Brian Gravelle fieldwork notes 9/31/06
Brian Gravelle fieldwork notes 9/31/06
I went to the South Plains Fair for reasons other than fieldwork, but sometimes these things just magically happen. It was approximately 1:30 PM as I was leaving the Fair to go to a gospel choir rehearsal. I was running late and was frantically trying to persuade my girlfriend to stop looking at things so we could go. I walked away from the food venues and past a coliseum that housed all the winning items in the fair. As I was walking I heard music being sung and turned to see where it was coming from. To my surprise, I saw people singing gospel music. They were standing under four tents and were singing into microphones.
The sign next to them said Lubbock Are Baptist Association. There were four amps in front of them and a sound board behind them. One man was singing and six women were singing. The women were divided up into alto and soprano. Two altos were on one mic and four sopranos were on another. The man had a mic to himself and was singing the melodies to the songs. People would walk by and glance in their general direction, and then there were people who were sitting out of the sun, watching them perform. The crowd was predominantly Hispanic, but there were Caucasian and African Americans as well. One black woman would raise her hand and give them praise as they sang. I was just overjoyed that some gospel music fell into my lap.
One gentleman was standing in front of them handing out pamphlets. I approached him and asked him who these people were that were singing. He said to me that these were choir members of the Good Shepherd Family Worship Center. I explained to him that I was doing a research project over African American music in a sacred setting and asked him, “Can I attend a service of a rehearsal?” His words were, “CAN you? Of course you can.” I felt relieved because finally I had my foot in one of the doors. He gave me a pamphlet and told me that they would be done in a minute and that the gentleman singing was the music director at the church. I thanked C. and waited until they were done to approach him. I told him I enjoyed the singing and told him what I was doing. He was very eager to help me. He told me that I could attend a rehearsal any time. What I thought was interesting is that the people sang from recorded instrumental and piano music. I then left the fair at 1:45.
I went to the South Plains Fair for reasons other than fieldwork, but sometimes these things just magically happen. It was approximately 1:30 PM as I was leaving the Fair to go to a gospel choir rehearsal. I was running late and was frantically trying to persuade my girlfriend to stop looking at things so we could go. I walked away from the food venues and past a coliseum that housed all the winning items in the fair. As I was walking I heard music being sung and turned to see where it was coming from. To my surprise, I saw people singing gospel music. They were standing under four tents and were singing into microphones.
The sign next to them said Lubbock Are Baptist Association. There were four amps in front of them and a sound board behind them. One man was singing and six women were singing. The women were divided up into alto and soprano. Two altos were on one mic and four sopranos were on another. The man had a mic to himself and was singing the melodies to the songs. People would walk by and glance in their general direction, and then there were people who were sitting out of the sun, watching them perform. The crowd was predominantly Hispanic, but there were Caucasian and African Americans as well. One black woman would raise her hand and give them praise as they sang. I was just overjoyed that some gospel music fell into my lap.
One gentleman was standing in front of them handing out pamphlets. I approached him and asked him who these people were that were singing. He said to me that these were choir members of the Good Shepherd Family Worship Center. I explained to him that I was doing a research project over African American music in a sacred setting and asked him, “Can I attend a service of a rehearsal?” His words were, “CAN you? Of course you can.” I felt relieved because finally I had my foot in one of the doors. He gave me a pamphlet and told me that they would be done in a minute and that the gentleman singing was the music director at the church. I thanked C. and waited until they were done to approach him. I told him I enjoyed the singing and told him what I was doing. He was very eager to help me. He told me that I could attend a rehearsal any time. What I thought was interesting is that the people sang from recorded instrumental and piano music. I then left the fair at 1:45.
posted by Anonymous at 5:42 PM
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