10:17 a.m. - 2005-11-18
in perfect har-mo-ny
This morning I attended an event where I was forced to sing "Let There Be Peace On Earth" with my co-workers. That is an awkward song to sing in general, let alone with the people you work with. And clients!
I mean, I'm down with the message of the song. The "let it begin with me" part...I mean, that's right on. But. "With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow." ?? No. That part is bad. And then there are all of those uncomfortably high notes. And you have some people who kind of squeak them out sheepishly, people who won't sing them (both fine options, I think) and then you have the people who bust out with the operatic version "le-e-e-e-e-e-e-t-t-t-t- the-e-e-e-ee-e-rrrrrrrr be-e-e-e-e-e-e pea-e-e-e-eeeee-eeee-ce...." which makes the people around that person give that slightly wide eyed "whoa" look to each other.
And then there was the soloist. She sang some hymn I wasn't familiar with. Here's how I feel about a capella soloists. If you aren't really really good, DO NOT attempt to sing a difficult, complex song, with no music or back up singers in front of a silent room of 150 community leaders. Because if you do, the 150 community leaders will all need a visit to the chiropractor after sitting for a strained 4 minutes with every muscle tensed while you ride the fence that seperates "you might be kind of an ok singer" and "you are awful and I'm very embarrassed for you and whoever told you you should sing today."
Every note was an adventure. Anything could happen. It might be ok or it might be very flat. It might come out raspy and it might be strong and clear.
At one point, over halfway through the song, she started making gestures. I am not sure I can describe them. They weren't dance like, or even drama like. Nor were they what you might call interpretive. I think they were meant to distract everyone from the singing of the song.
The whole thing was a roller coaster ride. There is a group of people all experiencing the same thing, with virtually no control over what happens. You both love and hate it. There are the ups and the downs. Unexpected increases in speed. There is the part where you want to throw up. And you feel sort of dazed and abused at the end.
Now, having inflicted upon people my share of mediocre live performances, I think that I can confidently say, if things are going that bad, it's time to just shift gears and say "Everybody sing" as you go into the familar chorus to wrap things up.
But she didn't.
I think I might have figured out what the problem is though. Such individuals feel encouraged to sing again and again because of the applause at the end. See, everyone applauds partly out of politeness, but also because the end of the song allows everyone to relax their jaws and unclench their fists and that is cause for celebration.
