For the record, I decided to close down my chorus in the town where I live. I still have a group elsewhere that is thriving, but the new one has proved more of a curse than a blessing. For the first time, I am capitulating, no longer fighting the odds of getting the project on its feet - in the face of having no low-voiced singers to speak of. It's impossible to run an a capella chorus without balanced voices, so this one had to go. I'm looking forward to getting my Wednesday evenings back, but that is only a small comfort.
There's also been a problem with attendance. People don't seem to want to commit themselves to doing anything on a regular basis. And there are women who think they are soprano and that all other voices are not worth singing. I did some sorting - I have an ear for voice trends and seldom make a mistake, so the few who did sing alto were overestimating their voices and belong in the 'normal' voice category, which is middle (mezzo) - that can mean that they have socalled long voices, with top and bottom, but it can also mean - and usually does - that they have few or no top notes and no audible resonance in the low part of the voice. With age, the voice muscles can lose elasticity (so that high notes become strained and ugly) and hormones also play a role.
I should also mention note reading, which is a rarity in Germany because kids are seldom told why they are learning something, if note reading is taught at all! Mostly it's left to music schools to provide a musical education, and they are only available to parents who can afford the fees.
There's also been a problem with attendance. People don't seem to want to commit themselves to doing anything on a regular basis. And there are women who think they are soprano and that all other voices are not worth singing. I did some sorting - I have an ear for voice trends and seldom make a mistake, so the few who did sing alto were overestimating their voices and belong in the 'normal' voice category, which is middle (mezzo) - that can mean that they have socalled long voices, with top and bottom, but it can also mean - and usually does - that they have few or no top notes and no audible resonance in the low part of the voice. With age, the voice muscles can lose elasticity (so that high notes become strained and ugly) and hormones also play a role.
I should also mention note reading, which is a rarity in Germany because kids are seldom told why they are learning something, if note reading is taught at all! Mostly it's left to music schools to provide a musical education, and they are only available to parents who can afford the fees.
Sad, sad, sad.....
I think there should be a school subject called 'recreational activities', in which painting (art including drawing), music (singing or an playing instrument), sewing (including handicrafts), cooking (including baking), and crafts (making things with various materials)) should be obligatory and taught regularly, so that every child of every age gets a choice of what to do later in life and already has some skills apart from the academic ones (which are often wasted time)! I've lost count of the number of times I've heard "I can't sing". When asked if they've tried, they usually say no. That also goes for the visual arts. It is simply shocking that so many people live their whole lives in little boxes - scared they will fail at something - so scared they don't even try. Many have been told by their parents that they cannot do something. So ineptitude (is there such a word?) is passed down the generations.
Sad, sad, sad.....
Sad, sad, sad.....
