Serenades are an awesome way to improve relations between fraternities & sororities; as we all know, singing is just one of many things which makes sorority life so exciting & such a wonderful experience. Depending on which chapter you’re serenading, your song selections can either be romantic, funny or completely spontaneous. But here are some crucial things to keep in mind before your chapters go out & do some serenading from the heart.
First of all, always know your audience & keep that audience in mind – that audience being whatever fraternity/fraternities you’ll be singing your songs to. Also, ask yourself these questions: Are your sororities/women’s fraternities relations with these men close & friendly? How well do you get along with your male counterparts in the Greek community?
Secondly, pick the right song for your serenade. If that’s not enough, find the right message & context for that song to be sung – it can be the difference between a memorable serenade or an epic fail altogether.
Third, remember that image is everything. When selecting your song of choice for serenading, ask yourself what kind of image your chapters present to others, what type of image you want to present to these men & how other sororities/women’s fraternities around us perceive our chapters.
Fourth, send the right messages across. This doesn’t mean that we should sing, “Oh, we’ve had a crush on you more than time can remember…” Instead, see to it that your serenade ties in to why you’re proud to be in AOII, A-Phi, DZ, Chi O, etc. In addition, if you have philanthropic events coming up or if you’re simply introducing the new initiates, your #1 song of choice will serve as a reminder on why you’re serenading these men to begin with.
Fifth, keep things open to suggestion. Your sisters may have a song which doesn’t jibe with one you chose, true, but find some common ground with these ladies – don’t shut their song selection down. Song selection isn’t exactly an easy task for some chapters to take on so allow your sisters to have some say in this matter during chapter meeting. After all, the song you finally decide on using for the next serenade will be the song these women will be learning/knowing by heart.
Serenades are not just songs to know by heart for the next visit to your favorite fraternities – they’re also a perfect way for women in the Greek community to express who they are, what they do & why they’re truly proud to represent their organizations like none other!!
