choral text

I think the text and lyrics of the music we sing is very important. Usually we are always concerned with the notes but I love the classes that we take time to have discussions on the deeper meaning of the songs. Of course the melody and harmony and notes are essential, but so are the words! Recently we have had classes to put real feeling into the songs. This feeling comes from the words and knowing what they mean, and the story behind them. Reading the words of some songs is like analyzing something in English class. Everyone interprets things differently and I love that. I am always amazed at what some people think when they share their opinions in class discussions. Sometimes someone will say something and I just think "I never would have thought of that, wow". I think we should set aside class time to discuss the meaning of the words more often, because they really are important and bring new life to a piece of music.