You know, I don't believe everyone gets the general concept that a choir is supposed to BLEND. I hear so many people belting like they're the only person singing, and it really doesn't sound good at all. Just something to keep in mind.
As far as I'm concerned, this person is not a member of our choir. Could be an evil lurker--probably from a jealous lesser choir. If it is a person from our choir, then hear this: we don't function in this manner. If you have a criticism to make, make it to the director and not in this public forum. I'll leave the anonymous comment, as well as my response, on the blog as a message to all-we don't function this way. If we begin to, the blog comes down.
Being on "the other side of the coin" I have seen the damage to a rehearsal that comments like the above can make...I myself went to the negative to quickly in rehearsals while at UAB because I was not thinking of group dynamics...hopefully you all can realize that having an opinion is one thing, but teaching with an educated opinion is quite different...everyone in the choir continues to become better musicians, as evidenced from the early rehearsals I observed, but Dr. Copeland should be the only one to dole out criticism...Blend is important but so is humility...just two cents from an old geezer alum...peace
I apologize. The comment was not meant to be malicious in the slightest, and it was a petty thing that I should've ignored completely. I do not think myself, or anyone else, to be better than any member in the choir, and that is definitely not the message I was meaning to convey. Once again, I am sorry.
Thank you for the apology, Anonymous. It is a tempting thing to want to anonymously communicate concepts that you'd rather not say out loud. It hurts much worse, though . . . the protection that an anonymous comment affords usually doubles the pain of whatever is communicated.
Here's the other funny thing about choirs: what a person hears next to them is not always heard by the audience or conductor. I remember once concert where the guy next to me sang on the flat side of every note--it drove me absolutely crazy during the whole concert. When we finished, everyone was just amazed by how good everything went that night; what I heard so clearly was insignificant.
The other truth from that: even a great sounding choir can get better. Getting everyone doing the exact same thing at the exact same time is the secret to making it happen.
Wow. Isn't it amazing how much unrest something like that can generate? It appears to me that people need to think a little more thoroughly before they act, as it generally causes a great deal of trouble when they don't. Sorry if it offends you, Anonymous, but you should really think about the consequences your words and actions could potentially have on those around you.
7 comments:
You know, I don't believe everyone gets the general concept that a choir is supposed to BLEND. I hear so many people belting like they're the only person singing, and it really doesn't sound good at all. Just something to keep in mind.
Clay,
As far as I'm concerned, this person is not a member of our choir. Could be an evil lurker--probably from a jealous lesser choir. If it is a person from our choir, then hear this: we don't function in this manner. If you have a criticism to make, make it to the director and not in this public forum. I'll leave the anonymous comment, as well as my response, on the blog as a message to all-we don't function this way. If we begin to, the blog comes down.
Being on "the other side of the coin" I have seen the damage to a rehearsal that comments like the above can make...I myself went to the negative to quickly in rehearsals while at UAB because I was not thinking of group dynamics...hopefully you all can realize that having an opinion is one thing, but teaching with an educated opinion is quite different...everyone in the choir continues to become better musicians, as evidenced from the early rehearsals I observed, but Dr. Copeland should be the only one to dole out criticism...Blend is important but so is humility...just two cents from an old geezer alum...peace
I apologize. The comment was not meant to be malicious in the slightest, and it was a petty thing that I should've ignored completely. I do not think myself, or anyone else, to be better than any member in the choir, and that is definitely not the message I was meaning to convey. Once again, I am sorry.
Thank you for the apology, Anonymous. It is a tempting thing to want to anonymously communicate concepts that you'd rather not say out loud. It hurts much worse, though . . . the protection that an anonymous comment affords usually doubles the pain of whatever is communicated.
Here's the other funny thing about choirs: what a person hears next to them is not always heard by the audience or conductor. I remember once concert where the guy next to me sang on the flat side of every note--it drove me absolutely crazy during the whole concert. When we finished, everyone was just amazed by how good everything went that night; what I heard so clearly was insignificant.
The other truth from that: even a great sounding choir can get better. Getting everyone doing the exact same thing at the exact same time is the secret to making it happen.
Wow. Isn't it amazing how much unrest something like that can generate? It appears to me that people need to think a little more thoroughly before they act, as it generally causes a great deal of trouble when they don't. Sorry if it offends you, Anonymous, but you should really think about the consequences your words and actions could potentially have on those around you.
No need to pile on, James. I chastised, Anonymous apologized. End of story.
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