Awkward and Awesome: Choir Edition
10:30 PM
Hey y'all!!!
In true spontaneous fashion, I'm here with my lil sis, Lilah (who blogs over at The Singing Writer!), and we're doing a collaboration post!!
In true spontaneous fashion, I'm here with my lil sis, Lilah (who blogs over at The Singing Writer!), and we're doing a collaboration post!!
Our last collab post was basically me flailing on the floor and Catherine picking up the pieces, but this time, i’m normal! (ish)
Notice the “ish” part.
*sticks tongue out at Catherine*
*snickers*
Anyways, we have decided to do another collab post together this week - An Awkward and Awesome post on “Being in Choir”.
You see, Lia and I are part of our respective church choirs and we’ve been passing around funny stories from choir every time we chat with each other. So, we figured, why not?
Anyway, let’s get into it!!!!!!
*drumroll*
Awkward
Almost knocking someone out with my choir bag….
When you are trying to find practice tracks for some of the songs - and all the YouTube covers are either the wrong tempo, or worse in the wrong key!
Singing a wrong note and the choir director makes eye contact with you.
When one section misses an entrance and “kidnaps” another section - causing major musical mayhem!
When you make sarcastic commentary and the person in front of you hears you and laughs…..
When your choir director misses a note and takes out the entire choir!
Sounding like a 40 year old smoker after singing Holy Week. (Or coughing like crazy after a long Mass….)
The temptation to run away, hide, cringe and cry when a person is practicing….and singing flat/sharp/horrible. Bonus points if it is a family member…..
When you practice a song so many times, you hear it in your sleep. And that’s annoying.
The eye rolls we get from the director if we make a mistake again after being lectured on the correct form for doing it the first time…..
Trying to take a drink of water and slamming your head into the organ pipes….
(only me, guys, only me)
When the choir director loses his pitch pipe (or in my case, tuning fork)
(lol, that happens all the time)
Music stands are your best friends. Or your worst enemy. Case in point, accidently punching your music stand while trying to count beats. (Or they dump things all over the floor. Or they get knocked together during Mass and make a horrible racket.) (AKA giant dominos)
When a soprano (or any) section is actually timid to sing out.
When you are convinced that the composer hated your section so much that he gave it the worst line imaginable.
When the electric keyboard that the choir director uses for practice is on the fritz/dying….and much banging on it is the only way that it works again…and maybe a muffled word from the director.
Not being able to see because you are in the back row…
The let’s-find-all-the-weird-hymns-in-the-hymnal game…
Why is the water all the way over on the other side of the choir loft?????
When your chapel has the WORST acoustics in the world (in spite of it’s small size) and the director has to have everybody sing loudly in order to have any kind of a decent sound….
Raise your hand if you feel like dying after hitting the high G note….(*raises timid hand*)
Awesome
When we hit that perfect “open fifth” or chord.
The last ringing note echoing in the church
When your choir director has a wonderful sense of humor. As well as several other members of the choir.
Water is your best friend
The beautiful music pieces (ex. Sicut Cervus, Jesu Rex Admirabilis)
Walking around the choir loft barefoot
(What????) (Its carpet, it’s fine)
The inside jokes!!!!!!
Messing up the song so horribly that the whole choir erupts into giggles
The very satisfied feeling after singing wonderfully.
Being known as the musical one in your family
Your musical knowledge expands practically every practice.
Music becomes your life
Receiving Holy Communion first before everyone.
Getting a bird’s eye view of the whole church
The camaraderie that everyone in the choir has with each other! Choir parties are the best ;). (Choir is a second family!)
And the best awesome of all….glorifying God through song!
Hope you enjoyed this post!
Now it’s your turn to talk! Are you part of a choir? Did we miss any awkwards or awesomes? Please share!!
With love,
Lilah and Catherine
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25 comments
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI just did choir at the Family Conference (I actually just did a post on it), and man... It was SO FUN!!!
My friend and I are both First Sopranos, and we got to hit the high A, that's always fun, although we're like "this better be a good day because we don't want to squeak!". It was so funny because right before choir performance, the choir is sitting on the rows with the lights off and all, quietly talking or whatever. My friend is trying to save her breath and regain her composure. I on the other hand need to warm up my voice even more (deadly high note), so I'm singing all the high songs I can think of, and singing old Irish tunes octaves higher... Quietly That was a fun moment. Then the lights come on... And we baked. It was so funny and embarrassing at the same time when my brain has melted by the last song and I get a jab from my friend with a warning look and I realize I was singing in THE MEN'S PART!!! Oops...
