Thursday, April 25, 2013

"I Hope You'll Make Them Sing"

Last night, we attend my daughter's choir concert. At certain points, the amazing music teacher instructs the audience to sing along.

It was a packed house--standing room only--so when we weren't quite loud enough, we had to sing again. We were timid, self-conscious, and unsure of ourselves.

Not for long.

At the end of the performance, the music teacher tells us of a conversation she had with her friend prior to the concert. He says about the audience, "Well, with that many people altogether, I hope you'll make them sing."

Of course! When a group of people gather, it's only natural to invite them to sing. Why wouldn't we? It suddenly seemed so obvious: we're here, so let's sing!

We loved it. Hundreds of parents, grandparents, siblings, community members, teachers, and our principal (who took a million photographs) sang a Beatles song at the top of their lungs, throwing their hands in the air.

It was so loud around me that I didn't care that I was completely out of tune. With that many people singing, it just all blends together into one beautiful thing.

It made me consider another aspect of building community: singing.

We were singing together, and I wished for more.

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When was the last time, other than church or a birthday party, did you sing with a group of people?


1 comment:

Mark said...

I used to sing to senior citizens in retirement communities and they would sing along with the old songs. I tried to get back into it and now it's become a cut throat, money making business.. Sad : (