Re:shiron for shirah b'tzibur

[Pat Eisenberg <Pat.Eisenberg...>]

Re: list-members would appreciate it if those who reply include just the
section of my post relevant to their comments. Robert Wiener
wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com 


Yes, I think it's a great idea! Your post is interesting and
comprehensive. I agree with your list of important characteristics,
and
am glad you included legibility. I agree too that the more accessible
the finished work is, the more it is likely to be used. And I agree
about
 
> the great difficulty and time commitment in making good
transliterations and translations

and yet - that is so essential - if enough people were interested in
participating, it would reduce the amount of work any individual would
have to do.

You say 
> anyone interested enough in the songs of Israel is probably fluent
in
reading and understanding Hebrew

- but I was surprised to find that more than half of the people in the
small synagogue choir to which I belong cannot read Hebrew well (even
transliterated) and cannot read music. Yet they are interested in
learning Israeli and Sephardic songs. (The choir includes men and
women,
wide age range, from Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and irreligious
backgrounds - I come from the latter and am unfamiliar with Camp Ramah
shiron, B'kol Echad, etc.) It works best teaching songs if the words
are clearly printed and we review the pronunciation first. The songs
the
choir has sung for ten years are almost entirely in Hebrew, so I was
surprised to see how tentative and fearful many of our choir members
are
when faced with unfamiliar Hebrew text. We have a few people who are
knowledgeable and a few who will dive in and try sightreading
anything,
and they carry the rest along. We learn music for services and for
community presentations in nursing homes and other venues, where we
sing
mostly secular songs in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish.

I agree that a companion volume with the music would be useful for
song
leaders. Do you think it should show the melody with chords (similar
to
the old Sing Out song books) in a basic way? I'm assuming you are not
advocating detailed accompaniment with the melody line, but what about
harmonies? Do you think it's desirable to show some, or would you
leave
that to the natural harmonists to add in practice?

I used Rise Up Singing for several years in public schools - one of
its
attractive features was telling you where you could find a recording
of
the song, if you had no idea how it was supposed to sound. They now
sell
CDs of the songs, which I haven't heard or seen, but it seems like a
good idea for people who don't read music and don't know the melodies,
but want to learn the songs. Are you thinking the shironim would
include
mostly songs with which people are moderately familiar? Or a range of
songs people "should" know - I like your statement about the
comprehensive nature of the proposed work

> comprehensive (includes a large number of songs from all periods,
from the First Aliyah to the present, primarily secular, especially
those reflecting Israel's history)

What a great idea! I would be willing to help, though I am appallingly
ignorant, and want to say thanks to you for laying things out so
clearly
- this could be exciting and I hope many useful comments are made. 
Pat Eisenberg, Tucson

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