Virtual Choir (Pentecost 2020)

For our Virtual Conference-Wide Pentecost Worship Service on May 31^st, all are warmly invited to add their voices to a special virtual choir! Kristine McClain will be collecting and combining video recordings from anyone who would like to contribute to the singing “Spirit of God” by the Walking Roots Band. Though we may be physically distant from one another, this video will allow us to hear our voices joined together. NOTE: SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

Using your smartphone, a camera, or your computer, we invite you to film yourself (individually, or with those with whom you are in quarantine) singing along to a recording of “Spirit of God”.

Here are a few tips for the filming/recording process:

1. If you have headphones, you are encouraged to use them! You may get the best results listening to the video through your headphones while you sing (or if you prefer, one ear on, one ear off works well, too, so you can more easily hear yourself). This will help keep the music track from bleeding into your recording, for when we go to edit all our voices together. But headphones are not a requirement! Just do your best to make sure your voice comes through louder than the sound of the accompaniment track.
2. If you have a separate microphone that you can record with, that’s great! If not, the built-in microphone of whatever device you are using to film will work just fine.
3. If using your smartphone, try turning the phone horizontally to film; the result may be easier to use that way.
4. Take a moment to make sure your shot looks the way you want it to before recording. Think about framing yourself so you’re neither too close nor too far away (the YouTube video is a good approximate reference). Find somewhere that is well-lit (either naturally or artificially); light sources should ideally be in front of you (facing you), not behind you.
5. It may take a few tries to feel comfortable singing along with the track. We would like to have this song sung in as many languages as possible. The recording is done in English with a break for humming or singing in a different language. Please record yourself singing in another language other than English during the humming part or, if you don’t know another language, you can hum. Also…PLEASE ADD HARMONIES! 😊
6. After you have recorded, go back and listen to yourself, just to make sure everything is coming through loud and clear, without any unexpected background noises.

Once You are Done Recording:

When you have finished recording, file share your recording with Kristine McClain at office@mosaicmennonites.org. Please DO NOT email the recording as it will be too large to send.

We recommend using a free file transfer service, such as Dropbox, Google Drive or WeTransfer. (To use WeTransfer, simply go to WeTransfer.com, follow the instructions, add your video file, and be sure to put office@mosaicmennonites.org where it says “Email to.”)

Any questions or concerns may be directed to Tami Good (tami@justswamp.com) or Kristine McClain (office@mosaicmennonites.org ). Thank you for considering lending your voice to our worship in this way!