Mike Miller,

I think that something we're going to do tonight is related to something you wrote upthread, about how to go about teaching people the words. We use wordbooks in our setting, but sometimes there is a problem for some folks to learn a tune, especially if it is in a tonality not usual to them.

In this case, a piece we found as black gospel is JUST the right text for the evening, but the tune will not come easily to some of these nothern-PA rural folk. They have, in the past, successfully "gotten" spirituals which I have come out, among them, to lead in an almost lined-out fashion of transmitting a call/response type spiritual. So tonight Hardi and I are going to do, with them, what we did at home this afternoon-- teach the song (tune) by tossing the lines back and forth echo-style, letting the people know that their part is the part Hardi will sing back to me. The song is not a spiritual, but is going to be done in that lament-style and in that type of tonality.

I think this will represent a good way of handling a number of other songs that don't always seem instantly-singable in our church setting.

Thanks for the tip!

Also, our band is having a sort of anniversary this summer, and planning a Friday-evening singing (and ice-cream-guzzling) in celebration. It would sure be great if you were around here then; it looks to be mid-July. We can put you up overnight, too.

~Susan