I have had the blessed opportunity to sing in/with several different choirs. From church choirs, pulling together willing voices to “make a joyful noise” unto the Lord (and sometimes it may be only joyful to the ears of God!) to fine choirs blending professional voices, or at least people with much musical training and ability. My voice fits more in the “church choir” category, but somehow I have been fortunate to be allowed to blend my voice into the more “professional” choirs and I have been richly blessed.
Choir rehearsals are times of repetition, fine tuning, listening to others’ voices and learning how to breathe. Much time is taken to go through each piece and “mark the breaths” – times when everyone breathes together. Often the director will say, “don’t breathe from here to here,” which often is an impossible request; or, they will say “stagger your breathing” so that we don’t breathe when anyone else is breathing. This gives the impression then to the listener as though no breath has been taken and the sound continues.
In life, as we blend our lives with others, there are times when we all need to collectively stop, take a breath, make an obvious pause, before the sounds of life continue. This can accentuate an experience, allow for reflection and learning, and give meaning to the words of life. It can define the moment or experience. Other times, we must just stagger our breaths, or notbreathe from “here to here,” focus, concentrate, endure, persevere, rely on everyone around to do their part, and the song of life flows seamlessly, without a break.
Singing with a choir, each voice can rely on others to blend the notes in harmony to create the music, supporting, contrasting, sometimes in unison, sometimes in four part or even eight part (or more) harmony. But when one sings alone, a solo voice, the music takes on a different flavor. The breaths, the pauses, must be taken and are more obvious. The quality of the singer’s voice is more evident and exposed. There is no one to support, to blend in with, to listen to, or harmonize with. The music can be lovely, poignant, profound, but a very different sound from the choir’s voice.
To fully understand and experience each song in life requires listening with open ears and open hearts. Oftentimes we hear more the tune than the lyrics. The musical notes “get stuck in our heads” – a musical phrase mindlessly repeating itself like a broken record. But when we really listen to the music of life, we will comprehend the message. The tune will resonate in our bones, in our souls. The breaths and the pauses accentuate and define the value of the notes, the expressions, emotions and passion. The volume and vibration push the air and we feel their effects on our skin and in our hearts. And we experience more clearly the meaning of life.
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