Dear Singing Friends,

On July 4th I often wish we could celebrate not just the rockets' red  
glare but also the many different energies required to make democracy  
function.  What are they?  Naturally I think of music, and of Sacred  
Harp.   We often say that Sacred Harp is democratic because we have  
no conductors, we sit in a hollow square, and the melody lines have  
equal weight (although we tenors may claim some are more equal than  
others).

Sacred Harp has a surprising cousin in democracy: jazz.  Sam Smith  
says, "The essence of jazz is the same as that of democracy: the  
greatest amount of individual freedom consistent with a healthy  
community. Each musician is allowed extraordinary liberty during a  
solo and then is expected to conscientiously back up the other  
musicians in turn. The two most exciting moments in jazz are during  
flights of individual virtuosity and when the entire musical group  
seems to become one. The genius of jazz (and democracy) is that the  
same people are willing and able to do both."

The genius of Sacred Harp (and democracy) is that everyone who leads  
is a virtuoso, albeit with constraints, a virtuoso who then returns  
to his or her seat to sing in support of the next leader; everyone  
who pitches is responding to the community and strengthening it; we  
get chills "when the entire musical group seems to become one."

Let's keep on being willing and able to create those exciting moments  
essential to democracy, stepping out as virtuosos then returning to  
back up the group, in our hollow squares, in our families and  
neighborhoods, in the USA.  And let's keep singing.

Although it's the 6th, Happy 4th!

Gillie