Comments on: Singing with your eyes closed.

By: Mike Snifferpippetts

Mike Snifferpippetts — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:59:04 +0000

It's a contemporary church requirement that 59.5% of the congregation have their eyes closed during 'I Can Sing of Your Love Forever'

and let's not forget the 'Eyes Closed, hands clenched, shake head side to side' move.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:33:52 +0000

I'm curious as to why people feel the need to close their eyes during worship for show? Shouldn't you all be focused on God and the words you are singing versus whether someone "sees" you with your eyes opened or closed?

I know most of this is just fun, but I wonder how many are actually really worried about being seen with their eyes opened?

BTW. Is SASKIA the same SAS that went to Furman?

By: Clarity4831

Clarity4831 — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:30:18 +0000

Heck, you all have it easy! At MY church, they have try-outs for joining the SYEC club! One designated Saturday a month you can show up at the church and you can stand before the SYEC board where they will randomly choose 10 songs from the church's database and then you have to close your eyes and sing them ACAPELLA. Typically within a week you'll either receive your member's card or a letter of decline demanding you keep your eyes open at all times in the mail.

Of course the above is all a joke.

By: atw

atw — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:36:34 +0000

oo–one more thing: Sometimes we people in the SWYEC club get overly confident and then end up giving ourselves away on new songs (which we're guessing on) when the songwriter pulls anything out of the ordinary, like only repeating a line twice when it seemed that song-logic would demand it to be repeated THREE times. This could leave us in the awkward position of starting to sing a solo during a 2-bar musical interlude, like the guy in the audience who bleats out the first few words of the song too soon as the band plays one too many opening chords (darn you, worship song false starts!).

So, to avoid this embarrassment, you should always be prepared to make such a poetntial faux pas sound more like you're just singing a Holy Spirit-inspired Echo, equivalent to the worship leader prone to inserting little vocal refrains in every little space between lyrics (i.e. "Yes,Lord" "We worship You" "Jesus!" "You are Holy" "Thank you, thank you for _____ [the cross, Your love, etc--whatever was mentioned in the song]"). If you get good enough at this, you might just amaze the worship leader so much that you get tagged to be an official back-up singer. Which is always the goal!

By: atw

atw — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:20:45 +0000

Dagnabbit, you got me! If I run into a line I can't remember, I just take a lil slit-eye peek and continue like all is well with the smug k-nowledge that the worship leader who wrote the song must be marveling at how awesome I am that I'm the only one singing with him during The Practice Round (which you should write about if you haven't yet, btw).

But here's the one reason this is really all even possible. It's true that I learn songs torturously fast, to the point that a complex new Flo Rida song on the radio can haunt me all day so that at night I'm going crazy trying to exorcise it from my mind by humming old Maranatha standards. But worship songs are so very predictable that you can sing most new ones with your eyes closed easier than you could pwn Colbie Calliet by guessing the next word in her song before she does.

And it's not just the ever-predictable Fire-Desire Phenomenon (the rule that says that worship songs must choose from a list of about 29 vocabulary words so as to make the song accessible for the little people [i.e. the souls in the congregation who are sadly not so musically gifted as you, the worship singer-songwriter, are). It's that most worship songs use either one of two chord progressions (also due to the rule (which must be a secret nod to the punk greats) that says you must use no more than 3 chords in any given song so that it can be replicated in small groups by lesser guitar players than yourself).

Plus, if you have a low voice and thus are compelled to always sing sweet harmonies, it's even easier to see with the eyes closed! Cuz my note will go with about 8 other possibilities as we praise the Lord together singing A-le-lu-ya. Yay! I win!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:32:00 +0000

Regarding Helen’s comment about the “gender-inclusive” version of Hark the Herald Angels Sing: What sort of hyperbonkers over the top PC world are you living in? The “gender-inclusive” version loses accuracy, too: it’s not as if Jesus was a woman, and He didn’t come as man to personally slight you. Singing accurate songs isn’t exclusive of anyone. Do you have songs where Mary is male, too, to be inclusive?

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:21:00 +0000

I’m probably one of the best at this. The key is I’m on the tech team, so I DO know the songs ahead of time. I always manage to buy them and memorize every word by the time they’re actually played. Plus I’m at my church for band practice so that helps as well.

If you’re looking for inside info as to what songs are to be played, don’t ask the worship leader. They know not to tell. Always go to one of the sound guys.

By: Clangirl

Clangirl — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:35:00 +0000

I am definitely in the Eyes Closed Society as when eorshipping God, I like to shut out all distractions and focus on Him, opening my eyes only to read words on the screen i can't remeber.

Trouble is that I also can't keep my feet still in worship, which has once caused me to turn 45 degrees to the left,unaware due to my eyes being shut, only to find I was facing the person next to me when I opened them.

i have been asked to join the worship team but declined in fear that i might hit a microphone or fall off the stage!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:38:00 +0000

Okay. I learned this many years ago… when you don’t know the words, sing “Foxes and dogs have tails too, foxes and dogs have tails too…” over and over again. It works to any tune and you will appear to be right on point if you move your head to the music. Comes from being a pk, people watching!

By: Tariel

Tariel — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 05:07:00 +0000

The trick is to repeat the words everybody else is singing just a split-second after the rest of them. Nobody can tell the difference, especially if you sing quietly.