One of my assignments in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers is to lead the music for our Camp meetings. Every month we have a meeting with a lesson that has something to do with Pioneers who came to Utah in the 1800's. Each lesson includes a song that was popular during those years.
When I got this assignment, we could actually meet together in someone's home. Then the pandemic hit. At first, all meetings were cancelled. Then later, we could begin to have meetings, but we had to meet outdoors, wear masks and social distance 6 feet apart from each other. The point is that we could still meet together in a shared space. We could sing together. Usually, I would play the piano or just lead them by singing loudly. I confess that I did not even listen to the CD's provided to help us learn the songs. (Now after listening to the performances on the CD, I would rather do something else.)
This month, our only choice was to hold the meeting via Zoom technology. My experiences with trying to sing together over the internet connection have been less than desirable! In fact, it is just impossible. The cacophony of voices trying to sing with a sound delay is horrible!
When I got this assignment, we could actually meet together in someone's home. Then the pandemic hit. At first, all meetings were cancelled. Then later, we could begin to have meetings, but we had to meet outdoors, wear masks and social distance 6 feet apart from each other. The point is that we could still meet together in a shared space. We could sing together. Usually, I would play the piano or just lead them by singing loudly. I confess that I did not even listen to the CD's provided to help us learn the songs. (Now after listening to the performances on the CD, I would rather do something else.)
This month, our only choice was to hold the meeting via Zoom technology. My experiences with trying to sing together over the internet connection have been less than desirable! In fact, it is just impossible. The cacophony of voices trying to sing with a sound delay is horrible!
So this month, I looked on YouTube in case someone had posted a good video of the lesson's suggested song that we could just view and enjoy. The song was "We're Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground." The theme of the lesson was about the Civil War, Slavery, and how that affected the LDS Pioneers who moved West during this period. I actually found several renditions of this song. Some were folk singers with just a guitar singing on their porches. They were all right, but not what I wanted.
The video I chose was of a soldier waking up at dawn on a Civil War camp ground singing about the battle and who had been lost. It was poignant about how they all knew their duty, but they all prayed for an end to the war and for a time of peace. Besides being a beautifully produced video, the actor who sang had such a resonant, soulful baritone voice.
I knew the ladies would enjoy this video much more than being frustrated trying to sync their own voices in a sing-along. As long as we have to use Zoom for our meetings, I intend to find well-produced videos of the songs for us to watch until we can meet together in person again!
The video I chose was of a soldier waking up at dawn on a Civil War camp ground singing about the battle and who had been lost. It was poignant about how they all knew their duty, but they all prayed for an end to the war and for a time of peace. Besides being a beautifully produced video, the actor who sang had such a resonant, soulful baritone voice.
I knew the ladies would enjoy this video much more than being frustrated trying to sync their own voices in a sing-along. As long as we have to use Zoom for our meetings, I intend to find well-produced videos of the songs for us to watch until we can meet together in person again!
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