- Trills on a Tuesday
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
With our Maestro back in the driving seat, he was very keen to see the progress we had made in his absence. We now have the 18 songs we are going to perform for our Summer Gala Concert, so there are no surprises. We must keep on top of things and practise all of them, especially the parts of songs you are unsure of.
Some of us have definitely been working hard and, on the whole, we impressed him, which is no mean feat!
Crossing the Bar, actually brought tears to his eyes and he said it was the best we have ever sung it! Of course, there was some minor adjustments that need to be made, but we are getting down to the minutiae now. Keep the long phrases going to the end and breathe where there are rests. Just watch the timing on ‘I hope to see my Pilot face to face…’ which is shorter notes the first time it is sung and elongated notes the second time.
Eamonn has set us all a challenge and wants us to learn by heart the beginning of some of the songs so we can look up and watch him. You have just got to get used to looking up!
Learn the beginning of:
The Logical Song - Altos & SopsMatthew & Son – AltosThe Impossible Dream – BassesVincent – Basses & TenorsIrish Blessing – SopsCrossing the Bar – Sops, Altos & Tenors
It sounds a big ask, but if you practise regularly, the words will just stay in your head and it will become second nature. You just have to break the habit of looking down at your music score and have the confidence to look up at Eamonn who will guide you through it all. If you can achieve this, it will be an amazing performance.
We eased our way in with Vincent where Tenors and Basses sing together most of the time.Sops be careful as some of your ‘Oohs’ are flat which is not a good sound! ‘Oohs’ sound simple, but sung for a long period of time with very high notes is hard work to keep them sounding bright and interesting.Be very emphatic when coming in on ‘Now I understand….’Tenors & Basses when coming off the lyrics onto an ‘Ooh’ chill out and don’t make it too loud. Just melt into it!Altos when you come in the ‘And when no hope was left inside…’ make sure you sound the ‘d’ on ‘and’. Eamonn doesn’t like Ann Wenn!
Matthew & Son is sectional so know when it is more robotic and when it loose with ‘Do do dos’. Keep the notes going to the end of the phrases and don’t let them fade away. ‘They’ve been working all day, all day, all day..’ give ‘day’ a lot of love.‘Matthew & Sonnnn’ – the ‘sonnn’ should have a real buzz to it.Altos, get into your rhythm with your sassy ‘do do dos’ at the end.
Here Comes the Flood – this is quick, intense and weird! Do not take a breath in the middle of the long phrases.Ensure all the ‘z’ sounds at the end of the words are joined on to the next word e,g, ‘When the night show zthe signal grow zon radios’….After the robotic sound of the verses, make ‘We can’t even choose a side’ really warm.Sops, your ‘Oohs’ are very important, so make them sound interesting.Take a big breath before ‘Oh and ….’ And connect ‘soa kedthe crowd’.
The Logical Song is also a strange, crazy song. Listen to the original to get the feel of it, although Eamonn’s version is different. As usual, Tenors and Basses are seduced on to the tune. Learn your own tune and you’ll be fine.
You’re the Voice is going to be our grand finale of the concert so it will need lots of energy to keep it moving forward, but you’ll have the adrenaline to power your through.Unusually you have lots of opportunity to breathe in this song. Take a breath between the Whoa, whoas’
It is more important than ever to do your homework as time is moving quickly and the concert wil be upon us before we know it! Learn the lyrics as much as possible so you can look up and watch for the cut offs.
You can do it!
Tips for Faster Learning
Understand the Story: Focusing on the meaning and structure of the song makes it easier to recall than random words.
Practice Before Bed: Reviewing the lyrics before sleep can improve retention.
Use Imagery: Visualize the scene or story behind the lyrics to act as memory triggers.
Record Yourself: Record yourself singing and listen to it to identify areas needing improvement.
Rehearse Frequently: Use spaced repetition by reviewing the lyrics over several days rather than just once
- Trills on a Tuesday
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
It was explained to us how to use our breath and let it naturally happen as we tell the story when singing in phrases, even if it is only Oohs. Imagine you are a dog and someone comes to the door and you bark. You can feel your diaphragm working to push out the air as you need it; you don’t have to think about it. Use this principle when singing and our body will adjust the amount of air we need naturally.
We certainly need plenty of breath for The Rhythm of Life. It should be powerful.
The tempo on this song is constant, although sometimes you have a lot of words to fit in, it gives the illusion of going faster or when some notes are longer it appears slower.
When you have a lot of notes to sing, don’t fudge them, make sure each note is heard clearly.
Every time you come in on your part, tell the story and make the audience notice you and listen to your part.
With ‘pigeons’ and ‘religion’ open your mouth, so the note doesn’t squeak and maybe go a little flat!
To help the Altos and Basses find their note on the key change, Sop1 and Tenors punch out the second note of ‘feet’.
At the end, make sure the ‘Yeahs’ are cut off cleanly and quickly as directed.
The journey of John Farnham.
You’re the Voice still needs a lot of work. The rhythm and timing are critical in this song otherwise it will not work.
‘This time’ is sung by the basses on the first beat and everyone else comes in on the third beat with the echo of ‘this time.
Make ‘Believin’’ sound like ‘Believen’ and straight into ‘we can make it better’
Homework, homework, homework on this one, please!
Crossing the Bar is in a better place. Make sure ‘sound’ in ‘sound and foam’ is long
Basses do not slide on ‘again home’
Watch the timing on ‘no (count 1/2) sadness of farewell’ and keep it moving forward.
