Archive for June 12th, 2010
I found a wonderful article online which articulates much of what I feel is important about song, singing and, in particular, singing songs for and with children.
The goals the writer espouses for the Christian Church to achieve within its worship services are many of the same, but secular, goals that I have set out to achieve with the “Sing Books with Emily” program.
Voices, Hearts, Lungs as Spiritual Instruments
Written by Darryl Tippens for The Christian Chronicle
http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2159056~Voices,_hearts,_lungs_as_spiritual_instruments
I do not espouse any one religion. However, this article has wonderful things to say about the importance of SONG and SINGING in our lives (and the developing lives of children). I think you can replace the name of the specific religion mentioned in this article with the name of ANY religion and the ideas within are just as powerful and important.
Even minus the spiritual component, I don’t think anyone can argue against the benefits of SONG and SINGING for increasing human quality of life. Singing and Song have the power to bring people together, forge lasting bonds among people, gather people in a shared positive experience, enhance a child’s ability to learn and read, and on and on.
Singing songs with and for one another transports those songs into the future. If we don’t sing songs, then the songs are relegated to the past, lost to the future. If we sing the songs, WE become PART of their human history and preserve the music for future generations.
Even if school budgets are being cut, and music classes are some of the first classes to suffer, singing is FREE! The human voice is FREE and it is a wonderful, extraordinary gift. It is a gift meant to be shared!!
Many of the books in my Singable Bookshelf (http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/singable-books-a-working-list/) can be found in your local library. SING!! The books are gorgeous, the songs are wonderful! The songs are our common human heritage. Sing the songs to children. Sing the songs to each other. Sing at home in the kitchen. Sing to your kids when they take a bath! Don’t think you can sing? Sing anyway! It’s good for you and it’s good for the kids. And not just kids! Sing to anyone who will listen!
The article quotes the great Mennonite hymnologist Mary Oyer who wrote, “We have a wonderful heritage. I think we will keep it only if we sing. We have to sing much more. We have to practice by doing it. Sing more. Keep singing. Sing. Sing. Sing. Sing before church. Sing during church. Sing after church. Just do it.”
