Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la…
Those were the lyrics from my a capella performance during my Singing on Stage course. As someone with little to no singing experience, I was surprised to have been able to put together such a performance by the end of the course.
A Capella Performance
Throughout the course, the instructor brought in experts to teach us how to sing with the right muscles, breathe through our stomach, and move with our whole bodies to the music we sing. I still remember reading the course syllabus on the first week of school:
Students, please prepare a song to sing solo in front of the class for the first class.
I had quite the nerves for that first day. Throughout the whole week, I’d sing alllll of me loves alll of you, desperately trying to memorize all the lyrics and sing all the notes in the right pitch. When the day came to perform, I was shaking all over and nervously attempted to produce the right words out of my mouth. Instead, alllll of you loves alll of me were the actual words that ended up slipping out… Nerves definitely got the best of me.
Since that week, I can say that I slowly developed the syndrome of no shame. Our class grew extremely close and comfortable with each other. At one point in the class, the professor asked us to run across the room shouting at the top of our lungs – what once would’ve been an embarrassing task was no longer something we even had to hesitate to do.
I loved this course a lot – I’ve learned so much and the course has impacted me in many ways that go beyond singing. This course challenged me to take more risks and try new things when I go back to Northwestern. I’ve always thought about taking an art or video production course! The course also challenged me to rethink my perspectives on how much of an impact vulnerability can make on closeness between individuals. It was honestly being vulnerable and being there for each others’ mistakes and embarrassing moments that really brought our class together.
This class is definitely one I’ll never forget!
by Ann Ku