The Ward Choir Anger


So I have been attending our ward choir. Not because I really want to but because, like all good Mormons, my guilt compels me there.

I am not a great singer by any stretch of the word but I can carry a tune and I can sight read music a little.  So by ward choir standards I am freakin’ Luciano Pavarotti.

So the choir director makes me sit next to a guy who can’t sing his way out of a wet paper sack, in hopes that he can follow me and pick up on how to sing parts.

However, in the last few rehearsals a development has started that I don’t love concerning this brother. He keeps criticizing me on how I sing. “You sang that part wrong”, “You are singing “yeah” instead of “yea”, and my personal favorite “you are sing to loud, who do you think you are Luciano Pavarotti?”.

I have tried to bite my lip and thank him for his constant critiques of my already fragile self-esteem when it comes to my ability to sing, but enough is enough.

I think this brother is why more fist fights break out in ward choir than any other church meeting, second only to PEC.

Comments

Heidi said…
Man. I haven't really been to choir since I got released as director 8 months ago. I'm afraid to go back because I'm no longer in fighting shape. Time to start those kickboxing classes, I guess, since Easter is coming up.
March 29, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Carrot Jello said…
GAH! This is why I don't go to choir. It's always the ones that can't sing that are the biggest critics.
March 29, 2012 at 2:55 PM
Mary said…
I am currently the choir director in my ward and before I got the calling I was thinking, "I need a break from ward choir. I've been going (almost consistently) since I was 12."

You'd be a great asset to my ward choir, since only one bass comes on a regular basis. (You do sing bass, don't you?)
March 29, 2012 at 4:39 PM
Ryan said…
Rob, I share your frustration. Five minutes in to ward choir practice on Sunday, the guy sitting next to me got the idea that we were singing one of our songs much too slowly. Next thing I know he's raising his hand and telling the director as much. When it didn't speed up to his liking, dude breaks out his "metronome app" and turns it way up so the director can hear. THEN he starts singing to the beat of the metronome, despite everyone else following the (slower) director. Dude would NOT let it drop. It was a LONG 55 minutes.

Know you're not alone... Luciano. ;)
March 29, 2012 at 7:51 PM
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