Well, how DO you start
praying at the beginning of rehearsals when you should have done it that way all along? I thought about what our beginning
prayer needed to say: asking God to bless our music, our potential audience, our voices and our hearts. Hmmmm. . . .
That could make a rather nice song.
***"Lord, bless our music,
and each listening ear.
Lord, bless our voices;
keep our hearts in tune."
Within a few minutes
I'd added a tune and a three-fold "Amen" to these simple words. Then I looked at the "Amen" and realized that it
could be a vocal warm-up for our group. I added several vocally easy parts to the original that we could choose as the need arose. If I used
it correctly, it could help singers practice breathing, sight-reading, tuning, tonal quality, and expression.
When I was done writing
the "Warm-up Prayer" at my computer, I had a simple, prayerful tune for the main prayer words and a "Three-fold Amen" for
NINE different, but harmonizing, vocal parts. It was even possible to sing all nine parts at once--
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
although we would have to make a lot of progress before being able to sing more
than two or three. Anyway, that wasn't the intent of the "Warm-up Prayer"; it was supposed to BE our prayer. I
couldn't wait to try it with our group.
I brought out the music
for "Warm-up Prayer" at the very next rehearsal. Before playing it through, I mentioned that it was intended to be
a prayer, and that the first time we sang it through, we could close our eyes just as if it had been a spoken prayer. We sang
it through in unison a few times, and then we started adding or rotating the different "Amens" and working on the breathing
and dynamics.
Perhaps it was my imagination;
perhaps it was real. It seemed as though that rehearsal was more productive than usual. The choir members' voices were more
cohesive and I was able to function more efficiently. I was concentrating better and making fewer mistakes; I was also thinking
up better, more constructive and less insulting ways of pointing out choir members' mistakes.
I was more than thankful for the answer
to my prayer. The person in whom I saw the biggest improvement was myself.
To Be Continued. . .
Visit this website again soon for
Chapter 11.
Go back to
|
|
|
|
|
