Chance has been in chorus this past year and has really enjoyed singing. He has had a good teacher and she has taught the kids a lot.
Chance's brother is in chorus with him and together with the other kids they have sung in at the mall, for the school and for the parents.
Chance decided to sing one of the songs he learned in chorus for the Alexander Graham Bell Speech Fair this year. It is entitled,"Be Kind to Your Parents."
Since Chance has been singing this song since January, we were confident that he would be able to sing it during the fair.
When we got together with the teacher and friend who was going to play this song, we quickly realized that for this particular song, the piano doesn't really give you the melody. The piano is more of an accompaniment and does not provide the melody. This proved to be a bit of a challenge for Chance. In chorus class, the kids had performed to a CD that, while it didn't have the melody, it was what he was familiar with; plus he had 120 other kids helping with the melody.
Since the performance was in less than a week, I tried to figure out how to help Chance with the melody. He has the words down pat and he had the rhythm. He had always had the other kids in the chorus to back him up with the melody and now, he would be expected to carry it alone.
I had the idea that maybe Chance's brother could sing the song with Chance to help him with the melody during the performance, but was a bit afraid that Chance would feel I didn't think he could do it alone, or that his brother would be stealing his thunder. I broached the idea with Chance and he eagerly nodded his head in agreement that his brother sing with him.
Chance's brother readily agreed and together they practiced with the piano. At the last minute, we were able to get the CD that the kids used in chorus and Chance seemed relieved by this fact.
The singing number was not a duet in the traditional sense, it was more of a support. Chance's brother just sang quietly next to Chance to help him stay on track with the melody.
When Chance took the stage, he introduced himself, gave the title of the song and said his brother was going to sing with him. Then he said,"I am going to sing now."
Chance's brother sang quietly beside him, happily letting Chance shine. As a mother, it filled my heart to the brim.
2 comments:
I'm so glad you video taped it! I loved it! Way to go Chance! and what a nice brother you have to stand by your side. :)
Loved it! Touching video and touching story. No wonder your heart was filled to the brim. Chance is singing the song with such confidence, it's wonderful. Bet you never could've envisioned this when you embarked on the journey of a deaf child!
Post a Comment