Why do people sing? I’m sure you can come up with several different answers, not the least of which includes being happy over something or trying to become happy when sad. We sing to newborns in the cradle; we sing to pets on our lap; we sing to an audience at a local high school musical; we sing to ourselves in the shower – well, at least the off-Broadway wannabes do. We also sing to God at worship services. We sing everywhere and often.
I think the Scottish hymn writer and minister, John Bell, just a few years my senior, oversimplified the reason why we all sing when he wrote, “We sing because we can.” I prefer to think, “We sing because we want to.” I know I do. I know my older brother did – in the shower, every day, and so loud the neighbors joined in chorus.
Some of my most favorable memories revolve around singing, from listening to, to engaging in. 50 years later, I still sing along to all the strains of every song in the Oscar-winning Best Film of 1965, “The Sound of Music;” and 40 years later, I still hum all my harmony parts from when I sang for my college’s PR male quintet.
I love singing and I know why I love singing. But there’s one subject about singing that fascinates me more than all my personal experiences combined. If you love music, you won’t want to miss this Sunday. Please come and be uplifted by what you’ll learn!