The Wheatones Ritual

In class, we've discussed how many religious rituals usually involve some medium of music. The presence of music in these events helps to bind these communities and bring them closer together. I think that the Wheatones, an all female acapella group on campus that I am a member of, is involved in rituals that bind groups of people together.

In as itself, the Wheatones meet in the same room, around the same time, four days out of the week. The purpose of the group is to create music arrangements and perform them using only voices, compared to instruments. We then learn the music through repetition and critiquing, and are usually offered to perform at events such as Relay for Life, nursing homes, children's museums of science, etc. When we are asked to perform it is usually to set the atmosphere for an event, or to unite the attendants of the event in one anthem. In this moment, everyone listens to the same tune in solidarity and potentially shares some of the same thoughts.

Aside from actually performing, the Wheatones themselves engage in rituals throughout weekly rehearsals. We vow to respect meeting times, and devote all time and energy during this time towards singing. We "leave our bags at the door," and forget about the baggage that the day left us with so that we can focus on singing. However, this sometimes works in a backwards fashion as singing allows us to forget about daily struggles. We have to analyze the meaning of each song, the energy of how the background parts should compliment the soloist, how both parts should reflect the intention of the song, and many more technical aspects to stay true to the song. These processes often lead to floods of emotion as brought up by the song, which leads members to release stress and confide in one another for support. Music makes it easier for us to empathize with each other, and gives us an opportunity to learn more about others and their lives.

At the end of each semester, the Wheatones perform all the songs they have prepared at a themed "Jam" that takes weeks of costume preparation, video recording and editing, and plenty of physical, emotional, and mental stress. In my opinion, the most significant song in our setlist is currently Landslide, by Fleetwood Mac. The song itself provides meaningful messages that Wheatones have all interpreted different ways so they are applicable to their personal lives. During the last verse of this song, where the Wheatones are all singing words in unison, we all join hands for the remainder of the song. This brings us not only closer physically, but emotionally as we all feel the rush of love we have for our friends and the music we've worked so hard to make as beautiful as possible.