It's good to talk
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We started by recapping Have You Ever Seen the Rain which showed we had done our homework and was in a better place than last week.
Ensure you can hear ‘the’ in ‘Have you ever seen the rain’ otherwise it sounds as if you are asking Have you seen Lorraine!
Remember when the song gets quieter it doesn’t mean it gets slower, so keep the tempo going.
Make ‘I know’ loud like a big burst of sunshine
Altos, ‘Yesterday and days before, sun is cold and rain is hard…’ ‘is’, ‘cold’ and ‘and’ is on the same note
In Bar 63, Sops, Altos and Basses sing ‘Oh’ (not ‘Ooh’) which is a much richer sound.
‘It can’t stop I wonder’ – ‘wonder’ is short.
Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat is a song written by Frank Loesser and published in 1950. The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls. In the context of the show, gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson recounts a dream about being saved from Hell in order to bring together the members of the prayer meeting.
The timing on this will be guided by Eamonn on his return, so remember to watch his direction.
For now, we will learn the notes and fit in all the words.
It is quite repetitive and needs lots of energy, so pace yourselves so you can still keep it up at the very end of the song.
Don’t be perfect with your ‘t’ and make it a ‘d’ as in ‘Sid down your rocking the boat’
‘I sailed….’ Are two separate notes of even length.
Keep vowels long on ‘resist’, especially if you don’t have the moving notes. We don’t want to hear hissing snakes!
No sliding on ‘…as I sank…’
After the loud, ‘…hollered someone save me!’ it goes very quiet on ’That’s the moment I woke up…’
With all the repeats of ‘sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down you’re rocking the boat’ make it sound like ‘dahn’ and it will be easier to sing.
Monday, Monday is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, with backing music by members of the Wrecking Crew. Phillips said that he wrote the song quickly, in about 20 minutes. However, after he initially presented it to the group during the late 1965 recording sessions for their debut album, he was met with strong resistance from band members Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips, who hated it and called the song's subject matter 'pretentious'.
Eventually, producer Lou Adler stepped in and took John's side.
In the lyrics, the singer dislikes Mondays because the person he loved left him on that day: "Oh Monday mornin', you gave me no warnin' of what was to be."
Singer Denny Doherty later recalled, "I liked the opening background vocals, the 'bah-da-da-da-da-dum,'...I thought that was cool. But nobody likes Monday, so I thought it was just a song about the working man. Nothing about it stood out to me. It was a dumb song about a day of the week. By the time the rehearsals were over for the vocals, I thought, 'Thank god that’s over!'"
On March 2, 1967, the Mamas & the Papas won a Grammy Award for the song, in the category Best Contemporary (R&R) Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental.
We discovered that this song is more complex than it first appears. Make sure you can clearly hear the ‘Bs’ and ‘Ds’ on the ‘Ba das’ to give a percussive sound.
Sop 2s keep it bright and you will stay on the note.
Sop 1s keep going to the end of your ‘da’ and don’t let it go down at the end.
Altos sing out so you can heard.
In Bar 32 -35 Sop 2s are on the top line and Altos are on the bottom line.
‘Every other day…’ is cannoned, so make sure the timing is right.
Tenors and Basses with your second ‘other day’, ‘other’ comes on the beat, so emphasise it as in’ Every other day, every other day, every other day of the week…’ and that will help with the timing.
This section should be loud and clearly enunciated.
‘all of the time’ – ‘time’ is short
Next week will sing:
Poor Wayfaring Stranger
Those Were the Days
And revisit:
Lovely Day
Daydream Believer
Scarborough Fair
Plus any others we have covered.
Please listen to the tracks on all the songs. If everyone does their homework and works hard, it will pay off in the long run and we can then move on and learn some new material before Eamonn returns in November.
Josh Slovick, I Am A Poorwayfaring Stranger title track. Sam Mendes’s 1917 follows two young British soldiers, Lance-Corporals Blake and Schofield, on a desperate mission to deliver a message that could save 1,600 men of the Devonshire Regiment from a German trap. For Blake, whose brother is among those at risk, the mission is deeply personal. Their perilous journey takes them through trenches, tunnels, ruined villages and the corpse-strewn horrors of No Man’s Land.
After the whirlwind start last week, we went over Daydream Believer and completed it to the end.
Work on the harmonies at the beginning and Sops, do not slide when singing the high ‘Do’.
Keep it strong and long right to the end. Don’t let it tail off.
In the part ‘…do we really need’ it is only the Tenors and Basses singing ‘need’, so it must be loud so it can be heard over the ‘do, do, do,dos’.
On Bar 64 the ‘doo’ at the end is long and remember it is a ‘da’ the second time which is slightly shorter.
The trick with the high note is to think you are there already and think high from the start.
The ‘Ba, ba, ba’ section should be playful and have intensity like a brass band; it is not a Mozart requiem!
