Make Your Joyful Noise
It has been long known that music is good for the soul. Despite all the benefits that come from the joy of music, in this time of fear regarding Coronavirus 19, our voices have been silenced.
We are not allowed to sing as a congregation. Choirs have been shut down or heavily restricted and most churches are allowing only soloists and cantors. We may listen, but are forbade from expressing ourselves vocally.
Realizing it was a choir in Skagit County, Washington, serving as the catalyst instigating the nationwide restraints of multiple voices, I pulled up an article from the New York Times. Wow - that’s scary. Ultimately 53 of the 61 attending, became ill with Covid-19, and two of them died.
I’m not a research scientist, physiologist, speech therapist, professional singer or anything of the like. But I will proudly tell you that I am indeed, a self-proclaimed nerd. Wanting more information, I pulled up the CDC report on this incident. The choir practice identified had a symptomatic super spreader infecting 33 people with 20 probable secondary attacks. The choir practice lasted 2 ½ hours, taking a mutual break, congregating with refreshments in a small room. During practice, members were seated 6-10 inches (not feet) apart and the average age of the choir is 69, with the eldest member aged 83. Of the 3 hospitalized, 2 did pass, (with 2 or more other health issues), ages unidentified.
In retrospect, zero was the sum total of social distance or any other precautionary procedures exercised by this gathering. But there is one issue that particularly rings my bell - the CDC’s opinion that ‘aerosol emission during speech has been correlated with loudness of vocalization.’ I immediately questioned if these so-called scientists were even aware, the auditory emission of speech is different than the emission of song. Not even addressing a working hypothesis, those of us that feel spiritually enriched by singing, are muffled.
Well respected in our region, my mother was a lyrical soprano. Voice was her life before she chose family. She told me breath control was the most difficult of all exercises. Hours of practice were spent with her mouth just inches from the active flame of a candle, controlling her breath while singing, preventing a single flicker. Unsure if it is still a common practice, my curious mind wanted to know.
So, I did an experiment. First by singing the ABC song and then by reciting the ABC’s, I projected into the flame. The candle may have flickered when I sang the ABC’s, but when speaking the same, it blew out by the time I got to the letter F. Repeatedly. (It also verified my education from first grade, in which we were told vowels are soft sounds and consonants are hard sounds. LOL)
The restrictions that have been recommended by the CDC, and more recognizably by Dr. Birx whose opinions flit from one end of the spectrum to the other, are historically biased against houses of worship. I pray that this is not intentional, but something my mother used to say makes my heart stand firm in the protection of song. She would smile and tell me, St. Augustine said “those who sing, pray twice.”
If you miss singing with the congregation, or long for the day when you will again hear the heavenly sound of your church choir’s voices in unison, try this candle experiment for yourself. I am curious to know if your results are similar.