Hear My Sol

So I did it. I screwed my courage to the sticking point and did it. I am so not one of those 'never met a stranger types' though, as their opposite, I am attracted to them. To walk into a room full of strangers and be comfortable is not one of my gifts but when I saw through a Facebook friend's page that a local shape note music group was forming I was intruiged. I've always been fascinated by shape note signing, perhaps for the same reason I have a tattoo of a cave painting and am writing a book where one of the characters is an outsider artist-I am interested in art and the way it always comes out, even (or especially) among the so called untrained.

Now I can put a song over but I'm no great shakes as a singer but in shape note singing it doesn't matter-everyone is welcome because not only is the Sacred Harp the songbook, the Sacred Harp is you, the voice. It's hard to get more democratic and darnright welcoming than that. And though I only got the smallest taste of that at our first meeting I can already see shape note singing's transformative appeal. Imagine the most bonding crowd experience you've ever had-be it sad (like a 9/11) or joyous (I'm thinking of seeing the Tigers beat the Yankees to make the Series) and how close you felt to every member of that crowd-even though you didn't know them, the shared experience made you all one in the "we're all songs of one song" way.

So I did it. I went and met some nice people and it didn't matter I had to drive around the block three times before I had the nerve to stop. It didn't matter I was the only nonsmoker and the oldest (I think) by more than a little bit. It didn't even matter that I had broccoli stuck in my teeth the whole night (though I really wished someone would have mentioned it) buoyed by the welcome belongingness of the Sacred Harp all I could think was "hear my sol."