The last ‘Cheer up sleepy Jean…..’ doesn’t have a ‘homecoming queen’ at the end it just goes into repeats of ‘daydream believer..’ gradually getting quieter until if fades out.
Keep this song bright all the way through.
At first, Donnie Darko can seem confusing or even absurd, but it becomes clearer when viewed through ideas of parallel realities, fate and the fourth dimension. Donnie appears to be trapped in an alternate world where he must play a specific role to prevent catastrophe, with Frank acting as both guide and symbol of rebellion. The film questions whether people truly have free will or whether their choices are part of a larger predetermined plan, while also exploring the consequences of disrupting that order. Donnie’s eventual sacrifice gives him the role of a saviour or martyr, reinforced by references to The Last Temptation of Christ, while his confusion, rebellion, first love and questioning of his purpose also make the film an allegory for adolescence. By combining science fiction, religion, psychology and philosophical questions about destiny, Donnie Darko becomes an unconventional and enigmatic film whose ambiguity has helped make it a cult classic.
Mad World is a 1982 song by the English new wave band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith. It was originally written on acoustic guitar when Orzabal was 19 after being inspired to write a new wave song in the vein of Duran Duran's Girls on Film. After a few false starts with Orzabal on vocals, he suggested Smith sing it and "suddenly it sounded fabulous". Retrospectively, it has been suggested that the chorus Mad World was partially inspired by the bridge of Cat Stevens' 1966 hit single Matthew and Son, a similarity that has been referenced by Stevens in live performances.
The promotional video for Mad World was filmed in late summer 1982, in the grounds of Knebworth House. It was Tears for Fears' first music video and features Curt Smith staring out of a window while Roland Orzabal dances outside on a lakeside jetty. A brief party scene in the video features friends and family of the band, including Smith's mother as well as his then-wife Lynne.
According to Curt Smith, "When we made the video in a country estate on the cheap, we bussed all our friends and family up from Bath and had a fun day. The woman who's having the birthday party in the video is my mum."
This song is all about extremes. It has a ghostly ethereal sound which is weird. Keep any vibrato out of your voice.
Feel the beat with the ‘Nm, nms..’ which gives it a bell-like quality. Emphasise the second ‘nm’ in each pair. Basses you have a slightly different rhythm as you are on the beat and this helps to keep the timing.
Sops you are singing over the ‘nms’, but no sliding on ‘up their glasses’
Elongate the vowels especially on ‘best’ in ‘… best I’ve ever had’ so it doesn’t sound snatched.
Make sure you sing ‘world’ to the end in ‘Mad world’ as it is a long note.
In the verses try not to make it staccato, even though that is tempting. Elongate the phrases instead and make them flow.
In the section with the long ‘through’ and ‘me’ be ready to come in on ‘And I find it kind a funny….’
We just need to be confident on our notes and then the dynamics of soft and loud will follow.
Check the notation when practising at home. p/pp id soft and f/ff is loud.
Make Me Feel Your Love
is a song written by Bob Dylan. It is one of the few songs to have achieved the status of becoming a "standard" in the 21st century, having been covered by more than 450 different artists. The best known cover versions are ones by Adele, Michael Bolton, Neil Diamond, Elkie Brooks, Boy George, Bryan Ferry, Joan Osborne, Garth Brooks, Nick Knowles and Pink.
Adele was initially hesitant to record a cover song on her album, as she was worried it would imply she was incapable of writing enough of her own songs. Nonetheless, she listened to the song under pressure from her manager, Jonathan Dickins, and loved it. She said "I wrote nine songs in a short space of time, all about this awful relationship I was in. I never quite got down what I was really feeling in those songs, though. It wasn't that I was holding back or anything, but I just couldn't get it down. I was bitterly upset and then Jonathan Dickins played me this Bob Dylan song, Make You Feel My Love. The lyrics are just amazing and summed up exactly what I'd been trying to say in my songs. It's about regretting not being with someone and it's beautiful. It's weird that my favourite song on my album is a cover, but I couldn't not put it on there. I'm not normally a Dylan fan either.
In our version, Sops start us off. Remember ‘case’, ‘face’ and ‘embrace’ are short and crisp with elongated vowels, so no hissing!
With the ’oohs’ don’t anticipate the downward scale as it will sound terrible.
Altos & Basses, ‘When the evening shadows and the stars appear…’ comes on the first beat.
‘I could hold you for a million years…’ is on the second beat.
Sops & Tenors, take a quick breath just before Bar 24 between the Ooh and Aah section.
Remember that ‘we’ has to notes in ‘that we met’ with a strong ‘t’ on ‘met’.
‘I’d go hungry I’d go black and blue’ – ‘black’ is long.
