Degree of difficulty

How difficult is the music we sing? As I noted earlier, there’s a broad range of skill in the choir, so the music is easier for some than for others. Also, the complexity varies from anthem to anthem.

For example, one of the pieces we rehearsed this evening, “Marching to Zion”, had a couple of elements that I – one of the less skilled choir members -- like to see:

- Sections where all voices are singing in unison

- Easy intervals, such as strings of ascending or descending seconds -- just strolling up and down the “do-re-mi” ladder

But we also worked on a couple of other pieces that were not so simple. “Psalm 46” had none of the easy patterns I described in the previous paragraph. There were many changes in time signature and key signature, and numerous accidentals; not the easiest sight-read. Then there was Rick's arrangement of "Kum ba ya", which has challenging rhythms; it is not often that I have to decipher a measure containing a mix of dotted eighth notes, regular eighth notes, and quarter notes.

So, to recap: Some of the anthems are relatively easy; others, more difficult. But all are manageable with multiple rehearsals over a period of weeks, and Rick’s guidance over the rough spots. By the time we sing each anthem during a service, even a slow learner like me will have a good handle on it.

With the end of summer, we resume the normal schedule of two worship services, at 8:30 and 11:00. This Sunday is the second one of the month, which means we’ll sing at 11:00 (we sing at the second service on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Sundays of the month, and the first service on the 3rd and 5th Sundays).