Ha ha!!! Choir rambling... CHOIR IS THE BEST!!!!!
astoryspinner.blogspot.com
YESSSS!!!!!!! That's what we the poor suffering first sopranos were saying PLEASE LED!!!!!!
DeleteI would 100% sign this petition.
DeleteAwkward:
ReplyDelete•People constantly dropping their choir binders at the same time every week and now it being deemed as, "well, it's that time again."
•The director forgetting to go over your section's part...
•Realizing that your section (the altos) always get the part that the composer literally doesn't even care about.
•Unexpected quartets....*hides*
Awesome:
•Choir frens!!!
•Pretty piano accompaniments that give you chills. <3
•Learning how to sing in all kinds of different languages. (seriously, I've sung in French, Chinese, Croation, Latin, Spanish, German, and even Hebrew! But I can't speak like...any of them, except a little Spanish...not well...)
Inside choir jokes are literally the best. My choir has so many it's insane, and all the baby freshman just think we're crazy lol.
Yeah, I'm an alto; a second alto, to be more specific. Lol, well sopranos are still special. ;)
DeleteI'm not nuts about other languages, but I did enjoy it.
Right? New members are just the cutest until they realize that they're next!
Of course, your post popped up in the feed on A Writer's Faith and - being a choir person - I clicked it. ;D
Awesome! Another second Alto! *Waves at new friend* :D
Delete*tackle hug you because that's how I roll* YES FINALLY, WE'VE FOUND EACH OTHER. Second altos unite!!!
DeleteRight? It's the little things that can be the best sometimes. <3
DeleteCOLLAB POST! COLLAB POST!
ReplyDeleteYAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
ReplyDeleteOh this post makes me miss being in choir! Wonderful job, you two!
ReplyDeleteYes! These are all so accurate and relatable that I won't start commenting on individuals becuase I'll have a mile-long list, haha. Choir is so much fun all around. =)
ReplyDeleteI think this is the first time I've looked around your blog, but I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed this post, and will be checking out some of your others. xx
Emily // a purpose and a promise
Yesssss I related with like every single one of those things!!! Our best singer (and one of our only altos) actually got married yesterday....the high Mass today didn`t go so well without her, sadly! :/ Haha there`s one awkward thing I can think of right off the top of my head....when a binder or book gets knocked off the ledge of the choir loft and makes a lovely resounding sound as it hits the floor below (and hopefully doesn`t hit anybody!!) that happens every so often for us!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteYeaaaa.... thankfully I have never done it but I`ve been around when other people have!
Love.This.
ReplyDelete:D I'd do one on my choir but as my conductor reads my blog (he's also one of my best friends and my organ/piano teacher) maybe not.. OOOhh I could get him to write it with me! There's an idea! :D
DeleteI've never been in choir, but I've been in orchestra for years, so I have plenty of funny stories myself. (Maybe I should do a post?) Anyway, these are great. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm totally being picky but the Choir does NOT receive Holy Communion before anyone else... Father and the Servers (AKA me) receive first :P
ReplyDeleteWhat we meant was that we receive it first of the laity. So there!
DeleteLilah
(well why didn't you say that in the first place????) Also to be honest the Severs (Unless they are ordained Deacons or Priests) are laymen..... PFTTTTTT Right back to you! ;)
DeleteCongregation. We receive it first of the congregation.
Delete:P
There you go! ;)
ReplyDeleteOH MY WORD I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD. THIS WAS AWESOME. XD XD XD
ReplyDeleteSpot. On. This is hilarious. :D
ReplyDeleteTotally! I am also in choir (or schola, I suppose, as I would be corrected), and I can identify with 99% of that (the only one I can honestly say I have never even gotten close to experiencing is banging my head on an organ trying to drink a glass of water. Sorry Lilah). ;P Haha, okay, actually, I never feel like dying after a high note - I feel like dying after low notes, though, constantly (because... I is a poor weakling soprano who prefers to stay above the staff where she is comfortable). You guys should do another one- this was hilarious! :'D
ReplyDelete