Greetings! And thanks for your interest in joining a Sing!Sing!Sing! “Soom“, meeting. (Soom = Zoom + Singing) This page is presented for those who might be new to Zoom or who have had difficulty joining one of our meetings. Hope these pointers help.
Introduction
If you’re not familiar with Zoom, it’s a video conferencing platform that allows you to see and potentially speak to, everyone on the call. Sadly, due to audio delay issues, (or arguably not that sadly, 🤪), we are not able to hear each other while singing. However you will be able to see and hear our Choir Director, Judi, and occasionally our other band members, play and sing. In-between songs, we do a bit of socializing and laughing, for everyone to hear and enjoy. We’re all new to this… so don’t feel alone!
(Scroll down for
“Best Technical Recommendations“)
Steps to Joining a Sing!Sing!Sing! Zoom Call
1. To Get on the Call. Anytime after 3pm, the day of the meeting, head over to Zoom Song List + Lyrics. There you’ll find a link to the Zoom call. Lyrics will be posted on that page, as well.
A reminder email will be sent Monday afternoon to everyone on our mailing list. If you’re not yet on it, head over here, and sign up!
2. Join the meeting. Around 7 pm, use the link & password you received to go to the Zoom site. At 7 pm, we’ll let everyone in. (It’s OK to be early or late… see below.)
3. Arriving early. If this will be your first time on Zoom, we actually recommend you arrive early. You’ll be put in a “Waiting Room”. While hang’in out, waiting for the meeting to start, you can take a little time to get familiar with the controls. (See below).
4. Arriving late. (Don’t worry if you’re late, you can join in anytime you wish. When you come back in, you’ll be automatically muted. If we are singing, please wait to unmute yourself. When the song’s done, we’ll unmute everyone.)
5. Getting Heard. We try to make time for as many people as possible to say “Hi” to the group. When it’s your turn, if we can’t hear you, look for Mute/Unmute button in the lower left hand corner of the screen
6. Lyrics: The 2nd link in Monday’s email will take you to the singx3.com website and the lyrics we’ll be using for the night’s songs. You can go there anytime you wish, just know that it is usually a work-in-progress until mid-Monday.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT AHEAD OF TIME
1) Charge your phone, tablet &/or computer before hand!
2) Take a little time to figure out where you want to sit and how you’re going to set up your device so we can see your shining full face. Try to make sure there’s good lighting… if you’re in the dark, we won’t see you. 🙁
3) Choose as quiet a space as possible, though don’t worry about kids in the background. What’s bothersome are sounds such as a TV or other intrusive noises.
4) If tuning in with another person, practice how you’ll sit so we can see both your shining faces! (NOTE: If you each join use your own separate device, you will need to sit in different rooms due to inevitable feedback which will be heard by all!)
5) Dress comfortably, but remember, if you suddenly get up and all you have on are boxer shorts… well, you get the picture. Just sayin’.
BEST TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATIONS
1) ZOOM WORKS BEST FROM A COMPUTER. Always try to use your computer for the Zoom meeting and a phone or tablet for the lyrics.
2) STRONGLY ADVISED: SET UP A ZOOM ACCOUNT BEFORE THE CALL. It’s free and has helped people be able to get into the meeting without a hitch.
3) TEST YOUR AUDIO before the call: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362283-Testing-computer-or-device-audio
4) IF YOU GET DROPPED FROM THE MEETING. You should be able to join again, using the original link & password sent to you in Monday’s email. (You know, those items we suggested you keep handy during the call? 🤪) You should be able to get right back in the meeting.
Things may look different on your device. I include these pictures here just to familiarize you with some of the controls and options.
Good luck, guys….. we’ll see you soon!