Why Don't People Sing Anymore?
One of my increasingly many part-time jobs is that of church music director. I love the congregation I work for, and I am very appreciative of the pastor that I work for as well. I've been an employee of the church for many years and have watched things change and change and change. One of the things that I've noticed is that not many people sing in church anymore. The most amazing thing for me is that people I have been told sing solos in school and in bands stand there with their mouths firmly shut during hymns. It makes me wonder why.
Now, I am a singer. Except for some time in preschool when I didn't sing in front of strange people (I cried instead), I have been a singer all of my life. I have loved singing in groups, singing solos, singing when no one was around to hear. When I am in a congregation of people singing hymns, I choose a line and sing it in my own octave (except when people start to turn around - then I go back to the Soprano part). I love the opportunity to sing out loud with other people - I don't get a chance to just sing too often, so I take advantage.
I look out over my congregation and find that the stars of the high school musicals just stand there with their mouths firmly shut. I don't know why. One of the moms of a former high schooler told me that her almost-graduated college student is interested in music therapy as a career. I was amazed because she NEVER sings in church! I have difficulty imagining her as a music therapist since I haven't ever seen her actually sing.
We, as a society, don't seem to be musickers any more. I hear stories of sitting around the television and singing along with Mitch. My family used to watch Lawrence Welk and Sonny and Cher and Donnie and Marie. The original Muppet Show was full of music and singing and silly things. My family would sing every time we got into a car. My brother, sister, and I spent lots of time around our record player, learning how to part sing with the Muppets. We all sang in church choirs and made music in school bands. My entire family were musickers and sang often.
What I don't know is whether my upbringing was unusual or whether we have had a societal change away from making our own music. Do we now have a music-saturated culture that keeps people from making their own music? Is the attitude out there something along the lines of "Why should we sing when we can just put on a pair of headphones and let a professional do it?" Or is the attitude more like, "I could NEVER sing as well as ____, so I'm not even going to try?" Or is the attitude outside of my own music and music therapy experiences more like, "I was told once never to sing, so I don't?"
You know, 20 years ago, we would look at people a bit askance who were singing on the streets when they approached us. Now, you just assume that there is an earbud in that person's ear and don't even think about it. If you are me, you appreciate the self-assurance that the person has to be singing where others can hear. The way we access and use music has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. We now have the ability to get music from anyplace at anytime from the ether. This has changed how we relate to music.
When music is available easily, do we feel that we don't have to make our own? Do we feel that the music presented professionally is better than our own? Do we feel that there is less value in making music now that we can get any and all types of music at any and all times? Do we feel that we need to "leave the musicking to the professionals" rather than experience it for ourselves?
Is this why we, as music therapists, have such difficulty with the idea of iPod programs? We know about the beneficial physiological, psychological, emotional, and behavioral effects of music on human bodies. We know that there are different responses when the music in the environment is recorded or live. We know that there may be some responses when a pair of headphones is placed on someone's head, but that there are more responses available than just what is noticed during iPod times.
But, on the other hand, is this why the idea of iPod programs is so popular? It is a way to bring music into lives without the expectation or rigors of making music. It is a way to support music experiences and may have been started by people who don't feel comfortable making their own music (just my own musings and NOT AT ALL supported - just an opinion and a thought being expressed here...).
If we compartmentalize our musicking into "places where I can sing" and "places where I can't/won't sing," I think we lose something as a group of music makers and as a society. When we compartmentalize our singing and making music, we limit its presence, its purpose, and its power. When my congregants sing only in school and not in church, they are compartmentalizing their music. They are making a judgement that their music should only be shared in one environment with one group of people at one time. It's a shame that they seem to think that music is something for one place and not for another.
One of my favorite songs is Sing. Enjoy this link and "don't worry if it's not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just sing, sing a song."
Now, I am a singer. Except for some time in preschool when I didn't sing in front of strange people (I cried instead), I have been a singer all of my life. I have loved singing in groups, singing solos, singing when no one was around to hear. When I am in a congregation of people singing hymns, I choose a line and sing it in my own octave (except when people start to turn around - then I go back to the Soprano part). I love the opportunity to sing out loud with other people - I don't get a chance to just sing too often, so I take advantage.
I look out over my congregation and find that the stars of the high school musicals just stand there with their mouths firmly shut. I don't know why. One of the moms of a former high schooler told me that her almost-graduated college student is interested in music therapy as a career. I was amazed because she NEVER sings in church! I have difficulty imagining her as a music therapist since I haven't ever seen her actually sing.
We, as a society, don't seem to be musickers any more. I hear stories of sitting around the television and singing along with Mitch. My family used to watch Lawrence Welk and Sonny and Cher and Donnie and Marie. The original Muppet Show was full of music and singing and silly things. My family would sing every time we got into a car. My brother, sister, and I spent lots of time around our record player, learning how to part sing with the Muppets. We all sang in church choirs and made music in school bands. My entire family were musickers and sang often.
What I don't know is whether my upbringing was unusual or whether we have had a societal change away from making our own music. Do we now have a music-saturated culture that keeps people from making their own music? Is the attitude out there something along the lines of "Why should we sing when we can just put on a pair of headphones and let a professional do it?" Or is the attitude more like, "I could NEVER sing as well as ____, so I'm not even going to try?" Or is the attitude outside of my own music and music therapy experiences more like, "I was told once never to sing, so I don't?"
You know, 20 years ago, we would look at people a bit askance who were singing on the streets when they approached us. Now, you just assume that there is an earbud in that person's ear and don't even think about it. If you are me, you appreciate the self-assurance that the person has to be singing where others can hear. The way we access and use music has changed dramatically in the past 20 years. We now have the ability to get music from anyplace at anytime from the ether. This has changed how we relate to music.
When music is available easily, do we feel that we don't have to make our own? Do we feel that the music presented professionally is better than our own? Do we feel that there is less value in making music now that we can get any and all types of music at any and all times? Do we feel that we need to "leave the musicking to the professionals" rather than experience it for ourselves?
Is this why we, as music therapists, have such difficulty with the idea of iPod programs? We know about the beneficial physiological, psychological, emotional, and behavioral effects of music on human bodies. We know that there are different responses when the music in the environment is recorded or live. We know that there may be some responses when a pair of headphones is placed on someone's head, but that there are more responses available than just what is noticed during iPod times.
But, on the other hand, is this why the idea of iPod programs is so popular? It is a way to bring music into lives without the expectation or rigors of making music. It is a way to support music experiences and may have been started by people who don't feel comfortable making their own music (just my own musings and NOT AT ALL supported - just an opinion and a thought being expressed here...).
If we compartmentalize our musicking into "places where I can sing" and "places where I can't/won't sing," I think we lose something as a group of music makers and as a society. When we compartmentalize our singing and making music, we limit its presence, its purpose, and its power. When my congregants sing only in school and not in church, they are compartmentalizing their music. They are making a judgement that their music should only be shared in one environment with one group of people at one time. It's a shame that they seem to think that music is something for one place and not for another.
One of my favorite songs is Sing. Enjoy this link and "don't worry if it's not good enough for anyone else to hear. Just sing, sing a song."
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