Upon trying soda for the first time: "Mmm, it has sparkles for my mouth!... MORE!!!!"
Canned tomato soup: "It tastes like ketchup!"
Beer: Ha ha, just kidding!!!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Vocal chord stretching
I miss singing; not that I don't sing all the time (much to the chagrin of my daughter), but I miss doing formal music with a choir. So, when a couple of my friends decided to join a group that will be performing Handel's Messiah in May, I was really excited! Unfortunately, I missed the audition a couple of weeks back due to a scheduling conflict, and I was nervous that they either had enough women singers or wouldn't let me sing because I simply hadn't tried out. However, after receiving a glowing recommendation from my friend, the conductor invited me to sing in the soprano section. I'm technically more of a mezzo than a true soprano, but I figured I could do it. I've sang Unto Us a Child Is Born and (of course) the Hallelujah chorus, and I've seen Messiah performed several times, so I'm familiar with the piece.
The next hurdle was finding someone to babysit. Having to pay a babysitter occasionally so hubby and I can go out is fine, but every week would prove to be a bit costly. The rehearsals are in the evening, but on the same night my husband teaches class at the seminary, so there is about a two and a half hour gap between the time I leave and the time he gets home. I was praying about what to do when I got an e-mail from a friend who offered to watch our kids every week so that I could go to practice. What a providential gift!
Then, I printed out the PDF file that was our music score. Holy cow, there are CHORAL arrangements that go this high?! I'm used to solo parts for soprano easily going up into the stratosphere, but a choral group? Almost every song hits an A above high C, and there are a couple that even go to a B (for you non-musical people, that's at the tippy-top of my range). And I am SOOOO out of practice, it's not even funny. First I was praying that, like, five altos would get sick and David (our conductor) would be begging me to sing alto, but alas, no such luck. So, I just stood between two really good singers and mouthed the higher notes. Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing is in HEBREW??!!! It's not as bad as it sounds -- the music is written phonetically to accommodate us poor non-Hebrew speakers (of which there are quite a few), but I still find myself tripping over phrases and mispronouncing words while practicing at home. However, I was pleased to discover that the choir group is good but not great, so I'm actually in my element here.
My goal this week is to make a habit of doing vocal warm-ups every day to try to get my voice back into shape. I need to be able not only to hit the high notes, but also to make the jumps from chest voice to head voice and land on pitch, which can be rather difficult at times! Despite all this, I am really looking forward to doing this piece. If you pass by my house this week, you'll probably hear me belting out parts of Messiah!
The next hurdle was finding someone to babysit. Having to pay a babysitter occasionally so hubby and I can go out is fine, but every week would prove to be a bit costly. The rehearsals are in the evening, but on the same night my husband teaches class at the seminary, so there is about a two and a half hour gap between the time I leave and the time he gets home. I was praying about what to do when I got an e-mail from a friend who offered to watch our kids every week so that I could go to practice. What a providential gift!
Then, I printed out the PDF file that was our music score. Holy cow, there are CHORAL arrangements that go this high?! I'm used to solo parts for soprano easily going up into the stratosphere, but a choral group? Almost every song hits an A above high C, and there are a couple that even go to a B (for you non-musical people, that's at the tippy-top of my range). And I am SOOOO out of practice, it's not even funny. First I was praying that, like, five altos would get sick and David (our conductor) would be begging me to sing alto, but alas, no such luck. So, I just stood between two really good singers and mouthed the higher notes. Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing is in HEBREW??!!! It's not as bad as it sounds -- the music is written phonetically to accommodate us poor non-Hebrew speakers (of which there are quite a few), but I still find myself tripping over phrases and mispronouncing words while practicing at home. However, I was pleased to discover that the choir group is good but not great, so I'm actually in my element here.
My goal this week is to make a habit of doing vocal warm-ups every day to try to get my voice back into shape. I need to be able not only to hit the high notes, but also to make the jumps from chest voice to head voice and land on pitch, which can be rather difficult at times! Despite all this, I am really looking forward to doing this piece. If you pass by my house this week, you'll probably hear me belting out parts of Messiah!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Sweetest "Selfish" Prayer
Last night our home group met for the first time this year. As all of us are in Christian ministry, we had a wonderful devotion about the extra pressures that are upon us as leaders in the church, and also what our "identity in Christ" is supposed to look like. We didn't come away with any clear-cut answers, but it was a wonderful time of reflection, as well as some praise music, which is one of the main things I miss doing in English -- corporate worship.
During our prayer request time, one of the people there (who is visiting from another country) was sharing his prayer request. He is an older man, probably in his mid to late sixties, and his was simple: "I want to live a longer life." When he expanded on that, he told us that he didn't come to know the Lord until about ten years ago, and he HADN'T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO SERVE JESUS. "I know it sounds selfish, but I love serving the Lord in any capacity, and I want Him to continue using me to bless others in the church." You could see the joy in his face as he talked about serving in the church, and it wasn't about him at all; it was about his love for his Savior.
What a beautiful "selfish" prayer.
During our prayer request time, one of the people there (who is visiting from another country) was sharing his prayer request. He is an older man, probably in his mid to late sixties, and his was simple: "I want to live a longer life." When he expanded on that, he told us that he didn't come to know the Lord until about ten years ago, and he HADN'T HAD ENOUGH TIME TO SERVE JESUS. "I know it sounds selfish, but I love serving the Lord in any capacity, and I want Him to continue using me to bless others in the church." You could see the joy in his face as he talked about serving in the church, and it wasn't about him at all; it was about his love for his Savior.
What a beautiful "selfish" prayer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)