Reading Lyrics vs Memorization

Subject: RE: Reading Lyrics vs Memorization
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 03 Apr 14 - 04:32 AM

While I don't think their request is unreasonable (or indeed at all "snooty"), they should have specified the kind of involvement they were hoping for from participants, before relieving you of your cash.

Agree with Howard, I'd ask for your $250 back simply on the grounds that it's evidently not the kind of musical event that you would feel sufficiently prepared enough to participate in.

Subject: RE: Reading Lyrics vs Memorization
From: Howard Jones
Date: 03 Apr 14 - 04:10 AM

They say they discourage it, not that it's banned. It looks to me that they want two things. The first is to discourage inappropriate behaviour during someone else's performance. The second, implicitly, is to encourage best practice.

"it's really nice if people can memorize every song they sing, but it just doesn't happen all that much any more". I find that statement very depressing. The pros and cons have been gone over many times, and there's no point in repeating them - that's not the purpose of your posting. I can only say that in my experience performances by singers who have taken the trouble to memorise the song (or play a tune) are nearly always better than those who read them.

There are exceptions, and you may be one of them. If you have genuine memory issues then you may be fully justified in using a prompt, and if you're sufficiently practiced you may well be able to deliver a good performance. However in too many cases it's simply an excuse for not making an effort, and all too often it is accompanied by a failure to properly understand the song or make it one's own.

As for your specific complaint, I think you are entitled to ask for your money back, especially as they only raised this after you had booked and that they should have known this is your practice - you were after all specifically invited. However it seems to me to be only a recommendation, and unless they are going to insist on it then perhaps you are being a bit 'snooty' yourself in responding the way you have. I can understand your annoyance though.

Subject: Reading Lyrics vs Memorization
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Apr 14 - 01:52 AM

I was invited to an invitation-only singing weekend, and I sent my $250 in to attend. After I signed up and paid my money, I received the following message:

We'd like to discourage folks from using "Rise Up Singing" or similar song word books. If you have a song or two you're dying to sing, and aren't sure of the words and want to stick a sheet in your back pocket for security, that's fine. But we'd like to avoid having people flipping through the pages of a book (or smart device) looking for what they're going to sing next while someone else is singing.

My response:

I'd like to say that if I had known of this restriction before the weekend, I wouldn't have attended. I have trouble memorizing lyrics, so I have to depend on something. I try not to be distracting when other people are singing, and I like to think I'm quite polite. I have some songs committed to memory, but I like to do songs that are new to me or more interesting for one reason or another.
I can sing camp and church songs from memory forever, but I don't want to do that.

I realize that this is a "hot issue" and many people have objections to the way people choose to sing, but I tend to think that sort of attitude is intolerably snooty.

Yeah, it's really nice if people can memorize every song they sing, but it just doesn't happen all that much any more. I think I'm a pretty good singer, and I do know a lot of songs from memory - church songs, camp songs, Christmas and Fourth of July songs, Peter Paul and Mary and Simon & Garfunkel Songs, and a lot of other songs I wouldn't sing at a traditional song gathering. I'm constantly learning new songs, but I'm ready to sing them for others when I have the melody down - I don't wait until I have the lyrics memorized. And for that matter, I learn lyrics best after I've sung the song for an audience a number of times. Even then, I like to have something that will tell me the first coupla words of every verse.


So, I feel like forfeiting my $250 and not attending. Most of the people at this gathering know me, and they must know that I sing from song sheets, a Kindle, and occasionally a copy of Rise Up Singing. Why did they invite me?

-Joe-