Singer's Blog

Why being a part of Vocal Line is so special...

I have been a member of Vocal Line for one and a half year - one and a half year that at the same time feels like a short moment and an eternity. A short moment, because I clearly remember what it was like going to my first rehearsal on a cold evening in autumn, with sweaty palms and a voice that was shaking from being nervous. At the same time it feels like an eternity ago because I can't remember what I was doing Wednesday evenings before joining Vocal Line or what it was like before the chorus became such a big part of my life.  

Folk high school associations 

Vocal Line does become a big part of your life. But it is all worth it, when you think of all the amazing experiences we create and share. When I try to explain to people why I love to be a part of Vocal Line I use to say that to me it compares with going on a folk high school. My friends know that this comparison is the best I could ever give, because I loved being on the folk high school and I think back on that time of my life as something extraordinary that brought me some of my biggest musical, social and personal experiences.  

To find part of this atmosphere again in Vocal Line has been fantastic and also a bit surprising for me. Maybe I expected to feel it in regard to working with the details in every single song, feel that my musicality is being challenged and in the eagerness to improve which arises when you are working with people who are more talented than yourself. But I didn't know that besides these things, Vocal Line also creates a fantastic fellow-feeling and friendships. We spend a lot of time together rehearsing, singing and travelling which provide us with a lot of unique experiences going from overwhelming concerts to spontaneous parties at the hotels, delayed sound checks, jokes, meeting fantastic people and so on. And it is this part of being in Vocal Line that makes me compare it to my time on a folk high school. Because I think that you grow as a human being by sharing these experiences - not only when the joy and excitement is overwhelming but also when the vulnerability, the tiredness or the irritation is about to take over.  

Mood-booster 

It is, however, my experience that it's quite difficult to be irritated or tired for a long time when you are in the company of Vocal Line. On our trip to the United States last spring, I remember getting lost, looking for a church where we would be giving a concert. I was too stubborn to take a cap and therefore I ended up spending one a halt hour searching for the right place. When I finally arrived I was tired and sulky and absolutely not in the mood for singing a concert. Actually I was convinced that it would be a terrible evening. Nonetheless I ended up smiling after a very short while and I had a great evening. Because being part of Vocal Line really brings up your energy and your mood. I definitely think that's why everyone who has been part of the chorus finds it so difficult to leave - once you've discovered how happy it makes you, you don't want to miss it. No matter what my mood is when I arrive to a rehearsal, I always leave with a smile on my face and the songs stay in my head and on my lips on my way home. And when we return from a bigger trip I always look forward to the next one and I feel that there is an eternity until I see Vocal Line again at our next Wednesday rehearsal. 

Happy New Year 

Now we have started a new year and we are about to start the big and exciting work of recording our next CD. I'm sure that the long days with recording will bring us even more of the atmosphere from the folk high school and that it will be a worth-while experience. Luckily we will not only spend the spring recording; we are also going to sing some concert in Denmark during the spring and later this year we will be going to Germany on a major tour. When it all adds up, it seems to me that 2010 is going to be another fantastic and eventful year in Vocal Line.