RUCKER, from pg. 28 Audio: Choir sings – Cry Out and Shout opening
What you just heard was a group of individuals working together and gathering of teenagers being a part of something greater than themselves. Humans make a common sacrifice for each other for the art and hopefully for you and me. They shared a small selection of a piece of art that hopefully included all the technical aspects of music: pitch, the rhythmic accuracy, blend and balance, tuning, ensemble precision and countless more criteria. The pursuit of perfection is unattainable, but builds character and strengthens the connection from person to person. It’s worth more than just an ‘A.’ To achieve an ‘A’ you can miss a few problems on the test. There is room for a couple errors here and there. So what does that look and sound like in the choir? Each member will now work for just an ‘A.’ They are permitted to make a mistake or two; miss an entrance, create and imbalance, sing one or two wrong notes…you get the picture, right? So here is what an ‘A’ sounds like.
Audio: Choir starts –
Interesting right?! If each person makes a simple miscalculation or plots their voice slightly higher or lower than the written pitch, or sings a word without lining up the proper
vowel...this is the result. However, it’s still an ‘A’ for each individual. Only one or two problems were missed and an ‘A’ is what we mark as significant achievement, correct?
I grew up in an extremely supportive household. Education was held in high regard by both my mom and dad. My sibling and I were all charged with the goal of all ‘A’s and ‘B’s. Most of the time we worked hard to earn these grades. However, what my parents were accepting from us on our grade card would sound quite unacceptable on the stage. Out of 100 possible points you can miss 20 and still earn a ‘B.’ So if the choir misses more than a handful of musical aspects here is what you get.
Audio: Choir starts –
You can begin to see the pieces of this musical puzzle coming apart. However, as a society we say that being average in your education is enough to move you on to the next level. You can earn a ‘C’ in each of your courses or assignments and still move on to the next. We accept this average as our standard. So what does average look like in a choir?
Audio: Choir starts-
Even a person who claims to have no formal training in music can acknowledge how this most recent performance was subpar. Yet by our grading standards we ask our students and our children to strive for is just that! Now we can begin to see how music and singing can require a larger level of excellence. Beyond the technicalities of the black and white on the page, more is owed. I used to think more was due to the music, but quickly found through teaching, we owe it to each other to create beauty in this oftentimes discouraging world around us. We owe it to each other to share beyond our comfort zone. We owe to each other to step into the shoes of another, to breathe into a foreign circumstance, to adventure to the depths of true sorrow, and to the heights of pure joy… to exalt, praise and love without restriction or reservation. When we permit ourselves to this grade of performance, this grade of work, this grade of living…the results can be breath taking.
Audio: Choir sings entire song
When the collective of the human spirit is not only open, but working towards a common goal. There is no letter grade, no percentile, no rubric on this earth than can quantify our work.
summer 2017 |
www.mmea.net
41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
