha!” moment?
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Comments
James, “thank you” for your post. I experienced the same when I attempted to become a member of our church choir. I’ve never had any problems singing before, but for some reason I found myself experiencing great difficulty with our choir music. I believe part of this was a number of factors including the inability to sight read and a weakness at aural skills. I also seem to experience difficulty in hearing my part when singing with an orchestra versus just a piano. Anyway, I have foregone the idea of singing in the choir, and am now learning how to operate our lighting system which is computerized. I seem to have a love and a knack for anything “Geeky.” God is good!
Katie, you have a great spirit, and you bring up an excellent point. If it never really “clicks,” or you find numerous obstacles to growth and enjoyment in a particular ministry, it takes a lot of courage to “step down,” as it were, and begin looking for other areas to serve. Certainly self-evaluation and acquiring good counsel come into play here. Again, your spirit is great, and that’s what ultimately pleases God.
Although play the piano and years ago played the organ, I find it quite difficult to sing in our choir. Timing , reading the words and the music is a challenge for me — at least at my experience level. Our new choir director claims you do not have to read music to sing, but I would have to say that simply is not the case. Further, spending 10-15 minutes during practice on one anthem — and then 7 or 8 others durng a 1/1/2 hour practice once a week does not contribute well to really mastering anything. So mistakes are made and everyone is unhappy.