Practicing Hymns

While Ethan will be singing at Good Friday and Easter services this weekend, Orthodox Holy Week is only beginning on Sunday.  Next week there are a plethora of services, and I have offered to bring the girls to one of the shorter ones to help sing in the choir.  Needless to say, this has led to lots of practice time at home so that I can teach them both the melody and the Greek text to the service's music.  Tonight we tackled the Hymn of Kassiani, which, for some reason, required Madeleine to wear a chef hat:

When I showed the girls the video after we rehearsed, Madeleine was disappointed in her own singing.

MADELEINE: Now I know how bad I sound!

ME: Honey, you don't sound bad!

MADELEINE: Yes I do!  I sound like, (making loud, unpleasant sounds)

ME: No, that's not true.  You know, I can hear my own self way too loud on that recording.

MADELEINE: Yeah.  I *did* hear your BRATO.

ME: My "brato?"

MADELEINE: Yeah.  Mommy.  When you sing like (singing with heavy vibrato) it's called "brato."

Good thing I have Madeleine to school me on proper music terminology!