Do you hear what I hear?

I have had the privilege (and great pleasure) of being allowed to participate in the community Christmas cantata this year. I haven’t been able to sing with a group for several years now and had forgotten how much I enjoy it. It’s not at all like singing along with the radio or pretending you’re on “The Voice.”

I was a volunteer (read, “dragooned”) choir director for several years, regardless of my lack of skill. I did my best, but I’m not a trained musician and don’t even have a particularly good ear. The cantata is being directed by a real director, and the difference is amazing. In just a few minutes at the first rehearsal he came to, he had us sounding like a choir instead of a bunch of singers.

Yes, there is a difference.

Oddly enough, the difference is in the listening, not in the sounding off. It’s funny, but when I sing with a group and it’s not sounding like I think it should, I have a tendency to get louder, thinking that I can drag everyone along with me. The director’s job is to control people like me. He asked us to listen as we sang.

First we all sang one note, listening to the voices around us, adjusting our individual voices until the sound was full and balanced. Sounds like a good cup of coffee, doesn’t it? It was every bit as delicious.

Next we sang a chord, listening and adjusting. Then we moved on to some scales. We all found ourselves looking at each other, raising our eyebrows. Wow, we sounded good! We sounded like a “real” choir!

I wish I could remember that every day, when I find myself talking louder and louder in an attempt to make someone else listen to me, agree with me or just see my point of view. Maybe if I softened it up and spent some time listening and adjusting, we could all sound like a “real” community.

Canticles by Candlelight will be presented to the public on Wednesday, December 16, and Sunday, December 20, at Heritage Church. Both performances are at 7 p.m.