Lots of energy goes into singing...or none at all - probably 50% of the students are either regretfully attending the service, or are unwilling to show their appreciation because of friends. When working with young people, the environment and mood set will play an important role in teaching singing. In the last fortnight I have 'taught' two hmyns/songs of praise: Abide with me, a sombre military tune sung at Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day (in our school) and "Blessed be the name", an upbeat and exciting number. On both occasions energy were the key. For 'abide with me', getting students to put energy into the correct pronounciation of old english was the key. To do this, we played around with the words a little, let them roll off our tongues somewhat. I described the occasion that caused this hymn to be written and the subsequent occasions it was sung, and we were sorted. The girls appreciated the gravity of the ceremony, and they rose to the occasion. We rehearsed it as year levels the week prior to ANZAC Day, and then on the day, I hummed it around the girls when I could. I put it in their minds, and they responded.
'Blessed be the name' is an upbeat enjoyable song, I have successfully introduced it to the boarding community (of about 160 students) by having small groups of girls sing different parts to the rest of the group. Sing a verse to them and have them sing it back. Its quite simple and fun. All you need is to have prepped a group early (in my case, the Year 11's will go for anything!) and they throw such gusto into the exercise, that the other groups will usually respond. On this occasion, it took a little extra effort, that is, introduce a little shuffle, a little hype up to get them shuffling....there was even a knee bend which they incorporated a-la 60 year olds on the beach doing jazzercise classes...It was a hoot!
I will experiment with trying this with a worshipping community of 50-60 year olds in about a month...stay tuned!
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us all"! (1 Thess 5:16-18)
