In order to measure your level of proficiency as a choir member, the following test has been carefully developed by experts. Read and reflect on each situation and then select the option that will enhance the quality of the performance.
- You are entering the choir loft on Sunday morning and suddenly trip and fall down. You should:
- Assume a kneeling position and break into fervent prayer.
- Pretend that you've had a heart attack.
- Crawl into the nearest chair.
- Begin speaking in tongues.
- You are a soprano and count incorrectly. As a result you boom out a high "C" one measure too soon. You should:
- Slide into an inspired "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing."
- Look triumphant and hold on to the note.
- Stop abruptly in mid squawk but keep your lips moving.
- Sink to the floor in shame.
- After all those long hard choir rehearsals, you show up twenty minutes late for the Christmas musical. You should:
- Climb into the back row of the choir from the baptistry.
- Enter pretending to be a soundman checking cables and then suddenly slip yourself into the choir.
- Turn the lights out in the church and slip into the choir during the blackout.
- Read M. Stephen's pamphlet "Techniques for Tardy Appearances."
- While singing, you discover you have only one page of a two page hymn. You should:
- Hum for your life.
- Sing "watermelon, watermelon, watermelon."
- Try to get another hymnal out of the choir rack with your feet.
- Sing the first page over again.
- Inevitably that dreaded big sneeze occurs toward the end of the choir special. You should:
- As you sneeze, come down hard on your neighbor's foot to create a diversion.
- Try to make it harmonize.
- Sneeze into the hair of the choir member in front of you to muffle the noise.
- Sink to the floor in shame.
Count the number of A's, B's, C's, and D's you checked and find your proficiency rating below:
- 4 or more A's...there is nothing more you need to know to be a first rate choir member.
- 4 or more B's...your church choir reflexes are fully developed and you should do well in choir.
- 4 or more C's...your church choral experience is spotty but your team spirit is on target. You will be an asset to most any choir.
- 4 or more D's...it is recommended you take soccer or group therapy counseling.