What Would I Do If YOU Sang Out of Tune?

By Linda Fippin, Westside Choir Member

I've been hearing a lot of Beatles music on the radio lately and got to thinking about Ringo, one of the last two living Beatles (or the last one if you ascribe to the "Paul is dead" theories). Ringo was, to put it politely, the least vocally renowned Beatle. Personally, I find the songs he recorded to be rather charming. In particular, "With a Little Help from My Friends" from the Sergeant Pepper album. Many of you will remember the opening words, "What would you do if I sang out of tune, would you stand up and walk out on me?" As a member of the WUUC choir, this struck a chord with me. (It's okay to groan here.)

Not Westside's choir, but still very nice.

When we get up, face you in the congregation and sing, we all worry (at least I do) that we might sing out of tune. And sometimes those worries will be confirmed, but we sing anyway. Another thing I do, is look out over the congregation and notice who is singing. This is often disappointing. Some of you are actively singing, but more of you are either looking at the words with somber faces and barely moving lips as if you're parsing some difficult language in the tax code or just staring off into the distance.

I know, because some of you have told me, that you believe you can't sing, your voice is terrible, nobody wants to hear you, etc. And I'm sure you do believe that and that someone along the way probably told you so. My mother told a story about how when she was a little girl, she did a drawing of an elephant. When she showed it to her father, he told her it looked like a flea. Whether it was true or not that her drawing looked like a flea more than an elephant, she took it to heart and told that story for the rest of her life after saying "Oh, I can't draw." She never attempted drawing or any artistic activity after that. It's too bad she couldn't say instead, "Maybe I didn't draw a bad elephant, I just drew a good flea."

Now, I believe singing is good for you. To take a deep breath and let it flow out of your body in song and rhythm just feels good. Those of us in the choir know that the feeling of singing with a group also feels good – sometimes a little bit thrilling even. So I would like to encourage you to sing on Sunday mornings. If you're absolutely, positively, in every way sure that you can't sing, you can still take that deep breath and say or whisper the words out loud. As a last resort, you could lip sync, but put some oomph into it. Whatever you do, those joining with you will be the friends who'll provide a little help and who won't stand up and walk out on you.