I am singing in a vocal group again after several years’ hiatus. God, I missed it. Plainville United scratches that itch really well, but we only have one or two shows per year and don’t meet regularly otherwise. This new group, Field Notes, has been meeting every week to sing together for an hour and a half. We make a coffee or tea to start and we chat a little bit. We laugh pretty hard at some point every week, and we sing three and four-part harmonies. We take it seriously and we have fun. It is so good for my soul.
I realized last week that singing in a group is a lot like being part of a healthy, well-functioning community - as long as the singing group is healthy and well-functioning, I suppose. In a singing group everyone commits to being together regularly and to doing their part to show up in the way they agreed. Usually that looks like practicing in between rehearsals, but it also looks like being supportive and kind to one another as we learn new material, offering suggestions and critique to move the project forward, and being open to receiving feedback when you are the one who needs to make an adjustment.
In a singing group, like a community, there are also a variety of roles that need to be filled, and each member offers something different to the group based on their skills, available time, and abilities. Our singing group has someone who is very organized and keeps us all on track with planning and scheduling. We have someone who makes hilarious Instagram posts to help spread the word that we exist, and we have someone with a great eye for colour helping us coordinate our performance outfits.
That’s only a few of the skill sets among the group but it paints the picture, I think. We are a collective wherein each person is offering up what they can in the service of this thing we love.
Doesn’t that sound like a really special community?
Here’s what a singing group and a community are not. They are not groups of people who believe all the same things and vote for the same people and gate-keep anyone who is different. They are not groups of people who do everything right and always show up perfectly. They are not groups of people who have zero conflict, and they are not groups of people who always have a consistent amount of energy to contribute.
Healthy, well-functioning groups of humans are inherently flawed, constantly changing, and hopefully flexible and forgiving. They are full of people trying their best at any given moment, even when their best is just to get their butts in the rehearsal chair on time - or almost on time.
Community is a gift, and it takes work. Community requires open communication and the tact to know when your opinion is neither needed nor helpful. Community also requires that you show up, even in your sweatpants, even when you didn’t do your homework, even when you’re wiping tears from your eyes.
Singing groups have taught me community all my life, and I am thankful for this latest group of women with whom I get to work hard and make mistakes and make something beautiful.
Community in action.
xo
Shannon
New Stuff!
If you’ve been reading this newsletter every week you know I launched a podcast. Make Like a Mother has been out for over a month now and there will be new episodes through the end of June. This week’s episode is with Saskia Tomkins, and it’s a delight! Watch/listen to the full episode here.
I have also just released the Official Crankie Box video for my song It All Depends. If you were lucky enough to see this live you know that a crankie box is (to quote Meghan Sheffield) “an illustrated long scroll that is played within, in our case, a wooden theatre box illuminated from behind so that it’s almost like a very analogue screen, all on one long scroll of paper.”
We filmed the last performance of the crankie box and made this glorious video with support from Community Power Northumberland, and with backing vocals by a whole bunch of my favourite community members, whose names are listed in the video credits.
This song is released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.... You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Upcoming Shows
June Hymns by Field Notes - is SOLD OUT!
Sunday June 14
6pm and 8pm
Black Cat (King Street, Cobourg)
July 2 - Plainville United will grace the Road to Cultivate stage, opening for some very cool folks (TBA soon). It’s a free outdoor show at the Port Hope bandshell. Bring a lawnchair or blanket and come have the best time; it’s impossible not to at Road to Cultivate.