‘I’d go crawling down the avenue’ is a bluesy sound and it not the tune. Learn it as it will be YOUR tune
‘…you ain’t seen nothing like me yet’ goes into ‘I could make you happy….’ Which is on the first beat. There is no rest, so don’t be late with your entrance.
Keep ‘love’ long with elongated vowel. Slow right down at the end, but keep it clean and don’t be indulgent!
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by John Fogerty and released as a single on 29 December 1970.
John Fogerty has said in interviews and prior to playing the song in concert that it concerns tensions within Creedence Clearwater Revival themselves and the imminent departure of his brother Tom Fogerty from the band.
"That song is really about the impending breakup of Creedence. The imagery is, you can have a bright, beautiful, sunny day, and it can be raining at the same time," Fogerty told Rolling Stone magazine in 1993.
In a literal sense, the song describes a sunshower, such as in the lyric "It'll rain a sunny day" and the chorus, "Have you ever seen the rain, comin' down on a sunny day?" These events are particularly common in the Deep South due to localized atmospheric wind shear effects.
The Sops start this song and Basses don’t join in until page 2.
When singing ‘water’ make it a softer ‘d’ sound like ‘wa-der’
After a loud, ‘I know’ it is very quiet and soft ‘it’s been coming for some time’
We will revisit this and finish it next week along with Monday, Monday, Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat and Poor Wayfaring Stranger.
Please look at the ones for next week so we can achieve as much as possible and don’t forget to keep on top the ones we’ve already done to keep them fresh in your mind as we don’t want to go back to square one and go over all the notes again.
It was suggested you listen to choral and barbershop singing so you can take in the different styles of singing and bring them into your style when you sing.
Welcome Back
After the great success of our Summer Gala Concert, we are now getting ready to thrill our audience for our Winter Concert on 26 November!
Elliot has stepped into the breach while our Maestro is busy doing exciting things elsewhere. He has set high standards and he aims to go through the whole repertoire so we will know the notes and Eamonn can then work on the performance side and not have to teach us how to sing the songs.
Be prepared to do your homework!
Lovely Day is a song by American soul and R&B singer Bill Withers. Written by Withers and Skip Scarborough, it was released in 1977 and was used in adverts for Tetley tea, again in 1999 for a Gap commercial and yet again in 2020 in ads for Good Morning Football on NFL Network, an Allstate insurance TV commercial, as well as an ad for Pandora Jewelers.
This song needs lots of energy otherwise it will fall flat. Keep an internal metronome going and it will help you keep a steady tempo with plenty of energy.
The first verse is sung by the Tenors and Basses
The phrases end with short notes as in ‘When I wake up in the morning love’ ‘love’ is short
Don’t forget the longer notes as in ‘.. and the sunlight hurts my eyes’ ‘my’ is long
Altos feel the beat with your ‘lovely day’. Keep ‘day’ short so there are small gaps in between.
Sops, Tenors and Basses take a big breath for your long ‘day’ in ‘Lovely day’. Think of it as a balloon slowly deflating and then filling up with air again for the second time round.
The solo part could be sung by a Bass or Tenor so put your name forward if you are interested.
In Bar 60 to 61 do not take a breath! That will be from the last ‘oohs’ into ‘then I look at you…’
We probably won’t be looking at this song for another 4 weeks, so please look at it at home and listen to the Dropbox Tracks and practise, especially the parts you are unsure of.
Scarborough Fair is a traditional Northern English ballad. The song lists a number of impossible tasks given to a former lover who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Paul Simon learned the song from Martin Carthy and along with Art Garfunkel recorded it in 1966
This song has long phrases, so make sure you sing them with intensity right to the end and don’t let them fade away.
‘Parsley, sage and thyme’ comes in very quickly, so be prepared. ‘Be’ and ‘me’ are long notes and ‘blossom’ is very long!
Alto don’t have the most exciting notes to sing, but make them enchanting and not boring.
Daydream Believer is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio. It was recorded by the Monkees, with Davy Jones singing the lead. John Stewart recalled: "I remember going to bed thinking, 'What a wasted day – all I've done is daydream.' And from there I wrote the whole song. I never thought it was one of my best songs. Not at all".
This song needs boundless energy, but not like a football chant! Keep it light and exciting at the beginning with no sliding on ‘alarm’ in ‘…the six o’clock alarm would never ring…’
Make sure you sing the vowel sound with the long notes as ‘The shaving razors cold and it stiiiiiiings’
All one breath in the section ‘oh what can it mean to a’ then you can breathe before singing ‘daydream believer and a homecoming queen’
Sop1s with your Doo section over everyone else, make it two ‘Doos’ two notes on the first ‘Doo’ and two notes on the second ‘Doo’. Make sure you keep these notes on track and don’t let them drift and go off pitch!
It may seem like a whirlwind to some, but we have hit the ground running and work really hard in this short term to be concert ready. Do your homework and prepare. You can do it!
