Look out for an email on how to book and pay for your tickets which will be on sale from 01 November and follow the instructions!
Eamonn will be back next week and he will have had a report from Elliot with the songs that need extra special attention as they are not up to the expected standard. These songs need looking at and working on during the week:
· Monday Monday
· Poor Wayfaring Stranger
· Christmas Children
‘It is a fitting time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to pause for a moment of reflection.’
We did cover a lot of songs last night and apart from those above, they are mainly in good shape and Eamonn will just polish up the performance side of things.
In general:
· Long vowels so the consonants don’t resonate in hissing snakes or just get swallowed up.
· Connecting ends of words onto the next word to give fluidity
· Ensuring the ‘ee’ sound is elongated so it doesn’t sound thin
· Singing through the phrases so they are smooth and not choppy, unless that is the sound we are going for!
· Checking the dynamics of the songs and getting the contrast of very quiet (pp), quiet (p) a little louder (mp) to loud (f) and a little louder (mf) and very loud (ff)
· Remember singing quietly doesn’t mean slowing down!
· Keeping a steady tempo unless otherwise directed. Be aware of what others are singing so you come in at the right time.
· Feel an emotional connection to the words you are singing.
Smile – look as if you are enjoying it which will instill confidence in you and in the audience as you’ll look as if you know what you are doing.
By now you know where your weak points are; with that in mind, concentrate on those areas when practising at home and then you will start to feel confident. If everyone does their bit with homework, we will make a good cohesive wall of sound when we come together next week to show Eamonn how hard we’ve been working and be proud of our achievements.
Keep an eye on Dropbox in case anything drops in!
Updated: Oct 23
The choir was asked to nominate a local charity for consideration for the proceeds of our Winter Concert.
Please send suggestions to info@inflagrantechoir.com with Charity in the subject line.
Sops and Altos (well some of them) have had the benefit of Jan’s vocal coaching sessions. They really do make a difference, so please, Tenors and Basses, turn up for your session next Tuesday at 18:15. You will not be disappointed.
Generally, it is a case of feeling confident n your voice and singing out to be heard. Never be afraid to sing a wrong note, we all do it at some point. However, if you are constantly mumbling a wrong note and keep doing it you are never going to correct it. Sing strong and wrong and then it can be put right.
If you do your part and learn your notes and words and practise at home, it will get into your muscle memory and become second nature and then you will gain confidence to sing which in turn gives confidence to those around you and you all sing louder.
Get in the zone and rather than criticizing your own voice concentrate on the story telling and emotions of the songs.
We have such an eclectic mix of styles and it was suggested to mark your score with an emotional, meaningful word to you that will put you in the right frame of mind for that song so there is an easy transition when changing from one song style to another very quickly.
Stay in the Zone. Some songs have long intros and long outros. These are not times for you to look bored, turn pages in your folder or scratch your nose! Focus on the Musical Director, look engaged and be ready to come in when your part starts. With the long outros while the piano is still playing you will be sure to have The Glare from Eamonn if you so much as move or turn a page until he has released you just before the applause. Some scores end at the very bottom of a page, so mark The End so you are not tempted to turn over the page just in case.
The main things to remember are:
· long vowels – this prevents the dreaded hissing sound especially in Christmas Children
· singing strongly to the ends of phrases – don’t let them peter out so the note can’t be heard to the end like in Scarborough Fair
· Sometimes add the last sound of a word onto the next one like ‘dim a san ember’ for ‘dim as an ember’. This technique works well in all the songs.
· Tell the story – everyone will sing the right notes (I’m sure), but it is up to you individually to put the emotion into the song to keep the audience engaged.
· Make the songs sparkle and put a different emphasis on parts that are repetitive to give them a different sound.
· With very well known songs like Daydream Believer, don’t make it sound like a sing a long, make the verses sound interesting and give lots of energy to the chorus
· Ensure the timing and rhythm is correct – don’t be tempted rush ahead or go too slow as this will put everyone out of synch as in Song for a Winter’s Night
· Changing volume doesn’t change the speed – if the phrase gets quieter, don’t slow down unless you are specifically told to do so.
· If there are cannons – come in confidently on your part so it doesn’t sound as if you’ve made a mistake and come in too early or too late.
