Loud Singing

Dear Miss Grace Notes: I just came back from a singing convention where I had a very disturbing experience. I was sitting in the second row of the treble section between a man and a woman I didn't know. Then the singing started -- Good Grief -- I never heard such a sound! It was sort of like being on runway 2 at the airport. I think they were one key, but they were singing so loudly that I could hardly hear my own voice. After three songs I couldn't stand it any more and had to excuse myself to a safe seat in the back row. A friend of mine later told me she was surprised I would be so rude as to get up and leave. I personally think the singers beside me were wrong to sing so loudly. Please, Miss Grace Notes, settle this issue for us all. ----Ringing Ears

Gentle Singer: Certainly Miss Grace Notes thinks you should avoid physical discomfort. I wish you had waited until recess before moving, of course, because if very many people were to get up and move around other singers would be distracted. I feel sure you avoided making unpleasant remarks to your early neighbors and that you avoided stepping on toes as you left.
   The question of the rightness or wrongness of loud singing is not Miss Grace Notes' field of expertise. Singers are a diverse group with many strong opinions. Miss Grace Notes has her opinions, of course, but she will leave philosophy to loftier minds. for instance, my Great Aunt, peering over my should as I read your letter, just sniffed and said "Sounds like good treble to me."

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