Community Singing in America

Where do Americans sing?  Footballs fans ( a few) will sing the National Anthem.  Baseball fans sing at the seventh inning stretch.  Soccer fans (other than American) sing all the time.  Fans at concerts sing a popular song or two, but only when invited to do so. Kids sing in school, usually in music class or choir.  I have lost touch with what kids sing in school these days.  Do families still sing on car trips, or are all the family members engaged with their own ear buds?

And who would be considered the greatest American song-leader of my lifetime?  My first thought was Mitch Miller.  His TV show "Sing Along with Mitch" made him a household name from 1961-1964.  My second thought was Cliff Barrows. As song leader for the Billy Graham Crusades he lead millions in song for over 60 years.  Of course, I couldn't betray my Winona Lake roots by not mentioning Homer Rodeheaver, even though he was from an earlier time (1910-1930).

In 1977 I won my church denomination's national song leading award.  That's right, I was a nationally recognized church song leader by the time I was in 10th grade.  I remember that there were rules to follow.  You had to announce the song as hymn number, not page number, because hymnals frequently had more than one hymn per page.  You had to introduce the song with some meaningful remarks that were clear, but not to long.  Handling the transitions between hymns was a big deal.  And if you had the congregation stand to sing, you had to remember to ask them to be seated at the end.  You could hold the hymnal with one hand and conduct with the other, or put the hymnal on the pulpit and conduct with both hands, which was recommended for larger groups.

At some point churches went from having song leaders to having worship leaders.  The emphasis moved from the song to the response to the song.  And it is now preferred that you not "wave your hands in the air" but use them to play an instrument, preferably guitar.

Yesterday I did a performance at a retirement home with the Dayton Accordion Band.  In that group, we still do sing alongs.  I've only recently taken over the role of song leader with the group.  Now I lead singing while wearing a rather large accordion.  This isn't easy.  But it was instinctive to give the group cues for coming in and cut offs at the end of songs.  The group sang, by memory, some of the same songs they used to sing with Mitch Miller.  And they love singing patriotic numbers like America, the Beautiful.  But this generation sang those songs together in school.  They had a shared communal musical experience.

I wonder if there will be any kind of sing alongs in 20 years.  Will people feel comfortable singing in public? Will they have any shared songs?  I was surprised last year at my daughter's wedding.  At the end of the reception she and her friends all joined together and belted out a rousing rendition of ...wait for it... Piano Man.  That song was released  about ten years before they were born.  I don't think they knew all the verses, but they enjoyed singing the chorus.  And, yes, there was alcohol involved.

Audience Participation

Last night I went to a music recital/art show opening at Wasson Music Center and Synesthesia Gallery.  The musician was a talented pianist named Kareem Powell from Miamisburg, OH.  The featured visual artist was his brother.  His sister, a talented singer/pianist in her own right, was there.  The parents of this talented family were also in the audience.  Kareem had been playing for about an hour and I sensed he was at a transition point.  He looked like he was thinking about what to play next, so I asked him if I could try a little bit of improvisation.  He said yes, but he looked a little nervous.  I asked the audience to name a significant event.  Someone said "Graduation."  I turned to Kareem and said, "Close your eyes and think about how you are going to play this."  Then I turned back to the audience and asked them to describe a graduation in three words.  They responded with "exciting," "too long", and "sad."  I looked back at Kareem and said, "Okay, play it."

Kareem paused for just a few seconds , then started to play.  He improvised an arrangement of Pomp and Circumstances, but brilliantly played it in a minor key.  I wouldn't have tried this with just anyone, but I knew Kareem had the chops to pull it off.

My purpose was to explore what would happen if the level of audience participation in the musical event was increased.  The result was the performance of a new musical work that neither the artist nor the audience would have come up with on their own.  I felt that the dynamics of the event were also hanged.  The rest of the evening took on the feel of a family sharing music in their own living room.  There was conversation before and after each song.  Requests were made and performed.  Kareem and his sister began using phrases like, "you know what we ought to do" and "let's try this."  You would have to survey the audience to determine if the event was improved, but the increased audience particpation definitely changed it.  I think it made it more enjoyable for everyone that was there.