We went through Have You Ever Seen the Rain and Make Me Feel Your Love. Remember, these are Eamonn’s arrangements and may differ from the originals. It is not karaoke, so sing the notes on the page. Listen to the vocal tracks for your part. Once you know your part well, you might want to try singing against another vocal track e.g. if you’re a Sop sing your part against the Alto vocal track
We also recapped Christmas Children which was well remembered.
Next week will be Elliot’s last. Do your homework and we can then go through as many of the songs as possible and Elliot can report back to the ‘Dark Lord’ accordingly.
The strength of the choir is each member. The strength of each member is the choir
One last new song to learn with Elliot called Christmas Children which is a song featured in the 1970 movie-musical, Scrooge composed by Leslie Bricusse. It is sung by Bob Cratchit and his children, Tiny Tim and Kathy, as they walk home with their cheap Christmas shopping. It also plays during the end credits of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol.
To start we were told not to hiss when singing ‘Christmas’. Extend the vowel ‘i’ and cut out the ‘t’ and when singing it many times in this song: don’t be afraid of ‘Chriii-smas’.
Practise at home and it will soon become second nature and you won’t even have to think about it.
The verses should sound impish as if it’s the children singing while the other parts are like the adults singing.
In the first verse, sung by the Sops, make sure that ‘toys’ and ‘joys’ are not emphasised; keep them even.
‘trees’, ‘hopes’ in ‘Christmas trees and toys, Christmas hopes and joys’ are long notes.
When everyone joins in with their harmonies ensure the ‘…. Tied with pretty bows’ has a ‘z’ sound and the vowel is long as in ‘b-ooooh-z’
More long notes on ‘what’s’ and ..’lights’ in ‘Wonder what’s inside? What de-lights they hide’. The ‘s’ on the end of the words should be joined onto the next word so there is no hissing!
‘Wonder what sinside’ and ‘What delight sthey hide’.
The Dynamics:
Sops start in a breathy way as if telling a secret.
Gradually build up until ‘Christmas puddings rich with Christmas cream’
As everyone joins in keep it at a reasonable volume and then a very loud, ‘Won’t it be exciting if it snows?’
Middle section, where it is like the adults singing, you may take a quick breath after ‘…children everywhere’ going into ‘must say a Christmas prayer’.
Tenors sing the suspensions and resolutions in ‘I suppose..’ and ‘… children everywhere’.
‘…their Christmas things’ goes quiet, but it doesn’t slow down.
Back into impish mode with a cannon. It is important that when you come in with your part you are confident and grab the audience’s attention. Don’t be hesitant and make it sound as if you are coming late!
Altos and Basses, take a quick breath before the ‘Aah’ so it comes out loudly and clearly.
Sops put an ‘ar’ sound in to ‘fold’ as in ‘Waiting for the magic to unfarld’
At the end make it a crisp ‘d’ on ‘old’
Listen to the tracks and familiarise yourself with it – and don’t be afraid of ‘Chriiii-smas’
A Song for a Winter’s Night was next. The basses had great praise sounding melodious and silky.
Remember the chorus is syncopated and words come just before the beat with ‘hands’ and ‘love’ in ‘..hold the hands I love’
Basses sing out ‘I would’ in a strong voice as you need to be heard and then everyone comes in confidently as an echo.
As the ‘ooh’ sound is difficult to hear, even though it is written pianissimo, sing it louder and it will be heard but not in an overpowering way. They are too good not to be heard!
Basses on your verse, ‘The smoke is rising…’ don’t slow down. Leave a slight gap after ‘overhead’ before coming in with ‘my glass is almost empty’.
‘lines upon each page’ is syncopated like ‘hold the hands I love’ in the chorus.
Our memory was tested as we sang the new song from last week, Once Upon a December.
This needs to be kept simple, but words and ‘Mmm’s need to be sung right to the end of phrases – don’t then tail off as if you’re running out of breath or sounding as if you’ve had enough and just want to end it quickly!
There is no slow down at the end!
Before next week, take a look especially at the key change part.
Only two more weeks with Elliot☹. In that time we will cover as much or our repertoire as possible to be a good place for Eamonn to add the dymanics to each song as we will all know the notes and when to sing them 😊
I believe in you – you can do it!
