I'm gonna let it shine!

Things that maybe should have been more obvious before last night:

1. Alto! I am one!
2. Sight singing! I am good at it!
3. My ears! They are clever!
4. Gospel harmonies! Beautiful and amazing! If I pay enough attention, this could do wonders for my songwriting.
5. Vocal warm ups! What a concept! I should do them!

I totally did not suck in my new gospel choir, which is super awesome news. Self esteem win. They are brilliant! There were only 10 of us last night, 3 of whom (including me) were new to the group, so it was a lot smaller than expected, but what they lack in numbers they make up for in volume. The choir leader was lovely and welcoming, big on charisma and obviously very good at what she does, and my nerves settled quite quickly as I came to terms with what I was doing and the sound that was being created around me. Having got through the initial awkwardness of the first session, I feel like a part of the group already. They are an affable, friendly bunch, and I can see myself looking forward to Tuesdays.

We started with some stretches and warm ups, and followed with a 'Circle Song', which is basically any kind of simple gospel standard, sung while standing in a circle with ours eyes closed, holding hands. This was a bit weird at first, particularly as I didn't know the song, but I started to get the feel for it and just let the voices wash over me. I later learned that there is no structure to a circle song, everyone just picks up a random harmony as the verses go along (sometimes resulting in a little more dissonance than intended, but mostly wonderful), and throwing in an old fashioned holler every now and then for good measure. We then learnt three songs (I figured out that the tenors get all the best harmonies – the weird ones like the sevenths) and at the end of two hours, had another circle song to close, before dispersing into the night with light in our spirits and souls. Hallelujah!