I walked home excitedly after that. I had secretly wanted to be in the mixed chorus, but I saw the prerequisite for that class which was to take seventh grade music, and eighth grade Boy's Chorus. I figured since I had taken none of these classes, that there was no hope to take mixed chorus. I didn't think of my piano lessons as a child, my five years of being in the band, and the many special choruses for church, school, and family I was in over the years. Now I was going to be in the mixed chorus and I was going to sing bass!
I spent the summer getting ready. I had never sung any part other than the melody. I tried to sing alto sometimes but I could never figure it out. Sometimes I sat next to my mom in church and she sang alto. I would try to follow her, but on my own I couldn't do it. Now, I knew I was going to sing bass so I had to learn fast. I found that it was easier than alto. Soprano is usually the melody and it is the highest voice. Bass is the lowest. The name is just about right. It is truly the base of music. The bass voice is the foundation of a piece of music.
I sang bass in church. I followed other people who were singing bass during the hymns. My dad was one of them. After a few weeks, I had it down perfectly. Bass was also a lot easier to hear the organist play since it was played on the keyboard as well as the pedals of the organ. It was also easy since as I mentioned it was the foundation. The president of the ward choir even invited me to sing. I was a bit reluctant at first, but I eventually joined.
The summer came and went and soon I found myself in the mixed chorus class. I was surprised at how many "cool" people were in the class along with me.
Mr. Hailstone welcomed us to class, "It sure is good to see you all here," he said. "There are ninety of you. I'm sure we will have a fine chorus this year." He then took out some music and had a girl come to the piano. "Let's start on this song and see what we can do."
We began singing. It was fantastic. I was amazed to sing bass with fifteen guys my own age. And the other parts were just as good. There was real musical power here!
That year was filled with rehearsals and performances. We had a uniform which consisted of white pants, white shirt, and a purple vest with big white buttons. The girls wore purple dresses and vests too, with a frilly tie at the neck. We sang and sang and sang. I loved it.
I didn't know it then, but I was to spend a lot of my time in choral music in the years to come. It actually changed my life. I'll always be grateful that Mr, Hailstone came into my health class that day in eighth grade.
Coming Tomorrow: Old Brown of Bryce Canyon
No comments:
Post a Comment