a cappella sunday

Imagine your faith community singing in four part harmony, without any instrumental accompaniment. Sound impossible? Don't you believe it - I've seen it work well. Engaging your community in harmony singing for an entire worship service is worth the effort, and not as difficult as you might think.

Preparation
1. Enlist the help of others who are keen to promote the idea and get involved.
2. Organise a short rehearsal for the community after worship the week before your planned A Cappella Sunday, and have your helpful others encourage people to get involved. Be sure to emphasise you are not forming a 'choir'. A Cappella Sunday is about encouraging the whole community's sung voice.
3. Select songs (see note below)

Selecting Songs
A Cappella Sunday is not about using fully-fledged four part (SATB) hymns or anthems. This notion will not only ensure a focus on 'experts', but will fail to involve the whole gathering.On A Cappella Sundays I have tried to ensure accessibility by including one of each of the following:
- a round (canon)
- a short 3 or 4 part chant
- an echo song
- an old hymn in pentatonic tonality that can be sung in canon
- a familiar song in which people may invent their own invented harmonies.

Setup and Seating
Arrange your seats in a circular formation if you can, with soprano, alto, tenor and bass parts to be seated in section facing the centre. Have those who attended the rehearsal sit in the second and third rows, so that those who are less familiar with the songs are sitting in front of them, in amongst the action and not on the outer. This also means they will be 'hit in the back of the neck' with their vocal part.

On the Day
Ask rehearsers to arrive a little earlier so they can be seated in the appropriate seats. Enlist help from several people who can greet at the door and assist decisions about where to sit. Ask them whether they have a high or low voice, rather than use the terms soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Consider walking them to their seat so they don't feel too exposed.

The Songleader
The songleader plays an important role, bringing in each section as required, and perhaps running a teaching time prior to the beginning of worship. The circular formation enhances the feeling of community - we are all involved, and no-one is really up-the-front. It also assist the songleader in communicating with the whole community. For tips about intoriducing new songs see How to teach a Song in 4 Steps.

Give it a go, and let me know what you sang.

Resources for A Cappella Sunday
Use pentatonic hymns and songs like Were you there, Be thou my vision, Kum by Yah, Standing in the need of prayer, which all invite people to make their own harmonies. Delve into the vast resources available including the following publications: 
There is One Among Us
Many and Great
We walk his way

Come All you People

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You may also be interested in
A Cappella Advent
How's the Singing at Your Place?
8 Tips for Getting the Blokes to Sing

virtual music barriers

All congregations have virtual barriers when it comes to music. I'm not talking here about musical taste so much as a set of assumptions. For example, some communities limit themselves, closing off multiple possibilities by appealing for an organist, choiur master, pianist or guitarist, rather than being open to the gifts present within the community. 

Take a moment to consider your community. How many people here do you think learned a musical instrument in years past? Probably more than you realise. In my own congregation, I once jotted down 42 people I knew played instruments, let alone those I was to discover later.

Here are some ideas you might like to consider as a starting point to realising greater potential:

1. Find out who learned an instrument as a child or young person.
2. Find out who sings in the shower, or whistles in the shed.
3. Who knows how to play a recorder - the recorder has been widely taught in classrooms for decades now.
4. Who has taught themselves an instrument?
5. Welcome players of tuba, bagpipes, banjo, autoharp, harmonica, african drums, electric guitar and piano accordian into your instrumental mix.
6. Find out who has connections to musicians/artists beyond the faith community.
7. Focus on the missing demographic within your musical leadership
8. Who has an instrument in the attic or under their bed that can be utilised by someone?
9. Who would be willing to contribute musically once a month, or twice a term?
10. Who are the people preparing for music exams? Are there VCE music students in your local community who need an audience? Can they be invited to play for offering, or communion distribution this week?
11. Run a confidence building session for interested parties, and enlist the help of a local music teacher at the congregation's expense.

12. Consider if your musicians are leaving themselves open to a level of criticism no flower arranger would ever be expected to endure.

You may also be interested in Why We 'Like' Those who Share our Musical Tastes

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