Saturday 14 April 2007

Singing

I made an album once. Seriously.

When I was in high school, I was part of 2 school singing groups. Once was an all girl group called the Grace Notes. We wore dresses and sang and danced to popular tunes like Michelle by the Beatles and Moon River. The other was a choir made up of 50 boys and girls. We were called Acapella, mostly because many of our songs had no musical instrument accompaniment. We sang a lot of songs in Latin and 8 part choir songs. We sang at shows usually one for each school term.

One year we performed at the Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks Amphitheater which if you've never been you are missing out. I always take visitors to Colorado to this natural theatre and the acoustics are amazing. So much so that it is difficult to tell how loud you are singing because all sound is projected outwards. We performed the Hallelujah chorus and it was an incredible performance.

We made an album one year. I think it was my junior year. One side featured songs by Acapella and the other side had songs from both the Grace Notes and Serenaders which was the mixed boys and girls song and dance group. I wasn't good enough to be a part of them. the album was called Tuvey's Tunes after our teacher, Mr Tuveson and Looney Tunes (clearly we thought we were so clever).

I can still sing many of the songs on that album and sometimes I can't remember the melody, only the harmony because I was a second soprano and we typically sang the harmony.

I don't have the album anymore. Must haven't gotten misplaced in one of my many moves. I regret that. I have a friend, Susan Burrows, who proclaims to have the album now transferred on to CD but I've never gotten it out of her. Wish I could!

I am one of those people who love to sing. Loud and proud, regardless of tune. I might not even know all the words. I make them up. My children have both inherited this from me. Marc can sit in the car with one of his favourite songs blaring from the radio and his lips will not part. He won't even hum. Not me or our children. A song comes on the radio and all three of us are singing. Sebastian will sing to the radio to the most alarming of lyrics. One of his favourite bands right now is Scissor Sisters and one of his favourite songs is something about convicts. He understands that lyrics and sings them. I can understand a word either the radio or he is singing.

Abigail will pretend just about anything lying around the house is a microphone despite having a microphone. She starts dancing and singing whenever she hears music. She is a born performer.

If you have children in the car and you listen to CDs you MUST buy this CD: Colours are Brighter. They got Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol (seriously cool bands) and a whole load of other cool music people to make cool songs for children. Seb loves Go Go Ninja Dinosaur and I Am An Astronaut. Abigail loves Tidy Up Tidy Up. And actually they don't drive Mum crazy because the songs are very cool.

Sing Sing Sing.....the hills are alive with the mmmmmmmm!

1 comment:

Janell said...

Keep singing, my friend! I am a contralto, so if was scare up a bass & a tenor out of the Carson clan we can be another "Von Trapp" family.
jrc
PS - I may not be able to check in for several days - having some internet issues on the 'puter.