Great Expectations

Our last forensic rehearsal covered numerous songs. Next week we will go through the music in concert order, so if you haven’t already done so, please have your music in the correct order as per Eamonn’s email last week.

I think we all know what we need to do now, which we have been working on for some time:

We all need to show our true colours

Know your music well; learn the sections with no words, or those that are repeated

This will lead you to be able to look up and watch Eamonn for his direction

It is very important to finish words crisply and simultaneously. Many of our songs have words ending with an ‘s’. It helps to make them sound more like a ‘z’. However, if you are unsure, don’t sing it! It is better to have the odd voice or a few missing it than to have just one voice singing it at the wrong time! If we get this right, we will sound very professional.

Do not breathe in the middle of phrases. Only breathe in the places you have permission to breathe; these should be marked on your music scores by now.

High notes, smile and squeeze those oranges (especially Sops).  The top note on ‘love’ sing it as ‘lave’ and this should help.

Hold your folders at waist height and look up to see Eamonn. 

Don’t have your chin and head facing down; this closes the throat and restricts the sound.

Ask yourself:  Are you a pleasure to watch? Smile and enjoy yourself (or at least look as if you are enjoying it), and the audience will enjoy it all the more!

Stillness has not been mentioned yet, but I can assure you it will.  At the end of each song, please don’t turn the page, don’t fidget, scratch your nose, etc, until the last note on the piano is played and Eamonn turns to accept the applause from our adoring audience. Some songs end at the bottom of a page; it is wise to mark ‘End’ so you know there is nothing on the next page and you are not tempted to turn it over just in case!

Please arrive as close to 19:00 on Tuesday, and we will sort ourselves into concert formation, ready to start promptly.

Isaac, our pianist, will be joining us so Eamonn can give us his full attention as we will be giving him ours. He has great expectations that once both his hands are free and he does not have to divide his brain between playing and directing, we will perform and obey his instructions implicitly.

The choir is where your mistakes are amplified and your successes are shared.

Life without music would B♭

Get Used to It!

Well, what a rehearsal last night.

What a night!

The good news is that we know our notes overall, with just a little extra practice needed on the few we are unsure of. You know the ones I mean! We covered a lot of ground and are doing well.

The bad news is we are sounding somewhat amateurish because we are not getting clear, crisp endings to our phrases. This issue is present throughout all our songs. It’s so important, and it can’t be stressed enough.

It only takes one of us to get it wrong, and that person will be heard and spoil the whole effect.

Don’t be the one to let the team down!

The solution is quite simple: WATCH EAMONN. Just think Robert Di Niro

This has been said many times, and I understand you might be fed up hearing it. However, it’s not enough just to hear it; listen to it and GET USED TO IT!

If you’re not familiar with the songs — even though you should be by now with only a couple of weeks remaining — make sure you are. Knowing your words and looking up to see Eamonn’s cues are key.

If you hold your music slightly above your waist, you can keep your head up, which opens your throat. Use only your eyes to glance down at your music when needed, but lift your eyes to watch Eamonn at the critical moments, especially the endings.

We are now working quite meticulously on the songs to bring out the emotion and storytelling, ensuring they remain interesting and lively. Each song has its own character, and these need to be highlighted with our voices.

And So it Goes has both mini and maxi phrases. Make the mini phrases flow seamlessly into one big maxi phrase, connecting them smoothly. This simple song requires precision with the long and short notes, so watch Eamonn!

Cloudbusting should be bounced into ’every time I rains…’. And make the ‘Ooh’ sound like a ray of sunshine. Breathe quietly during the Oohs at the end so your breath remains silent.

Someone to Watch Over Me requires the Basses to sound more like little lambs than a herd of buffalo!

Matthew and Son should come in confidently on ‘and they’ve been working all day, all day…’

Timing is critical!

Down By the Riverside – the Tenors are singing the lower line when it splits. There is no gap in ‘War no more!’ Watch Eamonn!

Only You – timing is critical here. We are not singing in sync. The Sopranos are too fast, while Basses, Tenors, and Altos are too slow. We need to find the right rhythm and work together.

We are in a good place. If we all play our part (and sing it too) and get used to watching Eamonn, he will deliver a fantastic performance, creating a great sense of achievement and pride — not just for ourselves, but also to make Eamonn proud.

Lets hope, not. No names no pack drill!

Little Things Mean A Lot

We were certainly put through our paces last night, covering half the concert! 

We are now at a stage where learning songs and individual parts is complete, and it's a matter of embedding these into our brains so they become second nature.

By now, you will know where your weak spots are and only you (to quote a song from our repertoire) can make them right!

Just remember how far we’ve come.  We have done the hard work of learning new songs (or refreshing old ones for some of us).  Now we are focusing on the little details to bring these songs to life, making them interesting for us to sing, but more importantly, to tell the stories to our audience.

The secret key to this is simple: just watch Eamonn!

It is not quite as simple when he is playing the piano as well as conducting us, but he does his best with nods of his head, a hand gesture and, of course, the famous Eamonn glare and snarl!

Once we have a pianist, which will be the two weeks before the concert, as well as the day of the concert, Eamonn can give us all his attention, as indeed, we should be giving him all of ours!

Some general hints and tips from last night to work on:

DO NOT breathe in the middle of long phrases; but I need, The air that I breathe. Learn to take deep breaths and control them

Mark your music score where you mustn’t breathe, as well as the rare occasions where you can take a quick breath!

Where a word ends in an ‘s’, ensure you make the cut off clean with no hissing and sounds of deflating tyres!

At the top, high notes (especially Sopranos), smile and squeeze the oranges under your armpits and keep it bright.

Be prepared when your part arrives; don’t let it catch you off guard so you miss the first notes.

Watch Eamonn; he will indicate when your part comes in and ends, where it slows down, when it needs more energy and especially for the gaps (dunce holes).  There are plenty of these in The Sound of Silence, and the gaps are not all the same length!

Eamonn keeps the tempo – he’s the boss, so keep watching him!

Please consider the style of music for each song and lean into it, allowing yourself to feel it. E.g., the "do do do do" in Matthew and Son; the relentless positive energy in "Walking on Sunshine," etc.

Know when your part is essential and sing it out, but take it back a notch when you are the backing singers and let the other, perhaps more critical parts, be heard.

Some songs are slow, but not necessarily sad, like "Everytime We Say Goodbye." It is a love song, so keep it moving forward.

With Eamonn taking on some of Elliot’s arrangements, he has made just slight changes:

Peace in the Valley – ‘Oh, yes’ is now short with a crisp ‘s’

Walking on Sunshine – the end will have a slightly longer ‘good’.

Walking on Sunshine is a challenge for Eamonn as well as us!  The music under the singing gives the driving force for us to sing over, but it doesn’t help with the notes we sing!  We need to build and drive on regardless with no dip in energy, even if you are feeling tired; keep going! 

It may be the last song of Act One or Act Two, so you’ll have time to recover when you’ve finished singing it!

Once Eamonn has a pianist to play, he can then concentrate on keeping up our energy. Can I suggest Eric Morcombe, priceless!

Peace in the Valley – Basses need to work on ‘there will be no sadness and no (‘no’ is long) sorrow’, so it can be heard as you are the only ones singing at that time and it gives emphasis to the song, so it is important to get this right!

It's just a case of practice.  If you know your part, you will sing out confidently and be heard, which in turn gives confidence to others in your voice part, and they, too, will sing louder. As each voice part gains confidence, we can then listen to one another and hear the beautiful blend and harmony of our In Flagrante Choir!

The best thing about harmony is that you can’t sing it alone!