Word of the day: melismas

So apparently the solution to seating the copious quantities of altos in my Tuesday night choir is to add chairs to form a new back row. This option is way better than the previous method of cramming five people into a row that seats four.

The advantage of sitting in the back row is that you get to spend rehearsal watching people watch everyone else. So if you hear one lone voice singing painfully out of tune, you can see almost every single person in the choir have the same reaction:

1. Look sharply in the direction of the sound.
2. Crane neck to pinpoint exact location of unfortunate offender.
3. Slowly turn head and locate offender the next time he/she sings.
4. Tilt head knowingly towards neighbour and discuss.
5. Repeat as necessary.

Personally, I would not want people gawking at me and yapping about me when I sing out of tune. I also have very good hearing, and I don't need to make visual contact to localize sound.

The other advantage of sitting in the new back row is that you avoid seat politics. I thought that I could firmly establish my seat in the third row this year. After all, I had been sitting in the general vicinity for the better part of two years. However, apparently that area has already been claimed this year by other more senior members of the choir (i.e. those who have been sitting there since the dawn of time), and I have been squeezed out. Perhaps I'll have to lay claim to a seat in the new back row. I wonder if there's some sort of invisible name plate required to ward off any interlopers.