Hope everyone's weekend was productive, peaceful and poetik....
Mine was eventful - to say the least. A member of my singing ensemble called me last Sunday night to ask for "help". Her sister-in-law, a songstress and vocal group leader, needed some voices to add body to their performance that was scheduled for this past Sunday evening in Los Angeles, my old stompin ground. I said, "suuuurrrrrreeee, what we sangin?" And the way it usually happens is this: I get a copy of a CD with the songs on them, make some copies for the other folks who will participate, and we have approximately 6 days to learn that music! Because the songs were contemporary gospel numbers, there was no "sheet music" readily available - which would have helped only a few of us, anyway. Not everyone reads music. So, it happened the usual way.
My singers and I had done this type of thing before - even down to hooking up with the OTHER singers ON the day of the performance; it was no biggie. Our concern was that the other group had their parts right when we got there, because we were gonna be on ours! (not braggin, just fackin) My main hope was that we'd have enough time before the function actually started, to run over the songs with the other group..I do hate performing cold - without benefit of a run-through with the muscians (so ghetto!). And why was the pianist late? It started to look like our time and effort was going to turn out looking tacky macky! Well, we were able to go over the songs a few times with the CD - not the same, but better than nothing. Our voices were well matched, and thankfully, we had singers there who could fill in where needed (I'm usually an alto, but they needed another tenor, and another sista came down from soprano to alto, etc.)
On one of the songs, there was a mild dispute about what notes the tenors were supposed to hit during the chorus... so the lady in charge pulled out a sheet of paper with keys (the names of the keys, not a musical score - what I'm used to) that corresponded to the song in question, with the words written beneath..looked something like this:
B flat C A D F A Dsharp (the musical symbols wouldn't post, yikes!)
may have some scars, but I'm healed
Don't get me wrong, I'd seen this before, just wasn't ready to read it like that - especially without a keyboard present. (oh, I forgot to mention we were in a room with no piano of any kind - so, had the pianist been on time.....???)
It all worked out to the good. The brotha on keyboards did come and sat in on the last few minutes of our vocalizing. And we were able to go over some special instructions with him because one of the songs featured a soloist (with a sweet soprano voice). The occasion was the 18th anniversary of a Missionary Baptist Church literally in the heart of South Central Los Angeles (the street address is on S. Central Avenue). The event began on time and I must say I was proud of my people for that.
There was much praise and worship in the preliminaries, reminding me of years gone by when I was more involved in "concert and church hopping" with my girlfriends back in my single days. The flavor was familiar....and wonderful. It had been a long time since I'd heard hymns sung in long meter, with that call and response going on. BEAUTIFUL! The atmosphere was filled with sincere folks who seemed devoted to their Lord, their mission in the community, and their sacrifice of praise and worship last night.
When it was time to perform, I believe the angels showed up and showed out for us. Because when we opened our mouths to sing.... something else happened, and I heard a full choir (there were only 8 of us). The sound system at the church was impressive - the mics were hot - and that can sometimes be the death of a group that isn't up to par. But I could tell from the congregation's response that something special was going on. And it wasn't about us on the platform. Even brotha on the keyboards was working it out (he had jumped on the Hammond organ earlier during the praise session - ridiculously talented!).
Experiences like this make me very happy to say "yes" when someone needs music. Being used as an instrument to bring messages of encouragement, peace, and love, ministers to my soul. It is my life's joy.
Have a great week everyone! I'll be scarce for a minute... got to get on my projects for the year. I'll be updating with info from time to time. (and getting my read on at my favorite blog sites here)
Blessings!
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