We did remarkably well on our silences in The Sound of Silence. The song is disguised as a ballad, but it is actually full of energy and tells a story. We sang this from start to finish with no one falling in the dunce holes. Well done!
The Rainbow Connection was in good shape too, remember to emphasize the ‘Oh’ before going into ‘I’ve heard it too many times….’
Ensure the La da da di da di dums are crisp and bouncy
Our Maestro is back next week. Please practise at home and let us surprise him with how good we know we can be.
- Trills on a Tuesday
- Apr 24
- 4 min read
Elliot was our guest MD this week and he put a new twist on the dreaded tongue circles. Think of a phrase or chorus of a song and hum that tune while you circle your tongue in one direction and when the phrase is finished, do it again circling your tongue the other way. This way you can concentrate on the notes rather than the pain in the tongue!
You’re the Voice, a high energy song, so pace yourself. It needs energy from the start, but you have to keep something in reserve for the big build up towards the end.
The Oohs should crescendo and think bright, so notes aren’t flat.
The rhythms and cut offs are important in this song. ‘We have’ should have a short ‘have’ with a strong ‘v’ sound.
With the next set of Oohs, even though the notes are going down, think up and sing them to the end of the bar. This helps to keep up the energy.
The gaps in the phrasing are critical. ‘…We’re all someone’s son’ count 123 before coming in on ‘How long…’ which is syncopated then a slight gap before ‘…barrel of a gun’
Familiarise yourself with the words so you can look up and watch for the cut offs and timings.
This song should sound like a fanfare! Not quite sure if this is what Elliot mean't
You’ll Never Walk Alone, is a much slower pace. When Altos, Tenors and Basses sing their Oohs from ‘You’ll never walk ooh’, sing (in your head) ‘alone’ with the Sops and you’ll know when your Ooh starts after the ‘a’ of ‘alone’
‘tossed and blown’ - ‘tossed’ is not aggressive but should be emphasised with a very short gap before ‘and blown, but don’t take a breath!
The Sound of Silence is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. It was featured under both the opening and closing credits of the 1967 film The Graduate.
Paul Simon wrote The Sound of Silence when he was 21 years old, later explaining that the song was written in his bathroom, where he turned off the lights to better concentrate. "The main thing about playing the guitar, though, was that I was able to sit by myself and play and dream. And I was always happy doing that. I used to go off in the bathroom, because the bathroom had tiles, so it was a slight echo chamber. I'd turn on the faucet so that water would run (I like that sound, it's very soothing to me) and I'd play. In the dark. 'Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again.
The lyrics of the song are written in five stanzas of seven lines each. Each stanza begins with a couplet describing the setting of the scene, followed by a couplet driving the action forward and another couplet expressing the climactic thought of the verse, and closes with a one-line refrain referring to "the sound of silence".
The progress of the lyrics through its five stanzas places the singer into an incrementally increasing tension with an increasingly ambiguous "sound of silence". The irony of using the word "sound" to describe silence in the title lyrics suggests a paradoxical symbolism being used by the singer, which the lyrics of the fourth stanza eventually identifies as "silence like a cancer grows". The "sound of silence" is symbolically taken also to denote the cultural alienation associated with much of the 1960s.
The first stanza presents the singer as taking some relative solace in the peacefulness he associates with "darkness" which is submerged "within" the ambiguous sound of silence.
The second stanza has the effect of breaking into the silence with "the flash of a neon light" which leaves the singer "touched" by the enduring ambiguity of the sound of silence.
In the third stanza, a "naked light" emerges as a vision of 10,000 people all caught within their own solitude and alienation without any one of them daring to "disturb" the recurring sound of silence.
In the fourth stanza, the singer proclaims in a declarative voice that "silence like a cancer grows," though his words "like silent raindrops fell" without ever being heard against the by now cancerous sound of silence.
The fifth stanza appears to culminate with the urgency raised by the declarative voice in the fourth stanza through the apparent triumph of a false "neon god". The false neon god is only challenged when a "sign flashed out its warning" that only the words of the indigent written on "subway walls and tenement halls" could still "whisper" their truth against the recurring and ambiguous form of "the sound of silence".
Eamonn’s arrangement of this song is very different to the original with many gaps and elongated notes, so beware and be ready! You do NOT want to fall into one of Eamonn’s famous dunce holes!
The gaps get longer as the song goes on, especially from ‘Hear my words that I might teach you…’ (Count 123 in your head) .’Take my arms that I might reach you….’ (count 12345 in your head). ‘….and echoed in the well…’ (count up to 12 in your head).
Don’t be afraid of the silences, they add tension and atmosphere. Feel the emotion in these gaps as if you are in awe!
With over 1billion sales Disturbed's cover of "The Sound of Silence" (originally by Simon & Garfunkel) amplifies the original meaning of a profound communication breakdown, emotional isolation, and societal apathy in a modern, technologically distracted world. The haunting, orchestral arrangement serves as a wake-up call to the danger of failing to connect genuinely with others, with "silence" representing a growing, cancer-like void of indifference.
Both versions carry the same lyrics, but they feel like completely different stories.
One whispers… the other declares.
The Rainbow Connection then changes the style again. It needs to be playful.
Keep the phrasing smooth on ‘… so we’ve been told and we choose to believe it…’ with each word getting the same emphasis making it a sweet and magical sound.
Make the call a response in ‘Have you been half asleep….’ Like a conversation.
Next week Elliot will take us through the rest of You’re the Voice, Crossing the Bar, The Rhythm of Life, Here Comes the Flood and Matthew & Son.
In the gap between now and Tuesday, listen to the tracks and practise your parts!
