Freeform Friday 01 - Singing Out Loud

I recently saw a performance of Fiddler on the Roof. I had never seen the musical before, I hadn’t even ever seen the movie. I was really excited for this new experience and to see Topol, the actor portraying Tevye, since he is world renown for playing that character. My excitement reached its pinnacle as the lights went down and the fiddler began playing the first notes of the musical. As soon as he began playing, though, the woman next to me began humming along with the music, loudly. Obviously this was not her first time seeing Fiddler on the Roof; she was well versed with the musical and its music, well versed enough to hum along with every single song.

Every time a new song began, she would begin to hum along. As her humming got louder and harder to ignore I would scoot to the far side of my seat to get away from her. My movement must have helped her realize what she was doing and she would stop humming but, after a few bars had passed, she would begin humming again. The people in front of her kept turning around to shoot her dirty looks but she was persistent; in spite of their looks and my desperate attempts to get away, she kept humming along, literally. Obviously it’s not acceptable to sing or loudly hum along with a musical; it’s not loud enough to drown out the humming and the humming cannot match the talent of the professionals on stage. So if it’s not appropriate to sing out loud at a musical, when is it appropriate to sing out loud? I’ve got three suggestions for places we can sing out loud to our hearts’ content.

At a Concert
A concert is a completely different venue than a musical. At a musical you’re seated quietly, near a lot of other people, listening to a performance without amps, without distortion and without a half-naked drummer. A concert is really loud and even if you scream and sing at the top of your lungs, the person in front of you won’t even know you’re there. Even if it’s a quiet, acoustic set, people are still expected to sing along out loud. If you were at a Poison show, just because the band begins “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” doesn’t mean you have to stop singing; even though it’s a quieter ballad, you sing right along with Brett Michaels and his awesome bandana. Bands and performers like it when the audience sings along with them in concert; it provides immediate feedback and helps fill out the sound on a live recording. As a performer, however, it does have to feel pretty bad when, as soon as you finish your one hit, everyone stops singing and starts making their way to the bathroom or the concessions.

In the Car
One of the best parts about driving is rolling with the windows down singing along with your music. Whether it’s death metal, rap or 80s synth pop, everyone should feel free to sing in their car. Who cares if you get awkward glances from the people in the car next to you as you both wait for the light to turn green? If someone is judging you for singing loudly in your car, it’s most likely because they’re not as free as you are; they haven’t discovered the joy of singing "Mama-se, mama-sa, ma-ma-coo-sa" along with “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.” If someone is judging you for singing loudly in your car, they most likely aren’t enjoying their driving experience; they’re probably unhappy because they’re going to get a root canal or they’re on their way to see the latest Dane Cook movie. If someone is judging you for singing loudly in your car, maybe they’re listening to talk radio; instead of music they’d rather listen to the crazy ramblings of Glenn Beck as he tells America to stockpile canned food and guns for the nearing apocalypse. Even though singing loudly in your car is acceptable, it’s important to always remember to keep control of your car; no one wants to get rear ended by someone who really got into their air drum solo.

At Church
Most church services have a time dedicated to worshipping God through the singing and playing of music. Even more so than the concert, people are encouraged to sing out loud during church. Even if you’re not that great of a singer, you’re encouraged to sing as loud as you can; God doesn’t care how you sound and neither should the people in front of you. In fact, sometimes you’re judged more if you’re not singing than if you’re singing poorly. Worship leaders like to encourage the congregation to sing more loudly, sometimes practically yelling at the congregation, challenging them to be louder than all the amps and the microphones. It can devolve into a Sunday morning version of the “We love Jesus, yes we do! We love Jesus, how ‘bout you?” chant. The worship leader obviously loves Jesus and wants everyone else to love Jesus and sing as loudly for Jesus as is humanly possible. So sing loudly in church because that way you know that Jesus will hear it for sure.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of appropriate places to sing out loud; there are myriad others. But if you’re singing and getting a lot of dirty looks from people and people are trying to get away from you, it may not be the right time to sing out loud; that, or your body odor is louder than any noise coming out of your mouth.

Where do you like to sing and why?