Anybody who knows me knows that I very much enjoy participating in the global scavenger hunt GISH. This game is more like a collaborative art project on steroids, and occasionally a prompt in the game doesn’t quite work out as expected. Such was the case a few years ago, with an item that asked for people to record themselves singing a particular set of lyrics from a specific song, at a specified tempo. Unfortunately, they did not specify the key. And as folks attempted to modify the speed of a reference recording, it became apparent that the desired effect (a “monster choir” as it was put in the prompt) was simply not going to happen.
When a number of fellow players, gathered in a rather large Facebook group, lamented the apparent demise of said monster choir, something unexpected came over me. I found myself asking, “why not make one ourselves?” Two months laters, our first project was born.
It’s been five years now, and dozens of us have gathered together in virtual space (and in person a couple of times!) to make music together and have a good time. For myself, I’ve dusted off music arranging skills I haven’t put to use since not long after college. And I’ve taught myself a fair amount about video editing, which has been a blast in and of itself. We’ve found solace with each other in times of crisis, and we’ve celebrated tons of small joys along the way.
When I first started participating in that crazy scavenger hunt, I knew just one thing: I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try to supercharge my creative side. While I wouldn’t consider my creativity supercharged just yet, I can easily look back on the projects this choir has created together and realize that I have definitely pushed myself out of that dreaded comfort zone. I think many of my fellow singers have, too. And even if that were the only thing I’ve received from this amazing project (it isn’t, by far), it would be well worth it.