Random Musings

Photo (“SMILE pleeeze!”) by McGun

This was a rather special weekend for me, and for that I really want to thank the Lord.

There were many things that went on which I am highly thankful for, but I’ll only talk about a few of them for this post.

It was the Good Friday and Easter Sunday weekend, and I was really glad that some my sister’s friends came for both services.

It was also particularly memorable because this weekend was the successful culmination of many many weeks of hard work that my sister (the children’s musical director) and myself (the pianist and songwriter) have been putting in with the children’s choir.

Working with the children’s choir in our church is such a fascinating experience. It really is.

There is never a dull moment. We enjoy every single moment of it.

And we work very well as a team too, the two of us – I provide the songs and the musical accompaniment, she handles the teaching and conducting. And we both give each other feedback on how we think things can be improved.

It’s a great fit.

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Importance of Children’s Choir

I’ve learnt that the children’s choir should always be treated as importantly as the adults’ choir.

Which means the amount of preparation that needs to be put in for a children’s song presentation should not be taken lightly.

We are mindful not to accord lower priority to the children’s choir just because…well, just because they are kids.

After all, the children will one day grow up to be members of the adult choir, and a good musical foundation is critical for their future development.

Whenever the children’s choir presents a song during a special occasion like Good Friday or Easter Sunday, it’s not supposed to be viewed as some kind of “light-hearted entertainment”.

No, I think it should carry far more weight than that.

The children have their own important message or story to tell through their song.

They are conveying the precious message of the song through the music and lyrics. They are praising and serving the Lord through the beautiful voices which He has given to them.

You never know…sometimes the songs which the children sing with their beautiful and pure voices might impact a listener even more.

We started work on the Easter Sunday song real early. Like, in late January. And we started work on the Good Friday song in early February (cos it took me longer to complete the Good Friday song!).

Which means that there was at least six or more weeks of practice for each song.

We took the practice sessions seriously cos after all, the children were going to sing to the Lord, in front of the congregation on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

(But of course, we had lots of fun in the process too!)

Every line had to be perfected. Every nuance had to be captured. Every kink had to be ironed out.

And every lyric was memorised.

And to the children’s immense credit, they learnt the songs extremely quickly, and boy did they learn the songs well!

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Intelligence

Which brings me to my next point: Children are highly intelligent, especially when it comes to music.

That’s something which my sister and I found out while working with the children on music week in, week out.

Don’t ever underestimate a child’s ability to grasp music. They are capable of learning far more sophisticated music than most people think they can. And they learn it at great speed too.

They learnt the Good Friday song by the second week, when I thought they’d take at least four.

They learnt most of the Easter Sunday song by the first week, when I thought they’d take at least three.

They catch key modulations without any problems. They catch rhythms with great accuracy. They can sing awkward intervals and embellishing notes without much problems. And they have fantastic memories for music.

It’s amazing!

This week we teach them a new song for the first time, then next week before we start they are already singing parts of the song back to us.

Ah, the joys of working with children!

I wouldn’t swap it for the world.

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Songwriting

This weekend marks the first time in my life I actually wrote music for the church.

I never wanted to talk about it in the weeks leading up to this weekend.

I was highly reluctant to let many people know about it.

I wasn’t at all comfortable with letting people know that I wrote the two songs for Good Friday and Easter Sunday, although by now I think most people already know.

It was a huge struggle for me.

This is because I didn’t want the fact that I wrote the two songs to overshadow the songs themselves. I didn’t want the fact that this is probably the first time someone is seriously composing for the children’s choir to cloud over everything else.

And I didn’t want all the attention to get to my head, such that I forget to attribute all glory and praise to the Lord for blessing me with all that I have and can do.

The children did a marvellous job on Friday and Sunday, and for that I’m highly thankful.

I’m sure most of the listeners were moved by the children’s amazing voices, and the messages they brought forth.

I’m sure the children themselves felt really pleased with the way they performed, after putting in so much hard work the past few weeks.

I’m sure most of the parents were extremely proud of the way their children performed after so many weeks of diligent preparation.

It was highly encouraging to see that many parents took their children’s learning very seriously, and even attempted to revise the songs with their children at home.

It’s really a great feeling when all of us, both teachers and parents, work together with the children all for the glory of God.

I was also very thankful for the very kind words of encouragement from many brothers and sisters regarding the songs I wrote.

Very thankful.

It means a lot to me, although ultimately I’m always mindful of the fact that all things come from God, and it is He who allows me to do what I can do.

I am by no means a talented person. I realised this long ago and I have long accepted the fact.

I’m not talented in piano playing, I’m not talented in composition, I’m not talented in singing, I’m not talented in speaking, I’m not talented in expressing myself.

I’m not.

But I do whatever I can to serve and praise Him, in the capacity that He has allowed me to.

I can only but use the abilities which the Lord has given me to praise Him.

All praise and thanks be to God for creating such a wonderful weekend!