I had heard that children can’t learn harmony. And I set out to challenge that assumption. So I taught Yanni and Xay to sing harmony when they were in single digits. It took a while, and during that time, Xay really wanted to sing soprano instead.

But as I knew he wouldn’t have his piercing high voice forever, I made him sing the low part. Now, at 14, he is more a baritone, but has a solid tenor’s ear. Yanni is a soprano that sings alto at home.

And I was done. But I have more children than just those two, and I felt burdened to teach Esteban tenor. So I started singing the tenor part in our bed-time prayer. We sing the Lord’s prayer (in Spanish) at bedtime. My singing tenor has forced Joy and Imani to really learn the soprano part. They are now strong on that part, and Esteban now knows his tenor part.

But. . . now Chanya is trying to sing along. And she’s singing the tenor part as well. Now, if I’m burdened that the boys sing tenor, then I need to make sure my girls are singing girl parts.

So I sent in for reinforcements. I had Xay come and sing tenor for Esteban so I could sing soprano for Chanya. It didn’t work so well tonight. Chanya stopped singing altogether when I changed my part. Thus begins another steep learning curve. But she’s only 1 1/2. I can be patient.

They’re all playing into my plot of having a choir at home. Now if I could just get Yanni to come sing alto. . .